Seated near the window, Callisto idly stirred his chocolate milkshake, occasionally looking up from his drink to observe passing cars and pedestrians. Tucking a strand of hair behind his ear, he relished the creamy delight of his milkshake.
William slung his jacket over the chair's backrest, and apologized, "Sorry for the wait."
Callisto turned his head, "Don't worry, I didn't wait long."
William scratched the back of his head. "Oh, good," he said as he took a seat.
At that moment, a waitress arrived, carrying their orders, "Here you are: one large medium rare steak, two chicken wrapped, one stir-fried vegetable, and one mashed potato with beef." The waitress set the plates down, and William organized the dishes to his side.
Callisto was surprised as he gazed at the food laid for William. It was a lot of food.
"And for you, ma'am," the waitress continued, "One chicken soup with boiled tofu and a side of carrot and daikon namasu."
Callisto was so taken aback by the amount on William's plate that he didn't register being referred to as "ma'am" by the waitress. He quickly nodded at the waitress and accepted his own plate.
Once the waitress departed, William beamed at Callisto, grabbing the wrapped chicken. "Let's dig in."
Callisto nodded and took up his spoon. As he ate, his thoughts wandered to how he had ended up in this situation--- having dinner with his brother's best friend.
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Callisto strolled along a quiet side road, contemplating where to eat while walking to the bus station. 'Should I try something different tonight, or stick to the usual?' he pondered.
Opting for a change in scenery, he made his way to the station. Unbeknownst to him, he had an unwanted follower.
Upon reaching the bus stop, Callisto was about to take a seat when a strong hand clamped onto his arm and forcibly pulled him up.
"Hey there, what's a lovely lady like you doing out at this hour?" the man remarked, his gaze scanning Callisto's body with an unsettling gaze.
Callisto's immediate instinct was to cast a spell that would launch the man into the air, but he quickly remembered he was on the non-magical world.
He furrowed his brow as the man persisted, "Oh, what's the matter? Need a man to keep you company?"
Callisto forcefully freed his arm from the man's grip. "No, it's none of your business," he retorted firmly.
"Playing hard to get, huh?" the man sneered, attempting to grasp Callisto again. Callisto deftly evaded him, thinking in his head, 'Damn it, can this creep just go away?'
'Love?' The deep voice sounded in his head, 'Are you alright?'
Callisto, 'Oopss.'
Ignoring the voice, he concentrated on dodging the man. Despite Callisto's efforts to distance himself, the man persisted, becoming increasingly aggressive with each passing second.
"Come on! I'm trying to be nice here!" the man growled angrily "Hey! I'm a nice guy!" He managed to seize Callisto's wrist, causing him to wince from the painful grip. "Acting bloody conceited when someone is being nice to ya?!"
Callisto struggled to free his hand, frustration etched across his face. "Hey! Let go already! I'm not interested!"
The man burst into mocking laughter. "HAHAHA, INTERESTED? YOU'RE WALKING AROUND IN THOSE CLOTHES LIKE YOU'RE NOT TRYING TO ATTRACT A MAN'S INTEREST."
Callisto shot the man an incredulous look. "What the heck? I'm not walking around trying to attract anyone—"
"AS IF you're not, damn whore!" the man shouted as he raised his to a fist.
Callisto widened his eyes, his brown-colored eyes flashed a purple light ready to counterattack the man's punch. But just as the man's fist was about to strike, it was halted by another hand, and the man was swiftly kicked to the ground
Callisto was stunned and then looked at the person who had intervened.
The person wore a black biker helmet and a black leather jacket over a white shirt with a random logo, but that did not cover the impressive hot muscular physique.
Their black jeans accentuated their tall, powerful legs, and they wore black sneaker shoes.
The man who had been kicked to the ground curled up in pain, clutching his injured area. He was about to confront the person but froze when he looked up at the helmeted figure.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" The black figure spoke. As the figure spoke, Callisto had a sense of familiarity with the voice.
The man stuttered and sweated profusely, "I-I was..."
As the man stammered, a realization dawned on Callisto. He recognized the voice.
Before Callisto could even form a thought about it, the figure removed their helmet, and there it was—gray hair, It was William.
His brother's best friends.
But despite being handsome and all.
Callisto couldn't help but shake his head at his choice of fashion, which he found rather bland and basic. William is wasting his good look.
While Callisto is busy judging William's fashion.
William was berating the man who had been bothering Callisto. The man, clearly intimidated, fled in fear with sweat pouring down his face. William let out a huff of annoyance as he watched the man retreat and then turned his attention to Callisto.
"You okay?" he asked, genuine concern evident in his voice.
Snapping back to reality, Callisto replied, "Huh? Oh, yes, I'm actually fine."
"Really?" William asked once more, still worried. He approached Callisto, checking for any injuries.
Callisto remained still as William examined him, finding no signs of harm, he let out a breath of relief.
Callisto began to fidget with his hand, "Why are you here?" he inquired.
William looked at Callisto, scratching his head. "Oh, I was just passing by to grab some food after our meet."
"Is that so?" Callisto nodded, glancing around and pondering, 'Should I go to the usual place? The arrival of that man could be a bad omen.'
Callisto not wanting to waste more time, cleared his throat and spoke up, "Um, thank you for saving me. I should probably get going now."
William perked up at Callisto's words. "Oh yeah, yeah, no problem," he replied, his eyes brightening as an idea formed in his mind. "Where are you heading? I could take you there."
Callisto looked at William, raising his hand to nervously toy with the hair behind his ear. "You don't mind?"
"Mind what?" William asked, a touch confused, casually placing his helmet beside him.
Callisto frowned slightly before tugging at the bottom of his jacket, "..That you'll be seen with me wearing this outfit?"
'I heard non-mag don't particularly like men in feminine clothes.'
William, now fully aware of the situation, scanned Callisto from head to toe as if taking a moment to appreciate his appearance.
"No, I don't mind at all," William replied with a warm smile, displaying his fang-like teeth.
Callisto widened his eyes in surprise as he nodded. "Okay."
Looks like it was a false rumour.
William's expression lit up at Callisto's approval. He guided Callisto toward his bike and asked, "Where do you want to go?"
Callisto considered for a moment before replying, "I was about to go get dinner somewhere. Do you have any recommendations?"
William grinned. "How about Emilie Breakfast? They have great food, and it's a good way for you to get to know the town."
Callisto frowned for a moment, contemplating, before finally agreeing, "Alright, as long as it's clean."
William chuckled. "It's clean, no need to worry about food poisoning."
Callisto nodded.
As they approached William's bike, he opened the trunk and retrieved a helmet. "Come on, hop on," he said, offering the helmet to Callisto. Callisto accepted the helmet in silence, placing it securely on his head before climbing onto the bike.
William waited until Callisto was settled, then gently took Callisto's hand and wrapped it around his own waist. "Hold on tight, alright."
With both of them wearing their helmets, William started the bike's engine, and they zoomed off toward the fast food place.
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"How is it?"
Snapping into reality, Callisto raised his head, a puzzled expression on his face. William let out a light chuckle, "The meal, Cesar, How is it? Do you like it?"
Feeling a touch of embarrassment, Callisto averted his gaze and replied, "Oh, the food? It's good, I like it."
"That's great, this place is known for their cooking," William grinned, revealing a glimpse of his sharp, fang-like teeth before returning to his next meal – a serving of mashed potatoes with beef.
Callisto nodded appreciatively and resumed eating. The food was truly delicious, and William hadn't lied. Callisto liked the broth; its unique combination of sweetness, savoury notes, and a hint of spiciness made it a perfect match for his taste buds.
He lifted his gaze to meet William's eyes as William enjoyed his meal. "You..." Callisto hesitated for a moment, then continued, "You have great taste in food."
William halted his eating, glancing at Callisto with a mouthful of food, and raised his eyebrows. Callisto couldn't help but giggle at William's comical expression, raising his hand to stifle a laugh. "Pfftt.. You look silly."
William couldn't help but admire Callisto's laugh. He quickly finished his meal, and as he did, he couldn't help but smile, thinking that he must have looked quite silly himself but not minding it in the least.
William smiled sheepishly, "Sorry, I was hungry."
Stiffling a laugh Callisto controlled himself, "No, it's fine," Callisto smiled as he looked up, "What I wanted to say is you have great taste for food, why don't you recommend me some places?"
Cayden nodded enthusiastically, "Sure-sure, I have good recommendations in this town." He smiled showing his fangs a bit.
Callisto nodded, and they continued to eat while engaging in occasional conversation.
–
After finishing their meal, William took Callisto on a tour of the town. Eventually, they found themselves in a park, where they took a break on benches near the playground, with the sun setting down and the moon rising.
"Your brother mentioned you grew up in a private boarding school. Is that true?" William asked.
Callisto, gazing at the sky, replied with a nonchalant "Yep."
"That's cool," William bobbed his head. "Is there any difference?"
Callisto turned to him, arching an eyebrow. William, scratching his head, explained, "Your school and our school. Are there any differences?"
Callisto stared incredulously, remarking, "...I've only been here for two days. So I can't say." He looked away.
That's a lie, there is a huge difference between the two schools – one being magical and the other, well, not.
Feeling embarrassed, William acknowledged, "Oh, right, right."
The awkward silence lingered until Callisto decided to break it, asking, "What is that called?"
William, absentminded, responded, "Huh? Where?"
Callisto inquired, "There." Pointing towards the playground.
Confused, William looked in the direction of Callisto's finger and found him pointing at the swing. Frowning, William asked, "You mean the swings?"
Curious, Callisto asked, "Swings? What do they do?"
William, now equally confused, "...To swing?"
Callisto furrowed his brow, tapping his lips with his finger as he cast a puzzled look at William.
In a moment of realization, William, surprised by Callisto's lack of familiarity with swings, exclaimed, "You don't know? YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT A SWING IS?!?"
Callisto was caught off guard as William looked at him as if he had grown two heads. Turning away, crossing his arms, and adopting a pout, retort, "Yeah? So what?"
William held a shocked face as he covered his mouth with his hand., "No, it's just I'm surprised you don't know what a swing is... You have never rode one before? Not even once?"
"No.." Callisto responded nonchalantly, furrowing his brow, 'I never had the chance...'
I never had the chance to live in the nonmag world.
Wearing a mischievous grin, William suddenly stood up and yanked Callisto towards the swings. Caught off guard, Callisto almost lost his footing. "What are you doing?" he exclaimed.
"Taking you for a swing ride," William replied with a toothy smile.
With a gentle push from William, Callisto found himself perched on the swing. Flustered, stammering, "W-wait what am I supposed to do."
William stepped behind Callisto and guided his hand to the chain. "Grab onto the chain, and when I pull you, tuck your legs. When I let go, push your legs forward." he explained.
Clutching the chains tightly, Callisto held on as William gently swayed him back and forth. As the swing ascended higher and higher, a mix of excitement and fear washed over Callisto.
Then, with a sudden release from William, Callisto extended his legs forward.
As the wind tousled his hair, Callisto grinned.
'It felt like flying on a broomstick for the first time.' He thought as laughter bubbled up from his heart as the world spun around him.
'How interesting!'
William couldn't help but smile watching Callisto having fun. He asked, "Having fun, Cesar?"
Callisto's smile widened, his soft-brown eyes glittered with amethyst colour. His eyes glowed gently under the night sky, and his long black hair came undone with his hairclip fall, it danced in the wind as the swing swayed back and forth.
William couldn't help but be enchanted looking at it.