Ready to hide

Only as friends.

I stood in the bathroom and got ready. My hair was already styled. I had a little glitter in it. Now I put on my eyeliner and some dark eyeshadow. I would meet Aline today. I would have to be at her's in an hour to pick her up. I checked. It just takes me 25 minutes to get to her, so it's not that far.

When I was finally done and picked out the perfect outfit, I went out of the bathroom and went to the others who were also here. Blake, Elliott and Celine were sitting on the sofa eating pizza. I also had a slice, but I didn't want more. I wasn't hungry. Everyone looked at me when I showed up again after two hours. Well, I need my time in the bathroom.

"Wow, Magnus. You look awesome!" said Celine in surprise. I hoped so, it took a lot of time. Blake looked away again, probably cause he didn't care.

"Do you have a date or something?" asked Elliott, confused. Now I remembered that I hadn't told them I was going to meet Aline today. Celine knew it, of course, and I assumed she'd mention that anyway.

"I'm meeting Aline Penhallow for a drink today." I answered. "Only as friends." I said as he seemed skeptical. "To find out more information about Alec. She is leading the case." I added. Now Elliott seemed to have figured it out. I wouldn't date anyone while Alec was in jail counting on me.

"Oh, that makes sense." he said and I laughed. "Well then good luck." he said and I thanked him. "Does she look good? Maybe you could bring her here." he added, whereupon Celine boxed him outraged. "Ouch! Not for me, for Blake! A girlfriend would be good for him!" he defended himself. I laughed. Well, Blake didn't even talk about girls, or boys, you never know.

"Shut up, Elliott." said Blake, who paid no attention to us all the time. "Better make sure yours doesn't run away." he said. I shook my head laughing.

"I have to go, but I'll be back here tonight." I explained. The three just nodded and I made my way. I was sure that this evening would be uncomfortable. After all, we had less to do with each other before.

She must have thought that I was weird when I asked if we wanted to meet, but who cares. At least she said yes, that made it less embarrassing.

I stopped in front of her house and got out. I decided that we should go to Huntersmoon. It was a nice bar with nice people. I also knew the Maia who owned the bar well. She was nice. I knocked on her door and a moment later she opened it. She was wearing a pink shirt with long sleeves and black jeans. She looked good. Her hair was in a braid. She smiled at me.

"Am I dressed the wrong way?" she asked uncertainly when she saw my outfit. Oh, right, she doesn't know me very well. I shook my head laughing.

"Oh, no. If I don't wear my uniform, I like it a little more eye-catching." I meant. As long as I have the time, I usually try to put on my favorite clothes. If we are not in the process of stopping any gang member, it works quite well.

"Oh, cool. Shall we go?" she asked and I nodded. I took her to the car, opened the car door and let her get in. At least I wanted to be a gentleman if I took advantage of her. Then I got in and we drove off.

As we arrived at the Huntersmoon, we took a seat on one of the bar stools. Aline never seemed to be here since she looked around first. Maia came up to us.

"Magnus! I haven't seen you in ages. Especially not in company." she said and smiled at Aline. Before I met Alexander, I had many dates here. After Alec, not anymore.

"Yes, I thought it was time again. This is Aline, a colleague." I explained. "Aline, this is Maia, the owner of the bar." I explained and they shook hands.

"Glad to meet you, Aline." answered Maia. "So what can I bring you?" she asked.

"A martini, please." she said and smiled at me. Oh, I would also like a martini, but I would still have to drive a car today. I also have to stay sober tonight if I want information.

"For me a coke, I still have to drive." I explained. Maia nodded and went away. "So how was your day?" I asked to start a conversation.

"Quite exhausting. The new case is like sitting in my neck. It's not as easy as you think." she said. I thought so. I was free today so I didn't really leave the apartment. "What about you? What did you do today?" she asked me.

"Oh, I spent time with friends." I answered. In fact, we hadn't done anything today. I would like to work on helping Alexander all the time, but there was nothing I could do today but wait for tonight. Maia came and brought us the drinks.

"Do you have more friends than Celine?" she asked and I frowned. How friendly, I thought. "Oh, no! I'm sorry, that's not what I meant. I mean just because everyone only knows Celine and Magnus. I've never heard of anyone else." she explained. I smiled. She was actually right. I only had Celine before I met Alec.

"Oh, yes. Celine's boyfriend and I get along very well and I like his friends very much." I explained. She seemed very surprised. "What?" I asked.

"I'm just surprised that Celine has a boyfriend. I mean, I don't really know her, but we gossip at work, you know." She said. I laughed. Well, at least she was honest.

"Yes, it's still very new and not that official." I explained. New, didn't really describe it, but I couldn't tell her the truth. "How do you have so much time to gossip when you're dealing with a murder case?" I asked to come back to the topic. She shrugged her shoulders.

"Somehow it always works." she said and I laughed. "But you're right, we really have our hands full. This case seems very weird to me." She said. There we go.

"How come?" I asked curiously. The martini has certainly not worked completely yet, but maybe she is already becoming more open.

"No idea, Lorenzo protects this case a lot. More than any other case and I don't know why. What makes this case so special?" she wondered. Alexander made this case special, but only for me. What has Lorenzo got to do with it? I mean, for him it's a case like any other.

"Do you think he has any dirty tricks?" I asked and she shrugged. Why should he? What was he up to?

"Maybe, I don't know, but what I do know is that I want another drink." She said.