It Started With A Vampire

Back To Action

Two days after the final stalker revelation, the world felt... quieter. Safer. For once, Eva could exhale. No looming threats. No anonymous messages. Just the clatter of crew setting up cameras, the muffled shouting of PAs through headsets, and the comforting weight of her script in hand.

Filming had officially resumed.

Eva stood in front of the studio trailer mirrors, Ariana adjusting a loose strand of her hair as MK peeked in from the makeup doorway, holding two coffees.

"You're gonna crush this scene," Ariana said with a grin, handing her the final touch—a shimmering bracelet to match her costume.

Eva smiled, a little unsure. "I feel... weird. Like I've forgotten how to act."

"You literally carried a whole interview last week like a pro," MK chimed in, tossing her one of the coffees. "You've got this."

Outside, the set buzzed with life. Malachi was already in costume, pacing his blocking in the faux graveyard set for the big confrontation scene between his character, Victor, and Nova—Eva's character.

They hadn't been alone since everything unfolded. Since that moment in the hotel room. Since that kiss.

And today, they were filming a recall of one of the first kiss scenes.

Eva stepped out onto set, heart racing faster than it should. The moment her eyes met Malachi's, something shifted. His jaw tensed—nervous. Focused. But not cold.

The director called for first positions.

"Alright, we're going straight into Scene 43," the assistant director said. "Nova finds Victor after he's made the deal. You both know the stakes. This is the emotional peak—we need tension, connection, longing."

Eva swallowed hard.

As the cameras began rolling, she stepped into character.

"You don't get to make choices for both of us!" she shouted, voice cracking, the line coming out more raw than she intended. "You left me behind."

"I made a deal to save your life," Malachi fired back, voice low, intense.

They circled each other. The lines blurring between fiction and reality.

"You didn't save me," she whispered, barely audible. "You broke me."

The moment hung there—and then came the kiss. The one written into the script. But it didn't feel scripted at all.

When the director called cut, there was a pause before anyone moved.

"Okay, wow," he finally said. "That's the best take we've had this week."

Applause rippled through the crew.

Malachi turned to Eva, a quiet look in his eyes. "You good?"

She nodded. "Yeah. Are you?"

"Better now."

They didn't speak more than that. But something had settled between them.

—

Later that night, back at the trailers...

The four of them—Eva, Malachi, Ariana, and MK—collapsed into their familiar evening routine. Ariana and MK were tangled up in a heated Mario Kart tournament while Eva sat curled under a blanket, watching with popcorn.

"Don't think I didn't see you throw that shell at me!" Ariana shrieked.

"I was aiming for the banana!" MK argued.

Malachi plopped beside Eva on the couch, his arm brushing hers. She didn't move away.

"You were amazing today," he said quietly, handing her a water.

"So were you," she replied. "It felt... different today. In a good way."

There was a pause.

"Do you think we can ever go back to normal?" she asked.

Malachi gave her a soft smile. "I don't want normal. I want real. Whatever that means."

She didn't respond—but she didn't look away either.

—

The next morning

The first tabloid headline Eva saw was:
"ZOMBIES 4 BACK IN ACTION – Chemistry Still Off The Charts?"

Underneath was a blurry still of her and Malachi in character, mid-scene, from the scene they'd filmed the day before.

"Already?" she muttered.

Ariana groaned as she joined her at the breakfast bar. "They wasted no time."

"Public's gonna ship you guys all over again," MK said as he entered, hair wild from sleep. "Better get ready."

Eva wasn't sure how to feel—about the headlines, about the way her heart fluttered every time Malachi looked at her like she was more than just a co-star.

But for now, she had scenes to shoot. Lines to deliver. And maybe, just maybe... something real waiting off-camera.