The Guide is Actually a Body-Switching Esper [BL]-Chapter 84: Five Sugars

Lane flinched, feeling his wrist caught in a tight grip all of a sudden. He lifted his eyes from the coffee he had been just stirring...

And met the familiar emerald eyes, staring intently straight at him.

"Um... Yes? Is there anything you need from me, Team Leader?" he asked, tilting his head. ƒreewebηoveℓ.com

Damien’s voice was hoarse, as he said, or rather muttered under his nose, "Five sugars."

"...What?"

"You put five sugars in your coffee." A flicker of some odd flame ignited somewhere in the depths of the clear green eyes. It was faint, barely visible, but still enough to send tingling shivers down Lane’s spine.

He indeed did so. Although he made up his mind to avoid sweets in public, nothing was healthy in the excess. There was no need to be so strict with himself, ’cause how was he supposed to keep on living that way? If it was just coffee, then no one would notice if he sneaked some sugar in...

Or so Lane thought.

Clearly, he had been wrong.

His eyes dodging to the side, he forced out a laugh. It was no longer the vibrant and melodious laugh Xavier used to have, but a bit drier and harsher one. After all, while the vocal cords might have remained the same, they were now influenced by Lane’s natural expression.

"Was it five? I didn’t count." With a shrug of his shoulders, he met Damien’s eyes again. Confidently, as if he’d done nothing wrong. "I’m still half asleep, I must have put too much on accident..." He took a sip, his face instantly distorting in disgust. "Uh, yeah. Way too sweet. My mistake."

But Damien’s eyes remained fixated on him, the gaze intense as if he was trying to see right through him.

Should he return the gaze? Lane pondered. He was certainly tempted to do so. Those emerald eyes were so beautiful, so mesmerizing, that one would want to stare into them for hours...

Rather than what Lane wanted to do though, the question was how Xavier would behave. When facing his Team Leader’s stare, shouldn’t he feel confused? Uneasy? Unsure? Something along those lines, most likely.

So, Lane bent his lips in a very obviously forced, embarrassed smile. "Um, Team Leader? Is there something wrong? I mean, I may have over sweetened my coffee, but... It’s not against the rules, is it?" He scratched his neck, averting his eyes just to glance at Damien again a few seconds later.

Damien held his wrist for a moment longer. In the end though, he had to let go. "It’s nothing. I... must have been mistaken."

Then, almost as if escaping, he left the lounge room in haste.

Rooted in his spot, Lane followed the man with his eyes until he disappeared in the door, sipping his coffee. Which wasn’t too sweet at all. If anything, it tasted way too bitter, nearly unbearably so, even though normally Lane wouldn’t mind drinking it without any added sugar.

Although nothing specific was said in their short exchange, Damien’s eyes said all that needed to be told. He suspected ’Xavier’ of being ’Evan’. Even though ’Evan’ - or, well, ’Aidan’ - was texting with him just the day before.

And it was all just because of a bit of the damn sugar.

Lane couldn’t help but scoff. Five sugars wasn’t even all that much! He could easily go for ten, or maybe fifteen... Heck, maybe even fifty-five! Of course, then it would no longer be coffee with sugar, but rather coffee-flavored sugar... But, so what! The point was, to suspect him just because of that...

Complaining inwardly, Lane finished the ’bitter’ coffee in a few big gulps, burning his tongue a bit in the process, and tossed the cup in the trash.

Either way, there was no need to panic. It was just suspicion now, and it would be dispelled soon. Or, at least, Damien wouldn’t get any confirmation, with ’Xavier’ being an Esper and all.

All Lane had to do, was differentiate himself from his past possessions.

As the training started, a new plan also started forming in his mind, as he ran around, dodging the projectiles.

To begin with, he should flirt with girls. Due to his premature death, his plan to flirt with Ana as ’Noah’ never came to fruition, so Damien didn’t know Lane liked women as well. Probably.

Should he go for Ana again? Lane glanced back at the woman ducking under one of the obstacles. He could have - she was quite cute - but since he was an Esper, perhaps a Guide would be a better match.

Cora then? His eyes drifted to the B-rank Guide, climbing the net.

...Yeah, nope. She was nice, and fun to talk to, but totally not Lane’s type.

Then maybe Lucy, the new A-rank Guide? Lane turned his head...

"Owens! Focus on the track, not on your teammates!"

Lane’s gaze shifted from Lucy, landing on Damien instead. "I am focused!" he found himself yelling back before he could bite his tongue.

Excitement instantly boiled deep within him, when he was hit by Damien’s angry glare. The man’s brows were furrowed so hard, that they seemed close to joining up together! When it was out of anger rather than sadness, Lane didn’t mind at all, quite the opposite, he kind of wanted to rile Damien up even more...

...Although it would be a shame if he developed wrinkles in a young age from wearing a frown so much.

Stifling a laugh that threatened to escape his chest, Lane dodged to the side, avoiding the projectile that brushed past him with a swish. "Alright, I’m sorry! I’ll try to focus more! It’s just that," he kicked off the ground, making a flip in the air as another projectile flew underneath him, "I thought it would be good to observe the team as well, to familiarize myself with them better."

"Was that what you were doing? I got a different impression." Damien’s voice was freezing cold.

"Pfft!" This time, no amount of lip-biting could stop Lane from chuckling.

He didn’t want to be caught by Damien. Absolutely not. If he was discovered now, when acting as an Esper, he’d never be free again, not in the Association at least... He couldn’t allow this to happen.

But... Damien’s attention was addictive. Tasting it once... well, more than once, against his better judgment, Lane just wanted to feel it again.