Vampires didn’t need to exercise, but Sana was working out. It was her favourite outlet, but she hadn’t needed it for the past few weeks. Now there was tension she had to relieve, time she needed to spend. Her head still hurt from yesterday. Her face flushed every time she remembered what she’d felt. She had seen exactly what she was feeling, no ambiguity. It had all been there—quite literally—in the palm of her hand and it had been too much. Minutes had gone by in the span of seconds. Dahyun had said time blurs when you experience emotions. Maybe that was why none of them had known how long she was there. 

Momo had experienced that too. Momo had her own block of purple devoted to the girl. How could they both feel this for one person? How could Sana accept that fact so easily? What was supposed to happen now that both knew the other had heaps of purple in store for one fairy? And that fairy was all too aware of those emotions?

Her phone buzzed. Jennie. Sana still hadn’t broken up with her. It wasn’t the longest relationship she’d had, definitely not, but this might have been one of the most shallow. On Sana’s part at least. She didn’t know why she hadn’t called things off yet. It either left her mind or she dismissed it for later. It was wrong. She knew that. At least. 

Free this weekend? 

Sana stopped jogging. 

Yep! Any plans?

What was she hoping for? A fancy dinner? 

Not yet. Was thinking we meet at my place and go from there. 

No one came to their house. Most of the people Sana had been with though it was because she didn’t want to make things awkward. It was more because they couldn’t risk anyone stumbling upon stocks of blood, or exploring the library. Old friends were invited over when they were in the area, as well as one fairy. The only humans who’d ever been here were maintenance workers. 

Perfect. 

She put her phone away. Then she started running. 

“Hey,” someone said. Momo. 

She’d seen the emotions too. Sana’s emotions. It wasn’t that she felt ashamed, but something like it. Momo knew. Not like the other girls did. She'd felt what Sana felt. Momo wasn't anywhere near the jealous type, not like Sana was. But she was a person, one who was in love. Someone who had been deeply in love before. Sana hadn't. She'd gotten close with someone in her witch coven, Raven, one in her first coven as an immortal, Adrian, in her second coven, Selena, and another witch, Isabel. All of them she'd lost before crossing the threshold, either through death or otherwise.

Either way, she didn't know love like Momo did. Momo knew what that piece of purple meant—what it could mean. Sana didn't.

Breaking out of her thoughts, she realised she still hadn't responded. “Hey.”

“She’s not back yet.”

“I know.” But the words still disappointed her. “You think she’ll come back?”

“Don’t you?”

Sana didn’t stop running. “We don’t know where she went. There’s no sign of her.” She didn’t think Dahyun would leave like that, but she couldn’t help but feel scared that she had. That she even doubted the fairy spoke volumes. 

“We told you that already.” 

“I looked again.” She hadn’t been able to hear anything, let alone see someone in the forest. Even the scent was tricky, because Dahyun had already spent a lot of time there, making the mountain air scent a constant among the trees. It just cemented a terrible thought in her mind: had she really left them and not said goodbye? It hurt her more than she wanted to admit. So much that she told herself it wasn't true. Several times. 

A small pause. “Me too.” 

The tone of voice was weird. Sana stopped running and turned to face her. She was staring at the floor, her brow furrowed. 

“Is this about yesterday?”

“Yes, and no.” She wasn’t looking up yet. “Can we talk?”

“We’re talking.”

Momo gave her a look.

Sana smiled. 

A short silence. 

“I’m sorry,” Momo said. 

“You didn’t know which one was which.” Sana’d had an idea, feeling more drawn to one than the other, but she hadn’t known for certain. 

“It’s enough that one person sees your feelings.” A small chuckle. “Even though one is almost too much on its own.”

She nodded. Just seeing her own emotions had confused her even more. Feeling them normally—at least in in terms of her normal—everything blended together. She just reacted to them. Here, she’d seen how far they went, how vast one piece of herself could be. She could pick out specific parts of herself that were usually hidden by the rest, like the fact that Dahyun made her feel calm, grounded, but also sad. That last part wasn't too hard to figure out. There were centuries where she hadn’t known Dahyun. Yet her heart hurt for the pain found within Dahyun’s own, a lot of which she knew nothing about, or had only seen glimpses of. 

Holding that bundle of emotions, experiencing them in that way, had shown her so much. It'd drawn her in fully. When she’d pulled away, it had tossed reality over her head. It had given her a warmth that spanned her whole body and spread to her mind. It had also left her with a headache and a heap of questions. Ones she didn't want answered. 

Momo had experienced that. Twice. And she was apologising for it. The look in her eyes was familiar. 

“We never talked.” 

“No.” Sana had a good feeling what she was about to say. Or try to. 

“You should pursue your feelings for Dahyun.” 

That was not what she’d expected. She didn’t know how to respond. Did she even want to respond?

“Seeing,” Momo hesitated, “that yesterday, and how you are—these past few days. I realised that,” her eyes fell to the floor again, “you’re better for her.”

Those exact words, that expression, it spurred her to speak. 

“Don’t start that. You’re pulling away just like she was.” Sana saw the conflict in her friend’s eyes. “You don’t think you deserve her, so you think you’re doing the right thing stepping back. You’re not.”

Momo couldn't step back. The last time she'd seen such tenderness in Momo's eyes had been years ago. The first time she'd seen it with Dahyun was when she'd had the fear attack. Sana hadn't felt jealous. That's how she knew this was right. 

A long pause. 

The next words weren’t said unkindly, and there wasn’t any irritation in Momo’s voice. “Since when are you the expert?”

“I just know this trend.” 

“And you’re telling me what?”

“Don’t turn your back on this.” 

Momo gave her a look. “Are you trying to pull away? Even if you wanted to, you won’t be able to.” 

She frowned. “I have been.” 

“With Jennie? That didn’t work.” 

“Then what else do I do?” Her words were getting sharper. 

“Act on your feelings.” 

“No.”

“Why? You never felt this way before.” 

“You have.” Sana regretted bringing it up, but she almost had to. 

Momo’s expression softened. “And I would rather go through that again then have never taken the chance.”

“That’s exactly what you’re doing now.” 

opened. Then it closed again. 

Sana knew she was pushing her, but she couldn’t help but see the parallel. She knew it had to stop. Dahyun had pushed them all away because she blamed herself for Teresa’s death, for the attacks that followed. Momo was going to pull herself away because she blamed herself for the witch. Both were doing it for the wrong reasons. Both were denying themselves of something beautiful. 

“You’re not throwing away what you have just because you don’t feel good enough for her,” Sana said. “You shouldn't be feeling guilty for something that wasn’t even your fault.” 

More silence. 

“What exactly did you see yesterday? That things might be a little more complicated for me than they are for you?” Complicated definitely didn't mean 'better'. For anyone. 

“That you’re scared, but that doesn’t change the fact that you feel something for her.” A small smile. “Or the fact that you keep trying to turn this conversation around.”

“Do we have to talk about this now?”

She nodded. “You’re still with Jennie, right?”

“Yeah.”

“If you want to stay with her, do,” she said. “Bu