Neon Lights

23

Rave lessened the distance between them. Callisto's first instinct was to hide. His second instinct was to push Draven away and force him to leave. But before he could do either of those, Rave stood before them, eyes narrowed with a frown on his face. The tension in the air tightened, as if a string was being pulled taut — ready to snap at any moment.

Silence washed into the scene.

For a few seconds, nobody said anything. Without even thinking about it, Callisto took a small step closer to Draven, managing to catch himself last minute from making any obvious move. Heart hammering against his chest, he briefly looked past Rave's shoulders to the entrance of the hallway. He could see a few tables right in front of him, but there was no way to signal for Rye to come in and help.

"What is going on here?" Rave said, his voice stern.

Callisto's lungs seized in his chest when those red eyes met his.

"A social visit," Draven said. Callisto glanced at him, maybe to even signal him to not speak but those golden-brown eyes didn't even look at him. "Might I ask what I owe you this... pleasure?"

His voice was calm. There wasn't any hint of emotion in those words. Callisto didn't even know how to react to that. Rave's shoulders were squared and his eyes seemed to glow even more, the remaining of whatever pink shade he had in them disappearing. The android before him that he called his friend was unhappy, that much was clear.

But there was nothing he could do in this situation, even if Rave's gaze was on him, demanding for an explanation.

Spluttering for something, Callisto finally said, "I didn't call him here."

Rave furrowed his eyebrows. "I didn't say you did."

Crap.

The extent of his relationship with Draven was a closely guarded secret. Even if Rave knew some of the details, he didn't know everything. He certainly didn't know that Callisto had once thought Draven dearly to him. Thinning his lips, he looked at the ground, wracking his brain for an answer.

He clearly remembered still that Rave was the one who put it in his head to contact Draven, who had tipped him off that maybe this man who he had left behind five years ago could be tied to Luna's disappearance.

So why was it such a big deal now that he saw him with Draven?

"Now now," Draven said, cutting the tenseness in the air with a little bit of a chuckle slipping past his lips. Completely inappropriate for the situation at hand. "Don't put him on the spot. What's the matter with meeting up with old friends?"

Rave shifted his attention to the other man. Callisto looked up then, sighing a relief when he didn't feel his sharp gaze on him anymore. "Meeting old friends without a motive? I doubt it."

Draven raised his eyebrows, the corner of his lips curling upwards, barely concealing the fact this was funny to him. Callisto knew that look — that very same look he had used when he saw Callisto that day. Like he was a joke he could play around to his heart's content. The same look he was aiming at Rave.

"My, so suspicious. I suppose that fits with you being a detective and whatnot," Draven said, shrugging once. "I'm really just here for a social visit. You can ask the owner here to confirm it."

"And you talking to Cal?" Rave said.

"Cal?" Draven stood straighter. Rave only narrowed his gaze further, his lips pursing. "Ah, you mean Callisto. You call him Cal, huh?"

"Ah," Callisto said, not liking the tone used. "People are allowed to call me that, you know?"

Draven immediately shifted his attention onto him. His heart almost stopped beating in his chest at the look being tossed at him. Sharp, perhaps even a little displeased but underneath that — there was a certain uncomfortableness that had Callisto shifting his weight from one foot to the other. Slight confusion wormed in his chest at the change of attitude but he didn't think he want to know why.