Hunger.
That was all Noah felt right now.
It felt like it would consume him if he didn't deal with it, but nothing was working at this moment.
He had tried cafeteria food, Uder eats, snacks and every single thing that had been considered his favorite just a day ago, only for it to end up being thrown in the trash bin.
His body absolutely hated it and all that he remembered tasting delicious now taste like garbage or maybe incredibly old meat.
Noah suspected one of two reasons for this, either he was pregnant, which he was sure he wasn't…..
Besides, it wasn't biologically possible for him to be pregnant right?
Or it was due to his hangover as Ethan had said, but Noah was sure it wasn't.
So maybe he really was pregnant?
Noah let out a long, tired sigh as he slumped back against the bench outside the cafeteria, staring up at the overcast sky.
"…Yeah, no," he muttered, "definitely not pregnant."
He got off the bench and slowly headed home, since the school day was over and the next day was a weekend, he might as well go get some rest.
Maybe whatever was happening to him would soon pass after a good night's rest.
His walk home was a torturous one, not because of the sunlight, since he seemed to be quickly adapting to it.
The problem was the smell.
Around him was the scent of delicious pastries, overcooked meat and greasy fries, it was a scent that was usually appetizing, but now?
His nose wrinkled in disgust.
It all smelled spoiled.
***
Noah didn't know how, but he reached home without throwing up, which took a lot more effort than he would've liked.
His parents were still not home, so he walked to his room and locked the door before approaching his study desk, pulling out a notepad.
He immediately started jotting down all this weirdness that had been happening to him the entire day and it slowly began to dawn on him.
Heightened senses, discomfort under sunlight, food tasting rotten and the smell of blood.
All this pointed to one thing, and as an avid consumer of all type of media, Noah came to a single conclusion.
He was becoming a vampire.
He looked at the conclusion that he had written at the bottom of the paper for a while before bursting out in laughter.
"As if," he muttered after a while.
Everyone knew that vampires were creatures of fantasy, nothing more. The fact that he thought he was becoming one was absurd.
Yet the laughter didn't last.
It died out awkwardly, leaving the room uncomfortably silent.
Noah stared at the words on the paper again.
I am becoming a vampire.
His smile slowly faded.
"…Okay," he said quietly, "but let's say—hypothetically, I'm wrong."
He grabbed the pen again and underlined the sentence.
"If I'm wrong, then what does explain all this?"
He flipped the page and began listing alternatives.
Food poisoning, Stress,Some rare medical condition, Brain tumor
The last one made him pause.
"…Yeah, no," he muttered, scratching it out. "Not claiming that."
None of the explanations sat right with him.
They all felt like excuses, things he wanted to be true rather than things that actually explained what was happening.
Noah leaned back in his chair, staring at the ceiling.
The hunger gnawed at his stomach again,
He bit his lips in attempt to hold it in before he licked them, only to freeze.
There was a faint metallic taste in his mouth.
If he could see his eyes right now, he would realize that they were slowly taking a red glow.
Noah suddenly smelt something warm to his side and his eyes snapped to the trash bin beside his desk, where earlier he'd thrown away a half-eaten breakfast sandwich his mom had made this morning .
The smell hit him again.
It was definitely not from the bread, nor was it from anything edible within that trash bin, rather, he was sure it was something that was alive.
He could somehow feel it.
His breath grew shallow as his gaze locked onto the bin.
"…That's disgusting," he told himself.
His body didn't seem to agree.
Before he could stop himself, Noah stood up and took a step closer.
Then another.
His fingers trembled as he reached down and lifted the lid.
Squeak.
Noah immediately recoiled, slamming it shut before stumbling back.
"What the hell is wrong with me?!" he let out in surprise, pressing his back against the wall.
At this point, Noah was horrified, he turned towards his monitor that was off and that's when he realized that his eyes were glowing red.
Slowly, he moved forward and realized that it really was him, so he rushed to the bathroom to get a clearer view of his reflection.
"Calm down Noah, " he said to himself as his red eyed self looked back at him, "panicking won't solve anything."
It was easier said than done, as his heart was rapidly pounding within his chest.
The thought that he was becoming a vampire was getting solidified by the second, but it was still a thought that was hard to believe, even when the facts were staring right at him.
He splashed water on his face, making sure that this was not some kind of lucid dream.
Noah straightened slowly and met his own gaze in the mirror, again.
"Alright," he said, forcing steadiness into his voice. "If I'm going crazy, then I want proof."
His eyes narrowed.
"And if I'm not… then I need answers."
There was only one place that he might find some answers,
The bar.
Noah returned to his room, grabbed his hoodie, and pulled it on despite the lingering warmth in the house.
He shoved his phone in his pocket and stepped out of the house again.
At this point, night had already fell, and for some reason, Noah felt comfortable being blanketed by the darkness above him.
With a sigh, he walked down the streets, heading to the bar that was just a few minutes away,
He hoped he find answers to what was happening to him, though, deep down, he already knew.