Chapter 23 - The back of a great man

His relationship with Ray was the strangest thing on the face of the earth. From the day he had been welcomed by Master Evilian and hired to work as the manager of the Bluemoon Plaza, Ray had chosen him as the target for his malicious pranks. At first he would run away from him, which guaranteed his amusement, but as time went by he began to respond to him rudely.

In the end, in all his time working in that park, he had gotten used to Ray and had even let him continue with his pranks.

That was the problem, knowing when they were mere jokes or when he was telling the truth.

Facing the night scenery of the highway, Aslan sighed against the car window listening to the engine of the chevette as it sped up.

― You're sighing a lot, Aslan.

The young master's calm voice had awakened the blond boy from his own storm. Tucking himself into his seat, Aslan was about to laugh when he realised it was unnecessary to pretend everything was fine.

― It's complicated.

Leonardo cast a quick corner glance at the boy beside him, and when he returned his attention to the road he smiled amiably.

― You like him, don't you? ― The young master tilted his head as he faced him again. ― That magician, I mean.

Aslan's face flushed and he looked away with a lowering of his head, staring at his own nervous fingers in his lap. Being about to vehemently deny that unseemly suggestion, once again he would realise it was unnecessary.

His young master was observant.

Sighing in resignation, Aslan relaxed his shoulders taking in the slight irritation he felt.

― That idiot always disturbs me without caring how I feel. He plays the jealous man, but never says what he feels. But he's always there to irritate again.

― Geez, that sounds familiar. ― Leonardo mumbled with a grimace.

Aslan crossed his arms and frowned.

― Those two influence each other, you can bet on that.

In an instant of silence, the two boys looked at each other and then started laughing. A laugh that took away the seriousness of the worries that occupied their minds. As Aslan leaned back in the car seat, he could feel the lightness in his chest.

Having someone to talk to so sincerely was invigorating.

So, having friends is feeling like this?

― But I didn't imagine you had that kind of feeling for that magician. You're always fighting with him.

― He was the first person to agree to wear a costume I made. A pirate costume. ― Aslan had cracked a nostalgic smile as he took in the night-time scenery of the road again. ― And he looked stunning.

― I'm surrounded by handsome boys, and that keeps me down. ― Leonardo mumbled, making a face again. ― So, why don't you propose to him? It's obvious that he likes you too.

― But of course not! I'll wait for the day that pervert will admit how he feels for me. No way I'll make the first move!

Leonardo let out a low laugh, stroking Aslan's hair to calm him down. Didn't they say love was a war art? That boy was in the middle of his game devising the best strategies to dominate his opponent and force him to surrender.

Whatever it took.

Having finally arrived in the city, the heartfelt conversation had been interrupted by Aslan taking an interest in the brightness of the city. Even with the dark sky the city was bright. People and cars were going from one side to the other, almost making him dizzy with their haste.

It had been years since he had set foot in the city, and so much had changed.

The young master had noticed the admiration of his new friend, and so he was in no hurry to reach his destination. He would let the short man enjoy the ride, especially since he had taken his mobile phone out of his pocket to take some pictures.

Still they would reach their destination at any moment.

Rodie's Bar.

Downtown, having an excellent location, the bar was packed.

When the chevette had passed in front of the bar, Aslan had been awestruck by the size of the queue to get in. The car had been parked and the two boys finally entered the bar. With the exclusive access that Leonardo had because he was a part-time employee, Aslan also had his entrance facilitated.

The moment he stepped into the place, colours pulsed before Aslan's eyes.

The place was huge and already crowded with people. The loud sound coming from the speakers made the people on the dance floor move their bodies. And at the other end, far away, there was a stage with instruments already positioned.

That was where their young master would appear in a few moments.

― This way, I'll introduce you to the owner of the bar. ― Leonardo whispered, holding Aslan's shoulder.

The blond was surprised with so many people present. He felt like a tiny ant among giants. He would thank the young master later for holding him so close, otherwise he would have been dragged away by the people.

Leonardo approached the right side where the bar was. A tall woman was preparing drinks alongside four other men, taking orders from the customers who were leaning on the marble of the bar. As soon as the woman saw Leonardo, she waved, calling him to come closer.

― I thought you weren't coming today, or was it your intention to make a triumphal entrance, handsome?

Leonardo laughed, scratching his head.

― Sorry, I was really late. Ah, this time I brought a friend from work.

Receiving a little push on his back, Aslan found himself flustered. The woman was much taller than him, and stared at him coldly as if analysing his soul. Swallowing dryly, he didn't know what to say to greet her.

― Eh... Nice to meet you... Ham...

― Roberta, but you can call me Mrs. Beta. ― Said the woman, opening a smile afterwards. ― Looks like the handsome one brought a cute one to go with him, I'm jealous.

― He is more popular than me, believe me. And are the people here yet?

Dona Berta pointed with her chin to the table space behind the bar. Three young men were talking animatedly without noticing the arrival of the lead singer.

Being directed by Leonardo again, Aslan continued to feel nervous. The whole walk was in slow motion until he noticed the three friends turning towards Leonardo, smiling openly to greet him and then noticing his presence to get confused.

― What's up, you got company today?

― It's my colleague from the new job. ― Leonardo laughed, hugging the shoulder of the shorter one. ― Guys, this is Aslan. Aslan, this is Rafael, the guitar player, Juliano, our bass player, and Gustavinho, the drummer I mentioned the other day.

The drummer's eyes widened, pointing at himself.

― Did you mention me?

― These days I ended up playing drums and then I talked about the band. In the end, Aslan wanted to see us play, so I brought him along.

Rafael and Juliano pulled another chair from the empty table next to them, and rearranged themselves at the table so that Aslan had a view of the whole bar.

― Sit there, man. If you're a friend of Leo's, then you're ours too.

― Thanks.

Aslan definitely had no idea how to interact with them. Those three had a bright aura like the young master, looking loose in a garden without a care in the world. He could only think that they were, in fact, friends of Leonardo.

― Do you drink, Aslan? ― Juliano asked, arching an eyebrow.

― No, I don't drink.

― Ah...

Noticing the boy's slightly disappointed face, Aslan despaired in the slightest that he had denied it. Was that the moment when he should apply 'social drinking'? He had only heard about it, but he had never imagined having to live through such a situation.

― No alcohol for us, we have to work tomorrow.

― Do you work until the weekend? ― Rafael questioned suspiciously.

― I said that things were running now. If I want to save money, I'll have to work hard.

― Right, right. I don't want to suffer from this evil, my weekends are still intact so I can sleep until it's over.

― Leo, are you playing drums again?

The question would sound naive if Aslan didn't notice the slight surprise in the young master's eyes. Miserable seconds remained present on his face, until it disappeared amidst the smiling mask.

― It wasn't much, it's just that at my work there's a band too and the sound was bad. It was just a sound test on an electronic drum set.

― Electronic drums? That's great, I'd like to play one of those to see what it's like.

― Hey Leo, don't leave your friend out in the cold. Go get him something to drink, damn it!

― Oh, yeah. Wait, I'll get us some refreshments.

Leonardo got up from the table and went to the bar. The moment he stepped away, the three friends leaned toward Aslan, staring at him suspiciously.

― Tell me, Aslan, what is Leo's job, huh?

― What do you mean?

― Since the day he moved out he hasn't said anything to us about his work. I wonder if he's involved in bad things.

― But of course not!

― So tell us.

Leonardo had asked Aslan not to tell us where he worked. It had been a request from his new friend and young master and he couldn't contradict him. But the boy was being targeted by his friends' concern.

Based on what he knew of Leonardo, what he would really like to hide was the fact that he was the heir to Dreamland World. So it was okay to talk about the internship, right?

Besides, he was surrounded by good friends who cared about his well being.

― Leo is doing an internship at Dreamland Circus. ― He said calmly, having the others' eyes widen.

― At that famous place? Our Leo?

― How did he get that job? I heard it's hard to get hired.

― I heard that he saw something broken being put together wrong, so he fixed it the right way. The foreman in charge saw him and liked his work.

Rafael and Juliano blinked a few times and then laughed loudly to the point where tears came out of their eyes. Aslan hadn't understood exactly why they were laughing, but he was relieved not to have a negative reaction.

― I should imagine it was that, that one over there can't hold his own.

― I bet they must have noticed that thing on him, huh?

― Yeah, yeah, that thing.

― You guys are so confused, what thing could you have seen on Leo? ― questioned Gustavo, taking a sip of his soda.

― Ah, you've never seen him studying since he took another course, right youngster? Leo's crazy about fixing and assembling machinery. He's like a hypnotised zombie when he's got his hands dirty.

Gustavo remained silent and blinked at the other two, who sighed in dismay at not having been understood. Aslan laughed quietly in disguise before answering the band's drummer.

― He gets too focused. He forgets the world around him, that's why he missed the schedule today.

― Ah.... Got it. By the way, if you two are co-workers, does that mean you work there too?

Aslan felt his hands freeze. He had forgotten that little detail. He was even more surprised that none of them recognized him. Maybe his fantasies made him completely different from what he was outside the park.

He'd made the right decision not to wear make-up that night.

― Well... I work in another sector, actually.

― Where, where? In the park? In the plaza? At the circus? No wait, you said it's another sector...

The drummer's excitement made it clear that he was a Dreamland fan. Aslan had felt the heat worthy of a great admirer cornering him without any mercy. He was saved when Leonardo returned with a soft drink.

― There you go. I hope you didn't tell embarrassing things about me to my friend.

Rafael laughed loudly hitting the table.

― We haven't even started yet, but it's worth remembering.

Getting the soda to drink, Aslan kept quiet and observant. Leonardo acted completely different from what he was used to seeing in the mansion. It was curious.

Then the four of them got up at the same time the music became slow in the speaker. As the three instrumentalists left the table waving to Aslan, Leonardo stayed behind pointing to himself.

― Now you will find out how fucked up your young master is.

Aslan's eyes widened as he watched Leonardo shove his hands into his trouser pockets and follow his friends towards the stage. His heart was beating fast with anxiety and pride. His back seemed wider, as the silhouette of a great man emerged from it.

A tender smile appeared on his face.

― Now I know why you admire him so much, Ben.