Reading (The title is too short, and I have no imagination : D)

Richard sat in a plush chair - sleeves rolled up and waist coat abandoned, as it normally was in the summer. But he still wore the same as he always did: tight trousers tucked into knee high boots and a neat button up shirt. Habit stopped him from wearing anything other then that, unless he was going somewhere. It was practical, considering he had to visited snow everyday.

A gentle breeze rolled through the window, forcing a page to turn. Richard grumbled, despite how nice the breeze was in this heat. That was one thing he did not like about Italy - it was normally too warm in the summer... Then again, it could be worse and the coven could of settled further down south.

His eyes flickered up from his book to look around the library. Still empty. With a shrug, he immersed himself back into the book. It was at the point where Jenny discovers that the man she disliked (who was obviously the love interest) was the heir of a major company.

((Nope, not listening to 'Belle' right now >>))

Jean-Claude wanted to read. And what better place to go than the library?

"Nareul mukkgo gadundamyeon sarangdo mukkin chae
Miraedo mukkin chae keojil su eobtneunde
Ja yurobge biweo nuh go barabwa
Ojik neoman chae ulge, neoman gadeuk chae ulge

Geobu hal su eobtneun neoeui maryeokeun Lucifer
Geobu hal su eobtneun neoeui mabeobeun Lucifer
Dagaseomyeon neoneun machi cheonsa gadeun eotgullo
Nareul saneun iyura malhago, malhago"

He sang quietly as he strolled down the isles of books, looking for one that would take his interest.

So far nothing had jumped out at him.

As soon as the sound singing entered his ears, Richard throw the book onto the table, and quickly picked up another. He ignored the fact the other one he was reading skidded off the coffee table. He quickly checked the title of his new book; 'Dorian Gray', and hid his slightly pink face behind it.

Just because he liked cheesy romance books did not mean that he liked others to know about it - whether he knew them or not. His guilty pleasure was something he tried to make sure that only he had knowledge about.

With hope that the other had not seen him reading the novel, whoever they were, and they would continue to sing in the foreign language and bypass him.

His head snapped up when he heard the clatter of books on a table, cheeks flushing slightly. Had he been heard?

It was a boy. A teenager.

Is he really a teenager? his mind asked.

"Uh....Hi," he said with an awkward smile, ruffling his brown hair.

He gulped again as the other in the room speak to him.

Oh God. As soon as he looks at the others way, he is going to know. It is written all over his face, he knew it. What if the stranger tells everyone?!

Baby-blue eyes widened at this thought.

He would never be looked at the same way again, let alone respected.

Not wanting to be rude, he tried to push the thoughts away. If he did not think about it, and if he kept a straight face, the other would not notice.

Trying to will down the blush, he slowly turned his face to the other vampire.

He was kinda cute.

Flushed deeper at this thought, he cracked out a; "Hello." before shoving his face back into his book.

His brows furrowed a little when the older vampire barely acknowledged him.

Oh...okay then...

He didn't know why he felt so hurt by the lack of acknowledgement. He'd had worse before. Hell, he worked in a blood bucket of a bar where you were lucky if people ignored you.

Jean-Claude just figured that since he was new and young everyone would want to get to know him.

He shook his head violently, scolding himself. He was letting being new get to his head. "Jagi jungsimjeog-in babo," he mumbled to himself.

---------------------------------------------
self-centred fool

Face slowly colouring to his normal complex, he subtly sighed in relief. His internal panic was all for nothing.

Listening to the man speak in that foreign language again, he twitched his head in curiosity. It sounded Asian to him... But he was not entirely sure where in Asia it was spoken.

Keeping his eyes on the book, knowing that it was rude but he did not want to risk his face blooming pink again.

"If you don't mind me asking, what language are you speaking?"

He looked up at the teena- older vampire. Then to his left and right to see if he was talking to someone else.

Why would he ignore him then ask him a question...?

"Korean. live over there. I've just come over here for a hol-" he paused, biting his lip softly. "I've just moved over here."

Come on, Jean-Claude, it's been nearly a week, he reminded himself mentally.

Richard picked up on the pause and the change of words.

He chewed his lip. A few more questions bubbled up the the surface of his thoughts.

Why did the other vampire say he lived in Korea, then state he moved in here? Did something happen back in his own home, or was he forced to live here? What was Korea like? Did he move out there or was he born there? since he did not look stereotypical Asian.

He tried to push the questions away and continue to 'read' his book. But the questions kept prodding him, making his take a sideways glance at the other vampire.

"Why did you move then?" Darn his curiosity getting the better of him.

His hand shot to his neck where, less than a week before, Gabe had nearly drained him.

"Something happened about a week ago that prevented me from getting back."

He picked up a book at random and loped to a chair near Dick's, sitting and opening the book in his lap.

Catching onto the hand going straight to the neck, he easily assumed what prevented him from going back.

His brows twitched a little downwards and knitted together.

"Were you turned by choice?" He paused for a moment, before apologising. "Sorry, I was probably overstepping the line there."

"It depends how you look at it," he replied quietly, eyes glued on the page he had opened the book to.

"I chose to drink his blood." His intense blue eyes turned up to Dick before falling to the page again. "But I didn't choose to be nearly drained."

Had Gabe forced it on him...?

He couldn't decided. One moment he could say yes and the other moment no.

"But the choice of whether you wanted to be a vampire or not was taken away from you."

He put down his book, the line between his eyes deepening. He felt a spike of anger towards whoever forced, in his eyes, the newly-turned vampire into this.

"Who forced you?" He tried not to be as angry as he was, but he was unable to stop the hiss.

"What does it matter?"

Why did the older vampire care who had turned him?

He was a vampire now and he had to deal with it. Getting angry at his sire wouldn't make anything better. He just had to carry on and adapt to his new life as best he could.

So he could beat the vampire into a bloody mess on ground. "Out of curiosity."

He was to tied up in his own anger that he did not notice the others expression. Tight lipped, and nails digging into the back of the book, he stayed cool - not wanting to explode in front of the other vampire.

"I think it's much more than that."

He was good at reading underlining anger. It came from working in a bar. You learned to tell when people were hiding their anger.

"It's unimportant."

"That's fine." He commented clip tone. Besides, he will find out soon enough.

Counting to ten and exhaling slowly he let relaxed slightly, mentally reminding himself that there was not point getting angry now. The other vampire was obviously not going to tell him. He pushed it into the back of his head, for now. Yet, his hands were still clenched.

He figured it was best to ask a more 'safe' question.

"What is your name?" He did not mean for the tone to be so snappy.

He returned the snappy tone with a slightly hostile stare, brown brows furrowed together a little.

But he relaxed after a moment.

"Jean-Claude D'Anjou."

"Richard." He introduced back stiffly.

Now that his anger, while still there, was pushed down and locked up tightly he found himself a little lost for words.

He fidgeted uncomfortably, looking down onto his book. He realised, with a flush, it had been upside down this whole time. Turning it the right side up, he began to 'read' it again and tried not to think about the cause of his anger too much.

"It's a pleasure," he muttered monotonously, turning the page of his book.

This older vampire and he hand't really gotten off to the best start, had they?

He ran his tongue over his lips then looked up at the blond with curious blue eyes. He was an older vampire, right...? Would he share his experiences as a vampire if Jean-Claude asked him...?

"How old are you?" he asked abruptly.

Having now simmered down, Richard blinked at the sudden question. He tore his eyes up from the book. Which, despite not being his original reading material, he had read it enough times to know what point he was at in the book.

"Five-hundred and forty-three years old, but I assume I don't look a day older then sixteen." He realised, the second time he had to say his what his age was this year, that he really did not like saying it. "Which is roughly the age most of the species are here... I think..." Maybe he should gather the ages of all those that reside in the mansion to work out the average age? He knew it would be pretty pointless, but it will pass the time whenever he was bored.

"May I ask how old you are?"

Five hundred...?

He ducked his head, hiding his wide eyes behind his fringe.

Now he really felt like a baby. This boy was eleven years younger than him physically but he was over five hundred years older than him.

"...Twenty seven," he muttered.

"Twenty-seven... Nice age to change at." He commented. "Not to young. But not exactly old, either."

He was slightly envious of the man in front of him. Sure, while he was fine about the age he was at when her was turned (Already a year into adulthood), he was now only seen as a boy.

Studying the man in front of him, he asked another question. Curiosity about the new vampire seeping into his thought again.

"You said that you lived in Korea... Did you move there or did you live there?"

"Old enough to work at a bar, young enough to look good doing so," he quipped, turning the page again. That was what his life had been about since he was nineteen. Good bar job, good-looking, good tips.

"I moved there eight years ago from France." He didn't know what prompted him to move so far away. He hadn't grown up around anything to do with Korea so the sudden move had shocked both his parents and himself.

"So, you are French then?" Richard asked, not taking interest in his book any more, but rather the other vampire in from of him.

"And why Korea? Must of been quiet a culture shock." He wondered if he was asking to many questions. Especially since he barely knew the man. But his curious nature kept prodding him into asking them.