JACK SPENT THE FOLLOWING MONTHS WITH THE VAMPIRE... With his Vampire.
He was no longer bothered by what his lover was, as he could not remember his life before. He couldn't remember his mother, the strange man at the market; he couldn't even remember how his father had died... His father, who was killed when searching for the Vampire.
He had been compelled to forget about it all.
Jack stood in the kitchen pouring blood into a glass for the Vampire's meal. Just as he placed the jug back onto the mat, he heard footsteps approach.
"Jackson?" a voice prompted. He was the only one who ever called him that.
"You're up early," Jack glanced out of the window to see that the sun had not yet set.
Since the Vampire followed a fairly nocturnal routine, it was unusual for him to awaken by the afternoon.
The Vampire didn't reply. Instead, he watched, silently, as Jack placed the glass before him.
"Thank you."
He lifted the glass to his lips and took a small sip, letting the sweetness of the blood spread through his senses. Unlike what humans would believe, he liked to drink his blood slowly; savouring the taste and scent that it brought.
"May I ask you a question?" the blonde-haired boy asked. He nodded in response. "Why do you refuse my blood?" he paused. "Do I disgrace you? Is that the issue?"
"You are neither an issue nor a disgrace, Jackson." Even after all this time, Jack could feel himself blush at the sound of his own name. "You never will be. I refuse to drink your blood for one reason alone..." He gave him a confused glance. "Because I love you."
"You... You do?" he couldn't conceal the disbelief in his voice. The Vampire was so deep; sophisticated. How could he love Jack? Jack, who seemed to be nothing more than a boy. "You've never said that before."
"I love you," he repeated.851Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy25c1omE5i
The unfathomable certainty in his voice made Jack's doubts disappear. "I love you, Jackson... I love you so much."
"Then, why deny my blood?" Jack demanded suddenly. "I only wish for what is best for you. And fresh blood is much more beneficial to you. If you truly love me... Then you ought to accept what I wish for."
"Jackson..."
"I am not finished!" Jack breathed heavily. "You ought to take my blood... Grant me with my wish; Take the blood you need."
"You say I ought to do what you wish, but what of you? Would you allow me to act according to mine?"
"Your's..." he trailed off. "You have a wish?"
"My only wish is to protect you, my Jackson."
"You already are," he whispered. "You already protect me. Without you, I would never feel safe."
The Vampire knew better. He may appear to protect Jack on the surface, but that wasn't completely true.
There was something or rather, someone, Jack couldn't be protected from, no matter how hard he tried.
"You are safe," he agreed. "But not from everyone."
Jack opened his mouth to disagree. He trusted the Vampire with all his heart and never once doubted that he would protect him. But something... Something silenced him.
"Not from me."
The Vampire couldn't save Jack from himself.851Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE1GiSFIYrs
"What do you mean? You would never hurt me! You love me!"
"My love for you is what makes me so dangerous, Jackson. I'm a beast and my love for you, weakens my control-"
"You are not a beast!" Jack yelled, his light brown eyes glinting with anger.
"That's not what you actually think, Jackson..." he murmured, his face full of grief. "You just don't remember it." The Vampire reached into his pocket and winced. He drew out the wooden stake, his skin burning from the contact. "But you used to feel differently."
Jack could not believe what he saw. The stake in the Vampire's hand was too familiar, yet too unfamiliar at once.
"You used to believe that I was a beast..."
He knew it. However when he tried to remember how he knew the wooden stake, he was met with nothing. He couldn't remember anything.
"You don't remember it," he stated, caressing the blonde-haired boy's face with his other hand. "You don't remember because I compelled you to forget."
For a minute Jack was frozen.
"Jackson, I'm..."
"That doesn't matter," he mumbled. "The past doesn't matter... All that matters is that, right now, I-"
"Don't."
"You only made me forget whatever it was because you were protecting me... Because you love me."
"Don't, Jackson," the Vampire repeated. "Don't justify my selfishness... I did it because I was selfish and wanted to keep you to myself..."
"But-" Jack began.
"If I truly loved you, I wouldn't have compelled you," he told him. "I ought to have trusted that my love was strong enough for you to stay..."
Jack stared at the Vampire with confusion. He still had no idea what he forgot or how it affected him.
"I love you, Jackson..." the Vampire smiled sadly. Despite the grief in his voice, Jack felt happiness bloom in his chest.
It was the three words; the way it fell from his lips so smoothly... He felt as though he was hearing it for the first time, each time
They were three words; Jack would never get used of hearing.
"I love you," the Vampire murmured. "And that's why I shall compel you, once again."
Jack stared at him, as the painfully familiar darkness seeped into his once-golden irises.
"Jackson." The Vampire's black eyes locked onto the blonde-haired boy, holding him in place.
"What..." he could hardly breathe. In that moment, it was just him and nothing else. The bronze-haired Vampire was everything. He had consumed all of him. "Do I..."
"Remember."
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