The Blood Red Rose

Chapter 2

"Aaron, hello." George greeted once he was within Aaron's hearing range. Aaron let out a small groan and reluctantly set his book down. He plastered a fake smile on his face and directed his attention to George.

"Hello Mr. King." He said, through gritted teeth. George sauntered over and swung an arm around Aaron's shoulders, who in turn attempted to push it off. Unfortunately for him, George was much stronger and he failed to push the intruding arm off.

"What's this? A book? You have much better things to do than read." George laughed before snatching Aaron's book, much to his dismay. George looked at the cover and a sneer covered his (handsome) face.

"A fairy tale? Aren't a bit old for something so childish?" George said shaking his head, before chuckling. Behind the two, Samuel snickered. George ignored it, but Aaron heard it and his face flush in shame.

"I-I guess... B-But they're just so i-interesting..." He stammered, squirming a bit. George quirked an eyebrow and grinned.

"If you keep squirming like that I won't be able to hold back." He whispered before biting Aaron's ear softly. Aaron let out a squeak and jumped away, holding his left ear.

"W-What the heck!" He screeched, his face a blood red. George chuckled and wrapped his arm around Aaron again and pulled him closer.

"I'm jesting dear sir! However, shouldn't you be paying attention to something more important? Like me?" George wiggled his eyebrows strangely. Aaron quickly got out from under George's arm and stood up.

"May I please have my book back?" Aaron asked, hoping to change the subject. George tsked and stood up as well.

"You need to get your head out of the clouds return back to earth. A person like you shouldn't read. If this keeps up, you might start getting... ideas." George said and to Aaron's horror, he dumped his beautiful new book into the fountain.

"No!" Aaron cried and ran forward. He snatched the book out of the water and desperately tried to save it so that it could still be read. He faintly heard Samuel snicker and George sigh, but he couldn't care less. With tears in his eyes he turned and glared at the hunter.

"George, you are positively primal." Aaron spat. George laughed and put a large hand on his shoulder.

"I shall take that as a complement." George said, before he tried to lead Aaron away. "Now, why don't you come to the tavern and have a drink with me? You can even have a look at all my hunting trophies! Trust me when I say that looking at the dead, glassy eyes of animals is far more amazing than any silly novel you'll ever read."

Aaron scowled and promptly smacked George's arm away. "I will have to pass. I need to return to my sister." He said stiffly.

"Sally Reeve? The insane inventor? Ha! She needs to get a husband and settle down. Maybe than she'll finally return to normal." Samuel snickered.

"My sister is not insane!" He yelled, his hands balling into fists. "Sally is a genius."

"Yes, of course! Now, after you've finished uh, helping with your sister, maybe you could work me into your schedule?" George inquired. Aaron blinked and frowned.

"Yeah. Sure. Good day." Aaron said quickly, before practically running away. He was so embarrassed for the way he behaved. He hasn't lost his composure in years and he felt terribly ashamed for letting George and Seabury get under his skin that easily. As he rushed home, he heard an explosion coming from the direction his house was.

He sighed, and quickened the pace. He had no doubt that Sally made something explode again. A fond smile made its way on his face and he broke into a run. He arrived at his house and sure enough, smoke was coming out of the basement windows.