‘What the f*ck is that guard doing holding that thing like he’s at a show and tell?!’ Was Gary's first thought, as he saw him hold it in his hand. The teenager could tell by the look of shock on Xin’s and Jayden’s face that they had clearly recognised the item for what it was.

“Er….er..” Xin was fuming, unable to find the right words, while Gary had yet to make up his mind on whether he should just snatch it out of the man’s hand or pretend like it wasn’t his.

“Hey, calm down, it's not like a condom is going to be used as a weapon.” Jayden said as he walked forward. “Actually, on second thought, you could probably suffocate someone with one of these things.”

The Altered snatched it out of the guard’s hand before he could even react. Then, he turned to Gary, staring right in the eyes, an evil smile on his face.

“While I’m happy to see that you care for protection, I really hope you weren't thinking of using this anytime soon, Gary. Otherwise, I might have you assist me in testing out my theory of how lethal a weapon such a thing would make.”

All Gary could do was gulp and shake his head, as he quickly opted to use his plan B.

“That’s not mine! … yeah, you’ve seen my friend in the car earlier, right? It’s his suit! He must have left it inside as a prank! I'm sorry, I would never think of doing something like ‘that’ with your sister.”

“Oh!” Jayden gasped theatrically. “So you’re saying my sister isn't pretty enough for you now?”

Gary was aware that this was one of those situations where no matter what he said, it was going to be taken the wrong way. Unfortunately, understanding his own situation, didn’t help him get out of it. Right now, he wanted to kill Kai for his ‘gift’… even though he knew it was his own fault.

Since a suit didn’t have the pocket space, it would have been impossible to take along the whole box in the first place. Still, after he had changed, Gary had taken out a single one. The teenager had little hope that anything would happen tonight, yet as the saying went ‘better safe than sorry’… yet now he felt like any second he might see his life flash before his eyes.

Thankfully, Xin was also there and came to his rescue by pulling on her brother’s ear.

“Stop acting this way towards Gary, you dolt. He just said that it was a prank, so why are you still teasing him about it? Besides, I don't need you deciding things for me!”

———

A little while later, Gary was escorted to the living room, where Xin had sat down on a single sofa on her own. Meanwhile, her guest was sitting on a sofa next to Jayden, and he was still unable to look either one in the eyes. Since the condom incident, the atmosphere was a little awkward to say the least.

“So Gary, why don't we use this time to learn a bit more about you? Maybe something that only we would be interested in. Apart from you being a horn dog, I mean.” Jayden broke the silence. “Not just anyone can take one my punches. You’re clearly more durable than those other guys that day, so I’ve been wondering where you learned to fight like that? What style are you training in?”

“Wow, it’s not often Jayden praises anyone. That sounds like you were a lot better than when you came to the Karate club. Be honest, did you hold back in your fight against me that day? Since you're in the Rugby club that means you must have learnt outside school, no?” Xin added, and Jayden was making sure to pay close attention to the green haired teenager’s answers.

“Ah… I'm not in a club or anything like that.” Gary replied nervously, still keeping his head down. “I’ve had an interest in fighting ever since I was young. My Dad was actually the one who introduced it to me. Now I watch the Altered Fighting Championship all the time. Those guys are athletes that are meant to be the best of the best.

“I don’t even remember when, but at some point I started watching the most skilful fighters who have

practised nothing but punching and kicking, ways to beat their opponent. Those fights always got me heated up, so I’ve been studying them a lot…”

Gary started to trail off there. In the world of fighting, just hard work wasn’t enough. Everyone worked hard. Unfortunately, the cold hard truth was that while reflexes, flexibility, and strength could be improved on, there were things like talent that one couldn’t change. And on the world stage, where the best fought against the best, those people had often been born with a natural advantage.

Of course, becoming Altered changed everything even further. He himself knew that best. While becoming a Werewolf was surely different, even a fraction of what he was doing these days would have been impossible with his old body.

“Anyway, recently I found someone else who is really interested in it as well. He does a lot of Muay Thai fighting, and ever since the two of us have been practising quite a lot.” Gary answered.

He had learned that the best way for him to tell a lie, was to mix it in with part of the truth. That way, the teenager didn't really have to make up a lot of stuff. As long as he avoided telling certain bits, the other person would just fill in the blanks.

“I see, so you must be quite the fan of mine, huh? Is that the reason you chose to get close to Xin? To get to me?” Jayden asked, glancing over to the teenager who was finally looking up. Just as Gary was about to explain that it wasn't the case, the Altered just waved it off.

“I'm just kidding, I already know that you had no idea. Still, that is actually one of the reasons I wanted to talk to you. Me and Xin's relationship, the fact that she is my little sister, is supposed to stay a secret.

“There's more than one reason for it, but I won’t bore you with any of the details. If you want what’s best for Xin, I ask you to keep it to yourself. Right now, it's even more important than before.”

Gary nodded away, immediately agreeing, he didn't want to make her life any harder than it was.

“Say, Xin, now that we have time, mind explaining to me what’s going to happen to you?” Gary eventually asked. “Why will you no longer be going to the Westbridge? Is it because of what happened? And where will you go, since you said you might only come back on the weekends?”

To try to convince her parents, he needed to know the reason they wanted her gone in the first place.

“Actually it's-“

“Dinner is ready.” A beautiful woman who was nearly as bright as Xin opened the door. Her hair was in curls rather than straightened like Xin’s, but it was undeniably the same ashen colour. To put it simply, Gary could clearly see who the teenage girl had gotten her good looks from.

“Oh!” The middle-aged woman said, as she noticed the boy in the room and placed her hands together, smiling at him. “And this young man must be the one joining us today. Sorry I didn't introduce myself. My name is Natalia Clove, but no need to introduce yourself now, you can do that at the dinner table.”

After saying these words, Gary noticed something, and it was the fact that Natalia was staring at his face. No, looking more closely, it seemed to be slightly above that… the hair on the top of his head.

“Ah…it's my natural colour… I can't change it?” Gary blurted out, since this was somewhat the truth now, at least according to the system.

Unsurprisingly, his response earned him a chuckle from everyone in the room. Gary was embarrassed, but he thought that making them laugh might have been a good thing. Following the mother along, the three of them finally entered the dining room.

There was a large rectangle table, with seats already sorted out, and each one had a name plate placed on the table. Gary saw that he had been given a seat right next to where the mayor was, at the head of the table. The high schooler gulped down hard once again, but sat down, next to the corpulent man.

Seeing the mayor in person was different from seeing him on TV. There was a certain aura around him, an aura of confidence that Gary had felt around certain people before, Damion, Brandon…and Kai. The aura of a leader.

‘I feel like this dinner is going to be a battle itself.’

“Welcome to our humble home, Gary Dem.” Ben greeted him by offering him a handshake.

*******

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