Give Me Something New

-chapter 2

"Hello." Louis chimed with a bright smile. None of them were talking, but Seth had a feeling that even if they were, Louis would push in anyway.

"You." One of them said. He was dressed mainly in black, as if this was a funeral for his lover. If it was, his expression suited the occasion. The blond smiled cheerily, but underneath that Seth sensed a veil of distance.

"Don't be so remorse." He leaned in closer and planted a kiss on the man's cheek, "And plus, Seth is new. So say hi, Seth, this is Alejandro, and this is Seth."

They shook hands. Alejandro might as well be the palest man he had ever seen apart from Silk, and he had straight, jet-black hair tied in a purple bow. Seth decided that after this conversation, he would tell James to go home and fetch his notebook for him. Alejandro would be another new page.

"It is my pleasure to meet the third powerful man in Paris." Alejandro said, raising his eyebrows. He had a look of I-am-better-than-you about him, like his eyelids were permanently half-closed because he had to look lower at the world. Seth kept a pleasant smile.

"It is nice to meet you too." Seth said, withdrawing his hand. Alejandro's was freezing, yet the man was wearing as much as everyone else here- cravat, waistcoat, justaucorps and breeches. "Who are the top two, then?"

"Lucas, for one." Alejandro seemed as uncomfortable as Seth was about the hand-shaking business and stared at it with a light frown as he drew his back, like Seth contaminated him somehow. Then he looked up. "Then Louis."

The mentioned blond pouted and tilted his head, "Why don't you like me then?"

"Humph." Alejandro rolled his eyes, "Your choice of... Lover is not very favourable."

"He's fine, thank you." Louis frowned and crossed his arms, "Why are you insulting me? I thought I'm like, the second-most powerful person in Paris, or something. And I'm French. Lucas isn't."

There. Again. They were going to use some other word.

How can I ask?

Well, at least it is confirmed that Louis is French.

"Excuse me for a moment." Seth whispered, and Louis looked like he knew he should wait with Alejandro and his friends. Some of them looked slightly more pleasant, but it was clear that Alejandro was the head in this group. Seth withdrew from the social circle and exited through the front entrance, finding James waiting around the carriage, gossiping with some others' servants.

"James." He called out, jerking his chin. "Come here."

His loyal servant waved others' conversations away dismissively and came to his side.

"I want you to go home and fetch my notebook for me. The one on the desk, in my study." Seth said hurriedly and hushed. James nodded obediently and went off, talking to some other servants and rode the horse away, leaving the carriage. Seth nodded to his servants' friends a single time before returning to the party.

"Here he comes." Wayne said, looking at Seth out the top of his glass.

"Aren't you his friend or something?" Silk said, scorning. "I see that you are looking at him like some sort of... Prey."

Wayne rolled his eyes. "He thinks I am. I am but merely interested in his personal life. How can a man achieve something at such a young age?"

Lucas tilted his head at the blond, who poked his tongue out quickly.

Seth walked toward Louis and joined back the circle. They didn't seem to be talking really loudly.

"Ergh, Alejandro." Twig frowned and looked away. "He is so annoying. Like, I can't even stand him."