Part 2Who Tastes Better

My mood had never been worse.

Usually, satisfying my urge left me in a state of calm. I had suffered from this compulsive biting habit since childhood, and before I could even gather the courage to tell my parents, Ross had caught me.

It happened back in preschool. He had grabbed my chubby little wrist, ready to drag me to the teacher.

"Kate, which kid bit you? Tell me and I'll go beat them up."

I stared at the deep red teeth marks on my arm, trying to hide behind my backpack.

"I did it myself."

I didn't know why, but my gums were always itching. It was a phantom ache that ran straight from my teeth to my heart, a sensation so overwhelming it made me want to cry. But I didn't dare tell my parents. I had watched a horror movie the night before about monsters that bit people, and the priest had chased them with a wooden sword. I was terrified of being treated like a monster.

Ross stared at my arm for a long, quiet moment. Then, he held out his own wrist.

"You bit yourself until you bled. That hurts." He looked at me with fierce determination. "Next time your teeth itch, just bite me. Kate, I'm a boy. I'm not afraid of pain."

And so, he became my chew toy, all the way from preschool to high school.

The arrangement worked until one winter when Ross broke his arm playing basketball. His left arm was locked in a thick, hard cast.

I tapped the plaster, looking up at him. "Does it hurt?"

Instead of answering, Ross reached up and slowly unzipped his high-neck pullover, exposing the pale, smooth skin of his neck.

By then, he had grown tall, his shoulders broadening and his jawline sharpening into something dangerously handsome. His skin was always a beautiful, cool ivory.

"Kate, bite here today. The high collar will hide it."

My eyes widened. Looking at his flushed ears, I shook my head frantically. "Biting your neck? That makes me look like an actual vampire. Absolutely not. What about your other arm?"

He cleared his throat, his gaze drifting away. "My right hand is for writing, and exams are next week."

That winter, the selfless Ross sacrificed his neck.

There was less flesh on his neck than his arm, but it was softer. His forearms were no longer the soft, chubby limbs of our childhood. They were corded with lean muscle that sometimes made my teeth ache. Besides, Ross had a tiny, dark mole right below his ear. Whenever I bit him there, the skin around it would flush a deep, beautiful pink.

I eventually grew to love it.

It was only when his mother questioned why he was wearing turtlenecks in the middle of summer that he negotiated a shift from his neck to his shoulder.

[Do you know why he stopped letting you bite his wrist?] the System asked.

My chest felt tight, and I ignored it.

The System didn't care. It kept rambling. [Because the female lead is going to put her hair tie around his wrist. You know what a hair tie on a guy's wrist means in high school, right?]

I covered my ears in annoyance. I don't care. Shut up!

The System seemed taken aback by my sudden outburst. [Whoa. Is our NPC childhood friend turning into a jealous villainess?]

While it was busy lecturing me on the tragic endings of a hundred different jealous ex-best friends, the doorbell rang.

Ross stood on the porch, holding a small plate.

As he grew older, Ross had become increasingly quiet and reserved. He rarely spoke to anyone, but he was always gentle with me. His mother loved baking, and since middle school, Ross had made it a daily ritual to bring me whatever she made.

"My mom made blueberry cheesecake," he said, holding out the plate.

I stared at the cheesecake, harboring a tiny sliver of hope.

Ross has been good to me our entire lives. He wouldn't throw me under the bus for some new girl. Those villainess endings won't apply to me.

The System scoffed. [You are completely blind. He is exhausted of you. If his mother didn't force him to bring this over, do you think he'd even show his face?]

[Didn't you notice how heavy his breathing was when you bit him earlier? He was holding back his anger. If you don't believe me, test him.]

Fine. I would test him.

When I reached out to take the plate, I deliberately leaned closer, letting my fingers brush against his.

The moment our skin touched, Ross froze completely.

A split second later, the plate slipped from his hand, shattering on the floor. He took a sharp step backward, his chest heaving.

"Sorry, Kate. My hand slipped."

He quickly knelt to clean up the ruined cake, his head bowed. The forced smile on my face stiffened.

The System laughed in triumph. [See? He didn't even look at you. Look how fast he's cleaning that up. He can't wait to run away from your house.]

I looked down at the top of Ross's head. His dark hair was slightly messy, and his shoulders looked incredibly broad. He had grown so much, and we were no longer those innocent kids from preschool.

"Ross, thank your mom for me," I said, my voice hollow. "But, I'm trying to lose some weight. Tell her she doesn't need to send any more sweets."

He stopped cleaning and looked up, his brow furrowed. "Lose weight? You're not heavy at all. Why would you diet?"

I was in a terrible mood and gave a dismissive shrug. "I just don't want to eat them anymore. Give them to someone else."

When Ross left, he looked incredibly tense.

[It's a psychological issue,] the System advised. [Go see a therapist and get cured. Stop clinging to him. Look how distracted he was when he left. You're completely ruining his peace of mind.]

I lay back on my bed, staring at the ceiling in silence.

The next morning, Ross and I walked to school together. We walked one behind the other, my mind a complete mess. The System had spent the night playing a slideshow of tragic fates of childhood friends in my dreams, leaving me with a lingering sense of dread.

"Kate, are you..."

Ross suddenly stopped and turned around. Before I could register it, I crashed straight into his chest.

His arms instinctively wrapped around my waist to steady me.

Feeling the firm grip of his hands on my hips, I looked up. Ross's face was completely rigid.