𝔟𝔦𝔱𝔢 𝔦𝔫𝔱𝔬 𝔪𝔢

snap under pressure.

i chuckle, 'gustav, i don't know how to cook.' then i scratch my head.

'don't worry, i'll teach you.' he responded as he walked over to the fridge, grabbing a piece of marinated meat out. he then grabbed it, bare-handed, and dropped it onto the huge cutting board laid upon the counter.

he then smiles at me, 'alright - you can sprinkle the seasoned flour over the top of it, i'll go get the oil.' i washed my hands, then sprinkled the seasoned flour over the top of the beef - as gustav said.

listen - i'm not really a cooking person, i'm more of a baking person - but doing this with gustav and seeing him smile is really worth it.
i then finish up with sprinkling the flour over the meat, and he's at the stove heating up a pan of vegetable oil.

i grab the cutting board the meat's on, then i just slide it into the pan. he smiles at me once again. he simmers the meat in the pan, i can hear the oil bubble a bit.

'so, how long will this take?' i close the silence between me and him.
he answers, 'oh well. the recipe book says to let this set for a bit. around... 3 in a half to 4 hours?' i then sigh, that's a long time. 
i then smirked a little, 'well, why are you cooking right now? it's like...' i check my phone, '10 am. you're cooking meat at 10 am?' he nodded, keeping his eyes on the pan. i bent over, then put my elbows on the counter and cupped my chin in my hands as i secretly admired him and his cooking skills.

suddenly, i heard a knock on the door. gustav looked over at me, and with no hesitation i said, 'i'll get it!' i then hurried over to the door - then i opened it. my eyes then met with tom's deep brown eyes. he looked serious, but then as he saw me he looked confused. then, his face scrunched.

'where's gustav?' he looked over my shoulder, trying to find him. the kitchen was out of sight from his vision though.

i lean on the right side of the door frame, 'in the kitchen.' me and tom's expressions matched. he looked unpleased and almost pissed to see me, while i had an are you going to go now? expression on mine. i then noticed bill's tall figure behind him, but georg wasn't anywhere to be spotted. i crossed my arms.

'what are you doing here?' he snarled.
i simply rolled my eyes, 'keeping him in company.' tom then looked surprised. suddenly, his surprised face turned into a smirk.

'how?' he said with a very sexual undertone, implying that i'm keeping gustav company in that way.

i gagged, 'ew, no. he's my friend, you're fucking disgusting.' i shook my head in disapproval and kept my arms crossed around my chest.
tom muttered under his breath, 'i can tell. it'd be disgusting if he was hooking up with someone like you.' i then made a little sarcastic gasp, showing to tom that i really didn't care. as tom started laughing hysterically, i peeked over his shoulder.

bill had his arms crossed, desperately avoiding eye contact with anybody. yeah, he's definitely been ordered not to talk to me after basically an hour ago. but then, that made me realize something. tom. i've been hanging out with gustav because,

a) he's way nicer compared to tom and georg.
b) he only drinks the blood from animals.

this shocked me a little as i literally just forgot i'm talking to a literal vampire right now who drinks human blood? i'm too lost in my thoughts, that i don't even realize how tom already stopped laughing.

'anyway, we're coming in.' he said as he walked past me through the empty space of the doorframe, bill following along.

i furrow my eyebrows, he's so rude. he almost just pushed past me. i thought me and him were on fine terms, but i guess not.

'ew, what is that smell?' tom gags, waving his hand in front of his nose.
gustav finally speaks up, 'it's sauerbraten, tom.'

'gosh, i hate that.' tom scowls as he walks closer to gustav, inspecting the pan he's simmering. i spot bill leaning against the little archway connecting the living room and the kitchen, so i take my chance then stand beside him. i elbow bill on his arm, then he looks over at me. immediately, he looks away.

i sigh then whisper, 'bill.' he doesn't answer me. i then hear tom and gustav start to argue over the food.
'bill.' i repeat, then he finally decides to respond to me.
'what is it?' he whispers back, raising his eyebrow. i seem a little bit surprised that he actually responded, but i don't show it.
'why aren't you talking to me? plus, what were you going to tell me?' i give him a break to answer but he says nothing, 'tell me.'
'take a hint, delilah.' he honestly sounds a bit annoyed, but i'm even more annoyed at the fact that this boy isn't telling me straight up.
i then hiss, 'i'm not doing that take a hint bullshit, what is it that you wanted to tell me? just tell me straight up! right here, right now!' my tone's aggressive since i can't yell while whispering. to bill though, yelling was not one of his concerns.
'tell me.' i pressed him, i could see his body get more tense. 'tell me right now, bill. if you didn't want me to pester you about it, then you shouldn't have told me.'

then that was it.
he snapped.

'oh my fucking gosh. we're VAMPIRES okay? vampires! we drink blood! all of us are, every single one of us in this room except for YOU!' he clapped his hands together, yelling at me.

'i could easily bite you right this second and you wouldn't be able to do anything about it! DID YOU HEAR ME, ANYTHING!' i step back a bit as he then clenched his fists. 

i could visibly see his tense stare start to soften into regret. i gulp, and i don't even realize how the other two are looking at me and bill.

'bill, we're going.' tom then drags bill's hand and walks right out the door, but before he leaves he looks back at me.
'and you.' tom then continues with a hushed tone, 'you're done.' i cover my mouth with my hand as they then exit. gustav walks over to me, looking at me. i put my head down, i expect him to scold me or even threaten me, just like tom did.

i then tear up, not being able to hold my tears. i feel guilt for pressuring bill to snap, and right now i couldn't care less about tom's little threat.
i then turn to gustav, 'gustav, i didn't mean to do that.. i just..' then, he pulled me into a sudden hug.

'it's fine delilah, i knew.'