#zombies nova

Which brings her to now, standing on the side of a beach they have claimed as their own, waiting for one fashionably late vampire. She's not sure what her mother would think if Nova had ever said such a thing aloud, but she hopes she would be proud at the very least, as she looks down and smooths down her top for the tenth time.

She's not wearing anything too special, lest her father find out that she wasn't just meeting up with some friends, but it sparkles enough under the slowly fading rays of the sun to make her eyes shine bright. She hopes her hair isn't too much when it's down like this, curling at her shoulders, and for a second, she worries that maybe she's too casual -

"Nova! Hey!"

-but everything she's worrying about fades away once she hears him call her name, those butterflies nearly taking her breath away. She turns to meet him just as he comes to a stop beside her, chest heaving a bit from the short jog he's made, and seems to freeze for a moment once he sees her, his eyes flickering, before they land on her face.

When he doesn't say anything, Nova begins to panic slightly. Maybe she did go over the top and should've asked one of the other elders for advice, or even someone else in the group that she had a grown a bit closer too. But she had always been the odd one out, and she was never good at asking for help.

She's fidgeting before she even realizes she is, but Victor is quick to reach out and catch her hand in his own, slipping their fingers together. "Sorry, you - you just look uh, you're - you look nice!" he sputters, and she could swear she sees his cheeks glow under the sunlight. "You look really nice."

She pretends that she can't feel her own blush. "Thanks," she whispers, attempting to duck her head, only to catch sight of what he's wearing. It makes her feel better to know that she wasn't the only one digging through her closet, the dress shirt he's wearing bunching up by the collar and moth eaten at the bottom corners. Her eyes linger on the black tie slung around his neck, tied crookedly. Victor catches her stare and lets go of her hand to reach up and pull at the tie with a dejected sort of look.

"I don't want to say how long it took me to get it to this point," he half jokes, something sad hiding underneath his tone.

Nova reaches over and brushes his hands out of the way. She doesn't have to undo it completely to get where she needs it to go, thanking the sun above that this was one summer lesson she didn't skip as she makes quick work of the suit tie, fixing it so that it no longer looks rushed or out of place.

She meets Victor's gaze as her hands rest on either of his shoulders for a long moment before falling back to her sides.

"Now you're out of my league," she says, the corners of her lips slipping into a soft smile. Victor laughs and shakes his head. He doesn't bother to put distance between them, and some small part of Nova hopes that it's because he doesn't want to.

"Never," he promises, teasing. "There isn't a league without you." His eyes flicker across her face again, and she swears they catch on her lips before he's reaching for her hand again, fingers grazing across the skin of her wrist. "I was thinking we could go get some froyo?"

"I would love that," she says, feeling too excited for her own good as she allows Victor to take her hand and lead her through the winding caves that lead to Shadyside.

It's surprising, almost, how similar the carved pathways are to that of her own cave. The same jagged dead ends, hasty carvings in a language she wants to learn someday, and enough darkness to swallow them whole. Unlike her own cave, there are no torches waiting to be lit by flame, and she finds herself pressed close to Victor as he guides them through the darkest part.

She's not scared of the darkness, but she is scared of the unknown and finds herself jumping when she hears something fly right past her head.

"It's okay," he tells her, fingers slipping around her wrist to pull her along. "It's just a bat."

Nova shivers but allows him to pull her forward, thankful when they turn and she sees moonlight shining through what must be the exit. "Do bats bite?" she finds herself asking and Victor seems to think about it for a moment before shrugging.

"Vargas was bitten once, but that was because he thought it would be smart to disrupt an entire cave of them." Nova makes a sound of alarm before she can stop it, and Victor chuckles and wraps an arm around her in return. "You don't have to worry with me though. I'll keep you bite-free."

He keeps her close until they reach the exit bathed in moonlight, and Victor only lets her go once he's sure she's okay as she finds herself staring at the entrance to a town she never thought she would ever get to see.

Victor steps forward to the side of her, grinning at her awe. "Welcome to Shadyside!" he says, waving his arm in a grand gesture as he does so. "I know it's not much, but it's home."

"Victor," Nova whispers, eyes flickering from neon signs to cobbled streets to buildings that hold more history than she's ever seen. "It's beautiful."

She turns to him as she says it and is nearly taken aback with the way he looks at her. He looks like he's about to say something before thinking better of it and beginning to walk towards the town. "Come on," he says. "Hopefully they aren't out of the best flavors yet."

x

"You call these good flavors?" Nova can't help but ask as she peers down at different shades of red froyo, each with a name pertaining to a type of blood she knows nothing about. "What's the difference between Type A and B?"

"One tastes sweeter but they're both good I promise!" He looks excited as he says it, holding his own cup of something else red with a white spoon sticking out the top, and for as much as she trusts Victor, Nova isn't so sure she can stomach anything other than blood fruit on a good day.

She gives another quick glance to the flavors in front of her and tries not to glare at the empty spot that once held the blood fruit flavored froyo, sold out hours beforehand. She lingers on some of the lighter colors, before looking up and meeting eyes with the older vampire running the stand.

"Do you have anything that isn't um...red?"

She winces as she says it and then worries that maybe she's being rude, but the older vampire simply gives her a small smile before holding up a hand and ducking underneath the trays. When he returns to his full height he holds out a cup of white froyo with pink swirls.

"Vanilla infused with blood fruit," he tells her kindly as he hands it to her. Victor is already digging in his pockets for change, but before he can give him any the man is waving them away. "On the house. Enjoy."

"Thank you so much," Nova tells him, Victor doing the same with a smile, before taking her by the elbow and nodding towards the back of town.

"I have the perfect spot for us to eat," he promises, and Nova feels those butterflies flutter again as she nods and he brings them down one alley and then another, before flying them both up to a ledge no one else could reach. "This way," he says before taking a quick bite of his froyo and continuing on, until he flops down on the edge of a piece of stone that looks far older than the both of them.

Nova hesitates as she looks between the stone and how high up they are from the ground, her feet rooting her in place, froyo cold in her hands. Victor looks over his shoulder when she doesn't immediately sit down next to him and quickly scrambles back to his feet, leaving his own froyo forgotten on the stone behind him.

"Hey, it's safe, I promise. Are you...are you scared of heights? If you are I'm sorry, I didn't know I wasn't even - thinking, we can go somewhere else if you want, or back to the beach or - "

"It's - It's okay." Nova finally says, forcing the words through the unsteady feeling in her chest. "I've just...it's pretty high, but I trust you, Victor." She forces her eyes away from over the edge and back to his face, and it's funny almost, how fast the climbing anxiety in her chest lessens just by looking at him. "I really do. Trust you."

Victor's smile could light up all of Shadyside. He walks over to her and holds out his hand. She takes it and keeps her eyes on him as he gently coaxes her forward and toward the stone edge.

"No different than flying with me, right?" he tells her after they're both sitting, legs swinging over the edge.

The words succeed in tugging a laugh free from her chest as he finally lets go of her so that he can pick up his froyo. Nova's shoulder presses firmly against his as he digs in, and she follows, grabbing her own spoon and taking a tentative bite.

"Victor," she says, around another mouthful of froyo. "This is amazing. The best thing I've ever eaten."

Victor smirks, sneaking a glance over at her. "Better than blood fruit?"

"Almost," she admits, and they both laugh at that, before settling into a comfortable silence of froyo and each other's company. Shadyside looks eternal from where they're sitting, buzzing lights and soft color. So many people out and about, like the night will never end.

Nova glances over at Victor. Windswept hair, a perfectly knotted tie, lips set in a gentle sort of smile that she thinks could drive her crazy one day, and froyo stuck to the side of his mouth.

She'd roll her eyes if it was anyone else. But it's far from anyone else.

Nova turns her body towards him, leaving her empty cup on the stone beside her before reaching out to him. He freezes when her thumb presses against the corner of his lip, carefully wiping the dessert away.

"You left behind some froyo," she whispers.

"Oh," Victor mumbles. "Thanks."

Her thumb lingers there, against his skin. When she goes to remove it, Victor reaches up and catches her hand, guiding it over so that she cups his cheek instead. They're close. Nova stares into his eyes like they tell every story she's never heard, and Victor doesn't once look away.