The Pauper's Dream [boyxboy]

The Pauper's Dream

Chapter One (Kasper's POV)

Loneliness.

The darkness that practically engulfs you so tightly, it's almost suffocating. The darkness that shields your eyes from the light so it won't burn, the darkness that holds your hand when no one else will. At first, it's terrifying. It's so dark and so quiet. There's no one else there. Even if you see their shadows, their backs are turned to you and the only thing that's there is the darkness.

Over time, the darkness becames the only company.

The loneliness becomes less painful.

That's one thing I stuck by, one thing I repeated over and over in my head as I went about the Lithium Mansion, performing all the duties of the average servant. Who knew people were still old-fashioned like Thorn and Naoki of Lithium? Maids, butlers, gardeners. Oh, but what rich person couldn't fall prey to such luxeries? If I had the chance, I would leap at it.

But no.

I was a servant.

And I accepted it.

The loneliness, the servitude. All of it was heaven compared to anything previously. Anythings that I didn't particularly want to delve into. Anythings that I tried so hard to forget, but somehow, they ended up seeping into my reality from my nightmares.

"Kasper. Are you listening to me?" I snapped out of my trance, blinking twice as vibrantly colored flowers greeted my retinas painfully. I turned my head to see Naoki sitting comfortably in a lawn chair on the side of the pool, holding his laptop in his lap. His bright green eyes peered over the top of a pair of sleek black sunglasses that matched his snug shorts and tank top.

"Sorry." I managed at last. Naoki sighed, looking away back to the laptop as he reached out, tapping his nail against his empty glass. I rushed over immediately, pouring ice cold lemonade and watching the ice cube bob. My mouth watered, but I said nothing and withdrew as Naoki spoke again.

"We're losing stocks. I don't understand these stupid human rules. Where I am from, we get our money from hard work and knowledge, not a bunch of sweaty pigs sitting in a crowded room losing their voices." He rambled aimlessly.

I pretended to understand, nodding my head and agreeing with everything he said. After all, I had never had any sort of schooling. How I managed to learn to read was stunning. I didn't know a thing about stocks or Wall Street or whatever all that stuff was.

I just knew Naoki wanted to save up as much money as he could to keep their pack one of the richest in the country, maybe even the world. I pretended to understand that too. I wasn't fond of "packs", "clans", and "families". They were just a group of individuals to me.

"Could you go check on lunch, Kasper? I feel like I'm going to starve soon if I don't get something in my stomach." Naoki sighed miserably, tilting his head back to face the hot sun above. I nodded my head, placing the kitchen on the glass table by Naoki before heading across the back lawn, onto the cobblestone patio before stepping into a nice, air-conditioned home.

The mansion was huge made up of at least four wings. One with all the rooms that belonged to pack members, including Thorn and Naoki. Another wing was for the kitchen, dining, living room, den, study room, and entertainment. The third wing was for the main entrance and lobby area with halls that led to the other wings, and staircase that led to the next three floors of the mansion. The final wing was simply storage, things from Naoki's modeling jobs and museums as well as Thorn's family heirlooms.

The walls were marbled white to match the occasional Roman columns with walls covered in ancient, modern, and self art to have even the most prestigious art collector drooling. Even so, I found myself unimpressed with the old style as I made my way to the kitchen area.