Drain me [SKZ fanfiction] Lee Felix

Words from the shadows

He's not sure what to do. She looks so hurt and his compassionate side -which he thought was buried deep away after living for so long- wants nothing more than to rush towards the girl to comfort her
He's been observing her more and more and catches himself following her without thinking more than often. She should be a mere side character in the story he's following, but he finds himself following her with his eyes nine out of the ten times he's planning on seeing what the vampire named Bang Chan is doing.
He's still doing that though! He's not abandoning his job -his calling- but he gets sidetracked more than once with this human being and it is catching up on him that he can't deny his distraction with her.
Lorey Pattens, human girl of twenty six years old, living in this city in a small basement apartment and working as a mortician at Sincere's funeral home approximately a thirty minute walk from her house away.
She has no close family members living in the area, but makes calls from time to time to her parents back home. She loves to walk instead of taking the bus and has the quirk of sticking her tongue against her cheek when she's in doubt.
He also knows she's a huge nostalgia lover and secretly browses through her old picture books when she feels in such a mood and can sigh deeply seeing old photos of herself when she was younger. Her home also attests to that nostalgia love with the many knickknacks she's holding on to to remind her of things important to her. Like a variety of mismatched books on her bookshelf, not a solid genre present. Or the cookware she uses in her small kitchen. A set of old pans belonging to her great-grandmother, a set of teaspoons missing the once colored ends she apparently got as a graduation gift and the tea coasters crocheted by her own mother in the ugliest green and brown colors. She likes to hold onto these types of things even though they're either broken, ugly, worn down or useless. If there's a good memory, she's likely to hold onto it.
He knows she's becoming friends with Han Jisung and observed the two of them bicker and joke around more often. She even trusted him enough to invite him inside her workplace and showed him how she works on embalming bodies. She's either fearless or has a good radar for trusting the right people, he thinks. Now... Han Jisung isn't the scariest looking vampire and with his clumsy behavior he's pretty sure she can't find him threatening in any way.
She always greets her landlord even though the grumpy man tries to ignore her and she prefers to flip the right side of her shawl over the left side.
And he was there when they both witnessed the first kiss between Bang Chan and Han Choi Hyuna.
He had to stay to see whatever the two lovers would do, but he got bored with their long and clichè kiss and decided to wander around till his feet brought him to the local park.
He had been a little surprised when Lorey Pattens came walking up to the place where he was picking at his evening snack and he was certain she would notice him. He sat there with his mouth full and he was sure he made full eye contact for a second or two.
She didn't notice him and he had observed how tired she looked. Undoubtedly pained with the sight of her love interest finally kissing the girl who wasn't her. No cliché red teary eyes or anything, just this.... tiredness he once knew as being done with things.
When she had dropped her snack he had pitied her and felt brave enough to walk over and give her his last two pieces. After that he had walked away to make sure she wouldn't think of him as a stalker. He had glanced at her from the shadows and smiled when he saw her blinking away some tears when she tasted the roasted chestnut. Okay, maybe there was a tiny bit of cliché there, but that was to be expected. He couldn't help but wanting to cheer for her, even if her role in the story he was supposed to observe was practically over.

And now he witnessed her heated argument with her best friend. How Bang Chan chose to leave her behind in favor of his love and how she for the first time since he noticed her let out her feelings.
He knows why Han Choi Hyuna needs Bang Chan. Just like how this girl isn't that happy with the choice the two lovers made, he knows Han Jisung isn't in the slightest amused with his step sister's choice.
He can already predict the outcome. A heated discussion like this one, but instead of ending with abandonment, they would hug and cry as the lingering death of Han Choi Hyuna is something looming over the Han family. They would be fine.
He should go and observe the predictable outcome of the argument as it concerns the main characters he's following, but his body keeps him hidden in the shadows of the basement workplace.
"Such an ass," she mumbles through her clenched teeth which grabs his attention.
"Four years. What am I? A freaking fool! Five years busting my ass off in high school and four years crippling in study halls for this? Fuck—,"
She turns around and paces through the room, biting on her thumb with a pained expression.
She stops in front of a small fridge and opens it to grab out some ziplock bags filled with blood. She holds them up in her hands and glances over to the sink.
"Oh my god!" she frustratedly exhales, plopping the bags on the counter and pressing her hands in front of her face. "Why am I like this?!"
It sounds more like a maniacally laugh than a heartbroken sob and she places her hands on the counter, leaning back and forth on the ball of her feet to comfort herself.
He bites his lower lip. The urge to comfort her is there, but at the same time he can't. He knows what it feels like to be on the sidelines. His whole life -or death, depending how you see it- he has been on the sidelines, watching how others lived out their stories and how he was nothing more than the one observing. Never part of the story, but always involved somehow.
Unconsciously he's raising his hand but stops when she speaks, this time not to herself.
"I know you're there."
Her voice sounds tired, not frustrated or angry like a second ago and he quickly retracts his hand back in the shadows.
"No need to panic," she points at the blood bags with closed eyes and exhales deeply. "You can take them if you want. I don't need them anymore."
He is still in his position. How? How does she know he is here? Not even the other vampires have noticed his presence, but this mere human somehow figured out she's being observed?
He looks over to the blood in the ziploc bags and sighs out softly. His hunger is present and the saliva in his mouth thickens with the desire to drink up the liquid, but he doesn't need it. Or rather...
"The plasma is already separated from the blood cells. It will only satisfy, but do nothing for the hunger," he speaks.
He's not showing himself, staying in the shadows to keep himself hidden, but the words are already out of his mouth before he can think.
She lets her head hang low and pushes herself away from the counter to pick up the bags to empty them out in the sink, like how she intended to do in the first place.
"What a waste," she mumbles, staring at the fluids staining the sink and flowing into the drain. "Thanks for the tip," she says out loud, clearly pointing at him. Then she scoffs at herself.
"Another useless piece of information I am unable to let go now I know."
She throws the empty bags in a bin and checks the clock on the wall. She's been working overtime for a good four hours at this point.
"Why don't you go home?" Why is he even suggesting things to her?
She sighs again and nods at his voice. "You're right. I've been cooped up in here for too long anyway."
She walks over to her small office to search for her bag and keys, only finding the bag and turning around to see where the keys are.
He swiftly finds them -she placed them on a shelf when she came in to grab her lunch and forgot to put them back in her bag- and tosses them on her desk without showing himself.
She shrieks a little and lets out a small chuckle before grabbing the keys.
"Thanks, again. Also for the other times."
For a moment he thinks she's staring right at him, but then her face glances around the room after that. He's not sure if that's calming his nerves down or not.
"I know I should be afraid of random strangers. Especially other vampires, but can I assume you're not targeting me as your next victim?"
He stays quiet.
"I take that as a yes," she snickers to herself. "Well, I'm sorry you had to see this miserable display of me being a frustrated idiot. I hope to keep this between us."
She puts on her jacket and wraps her shawl around her neck - right side over the left like usual- before checking her office a last time.
"I will," he answers gently. "I'm here to listen if you need to vent. Showing emotions is... humane..."
Her tired face pulls into a smile again while she walks towards the door. She grabs the knob and without looking back she whispers; "Goodnight, stranger."
"Goodnight Lorey."