Full Exclusive Rights (bxb)

57. Chasing Rabbits

   We're cuddling and staring at the staggering view in silence, enjoying our closeness for what seems an hour.

   "So, are you ready to learn all the secrets of The Dark Prince?" Em suddenly says, kissing my ear.

   "Em, I'm not...," I stutter, slightly ashamed that I used to call him this way too.

   "You didn't think that I wasn't aware how people called me, did you?" he snorts through laughter, rubbing his cheek in my hair. "To be honest, I actually quite like it. Sounds a little cheesy, but it's still cool. I can understand why they've come up with it."

   He looks at me slyly and smirks, "Just wait. I'm sure you'll have a nick name of your own soon. I expect something like 'The Angel Face' or 'Prince Charming'..."

   "Stop it!" I start to giggle.

   Em is unfazed and goes on, "What about 'Cuddle Bunny' or 'Sweet Cheeks'..."

   "Nooo," I chuckle. "I'm not that cute."

   "Yes, you are! Oh, I know! We'll be 'The Dark Prince' and his 'Sexy Kitten'." 

   We both laugh out loud.

   "I hope you know that I'm not asking you to tell me about you out of curiosity," I mumble when we calm down. "It's just that I'm so insecure most of the time. I need to know what's going on around me in order not to constantly freak out. Sorry, if it's not comfortable for you."

   "Oh, kitty, you're so sweet," Em squeezes me closer. "I'm your boyfriend. You can ask me anything and I'll be happy to answer. I'm not uncomfortable at all. I want you to know everything about me." 

   He kisses my cheek and starts. 

   "Ok, here we go. I told you that I spent my early childhood in Italy. We lived in a big country house, in a picturesque village, close to Bologna. There were me, mom and dad, my sister and my nonna. It's the most beautiful place in the world," he sighs, "with green hills, lavish orchards and vineyards, old red and ochre houses and rabbits, running free everywhere. It was just what a child needs to be happy. Every day was like a dream."

   I smile at the vision of this wonderful place. I can imagine cute little Em, cooking every day with his nonna and running through the green meadows, chasing rabbits.

   "I'd like to see this," I whisper, pressing closer to him.

   "Mhm," he nods.

   There's some weird tone in his voice. I wonder what it means for a brief moment, but then focus again on what he's telling me. 

   "I was really happy and free," he smiles a little sadly. "But, as it often happens, it ended abruptly one day when my parents decided to move here and live in the capital. My father opened a new branch of his company and mom wanted to run an art gallery. I was ten at that time."

   I can feel him tensing and fear that what's coming is not good. 

   "I was really excited at the beginning. I had never been to my mother's home country before, so I couldn't wait to see it." Em makes a pause and shakes his head. "And I was shocked to the core."

   He brushes his fingers through my hair and gasps, "I think, you can, unfortunately, relate to that, having recently arrived from Japan. You know what it means to find yourself in a completely different world. I can assure you that you coped with it much better than me. I was lost. The capital is nothing like this warm, beautiful, sea resort. It's cold, overpopulated, noisy and dirty. I didn't like it. I actually hated it the very second we got off the plane." 

   Em buries his face in my shoulder and becomes silent.

   "I'm so sorry, Dārin!" I whisper and take his hand. 

   The thought of Em, being unhappy and frightened, just breaks my heart.

   "Anyway," he continues quietly, "the worst part was the new school. The first months of middle school here were the hardest times in my life. I was nothing similar to what I am now."

   Another pause follows. Em takes a deep breath as if to gain courage. My heart shrinks but I'm silent, giving him the time, he needs. 

   "I had no self-confidence," he whispers. "On the contrary, I was extremely shy. I was also very tall, almost a foot above my classmates, too skinny, my hair much longer than the local fashion and my complexion too pale. I liked wearing dark clothes and listened to alternative rock. In general, I was totally different from the others, an outcast."

   Em laughs gloomily, "To top it all, I had a severe foreign accent, although I spoke the local language fluently." 

   He huffs and squeezes my hand, "You can imagine what followed. The kids at that age are nothing close to kind and understanding. I became a constant object of bulling. It wasn't physical, but mainly verbal, and didn't happen every day. It was often enough, though, to make my heart shrink every morning when I had to go to school. I started having panic attacks. I just refused to leave the house at some point. My parents were seriously considering to send me back to Italy."

   "Oh, Em, this is so awful!" I turn around to face him and hug him tightly. "No child should go through such trials." 

   I'm so outraged that I feel my eyes tearing up. I try to wipe them over his shoulder, without being noticed

   "Aww, sweet kitty, don't be upset. It's all in the past," Em coos, kissing my wet lashes. 

   "Besides, I had my savior," he chuckles. 

   I raise my brows questioningly and he goes on.

   "The doorbell rang one morning, while I was pleading with my mom to stay home for the day. It was a boy from my class. We had barely spoken more than one or two times. He was one of the popular kids. The girls were crazy about him. Even the bullies wanted to be his friends. He was constantly in a good mood, kind and funny. Everyone liked his blond, curly hair, the cute, freckled face and those big, blue eyes that were always smiling."

   "Jamie," I mumble quietly in amazement.

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A/N

Hello everyone at the end of Chapter 57!

Thank you for reading and supporting! ❤❤❤

The story reached 10K reads and I'm speechless! 💗

You're amazing!

Isn't little Em, chasing rabbits in the green meadows of Emilia-Romagna the cutest thing? 💕💕💕

Did you like this side of him?

Did you expect his savior to be Jamie? 🥰

Are you curious about Lucky too? 😉😉😉

More revelations are coming today, so stay around. 😁

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