"OH MY… I'm sorry!" Charlie finally stepped back, tapping her own mouth in shock.

Alastor looked slowly to her, tilting his head. "That's fine dear. It happens." Actually, that was the first time something like that happened to him, but… She really seemed shocked; she didn't do it on purpose. He shook his hand. "Come on, let's dance." He smiled and grabbed her hand to bring her to the dancing floor once again.

Charlie felt awkward for a while once they started to dance once again. But Alastor made it feel normal, as if he already forgot what happened that soon she was dancing all excited with him again.

While they were dancing, she saw a few people looking at them both once again, admiring, or just judging. She couldn't tell due to the low but very comfortable lights in the place. Those people wanted them to kiss… They really thought they were a couple?

Charlie's eyes wondered at Alastor's expression. He really seemed to be having fun and enjoying the dance as much as she was.

The way Lorraine told her about him, made her heart jump a little bit inside her chest. They could be a couple, couldn't they? He was pretty, gently… And very different from the men she knew, besides her father… But… What was she thinking? She couldn't… No, she couldn't… First, because she barely knew him. Second, it wasn't her home and it would be impossible… Third… She couldn't because—

"Are you okay, dear?" Alastor took her hand and spun her before gluing their bodies once again.

"Huh?" Charlie's eyes widened as she woke up from her deep thoughts. "Oh, yeah, why do you ask?"

"Because you seemed too thoughtful. Staring without even blinking…" He smiled and tilted his head.

"I'm so sorry!" She was blushing and looked away from him for a moment.

"I was starting to wonder if I had something on my face." He chuckled, grabbing her hand while his other hand went to her waist.

Charlie's eyes went shyly to stare at his face once again… No, his face was clear, his hair was a bit messy due to the dance. "No, sorry, I was just… Thoughtful as you said." She smiled, placing her free hand over his shoulder.

"May I ask what you were thinking so deeply? Or am I being too inconvenient?" He spun with her, getting slower with their steps. The jazz music changed, now it was slower and calmly, perfect for them to talk.

"Oh no, that's fine… I was just… Still thinking about all the people around us, watching as if we were performing." She shyly smirks, looking at the man.

"They were enjoying our dance, that's all. They can't see a woman and a man together that they assume they are a romantic pair." Alastor kept dancing with her, now giving slow steps to the side.

"It's just… I'm sorry if I gave you the wrong idea." She smiled weakly.

"You didn't. And don't get me wrong. You are a pretty lady, but we barely know each other, and I know you are here just to enjoy the city." He smiled at her, and then took her chin, putting her face up. "So smile my dear, you don't have to worry about it."

With that being said, Charlie smiled at him, he was a true gentleman and one of the nicest guys she ever met… When she was around him, she didn't have the same 'second intentions' vibes that she got from every other man… But still, it could be too early to tell…

"Thank you, Al…" Charlie's hand squeezed his shoulder a bit then released it. Her hand went to his hair, to adjust it carefully. Alastor's eyes got wide as he was caught off guard. "Thank you for being such a gentleman." Charlie's smile got bigger and innocent.

"You are welcome." He was a little off now, with how she touched his hair, but as soon as she placed her hand over his shoulder, he was less tense again.

The time passed by, they danced, Alastor got something for them to drink and once Charlie asked Alastor where she could have a nice dinner, he promptly offered to show her a place.

They went to a nice French restaurant, very fancy looking and very welcoming. It was one of his favorites, as he mentioned to her.

They spent the night talking to each other until they finished their meals, and Charlie had an idea. She was enjoying his company more than she expected to. It was delightful to be able to talk to someone like him, very communicative and also a good listener.

"I have an idea, if that's okay for you, of course." Charlie began, slightly spinning her wine glass.

"Hm… I'm interested." Alastor placed his chin over his hand while looking at her with a smile.

"I'm new to the city, as you know, and I… Need a guide. You know the city very well… How about you be my guide?" She leaned a bit towards him, with her eyes all shining. She needed help to explore the city and Alastor seemed the best option.

"I-" He was about to reply when she interrupted him.

"I mean, when you have free time… After work, or something…" Her eyes got even more shine, as all the hope for a 'yes' was shown by them.

Alastor chuckled and nodded. "Sure dear, after work sounds good…"

Charlie was about to celebrate with a squeaky noise when he continued.

"Only if you tell me, why were you running that night…" He leaned closer to her, with his eyes half-closed as he was analyzing her with a smirk.

"Oh…hm…" Her smile faded as her eyes got to stare at the floor for a moment. She pursed her lips thinking about how to explain it to him… "My family doesn't know I'm here…" She almost whispered it for him, as her eyes were slowly going up to meet his. He looked worried, and she knew why, or assumed she knew. "Don't worry, I am not a minor…" As she said that, Alastor's body and facial expression got relaxed.

"My family doesn't want me to go by myself… And I always wanted to explore the living w-" She paused and coughed, fixing her voice. "Living city that is New Orleans!" She giggled going all back to her seat.

"For a few years I wanted to visit here… But I wasn't able to… So-"

"You ran away…" Alastor completed it.

"Kind of… I mean, yes… I had an argument with my fiancé, and it was the last drop for me." She shrank back in her seat slowly. "I need some time… And I believe some friends from my father were following me… I didn't want to go back, I guess I was lucky to find you." Charlie smiled at him, still shy. Telling him this was tough for her, but she felt like a weight got out from her shoulders.

"Fiancé?... " Alastor whispered to himself. "So, the argument must have been pretty bad with your fiancé…" Alastor kept looking at Charlie, calmly and this time he didn't have the judgment look in his eyes.

"It was… He…" Charlie looked away. "We used to enjoy each other but… He doesn't support my dream or the things I do, it's kind of hard. If he saw me dancing jazz he would probably go looney." She giggled in a sad way placing her hand over her own cheek. It was more complicated than that, but… At least he could understand this 'version' she told him.

Alastor was looking at Charlie, just listening to her and studying her mannerisms. "What a crazy man, going looney because you danced jazz? He doesn't know what he is missing… With all respect dear." He crossed his legs and smiled at her.

"Yeah… I just…" She giggled, still a little shy… She was insecure talking about it. "I want to forget about it, I want to enjoy my time here. And for it I need your help, being my guide. If you want to, of course." Her hands went to her own hair, getting her own hair strand to caress, showing how insecure she was.

"I think I can… After work." He smiled at her getting his glass of wine. "How about every weekday I come to pick you up at 2 – 3 pm? I get out of work at 1 pm. So I have a little time to prepare for our day." Alastor sipped his wine and finished it. "Sounds good?"

"SOUNDS PERFECT!" Charlie said a bit louder than she desired and then felt her cheeks growing warmer. "I'm sorry, I'm just excited to be able to live a bit…" She admitted, sipping her wine, basically she turned the glass up in an attempt to shut her mouth.

Alastor half smiled at her and frowned her eyebrows. Even being a bit… Too much, she was adorable. That thought made him chuckle. "No need to be sorry. Glad to help you, dear."

"Thank you." She bowed a bit her head before looking up for him again.

Everything was settled down, they agreed to spend the days exploring, and Charlie was excited about it.

Alastor made company with Charlie till they arrived at the hotel. There they said goodbye to each other, and wished a goodnight. Charlie bowed, holding her skirt's tips and Alastor bowed a bit, getting her hand to his hold.

"I see you tomorrow, dear." He touched the back of her hand with a small and gentle kiss.

Charlie smiled and giggled at how gentle he was towards her.

"I see you tomorrow, Al… Thank you for this amazing night." Charlie said with a gentle smile.

"I should be the one thanking you, it has been a while since I've had a delightful night like tonight." He released her hand and opened the hotel's door. "See you tomorrow, Charlie." His voice was quite soothing.

"See you tomorrow… Dean." She winked at him and entered the hotel.

Even as Charlie closed the hotel's door behind her, she slowly turned around to see him through the window. The brunette man slowly disappeared on the horizon of Charlie's eyesight. She smiled and slowly bit her lip. The day was amazing, she didn't feel happy like this for so long… She missed that feeling of having a big smile on her face, the willingness to jump while walking just like a kid.

Charlie wished she never had to leave, or had to go away… She knew at some point she would need to, but she wasn't ready, not yet and maybe not so soon.

The next day, the first thing Charlie did was being too excited to hang out with Alastor again that she basically jumped off the bed as the sun rose. It was a little too early than the hour they agreed to meet, but she couldn't help herself.

Charlie turned on the radio to hear his voice while she was getting ready for the time. She had plenty of time and probably she would hang out a little on her own. While she heard Alastor's voice, she had the biggest and the most excited smile on her face. It was like music for her ears and she could even feel her chest all warm.

Having a friend in this world was surreal for her. She was feeling more like her mother, who walked easily among those people. Probably she was really meant to be there too, just like her! But… Not for the same things.

It was time to leave, she had a cute black shirt, with ¾ sleeves and a pinkish skirt. Her long blonde hair was loose, just with an elastic at the end of it to keep it together.

When she was about to turn off the radio, she stopped her hand on the dial. His voice was so soothing, so interesting to listen to. She kneeled in front of it, placing her hands over the bed table and leaning her chin over them.

She batted her eyelashes slowly with a big smile and closed her eyes for a second. Listening to him made her body relax… Relax so much that she just fell asleep.

Charlie had her arm around Alastor's, they were walking together in a beautiful park while talking about something and laughing.

"Oh, Alastor could we dance again later? I-" Charlie shyly smiled at him. "Back in my home, my fiancé doesn't like those modern dances, so we never dance together, but I love it so much. Could we? Please?" Charlie looked at him with her big beg eyes while pouting with her lips.

"Of course, dear!" He chuckled and got her hand. "I'm happy you enjoyed it, in fact, I enjoyed it too." He got her hand untangling their arms so he could pull her to him, and spun her.

She was giggling with a big smile and feeling her cheeks get warmer.

"You have such a beautiful smile dear." He pulled her against his body and their noses touched each other.

"You too, Al." She giggled and felt her heart jumping inside her chest. Alastor's face was leaning against her. She felt nervous, she widened her eyes. What was she supposed to do? She had a fiancé… But she was curious, should she try?

Charlie began to lean against him, she collapsed against the floor in real life, waking up immediately.

When she woke, he was still talking on the radio and she was against the floor. What a ridiculous scene. In a jump, she tried to sit against the floor once again and looked at the small clock on the other side bed table. It was 11:49am. She jumped, she took a 2 to 3 hour nap and still had to eat lunch.

Charlie fixed her hair, got up turning the radio off and caressing her cheek, where she hit the floor.

In a hurry, she left the hotel and went to the first restaurant she could find. She had her meal kind of fast so she could meet Alastor in time.

It was 2:30pm when she arrived at the hotel, and he was already there talking to Lorraine.

"Oh my! I'm so sorry." Charlie gave a little run towards the counter where both of them were. "Did I make you wait for long?"

Alastor looked towards the blonde and his smile shone for her. "No, I just arrived dear. And even if I arrived earlier, you're still in time. I did say '2 – 3 pm' yesterday."

"Phew, thank you, Dean…" She smiled, adjusting her hair.

"No problem, dear. Do you need some time, or shall we go?" He tapped the tip of his fingers against the counter without taking his eyes from her.

Lorraine was just observing the two, how they smiled at each other and how Charlie's expression was more lifted up.

"We can go... I'm okay." Charlie touched her hair, trying to put it down a little in case her little ran messed it up.

"Then, mademoiselle…" Alastor offered his arm for her, who without thinking twice entangled, resting her hand over it.

"Mon Sir." She pulled her skirt for a little bow and then, they began to walk.

Lorraine coughed behind the counter trying to call their attention.

"Oh, bye, Lorraine, thank you for the talk, dear." Alastor looked back and waved for her.

"Byeeeee Lorraine! See you later." Charlie smiled big at the woman, giving a little jump when she looked back to their path.

Lorraine crossed her arms; they were really not paying attention at all to anything around them.

Once they left, Alastor smiled at her. "It's monsieur." He corrected her.

Charlie felt her cheeks growing warmer. "I'm so sorry! I'm not used to speaking French…"

"-But I must admit, 'mon sir' was quite adorable." His gentle smile while looking at her by the corner of his eyes, made Charlie's cheeks grow even warmer.

"Thank you…" She giggled, and pressed her fingers more against his arm.

"Did you eat already?"

"Yes, I had lunch, that's why I got a little later… And you?" Charlie looked curious at him.

"Yes, I did too. Just checking." He chuckled.

They remained quiet for a while, just looking around the street until Charlie decided to break the silence.

"I heard a bit of your show on the radio today."

"Really? And what did you think?" He smiled, turning his face more for her.

"I really enjoy your voice, but I know you get that all the time." She chuckled remembering when he was reading fans' letters.

"Yeah, I do, but it's rare to get such a compliment face-to-face like this." His smile was big, and he adjusted his glasses. "Thank you."

Charlie looked to their path ahead and wondered. "Where are we going today?"

"To the park, I was secretly hoping you enjoy nature so it wouldn't be a fail idea." He chuckled.

"I do like nature…" Her cheeks grew warmer. Just like her dream then?...

"Great, so I wasn't wrong. This park is one of my favorites, I go there every weekend." He explained, crossing the street with her.

"Oh? You liked nature that much to go there every weekend?" She tilted her head while looking at him.

"I have a hobby. I'm a hunter on weekends." As they were approaching the park, Alastor speeded down his pace with the blonde.

"A hunter? Wow, I would never imagine—"

"Because I don't have the physical for it, right?" He interrupted her with a chuckle.

"No- I mean, that's…" Her eyes went down to his body. He was a skinny man, but that didn't even cross her mind. "It's just, I met a few hunters before, and they didn't look very similar. You don't look like them." She smiled weakly and then bit her lips. All the hunters she knew were blood-thirst and even rude.

"Really? That's the first time I heard this one." He chuckled again, "But yes, I hunt every now and then to get meat for myself."

"And your family—" Charlie never asked if he was married, or had a beloved one.

"Family? I don't have any dear. I live alone." He smiled at her.

"I'm sorry I didn't know-" Her eyes went down for a bit and her hair fell over her face. She had to pull away the hair strands.

"Don't be sorry, that's fine." He stopped at the Park's gate.

The gate was huge and it was open for visitors. It had a bunch of iron bars around.

They both entered inside while Alastor was leading the way. Not so far from the entrance, Alastor stopped.

"Right, I want to do something." He stopped and released his arm from hers. "Can you cover your eyes?"

"For what?" That question caught Charlie off guard.

"Surprise, I promise it won't be bad." He chuckled.

"O-Okay!" She was getting nervous for some reason, but she did cover her eyes with her hands as he asked to.

"Excuse me." Alastor held her shoulders and began to lead the way.

They walked in silence for a few minutes until they stopped. Charlie felt her heart jumping in expectations and curiosity. She was anxious to know why.

"Okay… Let me just adjust—" He adjusted her position, making her face a direction, and released her.

Charlie heard his footsteps getting away from her and then getting close again. Her curiosity was growing bigger.

"Open your eyes." He said with his soothing voice.

Once Charlie opened her eyes, she saw a gigantic garden, full of different colors and flowers. She placed her hand over her lips because she felt all the air in her lungs escape from her breath. It was magnificent, dreamy… She never saw such a colorful garden like that.

Her eyes shone as to how beautiful it was. The sun just makes the colors pop out even more.

Again, she was caught off guard when a sunflower showed up in front of her from behind.

Alastor was behind her holding the sunflower for her.

"This is so… Beautiful." She held the sunflower, holding his hand together with it.

Now he was the one caught off guard. He didn't expect such contact. She brought the flower for her nose, to smell it.

"Al, thank you so much…" Her eyes were shining more. "It reminds me of when I was a little…"

"Huh?" Alastor didn't know if he should let his hand there, or just pull it back to him.

"I used to have those walks with my father… He used to bring me to the city's garden." She giggled. "I miss when things were simpler…" She held a little stronger his hand and the flower, just touching it with the tip of her nose.

"What else did you used to do back then?" He asked.

"Well, he used to get one flower from the garden and place it over my hair…" Her eyes were lost in the sunflower she was holding. "I think that's why I enjoyed dancing so much yesterday too… I used to dance way more when I was a little and I kind of miss that."

Alastor was contently listening to every little detail the blonde shared. He looked down for a second, and then smiled. He took off his hand from her grip, and stood in front of her.

He gently took the sunflower from her hands and placed it over her hair revealing her ear since he put her hair strands behind it.

Charlie's eyes widened as she looked at what he was doing. Her cheeks grew red.

"Today, let's make everything simple for you once again, shall we?" He smiled and took her hand, spinning her slowly and pulling her closer to him.

Once their bodies hit each other, her eyes got lost on his. She leaned without thinking until her nose touched his. Her dream was happening, wasn't it?

Beta Readers Corrections:

Colbalt 15: colbalt15/
Angel: angie_bun