Chapter 16: Bloody Messy Fiasco

"Oh... I thought you all were."

Damon, who had only ever had one friend, was under the impression that all these college students were friends with one another since they had come together to party at his place.

"Well... some of us are.... "

"One of my close friends even..." Hazel began saying as her tone turned somber, fading into a murmur.

"I see. Sorry for your loss."

"Thank you...Damon....I mean, is it alright to call you Damon ?" she muttered unsurely.

"That’s my name, right?. What else would you call me ?" Damon replied, a little confused.

"Haha...glad to hear that... please feel free to call me Hazel."

The young lady said with a smile, relaxing more into the sofa while Damon wondered what she even meant. What else was he supposed to call her if not her name?

"You know— you are quite different from how I imagined you."

Hazel said suddenly in a soft tone, a faint smile on her lips, her hands between her hands fiddling with her jacket as she looked ahead at the rest of her friends still reeling from the mental blows they had sustained after watching their classmates turn into literal monsters before them.

"Oh?...and what did you imagine I’d be like?"

"Um...arrogant... pompous, with a condescending manner of speech?...you know, like the typical rich kids?"

"You do look the part....but I am getting the sense that it’s not by choice."

"Thanks?"

"Hahaha...see?... your face says one thing, but your tone and gaze are so kind."

Hazel seemed freer, and less burdened by the loss she had suffered, the more she talked. It was surprising to Damon how perceptive she was. In just a few exchanges of words, she was able to gain some insight into Damon’s personality.

"My friend over there would have loved to meet you in better circumstances...She’s a bit shy, and isn’t taking the loss of our friend too well."

Hazel murmured melancholically, with a pained smile on her face, looking in the direction of the curly-haired young lady seated on the right-side sofa.

Damon followed Hazel’s gaze, his eyes briefly meeting that of the young lady as she slowly returned her gaze to her clasped hands.

"And what’s your friend’s name ?"

"It’s Tessa. And.... She sort of blames herself for what happened."

"Really?... Why’s that?"

"Well... "

"It was actually on Tessa’s behalf that the five of us agreed to join Brad when he invited us for an impromptu party after class."

Hazel began to narrate to Damon how they had all ended up there.

Brad had apparently given an invite to Tessa, whom it was no secret on campus that he had been trying to woo for the longest time.

This invite only caught Tessa’s interest since she had turned into a fangirl with the trendy white prince of Newhaven ever since Damon’s existence was made public; the same was true for many other young ladies because of Damon’s striking appearance.

Brad had claimed that the white prince was actually his cousin when he was trying to invite Tessa over, further adding that he would host the group at The Grand— the famous residence of elites residing in the state capital of Newhaven, Redmont—

And also the publicly known residence of the white prince, promising that they would even get to meet him in person.

Tessa was sold on the spot, and she urged her friends to come along; for safety measures, Hazel insisted on inviting five other guys from their class who weren’t in Brad’s group.

The girls met up and made their way to The Grand late into the night, as was common for night parties with college students—

Their reactions upon entering the district of the wealthy were ones of awe at such a luxurious setting, and Brad further confirmed his claims when he granted them all access to the most beautiful home most of them had ever seen in their lives.

At this point, none of them were in doubt anymore, and the ladies were simply excited to soon get to see the famous white prince.

They waited through the night, and as Hazel expected, Brad and his crew had their reason for the invites, and they made their advances on some of their friends, especially Brad towards Tessa.

Seeing that the reason for their coming over wasn’t being met, the ladies decided to leave, but Brad was insistent on their patience, presenting more drinks that the ladies consumed cautiously.

Brad was known to be obnoxious and annoying, but he was generally not a bad person. A bit crude, but he was also quite popular in class, along with his group.

Tessa implored the girls to exercise patience... she was a hardcore fangirl who was desperate to see Damon at least once.

Before their group knew what was happening, it was already morning, and two of their friends had turned into monsters trying to feast on them; it was a blood, messy, fiasco.

Three Other male students turned into monsters as well; two of whom were from Brad’s group, and one was among those Tessa had invited. Two others were ripped apart and eaten before them, while the five mutants were eventually killed with the joint effort of Harvey, Mildred, Brad, and the twins.

Tessa blames herself for her friends’ deaths, even though Hazel had tried to assure her that there was absolutely nothing she could have done.

It didn’t make sense for her to feel guilty in addition to being sorrowful for her loss, since those students would have probably mutated whether they had stayed at The Grand or not..

As for the two who were directly killed, it was certainly a loss that could have been prevented, but none of them were prepared for what would happen, and it was still a mystery how they slept so long in the first place, since they barely even drank.

Damon now knew how these students had ended up in his home, and why Tessa was so uncomfortable around him even though she was supposedly a fan of his.

Through their conversation, Damon learned a lot about the people in his home, which was important given the current situation, being trapped inside with them.

Hazel was easy to talk to and didn’t seem bothered by Damon’s one-word questions and answers, lacking the usual emotional responses or reactions such situations deserved; she was basically doing all the talking, as he also doesn’t particularly enjoy talking himself.

"Am I that boring, Damon?"

"Why?... of course not, Hazel."

"Really?.... But you seem to be falling asleep."

"Oh— sorry"

Damon murmured in realization; he wasn’t even aware his eyes had almost gone completely closed as he listened to Hazel.

"Haha... It’s fine. I also think you should rest. Don’t worry, I will watch over you."

Damon observed this person, who was smiling at him, a stranger whom she had only just met while making such a promise. He wondered why she was being so kind to him... but their thoughts were cut short when a familiar voice cut through....

"Oh... your babysitters finally left....."

"It’s just us now, cousin."