Crimson Crown

⌠33⌡

Jinyoung kept touching his lips, wondering if what he felt was truly real. The blush on his face still hadn't subsided even though Jackson had left the room, he couldn't stop reliving the moment their lips touched. He was not just taken aback by the kiss, but simply by the fact that Jackson initiated it all on his own, as if he couldn't hold back anymore.

Just the idea of the impatient vampire finally making a move made his heart pound against the flower resting on his chest that he for some reason wanted to cherish for himself.

He was embarrassed at his own actions though, or rather, lack thereof. He couldn't say anything or do anything, he just laid there like a limp fish stuck on the shore. He'd never felt so stupid before, it was an entirely new feeling of self-loathing that the prince wasn't used to.

It took a lot out of him to attempt to get over his embarrassment and finally pull himself off the bed that wasn't even his. He set the flower down gently on the wooden dresser across the room for safekeeping, then turned to head downstairs.

He was nervous for some reason. He sort of didn't want to see Jackson after that, instead, he wanted to hide away from him forever. But he wasn't a 12 year old, he should be able to look the latter in the eye like the adult man he was.

As he reached the bottom of the staircase, he immediately spotted the vampire at the dining table eating while reading a book. As soon as he sensed Jinyoung's presence, he glanced up, those eyes piercing into the latter with suffocating intensity.

Jinyoung's gaze immediately fell back down to his feet. So much for that confidence he attempted to work up.

He shuffled over to the table that held other dishes and an empty placemat presumably meant for Jinyoung. The smell that hit his nose was quite delightful, he must've been pretty deep in his nap to have missed Jackson's cooking.

"What is all this?" He asked as he approached.

Jackson loosely gestured to the food. "Elk and corn."

"You grow corn too?"

"I get tired of only drinking blood, I do enjoy eating different things."

"Right..." The latter mumbled, slowly pulling out the chair saved for him and taking a seat. Jackson immediately stood and began serving him, filling his plate to the brim with food. "...thank you for the meal..."

"Eat as much as you'd like, you must be starving, having not eaten since yesterday."

Jinyoung looked down at the food, grabbing his utensils while Jackson sat back down. He could barely look at the latter while the vampire merely stared at him in return; he was making it impossible to function normally. It was only until he took a few clumsy bites of his food that Jackson finally focused back on his own plate that was nearly empty at this point.

Jinyoung's heart still hadn't calmed from earlier. He thought he could pull himself together in front of the vampire and act nonchalant, but all he kept thinking about was that kiss. He wished he hadn't froze up like a startled deer, surely he must've given Jackson a confusing reaction. He wanted to say something but wasn't sure how to-- he just kept on repeating the touch of their lips over and over in his head...

"Kiss..."

"Pardon?"

Jinyoung jolted, his face draining white once he realized his inner thoughts had verbalized themselves. He barely swallowed the food stuck in his mouth before stuttering out a response. "U-Um, I was saying, I apologize for not saying anything after you ki-"

"Don't dwell on it."

Jinyoung blinked as Jackson returned to his food.

"But... I should probably say something, right?"