FSE

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MONDAY

Ezra loved writing. He really liked thinking about all the things he'd put on paper; structuring his thoughts and ideas on a particular topic and following a fixed set of rules to provide a good and instructive read. He found the idea of doing all that really appealing, but it turned out, however, that he simply wasn't quite good at it.

It was Monday. Most people hated Mondays and Ezra could easily see why. It was an easy thing to do: it was what most people did, and as such, it was the perfect example of a convention that people tended to follow mindlessly. But Mondays weren't as bad as people tended to say and the idea that all terrible things happened on Mondays was pure rubbish. Ezra was strictly against hating Mondays, because he thought it was a symptom of collective idiocy. Instead, he hated Fridays.

But it wasn't as if he was enjoying that particular Monday either. He hadn't slept much the previous night – he'd been watching a pretty popular show and later thinking about all the things that didn't work on it and that he might write on a review later. Besides, the finals were getting closer and their teachers didn't seem to care too much about it. They had so many assignments for next week that, if Ezra hadn't been writing the list down on the margins of his calendar, he would have probably forgotten about one or two. And classes that day had been so dry that his head felt as if someone had used it for practice in a whack-a-mole game. But the worst part was that, no matter how much he wanted to get home and slump on bed, he couldn't leave his department yet.

No. He had an appointment with the bat.

Of all the written assignments he had yet to plan and deliver, the review of Blindsight was the one he was having more trouble with. He liked the novel (or at least, what he'd heard from it in the majority of reviews he'd had the chance to watch or read) but he was hopeless when it came to writing stuff like that. Besides, the fact that he had to write a novel review when he was studying computer science was absurd, no matter what silly explanation their teacher might give, and he wasn't feeling particularly enthusiastic. For that reason, he had sought help among his friends, and one of them had specifically redirected him to the bat.

He was a year older, had a difficult name to pronounce and mostly seemed to keep to himself, but people knew him because, at the end of the day, he was the only bat in a department full of humans. Sure, they had a few wolves, tigers and foxes among their students, but those were everywhere. A bat, however, was something much rarer and easier to remember.

Sometimes, when he was a child, Ezra had wished he was a furred creature just like some of his colleagues. That seemed to be a clear distinguishing feature from his point of view, something that one could build their personality upon; something that made you unique. He didn't have that, though, and he'd had to learn with the years that he was just another human. Maybe a bit more rational than most of his peers, but still.

So there he was: waiting for the bat at the old table that stood on his department's hall. Most people were going home after a long day, and the place would soon be empty. Which was, of course, why that was a good place to meet.

Ezra had arrived there ten minutes before four, their meeting time. The bat arrived five minutes later, sooner than expected. That was a good thing for Ezra: it meant that they would probably leave early. The mere thought of finally getting home felt like a promise.

“Hey," he greeted the bat, waving his hand a bit awkwardly after standing up. “Thanks for coming. I'm Ezra, it's nice to meet you."

“Oh! Nice to meet you too. Nyeogmi." The bat walked closer to him and shook his hand. Ezra noticed he had a firm grip – but not too firm. He also thought it would be good if he could just write down the name of the bat, or else he'd probably forget.

Both sat down at opposite ends of the table. After all, it wasn't that large, and it kind of made that meeting feel official, professional.

“So, tell me, Ezra," the bat began, with a smile. “How can I help you?"

Ezra could see the bat from across the table. Now that they were only a few feet apart, the human could understand why people would remember him so easily. It wasn't only the membranous wings – which had flopped softly a few times when he'd sat down – or the grey, almost white fur that covered his whole body and made him stand out in the dark department. It wasn't those big, pinkish ears on his head, where the fur was thinner.

It was the eyes.

Ezra had once heard that many artists made the eyes of their characters bigger because, that way, they looked more appealing. He'd sometimes wondered whether that was true or not, or if it was just some kind of stupid convention. The thing was that, now that he had Nyeogmi in front of him, he had to agree.

The bat's green, deep eyes took a lot of space in his face and made a nice contrast with his white fur and the small, pointy fangs. Ezra wasn't sure how that worked, or why those eyes were so big, or whether all bats were like that – he'd always thought bats were basically blind for starters – but it really made his face look nicer. It was as if all the bad things that one usually associated with bats disappeared right when looking at that face.

Ezra noticed then he'd been staring for too long and that the silence was starting to become a bit uncomfortable. He cleared his throat.

“Oh, right, huh… I wanted you to help me with my Blindsight review. It's due for next Monday and we have so many assignments to write that I'm blocked on that one for some reason. I asked Jeremy if he knew someone who could help me, and he said you could."

“I could," the bat agreed, nodding.

Ezra felt the thread of his thoughts stopping for a second at the possibility of receiving a negative answer.

“Will you?" he asked, perhaps a bit meekly.

“Help you? Of course, that's why I'm here," the bat said, widening his grin. His fangs showed a bit more clearly under his furry muzzle and Ezra relaxed a little. The prospect of writing that essay all by himself was a terrible thing.

He wasn't even sure if he'd be able to do it with Nyeogmi's help, and in fact, he'd been thinking he might let the bat do most of the work…

“Alright, then," he began, opening his notebook and picking a pen. “How do you think I should start the review? I've been thinking that, since it's a sci-fi novel…"

“Have you read the book?" Nyeogmi interrupted him, raising an eyebrow.

That question caught Ezra by surprise, although after considering for a brief moment, he thought it was quite a reasonable thing to ask.

“Well, no, I haven't," he admitted, a bit embarrassed. “But you see, there are so many assignments to do, and there's definitely no time for that. It's a long book and reading it would take me a few days, and writing this essay won't be easy, so that's why instead of reading the book, I thought I could look at some reviews and summaries I found online. I've realized that's been enough for my teachers in the past, though."

“Ah, I see," was all that Nyeogmi said. Ezra had the weird feeling the bat was silently judging him, until he said. “Well, that explains it, then. No surprise you need my help."

“Yeah, that's why," the human said, with a tired sigh. “I know this isn't how I'm supposed to do it, but you know how academic work is. They expect you to do a hundred things in a week, and want you to dedicate a month's time to each of them."

“Yes, you've got a point there," Nyeogmi admitted. Ezra relaxed a bit more; it was nice having someone agree with him on that.

There was a brief silence again. The bat was staring at him with those big green eyes, as if wanting him to continue. Ezra decided to go back to the point he was trying to make before the bat interrupted him.

“So, I'd thought that maybe I could start the review by presenting a few other sci-fi works that I'm familiar with," he said. “And then I could point out the differences between Blindsight and those other works as an introduction or… maybe for most of the review, if it gets interesting."

The bat held his gaze for a few seconds. It was difficult to tell whether he thought that idea was a good one or not and Ezra felt uncomfortable for just a few seconds.

Those green eyes, however, were pleasant to look at. In fact, as silence went by, Ezra had the strange thought that if he'd looked at them for long enough, he would have probably found it difficult to break visual contact afterwards. It was just a thought; he had no idea where it had come from and it was definitely something that he'd never found himself thinking about before but, for just a second, he…

“That's not a bad idea," the bat said, tilting his head. Ezra took a deep breath in as he felt his attention returning back to the novel review he was supposed to write. “However, I think you might be too clear about your intentions if you follow that path. You can do that, but you have to be careful about the reasons why you do it."

“Huh?" Ezra asked, a bit confused. “I'm not sure I understand what you mean."

Nyeogmi smiled.

“If you're going to start by comparing works of fiction, you have to do it because something interesting will come out, not because you don't have any other option. Or at least, try and convince your reader that's why you did it. Reading works pretty much like talking: you might be saying one thing for a reason, but if you don't make it look as if you're saying it for a specific reason – which might or might not be the same – then it probably won't have its intended effect. Are you following me?"

“Uh… yeah," Ezra answered. He would never admit it, but he had got lost in the bat's gaze yet again. It was a pretty color, after all.

“Good! I think I'll let you think about that until tomorrow and then we can meet again," Nyeogmi said as he stood up. “Same time, I'm guessing?"

“Huh, wait, but…" Ezra began. It definitely hadn't been that much time, had it? He picked up his phone and looked at the time.

It was already half past five.

“I… I thought it was still half past four or something like that," he admitted. The bat gave him an amused look. “Guess time flies by when you're working, although we didn't do much."

“I don't know, it felt like a pretty solid hour and a half for me," Nyeogmi answered, with a smile. “And don't worry, Ezra. I'm pretty sure you'll see things much clearer now that we've talked. And that's basically why we met, right?"

“Yeah," the human answered. He couldn't help but smile back. The bat definitely knew how to calm his nerves.

TUESDAY

Ezra would usually feel a bit nervous knowing he hadn't started his review when he was supposed to, but in truth, he'd never felt calmer. It was as if his meeting with the bat had helped him see his assignment with a new perspective: he'd write the review – of course he would – but he wouldn't gain anything by getting carried by his anxiety.

He spent all morning thinking about what the bat had said, but didn't start writing it yet, nor did he feel compelled to. He had the feeling that he could wait until he was with Nyeogmi again, that the bat would help him just like he'd said he would. He could feel a solid trust towards his new acquaintance and when he stopped to think about it, it actually felt a bit weird. However, there was nothing wrong with trusting someone that wanted to help him, so Ezra quickly dismissed his worries and decided he would simply wait.

Things were going to be alright and there was no need to rush. The bat had really made a good impression on him, after all.

On their second meeting, it was Nyeogmi who had to wait for him. Ezra's last lesson finished a bit later than it was supposed to, so he ended up walking hurriedly towards the table where they had met the day before.

“Oh, hey!" the bat said, once he saw him coming. He had a big smile and his green eyes sparkled just as beautifully as Ezra remembered. “I already thought you weren't coming."

“Sorry! Teacher kept us for too long. He wouldn't let us go!"

“Mhm, yeah. That happens quite often in this place." The gentle tone in his voice made it sound as if he truly didn't mind his delay and Ezra relaxed a little as he sat down. The last thing he wanted was to bother someone that wanted to help him. “How have you been? Have you been thinking about the assignment and what I told you yesterday?"

“Sure!" Ezra said, smiling back at the bat.

“Oh, cool. And what were you thinking?" Nyeogmi asked, softly.

“Nothing."

The answer came so quickly and naturally to his lips that Ezra almost felt a bit surprised at first. He was used to being that sincere with people he'd met – or online – but saying something that could potentially embarrass him in front of someone he'd just met was a bit beyond the line of what he'd usually do.

“You don't seem very worried, though!" the bat noted, making him leave those thoughts behind.

“I'm not," he said, shrugging. “I mean, we still have a week to sort this out, right? It's not as if I needed to write all the assignment for today."

“I hope so! If you had to, my help here wouldn't be needed. You'd already be lost."

Both chuckled a bit at those words. When Ezra raised his gaze again, he met those big, green eyes almost without meaning to. They took so much place in the bat's face that it was simply difficult to not to see them.

“But it feels nice, doesn't it?" the bat asked then. “Not needing to worry about that. You'd probably be much more anxious if you had a closer deadline, but since you don't have it, you can easily relax a bit. Sometimes, the fact that things are not as bad as they could be helps us feel calmer. I bet you feel like that, too."

“Yeah," Ezra sighed.

“And the good thing is that since you don't need that done now, there's nothing wrong with not thinking about it. When things don't worry you – when they're not urgent – you can simply allow yourself to forget about them for a while. There'll be time for you to come back to them and being calm in the meantime will definitely help you. Right?"

Ezra nodded. There was nothing weird about the bat's voice. In fact, his voice sounded absolutely natural and normal, just the usual tone he'd been talking to him since they'd known each other. It was easy to stare at those eyes, though. There was a part of Ezra's mind that thought he'd probably look ridiculous after looking so intently into those eyes, but then again, that wasn't urgent and he could forget about…

“Right. So tell me again, what were you thinking yesterday?"

“Oh, nothing." Ezra admitted, one more time. He felt as if the world had been blurred for a second and had just come back to normal. “I like bats."

There was a long, uncomfortable silence. Ezra wished those words had only been a thought in his head and had never actually left his mouth.

“Oh, do you?" Nyeogmi said, though. He looked amused. “Cool!"

“I-I mean, you don't usually see bats around here!" the human argued, trying to regain some composure. “You're not the most common species and I like it when I see unusual things. Besides, it's not as if you were just some other canine or feline… Bats are different."

“I see," Nyeogmi said, grinning. “But you like bats, don't you?"

“I like bats."

The first time had been embarrassing, but the second one Ezra felt a growing need to punch himself for being so socially awkward.

“Huh, sorry…" was all he managed to mumble, as he turned his gaze to his notebook and tried to hide his face from the bat's potentially judgmental expression.

“No need to apologize! I mean, there's nothing weird about liking bats. Bats are cool. I bet many people like them but don't dare admit it."

Ezra knew Nyeogmi's words had the only purpose of making him feel a bit better… and to some extent, they did. He still felt embarrassed, though.

Why had he said that? To begin with, it wasn't actually true that he liked bats. But if it wasn't, why had he said so twice? Ezra remembered reading somewhere that some people are unsure whether they like something or not until they worded it. Had that very thing happened to him?

“Yeah, you might be right," he ended saying. He wasn't sure if he could say much more.

“Anyway, I understand if you're too flustered to continue now, so we can leave it for tomorrow if you want," the bat said, standing up. He stretched his wings for a few seconds before looking at his wristwatch. “Oh, well. It's our time to leave, too."

This time Ezra didn't even realize that time seemed to have gone much faster than he thought, just like last time. Maybe because after what had happened the previous day he didn't find it that surprising anymore – or maybe because of the fact that he didn't want to embarrass himself in front of Nyeogmi one more time – he agreed that an hour and a half of his life had vanished just like that.

He didn't really think about it for a long while. It only occurred to him later, when he was already in bed and had been working on different assignments that he was due for the next days, that it was actually pretty weird that time seemed to fly when the bat was near him. The fact that he had so casually admitted that he liked bats, whether that was true or not, was something he would never have done under normal circumstances.

What was going on?

Be careful, Ezra, he thought, remembering the bat's green eyes. Maybe he's hypnotizing you. He had to laugh at his own occurrence, although the slightly appealing suspicion was already there, planted on the back of his mind.

After reminding himself a few times that his life wasn't a fantasy novel or one of those weird short stories that people commissioned on obscure furry forums, he decided it was time to get some sleep.

WEDNESDAY

For most of the following day, Ezra forgot he was supposed to write an essay on Blindsight. He obviously remembered he had to meet with the bat, though. At four, as usual, in the same place. But for some reason it just felt as if the reason why he was meeting Nyeogmi had faded a bit in his mind and the idea that they were simply meeting for no reason at all seemed to have replaced it.

That wasn't weird at all. He liked bats – he was certain that was true at that point, or why would he have said that to Nyeogmi the previous day? – and the one he was meeting with was particularly cute, from his point of view. He had probably denied it for a while and having the bat student in front of him had finally made him realize just how much he liked them.

He only remembered about Blindsight when one of his colleagues asked him how he was doing with the assignment; and even then, he only dedicated a few thoughts to the essay and then just moved away. It seemed to be of no importance at all, no matter what their teacher had told them a few days ago.

Besides, his mind was really focused on meeting the bat again. He usually felt himself filled with tension and all kinds of intrusive thoughts and, for some reason, that seemed to fade away whenever he was with the bat. He liked how he managed to make him feel calmer.

“Good afternoon," Nyeogmi greeted him when the time finally came and they were both sitting across the table. “Did you sleep well tonight?"

“Oh, yeah! I really did," Ezra replied. He'd been feeling good-humored the whole day and having the bat in front of him actually made him feel happier. Those fascinating eyes full of green already helped ease his nerves and his new friend's gentle smile, little fangs included, had never seemed cuter.

“Good! I'm glad to know you're feeling better," Nyeogmi said, casually. “It's nice to see you're so optimistic today. Can you remind me again why we've met, by the way?"

“Because I like bats," Ezra replied.

This time the answer was more natural than was automatic, and there was little space for doubt once the words escaped his mouth.

“Sorry if I was weird about it yesterday," the human continued. “I had never told anyone about that. I'm not even sure if I knew!"

“That's perfectly comprehensible," Nyeogmi said. Ezra could tell his cute smile had widened a bit. Those eyes were sparkling with amusement, and for a second, he had the weirdest feeling that wasn't the only time they had been sparkling. “Anyway, I'm glad to know you like bats! You should know I'm a vampire bat, though. Maybe that gives you second thoughts?"

Ezra thought about it for a second.

“Not really," he replied, finally. “I mean, that sounds pretty exciting. And I'm pretty sure you're not going to do any weird stuff like taking me to your chamber and sucking my blood, aren't you?"

Nyeogmi chuckled and the human felt his attention drawn towards those big eyes. They were more beautiful than anything he'd seen before and then…

Ezra slowly wiped off the drool from his chin.

“Pardon, what were you saying?" the bat asked, with the same cute smile. Those words brought Ezra back to the conversation, and he realized he hadn't really been paying attention.

“Huh. I'm… not sure," he answered, feeling a bit embarrassed. He decided to try something to hide his clumsy mistake, though. “Did we both just forget what we were talking about? I hate when that happens."

“I bet you do," Nyeogmi said, tilting his head. One of his slightly furred ears twitched almost imperceptibly. “But I think you were telling me about how much you like vampire bats and how you're curious about what it feels like to have your blood sucked."

Ezra bit his lip, feeling a bit silly. That was right. How could he have forgotten something so specific?

“Yeah, it must be a pretty weird feeling," Ezra noted. Then he did something he did quite often when he was talking about something completely unknown to him: he tried to link it to something he might know about. “I mean, I bet it's not that different from donating blood, right? Even though your blood is coming out, you probably don't notice it at all."

“Oh, I'd say it's not the same at all," the bat said, pointing at his fangs with one of his fingers. “I mean, these would be deep into your neck and you'd definitely feel the suction. It's not the same as a needle, although they might seem to work in a similar fashion."

“I see," Ezra said.

He had a weird thought then: why were they talking about that? He had gone there and met with the bat to do something else, hadn't he? The human tried to follow that thread for a second, but it seemed difficult to reach and, for some reason, his mind was feeling kind of lazy, so he wasn't sure whether he wanted to find the answer or not.

“I can see you're thinking," the bat said then, his eyes glowing softly. Their color caught Ezra's attention once again and he had to contain the urge to let out a pleasured sigh. “But I think it might be better if you just…"

The rest of the sentence trailed off somewhere. Probably the same place the thought about having that weird conversation had gone to: somewhere Ezra didn't want to reach it anymore. There was something good, some kind of floaty feeling when he wasn't trying to reach those things.

“Yesss…" he heard himself say. When he realized the strange drowsy tone, he cleared his throat and tried again. “Yes. Huh."

“Yes to what?" Nyeogmi asked, grinning widely.

“To what you were saying," Ezra replied. That was obvious, wasn't it?

“And what was that?" The bat leaned forward a bit, his pink nose and little, pointy fangs fully visible now. His green eyes were also there, of course, but those were always visible.

“I want you to suck my blood," Ezra replied.

If there was something weird about saying that, his mind didn't register it. In fact, it almost felt a bit liberating. Might it have been the same as his passion for bats? Maybe he had been hiding it for too long? Ezra wasn't fully sure at that point. Thinking felt a bit foggy and confusing, as if someone had been dragging him up and down and he didn't fully know where he was anymore.

“That's a very bold proposition," Nyeogmi said, giving the human a charming half-smile. “And you should know it's not in my power to refuse. Are you sure about that?"

“Yeah, I think so." In fact, Ezra wasn't fully sure about it, but thinking about whether he was sure or not was too much effort and he was not willing to take it.

“Well. There's no turning back then." The bat said. His smile went a bit wider before he stood up and, for a second, Ezra thought he was about to do it.

He immediately thought about what it'd feel like and a shiver went down his spine. Was he really going to do that right there?

“But you see…" The bat stopped halfway, licking one of his fangs teasingly. “The thing is that it's almost half past seven and we should have gone home by now. I think we should leave this for another time, if you don't mind. Don't worry, though. I bet the experience will be just as pleasing as you anticipate."

“I… I guess so," Ezra said. His thoughts still felt as if he was in some kind of a haze.

“I won't be able to meet you tomorrow," Nyeogmi said. “I have… things to do. You don't mind waiting until Friday, do you?"

Ezra could feel the urge even then, building inside him. The weird desire he hadn't even known he had until that very afternoon was stronger than he would have thought possible, but he didn't find that weird. People sometimes didn't know what they liked until they had it in front of them, a part of his mind told him with the same tone someone would use to explain something really simple to a silly child.

He really wanted to know what having his blood sucked by the vampire bat felt like. He knew he wouldn't be able to wait until Friday.

“Yeah, sure, no problem," was all he managed to say, as he felt those big, deep eyes staring right at him. “I'll see you on Friday."

“Of course! See you, Ezra."

And with that, Nyeogmi simply walked to the exit door and left the building.

The human still remained in that chair for a few seconds, as if he was trying to understand what had happened – although, after a while, he realized he understood perfectly well.

He had met the bat. He had admitted he was curious about having his blood sucked. Nyeogmi had agreed to let him try that with him. It was pretty simple, actually. Why would he ever have any doubts about it?

However, his mind still felt a bit dizzy and malleable, and it felt like that until he simply collapsed on bed that night and closed his eyes, drifting into a deep, pleasurable sleep.

He had a dream that night and he could only see the bat, staring at him as everything stopped and those magical eyes seemed to swirl…

THURSDAY

When he woke up next day, his mind was much clearer.

He stood up, had breakfast and took a shower with the usual slowness of a long night of sleep. He had the weird sensation he'd been dreaming about something important, but he simply couldn't remember. A part of him was positive there wasn't anything to worry about: most people forgot their dreams as soon as they woke up. He even remembered that happening to him a few times in the past.

But there was something bugging him.

He only had two hours of class on Thursdays, and it became apparent to him he was simply going to skip them. Ezra's theory on those particular classes was that the teacher didn't seem happy with his job and, as a consequence, most of the students weren't either. He didn't go to the university to waste his time. Besides, he had plenty of stuff to do at home, so he couldn't waste time on going to classes he really wasn't interested in.

However, he didn't do much at home. He'd had the thought of working on all his assignments, but when he tried to do that he just opened the files on his computer and stared at them for what felt like hours. He would close them and come back after a few minutes of doing nothing, again and again. After a while, he realized he was just doing that in order to distract himself from the real question he had in mind.

Why did time go so fast when he was around the bat?

It had happened many times now. Three? Yeah, three. Right? Why did it feel as if they'd been talking for a few minutes when in fact they'd been trying to work for an hour and a half?

And what were they supposed to be working on?

I like him, though, Ezra admitted.

That was a strange thought. Not because it wasn't true – of course it was – but because it had come to him almost too easily. Most of Ezra's own opinions were vague and volatile, even though the way he verbalized them might make them seem much stronger than they actually were. Thinking about his opinions was always a fuss, no matter how clearly he might defend them.

So then, why?

There was a possibility Ezra had been thinking about for a while, but he truly didn't want to admit it. Partly because it would mean he'd been entertaining an irrational, fantastic theory – which was of course something no one should do – and partly because he might find he liked it. He didn't want to think about it, and still…

… maybe he's really been hypnotizing me?

That possibility seemed absurd. Not because he would have probably known about it, which Ezra wasn't too sure about, but because of how little advantage the bat had taken of him if that was the case. If Ezra had hypnotized someone, he would have probably forced them to do pretty wild stuff… not worked with them on boring academic stuff. In the end, all Nyeogmi seemed to have managed was to make him feel comfortable enough for him to admit his interest in bats and his curiosity to try the blood-sucking thing. That wasn't a big deal.

Maybe he was simply trying to be his friend? That seemed like an option, but why would anyone want to be his friend in the first place? He wasn't particularly popular. Nyeogmi, on the other hand, could have chosen anyone to hang out with.

He skipped the following thoughts as they might have been too depressing and he was feeling good that day, for a change.

So, if the bat was really hypnotizing him, how was he doing it?

The eyes, Ezra thought immediately. Of course! How could he have ignored that for so long? A shiver went down his spine when he remembered them. Those big, bright eyes had to be the answer. He couldn't look away whenever he was in front of them and they seemed to draw his attention even deeper into the bat's discourse.

He turned to his computer and quickly began searching for “vampire bats" on the internet. A lot of pictures appeared on his screen, mostly of bats that looked a lot like Nyeogmi did, but there wasn't anything about them having hypnotic powers. They all had big eyes, though. A flash of Nyeogmi's green eyes made the human feel a bit floaty, but he shook his head and kept looking. He tried adding “hypnosis" to his search and a few erotic stories and pictures popped up on his search. He closed the window, a bit disappointed, and decided it was time for lunch.

As he ate slowly, he thought that maybe he was imagining it. Sure, the bat had huge eyes and they were beautiful to stare at, but that didn't necessarily mean he had hypnotic powers, right? But then, he thought, again, why would I admit I like bats so easily? It doesn't make sense.

Ezra washed the dishes in silence, still giving it some thought. He had only met the bat for a few days and he had already shared some of his deep secrets with him. Secrets that would definitely damage his reputation should they become public, and secrets that he had kept secret specifically for that reason. So, if Nyeogmi wasn't hypnotizing him, why?

Maybe I just want him to suck my blood that bad.

He quickly got rid of that thought.

Maybe I just like being hypnotized, replaced it.

Ezra let out a long sigh as he tried to escape those intrusive thoughts in vain. He hadn't really thought about that, but… Maybe he was simply pushing his own fantasies into Nyeogmi? He felt bad for a few seconds. If the bat knew what he'd been thinking, he'd probably get angry… and Ezra didn't want one of the few people he talked to getting angry with him, although he wouldn't easily admit it.

He had to apologize, he thought. Or at least, try to get rid of all those strange thoughts that had been interrupting his regular thread of rational, analytic thought lately. He had to go back to normal.

For the most part of the remaining day, Ezra tried hard not to think about the bat. He played some videogames and watched a few shows. He even tried writing some of his assignments, to no avail. When it became apparent that he simply couldn't ignore his obsession for bats, he stopped trying to distract himself and decided to plunge right into it until his thirst was sated.

He spent the rest of the evening searching for pictures of vampire bats, obsessively. He loved looking at them and their big, perfect, hypnotic eyes. At some point he started fantasizing and he just couldn't stop. He imagined all those bats using their power to hypnotize and control him. He wondered how it'd feel to have his blood sucked, to feel those sharp fangs sinking in his helpless neck. The thought reminded him of the conversation he and Nyeogmi had held the previous day and he suddenly felt much more excited. I might find out soon, he thought.

But the need felt too insistent, too intense to resist. He tried to picture himself with his bat friend, being deeply hypnotized and then having his blood sucked. He could feel his heart beating faster, his mouth getting dry…

A rush of guilt came back to him when he remembered again that he wasn't supposed to push his fantasies into Nyeogmi. What would he think if he knew? He turned his computer off.

Then, he walked to bed. He tried to sleep for a long, long time, and when he did, he dreamt of green eyes.

FRIDAY

The classes on the last day of the week took place amidst some sort of a haze. Ezra was of course aware of what was going on and he would answer correctly when asked, but it felt as if that was only a part of him. A different, hidden part of his mind was still thinking about the bat even though he didn't want to; thinking about his green eyes and all that they could mean, about the silly theory he'd made up, and his green eyes, and about how he had to apologize for thinking that way of the bat, and his green eyes. It was as if he was very, very far from there, yet at the same time very close. The real Ezra was just watching a very believable interpretation of his persona performing right in front of him, and it was an impeccable performance, but he was focusing more on other things, even though with all the hassle of the play going on it was difficult to know for sure what it was.

When he arrived at the table at four, he still felt as if he was in some kind of a dream. Nyeogmi was already there, waiting for him patiently, and the bat gave him a long look once he got to their meeting place. They both remained silent for a few seconds and then Ezra remembered his theories from the previous day. He blushed a bit, knowing that if the bat knew he would give a pretty bad impression.

“So, it's finally Friday," he said, trying to get rid of the weird tension that he felt building around. Why was he feeling so embarrassed anyway? “Do you have any plans for tonight?"

He shouldn't have asked that, but he did anyway. Hadn't they come there to discuss something important? Ezra had the feeling he was forgetting a relevant thing, but he just couldn't put his finger on what exactly it was. He glanced at the bat, fearing that the weird question would be badly received, but Nyeogmi just smiled. His green eyes twinkled.

“I do," he answered, simply. “And you know about them already!"

Ezra had to think about it for a few seconds. There was something wrong with those words, but he also knew they were true.

“I… think I don't understand," he began.

Nyeogmi tilted his head.

“Oh, but you do. You know perfectly well what's been going on all these days. Isn't that why you wanted to apologize?"

“Yeah!" How could he have forgotten about that? Silly Ezra, he told himself. “I'm sorry I thought you were hypnotizing me. I shouldn't have been suspicious of you."

“But I was hypnotizing you, right?" Nyeogmi's voice was calm and natural, as if he was simply stating a fact.

“Yeah, you definitely were!"

There was again that feeling that he was saying things as they came to his mind, but Ezra couldn't quite identify it until it was too late and he had already said that. It was weird, though. So weird that he felt confused.

“So, why are you apologizing then?"

“Huh…" he said, trying to remember what his reasoning for that had been exactly. “I…"

“I was hypnotizing you, right?"

“Yeah, you were." Ezra rubbed his temple, looking down.

“So there's no reason why you should apologize about thinking I was since that was actually happening and you had no choice but follow, right?"

“Uh-huh…"

The human could feel the logic of the conversation slipping somewhere else, but he couldn't go there for some reason.

“What are my plans for tonight?" Nyeogmi asked then.

Ezra knew the answer. He didn't want to say it for some reason; but then again, he really wanted to say it.

“You're going to drink my blood," he replied.

“That's right. And you want that, right?"

“Yeah."

He knew that was true as soon as he said so.

“Why don't you look into my eyes then, Ezra?"

Ezra did.

He let himself get lost into those deep, swirly green eyes as he felt a sigh escaping his throat. Had they ever been swirling before? Ezra didn't remember then doing so, but then again, he perfectly remembered then doing so. Staring into those eyes felt so good that it was getting difficult to tell for sure which memories were real and which weren't.

He was feeling so floaty and safe and comfortable and then he was following the bat somewhere. They got into his car and he drove home and then they got there, and Ezra felt as if time wasn't particularly important and it was just dripping to a different place through his fingertips. He didn't need to stare into those eyes again because the green was already in his mind. He just had to follow the bat and do as he told, and feel perfectly calm, and be all sleepy and warm, and sleepy.

He was going upstairs somewhere as he followed Nyeogmi, the dimly lit hall they had walked into barely visible in the twilight. When they reached the bat's room he said something about waiting for the night, and even though Ezra wasn't sure he understood what he meant, he suddenly couldn't move a muscle.

But it felt so good. He stood like that, frozen in the same position, absolutely paralyzed and unable to move. His body wasn't the only thing that was stuck in place, but his mind, too, couldn't escape from the vision of the green, of those eyes, of that deep gaze staring right into the corners of his soul he kept to himself and making him feel so good. Even though the eyes weren't there, they were there. Keeping him in place, making sure he wouldn't get away. He didn't want to get away.

He just wanted to stare into the green. He just wanted to…

Nyeogmi came back, if he ever left, and talked some words into his mind, and Ezra nodded absentmindedly. The orange light from outside was beginning to melt into the sky, much like his thoughts and resistance had melted into the green. It was getting darker. The bat said so. It was important, for some reason. Ezra didn't know. But Nyeogmi looked into his eyes again and then he didn't need to know.

He followed the bat somewhere else, in some kind of sleepwalking dream. It was difficult to move, but he did so because he was supposed to. They reached a chamber that looked like a living room, and then the fog in his mind seemed to clear a little. He blinked a few times, trying to go back to awareness again. How long had it been?

Nyeogmi stood in front of him.

“Are you scared?" the bat asked, then.

The flames from the living room's fireplace made his white, pointy fangs glint in the darkness.

“Yeah," he said, gulping a bit. He could move, but he didn't feel like running away, though. “I think I am."

“Why?" Nyeogmi asked, tilting his head. Those green eyes sparkled with interest. Even then, Ezra thought, he looked cute.

“Because you're going to suck my blood," he answered, with a shiver.

“And do you want that?"

Ezra closed his eyes, only to open them after a second.

“I think so," he said. “But I can't know if you've hypnotized me into that."

Nyeogmi smiled.

Then Ezra took a step closer to the bat. Whether that was a conscious, willing move, he couldn't know for sure.

“You seem really eager," Nyeogmi noted.

Ezra nodded. His body was shaking a bit, due to either fear, excitement, or both.

He could see the bat's pink muzzle getting closer, those big eyes looking at him with hunger and interest as the distance between their bodies reduced.

“I want to hear you say it," Nyeogmi said.

It didn't feel like a command, but for all Ezra knew, it could have perfectly been one. He couldn't know. He wasn't supposed to know.

“I want you to suck my blood," he whispered, as a new shiver went down his spine.

Nyeogmi nodded. He looked satisfied.

Then he opened his mouth and Ezra could momentarily see those white, little fangs flashing with the firelight before they disappeared from his field of vision. There was a sharp, brief pain in his neck that quickly faded into a different thing, like some kind of discomfort. Ezra gasped and felt a rush of adrenaline going through his body, but then the bat enclosed him with his wings and he felt much calmer, much safer, much warmer.

The uncomfortable feeling quickly faded away as he began to hear what seemed like a gurgling sound. It was getting darker, or maybe it was already night. Ezra wasn't sure. He only felt his mind getting more and more tired with every passing second, and the touch of those wings around his body, holding him gently, getting more and more pleasing. The human completely gave into the feeling and let his body rest against the bat, as a soft sigh escaped his throat.

He was so small. He was so powerless.

He could feel the blood being suck out of his body, everything getting darker and warmer, and fuzzy and heavy. Had he wanted that to happen? He didn't know, but he felt… happy.

He felt happy as what felt like the last drops of blood escaped left his body and his mind sank into the deep, unknown darkness where the only thing fully visible were those big, green…

Ezra woke up in the middle of the night.

It took him a few seconds to understand what had happened, and he had to make an effort to regain his breath. His mind felt wonderfully confused for a few seconds, and then he tried to put some order in his thoughts.

It seemed as if he had gone through some kind of nightmare, but then again, he wasn't sure if it had actually been a dream. He felt terrified, and at the same time, he felt very pleased. He took a sip of water from the glass he kept on his nightstand. The cold liquid going down his throat gave him some memories of what that wonderful nightmare slash terrible dream might have been about.

Ezra sighed and then looked at his wristwatch. It was three in the morning and he had a lot of assignments to write in the next few days. The human decided it would be better if he just tried to get some sleep.

He placed the glass back on his nightstand. If only he'd had the eyes of a wolf, or those of any other species adapted to night, he might have noticed there were a few bound sheets right next to the spot where he left the glass. The front page read Blindsight review: a comparative approach, and there was a note stuck on top of it.

_ _

Hey! Thanks for letting me help you. Don't worry about the payment, everything's been sorted out. And it's okay if you don't remember what we did in detail. It was pretty boring! You just need to know working with you was a delicious experience.

Warm regards from your bat friend,

_Nyeogmi. _