Chapter seven

Breakfast the next day was scrambled eggs and toast. Winter gave me some coffee too but told me that coffee wasn't something he allowed often, so I should be proud with myself.

I wasn't.

He got his bodyguards to take me up to his music room, where he sat down and practised his music. I realised Winter was incredibly talented. He could paint, sing, and play several instruments, including guitar, piano, drums, flute, and violin.

I felt incredibly untalented as I watched him play the flute in a bored manner. I mean, I lived in a family of a billionaire/scientist, two models, and an actor, so I was used to feeling untalented, but Winter made me feel completely useless.

Well. I was useless. He just bought up the fact without speaking a word.

I sat on a couch in the corner, staring at him. Winter had given me a book and told me to finish it before the end of the day, so I was meant to be reading, but I couldn't help but watch. Outside the door were his two bouncers, so I wasn't even going try and escape. Without an escape plan, all I could do was listen to his beautiful music and watch as he played with his eyes closed.

"Ugh," Winter said after a few minutes, looking frustrated as he put his flute back. "Boring," He complained. I turned the page on my book, except I wasn't really reading. I wanted to see what he was going to do next. To my pleasure and surprise, Winter sat down in front of the grand piano next to the window and started to play.

I watched in awe. He was good at all the instruments I had seen him play so far, but the piano was definitely the best. His fingers moved around the keys as naturally as breathing itself, and it was hypnotising. I watched for as long as I could, until he spoke. "You know, Jace, that book isn't going to read itself. Could you stop watching me please?"

Face burning, I looked down at my book as fast as I could. "Sorry. It's just... your music kind of distracts me."

He stopped playing and leaned lazily on the top of the piano. "How much of the book did you actually read?" He asked. I shrugged.

"A few pages."

"Read it to me."

"I don't really... uh..." I scratched my head awkwardly. "I don't really like reading out loud. Is that okay?"

"That's okay, Jace," He straightened back up and stretched his shoulders. "As long as you always obey my rules, I don't mind what you do. This is your house too until I get what I want from your father."

"What do you want from Dan?"

"Dan?" He blinked at me. "You call your father by his first name when not in public with him. Interesting," He pressed a key on the piano. I closed my book and stood up.

"I guess so," I replied, sitting down next to him but making sure to put some distance between us. Piano had always been beautiful and fascinating to me, so being able to sit in front of such a gorgeous instrument was a privilege. "How do you play?"

"You really want to be taught piano by your stalker?" His eyes twinkled. "How adorable."

My stomach swooped. "I..." I honestly had no answer to that.

He shook his head, almost sadly. "I can't teach you now anyway. Its lunchtime. Come on, we're eating in the dining room today. Maybe another time."

I stood up and followed him out the door.

The table had already been set up with food. Winter sat down across from me, as he usually did, but I wasn't paying attention to the food. I was looking at the giant picture on the wall. It had a kid who I supposed was little Winter, a young man with white hair, and a woman with pale blonde hair. They were all smiling. "Is that you?" I asked. He looked up at the picture.

"Yes, I'm the child," He smiled.

"Are those your parents?"

"Yes."

"What do they think of you kidnapping me?" I asked, looking at him. He shrugged.

"I wouldn't know. They're not here at the moment," He replied, which was interesting. I opened my mouth to ask some more questions, but Winter leaned over the table to shove a sandwich in my mouth. "Eat."

I cringed and ate the sandwich. Satisfied, Winter sat back in his seat. "After lunch we're going to play some board games in my game room." He told me. I nodded.

"Sounds... Uh. Fun."

The way I saw it, if I did what he said, being here wouldn't be that bad. I'd convince him we were friends, and then when he least suspected it I'd get out of here. Back to the streets of Melbourne, the apartment and my family. Back to... Back to what?

"Are you good at board games?" He asked me curiously. I shrugged.

"I mean, I'm not bad at them. It really depends what games."

"I have all sorts of games. My favourite is chess."

"My favourite is the game of life or monopoly." I replied. He smiled and took a sip of his drink.

<><><><>

Winter beat me twelve out twelve times in chess, twenty-three out of twenty-three in checkers and nine out of nine times in Chinese checkers. We even had a race to see who could complete a puzzle the fastest, and he won in that too. Maybe he really was a genius. He definitely was compared to me.

"You're impossible to beat," I complained. He shrugged and started to set up the chess board again.

"Come on, maybe this time you'll win."

"Nah, I'm sick of losing my dignity. When's dinner?" I knocked one of the chess pieces over in boredom.

Winter chuckled. "You're starting to become like me. Always wanting food. I don't think my chef is here at the moment, so we can go down and cook something if you like?"

I nodded, standing up.

In the kitchens, Winter once again outranked me. I made a mental note in my head; there wasn't anything Winter wasn't good at. He didn't even need to read the recipe or measure anything out; he just added the ingredients and the chocolate cake came out perfectly.

"Is there anything you're not good at?" I asked as we ate the cake together. He was silent. I fell silent too.

"Winter, sir, you really aren't allowed to do this," A voice said from behind me. I turned and looked up at him, but opened my mouth in dismay when a man called Victor, who I had met a few hours ago, took the cake away from us. I pouted, but Winter just sighed and swung his legs under the table. "You'll spoil your dinner," Victor continued. "Also, I don't really think you should let this boy just walk around with you. What if he gets out? You'll be arrested, you know that? We'll all be arrested."

"But he gets lonely down in the basement," Winter whined, like I was some sort of pet. I managed to find that amusing and I blinked innocently up at Victor. He shook his head, glaring at me.

"I really can't let him walk around with you, for the sake of your safety and mine."

"Fine," Winter grumbled. "Send him back down to the basement. I'll be down to eat dinner with you at seven, Jace. Until then, you can read your book."

"I finished it," I said. He let out a satisfied hum.

"That was fast. I'll send a few more down then. You like The Hunger Games, don't you?"

"Yeah, I guess so."

"Good. I'll send that down." He stood up and walked out of the room, leaving me with his body guards.

Author's Note:

I know nobody really cares about this book. And I'm sorry I'm updating this more than My Foxy Lover, but honestly? I enjoy this book. I enjoy looking back on the stuff I wrote when I was thirteen. I enjoy uploading the chapters, and I enjoy writing this author's note. So yes, this book will be updated a lot more than My Foxy Lover, but it's because I've already got twenty-nine chapters written. All I have on MFL is what you guys have already read, plus the chapter I'm halfway through writing at the moment.

<>Update on the above. MFL is literally nothing compared to how popular this book has gotten haha<>

I have a question. What do you guys think of Winter and Jason so far? I honestly love the characters. Winter, constantly laughing and smiling. Jason, kind of a little brat sometimes but he's been rejected his whole life, so you cant really blame him. I really like Winter's name too. I know some of you are probably like "Wtf who names their kid Winter?" and all I can say is just because it suits him.

Anyway, I should probably stop talking lol.

Thanks for reading my darlings!

Please vote/comment/share.

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!<>