Demon Lord Shapeshifting System

But as she blinked, he was gone.

Just like the wind. There was no one by her side. Professor Seward realized she had forgotten to breathe for a moment, and took a long deep and sharp inhale.

It's the drugs. It's getting to her. She's now experiencing a head rush and would be in a doozy soon.

She stood up and looked for Harker, wondering if she could ask him to get her cab before she fully passed out. A young man dressed as a gentleman approached her and made a deep bow.

"How do you do at this fine eve, my lady?"

Joan sneered. "Just bang up the elephant. Though your pretentious 'British' accent could make a stuffed bird laugh, you hobbledehoy."

The guy was confused, and she just booped his nose.

"If you're going to have a Victorian party, better do your research first, son."

She shoved him away and stumbled about looking for Harker, one hand massaging her temple. Joan was feeling pretty cranky now. This was going to be one hell of a hangover, but besides that, it would be a major cop out.

Why did she agree to look for this blondie anyway? She was just trying to get in Harker's pants and do something stupid to cross off her checklist for this evening.

It won't even be that taboo anymore since he's graduating. Granted, he was still going to stay for a few more years in Stoker for his Masters and PhD. But she may not be his professor anymore, which was fantastic. She could say 'fuck professionalism' and just go for it if he's down.

Which seemed a little unlikely now that the blondie's on the way, but that never really stopped her before. Two-timers were not uncommon in the club. Actually, finding someone with an ounce of loyalty would be like finding a leprechaun by the end of a rainbow.

She couldn't find Harker anywhere though. And her crackiness was slowly cranking up a notch. Her headache was making her feel like her skull was caving in.

If she doesn't see that red leather jacket-wearing himbo scholar she'll just bounce and get a cab.

"Excuse me, Madam. " Another young man sitting at the table called out.

"Not in the mood, bud." She shot him down.

The man just pursed his plump lips at her. "I was talking to the waitress, not you."

The waitress really was behind Joan. She stepped aside, mentally calling the boy an asshole. He doesn't even know her and he's so rude….

Though she couldn't find the broad Harker's looking for, at least this boy was a blondie with blue eyes.

He looked kind of familiar, reminding her of maybe James Deen and a mix of that young heartthrob from that recent sinking ship movie. What's his name again? Ronaldo De Cafrio? Whatever, he's a pretty blond boy, not Joan's type. She goes for the more rugged ones.

But besides the celebrity look-alike, he still looked like someone she knew. She just can't point her finger at who exactly. A student? One of her hookups?

".... And where is he off to? Do you know, Madam?" He asked.

She was too dizzy to focus on what he was saying and too busy observing his face. Now that she thinks about it, he looked like someone she saw Harker hang around once. An All-american wealthy stud that's going to be a lawyer or something.

The waitress shook her head at his question. "No, Sir. He's not really a regular here. I believe his friend just brought him along two days ago and he didn't come back. They mentioned something about  going on a trip to his place in Oregon."

"I see. Thank you, Madam." The stud looked disappointed and stood up to take his leave.

One of his cufflinks fell off as he stood, revealing a little bit of his wrist. Joan doesn't know if she was hallucinating from the LSD but….

Were those…. Scales?

He quickly took the cufflink back and closed his cuffs tightly. He looked around nervously to see if someone was watching him, and he noticed the high professor's gaze before she could even look away.

The man clicked his tongue and walked up the staircase.

"Weirdo." Joan muttered.

She finally found Harker out the back of this dainty underground pub, and sluggishly raised her hand while calling out. "Hey, Jonesy! You found her yet? If not we can buy a blonde wig and blue eye contacts and I can roleplay for ya!"

Harker turned, and his eyes widened. She chuckled, thinking he must be feeling incredulous by how stupid she's acting right now. All the attention of the pub went towards her, but Joan really didn't care.

Harker ran towards her, and Joan just laughed. "I'm just messin' with you! But I'm getting bored and it's getting late, you should crash on my place since it's nearer than yours—"

He ran past her, with the speed of a cheetah itself. Joan blinked, wondering what the hell was going on tonight. Maybe she shouldn't have taken a dozen pills at once despite her strong resistance.

She tried to catch up with Harker, but she's getting pretty sleepy. She thought she might collapse upon these stairs and become an attraction for these pompous roleplayers that think the Victorian era was just all about dresses and suits and acting Bri'ish.

But she managed to push through, and reached past the exit of the fake restroom, at least. She looked around for the Jones boy. She accidentally stepped on the sleeping bouncer's head, but he didn't wake up anyway so she couldn't care any less.

Finally, she heard voices on a dark alley nearby with no lights. It was the voice of that rude blondie earlier and Harker's. They seemed to be arguing.

".... It's because I love you, okay!? Do you really expect me to not lose my goddamn mind when you suddenly bail out on me like that!?"

Professor Seward's spirits were resurrected like a phoenix. Her eyes almost bugged out when he heard Harker say those words, very much wide awake now.

The blond boy sounded remorseful. "I know, but…. I'm sorry. I don't have much time. If I don't follow the trail, I might lose that bastard. I need to gut him for what he has done to my parents."

Harker then insisted. "Then kiss me first! You have to. I promise I'll let you go and take your revenge….. But you have to kiss me, please. I just want you to be safe."

She squinted. "What in the gay soap opera is this dialogue…?"

She had no idea what the hell was going on here, and she definitely had no idea Harker swung that way. So she might have never had a chance in the first place.

She wondered what the point of looking for that Mona girl or whatever. Maybe that's actually the guy's name? She did know a guy named Lisa once, short for Lisandro.

"Well, good for them. Harker sure is full of surprises." Joan sighed. "Still a shame though, I'm outta here."

She just went home that night, thinking that at least she got some good drama even when she didn't have a good hook-up. Who would have known?