“Hey yourself,” Arnaud told the woman who approached him. She was pretty. A little old for his taste but that never stopped him before. At least she knew what she wanted compared to so many others and she was not afraid to go straight for it. It took him a moment but he realised she was the woman standing in line behind him at that juice stand. Aranud was not much into that trend but he was thirsty and that tasted better than water. Besides, his choice were rather limited around here.

At first, Arnaud was ready to humor her, who didn’t like some good flirting every now and then, but he started to feel like she was coming off too strong. It was when he started doubting her. Could she really be this interested or did she get a little unsolicited help? It wouldn’t be the first time his power activated without him meaning to. His mother had not been the best of teacher in that regard. She viewed it as a tool, sometimes as a weapon, and she controlled hers perfectly. It was not his case.

To tell the truth, that woman could really be interested in him and be normally this aggressive while flirting. But Arnaud grew used to doubt people’s feelings towards him and if he wasn’t against some fun he felt it came too suddenly not to be even a tad suspicious. He figured if he walked away from her for a moment, it would give time for the effect to wear off, if there were any, and he would then know for sure. But as he excused himself, he wondered if the pheromones were not pouring out of him even now. That would make coming back pointless, as she would simply fall under his spell all over again. So he thought the best idea was to get towards someone else and see their reaction. If they reacted like she did, he would know he had to go home, and alone.

Arnaud didn’t want her to think he was blowing her off, at least not yet, so he walked towards the small building where the toilets were, looking around for anyone he could come across along the way. He finally spotted one person. He did not hesitate one second. They had their back at him and he went straight for them. No time to see if it was just in the air around him, he made sure to get a hold of them with his hand. If he was really using his power without meaning to, he might as well give them the full dose of it, since he was taking them by surprise. “Hey!” he said on a playful if only a bit loud tone as he touched them. He then made sure to remove his smile. “Oh, I’m sorry, I mistook you for someone else.” Only after saying this did he take the time to look at what the person had been doing. Maybe he should have thought of it before interrupting them but that did not cross his mind one second until now. And even then, he was more curious to see if they would not try to keep him around and be agreeable to him, or just pushing him away for disturbing them.