(This is what I have come up with. I was tired writing this, so if you see any mistakes...lemme know.)
David and Nathan were sitting together in slightly awkward silence.
How did they end up that way?
You could ask Jeanie Katz.
Jeanie would say that she was just overwhelmed by the fact that supernatural beings existed, and that she needed a breath of fresh air. That the reason she excused herself from the room was to get a grip on reality, after that intense explanation she had just received from Nathan.
But really, she couldn't be more accepting of the idea that crazy people-eating people roamed the earth. That not only vampires, but werewolves also walked on the same ground as the humans. It was hard to register, but after witnessing the return of Sarah, it wasn't unbelievable.
Nope. The real reason why she left the room because she saw a perfect opportunity to leave Nathan with David- alone. Nathan had spent his time playing matchmaker. Now, it was her time to make a match for him.
Yeah yeah. She could wait until Nathan happened to stumble upon his soulmate, but until that happened, she didn't want the poor idiot to be all alone. Especially when David's crush on him was so obvious, and Nathan's denial was too apparent. She could definitely see a perfect match.
She secretly hoped that they would end up as soulmates, though she wasn't sure how old David was. If David was not yet twenty-one, the pale boy could still find his soulmate on his twenty-first birthday.
Anyways, here David and Nathan were, sitting on the same couch, wondering what to do. Jeanie had left. They were alone.
" So," started Nathan, " What do you think our best friends are up to?"
David blushed, perhaps because Nathan was talking to him, and shrugged. Nathan looked over at David and his red cheeks. The kid was super shy to be a guardian of the forest, but the king found that extremely cute. He thought it was lucky for whoever ended up with David as a soulmate.
"I don't know," David said quietly, not looking back at Nathan. He knew if he looked at the king, he wouldn't be able to contain his blush. David felt those beautiful, ocean-blue eyes concentrate on him, and it made him squirm.
"Why do you bush so much?" Nathan smiled kindly, "There's nothing to be shy about."
For some reason, that made David blush even more.
"I don't know," David repeated, "I'm sorry..."
Nathan's smile grew, "You don't have to say sorry either. You did nothing wrong."
"Sorr-" David started and then stopped abruptly, "I mean- nevermind."
David heard a distant grunt in his mind, his wordless Leshy side, who was obviously saying: How stupid can you be?
The two men sat in silence. I wasn't really uncomfortable, just a little awkward, seeing as neither of them had anything to say. David sat, twiddling his thumbs with nervousness, eyes downcasted. Nathan sat, staring at him, with seemingly no shame. The king looked at David as if he was trying to figure the boy out. Just watching him sitting there so awkwardly made Nathan yearn to see what was going on inside his head.
Then, Nathan had a stupid idea.
"So," Nathan asked, "Got any crushes? Maybe a girlfriend?"
"I have one," David murmured, his calmed blush firing up once more, "-Crush, that is! One crush."
Nathan had a suspicion on who it was, but he continued.
"Oh really? That's cute!" Nathan said, "Who is it?"
David's blush increased, eyes still looking at his busy thumbs.
"I-I can't say," David stuttered, "I mean-it's a secret." David's heart was beating fast. He didn't want Nathan to find out he was attracted to him! What if he made fun of him? It would hurt worse than the mean words of those guys back at the pack. Than the words of the other Leshyi...
"Aw, you can tell me!" Nathan pleaded, "I won't tell anyone, I promise. I won't even try and push you guys together like I did Jake and Derrick! Please, please, tell me-Who is it?!" Nathan was begging like his life depended on David's reply. The king wanted David to just admit it and get it over with. And maybe...he just wanted to see if his assumptions were true...
"No, really!" David protested, "It's not that important." David wasn't going to answer no matter how much Nathan begged. And Nathan realized that.
The king sighed-disappointed. He decided to change the subject to keep the conversation flowing, for he rather have that than awkward silence again.
"Fine," Nathan said, "I give up. But when's your twenty-first birthday? You said it was soon. That means you'll find your soulmate right?"
David smiled and nodded, "Less than a month. February fourteenth. I can't wait to meet whoever he is."
"'He'?" Nathan asked, curious.
"Well," David said, "At least, I think it's a guy. My crush is a man, but he is my first crush. The only one I've found truly attractive. I'm guessing I'm homosexual-gay, in other words-, but I don't really like labels. I just call it 'love'."
Nathan tried hard not to coo at David's sweet nature or blush from imagining the mysterious 'crush' was him. He managed to keep a calm facade, but his smile was the brightest it had been in a long time.
"What about you?" David asked, "Any c-crushes?"
Oh, now it gets awkward.
"Um, well, before Jake came along...I had a hard crush on Derrick," Nathan confessed, "But they became soulmates so...I guess it wasn't meant to be? It kind of made me feel...bad, I guess? But maybe it's a sign from life. Maybe I'll get my soulmate soon. I guess I managed to get over it quickly, but now-"
David interrupted Nathan by suddenly launching himself off of the couch cushion and wrapping his small arms around the king. The sudden action from the shy boy was such a surprise, it caught Nathan off guard, and he found himself blushing while David buried his face into Nathan's shoulder. It was such a sincere hug, Nathan was totally stunned. You could feel the warmth and sympathy radiating off of the boy, reassuring comfort to the king in his arms. It was as if David knew all the pain Nathan had gone through- and then tried to hug it right out of him.
It was the best hug he had ever received.
And that was an achievement. Nathan was an affectionate guy- he had received many hugs. But for this to be the best hug was overwhelming.
It almost made Nathan cry.
The hug felt more loving than all those times when Nathan's mother gave him a goodnight kiss and hug before he fell asleep.
It felt more complete than those little side-man-hugs that his father used to give him when he was introducing Nathan to other people, pride in his eyes.
It was more soothing than that time when a girl broke his heart, and his sister sat, hugging him all night.
Nathan's only thought was: How could someone give such a good hug? One filled with so much passion?
After a while, David spoke, "I'm sorry it worked out that way. I hope you will find your soulmate someday... and -if not, then maybe someone you could spend your whole life with. Who knows-maybe fate will give you a second chance."
"Thank...you..."Nathan barely got out. David was still hugging him, so the king carefully wrapped his arms around David's small frame. Then he had a more less-stupid idea. "Hey, in return for the hug, why don't you come over to my room? I'll let you borrow some of my clothes since you have none to change into...would that be okay?"
"Yeah," David smiled, "That would be great."
"Okay...but I'll need you to get off of me first," Nathan smirked, winking. David still had his arms wrapped around Nathan's neck and was basically sitting in the king's lap. The realization caused David to quickly jump off the king's lap and onto the floor...before he tripped on an invisible foot and fell face-first. His cheeks were stained red from embarrassment.
But when he rolled over to get up, there was a hand outstretched to him- Nathan's hand. David blushed even more as the king asked an "Are you okay?" and his hand slid into Nathan's warm, big one.
That little gesture of kindness made the embarrassment a little more bearable.
~{()}~
King Rastus sat in the Hallway of Ancestors. It was the middle of the night, but he was awake. A bad feeling tingled amongst his whole body. He knew something bad was going to happen, but he didn't know when or what it was. He just knew. It gave him the chills as he thought of what could possibly be so bad that he felt like this.
But the bad feeling wasn't what woke him up in the middle of the night. No, it was a nightmare. The same nightmare he has had since the accident-no, slaughter. It was no accident.
He looked up at the picture of his wife, his face solemn with the memory of her. She was his everything-his soulmate, but now she was gone. He would never see her sparkling eyes ever again. Yes, Derrick had the same color eyes as his dead wife.
But his son's eyes didn't sparkle anymore.
They were both broken after her death. Derrick turned sour with anger and revenge. The king shut himself out with grief. The world had no purpose anymore.
All thanks to those werewolves.
The king knew about those creatures more than they thought he did. He knew that a woman from their pack killed his wife for her own benefit. He knew that he killed two old pack leaders- and almost a third- when all of the sudden a fourth-that woman- came and attacked his wife.
Then she shifted into a human. The king thought he was crazy at first, struck with hallucinations after seeing his wife die with a single bite. But no, that woman shifted into a human, tears running down her face, guilt emanating from her entire facade. She looked at his dead wife's body as if she couldn't believe what she did. Then, she looked at the king with a sorrowful expression.
Then the woman shifted and supported the only last living wolf back to wherever their pack lay.
The king thought it was just a coincidence at first, but after overhearing Derrick and Jake's conversation, there was no doubt.
He wasn't going to blame Jake-Jake obviously didn't know. But the king knew now that the stranger who he had allowed into his house was a werewolf.
But what he can now confirm, more than ever, was that Jake- kind, sweet, innocent Jake...
Had the same eyes as his wife's killer.
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1910 words
I thought that was a good place to stop XD
Don't you? Lol, I feel really evil.
ANYWAYS! How are you guys, right now?
I've had a tough week, but it wasn't that bad.
Fun Fact: After this book, I'm going to write a book called 'Ghost Guardian' (Title might change) but then AFTER THAT I was thinking I would make a little spin-off (sequel?) to this book featuring Nathan (and his soulmate ;)! It's all about when he goes back to his kingdom. But some mysterious stuff is up. If you like this idea, let me know.
ANYWAYS!!!
Thank you for reading!! xoxo