“So, Dominic… what did you do before joining B.O.G.S?”
Dominic had hoped Mikeala would forget about him; he even made an attempt to hide away, but was quickly found.
Surrounded by only women he’s never seen or spoken to before, while trying to eat.
The group had been conversing with each other throughout lunch, and they didn’t seem to pay attention to him much at the time.
Unfortunately, that relief didn’t last long.
“I worked in construction and part-time at a grocery store,” he responded quietly.
“Oh,” one of the ladies said.
Everyone was surprised.
“You’re quieter and less rugged than what one would expect from a construction worker.”
Why am I the only guy present?
People are staring…
He felt self-aware.
“You are less rugged than expected for someone who worked in construction,” another lady commented.
I think she’s Aisha…?
“I guess…”
He’s never been extroverted and had very few acquaintances before joining B.O.G.S.
“Have you been sent out on an assignment yet?”
“Yes, yesterday?” Dominic replied.
“Really!
What was it!” Mikeala asked him.
“I’m not sure I can talk about it,” Dominic responded.
“Why not?” Another lady asked; she was Hailey.
“We’re coworkers, after all.”
“Well…”
Before he could respond…
“Dominic?”
That familiar voice almost made him jump.
He turned to the side to see Roxanne, holding a shopping bag and raising a pair of sunglasses.
“Roxanne?”
She hugged him, laughing in what seemed to be relief.
I’m so glad to see you’re alright after what happened yesterday,” she said, while Dominic awkwardly patted her back.
“Wh-what are you doing here?” he asked.
“Oh, I was just shopping with my best friend, remember the one I told you about, when I sensed your presence,” she said, smiling happily.
“What are you doing here?
I thought you’d be resting at home?”
“I’m having lunch with my coworkers,” Dominic replied, indicating to the ladies at the desk.
“Oh my goodness,” Roxanne gasped in horror.
“I’m so sorry for barging on your lunch and not saying ‘hi’,” she apologised profusely.
“It’s fine.”
“We don’t mind.”
Roxanne smiled at them kindly.
Dominic just realized she was wearing a bright pink wig with an alt style makeup and outfit, entirely different from the sweatpants and hoodie she had worn previously.
It would have been hard to recognise if he didn’t recognise her voice.
Must be because of her celebrity status…
Her attention turned to the door, and she waved profusely.
“Adrian!” She exclaimed.
Adrian?
He turned to see Adrian walking into the restaurant leisurely.
He was in the same outfit as that morning, only with a few accessories and a pair of clear glasses.
“Sup, Dominic,” he said, then with a warm smile.
“Ladies.”
The atmosphere around the table dropped immediately when Adrian spoke. This chapter was copied from g.com without permission.
“Hi.”
Everyone muttered a greeting.
The way they responded to Adrian was entirely different from the way they responded to Roxanne, and it didn’t go unnoticed by Dominic.
He looked at them, eyebrows furrowed.
Are they afraid…?
He looked at Adrian, who was smiling innocently.
…Of him?
He wasn’t the only one who noticed this change.
Roxanne smiled stiffly.
“Is something wrong?”
“No!
It’s nothing at all,” Mikeala said, and almost everyone nodded in unison.
All of them wore the same tight expression, shoulders rigid, smiles strained.
The fuck—?
Roxanne was about to speak, give them a piece of her mind, when Adrian grabbed her hand to leave.
“Nice to see you blending in, Dominic.
Enjoy your lunch.” Adrian said, waving them goodbye.
“Bye…” Dominic said, waving back at them.
Once they were out of sight, he heard one of the ladies comment: “What the hell?”
They all seemed to sigh in relief as if they were holding in a breath.
“What the hell?
Why did you guys react like you just saw a beast?”
This was not the first time he had seen this kind of behaviour… The first time he met Adrian in the company’s med bay, those people seemed to be scared of Adrian, too.
“We should be asking you that?” Aisha said in an accusatory tone.
“How the hell do you know him?
And why are you familiar with him?”
“He saved my life.
We’re roommates.” Dominic responded; they stared at him as if he had just revealed the secret to the universe.
“Oh, hell no… Mikeala,” Aisha looked at Mikeala angrily.
“You just invited the devil’s roommate to lunch… You know how I feel about hanging out with people who associate themselves with him.”
“Aisha, please… ” It’s not like I knew,” Mikeala was quick to defend herself, and an argument began to rise.
The devil…?
They are talking about Adrian, right?
“What are you guys talking about?” He raises his voice slightly, just enough to be heard.
Everyone turned to face him, their expressions unreadable.
“You said Adrian is your roommate?” Mikeala whispered.
“That guy, the Adrian Morvant?”
“Why are you saying his name as I’ve just broken some sacred code?” He asked, looking around in confusion.
” We’re roommates, I just said that.”
“That guy is not to be trusted; he’s insane,” the quietest in the group, Penny, said.
“I know he’s insane, but he’s not insane enough to warrant a reaction like that.”
Aisha laughed.
“He is most definitely insane… His body count is comparable to that of a serial killer… and what he does to people makes death seem like mercy.”
“The last one I heard of was the woman whose neck he snapped…” Penny pointed out.
“Oh yeah,” Mikeala said.
“He snapped her neck cleanly and then hired her as his assistant.”
“She was a mercenary trying to kill him, though,” Hailey pointed out.
“She and a few others.”
He hired that woman as his assistant?
Dominic pictured the woman from that day, the sound of her neck being snapped by seemingly nothing filled his mind.
“Don’t try to make it better…” Aisha said, rolling her eyes.
“The others are eating through a feeding tube.
It would have been better to be dead.”
“Maybe he went too hard on some bad people… that doesn’t mean you should react with that much fear,” Dominic said, trying to sound firm.
Everyone stared at him like he had grown a second head.
“What?” Dominic asked.
“Have you not heard his resonance before?” Mikeala asked, her hand on his shoulder and her face full of concern.
“No, but why does that matter?” Dominic asked.
As far as he’s concerned, Adrian is a good person…somewhat.
“How do you then— you know what, never mind,” Aisha said, tossing her hand in surrender.
“Dominic, that guy’s resonance sounds like wails of death.
The cries of the dead…” Mikeala explained.
“Cries of the dead?” Dominic asked, interested.
“Yep,” Hailey nodded.
“That’s not normal unless someone has witnessed a lot of death, like an abominable amount…”
Dominic had known that Adrian’s resonance felt ominous, but never did he think that they literally sounded like death.
“And that is when he can be heard,” Penny shivered.
“Most time, he’s silent as fuck, imagine being jumpscared by someone you can see when you turn around.”
“So who was that other chick?
The one with the pink wig?” Aisha asked, out of curiosity.
“That’s Roxanne, she’s a diplomat I picked up yesterday as my first assignment,” Dominic explained.
He saw realization click in their brains, and they all gasped in surprise.
“You mean your first assignment was to guide our beloved goddess?” Hailey exclaimed, nearly jumping across the table to grab him.
“Lucky guy…” Aisha said.
“You know her, too?” Dominic asked.
Of course, they know her idiot… she’s a celebrity, a pretty popular one at that.
“Know her?” Mikeala scoffed.
“We are her biggest fans, and she said hi to us… shes so sweet.”
“And the devil’s apprentice is her best friend,” Aisha sighed.
“But she seems like a sweetheart,” Penny sighed.
“Yeah… that style really suits her, I didn’t recognise her,” Mikeala commented.
“If I weren’t straight, I’d date her.”
Sounds like an exaggeration…
“Guys, guys,” Hailey said, indicating for them to be quiet for a minute.
“Let’s not lie, if Adrian wasn’t so creepy with his resonance, I’d—you know.”
Dominic was confused.
The tone all of a sudden changed as the ladies gave each other a certain look.
“Wh-what are you talking about?”
“How hot Adrian is,” Mikeala said.
“You guys were just talking about how creepy he is,” he said.
“That doesn’t mean he’s not hot,” Hailey said.
“He’s literally what you’d have a vampire from a romance novel to look like,” Mikeala said.
Aisha nodded in agreement.
“I’m his biggest hater.
But I have to admit he’s hot.”
“And rich, from one of the original bloodline families, practically royalty at this point,” Hailey pointed out.
And everyone nodded in agreement.
How could they be terrified of him and attracted to him at the same time?