"There, boss. Those girls over there are cute, huh? Aren't you interested?" A well-built blond man spoke with a smile on his face as he looked at a table in the distance. He spoke English, clearly showing that he was not local, as did all the guards who were around the table.
The club was new and very nice, so he came as soon as he knew, and he even met some pretty girls not long after he arrived.
"Ahem..." A short, wild-haired young man beside him spoke slowly as he sipped his drink. His eyes were a very strange color, with a brown that was very close to red.
Both were wearing modern suits from exceptionally expensive brands, but it was as if they didn't care.
"Oh, you incompetent! Go there and call them!" Sitting as if he owned the club, the young blond man threw a ball at one of the guards and commanded.
"Yes, young master!" The guard immediately nodded, not expressing any emotion on his face.
"I'll take the other two, you can have the prettiest!" As if in celebration, the blond man drank the entire glass of whiskey in one go. "I came here just to scare that old idiot, but it looks like I'm going to have fun too!"
The black haired man next to him just stared straight ahead without speaking or expressing anything. He just enjoyed the music, but suddenly his gaze focused on a figure walking out of a room.
***
"Why did you two take so long?" Ella asked as Arthur and Clarice sat down on the circular sofa with them. There was a round table in front of them filled with snacks and some sodas and energy drinks.
"Do you plan to turn the night away with that amount of energy drink?" Arthur avoided the question as he took one of the closed energy cans and opened it. He took a sip and found it very weak, much weaker than his stamina potion. It had been a long time since he drank them for the simple fact that his body had already surpassed what they could provide. It would take at least 10 bottles for him to reach the peaks he had before.
"Give me a sip!" Clarice sat down and stood beside one of Ella's friends, while Arthur stood beside her. She saw that he took a sip and then snatched the bottle from his hand and was going to drink it too. She didn't do it brutally, but it still looked rude. But that was very much in keeping with her usually explosive personality.
Turns out she seemed to have forgotten that this meant an indirect kiss on Arthur, which was captured by Ella's shocked eyes.
"I want it too!" As if she didn't want to lose, Ella grabbed the bottle before Clarice could even put it to her lips, and drunk it all. She then revealed a triumphant look, but soon had to cover her mouth from the big belch that followed her action.
"Pfft!" Arthur couldn't take it anymore and laughed a little at Ella's innocent and very clear action. His laughter followed with her two classmates and right after Clarice.
"Humph! You have no right to laugh at me!" Still embarrassed, Ella pointed at Arthur and then turned away angrily.
"Fries?" Arthur pushed a box of onion with cheese rings he'd secretly taken out of Inventory and placed it in front of Ella. They were her favorite snacks.
Her eyes immediately lit up, picking up the box. But soon her rational anger returned and she looked at him with angry eyes. But as she ate and watched his silly smile, her gaze softened and she remembered that she hadn't seen him in a long time. 'He always finds a way to annoy me! But I can't take it much...'
"Where did you go? We never saw you again..." Ella looked at Clarice as she asked the question, and seeing her interest spark, courage allowed her to ask the question that had been stuck in her throat since she saw him.
"Exchange to the United States. I managed to get a great score in some math olympiads after switching schools and they offered me a scholarship to study abroad while continuing to participate in some championships. I came back recently, better looking and with more money!" Arthur more or less had already come up with an excuse that didn't have any searchable holes. After all, he actually changed schools to a different one than Ella's and then disappeared. And no one would take the effort to search his name in those contests.
"Ah! You should have let us know! We were so worried when you disappeared!" Ella noticed that her sister was silent, which was very unusual, so she took the initiative to speak.
"They didn't allow much interference in my studies, so I had to drop a lot of things. I wanted to let you know I was leaving, but I didn't have time... Tsk!" Arthur was speaking half-truths until he felt a twinge in his leg and saw that Clarice was pinching him. "But then, how are the studies? What school do you study at?"
A normal conversation between people who never saw each other again ensued. Without Ella's attention, Clarice was constantly stroking Arthur's knee and leg under the table. She unconsciously leaned toward him, as if she felt more at peace with him finally by her side. The scene in the bathroom soon came back to her mind a few times, causing her to correct her composure with a flushed face.
But all that is good is short-lived. A thick, authoritative voice spoke beside them.
"Good night, ladies! My young master would like to invite you to join him for a few drinks." The guard who came politely nodded at a handsome young man not far away, who was also surrounded by security guards and with another young man at his side. You could see from afar that this guy had a lot of money.
"We're not interested, so come back..." With sharp eyes, Clarice realized what it was. She just wasn't a little more aggressive because she didn't want to be rude in front of Arthur. Also, she also didn't want her sister to get involved with this kind of rich kid who would use her as an object of pleasure and then never show up in her life again.
Not that a nightclub is a place you go to look for a lasting relationship. But the last thing she wanted was for her underage sister to face this kind of problem so soon.
Arthur was silent the entire time and just watched. His quick and powerful eyes scanned the people at that 'young master' table with curiosity. He immediately dismissed the blonde as someone dangerous, so his gaze focused on the dark-haired young man at his side.
Danger!
For the first time in a long time, Arthur felt danger emanating from a single person. He has been in dangerous situations, most notably in the recent case where he was shot and cut many times. But he still felt he could handle it, without even feeling it was his inflated ego.
But this guy. Quiet and calm, as if nothing affected him. Composed, unlike the haughty, lustful face of the blonde next to him.
'This guy sure is dangerous...' His eyes quickly averted from the situation. He was feeling something he'd been repressing for a long time, especially after gaining his current abilities.
Willingness to fight! The violent brutality between two parties that indulged in the pleasure of fighting. It wasn't out of survival, let alone out of need and revenge. It was a simple fight, but full of violence.
But he couldn't start that now, and two very important reasons restricted him from being rampant, and also why he didn't send the guard to send his 'Young Master' to hell for being interested in Clarice. That was obviously the girls, and the other was that he didn't know the nature of the other party. Not yet...
Watching with interest the facial change that took place on the blond man's face upon receiving the news, Arthur finally saw something he would expect from someone arrogant.
"Good evening, young ladies! Maybe you don't know me, since I came from a foreign country..." The blond man obviously approached on his own, clearly not backing down. His interest aroused mainly after seeing Clarice's beauty, as well as his hatred for having seen the possible cause of the girls not going there. Arthur...
"Je suis Lucien Archambault, c'est un plaisir de vous rencontrer." French words began to flow out of his mouth fluently as he quickly switched back to Portuguese: "I'm in town for a few days and I happen to need some company for a while. A big city like this would be great to explore with some company..." He spoke calmly and fluently in the Portuguese language as well. But the way he approached revealed that he was never the one who would approach a woman at the club, but rather it was easier for him to order some girl to come to flatter him.
Ella and her friends were left with their mouths open and didn't know how to react to the situation. They were used to feeling the gazes of other boys and men, but instances where they approached were rare and easily expendable. But this handsome guy in an expensive suit who was even a foreigner broke the chain of normal actions a little.
Clarice was also a little slow to react, as she didn't imagine that the guy would really come to bother, especially with his eyes almost eating her from moment to moment. She just wanted to enjoy it in peace now that Arthur was finally on her side and she could indulge in the teenage passion he'd rekindled in her again.
But the answer Arthur gave was even more shocking than the young man's display, as no one expected it.
"D'accord, d'accord... pouvez-vous maintenant retourner à votre bureau? We're trying to have a conversation here!" Waving his hand as if swatting a fly, Arthur spoke with grace and impatience.
The girls looked at him in shock, and Clarice's eyes were beyond shock. A minimal display of Arthur seemed to be enough to charm her heart.
'Why does he look even more handsome now that he's speaking French?' With that thought in mind, she continued to look at Arthur like a maiden in love, but secretly.
***
Author Note: Creative block... two weeks is a long time, right?
I really wish I had posted this sooner, but it's too much of a headache for one brain. This chapter is not as good as I would like it to be, but it contains information that I think is very relevant and important. I took this time to think about many things that will happen, and I know it will be very pleasant to write everything.
I would also like to add that I am not anti-social, nor do I lack conversational skills. But writing chapters with conversations is extremely strenuous for me, because I can't imagine other people talking normally, so my brain freezes. But I guarantee that I will meet at least your needs in chapters of fights, plots and character strengthening.
That's what I have to say and I'll try to return to the regular posting of chapters, because I really want to continue. Enjoy the chapter!
Good reading!
:)