System Mission: Seduce the Final Boss [BL]-Chapter 67: Our hands are too much!

Of course, when Blake thought of using himself as bait, he didn’t mean himself.

Not really.

He meant the fake him with the mask on.

’Earlier I completely ignored Spoon giving me the reward... let’s hope masks don’t cost too much.’

As he stepped out of the bathroom, the door croaked faintly behind him.

’Well, I think this is the best option but still, how do I do it properly?’

That was the real issue.

There were too many possibilities, too many directions he could take. If he followed the blueprints, then there were several places he could start laying down bait.

Several ways to draw attention and mislead everyone.

And the thing was it wouldn’t just be an act, since it would help him, too.

Because even if none of this had been happening, even if the story had stayed exactly as it was supposed to, he still would’ve needed to investigate.

’...Guess I’ll check at home,’ 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

He had to organize everything carefully.

As he turned the corner, he walked straight into someone.

Blake blinked, stumbling back half a step before steadying himself.

He looked up.

Myles.

Blake raised an eyebrow, surprise flickering across his face.

"What are you doing here?" he asked. "Shouldn’t you be in class?"

Myles stared down at him, expression unreadable as ever.

"I was looking for you."

Blake’s eyes widened slightly.

"...What? For me? Why?"

There was a brief pause, then Blake huffed lightly, crossing his arms.

"I wasn’t planning on skipping school or anything," he said quickly. "If I was, I’d at least tell you first."

Myles didn’t react to the attempt at humor.

Instead, he asked, "Why did the teacher call you?"

Blake froze for a fraction of a second.

’Ah, right. That.’

He scratched the back of his head, gaze shifting away briefly.

This was unavoidable.

"...She asked me to help Asher settle in," he admitted. "Show him around, make sure he integrates properly. Just for a couple of weeks."

Of course, only silence followed, so Blake added, almost immediately...

"But it’s not like that’ll change anything," he said, looking back at him. "I’ll still spend as much time as possible with you."

Myles didn’t respond.

But something about the way he looked at him made his skin crawl.

[ !Warning! ]

Blake forced a small smile, of course, he could read what was below, but he was sure it was connected to Myles’ mood.

"Don’t look at me like that."

Before he could think better of it, his hand lifted, fingers brushing through Myles’ hair in a brief, careless ruffle.

Then he froze internally.

’Why did I do that?’

To cover it up, he let out a small breath, trying to sound casual.

"You shouldn’t pout."

...

The silence that followed was suffocating.

Blake’s smile stiffened.

That was worse, because Myles wasn’t pouting.

If anything, he looked like he was deciding whether or not to kill him.

Myles stepped closer.

Blake didn’t move.

For a few long seconds, they just stood there, staring at each other.

Neither speaking.

Neither backing down.

Then, Myles turned.

"Let’s go," he said simply, starting toward the classroom.

Blake blinked, then followed after him.

"...Right."

As he walked behind him, he raised a hand, covering part of his face.

He was sure he looked pretty pale.

’What was that...’

He exhaled quietly.

’Idiot.’

***

The rest of the school day passed rather quickly.

Between trying to focus on lessons, keeping track of Myles’ mood, and the constant weight of everything he’d just learned, Blake was exhausted.

By the time the final bell rang, his head felt heavy, thoughts slower but no less tangled.

Still, he stood, grabbing his bag as he glanced at Myles.

"Ready?"

"Yes."

They walked out together, moving with the flow of students toward the exit.

And this time, Blake knew he couldn’t avoid it.

He slowed slightly, turning to look at Myles properly.

"...Hey," he said.

Myles glanced at him.

Blake held his gaze for a moment.

"Do you know I love you?"

Both of Myles’ eyebrows lifted slightly.

Without a word, he reached out and flicked Blake’s forehead.

Tap.

Blake flinched, hand flying up instinctively.

"Ow!"

He stared at him, stunned.

Then, his face flushed almost instantly.

’He’s taking revenge for what I did earlier! But, c’mon, that was me ruffling his hair, not flicking his forehead!’

Before he could say anything, a voice cut in.

"Blake!"

Ah, right, the unavoidable guys were now here.

Instinctively, without even thinking about it, Blake shifted his position, stepping slightly in front of Myles.

’Tsk, I’m not even that tall, anyway. Even if I was on a chair, I wouldn’t be able to block him from their line of sight.’

Still, he stayed there.

"...Hey," he greeted, looking at Asher. "Excited to have me as your guide?"

Asher nodded, a small, polite smile forming.

"Yes. But please don’t worry," he added softly. "We can start tomorrow."

"That works."

Anthony looked between them before turning back to Blake.

"By the way, where were you at lunch?" he asked. "Didn’t see you in the cafeteria."

"I didn’t like what they were serving today," he said easily. "So I dragged Myles outside instead."

Anthony laughed lightly.

"Fair enough."

They walked together for a bit longer, heading toward the bus stop.

Then, Anthony and Asher veered off.

"We’ll see you tomorrow," Anthony said, lifting a hand.

"Yeah," Blake replied.

Asher gave a small nod before following him.

Blake watched them go for a second, then turned back.

"Come on, let’s sit before it’s too packed," he said.

Blake slid into his seat beside Myles, leaning back slightly as the vehicle started moving.

For a while, neither of them spoke.

Then...

Rustle.

Blake noticed that Myles was putting in earphones.

He blinked.

’This is new. I don’t think I’ve ever saw him with these on.’

Blake found himself glancing over. He couldn’t help but feel curious about what he was listening.

Myles noticed, turning his head slightly as he looked directly at him.

"What?"

Blake immediately looked away.

"Nothing! I just... haven’t seen you use earphones before."

"...Okay."

He reached up and took them off.

Blake blinked, startled.

"No, wait, that’s not what I meant," he said quickly. "You can keep them on, of course—"

"Blake."

Of course, that made Blake freeze instantly.

It wasn’t as if he looked angry, but...

"If you want something," Myles cut in, looking at him, "just say it."

Blake’s smile faded slightly as his gaze dropped.

’What do I want?’

Of course, it was quite uncomfortable because, what did he mean by that?

Did it seem like he wanted anything from Myles? From all of this? From himself?

What did he want?

His mouth parted slightly.

But no words came out.

Nothing.

Before he could even try again, a cold hand reached out, settling at the back of his neck.

Not tight enough to hurt.

But not loose either.

Blake froze.

His heartbeat picked up, loud in his ears.

He tried to lift his head.

But the pressure held him there.

Not forcing.

Just, keeping him in place.

Blake swallowed.

"...This is my stop," he said quietly.

The bus slowed and, a moment later, the hand disappeared, just like that.

Blake stood quickly, grabbing his bag.

"See you tomorrow," he added, not quite looking at him.

And then, without turning back, he stepped off the bus.