It Started With A Vampire

Unscripted. Unfiltered. Unbothered

The next morning, Eva woke up to a video already going viral — one she hadn't posted.

It was a quick compilation of her and Leo: behind-the-scenes clips, goofy TikTok attempts, her showing him a new dance step in a rehearsal room. No flirting, no edits. Just two friends — raw and real.

It was captioned:

"Actors first. Friends always. #LetThemBe #Zombies4Family"

It wasn't on her account.

It was on Meg's.

And it had five million views in under three hours.

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Production Lot

Ariana strutted onto set with a custom T-shirt that read:

"I heart REAL chemistry 💥💋"

MK followed behind with a black hoodie that had "Unscripted. Unfiltered. Unbothered." printed in big red letters.

Crew whispered. PR scrambled.

Malachi just smirked when he saw them and muttered, "Legends."

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Eva's Trailer

"Why didn't you tell me Meg was posting that?" Eva asked Ariana, pacing.

"Because you'd have told her not to," Ariana said simply.

Eva froze.

Ariana folded her arms. "You and Leo have done nothing wrong. If the public sees that, they can't spin it anymore."

Eva sighed. "They'll try."

"Then let them. We fight with truth. And if they come for you again—" Ariana's eyes flared, "they come for all of us."

A quiet knock interrupted them. Ariana opened the door — Malachi.

"Hey," he said to Eva. "Can we talk?"

⸻

Malachi stepped in, closing the door behind him As Meg and Ariana gave Eva a reassuring look then left.

He looked tired. Like he'd been up all night thinking. Or pacing. Or both.

"Is this about the video?" Eva asked gently.

"No," he said. "It's about us."

Her heart skipped.

He stepped closer, not touching her yet, just being near. His voice was low, rough. "I've been trying so hard to play by the rules. To be patient. To protect you."

She looked up at him.

"But I'm tired of hiding."

And then he kissed her.

It wasn't soft.

It wasn't cautious.

It was everything he'd been holding back. His hand found the side of her face, pulling her in as her fingers curled into his shirt. It was heat and longing and fear and something that felt terrifyingly close to love.

For a second, she kissed him back. Completely.

But when his hand slid to her waist and the kiss deepened, Eva pulled away — fast.

"Malachi," she breathed, stepping back. "You can't—"

He froze, regret flashing across his face. "I'm sorry—"

"No," she said, shaking her head. "I kissed you too. But we can't— not like this. Not when everything is already falling apart."

He stared at her, eyes stormy. "You're scared."