Chapter 5: How Not to Retrieve Your Fixed Scooter

Ming's POV

For three days, I avoided the campus parking lot like it was contaminated with garlic.

Which, considering my vampire heritage, wasn't entirely inaccurate.

"You can't avoid him forever," Ploy said, not looking up from her textbook as I paced around our dorm room for the hundredth time that morning.

"Watch me."

"Ming, your scooter is literally sitting in the parking lot, fixed and ready to go. All you have to do is walk over there, say thank you, and act like a normal person."

"But what if he asks questions? What if he wants to know how I crushed solid steel with my bare hands? What if—"

"What if you stop being dramatic and just go get your scooter?"

I flopped down on my bed dramatically. "I can't face him. Not after the metal-crushing incident."

"Fine. Then walk to class for the rest of the semester. I'm sure your legs could use the exercise."

"You're not being helpful."

"I'm being realistic." Ploy finally looked up from her book. "Besides, he texted you twice asking if you're okay. If he thought you were some kind of freak, would he bother checking on you?"

She had a point. Kamon's texts had been sweet and concerned, not suspicious or freaked out. Maybe I was overthinking this. Maybe he hadn't thought too hard about the impossible strength thing.

Maybe I was being paranoid.

"Okay," I said, standing up with determination I didn't feel. "I'm going to get my scooter. I'm going to thank him. I'm going to act completely normal."

"Famous last words," Ploy muttered.

Campus Parking Lot - 2:30 PM

My bright yellow scooter was exactly where I'd left it, looking perfectly innocent in the afternoon sunlight. I approached it cautiously, like it might suddenly explode or reveal my supernatural secret to everyone within a fifty-meter radius.

"Ming?"

I spun around so fast I nearly gave myself whiplash. Kamon was walking toward me with a small smile, and my heart immediately started doing gymnastics.

"Hi," I said, proud that my voice came out relatively normal.

"I was wondering when you'd come back for Sunny." He nodded toward my scooter. "How are you feeling?"

"Better! Much better. Completely normal amounts of strength now."

He raised an eyebrow. "Normal amounts?"

Smooth, Ming. Really smooth.

"I mean, I'm feeling better. Not sick anymore. Regular levels of... wellness."

"Right." He was studying my face with those intense dark eyes, and I had the uncomfortable feeling that he could see right through my terrible lies. "Want to see what I did to fix her?"

"You really don't have to—"

"It's fine. I like working on engines."

He moved to the scooter and pointed to a new part near where I'd crushed the old one. "I had to replace the mounting bracket you... damaged. But the good news is, she should run even better now."

"Thank you so much. I really appreciate it. How much do I owe you for the part?"

"Nothing."

"But—"

"Ming, it's fine." His voice was soft but firm. "Consider it a favor."

We stood there in awkward silence for a moment. I was trying to think of something to say that wouldn't make me sound like a complete disaster when Kamon spoke again.

"Can I ask you something?"

My heart stopped. "Sure."

"That day at the garage, and yesterday with the scooter... you seem to get really anxious around mechanical things. Is there a reason for that?"

I blinked at him. He thought my weird behavior was anxiety, not supernatural strength. He was giving me a perfect out, a completely reasonable explanation that didn't involve vampires or impossible physical abilities.

"Yes," I said quickly. "I have really bad anxiety around... mechanical things. And tools. Very tool-specific anxiety."

"That's a thing?"

"Oh yes. Very common. Lots of people have it."

He nodded thoughtfully. "That makes sense. I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable."

"You didn't! You were perfect. I mean, helpful. You were helpful."

That tiny smile appeared again. "Would it help if we started with something less intimidating? Like... I could show you how to check your tire pressure. No tools involved."

He was being so sweet and understanding that I wanted to melt into a puddle. Here I was, lying about my supernatural nature and acting like a complete weirdo, and he was trying to accommodate what he thought was a phobia.

"That sounds perfect," I said.

"Great. We could do it now, if you want. Unless you have somewhere to be?"

"Nope! Completely free. Nothing to do except learn about tire pressure."

Kamon knelt down beside the front tire, and I tried very hard to focus on what he was saying instead of how good he looked in the afternoon sunlight.

"So you just press this little cap here, and if it feels firm, your pressure is probably okay. If it feels soft, you need air."

He guided my hand to the tire valve, his fingers brushing against mine. The contact sent little electric shocks up my arm, and I had to concentrate very hard on keeping my fangs in check.

"Feel that?" he asked.

I was feeling a lot of things, most of which had nothing to do with tire pressure. "Mm-hmm."

"Now try the back tire."

We moved to the rear of the scooter, and I knelt down beside him. This close, I could smell that wonderful scent of motor oil and something uniquely Kamon that made my vampire instincts go haywire.

"This one's a little soft," I said, pressing the valve.

"Good catch. There's an air pump at the gas station across the street. Want me to show you how to use it?"

"Yes! I mean, if you don't mind. If you have time."

"I have time."

We walked across the street together, and for the first time since this whole disaster started, I actually felt like things might be okay. Kamon wasn't asking suspicious questions or looking at me like I was a freak. He was being patient and kind, and I was managing to have a normal conversation.

Maybe I could do this. Maybe I could keep my supernatural secret and still get to know him better.

Maybe I wasn't completely hopeless.

That's when I saw them.

Three guys from the Architecture program were standing near the gas station, and they'd clearly noticed Kamon with me. I couldn't hear what they were saying with my regular human hearing, but their expressions weren't friendly.

"Kamon!" one of them called out. "Who's your friend?"

Kamon's entire demeanor changed. His shoulders tensed, and that careful mask slipped over his face again.

"Just someone from campus," he said quietly.

Just someone from campus. The words hit me like a slap. After everything—the garage visit, the scooter fixing, the tire pressure lesson—I was still just a random person to him.

"She's cute," another guy said with a smirk. "A little young for you, though, don't you think?"

"Leave it alone," Kamon said, his voice tight.

"Come on, man. We're just teasing. It's nice to see you talking to someone who isn't covered in motor oil."

They were treating this like a joke, but I could see how uncomfortable Kamon was. He kept glancing at me like he was worried about what I was thinking, but also like he wanted to disappear.

"We should go," I said quietly.

"Ming—"

"It's fine. I can figure out the air pump myself."

I started walking back toward campus, but Kamon caught up with me.

"Ming, wait. I'm sorry about them."

"It's okay. You don't have to explain."

"Yes, I do." He stopped walking and turned to face me. "They're... it's complicated."

"You don't owe me an explanation. Like you said, I'm just someone from campus."

He winced. "I didn't mean it like that."

"How did you mean it?"

Kamon was quiet for a long moment, those dark eyes studying my face. When he finally spoke, his voice was softer than I'd ever heard it.

"I meant it like someone I don't want them to bother. Someone I actually care about."

My heart stopped. "Oh."

"Yeah. Oh."

We stared at each other, and I felt like the world had suddenly shifted on its axis. Kamon cared about me. Not just as a random student who needed scooter help, but as someone who mattered to him.

"I should probably get back," I said, because standing there looking into his eyes was making my fangs tingle again.

"Right. Of course."

"But maybe... maybe we could do the tire pressure lesson another time?"

His face brightened. "I'd like that."

"Me too."

I walked back to campus with a stupid smile on my face and a heart that was beating way too fast for someone who was technically undead.

Kamon cared about me.

This was either the best thing that had ever happened to me, or the beginning of a supernatural disaster that would ruin everything.

Probably both.

[End of Chapter 5]