The Guide is Actually a Body-Switching Esper [BL]
Chapter 126: Missed Calls

Chapter 126: Missed Calls

The whole way home, Lane was on edge. It took way too long. He didn’t live that far, but in the middle of the city there was a lot of traffic, especially at this hour. It would have been faster if Lane used Sky Step instead of driving his car...

But he still felt Damien’s burning stare on his skin. He knew the man didn’t follow him, that there was no way he was watching, and it was fairly unlikely that he’d order anyone else to do so - unlike Lane, Damien wasn’t so unreasonable as to order his subordinates to take care of his personal matters - but he still couldn’t do anything about his spine tingling. No matter how tiny the possibility of being observed was, he couldn’t risk it and run, let alone use his abilities, just so he could get home quicker.

No, it was better to act casual, no matter how anxious he was.

Plus, if he left on foot now, he’d have to come back to pick up his car later. And, as it was parked on the Association Headquarters’ public parking, that would be another chance to run into Damien as Lane Allen! It wasn’t a good idea, no matter how he looked at it.

He parked his car on his private parking spot, and headed for the elevators.

God, they were so unbearably slow.

...Should he run up the stairs? He was currently underground, so that would be more than a hundred floors... But, with his S(or more likely SS)-rank physique, he’d get there in no time.

Just that this tingling on the back of his neck...

He clamped his hand on his neck and glanced back.

But there was nothing. Absolutely nothing. Aside from the security cameras - from which he could easily erase the footage, leaving no traces - he wasn’t watched at all. He even activated Mana Scan for a second, and still didn’t see anything.

He was just being paranoid, that’s all.

...Would it always be like that from now on?

Ping!

The elevator finally arrived and Lane got in. He pressed his floor multiple times, until the door closed and the elevator moved. However, even then, he still couldn’t relax, and tapped his hands on his thighs, watching the numbers on the screen change.

As soon as the elevator stopped - damn, was it always so slow?! - he rushed to his door, slammed his hand on the fingerprint scanner, and barged in.

Just in time to hear his - or rather, Xavier’s - phone ring.

Damien. He was calling him...

And it wasn’t the first time.

Swearing inwardly, Lane held back the instinct to pick up the call, and waited until it ended. Only then did he lift it up, scrolling through the notifications.

12 missed calls and 5 messages. The first one? Around the time he arrived at the Association.

Fuuuuck.

He knew it. He just knew that something was wrong! It turns out that Damien had been calling him all this time, and since Lane was, well, Lane Allen, out and about, without his spare phones, he couldn’t pick up.

Lane pressed his lips together, thinking frantically. Okay, missing a few calls wasn’t the end of the world. It was his day off, he could have had his phone on silent or something. They might have agreed that Damien would contact him to let him know if he’d be free on Sunday, but that was in the evening. It wasn’t all that late yet, only 4 PM, so he might not have expected the call just yet.

But in such case, picking it right now also could be suspicious. If Lane suddenly was available not long after Damien parted ways with Lane Allen, wouldn’t that be quite an interesting coincidence?

No, since it already came to it, it was better to wait a little longer. An hour or two... Yes, that sounded right.

With a heavy sigh, he tossed Xavier’s phone to the side, grabbed his own, and threw himself on the couch. He ordered some takeout, had a good meal, took a shower, and only then did he switch.

It was almost 6 PM by the time Lane finally returned to Xavier’s apartment - in Xavier’s body, of course. After a long deliberation, he decided to sneak back through the window - if Damien were to observe the place, chances were higher that he’d opt for the front. And it would be harder to explain not noticing the calls for so long if he was out, right? Of course, he could have then said that his battery died, but...

But, to be fair, Lane didn’t know. There were countless scenarios in Lane’s head, how HE would deal with the situation if he were in Damien’s place, suspecting himself. And, after thinking it through, he realized that there was no fool-proof way to counter them all at the same time. He could easily be trapped. The only hope he had was Damien’s nature, which would stop the man from acting too out of line...

Standing in the middle of Xavier’s room, he took a deep breath. And another one. And one more...

And then, he called.

Damien picked up after only two signals. "Hello?"

"Hi! Sorry I missed your calls! My phone was on silent. I’ve been playing games all day, and completely lost track of time!" Lane’s heart was pounding, but he managed to make his voice sound casual and cheery.

On the other end of the line, there was silence, for quite a while. So long, that Lane started getting anxious. "Damien?"

There was a sigh, and Damien finally spoke. "That’s fine, I don’t mind. It wasn’t anything urgent. But... do you have time now?"

"Ugh, I guess? I mean, I’m just at home."

"Then, have you eaten? I was about to grab a dinner, would you like to join me?"

A dinner? Seriously? Damien said the same thing like two hours prior! What, was he getting another dinner? Or, since Lane Allen rejected him, he didn’t go?

Either way, it was probably a trap. Lane had to watch his mouth.

"Hmm. I don’t feel like eating in the cafeteria on my day out..."

"We can go out," Damien calmly responded.

"I’m craving some fast food, is that alright?" Lane tried again.

"...It’s unhealthy. But, once in a while won’t hurt."

Lane held back a sigh. He had no good arguments.

Truth be told, it was probably better to meet up. By acting normal as ’Xavier’, he could perhaps if not dispel, then at least lessen Damien’s suspicions. The only problem was that he didn’t feel quite ready to be confronted by the man...

But, oh well. He was good at improvising, wasn’t he? He always managed to get by, he even survived living in the Allens’ mansion for close to seventeen years! What, after all of that, was he really now supposed to be scared of a single man?

No way in hell!

Worrying so much wasn’t like Lane. He was already at the end of his rope, about to snap from all the excess overthinking he was forced to do in the recent days!

"Okay then!" With his new resolve, he called happily through the speaker. "Then, see you in front of Old Plaza in like, fifteen minutes?"