The Guide is Actually a Body-Switching Esper [BL]
Chapter 125: Ah, Well...

Chapter 125: Ah, Well...

Lane’s Routine Guiding session went well. He was still a bit (well, maybe a bit more than ’a bit’) distracted by his unexpected meeting with Damien, but it was alright. It’s not like there was anything he had to do other than to sit his ass down as the Guide assigned to him for the day - a random F-ranker whose face he somewhat recognized from his time in the General Staff - held his hand, and guided him. Or, to be precise, poured some guiding into Lane and confirmed that Lane was perfectly stable and with no need for guiding at all.

With that out of the way, Lane was all good and free to go. The Association wouldn’t now bother him again until a year after - he was just an ’F-ranker’, after all! He posed no real danger to others, even if he were to go on a rampage. Well, ’no real danger’ was an exaggeration, but he’d be not much different from a civilian who went mad and started punching people around. Or, maybe stabbing or shooting would be a better comparison. It’d be bad, of course, but not at all comparable to rampaging high-rankers. Lane was... fairly harmless.

At least that’s what the Association believed.

Stepping out of the cubicle, Lane lifted his arms high in the air, stretching his whole body with a yawn. With that out of the way, he could return home and chill for a bit, then switch back to Xavier, and go out with Damien the next day... He tilted his head left, and then right, stretching his neck...

When his eyes fell on the man standing by the vending machines, a crinkled water bottle squeezed in his hands.

And their eyes met again.

’Fuck.’ Lane instantly tensed up. When they passed each other by, Damien was returning from the Guiding Center. Why would he be back here again so soon?

To check on Lane, of course. That was the only logical answer.

And Lane’s suspicion instantly got confirmed, as the man approached him. The water bottle still in his hand. He seemed to have forgotten that he was even holding it.

"Um, hi? Can I help you?" Lane was the first to speak, raising his brows slightly in what was meant to be a ’polite surprise’, or something along these lines.

"Yes, well." Damien paused for a moment, before simply asking, "I forgot earlier, but may I ask your name?"

Alarm bells were ringing in Lane’s head. One wrong word, and he would be doomed. Exposed. Damien was sharp, way too sharp, he would know.

But, he composed himself. "Lane Allen," he answered honestly. There were plenty of ways for Damien to find that out, so saying anything else would only make him look even more suspicious.

"Allen," Damien repeated. "From THE Allen family?"

"Ah..." Lane scratched his neck, his eyes dodging to the side. "No... It’s just a coincidence... Same surname, but I don’t have anything to do with... the Allen Guild..."

He was very obviously lying. Anyone could tell, it was as clear as day.

That was precisely what Lane was going for though. Make it seem as if he was avoiding the topic, but pretend to be a bad liar at the same time.

Once again, there were ways for Damien to find out the truth. Perhaps he even knew it already. After all, while the Allens might have hidden his existence from the public, they were still his family on paper. The Association, as the government organization, had access to Lane’s accurate... Well, ahem, MOSTLY accurate information.

Lane’s heart was thumping in his chest. Although he was looking to the side, he could still feel Damien’s emerald eyes staring at him intently, burning his skin. Oh fuck, the man couldn’t hear his heartbeat, could he? There was no way, right?

Whether he could or not, Damien didn’t let him know. He just asked, in his calm, serious, mellow voice, "Not with the Allen Guild, alright. What about the Allen family though?"

"A-ah, well... About that..."

Lane glanced left and right nervously. They were in a public space. And, although there weren’t many people around, there were SOME. All within earshot. They might have seemed busy with their own things... but who knew if they weren’t actually listening?

His anxious behavior sent a clear message: his connection to the Allens was something he wasn’t supposed to talk about.

Damien got the clue. He swept his eyes over the room, and turned back to Lane. "You were here for your Routine Guiding? Is it finished?" He stepped to the side, moving in the direction of the exit, as he gestured at Lane to follow him. They could talk as they walked.

"Ah, yes!" Lane pretended to breathe out with relief, a slightly awkward smile creeping onto his face. "It’s all done!"

"And how did it go?"

"Fine, of course! I’m not active as an Esper, so I didn’t need any guiding at all!"

Damien remained silent for a while, only their steps echoed in the empty hallway. Lane knew, the man was likely doubting his words.

But no matter how doubtful he was, it’s not like he had any proof! Or any actual reason for his suspicions, aside from his freakishly terrifying intuition!

"That’s good," he finally said. By then, they were already almost in the foyer. Damien paused in his steps at the end of the hallway, and cleared his throat. "Ahem, I was about to grab some dinner. Would you like to join me?"

Lane almost tripped on air at Damien’s words.

Did he hear it right? Damien invited him for dinner? Him, practically a stranger, whom he had only met for the first time not even half an hour ago?

And he had a boyfriend on top of that!

Well, of course, Lane was said boyfriend. But Damien didn’t know that! Even if he suspected something, that was only that - a suspicion!

Inviting someone for a dinner wasn’t cheating, of course. Anyone could grab a casual meal with someone else. Lane wasn’t so conservative, far from it. He was confident that Damien currently only had eyes for him, so it wouldn’t bother him.

But that didn’t change the fact that it was completely out of character!

Putting all his inward ranting aside, there was only one explanation for Damien’s behavior - he was testing Lane. Perhaps he wanted to spend some more time with him, in some casual setting, lower his guard and pose some trick questions, waiting for Lane to slip up...

If that was the case, should he go along with it? It was just a meal, perhaps he could stick around for a bit and try to dispel Damien’s doubts...

However.

What if it didn’t end there? What if Damien tried to exchange contact information, and stay in touch with Lane? Just phone would be fine, but what if he went further, and tried to meet with Lane again? What if...

What if he tried to arrange a meeting with both Lane and Xavier?

Blood drained off Lane’s face, causing his already fair skin to look even paler. No, it was too dangerous...

Realizing that he was talking too long to respond and Damien was staring at him more and more intently, Lane quickly fixed his expression.

"I’m sorry, but I’m afraid I can’t," he smiled apologetically. "My family wouldn’t... Uh, I mean, I have some family commitments. Yes, that."

With this, Damien should assume that Lane rejected him because the Allens forbid him to get involved, right? At least that’s how he wanted it to come off.

It wouldn’t even be wrong.