"Is that your full name? Kai Lux?" Eliam flipped through the menu as he asked this question. He wanted to tease these two since he knows that it\'ll only bring them closer at a faster pace. Even if it means that they\'ll suffer a little bit.

"It is" Kaiden was supposed to sit in front of Gideon but he didn\'t want this guy to be next to him. And so, he\'ll just bear with the idea that Gideon is facing Eliam.

"That\'s interesting to hear"

"What\'s interesting about it?" Gideon got curious regarding this because it looked like Eliam was having fun with his thoughts. Kaiden was not as interested to talk about himself so he drank the water that the waiters provided him.

"Hmm..." Eliam held his chin to think about it before explaining it "Well it sounds similar to our Prince\'s name. Kaiden Lux Ferre"

A choking noise could be heard and Kaiden covered his mouth to cough a little bit. Thankfully it was only a little bit of water or else he would have made a fool out of himself just now.

"I-Is that so?" Kaiden asks and Gideon beside him starts patting his back to soothe his breathing.

"Are you alright?" Gideon was worried and Kaiden nodded his head to indicate that he was.

"Were my thoughts that surprising to hear?"

"Hah... no, I just got surprised because someone like me shouldn\'t be compared to the prince"  Kaiden smiles at Gideon and whispers a thank you for his care.

"What\'s so wrong with that? Isn\'t being a prince a nice thing? You\'d have power and fame. A lot of people dream of becoming one... don\'t you share the same thoughts?"

Gideon thought that Eliam wasn\'t wrong. A lot of people, especially children, would dream of becoming a prince or a princess. But Gideon saw how busy Kaiden can get and that\'s why he knew that being one had a lot of responsibility. And for an introvert such as himself, Royalty isn\'t something he wants.

Kaiden was already the prince. So Gideon wondered what Kaiden would answer regarding this question.

"I don\'t" Kaiden answers.

"Oh? Why?" Eliam leans onto the table with a surprised expression. It seems like this wasn\'t the answer that he had been expecting.

"Even if you had power and fame, it would be a harsh and lonely path. You won\'t know who you can trust since everyone just wants to use you. And you won\'t know if someone is genuinely nice towards you. There\'s always doubt for hidden agendas here and there"

Gideon was speechless. Kaiden had once told him that it was nice that nobody was pretending to be nice. At first, Gideon thought he knew everything about it but hearing this other answer made it clearer as to why Kaiden was happy that day to say that he knew Gideon won\'t pretend.

\'How could you have been so sure that I\'m not pretending to be nice to you back then?\' Gideon looked down at his hands and felt like his heart skipped a beat. Who would have so much faith in him like that?

"The way you speak sounds like you experienced it first hand" Eliam continued to probe the topic but he already got the outcome he wanted just by doing a quick glance at Gideon.

"Haha. I\'ve seen enough of the prince during his public appearances to guess that much. But enough of me, I invited you here to ask some questions myself"

"Go ahead"

"How did you meet Gideon?"

Gideon suddenly snapped back to reality as soon as he heard his name get involved in that question. He could have answered it but when he looked at Eliam, he smiled at him as if he was saying "Don\'t worry I\'ll answer it"

"I met him back when he was recuperating after the incident in the Palace"

"How come I didn\'t see you during the event" Kaiden was suspicious of this guy and his reasoning as to why he got close to Gideon.

"Because I didn\'t attend. I only came afterward to check up on some people that did attend"

Gideon thought Eliam was a staff in the wing. He wanted to ask about it but he felt as if there was someone telling him "Just go along with it". Was it Eliam telling him this?

"Who were those?" Kaiden asks and Eliam glanced at his phone. He spent way too much time here that he\'s missing out on some things he needed to do. But knowing this kid, he won\'t be able to leave without giving an answer.

"Aleia Thompson. She was a friend of someone I used to take care of. He wanted me to check up on her but sadly I found out that she had passed" Eliam explained to Kaiden. Kaiden was familiar with that name. That was the girl he danced with and the reason why he argued with Gideon in the first place.

"Yeah, and when I was on my way back I heard some nurses talking about Gideon here. I wasn\'t sure why they were acting the way they were and they thought I was a staff there and asked me to bring him water since he would wake up anytime soon"

Gideon remembered that the staff there was actually like that towards him. Then Eliam must have been telling the truth. But what was that feeling just now? It was strange.

"And I suppose that\'s how we ended up as friends? Am I right Deon?" Eliam suddenly placed the spotlight on Gideon and Gideon nodded since most of it was the truth anyway.

"Yes, that\'s right"

Kaiden was still not satisfied with this. Especially when this guy had the balls to call Gideon "Deon" again. But before he could ask any more questions, Eliam placed down the menu and gave a sad smile.

"I\'m terribly sorry but I have to take my leave. I would have stayed here to chat more but I have to be somewhere else. Thank you for the talk. Deon, Kaiden- Oh I mean Kai" Eliam corrected the last part since he still had to go along with this, and Kaiden\'s eye twitched and nodded.

"Take care Eliam"

"I\'ll just message you again" Eliam tells Gideon before taking his leave.

Now that the two of them were finally alone, Kaiden turned to Gideon.

"He\'s really suspicious, Gideon..."

"Oh come on. You saw that he\'s not bad"

"I\'m sorry but something about him just rubs me the wrong way"

"Kaiden... It\'s bad to judge someone you just met"

"So we\'re back to full names now?" Kaiden smiled at Gideon

A blush suddenly appeared on Gideon\'s cheek and he lightly smacked Kaiden\'s arm.

"Don\'t change the subject"

"haha... I suppose you\'re right. But if he does something funny, don\'t hesitate to tell me ok?" Kaiden lowered his head a little bit to look pitiful in front of Gideon. And it seems to have worked since Gideon turned to the side and pouted while saying "Fine"

"We\'ve been talking here for so long and yet we haven\'t ordered anything... Is there anything you want?" Kaiden asks him and Gideon realizes this. He felt embarrassed that they hogged up a table for so long without ordering anything. And besides that, one look at the menu he didn\'t want to order anything expensive.

"Can we eat somewhere else?" Gideon sheepishly asks Kaiden while hiding behind the menu.

Kaiden frowned. He asked Azazel where was the best place to eat and the guy recommended this place. Perhaps when he gets back, he\'ll have a long discussion with Azazel on how he nearly fucked up.

.

.

"Why do I feel like someone is talking shit about me again" Azazel suddenly muttered and Kassandra ignored him.

.

.

"Where do you want to go?" Kaiden asks Gideon.

The two of them already left the restaurant and the manager of the place approached them first and asked if none of the food was to their liking. Kaiden was the one who answered that it was not that but rather he wasn\'t hungry. The manager did not stop them and let them leave. It was still better to let the prince do what he wanted than to anger him.

"Can we just eat some Mcbee?" Gideon asks him and Kaiden hasn\'t heard that name in a while. The last time he ate that was when they were kids.

They would have that when they did well on their exams and Valerie would even buy them extra nuggets if they didn\'t get into fights.

"Sure why not" Kaiden and Gideon walked together to go to the nearest branch and thankfully it wasn\'t that full.

"By the way... Did you put another spell on you like last time?"

Kaiden was looking around the place. It changed significantly over the years from childish to a modern sleek look.

"Yeah. It\'s a little different since I didn\'t exactly change anything with my look. Just how the people I don\'t want to see me would perceive me" A look at the menu made Kaiden frown since some of the things he ate in the past were no longer there.

"I see.. Anyways, let\'s order. I\'m starving!"