Curse the Mainframe! 314 Can You Not Be So Oblivious?!

Alec really wanted to decapitate the man right now.

He originally thought that the foursome that Travis was having with them the next morning was consensual, but now, it was rather obvious that it wasn't.

Alec resisted the urge to frown.

Or was it that it had started out consensual then become non-consensual down the line?

Alec didn't like doubting himself.

This was the first time in this life that he'd made such a grievous mistake – and though his morals might not be exactly the same as an average person, he still had lines that he didn't cross.

Teenagers were one of his soft limits, and though he might not like Travis, he wouldn't still be Alec if he could watch this happen to someone else without putting a stop to it.

So, instead of doing what he wanted to do – especially since they were in public – Alec smiled softly at Joe, and the man's eyes practically dilated in response.

Alec resisted the urge to scoff at him, but there was also a part of him that was thankful he had a face that was useful for these sorts of matters. Things would have played out a whole lot differently if he was the buff, muscular sort of man.

Imagining a gruff man like that smiling so sweetly at someone else, Alec shuddered a little inside.

Instead, he said, "I remember you. You helped my friend and I out that night, didn't you?"

Joe discreetly swallowed but smiled back at Alec. "Yes, we did. Though, I don't recall what happened after…" Joe tried to think back on it, but Alec interrupted him before he could.

"You told us that you had something to do," Alec said with a confused expression.

…Just how easy was it that they couldn't remember that night in clear detail? Alec had expected more doubt, but he could work with this. This was the perfect set-up. He didn't have to invest much into making it work either.

Joe was slightly doubtful, but he accepted it easily enough. After all, that night had been the start of his pleasant nights with Travis. The rest of it was kind of a blur, to be honest.

Joe pulled Travis nearer to him, smirking at Alec.

Alec ignored Travis' pale complexion, as well as his eyes that seemed to be trying to warn him off.

"Why don't you join us for dinner?" Joe asked.

Alec visibly hesitated. "I'm supposed to meet my friend later-"

"Before dinner?"

"No, after."

Joe was a little disappointed. "Well, you can just meet them after dinner, then," he said as he flashed a smiled that Alec was sure the man thought was charming. It just made him look particularly sleazy, disgusting Alec.

"Alright then," Alec acquiesced.

Travis felt like the world was crashing down again. While he might not like the other boy because he was the one who had indirectly led to his downfall, that didn't mean that he wanted someone else to suffer from his fate as well.

The other teen was directly stepping into the damn pit of snakes himself! Could he not see that there was something wrong?!

He tried to warn the other teen of what could possibly happen, but the other boy was a moron. Travis felt so frustrated!

He hadn't called out to the other teen because of this! He just wanted to vent his anger a little, not drag him in as well!

"Joe, it looked like he's terribly busy," Travis said to Joe, who had thankfully kept a distance from him. "Maybe a rain check for another day?"

The glare Joe gave him was so scathing that Travis knew he'd be paying for it later. His face paled further, but he didn't take his word back, secretly gritting his teeth.

Travis silently prayed that Alec would suddenly regain *some* brain cells and leave before anything untoward happened to him!

However, the other teen seemed impervious to his silent, telepathic messages, and he hesitated before rejecting. "It's alright. Anyway, I do need to have dinner first before meeting my friend."

Travis glared at Alec, but Alec only tilted his head in confusion. Travis could have strangled him. Could he not see that he was giving him an out?! This was the perfect time to take it up!

Could he not be so oblivious?! Please!

The three of them walked towards the inn, one more reluctant than the rest.

Travis was inwardly biting his lip in frustration, but how else could he make it so that it wasn't obvious he was rebelling?

Travis fell back a little and tried to grab Alec while the Joe walked up ahead.

Alec dodged Travis' hand. Travis frowned but relented. He didn't need physical contact with him to talk to him.

There was no other way than telling him straight up, he supposed. "Hey," Travis whispered. "Hey, psst."

Alec raised a brow, but obligingly turned his head towards the young master. How could he let himself fall into such a state? Shouldn't he have gotten out sooner rather than later?

Even if his reputation was ruined, why wasn't he doing the sensible thing? Alec was also frustrated with the other man. He didn't understand.

If Alec was the one in his position, he would have killed them all, by hook or by crook. He would never have given up until he achieved his goal.

"What is it?" he said in a quiet voice.

"Don't come with us. Make some excuse or something."

Alec looked at Travis with piercing eyes, causing the teenager to take a wary step back.

"What?" Travis said cautiously. Why did it feel like this teenager could see through everything? It left him feeling transparent and ashamed.

The resentment that Travis showed earlier was gone now, and Alec felt confused. Did other people change their emotions that fast? Or was Travis just special?

"No."

"Are you crazy?" Travis hissed.

Joe looked back, and Travis maintained his usual look around him and shrunk away, causing the man to feel satisfied that there wasn't anything untoward happening.

"Look," Travis whispered back. "I'm telling you. This is a bad idea."

"Why is it a bad idea?"

"…Just trust me. Don't come," Travis said with clear frustration.

Alec could tell that he really did mean it, which left him feeling baffled. He was quite sure that the resentment in the other boy's eyes previously had been very real, which meant that he'd abruptly changed his mind after Joe set his eyes on him.

"I'll help you out," Alec said to him instead.

Travis frowned dubiously. How did the other teen want to help him out?

He hesitated, before agreeing. He didn't know how he would do it, but he was willing to take a chance.

If he could get out of this, then he would. If it failed, it would likely get worse for him, but that was a chance that he was willing to take.

"Okay," Travis said quietly.

If this worked… if this worked… Travis swore he would become a better person in the future. He never realized how terrible the things he had been doing was until it was turned against him.

Travis frowned fiercely at the ground. Some people might have said that he was getting his just desserts, but that didn't mean that he didn't want an out.

The three of them entered the inn, where Joe suddenly pretended to be a kind and upstanding person who didn't have any ulterior motives.

"Ah, Travis, why don't you bring your friend up with you to freshen up a little?"

Travis hesitated a little, and Alec stepped on his foot.

"Okay."

Joe waited for them downstairs, his eyes watching as the two walked upstairs. He grinned savagely before following from a distance.

Travis gave Alec a glance before he knocked on the door.

Both of them stepped into the room, and the door swung shut behind them.

Chapter end

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