The Divergence

The final few minutes before going live passed more quietly than Lavinia had expected.

Studio employees moved between cameras and lighting rigs, checking cables, adjusting microphones, and speaking softly amongst themselves. 

Despite the excitement hanging in the air, no one seemed frantic. Everyone simply wanted the interview to go well.

Daniel ran a hand through his hair before letting out a laugh. "I'll admit it. I'm actually nervous."

"You?" Miranda looked over at him with raised eyebrows, clearly unconvinced.

Daniel nodded without embarrassment. "The first live interview with vampires in history. If I mess this up, I'll never live it down."

"You'll be fine." Lavinia smiled as she quietly nudged the basket of snacks a little farther away from Valerie before settling comfortably against the sofa.

Valerie reached toward the basket out of habit before realizing it had moved. She slowly turned toward Lavinia, narrowing her empty red eyes.

"I saw that," Valerie accused, pointing at the basket.

Lavinia met her gaze with complete innocence. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Valerie narrowed her eyes a little further. "I think you do know."

Lavinia smiled innocently. "And I think you're imagining things."

Valerie sighed dramatically before folding her arms. "You're becoming quite the tyrant."

A small laugh spread through the room.

Violetta rested one leg over the other and looked toward Daniel and Miranda. "Our goal tonight is fairly simple. We'd like people to see that vampires aren't too much different from humans."

Daniel coughed into his fist to hide a smile. "'Not too much different' is carrying that sentence pretty hard."

"Behave." Miranda lightly jabbed Daniel in the side with her elbow.

Daniel rubbed the spot with exaggerated offense. "I am behaving. That was agreement."

Several of the vampires laughed, and even Alice smiled from where she stood beside one of the cameras.

"I think everyone here is worrying more than they need to." Miranda's warm smile swept across the vampires. 

"When tonight's over, you'll probably look back and wonder why you were nervous in the first place."

"...Did you really?" Evelyn asked so quietly that only the vampires heard her.

Daniel and Miranda simply looked at Evelyn politely, unaware she'd spoken.

Rosaline leaned toward Evelyn with an encouraging smile. "A little louder."

Evelyn nodded before taking a small breath. "Were... were you nervous your first time?"

"Oh, absolutely." Miranda laughed as she glanced toward Daniel. "We started together, and neither of us really knew what we were doing."

Daniel nodded in agreement. "I don't think either of us slept very well the night before."

"I kept imagining everything that could possibly go wrong." Miranda smiled at the memory before shrugging lightly. "Then we did the interview."

"And after that, we did another." Daniel spread his hands casually.

Miranda nodded. "Then another. Before we knew it, it stopped feeling frightening."

"Now it's just another day at work." Daniel smiled reassuringly at Evelyn.

Evelyn relaxed a little and returned a shy smile. "...Thank you."

Daniel suddenly cleared his throat before sitting a little straighter. "Actually... I should clarify something."

Miranda slowly looked at him, already suspicious.

"I wasn't nervous during my first broadcast." Daniel kept an impressively straight face. 

"I'd accidentally left the oven on before coming to work, so I spent the entire program wondering if my house was burning down, so I wasn't nervous."

Miranda snorted before covering her mouth. "You still do it." 

She shook her head with a laugh. "You can still say complete nonsense with the straightest face imaginable."

Daniel's serious expression immediately broke into a grin. "It works though."

"It always works," Miranda admitted with another shake of her head.

Daniel looked back toward Evelyn before giving her a thumbs-up. "So you've really got nothing to worry about."

Alice stepped closer, holding her clipboard against her chest. "Something else that might help is there isn't a live audience tonight."

She gestured beyond the cameras toward the empty seating.

"It'll just be everyone here, the cameras, and everyone watching from home."

Several crew members glanced over before awkwardly waving at the vampires.

Rosaline happily waved back, earning a few amused smiles.

Cordelia looked toward Miranda with quiet curiosity. "Did you have much time to announce the interview?"

Miranda laughed softly. "Not really. We found out about four hours ago ourselves."

"And we've been advertising it for almost exactly that long." Daniel shrugged before smiling. "So hopefully enough people noticed."

"I imagine there'll be quite a few viewers." Cordelia glanced thoughtfully at the cameras surrounding the set.

"I think there will too." Miranda nodded confidently.

Daniel tilted his head before smiling to himself. "Or everyone assumed we were lying, and absolutely nobody's watching."

"...Daniel." Miranda gave him a long, flat look.

Daniel immediately raised both hands in surrender. "What?"

"You've somehow managed to tempt fate before we've even gone live." Miranda sighed, though the corners of her lips twitched upward.

Daniel shrugged innocently. "I prefer to think of it as acknowledging every possibility."

"You deliberately acknowledged the worst one." Miranda folded her arms across her chest.

"It was available and waiting to be said." Daniel smiled unapologetically.

"It didn't need to be said, even if you thought of the worst possible scenario, Daniel." Miranda rolled her eyes before glancing away from him.

Rosaline leaned toward Lavinia with a grin. "I like them."

"So do I." Lavinia nodded in agreement. "They're fun."

"They remind me a little of us." Rosaline's smile widened as she looked between Daniel and Miranda.

Valerie glanced between the two hosts before smirking. "They bicker like an old married couple."

"We absolutely do not." Miranda answered immediately, looking toward the vampires.

Daniel nodded with complete seriousness. "Exactly. We're professionals."

Miranda slowly turned toward him again. "Don't encourage them."

"I wasn't." Daniel placed a hand over his chest. "I'm defending our professional reputation."

"Then you are doing a terrible job of it." Miranda laughed despite herself.

The exchange earned another round of laughter from both the crew and the vampires.

Lavinia found herself relaxing further into the sofa.

This wasn't at all what she'd imagined.

She'd expected something formal.

Stiff, awkward even.

Instead, everyone was simply... talking.

Daniel looked more like someone excited to meet them than a television host preparing for a historic broadcast.

Miranda balanced professionalism with an easy warmth that made conversation feel natural.

Even Alice, who had seemed nervous when they'd first arrived, looked considerably more relaxed now.

Lavinia glanced toward Daniel with genuine curiosity. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course." Daniel turned his attention toward her.

"What made you like vampires before the First Divergence?"

Daniel considered the question for several seconds before answering.

"I suppose it was because vampires always felt more relatable in a sense than other monsters." He rubbed the back of his neck thoughtfully. "Most creatures in stories were just obstacles."

"They attacked people, they got defeated, and that was usually the end of their story." Daniel shrugged lightly. "But some vampires had lives."

"They made mistakes. They argued. They fell in love. They built families. They changed over time."

"They always felt strangely... human." Daniel let out a quiet laugh. "I never imagined reality would prove me at least a little right."

Lavinia smiled.

"I think I understand."

A voice suddenly echoed from the control room. 

"Five minutes!"

The easy atmosphere shifted without disappearing.

Camera operators stepped into position behind their equipment while lighting technicians made one final adjustment overhead. 

Production assistants crossed the stage carrying clipboards before disappearing behind the cameras.

Miranda straightened the front of her blazer while Daniel adjusted the cuffs of his jacket.

Alice smiled reassuringly toward the vampires.

"Almost time."

Daniel opened his mouth as though another joke had just occurred to him. 

After a moment, he shook his head with an amused smile.

"You know what?" Daniel folded his hands together loosely. "Here's to a successful interview in advance."

Miranda gave him a sidelong look before letting out an exasperated sigh. "The interview hasn't even happened yet, and you're already celebrating our success."

Daniel shrugged without a hint of embarrassment. "I'm choosing to be optimistic."

"I think you're trying to tempt fate again." Miranda couldn't help smiling despite her complaint.

Around them, the studio had become noticeably busier than it had been only a few minutes earlier.

Crew members crossed the stage carrying clipboards and coils of cable while camera operators settled behind their cameras. 

Lighting technicians made tiny adjustments to the overhead rigs before stepping back to inspect them, and someone quietly counted down the remaining time from somewhere behind the set.

The relaxed atmosphere remained, but there was a new sense of focus.

Violetta brushed the front of her gothic dress smooth over her thighs before looking toward the two hosts with a gentle smile. 

"Much like your anticipation for a successful interview, I also hope everything goes smoothly. I've been looking forward to it."

Miranda smiled warmly. "So have we."

Daniel suddenly raised one hand in a mock salute toward Violetta before pausing halfway through the gesture. "...Actually."

Miranda glanced at him curiously. "Actually what?"

Daniel scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. "Is it disrespectful to salute you like that? You are actually a Brigadier General."

Violetta laughed softly, the scent of lilacs and rain drifting faintly through the brightly lit studio. "I don't mind. Respect isn't something I judge from a gesture."

Daniel immediately let out a dramatic sigh of relief. "I genuinely thought I was done for there for a moment."

Miranda slowly shook her head before looking away from him. "Sometimes I wish I could pretend I don't know you."

Daniel placed a hand against his chest in mock offense. "That was hurtful."

"I'll recover from saying it." Miranda smiled despite herself.

Not far away, Rosaline suddenly placed both hands on Adelaide's shoulders before lightly shaking her back and forth. "We're going to be on television!"

"I know." Adelaide nodded with a small smile, her long green hair fluttering gently with Rosaline's enthusiastic shaking.

Rosaline blinked in surprise. "You don't sound excited."

"I am." Adelaide chuckled quietly. "I'm just excited a little more quietly than you are."

Rosaline stared at her for another second before breaking into laughter. "...That's fair."

Across the table, Evangeline looked up from the small bowl of snacks she'd been working through, holding a single cashew between her fingers. 

"Being on television is different from being famous. Anyone can end up on television."

Daniel smiled thoughtfully. "That's... technically true."

"It is true." Evangeline popped the cashew into her mouth before continuing. "If someone ran onto the stage yelling, they'd be on television too."

Miranda pinched the bridge of her nose. "Please don't inspire anyone."

"I wasn't planning to." Evangeline smiled with complete innocence.

Valerie dismissed the conversation with a lazy wave of her hand, her bright orange hair and thick orange eyelashes glinting beneath the studio lights. "I disagree."

Everyone looked toward her.

Valerie smiled around the room. "You're all stars in my eyes."

Lavinia immediately groaned before resting her forehead in one hand. "Valerie... could you please stop sounding so unbelievably cheesy?"

Valerie looked genuinely confused. "I was being sincere."

"I know." Lavinia sighed dramatically. "That somehow makes it even cheesier."

Without warning, Valerie reached over and gave Lavinia's thigh a crisp smack with the palm of her hand.

Lavinia looked down at her leg before slowly looking back at Valerie. "...Ow?"

"I felt like making a point." Valerie smiled proudly.

Lavinia blinked twice. "What point?"

Valerie paused for several long seconds.

"...I haven't actually figured that part out yet."

Rosaline immediately burst into laughter, nearly doubling over in her chair. "That's the most 'you' answer I've ever heard."

"It made perfect sense in my head." Valerie nodded confidently.

Lavinia let out another long sigh before rubbing her thigh. "It was true anyway."

Valerie tilted her head. "What was?"

"You called everyone stars." Lavinia spread her hands helplessly. "I agreed it was true, so I don't actually know what you're mad about."

Valerie considered that before smiling brightly. "...Neither do I."

Gwendolyn leaned forward with obvious curiosity. "Did it hurt?"

Lavinia glanced down at her leg again before shaking her head. "Not really. It just startled me."

"I'd never actually hurt Lavi." Valerie sounded faintly offended by the suggestion.

"I know you wouldn't." Gwendolyn smiled reassuringly. "That wasn't what I meant."

Valerie's expression brightened almost immediately. "Good."

Cordelia watched the exchange with quiet amusement before resting an elbow on the arm of her chair. "I believe you've somehow reached the point where you argue simply because it's entertaining."

"I don't think she's wrong." Adelaide smiled softly.

Lavinia looked around the group before letting out an exaggerated sigh. "I've somehow found myself surrounded by impossible people."

Cordelia tilted her head thoughtfully. "I believe they surrounded you."

"...That's probably more accurate." Lavinia admitted with a reluctant smile.

The room broke into another round of laughter.

Daniel watched the vampires for a moment before quietly smiling to himself. "I don't think I've ever had a pre-interview this relaxed."

"I expected considerably more tension because we're about to start." Miranda glanced around the room before looking back toward the vampires. "Instead, you're all just... talking."

Rosaline tilted her head curiously. "Were you expecting us to hiss at you?"

Daniel laughed. "...Maybe a little."

Rosaline immediately bared her fangs dramatically before leaning forward with narrowed eyes. "Hiss."

Daniel stared at her for exactly one second before laughing even harder. "That was wonderful."

"I've been practicing." Rosaline nodded proudly.

"I could tell." Daniel grinned.

Even several members of the production crew laughed quietly while continuing with their work.

Then a voice echoed clearly from behind the cameras.

"One minute."

Almost immediately, the atmosphere shifted.

Not into nervousness.

Into focus.

Daniel and Miranda instinctively glanced toward each other before both looking toward the cameras.

Daniel straightened the front of his jacket while Miranda smoothed a crease from her blazer.

Crew members quietly stepped away from the furniture and disappeared behind cameras or into the control room.

Headsets crackled softly as final confirmations were exchanged.

Alice approached the vampires one last time, hugging her clipboard lightly against her chest. "Good luck."

Before anyone could answer, Alice offered them an encouraging smile and hurried off the stage to join the rest of the crew behind the cameras.

Only the quiet hum of equipment remained.

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