The Guide is Actually a Body-Switching Esper [BL]
Chapter 127: Fast Food Date (1)

Chapter 127: Fast Food Date (1)

Despite his decision to go with the flow, Lane still contemplated for a long time how to dress. It was just a casual dinner at a fast food joint, but suddenly, it seemed extremely important. More than usual. Because, this time, it wasn’t just about looking good, but also differentiating himself from Lane Allen... While at the same time, not going overboard, cause if he changed his style too much now, it would also be suspicious!

Luckily, it wasn’t all that hard. To begin with, the clothes he owned as Xavier were from different brands - as Lane Allen, he went for the top brands, while in his fake identities, he usually settled for a middle shelf - well-off, but not filthy rich, that’s the image he portrayed. Although, judging by Damien’s frugality, Lane doubted the man was familiar enough with expensive brands to notice the difference.

But then there was also the style. And, while his general preferences in terms of the fit of the clothes remained more or less the same, the color schemes were completely different. His clothes as Lane Allen were mostly light-colored, while as Xavier, his wardrobe was much darker.

In the end, he settled for a pair of washed-out black jeans, black leather boots, and a charcoal grey hoodie with neon green accents. It looked not only good on him, but also effortless and casual. Satisfied with the results, he stuffed his phone in his back pocket, and headed out.

Unsurprisingly, Damien was already waiting. Old Plaza was just a few steps away from the Association Headquarters, and unlike Lane, he didn’t get changed, just left work in his uniform and headed straight to their agreed spot.

"Hi! Did you wait long?" Lane bumped right into the man, instantly attaching himself to his arm, as if that was the most natural thing, his righteous place.

Damien’s frown eased a bit and his eyes warmed as he glanced down at Lane. "No, I just got here."

It was a lie. An obvious lie! Lane was almost twenty minutes late. How could possibly Damien have ’just gotten’ there? There was no way he was actually late.

But Lane didn’t expose Damien on his ’lie’. Why would he? He himself was about to spout far more lies, so with Damien being, ahem, untruthful first, he was a bit justified, right? Right?

Well, not like he had any intention to be honest either way.

"Where are we going?"

"Hmm." Lane hadn’t actually given it a thought yet - he was too busy planning his alibi and picking clothes to think about what they should eat - but there were a few popular joints in Old Plaza’s food court. Any of them would be fine for him, so he turned to Damien. "Do you have any preferences?"

"No, I don’t think so. I rarely eat out, unless it’s our cafeteria, so I’m not familiar with the restaurants here."

Lane already knew as much, but was still a bit surprised. "Not at all? Even with the chain ones?"

"No, I prefer to cook at home. It’s cheaper and healthier that way."

"Then, how about Chick Shack? They have great spicy wings!" Lane suggested. Unlike Damien, he never cooked at home, so he was very familiar with all restaurants. There probably wasn’t a single one in the Capital - excluding those which weren’t on any delivery apps or had a rating below 3.5 - that Lane hadn’t tried.

Damien didn’t question Lane’s choices. "If that’s what you’d like," he only said, and let himself be led to one of the fast food joints.

Lane completed the order for both of them - getting a large bucket with a selection of sides to share - and swiped his card before Damien could protest. Technically Damien was the one inviting, so he was planning to pay, especially since Lane had already paid for their drinks when they went out a while ago...

But swiping cards was Lane’s thing. So, he just smiled widely at Damien, stuffing his wallet back in his pocket. "You can pay me back later in nature."

Damien blinked a few times.

In nature?

It took a moment before he finally caught on, causing his ears to turn red. He rubbed his furrowed forehead in silence...

"What, are you unwilling?" Lane leaned forward, only inches away from Damien.

An exasperated sigh escaped Damien’s throat. "How is it paying you back? When it’s something we both would enjoy..." His voice was low, barely audible, but Lane could still hear him clearly, even in the noisy food court full of clatter and chatter.

And his eyes instantly widened.

Before he could nudge or tease Damien about it though, Damien grabbed their tray and spoke again, this time in his usual serious, calm tone, "Come, let’s find a table. We’re blocking the line."

They indeed were, and the people behind them were getting annoyed. And, while Lane didn’t care all that much, he only tsked loudly, and followed Damien.

The food court on Saturday early evening was busy, so it took them a while to find a spot for themselves - a small square table with two plastic chairs. Whoever sat there before them wasn’t particularly mindful of others, because the empty tray with scrunched paper bags and boxes was still there. Not to mention, the whole surface was all sticky from a spilled soda, and there was even a small pond of ketchup.

Well, that was to be expected of a place like that. At least the chairs were reasonably clean, so Lane just pushed the empty tray to the side, and plopped on one of the seats.

Surprisingly - or perhaps not, taking into account the tidiness of his own studio - Damien was less pleased about the state of their table, his thrown deepening. Still, after a moment of hesitation, he just put their tray down. It’s not like there was much he could do, he didn’t carry around cleaning supplies.

Lane bit on one of the wings from the bucket. Spicy and juicy, very nice. He was proper starving, with Xavier’s body having been fed no food in two days. After finishing his first one, he instantly grabbed the next, thinking about how to start the conversation about the game he had been allegedly playing earlier - he had to make sure to present his alibi in the most natural way possible - when all of a sudden, Damien spoke up.

"I met Lane Allen today."

The meat Lane just tore off the wing almost fell onto the dirty table as his jaw dropped. Yes, he had expected it, but at the same time, not. What he prepared himself for was Damien quietly and furtively trying to feel him out, instead of just dropping the bomb... He quickly reflected himself though, and asked, confused, "Who?"

"Lane Allen," Damien calmly repeated. He nibbled on a wing, seemingly focused on the eating and only making small talk, but Lane could feel the man’s eyes staring at him intently from beneath his dark lashes.

What could a guy do but to play along? He could only feign mild interest and ask, "Who’s that?"

And he almost choked on Damien’s answer.

"Nyla Allen’s twin brother."

"Wha, what?" he asked in between coughs.