Alex Evans stood out, whether he wanted to or not. At a tall height, he had the kind of lean frame that teased the line between skinny and effortless, topped with messy black hair and a sharp jawline.
On paper, he had the full package.
In reality, he had eyes that ruined everything.
As lights caught his irises, turning them into a pair of glowing, blood-red wounds.
One look was usually all it took for people to cross the street.
Freak. Demon. Edgy vampire wannabe. He'd heard every variation on campus.
He couldn't even blame them, staring into his eyes felt like looking straight at something non-human.
So he kept his head down, buried his nose in books and studying, and accepted the quiet loner life.
Nevertheless, the college life had began a month ago, and his daily routine was airtight: eat lunch alone, walk home alone, exist alone.
It wasn't that he preferred it this way all his life.
He wanted friends, a girlfriend too, so badly it felt like an ache in his chest.
But every time he tried to strike up a casual conversation with a girl, his throat locked up, his red eyes unnerved them, and the opportunity died before it even started.
Especially with Alice.
Alice, who sat two rows ahead of him in lecture. Alice, whose waist-length black hair left a soft trail of vanilla whenever she brushed past his desk.
She was built like a dark fantasy, soft sweaters that couldn't hide the bounce of her chest, skirts that sculpted every curve of her hips.
Every guy on campus spent class daydreaming about her, Alex included.
But with her radiant, sweet demeanor, she was the definition of out of his league.
A literal angel compared to his demon reflection.
He trudged home on the evening with his hands jammed deep into his coat pockets, trying to distract himself by drafting a review in his head for a novel he'd finished the night before.
Then his chest exploded in pain.
"Gauhh!"
Alex doubled over, clutching his ribs as his breath hitched.
For a second, he saw it, a phantom needle made of rosy light piercing straight through the center of his chest.
It drove clean through his torso and dissolved into thin air behind him.
He whirled around, heart hammering against his ribs, thinking it was a knife stab.
But the sidewalk was completely empty.
Pressing a hand over his sternum, he waited for the blood, but there was nothing.
No torn fabric, no wound, no lingering pain.
Just a strange, heavy pulse deep inside his chest. His heart wasn't beating faster anymore, but beating slower than usual, each thump reverberating through his ribs like a heavy iron drum.
"What the hell...?" he muttered, rubbing his chest.
With no physical proof of what just happened, he forced a breath, convinced himself it was just a severe muscle spasm, and kept walking.
Ten minutes later, he reached the ordinary house he shared with his mother.
Before he could even pull out his keys, the front door swung open.
"Welcome home, sweetheart," His mother said with a gentle smile. Still youthful in her late thirties, with bright brown eyes and dark hair falling over her shoulders, she was the only person alive who could look at Alex's crimson eyes without a trace of hesitation.
"Hey, Mom." He managed a small smile.
"Your usual hot shower's ready and dinner's in twenty minutes!"
The steam in the bathroom helped clear the lingering chill from his chest.
Under the hot spray, his mind naturally drifted back to Alice. The way her eyes crinkled when she laughed, the curve of her waist, the impossible contrast between her innocence and his thoughts.
He leaned his forehead against the damp tiles, let out a shaky breath, and handled the frustration the only way an isolated a young man knew how.
After a quiet dinner and a brief catching-up with his mom, Alex locked himself in his bedroom. He killed the main lights, crawled under the blanket, and let out a long sigh into the dark.
Barely closing his eyes when a voice echoed directly inside his mind. Smooth, dripping like warm honey, and full with playful malice.
'Hey there, big boy. Sleepy already?'
Alex bolted upright, his heartbeat spiking as he slammed his hand onto the bedside lamp.
Its yellow light flooded the room, but completely empty.
'Rude~' the voice huffed, every syllable carrying an exaggerated, playful pout. 'Ignoring a lady is no way to start a relationship.'
"Who's there?" Alex spoke, keeping his voice low so his mom wouldn't hear his panic. "Where are you?"
A delighted giggle echoed behind his temples.
'Name's Elizabeth E. Celestine the Fourth. Succubus Queen, at your service. Well... technically you're at mine now.' A brief pause, then her tone shifted silkier, sliding along his nerves.
'I'm inside you, darling. I possessed you on your little walk home. Sorry about the sting earlier. The entry is always a bit messy when the host isn't prepared.:
Alex's throat went dry. "Get... get the hell out of my head."
'Now, now, don't be dramatic. I'm not here to wear your skin like a cheap suit. I need a little assistance.' Her voice softened, taking on a mock-vulnerable tone. 'Someone tore my physical body to pieces back in hell, so right now, I'm just a soul. And you, handsome boy, happen to possess a very delicious, very potent store of energy.'
Swallowing hard, Alex clutched his blankets. "And if I tell you to get lost?..."
Silence filled the room for two heartbeats. Then, a dark, filthy chuckle reverberated straight down to his stomach.
'Oh, sweetheart... you're not going to say no. Because I can feel every single dirty thought you've ever had about that cute brunette from your class. Alice, was it? I feel how bad you want her, and I can make that happen. I can make every girl on that dull campus look at you like you're the only man alive. All you have to do is let me stay... and keep me fed."
A betraying heat stirred beneath his sweatpants.
"Fed how?" he whispered, his heart hammering for an entirely different reason now.
'Lust energy, Alex. The unfiltered sexual desire. The more you indulge, the stronger I get.' Her voice dropped to a sultry whisper that licked down his spine. 'And trust me... I am starving.'
Alex dragged a hand down his face, staring blankly at his bedroom wall. "I'm losing my mind... I've officially gone insane."
'Maybe~' Elizabeth teased, her laugh bright and wicked. 'But I'm also the best thing that's ever happened to your sad quiet life. So what do you say, handsome? Ready to make a deal with the devil's worst enemy?'
Alex stared at the dark ceiling, the silence of his room heavy around him.
Rationally, he should have been terrified, but beneath the confusion, the heat in his chest hadn't faded. If anything, it was burning hotter than ever.
The voice was definitely real, so was the new weight felt in his heart. "...What exactly am I supposed to do first?'
Elizabeth let out a triumphant laugh, oozing with satisfaction.
'Great! I can see you then passion. But first get some sleep and tomorrow we start... and maybe we'll even cross paths with your pretty little Alice. I do appreciate a girl with good curves, after all~'
Alex groaned, burying his face in his pillow as the voice finally faded back into the quiet corners of his mind.
Laying down in the dim lamp light, his chest felt heavy, pulse racing, staring at the ceiling.
His quiet, lonely routine was completely dead, taking a slow breath, staring into the dark, and muttering under his breath.
"Are you still listening...? I have some questions."
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I'm from the future! Year 2069~
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