Chapter 26: The Burned

Chan opened the door to his place. It was where he and Yang both lived, though it was less like an apartment and more like a mansion. With many different rooms and guest areas. "Wow.." Bambang whispered, looking around. The two hadn't said anything to the other after the kiss, instead of both going quiet, only rarely stealing glances.

Chan began to walk towards the couch, but Bambang grabbed his arm, pulling him around to look at Chan. He took a second, staring into Chan's eyes, before leaning in for another kiss. Chan was shocked by Bambang's sudden movement, but once he understood what the other was trying to do, he did the same, leaning in for the kiss.

But this time, unlike the last kiss, held intentions. Very bad intentions.

Chan slowly walked forward, making Bambang walk back until his back touched the wall. Their kiss didn't break, Chan's lips turning upwards into a smile. Bambang broke the kiss. "Where's your bedroom?" Bambang asked, his voice low to a whisper. Chan smiled, grabbing Bambang's hand and pulling him from the wall.

"I'll lead you."

・‥…━━━━━━━☆☆━━━━━━━…‥・

Jingfei sat on the couch, watching a boring sitcom that had been here for a while. Wei was on one side of him, while Ying was on the other. Yang was in front of Jingfei on the floor, watching the show as well. "You're quiet." Wei observed, continuing to type on his phone. Jingfei looked over at Wei, looking at his phone. He was texting someone. Jingfei looked away. "I'm fine." Jingfei sighed.

Wei shut off his phone, looking over at Jingfei. "Why do you want to suddenly learn how to hunt?" Wei questioned, giving Jingfei his full attention, but Jingfei didn't need that. He didn't even need half of the other's attention. Him and Ying had a conversation upstairs for the last hour. At first, they talked about what Jingfei did. He never was scolded by Ying, even if Jingfei had scolded himself. Ying said there was no reason to be scared.

"I don't want you to waste your time. I think it would just be better if I learned.." Jingfei sighed, a soft frown on his face. Yang turned around to look at him. "Aren't you scared of hurting someone?" Yang asked, also having a frown. Jingfei looked away and nodded. He was very much still scared of hurting someone. But he didn't want to do it uncontrollably, he would rather just make it quick and try not to. "I….I just want to have control of myself." Wei looked at him for a moment, before nodding. "Okay, well, that makes sense."

Jingfei smiled and nodded. He stood, combing a hand through his hair and walking towards the kitchen. He grabbed a small bag of potato chips, opening them with a pop, before snacking on the crispy flakes. Well he would, if Ying didn't suddenly appear from beside him, snatching the chips from Jingfei. His hand moved from the sudden movement, somewhat stinging from the cut on his hand. Jingfei looked up at him with a sad expression, but Ying had a tired one. "You can't eat human food." Ying said, replacing the chips with his metal tumbler. "Oh… yeah." Jingfei mumbled.

He took a sip of the blood. It tasted like potato chips. The exact same. Only difference was the slight earthy taste, irony. Something Jingfei was starting to like. That was the only way he could tell the difference between real potato chips and blood, it was that metallic taste. Like a piece of metal. Slowly the stinging began to subside, before being forgotten about all together. Jingfei leaned down onto the counter, looking up at the ceiling.

Jingfei felt like a hippy from the states. One that was always high and said the word 'man' a little too much. The taste of blood was practically euphoric, making his mind blur for just a few seconds. However, he also felt terrible. Since this was someone's blood he was drinking. "Am I an addict?"Jingfei asked, looking down at Ying, who widened his eyes. Wei looked confused. "Addict?" He asked. Yang, who was slightly behind him, face palmed.

"Addict, like someone who is addicted to something." Yang informed briefly. Ying shook his head lightly, sighing disappointedly at something. "You are so old." Ying mumbled, but Wei very much heard that. "Hey, I will starve you for a week and let you only drink blood from an alcoholic if you don't shut up!" Wei threatened, his eyes red and teeth sharp, though he didn't seem scary. Instead, he seemed more laughable. However Ying was still quiet. "Sorry…" Ying mumbled.

Yang rolled his eyes, looking up at Jingfei. "Why do you feel like an addict?" Yang asked. Jingfei looked up, before back down at the cup. The thickened red liquid swirled in the cup with Jingfei's hand, slowly creeping up the metal tumbler until Jingfei slowed his movement. The liquid was intoxicating, like alcohol. Calming, refreshing, and energizing at the same time. Jingfei lifted the cup, taking another sip.

He felt everyone's eyes on him, to which he looked up. "What?" He asked, obviously forgetting the question and confused. Yang facepalmed, while Ying tapped his shoulder. "The question is, why did you say you felt like an addict?" Ying asked once again. Jingfei took a second, before sighing, letting the cooled down liquid slide easily down his throat before looking up at Ying.

"I get cravings and urges to take it from anyone. I feel like I'm going crazy, and I get sick after I take a sip. Doesn't that sound like an addict?" Jinfei said calmly, looking at Ying with asking eyes. Ying sucked in a breath, shaking his head. "No, it's... it's not. You aren't an addict. You're just.... Not an addict." Ying denied, shaking his head. Jingfei took a second, looking back down at the drink. "Why do you get sick?" Wei asked, standing from his seat, he walked over to Jingfei, placing a hand on his forehead. "I thought you said vampires can't get sick?" Jingfei said.

Wei nodded. "They can't, but I was specifically talking about viruses and diseases. When it comes to what you ingest, like blood or food, then there might be a problem." Wei explained. The conversation went from Jingfei's thoughts on vampires, to Jingfei being sick. Wei grabbed Jingfei's hand, placing his thumb on Jingfei's wrist. A sharp pain rose up from Jingfei's wrist, an almost stab from a golden silver knife. Jingfei shouted in pain, trying to pull from Wei's wrist, but the elder kept his grip.

The pain only intensified, tears slightly forming in Jingfei's eyes as he tried to pull away. "Wei, what are you doing?" Ying asked worriedly, crossing his arms. Wei frowned. Jingfei finally had the power to yank his hand away, the pain numbed as he stood, looking up at Wei with anger in his eyes. "What the hell was that for?!" Jingfei asked. His voice never went so low, and he had never been as mad at someone. Wei sighed a breath of relief. "It's the blood." Wei sighed.

Ying stared at him. "The blood? What do you mean by that?" Ying asked, holding Jingfei's hand to stop him from hitting Wei. "I placed a hand on your vein, which does cause pain. But two things either happen, one is you cower and hide away, and two," Wei casually shrugged. "Try to attack me in retaliation." Wei explained, while Jingfei widened his eyes, stepping back and looking down. "Sorry.." Jingfei apologized. Wei shook his head.

"No need to be sorry." Wei says calmly. Yang popped his head into the conversation. "So, what does that mean? Is he sick or something?" Yang asked. Wei lightly shakes his head. "He's not sick, at least not now. I'm going to run a test on the blood I give Jingfei. Worst case scenario, someone messed with the blood." Wei said calmly. Jingfei's eyes widened, but Ying was quick to grab Jingfei's hand. "It's just for testing, no one is trying to kill you." Ying sighed.

Jingfei let out a breath of relief. "Oh, good."