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"Hey, Weretiger!"
Atsushi looked to see Lucy walking up to his booth with a notepad and pen. She looked pretty peeved.
"Hey, Lucy! Is something wrong?"
She huffed and crossed her arms. "It's about Mr. Fitzgerald's stupid party."
Oh, yeah! Atsushi remembered hearing from her that Fitzgerald was throwing a party for all the former Guild members tonight so they could catch up with each other. Apparently he was willing to put the past behind him to make sure his former subordinates were doing well (even if some of these subordinates had betrayed him). Lucy was convinced it was also an excuse for him to brag about acquiring Manhasset Security and the Eyes of God.
He also remembered hearing Ranpo's friend (rival? both?) who stopped by earlier saying that he won't be going due to his dislike of extravagant parties. (As well as the fact that he played a key role in defeating the Guild and apparently never liked the group in the first place.) Honestly, Atsushi was surprised that Lucy wasn’t planning on doing the same.
"Fitzgerald-san's party, huh," Atsushi leaned back in his seat. "What about it?"
Lucy's face went red as she averted her gaze. "I… I may have told him that I have a boyfriend. And now he expects me to bring him along!"
"Well, if that's the case, you can just tell him that you broke up!" Atsushi said with a smile.
"What are you, stupid?!" Lucy shouted before covering her blushing face with the notepad. "Mr. Fitzgerald would absolutely know I was lying! The whole reason why I even said that in the first place is because I know he would tease me about my job the entire time. So, I created the boyfriend lie to get him to focus on something else. But it completely backfired! Everyone's going to think I'm a loser for lying about having a boyfriend."
Atsushi sat for a while thinking about what to say. Suddenly, an idea popped into his mind.
"Why don't you just get someone to pretend to be your boyfriend?" he innocently asked.
"What the hell kind of idea is that?!" Lucy cried, finally bringing the notepad down from her face. "What's more pathetic than lying about having a boyfriend? Bringing someone you're not actually dating to pretend to be your boyfriend!"
"But they wouldn't know! It'll be a secret," Atsushi said with a wink.
Lucy stood in silence, swaying back and forth in thought. Atsushi quickly picked up on her behavior.
"Is everything alright?"
"Yeah, it's just…" Lucy looked down at her shoes. "I can't think of anyone to ask."
"... I can go with you."
Lucy looked up, taken aback by the suggestion. Atsushi cheerfully smiled at her with a look of resolve.
"You mean it?" she shyly asked.
"Of course! But, if you want to go with someone else, that's fine too."
"Very well," Lucy crossed her arms, trying to look as confident as she could. "Atsushi Nakajima, would you… be my boyfriend for the night?!"
Atsushi nodded. "I'd be honored."
Lucy's heart raced as her face went red.
"Are you okay?" Atsushi nervously asked, reaching out to see if he could help her.
"Yep! I'm fine!" Lucy anxiously replied. "Have you figured out what you’re ordering yet?"
After Atsushi told her what he wanted, he noticed her write something else on another piece of paper. Once she was done, Lucy tore it off and gave it to him.
"What's this?" Atsushi asked, examining the writing.
"It's more information regarding the party. What to wear, what time it is, where it is… that sort of thing." Lucy bashfully looked back down towards the floor. "I really can't thank you enough. You know you didn't have to do this."
Atsushi gave her a warm smile.
"You looked like you needed help. I couldn't just leave you hanging."
Lucy smiled back.
"I'll be out with your order shortly."
As Lucy headed to the back, Atsushi looked at the piece of paper again. As weird as it'll be attending a party with the Guild, at least he'll be attending it with Lucy.