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11. X-Files

I watched Zander consume his second burger. Cheeks stuffed and painted with ketchup and mustard. Sitting across from him with my spaghetti and the bags of clothing on the seat next to me, I try my best not to look at him too much. I don't like it when people stare at me when I eat, so I don't want to do it to other people. Zander is just really attracting attention; not just from me, but from others. Maybe it's the unique violet eyes, or maybe because he looks like he hasn't eaten for years. Or maybe he's just, really pretty to look at.

Zander looked away from his food and darted his eyes at me for a moment, noticing my attention on him. He raised a brow, as to question why. "You have a little something on you." I informed, pointing to his face with my fork. "Just a smudge."

I then watched as the boy licked the back of his hand before wiping his cheek with it. He was surprised to see a lot of stains on his hand. Zander was about to repeat his special way to clean his face, but I stopped him by catching his hand. I picked up a napkin and used that to wipe the food stains on him.

Afterwards, he smiled and continued to finish his meal, this time pouring down fries in his mouth. Chuckling, I returned to my own lunch and kept my eyes on the pasta, realizing that I've only eaten half of it. Checking the time, I noticed that we still have an hour left before I head out to Virgo. Maybe I should take Zander with me. He could help me learn more about the red eyed woman, who may or may not be cursed. The only issue is getting caught. I'm sure they fixed the security cameras by now. If they see an unfamiliar face, they'll assume he's the thief. If he's a cat, they'll just kick him out. There's also Orion, who could bump into us, and wonder why in the world his cat is in his job.

A gasp broke my train of thoughts, causing me to snap my head at Zander. He's clutching his head, with his eyes shut. "Astoria!"

"What? What's wrong?"

"I - I - " He then slowly opened his eyes. "I need you to kiss me."

"What."

A grin took over his distressed face, making me want to smack him. "My brain is frozen." The chocolate milkshake is in front of him and he managed to drink over half of it, most likely in one take. "You're the curse breaker, aren't you? Help me." He puts the back of his left hand on his forehead, pretending to look like he's sick. "Isn't that how they break curses in movies? With true love's kiss?"

Heat rushes to my face. "Shut up." I picked up a fry from his tray and threw it at his face, attempting to wipe off the annoying grin. However, he caught the fry with his mouth and smiled smugly right after. "I liked you better when you were Loki. At least he doesn't talk much." Zander didn't drop his smug expression. He just continued slurping his chocolate milkshake loudly. "I have a few questions for you."

"I love 21 Questions." He shifted excitedly on his seat. "Can I go first?"

"No." I grunted. "We're not playing 21 Questions. This is serious."

"So am I." He scoffs. "When's your birthday?"

"What? Why - "

"I'm not going to answer if you don't." He says stubbornly, with that shitty smirk. "Day, month, and year."

I groaned, dropping my hands on the table. "Fine. August 31, 1996."

Something in his eyes shifted. The color of his irises had darkened as they bore against mine. "I knew it." He whispered, more to himself but still loud enough for me to hear.

"You know my birthday?" I raised a brow. Zander's cheeks flushed and shrugged his shoulders. "Whatever. When's yours?"

"August 31." He paused. "1996."