FELLOW ILLUSIONIST

~{RENE'S POV}~

*

"With everything happening I think we should all stick together tonight, just in case," I suggested.

"We are already suspects and us staying together will only confirm their suspicions," Matthew said.

"How about we go to the hospital where Faith is and pretend we came to spend an all nighter with her?" Toby suggested and I nodded in agreement.

"Will they let us?" Luke asked.

"They have to. She's our friend," Toby said.

"I can't believe I'm saying this but I go with Rene's suggestion. After what happened last night we can't afford to split up especially when Luke just got threatened by that vampire. There's a possibility he could come after us… one by one." Job said.

"Then it's settled!" I concluded.

It was already evening and we hadn't eaten anything and we were yet to hear anything about Frances.

"On our way there can we grab something to eat?" I asked.

"Sure," Luke agreed and drove us to a nearby eatery.

It took some minutes before we got to a small but reputable restaurant. When we got in and made ourselves comfortable, a waiter came to take our orders.

"What can I get you all?"

When I looked at the waiter, he smiled at me and I adjusted my sitting position and smiled back.

He was such a fine man and this was the first time I was seeing him. His skin was flawless. You couldn't even find a defect.

"I'd like to have a bubble juice with lots of ice in it and a bowl of fries paired with a plate of fried chicken," Job ordered and Matthew went with the same.

"What about you, Miss?" The waiter directed his question at me and I bit my lower lip as I gave it a thought.

"I'd like a pineapple and banana special with a bowl of pasta and a little sauce," I politely requested.

"I'll order the same," Toby chipped in and I smiled at him.

Luke on the other hand was silent.

"Won't you order something, Luke?"

At the call of his name, he blinked several times like he had been lost in space.

"I'll have what they ordered," he said.

"We ordered different things," Matthew let him know.

"What did you order Rene?" He asked me.

"She ordered pineapple and banana special with a bowl of pasta and a little sauce," the waiter said and it was then I realized he didn't hold a jotter or pen to jot it down.

"I'll get your orders," he said and winked at me.

For a moment I just kept staring at him as he walked away with so much grace.

"Is it me or is that waiter hitting on me?" I asked and Job scoffed.

"It's you," he answered and I glared at him.

"I'm sure he's just doing his job," Toby said.

"He just winked at me and it feels strange," I let them know.

"It feels strange because no guy has ever winked at you like that," Job said and I got up with the motive of smacking his head when Matthew held me back and made me sit down.

"Look at me."

When I looked at Matthew, he winked at me and I glared at him too.

"Now two guys have winked at you in one day. So it's nothing," he went on to say and I sighed.

In less than five minutes he was back with our orders and my mouth began to water the moment I saw how delicious my order looked.

"I hope you enjoy your meal miss," he said and I looked at him just to find him smiling at me.

But before he left, he winked at me again but with the other eye.

Everyone had already started digging in except Luke who kept playing with his food while deep in thought.

"Rene, what's wrong with your height? Why do you look like a dwarf?" Job joked and the others burst into laughter.

"Screw you, Job!" I snapped at him and stuffed a fork full of pasta into my mouth.

The more I ate, the more I craved for more and before I knew it I had gone halfway and my special drink was nearly exhausted.

"Rene, Rene, look at Toby's ears, they are as fat as Job's nose," Matthew said to me and when I looked to see for myself, I began to giggle because it was true. Toby's ears were abnormally big and Job's nose was insanely fat.

When I faced Matthew I couldn't stop laughing as I pointed at his hair and he also couldn't stop laughing as he pointed at my chin.

"What's wrong with you guys?" Luke asked and I looked at him and nearly fell to the ground while laughing.

"Dude! You need to see your front teeth!" Job said and Toby joined us in laughter.

When I was about to take another sip of my juice, I yawned and leaned against Matthew's shoulder so I could catch some sleep.

"Rene! Get up, you can't sleep here!" I heard Luke's frantic voice.

"Let me be," I drowsily said and felt Matthew wrap his arms around me as he rested his head on mine so we could sleep.

********

~{LUKE'S POV}~

"RENE! MATTHEW!"

I tried to make them wake up only to see Job fall with his face onto his plate of chips while Toby slept on him.

"What the heck is going on?" I asked as I tried to understand it.

When I looked at my food and theirs, it was then I understood where the problem stemmed from. They were acting out of influence from the food!

THE WAITER!

When I looked around, I found him leaning against the counter while watching me with a smile on his face.

The other people present were eating and laughing with each other as well, meaning we weren't the only ones.

"What did you do to them!" I snapped at him and when he adjusted himself and walked in my direction, his appearance shifted into another human being, making me gasp and stagger.

"You should've just ate what I gave you, mister," he said and came to stand right before me.

This was strange. No cell could change to another person so how come?

When he was about to touch me, I immediately touched him first and our surroundings changed into a green field.

He blinked in surprise and looked around before facing me.

"How did you do that?"

Instead of answering his question, I left that place and returned back to the restaurant where my friends were still sleeping.

The waiter stood in place as his eyes were magenta and wide open as he remained captured in the illusion I created for him.

As I looked at them I didn't know where to begin.

I couldn't just carry one person and come back for the other. What if something happens to the others while I'm away with the first one.

"Is that all you got?"

At that question, I froze in place.

How was he able to get out of the illusion?

When I faced him, I noticed that his eyes weren't magenta anymore but back to its normal color.

Before I could act, everything changed and I found myself on a boat surrounded by ocean.

There were places I could take people and places I couldn't create because I didn't know how to but here is someone who is clearly a master at illusions.

Who is he exactly?

As I tried to get out of it, I couldn't.

"This can't be right," I slowly said to myself and that was when a big whale came out of the water and swallowed me along with the boat.