Gary had noticed that the mayor had slightly flinched once he had seen him come in. It wasn’t hard to guess what had elicited this type of reaction. Right now, the teenage boy didn’t feel like he had green hair, but a giant glowing beacon growing on the top of his head.
‘Should I have tried to just shave it off before coming here, or would it have simply grown back?’
Since the first impression was already negative, Gary decided to be on his best behaviour, and so he naturally accepted the handshake. However, for some reason, it felt as if the mayor was trying to crush his hand. The high schooler wasn’t sure if the adult man simply had a strong grip, or if this was supposed to be some sort of test.
‘What the hell is this lard doing?’ Gary thought to himself as he kept up a friendly smile, mimicking Xin’s father. Not wanting to come off as weak, the Alpha Werewolf increased his grip, though he made sure not to injure the man.
“It looks like you're quite the strong one.” Ben praised him, seemingly impressed by Gary’s strength. He then looked his body up and down as if he was inspecting him. “You know, I would often tell Xin that she should look for a boy who is at least as strong as her brother here, if she wanted to date anybody, and you’re the first guy who at least seems decent.”
The mayor patted Gary’s arm, who allowed him to do so. Ever since his body had changed, the teenager had gained the body of an athlete. Although he knew that this was something his system was responsible for, and not his own hard work, he didn’t mind taking the credit.
‘Another benefit of becoming a Werewolf, I guess.’ Gary thought to himself, while Xin turned a few shades redder at her father’s comment.
Strangely, the mayor continued to stand there opposite him. Gary looked around, and saw that the others were also still standing, so he felt it would be rude if he sat down before the patriarch of the family. Honestly, he just wanted to start with the meal, but the adult man continued to stand waiting for something. In the end, Gary just nervously laughed, which seemed to change the mood of Ben Clove in an instant, his smile disappearing from his face.
“I thought you might have known better after seeing the way you were dressed.” Ben sighed. “I'm guessing you brought no gift?”
‘What?! Was I meant to bring a gift in this type of situation? I thought this was just supposed to be dinner? But I've never gone to anyone's house before other than Tom's. I never knew that… and it's not like I ever had the money to buy a gift for someone else before. Is this something rich people do or something?’
“I'm sorry, I didn't realise… I'll be happy to buy you something next time… to make up for it.” Gary managed to stutter out in a mix of confusion and panic.
“Brave of you to assume there will be a next time.” Ben stated as he sat down in his seat. With that, everyone else sat down as well. Still, there was one girl that wasn't pleased by her father's antics at all.
“Dad, why are you hassling Gary about a gift?” Xin asked. “He’s not one of your guests, but my classmate. Why would he have to bring you a gift, especially since all of this was on such a short notice?”
“I know, I know, darling.” Ben started to laugh it off. “I was just teasing the young man. He should be able to take this much at least, don’t you think?”
There were a few chuckles around the table, and Gary nervously joined in, but he had a feeling the mayor hadn’t been joking. The teenager was also starting to rethink his choice of trying to convince the man.
Fortunately, the food was served that moment, giving Gary a much needed reprieve. As much as he wanted to dig in, he waited for Xin’s father to take the first bite. Unfortunately, that’s where his manners ended. The others couldn't help but stare at his eating etiquette, as he quickly took large bites, seemingly afraid someone might take away his food.
“Whoa, you're eating like you haven’t eaten in weeks, slow down there, buddy.” Jayden commented. “You seem to be a big eater, like me, no wonder you stole all my food back then.”
“He did WHAT??” Xin’s mother gasped in shock.
“Ah, my bad, I guess ‘stole’ is the wrong word. The first time I met Gary, I invited him back to my hotel. I told him he could take whatever he wanted, though I didn't expect him to raid my entire fridge.”
“Wait, you two already met? When was that?” Xin asked, suddenly very curious. She had never heard her brother mention Gary before.
“Ah, it was when I went to pick you up that one time. However, you texted me that you already had a lift.” Jayden explained, knowing he couldn’t reveal the full details. “Actually, it's quite the funny story. While I was ready to turn around, my light started to beam on this pale white a-“
A certain heat could be felt coming from across the table and a pair of dagger eyes were staring at him. Jayden could see that Gary was shaking his head, using his eyes to tell him not to continue that story.
“Never mind, now that I think about it, it’s more one of those things that are funnier at the moment.”
The room went silent once again. After the comment about his eating behaviour, Gary slowed down, making sure to eat at the same pace as the Altered. It was a tall task, especially since most of the food was a lot yummier than what he would usually eat. He was even tempted to ask them for some seconds to bring home, so he could share with Amy, yet he decided against it, afraid that their opinion of him might decrease further.
‘Is my brother talking about the night we were attacked by those monsters… is that the day the two of them met for the first time? Wasn't Tom looking for Gary that day as well? What was he doing in that area then?’ Xin wondered.
She wanted to ask Jayden more about that night.
******
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