Chapter 16- Talking To The Duo (Part 1)
"She's…" Elio muttered as he facepalmed. "Why would she even do this? I can't accept such a huge sum of money."
But then again, Elio knew Fiona had more money than she could ever spend. Her family is worth trillions of dollars, so this was probably less than pocket change for her. Sighing, Elio opened the door and walked in.
"She even got my number and my bank account number. This is ridiculous. What more does she know?"
Elio was certain Fiona knew things about him that even he probably didn't know. She somehow had access to such information, even though it's supposed to be something only the government knows, so this only further proved to him that the Vaylors are a behemoth of a clan.
Getting his clothes off and changing into more comfortable ones, Elio finally threw himself on the bed with his face buried in the pillow. 'I'm so tired… This was easily the longest day of my life.'
Never in his life had he experienced anything remotely close to what he experienced today. He learned about a whole new world he never knew existed, he learned about Fiona Vaylor and saw her infamous estate, he was also presented with a life-changing opportunity, and he had to somehow accept all of it and understand it.
'This truly feels like a fever dream. Is it a dream, perhaps? Would I awake to my normal life when I close my eyes.' He mused to himself. 'I don't know why… But when I think about it like that, I feel… disappointed.'
Sure, Elio was exhausted, and he felt like his brain was going to explode from thinking. But today, for the very first time in his life, he truly felt like he experienced something. It wasn't the same monotonous and robotic days he had lived for the past few years. He felt like he truly lived something… He had seen something, learned something, and done something that he didn't do before.
He had forgotten how it truly felt to live life. He had forgotten the feeling of being a person with different experiences every single day.
It felt oddly nice. So much so that deep down, Elio didn't want this to be a mere dream his mind conjured. He wanted this to be real, and he wanted to experience it tomorrow too, even if he turned the offer down.
'Turned the offer down… Huh?' He muttered as his eyes started closing slowly and he began drifting into deep sleep.
That night, Elio had the usual nightmare he always experiences. However, for some reason, that night… It was way more vivid than usual. So much so that when he woke up, he was screaming at the top of his lungs.
***
"Good morning~ Did you watch the episode last night?"
"No, I literally slept so early. Don't tell me what happened."
*RING* *RING*
The class bell rang as all the students walked into the class. Elio sat in his usual seat, his eyes dark and large dark bags under them. He looked like he was about to kill someone with his glare, and it made people stay away from him even more than before.
'I didn't sleep at all last night… That damned dream ruined my entire night.' He rubbed his temples as he looked down. 'I was already exhausted last night, and I barely got any sleep… Ugh, I want to kill someone. But why was the dream so vivid last night? I swear it felt like ten times more realistic… Was it because of everything I experienced the past two days?'
He was confused, and the lingering fear was still there. However, Elio didn't let it bother him too much, as this was something he had lived with for almost his entire life.
At that moment, a familiar person walked into the classroom. Fiona had arrived as usual and passed beside him. He gave her a glance, and for a second, he saw that her eyes stared at him secretly.
'... This is the first time she actually stared at me. It is so odd to think about it. I know her personally… If you told me this would happen two days ago, I would've thought you were spouting nonsense.'
However, Elio had gotten the opportunity to think about everything due to his lack of sleep. He was able to contemplate his life, what Fiona and Melissa said. Weirdly enough, the choice wasn't as hard as he expected.
He was at peace with it, and for some reason, all the fear he felt from choosing was gone now.
'I have… oddly done something I thought I would never do. I always thought I was not courageous enough to actually choose something for myself. I… I think this is the right thing. I don't want to live this life anymore. I want to live for myself. I'm sorry, Grandma, I will take care of myself, and I will give you the life you deserve.'
Perhaps Elio was truly meant to do this… To be a Vampire Hunter. His powers weren't for naught.
'Maybe this would be the first thing I'm actually good at.' He mused to himself as he clenched his fists.
Then, he instinctively stared up at Fiona. He had to tell her his choice now. Perhaps that will make her delighted.
'She had helped me a lot. I want to try and repay her for what she did for me. I don't know what I can even do, but I will definitely repay her!'
With that determination, the class finally began, and Elio focused again. He decided to talk to Fiona later during lunch break, where the two could be alone, and rumors wouldn't spread. Even if he wanted to change his life, he didn't intend to become a celebrity for the wrong reasons.
He would rather everything remain a secret and something he keeps to himself until he is capable enough for others to know.
The first lesson passed quietly, then the second one soon after, and the bell rang. Elio immediately stood up and stared at Fiona. He didn't know how he was going to catch her attention, so he simply assumed that she would come to him where he eats his lunch.
'Mmmm, I need to buy lunch now…' Walking to the vending machine, he was about to get the same stuff he usually gets, only for him to realize.
'Wait, I have 10k in my account…' He gulped. 'Would it be fine to just get what I want?'
Staring at the expensive items, he felt his greed take over him. 'I need to save this money though…'
After much contemplation, Elio decided to get something a bit more expensive than usual before he walked away to his favorite seat.
'I will send my grandmother some money too. I'm sure she will chew my ear if I send her too much.'
Sitting down, Elio put his food aside and waited. A few minutes passed with no sign of Fiona.
'Hmmm, maybe she didn't realize I wanted to talk to her?' He asked himself as he checked the time. 'Well, that's no problem, I will tell her lat-'
"Woah, so that's the guy? No way… He doesn't look like the greatest talent this world has ever seen…"
Suddenly, he heard a voice behind him that made him leap out of his seat.
"What?!"