Blue Blood ~ Young Royals

Morning

I'm starting to slowly wake up, and for a split second I think I'm in my own bed, but I quickly realize where I really am. We're still holding each other like we were last night and I open my eyes slowly to see Simon's face in front of me, his features relaxed in sleep. The feeling of waking up beside him, holding him in my arms, it's just the best thing ever. It spreads a happy sort of warmth through me and I smile. I wish I could wake up beside him every day.

I bury my face in his neck, inhaling his scent. It smells like home. I get the urge to take one of his hoodies, but he might get mad. I won't do that. I pull my face away from his neck and admire his face, gently brushing his curls off of his forehead. He stirs slightly, making a sleepy mumbling noise, and it only makes me smile more. He blinks a few times and looks at me, immediately starting to smile. 

"Hey." He whispers, his voice soft from sleep.

"Hi..." I whisper. "How did you sleep?"

His smile widens, it makes my heart flutter. "I slept amazing... You?"

"Never slept better." I say, because I don't think I ever have.

He pulls me a little closer to him and kisses me, but pulls away relatively soon. "Ugh, morning breath..."

I chuckle. "Yours is worse than mine, admit it." His morning breath is kind of bad. It tastes weird, almost metallic and iron-like. 

"No it's not." He says with a laugh. "My breath is totally fine."

I roll my eyes playfully. "Hmm... Let me see, one more time." I kiss him again, but I keep our lips locked a little longer despite our morning breath. When we part, I look him in the eyes, both of us smiling. "Yours is definitely worse than mine."

He chuckles. "Okay, yeah. I can live with that. I have bad morning breath."

I want to reply but, out of nowhere, Sara walks into the room. "Simon, are you awake? I can't find-" She stops when she sees us lying together in the bed and I quickly roll onto the floor, accidentally taking the entire blanket with me and it wraps around me like a burrito as I land on the floor with a thud. She looks from me to Simon, an unreadable expression on her face. "Why were you in bed together?"

Simon and I exchange a glance before looking up at her, and we speak at the same time. 

"We didn't sleep like that, we only lay together for a moment." I say

"Don't tell mom." Simon says at the same time. Our words mingle together confusingly and Sara frowns. Simon sighs and speaks again. "Just... go away, please."

She seems hesitant to leave without a clear answer but nods, giving me one more puzzled look before she turns around and closes the door behind her. I sit upright on the floor, the blanket still wrapped around me like I'm some sort of pea in a pod. "Do you think she'll tell?" I say, slightly worried.

He shakes his head. "I told her not to tell mom, I think she gets it."

"Does she get that we're together?"

Simon sighs. "I think anyone would get that if they saw us lying in bed together. I'm just glad we..."

"Are wearing pyjamas?" I suggest, blushing slightly as I imagine how she might've otherwise found us.

He laughs. "Yeah, that too... I was going to say I was glad we were found by her instead of mom." He's quiet for a moment and just looks at me, a sort of calmness in his expression despite having just been found by Sara. He then speaks in a soft voice. "You look cute like that, wrapped up in my blanket."

I smile and get up to sit beside him on the bed again. He sits upright too and stretches his arms widely, yawning. I know it's kind of weird but I look at his fa- his long canines, for fuck's sake. Not fangs. I wonder what it would feel like if he sank his teeth into my neck and... He's not a vampire, why would he bite me?! Why would I even want him to bite me?

He looks at me and smiles at the redness of my face. "I'm hungry." He says. So I guess I'll finally get to see him eat today.

But when we're dressed and ready, sitting at the breakfast table with his mom and somewhat tense looking sister, there is again no plate in front of him. While the rest of us are eating sandwiches, he's again drinking only from his bottle. I bite my lip to keep from asking the question, but I find myself unable to resist and the words form on my tongue before I can stop myself. "Why do you only drink from the bottle?"

The entire room seems to fill with tension as all three of them freeze halfway through what they were doing. Sara doesn't say anything and stares at her bread, Simon and his mom exchange a glance before looking at me and it's Simon who says. "I have a lot of allergies, so mom makes me a sort of... energy drink with all the nutrients I need."

I've never heard of anyone doing that and I get the feeling that that's not all there is to it, but I nod. "Okay..."

The rest of the meal is eaten (or drank, in Simon's case) in an awkward silence, and afterwards Simon's mom collects the dishes and walks to the kitchen, shooting Simon a glance. He follows her into the kitchen and they have a whispered conversation in Spanish. I wonder if I should start getting concerned.

While they're talking in the kitchen, to my surprise, Sara walks up to me and begins a whispered conversation of our own, although not in Spanish. "Are you and Simon dating?" She whispers, glancing every now and then at the kitchen.

"Uh..." I say, unsure if Simon would be okay with me admitting it even though she probably already knows.

She sighs. "Okay, you are, I can tell."

"Don't tell anyone!" I whisper, slightly alarmed. 

"I won't." She says. "Just listen to me. Simon is... Well, you have to be careful. You never know how long it takes until he loses control and..." She bites her lip and looks a little mad at herself. "I said too much already. Just don't be surprised if he does... something weird. Be careful."

I frown, unable to think of a good reply. What the hell is any of that even supposed to mean? Be careful, he might lose control, don't be surprised if he acts weird. I settle on an awkward "Okay" and she walks away to her room.

Simon reappears from the kitchen a few moments later and we hang out in his room for a while, kissing, accidentally overfeeding his fish (he says they're called Olle, Oski, and Felle) and trying to play on his piano together, resulting in a hideous jumble of random notes. Despite the laughter and easy conversation, questions keep coming into my mind, making me feel confused and worried. I play it cool for the rest of the time I spend at his house, but when I leave around 2 pm, my mind is buzzing.

I walk to the bus stop with my hands in my pockets and chew my lip, thinking about what Sara told me earlier, and the way Simon acts. If vampires were real, I would be sure he was one. But why does he act so weird, so vampiric... It makes my head ache just thinking about it. 

I get in the bus and put in my earbuds, hoping music will distract me. But I can only keep the questions out of my head for a short while. I'll have to talk to him. Monday after school. Making the decision calms my mind slightly, but not completely. Simon is stranger than I thought...