It Started With A Vampire

Unscripted. Unfiltered. Unbothered

"Of losing you," she whispered. "Of losing everything."

He stepped back, his voice quieter. "Then tell me what you want."

"I want you," she said. "But I need to be smart."

They stood there in silence. The tension thick, the air humming.

"I'll wait," Malachi said finally. "But I won't pretend anymore."

And then he left.

⸻

Online – Later That Night

A new fan campaign had started:

#TeamEvaAndLeo — trending.
#EvaDeservesBetter — exploding on TikTok.
#MKandArianaUnfiltered — gaining traction after a blurry photo of the two holding hands leaked from set.

Eva watched it unfold from her bed, curled under the covers.

And then... Malachi posted.

A single Instagram story.

Just text.

"No more pretending."

⸻

The sun had barely risen when Eva stepped onto set, clutching a lukewarm coffee and trying to shake off the nightmare of yesterday's chaos — the threats, the tension, the way PR had cornered her and Leo in that cold, air-conditioned room and spit out one ultimatum after another.

"Either you two clean up your image our way, or we clean the slate entirely."

Those words echoed in her head as she walked through the studio lot, her steps slow and heavy. But she didn't feel alone. Not anymore.

Inside the soundstage, the air buzzed with quiet tension. Meg and Milo were already waiting for her near the director's tent, arms crossed, eyes sharp. They were furious.

Meg turned the second she saw Eva and pulled her into a hug. "You okay?"

Eva nodded. "No. But I'm here."

"They tried to threaten you and Leo," Milo said, stepping forward. "Without even running it by the directors. They said if you didn't go through with the Jace thing, or if Leo didn't 'play nice' online, they'd consider re-casting both of you to 'mitigate damage.'"

Meg's jaw tightened. "Except they don't get to make that call. Not without us."

"Come on," Milo said, throwing an arm around her shoulder. "Let's talk to them."

The three of them marched to the director's lounge. When they walked in, the energy shifted. Director Shaw looked up from his laptop, while Director Langley set down her notes, already sensing something was off.

"We need to talk," Meg said. "Now."

Within ten minutes, the whole story was on the table — the PR threats, the manipulation, the forced ship storylines, the ultimatum.

Langley's face darkened. "They threatened to fire Eva and Leo? Without so much as a conversation with production?"

Director Shaw was already standing. "That's not just unprofessional. That's sabotage."

"They think they can bully our cast," Meg added, "and twist this film into a cheap marketing stunt. But Eva and Leo are giving everything to their roles. We've seen it firsthand. We won't let them be pawns."

Langley nodded. "You have our support. Completely."

Shaw glanced at Eva. "You're not going anywhere. Neither is Leo. We'll handle PR."

For the first time all day, Eva felt herself breathe again.

—

Later that afternoon, filming resumed. Eva was back in character as Nova, trading lines with Leo under the hot lights and thick fog of the set. And even with everything going on, their chemistry was real — the fire, the emotion, the trust. But off-camera, they were just... friends. Allies.

"I meant what I said," Leo murmured between takes, sitting beside her on the prop rubble. "We've both been chewed up by PR before. But I'm done playing their game."

Eva looked at him. "Me too."

"We don't owe anyone a fake romance," he said. "And we definitely don't owe them our silence."

They bumped fists — a quiet pact sealed between two people who had been through too much, too young.

—

That night, Eva found herself outside Malachi's trailer. The quiet tension between them hadn't gone away, even with everything else taking center stage. If anything, it had grown stronger. He opened the door like he'd been expecting her.

"You okay?" he asked softly, stepping aside to let her in.

"Rough day."

"I heard what happened. Milo told me."

"PR's still coming for us."

"They're not going to win," he said, voice firm. "Not this time."

They sat on the couch, shoulders brushing. For a few moments, silence.

Then Malachi turned to her, eyes burning. "You know... I hated seeing them threaten you like that. I hated knowing you had to walk into that room and fight by yourself."

"I wasn't by myself," she whispered. "I had Meg. Milo. Leo."

He flinched slightly at Leo's name, but didn't say anything. His fingers twitched beside hers.

"And you," Eva added, barely audible.

Malachi exhaled like she'd punched the air from his lungs.

"I wanted to storm that room," he admitted. "I wanted to scream at every single one of them. But all I could think about was — if I make a scene, it'll make things worse for you."

She turned toward him, heart pounding.

"I'm still here," he said, his voice rough. "Even if we can't tell the world... even if it's messy. I'm still yours."

She didn't answer with words. Just leaned her head on his shoulder. And he let her stay there, arms curling around her like she belonged.

Outside, the night rolled on. The world could wait. For now, they had each other — quietly, secretly, and completely.