My Roommate Is a Vampire

The chapter starts with a text exchange between Frederick and Reginald in which Frederick asks Reginald what he thinks of Frederick’s clothes. Reginald tells Frederick he likes his clothes, which should be obvious given he was the one who preserved them while Frederick was unconscious. He then accuses Frederick of suddenly caring about his appearance because of Cassie.

The next night, Cassie shows Frederick the internet. She shows him Instagram, which he did not know existed. She then asks him how he knew about TikTok but not Instagram, and he admits he thought TikTok was a type of music. Cassie shows Frederick Sam’s Instagram account, which is mostly pictures of food. This mystifies Frederick, who does not understand why anyone would want to look at pictures of other people’s meals. Cassie instructs Frederick to try writing a comment. He writes a comment earnestly asking why Sam thinks anyone would care about pictures of food. Cassie tells him the comment is mean and deletes it. 

Frederick worries he will forever fail to fit into modern society, as in the past he was praised for his candor. He asks to see Cassie’s Instagram account, and after failing to distract him with videos of cats, she shows him. He sees a photo of her in a bikini and becomes enraged. Cassie asks if he thinks she looks bad, and he replies that he does not. He is upset at the idea of other people being able to see the picture of Cassie wearing so little clothing, which confuses her.

The chapter starts with one of Frederick’s diary entries in which he judges himself for his lustful reaction to Cassie’s bikini photo. He acknowledges his romantic feelings for her and his desire for her.

Cassie goes to the mall with Frederick and Sam to help give Frederick a makeover. Sam isn’t the most fashionable man, but she wants a buffer for the romantic tension between her and Frederick. Sam thinks Frederick is handsome and understands Cassie’s attraction to him, even though he had previously cautioned her not to sleep with her roommate. 

Sam gets called away for some business at his firm, leaving Cassie and Frederick alone. She takes Frederick to Nordstrom, which proves to be an overwhelming experience for Frederick. They finally locate the men’s section, and a kind saleswoman helps them shop. She assumes Cassie is Frederick’s girlfriend, which makes Cassie blush. The saleswoman offers to take Frederick’s measurements, but he is too embarrassed to have her crouch in front of his crotch to measure his inseam. 

He tries on jeans and shirts in every size until he finds one that fits. The shirt he tries on is soft, so he offers to let Cassie touch it. She touches his chest for much longer than necessary, tracing his collarbones and his muscles. The saleswoman interrupts them, and Frederick asks for one of the shirts in every color, since Cassie likes it.

The chapter begins with a letter from Frederick to Esmeralda telling her to call off the arranged marriage their families want them to go through with. He tells Esmeralda that he has feelings for another woman (hinting at his feelings for Cassie) and implores her to reject the marriage, reminding her that she is an independent and capable woman and should reject a marriage to a man who does not love her.

Cassie looks at an advertisement for a job teaching art at Harmony Academy, a K-12 school in Evanston. She received the advertisement via email from her MFA alma mater. She usually ignores the job advertisement emails, as in the past she applied for many of the jobs unsuccessfully. However, Cassie decides to apply. She’s feeling creatively energized, as her contest submission art piece, Manor House on a Lake, is coming along nicely. Cassie is using both paint and synthetic materials to blend classic and postmodern art together. She also thinks a rejection from the Harmony Academy job could help ground her, as she cannot stop thinking about how she touched Frederick’s chest in Nordstrom.

She finishes her application and sits on the couch to draw in her sketchbook and watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She doesn’t hear Frederick enter the room. He sits beside her, and they watch the show together, though Frederick has seen it before with Reginald. He asks her if she finds Angel or Spike more handsome, and Cassie shocks him by saying she thinks Giles, the librarian, is most handsome. Frederick seems jealous of Giles, which Cassie finds funny. Cassie asks him how accurate the show’s depiction of vampires is, and he tells her that his heart does not beat and he does sometimes brood like Angel. In addition, he requires explicit permission to enter people’s houses. He also tells Cassie she can ask him questions whenever she wants.

Cassie wakes up, having fallen asleep on the couch. Her head is on Frederick’s shoulder, her hand is on his thigh, and their legs are touching. Cassie wonders if she should move away, but Frederick interrupts her thoughts by telling her that her drawings are beautiful. She’s initially upset that he went through her sketchbook without asking. He apologizes for invading her privacy and asks to look at the sketchbook again. She lets him, and he traces the lines of her rough sketches of her Manor House project with reverence. He tells her again how fantastic her drawings are. 

He remembers an artist in his village when he was growing up, whom he reveals was his sister. Cassie asks him more about his past, and he reveals that he was born in England and was turned into a vampire during a vampire attack on his village in 1734, though he does not remember everything from before his transition. His village was a decently long journey away from London, and his family lived in a small house with a thatched roof. He was close with his sister. Cassie tells him that she is an only child. Frederick thinks that would be lonely, but Cassie’s art kept her company. He tells her that he wants to know everything about her, which is intense and causes them both to stare at her notebook in silence.