Chapter four

"I want something else..."

Alarms bells went off in my head, the ringing so loud I could barely breathe. My chest felt too empty, my skin too tight for my bones. I pressed my back against the wall, wanting to be away from the strange, white haired boy, wanting to scream, to run. What would he do? He wasn't going to... Oh god.

The boy noticed my horror and laughed, almost kindly. He leaned against the door, arms crossed. "Just kidding!" He sang, his eyes dancing with amusement. It was almost comforting, for some reason. To see someone so happy, so real, when the people I knew were all constantly wearing masks. "I do want money," He told me, smiling. "I just want other things as well."

"Like what?" I questioned timidly, wrapping my arms around myself. "You wont..."

"No, not that," His bright blue eyes were full of comfort. I wasn't sure whether it made me want to scream or cry. "Like other things, Jace. Don't be so nosey. Come sit down. Victor will be bringing in our food any moment," The boy pulled out a chair for me. I looked pointedly down at the chain around my ankle.

"Can you take this off?" I asked quietly, shaking it. The sound echoed around the room.

"Oh, that," He shrugged. "It kind of depends if you're going to run, Jace. Do you promise not to run?"

I eyed the door, which he hadn't locked. "I promise," I lied. He pulled a key out of his pocket, which made my heartbeat speed up. It cant be that easy, can it?

"I don't really believe you," The boy said casually as he spun the key around his fingers. "Which is why I've brought these guys," Two older men entered the room and stood beside the door with their arms crossed. I scowled as my escape plan went completely down the drain. Fuck. I knew it couldn't be that easy.

"Now I can take it off," The boy bent down and unlocked the padlock. The chain fell off my foot onto the floor with a clanging sound. I wriggled my ankle, a bit more satisfied. The boy pointed at the chair closest to me. "Sit, please."

I sat down as the door opened again, my eyes widening as a man came in holding two plates. He was fucking huge. He could probably crush my head with one hand and not even break a sweat. I decided it was best not to mess with the snowy-haired boy who seemed all too happy with the current situation, or this huge beast of a man.

The boy sat across from me. "What's for dinner, Vicky?" He asked the man, who put the plates down on the table in front of us. "We have spring rolls, followed by salad, then lobster and finished with plum pudding topped with cream, ice cream, or melted caramel. The chef was a bit confused when you wanted such a mismatching meal but... Well, he did it."

I raised my eyebrows. The boy smiled at my reaction. "Do you like it? I took the courtesy of getting my chef to make a four-meal course for you."

"Thanks..." I trailed off. I was trying to figure out if he had any triggers. So far, the snowy-haired boy only seemed to be happy, if maybe a little hyper. He seemed eager to please me, which was strange. Why would you want to make a boy who you probably wanted to hurt happy? Manipulation? Was he going to draw me in and then hurt me?

His smile faded at my unsure answer. "Are you not impressed? Do you want something else?" The way he spoke held so much emotions, going from hyperactive and happy to disappointed but eager to please within five seconds. It made me both wary and curious.

"No, no, its fine," I said hurriedly. "It's just... I would have been happy with just the spring rolls."

"But what is the spring rolls without the salad and the lobster and the pudding? Meals that don't go together at all go together so well." He pointed out, leaning on his elbows and staring at me. It was true, to an extent. I liked mismatched meals.

I shrugged, nervous. What if I was angering him? "I don't know, I just don't eat much."

"You'll want to." His eyes twinkled. I narrowed my eyes at him, suspicious at his tone. Starvation? Was he going to starve me? Was that it?

"What's your name?" I asked with a burst of confidence, pushing my chair slightly away from the table.

"My name..." He looked confused for a second before he gasped. "Oh no! I didn't even introduce myself!" He stood up and held his hand out to me over the table. "Hello, I'm Winter. And you are obviously Jace, but... Well, introductions are important. Its polite. And I do try to be polite!" He was still extremely cheerful, but I found myself focusing on the name instead.

What kind of name was Winter? A made up one?

His hand was in front of me. There didn't seem to be any sort of electric thing I had seen in movies, nor did he look strong enough to crush me like 'Vicky,' so I figured it was probably okay to touch his hand.

"Jason. I'm Jason," I shook his hand cautiously, tugging my hand away the moment I was allowed.

He smiled again. He seemed to smile a lot. "Nice to meet you, Jason. I'm hoping you will enjoy the meal I have set up for you."

"Thanks..." I looked down at my plate. Winter was already eating. I poked the spring rolls with my fork, suspicious. "Is it poisoned?"

Winter looked up at me, obviously holding back a laugh. "No, of course not. I can eat it, if you want. To prove it's not poison?"

I shook my head and ate my food in silence. Winter hummed as he ate, which strangely made the meal less awkward as I listened to him.

When the pudding came onto the table, I shook my head and pushed my bowl toward him. "I'm full. You can have it," I told him. He pouted and picked up my spoon.

"Come on, Jacey. Please just have a spoonful?"

"No, I really can't..." I trailed off as he stood up and walked around the table to me. "Um... what are you doing?"

He got a spoonful of the pudding and held it near my face. "Open wide, Jacey."

"What?"

"Come on, open up," He blinked innocently and sat on the table with his legs crossed. "Honestly, Jacey, I have all day if you don't want to eat this. Just one spoonful."

I gave in and opened my mouth. He put the spoon in and watched as I swallowed the pudding, cringing. He didn't seem to want to hurt me... More like he cared for my health? Did he actually... No. No, he didn't. This man was a psychopath, and I needed to remember that.

"Alright, time for rules!" Winter pushed everything off the table, and I winced as I heard several plates shatter. He threw the spoon over his shoulder too, and it hit one of the men standing by the door. "Sorry, Mark!" He shouted.

"It's okay, sir."

Winter turned back to look at me. "Ready for the rules, Jacey?"

I nodded, eyes wide. He pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket and looked down at it. "Okay, here goes. Bedtime by ten pm. Dinner is strictly at seven o'clock. I expect you to have a bath at exactly eight thirty-five pm. Once a week, I'm going to be sleeping in here to keep you company. Lastly, treat me the way you want to be treated yourself. As in if you're nice to me, I'll be nice to you. If you're rude to me, I'll get angry and then I don't know what I'll do. Right Sammy?"

One of the bouncers cringed and hid his arm behind his back. I gulped. Winter turned back to me. "Hector is my latest victim, even though it was an accident," He explained. I tilted my head.

"I t-thought you called him Sammy?"

"Yeah, but that's just what I call him. Because he looks like Sam Smith?" At my blank face, he shook his head. "It's an inside joke, never you mind," He put the paper back in his pocket. "Do you agree with the rules?"

"Um..." One of the rules stood out to me. "Where will you be sleeping when you're in here?"

"In your bed, of course."

"And where am I going to sleep?"

"In your bed, knucklehead," He ruffled my hair and looked at his watch. "Okay, bath time. I'll give you some privacy, unless I feel like coming in. Then there's honestly nothing you can do," He jumped off the table, landing swiftly on the floor. The two men left the room. He tucked some of his albino hair behind his ear. "I'll see you in the morning at six am, Jacey. Go and have a bath."

"Okay," I stood up, nearly shaking. "I... Okay."

"And Jace?" Winter called after me when I reached the bathroom door. I turned around, looking at him.

"Yeah?" I asked, shrinking away from him.

"We don't want to hurt you. I promise."

How could such an evil person sound so kind?

I nodded, hugging my arms around myself, and closed the bathroom door.

I screamed inside my head for at least ten minutes.

This could not be happening.

Author's Note:

FINALLY. A chapter on this book past 700 words. I hope you're all enjoying The Snowy-haired Genius so far! I personally kind of like it. It really does get better though, I promise. Up to chapter sixteen, I wrote this when I was thirteen. It... Well, it kind of sucks so far. And the pudding thing was weird.

I cringe so much. I am the cringe lord.

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Thanks for reading my darlings!

Xoxoxo,

-Kai

<>THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN EDITED. THIS IS NOT FOR THE READERS, THIS IF FOR ME TO REMIND MY DUMB FUCKING SELF. THIS HAS BEEN EDITED, KAI!<>