11 - Arrangements

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As quickly as it happened, he stepped back and walked the other way.

'He knows.' You strained a shaky breath, the two words whirled in your mind and delivered several punches to your cranium. 'How did he know? How much did he know? Since when has he known?'

With a raised eyebrow, Asher shot you a questioning glance and mouthed, "What did he say?"

"Oh, I almost forgot!" Gael's cheery voice now seemed suspicious, after the exchange a few minutes ago. "The both of you being visitors and all, I can't imagine either of you packing a set of party dresses or tuxedos. Since I have personally requested you to come to this party, I will give you a personal discount to any party wear you wish to purchase."

"A discount, eh? So you won't buy the whole damn thing for us~?" The other boy chuckled, as if intending the remark to come out light-heartedly, yet the edge in his tone resulted in the opposite effect. "You're a cheap bastard too."

A taut smile made its way to Gael's lips. "However, my only condition is that you go to a shop called 'Humberville'. A good friend of mine is the owner and I have just been talking to her about this arrangement, in case you accepted the invitation. By the way," He narrowed his gleaming eyes at the purple-haired man. "the discount is 100% off. Whatever you wish to purchase, I will cover the cost."

Asher reeled back and sheepishly shut his mouth.

'Woah, free?! Sweet as!' would've been what you said, had the realisation of your cover being blown not occurred. Rather, your wariness of the young figure of power only increased tenfold.

What was the benefit of giving such a generous offer, and why? He and Emilio only said that you were "representatives of the current batch of visitors", but that could've been just anyone. You and Asher weren't needed that badly, right? Gael's intentions were still muddy in your eyes, so you were sure to keep cautious of him during the length of the party, whilst gaining information.

In lieu of this, you decided not to confront him about the knowledge of your true name just yet.

"Thank you. We went to 'Humberville' a little while ago, so we know where it is." You hooked an arm with Asher, whose muscles tensed from the contact. "We'll just be heading our merry way now."

"Wait!" He turned to Emilio. "Hey, Em, could you give us a minute?"

Soundlessly, the man rushed off as soon as Gael briskly walked closer to the two of you. He gave a grin, almost cheeky, as he reached into his back pocket and revealed two small cards.

"What's this?" With his free hand, the boy beside you picked up the cards and turned them around. "ID cards?"

You took the small laminated card with your photo from Asher and examined it. It seemed to have all the information you submitted as your fake ID, with the pseudonym and other fake personal details. Turning the card in your hands, you pursed your lips. Clearly, Gael knew your real name, yet for some reason did not want to reveal it to others.

"Yep! You could've just gotten them from the council yourselves, on request, but I printed them off for you for two reasons. One, I customised them so that they had my phone number. This is because I might need to contact you after the party and I don't want either of you to hang up due to it being a number you don't know. Two, I had to fix your ID...Billy-bob." His restrained giggle came out as a snort.

"Hey, my parents named me that!" He didn't sound very convincing. "Haven't your parents taught you about not making fun of people's names?"

"Oh, don't kid yourself." He paused as the edges of his mouth relaxed into a grimace. "And my parents didn't teach me anything. But that's beside the point~"

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