Chapter 18: The Date

After leaving his adorably embarrassed master, Zen ran towards the dorms for a quick fashion dress up. Considering his questionable taste, he dialed up Anna, his go-to style guru.

"Bro, you're stepping into the dating arena? Seriously? I knew you were enamored with that senior."

She helped him with the dresses and they chose to go with a casual casual outfit with a shirt and a jacket over it with chino pants. Although Anna wanted to add a bit more accessories, Zen just took a silver necklace with a pendant. With 20 minutes to spare, Zen decided to take a walk on the route to the senior elite dorm.

While his walk, he heard a lot of whispers, 

|"Check him out, quite the heartthrob. Who's this mystery man?"|

|Yes, why haven't I seen him before? It is impossible to miss someone like him.|

It was common for Zen. He really was very handsome, especially when he dresses up like this. But he also knew that most of these girls were nobles and as soon as his identity as a commoner will be revealed, the girls who are admiring him right now will look at him with disdain in their eyes.

He made it to Evelyn's dorm right on time and dropped her a message. No response from Evelyn, so he opted to wait patiently. Suddenly, a gentle touch on his shoulder made him turn around, revealing Evelyn standing there. She wore a crop top with jeans, and had side braided hairs that added to her charm. Phenomenal didn't even begin to cover it.

Zen was captivated, but he didn't want to come off as creepy. Complimenting her, he said, "Senior, you look beautiful," and then extended his hands, asking, "May I have the pleasure to take you out on a date?"

Evelyn blushed at his compliment but was caught off guard by Zen's gestures. Despite having plenty of admirers, she had never said yes to anyone before. Moreover, she couldn't understand why her heart was beating so fast, considering she'd heard similar lines countless times.

While Evelyn's thoughts were doing the cha-cha in her mind, Zen wasn't exactly throwing a party in his head either. Despite putting on a poker face, his nerves were doing the dancing all around – very, very nervously. Although he acted cool, he was a rookie in the game of wooing. His list of female contacts on his phone comprised only his sister and his mother – not exactly the Casanova he thought himself to be.

Zen took her hand and went forward. Along the way, eyebrows were raised as the campus belle strolled hand in hand with the new kid on the block. Both Zen and Evelyn felt the nervousness, each for their own reasons. Zen, anxious not to destroy his date with Evelyn, and Evelyn, fearing the potential judgmental whispers of bystanders.

In the midst of the crowd, there was one pair of eyes emitting pure daggers. The guy with the intense gaze swiftly pulled out his phone and dialed a number informing someone about the developments.

Unaware of the brewing storm, Zen led Evelyn to a modest restaurant, where their presence once again attracted attention. They were looking really good together. While eating, Zen attempted to lessen the awkward atmosphere, but Evelyn was acting timidly.

"Senior, are you not enjoying? We can leave if you want."

"... No, it's not like that," Evelyn replied, avoiding Zen's gaze.

"Then what's the problem? I know you're not the silent type." Zen actually understood what she was thinking. Evelyn was fighting with the fear of judgment from those who might discover she was on a date with a guy.

Receiving no immediate response, Zen sighed, "Senior, I get that you're worried about what people think. But does it really matter?"

With a serious tone, Zen caught her gaze, saying, "You're concerned people might create stories if they see you dating, right?"

"Let me ask you this, you are already on a date with me. I guess this is the first time you are out on a date so the potential rumors are flying on their way. So now that has happened, why not just enjoy and leave what happens for later."

Evelyn thought about Zen's advice and pondered a bit. But anxiousness is not something that vanishes with some words. Zen of course understood this. He took out his phone and fiddled a bit and then proposed,

"How about this? You try to ease out the anxiousness while doing what I say. No matter what I say, just do it. What do you say?"

"Okay. I also hate myself like this. Let's do it."

"Awesome. Now stand up and do as I say." Zen wiped his mouth with paper towels and stood up.

After scanning the surroundings, he suddenly shouted, "RUN!" and took off like Usain Bolt.

Evelyn, utterly flabbergasted with Zen's actions, didn't know what the hell just happened but, observing the reactions of the people around, she ran after Zen. They heard some commotion behind them, but being students, they easily outpaced the potential pursuers.

After about 10 minutes of mad sprinting, they finally stopped.

"What the heck is wrong with you? What if we were caught?" Evelyn shouted, panting heavily. Despite her mutant abilities, she had relied on her physical power in the heat of the moment. Zen couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"See, anxiety gone, right? Nobody's talking about rumors now; they're talking about the campus sprint champions! I remember seeing this technique on TV before."

Evelyn didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She was anxious about going on a date and this fucker here is making her anxious about a felony.

"Let's continue our date. Senior have you ever eaten street food here?" Zen asked without caring about Evelyn's embarrassment.

"What are you saying? Who eats that?"

Zen looked at her like she was a rare animal,

"Umm princess, you know that people... whatever you already promised you will follow my orders. And my order is that we are eating whatever I make you eat."

Evelyn pouted, avoiding Zen's gaze, who couldn't help but think she looked ridiculously adorable. They strolled, chatting about this and that. Evelyn was surprised to hear about Zen's childhood and how he and his sister were bullied. She despised her noble bloodline for treating commoners as less than humans.

They reached a truck and Zen ordered,

"Two hamburgers with fries and extra cheese please." He left Evelyn a bit behind because Zen didn't want her to know what she was eating, and he definitely didn't want people ogling at his date. He collected the order and presented it to Evelyn.

"How will I eat this much? Anyways, where are the plates and cutlery?"

"Senior, we don't use cutlery for burgers." Zen, unknowingly holding Evelyn's hand, handed her the burger. He put the burger near her face, and she took a small bite.

"What the fuck is this? I have never tasted something like this. Those spices are so tasty." Evelyn threw all her manners out the window and devoured the burger without a care in the world. Zen watched her, occasionally taking bites from his own burger.

After they completed the food, Zen asked,

"So senior, how..."

"Call me Evelyn," she interjected, her red face contrasting with the satisfied grin on her lips.

Zen was taken aback, but inside his heart, firecrackers were lighting up in a celebrations fueled by happiness.

"...Alright E-Evelyn," he stammered, doing his best to appear confident and nonchalant.

"Haha, Zen, you're feeling embarrassed."

"Shut up! You sure are acting cheeky after inhaling all that food, complaining it was too much." Zen sneered, attempting to make Evelyn embarrassed, but she wouldn't back down. She was a strong woman.

"Hmph" She snorted but then they both laughed.

"Hmph," she snorted, but then they both burst into laughter.

Suddenly, Zen's smile faded, and he remarked, "Seems like pests have a GPS set to our coordinates." Initially, Evelyn didn't grasp what Zen meant, but then she noticed a group of boys approaching. Her face flushed with anger, particularly at the one walking in the middle.