For Alex, it wasn't the best way to start that excursion, but he gritted his teeth and continued to keep up. For a moment he tried, despite his will, to figure out whether his new friend had just threatened him with death or not, a much more difficult task than he might have expected. The main reason behind that unnatural difficulty was, undoubtedly, the expression, to Alex's taste at least, currently stuffed on his companion's face.

Ever since they had set foot outside the store, in fact, Roberto's face had remained rigid, or perhaps a better term to use might have been plastered. His expressiveness from time to time was already fluctuating and often inconsistent with what came out of his mouth, but at the moment his appearance seemed to have worsened suddenly.

Although he had been unlucky to be with such a strange person, he miraculously managed to convince himself that this was not the time for paranoia. Right now the priority was to make sure there was no danger in the vicinity; doubts about whether his new friend was a psychopath could wait their turn.

Pushing those anxieties to the bottom, the boy also began to study the surroundings with a watchful eye, especially alert for any nasty bitch, his words I had nothing to do with it, that might suddenly move within his field of vision. Places like the back of a pile of rubble or the shadows cast by the pillars were his biggest nightmare at the moment, as he feared that some nasty and dirty animal, such as a big rat, might pop out in an instant of distraction.

Even under that psychological pressure, however, he made sure to take a furtive look at Roberto from time to time, just in case. However, the fact that every now and then a gust of wind would move something in the distance or a cloud in the sky would temporarily move the pattern of shadows on the ground made him flinch on several occasions during their walk from one side of the mall to the other.

Imbecile as he was however, he took great efforts to hide those sudden gestures of his by looking back in the direction they had started from. The first... well, two or three times, Roberto barely noticed or blithely ignored him, busy looking around as he walked leisurely with his hands in his pockets, at least until he did it one more time.

When he got there, he turned his head in Alex's direction, stared him in the face without revealing any of his thoughts and said: "Are you shitting yourself or are you worried about your girlfriend? I hope it's the latter, I'm not going to start looking for a shitter right now," leaving his interlocutor with a great excuse to use without even meaning to.

"Huh?" He stammered confused not quite knowing what to answer, then choosing to lie, or rather not correct the other since he had been given the chance. "There... well, yes. In fact, here..." While not an accomplished actor, his subsequent back and forth with words still succeeded in the task, much like the imprecise swinging of a low-class boxer might have done.

"Actually maybe worrying about that one is wasted time. Her father taught her how to defend herself before he passed away, and I've already seen her beat up more than one person who had bothered her. Mario is a beast, but... Don't make me think about it, now I'm even more anxious..." He resumed then bringing a hand in his hair and taking to rub them with a series of vigorous strokes.

Roberto let him finish, stopping and resting his back against the railing that bordered the edge of the floor. "Ah..." He sighed just a moment later, taking a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and grabbing one with his teeth, telling the other, "Lying is not your thing. When bullshitting, the most important factor to keep in mind is always to avoid exaggeration. If you'd stopped at your first uncertain gasp I'd have no problem believing you," then moving the packet aside to use his iconic flick of the hand to light his cigarette with the lighter.

Without adding anything further, he moved the packet in front of his face, barely waving the wrist as if to ask, "Do you smoke? Want one?" Alex, poor soul, had quit for a while, following several lectures and a beating from Camilla I'd like to point out, but faced with such pressure he couldn't help but agree. Obviously, his enemy had proved too powerful and too superior to him for him to refuse one of his gifts. So he took the offered cigarette with his greedy fingers, then looked at the filter with that nostalgic camel printed on it.

Impression how much bullshit we are able to come up with when we want something and find ourselves unsupervised.

Getting back to business, Roberto took the time to enjoy a puff of smoke before saying: "Pretending I didn't notice the jumps you were making every time a shadow barely moved, I can tell you that anyway your beauty would be safe even if she couldn't defend herself. That Mario guy is a piece of work. It's unlikely that he would extend his hands to any of the girls. Although I have no guarantee that he won't try to do it on you while you sleep tonight, but just in case, don't expect my help. I've always been for free sex, at least as long as it's someone else's ass," firing off a series of initially reassuring remarks that, however, all too quickly devolved into the disturbing.

And not to end here, just to make things worse, from the beginning to the end of his speech he continued to use his own neutral expression that made it extremely difficult to understand if he was joking or not. Fuck, and here I allow myself to translate what was going through the mind now tormented by horrors of Lovecraftian memory of poor Alex, here we were talking about asses! My ass! He thought to be exact, immediately wanting to know where that last prediction was coming from.

"Huh? Huh? Huh!!!?" The poor soul exploded as a mixture of gasps and acrid smoke wavered from his jaws. Even the enjoyment he had felt thanks to the little cancerous pleasure faded away at the speed of light, leaving him white in the face and making him repeat phrases like, "You're kidding, right? Aren't you!?" or, "Why would he do such a thing? And don't talk about it like it's a sure thing!" Stuff like that.

Roberto forgot to laugh, instead observing the strange tribal dance his new friend had decided to perform. Not that he wasn't amused by the scene, on the contrary, due to his bad temper that kind of despair entertained him very well, but simply his state of mind barely showed on his face, leaving him with a more than anything else disinterested expression.

Some time later he noticed it too and remedied it, using his facial muscles to widen an amused smile and widening his eyes at the same time. Now, while still forced enough to be noticeable, what could be read in his face equated well or poorly to the feeling of amusement he was experiencing.

Ah... I guess the stress got to me, too. It had been a while since I forgot to use my face. I guess there's nothing I can do about it, I doubt even a trained soldier would be able to live with the idea of ending up in some sort of video game without feeling a backlash. And if they can't, should I?

He thought then in silence, calmly and almost ironically analyzing his own mental state, in a way that most people would doubtfully consider normal. That, however, was a skill that had allowed him to get by over the years and, although detachment from oneself I doubt could be healthy, it had the advantage of allowing him an extremely more analytical process.

Of course, even that last aspect would perhaps fit more in a software than in a human being, but in such a diverse world I personally find that it becomes difficult to define what might benefit from what might do the opposite. At least until you get consumed by that particularity, there the problems become obvious even to the naked eye.

In any case, leaving aside the philosophy and instead going back to talking about innocent anus currently in mortal danger; after finishing enjoying the cigarette he had clutched between his fingers, Roberto used the excuse of continuing the conversation to light another one and subsequently say in a playful and complex tone, very different than before, "That guy I think is part of a rare breed in this world."

The brief response, and I would also like to say considering what was at stake at the time, did not satisfy Alex at all who, moved by a visceral fear, grabbed him tightly by the sleeve screaming in his face, "Eh! So what!? What the hell do you mean? Why... Why are you doing this?" starting off loaded like a fighter jet and crashing in mid-flight with a depressing maneuver filled with wind loaded with saliva and ash.

Moved by such devotion, by the inability to keep a cool mind and, finally, by that quick change in the impetus with which he had started asking the question, Roberto sighed briefly and, a little unwillingly, ended up explaining better what he meant anyway. Despite the fact that he seriously doubted the other would get a spider out of the hole, considering the cleverness he carried with him.

"I mean I don't think he's interested in the two girls being with us. Not once did I see him cast his eye toward Sabrina's cleavage or in the direction of Camilla's nice round ass. Ah, by the way, the girl herself is scary but congratulations anyway for the bride. She has a beautiful smile," he told him. An outburst of personal pride, disguised as old-fashioned chivalry, took possession of the already unstable Alex who tightened his grip and said vigorously: "Do you think this is the time to act like a pervert? Don't you realize how messed up we are?"

Oh, what a sweetheart. A man who could put the well-being of the community above his own primal instincts. An example that other barbarian males would certainly have to follow... "Come on, nobody likes saints. You too dropped your eye to little Sabrina. But, oh, I don't doubt that gravity in those parts can play tricks on you. It's complex physics, it's nobody's fault if we're subjugated by it despite ourselves," Roberto enjoyed himself in reply, cutting off Alex legs in the process with an analogy, true but idiotic, just to put him in even more trouble.

" In any case, and kindly remove yourself that you are throwing ashes on my jacket..." He immediately resumed, taking the other man's hand off his, then continuing with a, "I'm no psychic, but I've had my instincts betray me a few times when it comes to understanding a person. I have met very few times guys like Mario. I think it's his ex, the only other time I was heavily involved in the situation it was always the ex. I think he still sees that girl as his only worthy candidate, or maybe available to him; hard to say. He's part of that very small group of fools who can have female friends around, not engaged of course we're honorable people here, and not see them even once in sexual terms. I doubt you noticed, but during lunch I deliberately made Sabrina's tits jiggle a bit with a master stroke and even that didn't budge him an inch. Oh yeah, at that moment I think you tried to take a look but Camilla's look made you give up. Bad choice, that was some beautiful hill country you missed."

The barrage of words he fired after reloading the shotgun with a puff of smoke was continuous, brutal and borderline ridiculous, frankly speaking. At the moment there was a mischievous smile that had proudly painted itself from one side to the other of his cheeks and, not to miss anything, it was accompanied by an amused little voice with a higher tone than usual.

Alex, poor thing, didn't know what to think anymore and began to feel almost empty inside. A rapid fall, as if he had just been thrown from a very high promontory. The headache that had gently popped up at the beginning of the play grew in intensity, further preventing him from thinking clearly. "And you were going to figure all that out in a matter of hours? What are you supposed to be, a freak of nature?" He then ask, placing a hand on his forehead and using the few remaining puffs, before reaching for the filter, as a pain reliever.

Roberto enjoyed the scene, calmly tossing the finished butt into the void behind him. After that, willingly waiting a few more good seconds, he gave himself a push forward to get straight again and replied, "Well... Not really, most of it is experience and speculation, but I rarely make mistakes. I've seen a lot of people, and I think that's simply a result of the time I've spent dealing with them," then advancing with slow steps in the direction of the entrance to the large store they must have been walking past for some time.

Alex hadn't noticed and was almost surprised to find himself in front of a large supermarket. However, defeated in his soul, he showed no particular reaction and instead followed the other without even asking him what he intended to do. Rather, during the tedious moment when the two of them had to kick the automatic security gates at the entrance, the bravest and most worried part of him decided to ask timidly: "What about the part about him being on the other side? Where did that come from?"

"Oh, that?" Exclaimed Roberto without much enthusiasm, now much more interested in what they might discover and find rather than a pastime. However, out of the goodness of his heart, he resumed, "It's a very small possibility, but not too much to underestimate. After all, he's much better at lying and hiding what he's thinking than you, your girlfriend, or Sabrina; so there's a remote possibility that his sweetheart isn't an woman, but a lovely man. Important difference. Considering that he occasionally glances in your direction, both at lunch and in general, I'd say you might be the one in danger. I have no interest in that job position," as he moved with increasing interest in the direction of a specific department.