The radio station Alastor worked in was a small building away from his home in the corner, between Paris Avenue and Charlton Drive. Alastor opened the door for Charlie. After entering the building, they faced a counter where a receptionist was sitting with a newspaper in front of her, drinking a hot cup of coffee.

Alastor put his hands over Charlie's shoulder, which made the girl widen her eyes a bit.

"Excuse me, dear." The brunette asked politely and Charlie just nodded at him.

He removed her jacket, and hung it on a little holder placed in the entrance. He did the same with his own jacket and the grey newsboy hat he was wearing.

With that, the receptionist slowly pulled down the newspaper as soon as she heard Alastor's voice. Her eyes just widened and her brows frowned.

After that, Alastor walked to a clocking-in machine. It was a wooden structure with a clock on it. It also has a lever at the bottom with 'Out' and 'In' signs. By its side, there was a wooden card holder. Charlie stepped closer, extremely curious about that particular machine.

Alastor's finger 'slid' in the air in front of the cards until he saw one with his name. He took it and placed it inside the machine. He pulled the lever towards the sign 'in' and the machine made a click. He removed it from it and placed it again at the card holder.

"What is this?" Charlie asked, curious and shy.

Alastor smiled at her, frowning his eyebrows. "You never saw a clocking-in machine before?"

Charlie shook her head, pouting a little. She was afraid to be judged… Did she sound dumb?

"Well, this machine registers when the employees enter or leave work, so the manager and the owner of the station can check if everyone is working properly." Alastor made a brief pause. "Here are the cards-" He pointed to the card holder. "Those cards are for other employees. Each employee has their own, and they are labeled with their names, so we don't accidently get the wrong one." With a little chuckle, Alastor went closer to the machine.

"So, we get the card, and we place it here." He pointed to a little entrance in the machine. "We pull this lever, - "In" when we step in the work." He pulled the lever to the out sign. "Out is when we step out of work." He chuckled. "Basically, just to keep an eye on the employees."

"I see…" Charlie's eyes were shining as she leaned closer to the machine. Alastor watched the girl for a moment until he turned to proceed in his path.

"Morning, Irene." The man bowed to the girl behind the counter. She just nodded to him, her eyes looking at the two in shock.

Alastor then offered his arm to Charlie, which she gladly entangled with hers. They walked towards a narrow flight of stairs in the corner of the room. He made a gesture so Charlie could climb it first.

As soon as the 'couple' disappeared, Irene picked up the telephone in front of her, dialing a number extremely fast. As soon as a voice was heard in the other side, she began:

"Marie, you won't BELIEVE who I just saw bringing a visitor!" Irene leaned over the counter, looking at the stairs to make sure the couple was out of earshot. She saw them disappear as they climbed the stairs, but wanted to make sure.

A loud mumble could be heard from the phone. "YES. HE. BROUGHT. A. DATE. TO. WORK." Irene assumed it was a date. Another even louder mumble from the phone echoed in the entrance, which made Irene just turn her head away from the phone and made a painful face.

"You don't believe me? See for yourself! He is climbing the stairs right now." Irene took her mug and sipped. "Also, as soon as you see it, call me back. I want to know what you think about the girl. I think she is okay, eh but, just okay." She shrugged.

On the third floor, Alastor stepped out the stairs right after Charlie and she once again grabbed his arm. She was looking all around, curious and amazed at the simplest of things.

There was an open door where Alastor stepped in. Inside, there was a hall with a few tables, phones, and papers. Behind it, there was a door opened and inside of it looked like a break room, with a circular table, and a coffee machine. That's pretty much what Charlie could see from where she was.

There was a group of whispers echoing the room.

As the couple turned around, Charlie could see another 'sector' of that place. It seemed it was the source of the sound. The sector has a door closed but a huge glass window separating them. There were a few girls leaning to see them. They looked very curious, whispering to each other, but a few seconds after, they separated as if nothing happened.

Charlie started to feel uncomfortable and hugged Alastor's arm even more tightly. He, on the other hand, kept his pose, with a gentle smile on his face.

He was leading Charlie towards the previously crowded people, who - not so discreetly- were peeking towards the blonde and the brunette.

Some of the girls smiled as Alastor got closer.

"Hi, Alastor." They said almost in unison with a certain charm.

"Hello, dears." He made a gesture with his hand, as if he had a hat and bowed it to them.

Some of them sighed to the man.

For some reason that exchange between Alastor and the girls didn't please Charlie and she hugged even more his arm against her body.

Alastor turned to his left and entered through a discreet door. Above it was an "on air" sign but it was turned off.

Before Alastor closed the door, Charlie could hear a specific whisper between all the bystanders.

"He is bringing her to the 'room'! Can you believe it?! And -" Someone said, but before Charlie could hear the rest the door was closed behind her.

As Charlie turned her head , she saw a few big machines there, all with lights, hypnotic lights for her. Behind these machines, there was a bearded man with short hair.

"Good morning, Roger." Alastor said with a smile, Charlie's eyes went from the machines, to Alastor, and finally to the man sitting in front of a desk with even more machines.

The black bearded man had a pair of headphones on his head and his index finger was moving in the air, like he was dancing or such.

Alastor chuckled with the lack of response of the man. Alastor walked towards the so-called Roger and tapped his shoulder.

The bearded man took off one side of his headphones.

"Yes?" He looked at the couple. First, he smiled, looking at Alastor. Then, he made a very confused expression while looking at Charlie. His eyes then finally went to Alastor again with a smile. He got up, adjusting his short and messy black hair due the headphones.

"Hello, Alastor." He shook the brunette's hand. "Nice to see you, as always. And you are—" He then released Alastor's hand and offered his hand to Charlie. He looked at Alastor, waiting for answers about the girl's name.

"Charlotte Magne, but you can call me Charlie." She put her hand over his, and Roger kissed it.

"What a beautiful name, Charlie. Pleasure to meet you, I'm Roger and-" He looked around."- I work here with Alastor." He chuckled because it sounded extremely dumb to say.

"Pointing out the not-so-obvious details, Roger." Alastor smirked at the man from his own sarcasm.

"Very well observed, my dear." Roger adjusted his posture and tried to mimic and imitate Alastor.

"Stop that." Alastor chuckled, rolling his eyes while Charlie gave a little giggle.

An alarm sound beeped through the room.

"I wish I could talk more and make this wonderful imitation of you, Al, but you have 5 minutes. The paper is already on the table for you." Roger pulled his chair out and sat on it. His hands started to deal with the machines in front of him.

"Fair enough." Alastor turned to Charlie, releasing his arms from her and getting her hands to hold.

"I will be there for a few hours." He pointed to behind the machines Roger was dealing with. Just now, Charlie paid attention to it. There was a huge rectangular glass in front of Roger. Inside it, there was a table with a microphone, a pencil, a pen,and a few papers over it.

"If you want to go, just tell Roger. If you want to stay, we can have lunch in the city together. But I will stay a few hours there, do a short break, and then more hours... " The way Alastor was holding her hands made Charlie smile at him.

"I will stay, but no problem, if I get bored, I can wander around the studio right?" She shrugged.

"Yes, you can." He chuckled and then released her hands. "There's a chair here, so please, have a seat." He pulled a chair that was behind them and offered it to Charlie.

"Thanks, Al." She gently smiled and bowed her head.

He nodded before going into the room.

Charlie took her chair and brought a little closer to Roger, so she could see Alastor and what Roger was doing.

Roger had a pile of records by his side and his hand was steady over a specific switch. He was looking directly at Alastor without even blinking.

Alastor had his headphones already and was writing and making circles on the papers in front of him.

With his other hand, Roger pressed a button and glued his mouth in a microphone in front of him.

"We will be on air in, three, two, one, go." Roger pressed the switch up with his other hand and Alastor began.

"Good morning, New Orleans! Here is Alastor to give you information, news, and of course, entertainment! You are listening to the morning program of The Signal of Entertainment Station."

Charlie was looking at Alastor with her eyes shining. His voice is naturally beautiful, and seeing him doing his job was amazing. She had heard the show a few times before but... Seeing it live had some special magic to it.

"Close your mouth, Charlie." Roger gave a chuckle as he looked at the blonde, enthralled by Alastor with her lips half opened.

Charlie looked at Roger and blushed, quickly placing her chin over her hand and closing her mouth.

"I- don't know what you're talking about." She shyly giggled, looking away from the man.

"I'm just teasing you." He chuckled and crossed his arms. "Don't worry about that. And you have all the rights to watch him. He is very professional and I bet it is the very first time you see him like this." Roger's eyes went up to Alastor.

"I... Yes." Charlie didn't even know what to say.

"How long have you been together?" Roger looked at her with a gentle smile.

"Since Friday or Saturday night, I believe!" Charlie smiled at Roger.

"Oh, so not for so long. He must love you very much, then." Roger smiled big at Charlie.

Charlie's smile faded and her eyes widened. "Love me?" She blinked at the older man.

"Ye-" Before Roger could continue, he abruptly stopped, putting his hand over the right side of his headphones while the other he put his index finger up in a "wait" gesture for Charlie.

Roger turned and pressed a few buttons, stopped, and pressed his headphones against his right ear before looking back to Charlie.

"Of course! You are the very first girlfriend he brings here." Roger smiled, giving a quick look to Alastor.

"Oh!" Charlie giggled, getting blushed. "I'm not his girlfriend!" She placed a hand over her cheek.

"No? Oh, I apologize for my assumption. As I said, you are the very first person he brought here, so I assumed wrongly." Roger apologized, placing his hand behind his neck.

"No need to apologize but I do feel honored to be the first person he's brought here." Charlie placed a hand over her chest and eyed Alastor, who was talking, giving the news. Charlie bit her own lip as she saw how enthusiastic Alastor sounded and looked. He was making gestures with his hands, smiling as always, while reading the papers in front of him.

Roger looked at Charlie. The way she looked at Alastor made the older man laugh.

"Huh?" Charlie's gaze at Alastor having been interrupted by Roger.

"Nothing." Roger shook his head.

"Why did you laugh?" She smiled, leaning towards him with a very curious expression.

"Oh, it's just... Before I make any more assumptions, what are you guys for each other?" Roger placed his hand over his fluffy dark beard while looking at her.

"We are friends." She smiled, leaning her back against the seat.

"Okay, I just find it cute how you look at him. That's all." Roger crossed his legs.

She was staring weirdly at the brunette? This realization made Charlie blush.

"I-I'm just admiring his work. It's quite impressive." She giggled as she got a strand of hair and began to massage it, flustered.

"I see..." Roger raised his eyebrows with a smile.

Charlie looked away for a second, feeling her cheeks getting even warmer.

"Hm... I- Where's the toilet?" She still was massaging her blonde lock.

Roger leaned back a little in his chair, and raised his index finger to the door's direction. "As soon as you get out of this door, you will turn right, then right again. You probably saw the break room when you got here, right? So, you enter the break room, and inside of it there's two doors. Women's toilet is the door on the left, but you will see a sign." Roger smiled at Charlie and adjusted his chair. "I would accompany you, but I can't get out of here." He explained himself.

"No worries, I know." She bowed her head a little, still flustered, and got up, adjusting her dress' skirt.

"When you come back, just try to open the door as quietly as you can, and always close it behind you. It avoids any loud sound from outside from bothering us here." Roger completed and Charlie nodded.

As Charlie passed through the door, a woman was about to enter, and Charlie, trying to be nice, warned: "They are on air…"

The woman stopped and looked at Charlie from her feet to her head with a certain disgust and judgmental expression. "I know. I work here." She simply said before entering the room with a few papers on her arms.

Charlie blinked at that, confused but let it go as she saw the door closing and went to the toilet, following Roger's instructions.

The woman passed through Roger and entered the room Alastor was in without making any sound. She placed the papers on the table with a note: 'This is breaking news, read it as soon as you can.' And as always, she drew a heart.

It was Marie, one of the redactors of the office. She had short black hair, with emerald eyes, and was shorter than Charlie.

The way Marie waited for Alastor's reaction was the same as all the other times there's breaking news to deliver to the host. She put her hands over her chest, entangling her fingers. It looked as she was praying or at least hoping Alastor looked at her. Which he did, and smiled at the girl giving a little nod, while she carefully slid the papers to him.

Marie had to contain herself and just get out of the room, closing the first door, then the second door before making a happy and loud noise.

No one even cared to look, they were used to it by now.

"And we have breaking news, my dear listeners. Police inform us that the famous Serial Killer attacked again, after one whole year!

The serial killer known as the Smiley-Killer left another victim. This time, a man from the streets, who was not identified yet. His arms were brutally removed, along with his legs. And the particular sign of this killer was the sculpture he always leaves on his victims… A carved smile!"

He paused, changing the paper.

"Policemen are working hard to find any evidence, or reasons why this man was murdered, or why this man was the target, but they still have yet to come to a conclusion. Police also warn the citizens to be careful and to not walk late at night alone. Be weary of any suspicious actions and call them immediately."

Alastor then saw the next page had some 'notes' written by Marie, which he depleted right after, going to the normal schedule of papers he already had.

"I, as your dear host, would recommend everyone to follow what the policeman said. Be careful, my dear listeners, and be safe! New Orleans is a wonderful city, we all know that, but this Serial Killer strikes again. And we have no idea when he will do it again. Be careful, and go home early!" Alastor had a serious and worried face while saying that. That wasn't part of the papers… That was Alastor really worrying about his city.

He then smiled and made a posture. "But now, with that being said, let's go to a warmer and happier subject! There's a new store in New Orleans—"

Alastor proceeded with his enthusiasm giving the news. When Charlie walked in, she was a little shy, with her shoulders tensed. She still had the way that woman looked at her stuck in her mind. It reminded Charlie of her home, how her people used to look at her, which wasn't pleasant.

She quietly sat by Roger's side and looked to Alastor. The radio host was focused on reading the papers and interpreting the words the best way he could, with enthusiasm… An enthusiasm that was captivating.

Her eyebrows frowned as she looked away for a second. She still was wondering what she did to make the woman treat her like that. Was she rude and she didn't notice? The way some people looked at her when she was getting back to the room made Charlie insecure. They were the same kind of eyes who stared at her when she was at her home.

Roger looked at Charlie from the corner of his eyes, the girl seemed uncomfortable compared to before.

"Are you okay, Charlie?" The man took off one of the sides of his headphone again to properly hear her while listening to Alastor on the other side.

"Yes… I just-" Charlie paused and sighed, giving a small and shy giggle. "I think I was rude to the woman who entered here, right after I left."

"Marie?" Roger asked but by the confused expression Charlie had in her eyes, he concluded that Charlie didn't know the woman's name. "The small woman with dark hair, carrying a few paper sheets…?"

"Yes." Charlie nodded, frowning a bit.

"Don't worry about her-" He chuckled and shook his head before raising his eyebrows. "I'm pretty sure they are just jealous." Roger leaned to his right, and turned on a switch. A background music started to play in the radio show while Alastor kept talking to the listeners.

"Jealous?" Charlie frowned her brows in confusion, looking down and then looked back at Roger. "Of what?"

Roger then chuckled again. How was he going to explain this? Roger pulled a small notebook that was opened and there were a few things written there. He got a pencil and crossed out a few phrases. It was his schedule notebook, just to keep on track of time and the things he was doing.

"You see, Alastor-" Roger pointed to the host across the window, making Charlie look at the man. "-He is what we call – a charming fella. Some girls around the station find him quite mysterious about his personal life and very attractive. They would love to go on a date with him. Marie is one of those girls, I'm telling you."

Charlie was following what Roger was saying, but looking at Alastor. Yeah, he was charming, attractive, and a gentleman. She couldn't deny it.

"And you are the very first person he brings to work. I bet, just like me, people will assume Alastor and you are dating." Roger put the pencil over the table, tapping it slowly.

"But we aren't." Charlie said, still watching Alastor. She felt her cheeks growing slightly warm.

"And the girls don't know that… So, they assume it and they get jealous. Just ignore them, kiddo. That's the best thing I can advise you to do." Roger was looking at the radio host.

"I will try… Thank you, Roger." Charlie gave a weak smile. Her eyes were memorizing the mannerisms of Alastor, but she didn't expect the brunette to look up directly to her.

Her cheeks grew warmer. She raised her hand and waved at him. Alastor smiled at her, giving a slight nod with his head before going back to the papers.

Roger saw it, and then looked at the girl, giving a small chuckle. He knew Alastor, not very intimate as a close friend, but more than anyone there in the radio station. And the way the brunette looked at Charlie was different; he could easily tell that.

Roger then looked at Alastor who made a gesture with his hand. He was counting down the time. Roger was already ready with his hand at a button and ready to put the needle in the gramophone to play new music.

"Now, enjoy the music, my dear!" Alastor counted down and pointed at Roger, who pressed the button and placed the needle over the record. Alastor waited until Roger gave him a thumbs up.

The brunette got up from his desk and removed the headphones. He walked towards Charlie and Roger and reached out for Charlie.

"I have a little break until I have to get back. Want me to show you the office?" Alastor smiled, waiting for Charlie to take his hand. She gave him a shy smile and placed her hand over his palm.

"Of course…" Charlie got up with his help and right after Alastor offered his arm. Instead of intertwining her arm with his, she hugged his arm. She was still a little insecure and wanted to feel safe.

Alastor raised his eyebrow but didn't ask. He led the way to show the place to Charlie.

Patiently, Alastor was explaining how the studio worked, the sectors, and what each person did. Charlie was paying attention, but every time she saw a few girls looking at her with hate, she just hugged even more Alastor's arm.

One thing Charlie noticed was a few posters around the place. Some of them had Alastor's name, but no photos of him. Others had a 'handsome' blonde guy called Phillip.

At the end of the 'tour', Alastor went to the break room with her and there were two people there. A tall ginger woman with long hair and a huge man with broad shoulders. This man looked older, had a beige shirt on, with brown suspender, and pants. His hair was dark, but some parts of the side of it were light gray.

"Do you want a coffee, dear? Or tea?" Alastor walked towards the small counter in the break room. The smell of coffee was spreading in the room.

"Coffee, please." Charlie released his arm so he could get a coffee for her. As soon as the other two in the corner of the room heard a different voice, they turned to see who it was.

"Sugar?" Alastor adjusted his shirt. Charlie nodded.

He went to get two cups of coffee.

"Well, well, well… Look what we have here." The older man turned to Charlie. He was holding a mug filled with coffee. "Who is that beautiful young lady?" Both the man and the woman came closer to Charlie, who just shrieked in her place.

"I'm… Charlotte, but you can call me Charlie." She bowed a bit.

"Alastor, what a find!" The gray-haired man crossed his arms looking at the blonde. "She is polite and beautiful."

Alastor was behind the 'couple' getting Charlie's coffee when he looked at them kind of confused. Their backs were turned to Alastor, so the brunette couldn't see their expressions. Alastor's eyes then travelled to Charlie's, who seemed more confused than him.

"It's very nice to meet you, Charlie. I'm Ruth; I'm the manager here." The woman reached out to Charlie. The blonde shook the woman's hand.

"Nice to meet you, Ruth." Charlie smiled.

"It is a true pleasure to meet you, Charlie. I'm Michael, but you can call me Mike. I'm Alastor's boss. I mean, I'm the owner of the station." The man smiled, gently grabbing Charlie's hand to kiss its back.

Alastor came closer, handing Charlie's coffee. "Here, dear." He stopped by her side sipping his coffee.

"Thank you, Al." She smiled and sipped her coffee. It was perfect, the amount of sugar was delightful for her taste.

Mike and Ruth looked at each other and smiled as if they had some sort of a plan going on in their minds. Both of them gave a little nod to each other. Charlie tilted her head; humans could communicate by their minds?

"Alastor! I need to talk to you for a second about the ratings and this talk will probably bore Charlie." Mike walked towards the man and put his hand over his back, giving little taps.

Alastor was about to say something when Mike hurried up and pushed him to the other side of the breaking room. Charlie saw the boys leavin. In fact, she was a little worried because she wasn't used to interacting with humans without Alastor by her side. Especially because it was his work place, and she didn't want to cause bad impressions.

"So, Charlie-" Ruth started after sipping her glass of water. "Are you liking it here?" Ruth placed one of her arms against the counter behind her while staring at the blonde.

"Oh, yes. It's a very nice place! No wonder why Alastor enjoys working here so much!" Charlie smiled big and excited. For the first time in that place, a woman was talking to her without making any bad face.

"Yeah, but tell me, sweetie. How did you two met?" Ruth sipped her water again while Charlie started telling the story.

On the other side of the room, Mike finished talking about the ratings. They were good, Alastor's show was still the most heard show yet, even if Phillip tried hard to get his night-show as popular as Alastor's.

"Now, enough with work, what a taste you have my friend." Mike laughed, giving a fast look at Charlie and Ruth.

"Excuse me?" Alastor finished his coffee and raised his eyebrow.

"Charlie, I mean, - " Mike did a double whistle looking at Charlie. "I never imagined you would have such taste for women." The man laughed and Alastor looked over his own shoulder.

"Are you implying that we are together?" Alastor's expression was a mix of confusion and disgust and his eyes went back to the gray-haired man.

"Of course! C'mon, kid, you never bring anyone here." Mike sipped his coffee looking at Alastor, as if the man's shock was false.

"Well, there's a first time for everything, but no. We aren't together." Alastor put his cup away, placing his hands behind his own back.

"Yeah, sure." Mike rolled his eyes.

"What is so unbelievable about that?" Alastor seemed a little annoyed now.

"I wasn't born yesterday, son. You are a pretty fella. Charlie is beautiful and seems polite, just like you… Also, you are the radio host. If Phillip brings his 'one night stand' girls here at work, why wouldn't you?" Mike chuckled. Alasto's shocked expression slowly morphed into disgust as he looked at Mike.

"Because I don't do that. And Charlie certainly doesn't deserve to be treated like this. Any woman shouldn't deserve to be treated like this after all." Alastor adjusted his glasses, frowning his eyebrows impatiently.

"Alastor, kid-"Mike chuckled, shaking his head and looking at Charlie. "Whatever you say, still… You, as the man of your age, I think you should enjoy life and, let me tell you something…" Mike got Alastor by the shoulder, making the man get closer to him.

It was visible how uncomfortable Alastor was with the sudden touches of Mike. He even politely tried to brush the man's hand away from his shoulder.

"That girl has looked at you at least ten times since I pulled you over here." Mike chuckled and then 'not so gently' knocked Alastor's head. "Wake up, son. Enjoy life-"

Alastor was about to interrupt Mike and push his hand away when Marie entered and did it for him.

"Alastor, you have 3 minutes!" She smiled waving at the man, who instantly pulled away Mike's hand.

"Excuse me-" Alastor adjusted his glasses and walked towards Charlie. The blonde smiled at him widely. It even seemed she was relieved to see him. "Charlie, dear, do you want to stay here, or do you want to keep me company once again?"

For a moment Charlie looked tense at Alastor and eyed Ruth who had a smirk on her lips.

"I… I will go with you, if that's fine." Charlie placed her cup away.

"Of course." He offered his arm, and once again Charlie didn't hesitate on hugging his arm, this time closer than before.

Marie frowned at it before going away, and Ruth and Mike looked at each other.

While Alastor and Charlie were getting back to the studio, Alastor looked at the girl.

"How was the talk with Ruth?"

"It was…" Charlie paused and swallowed dry before smiling at him. "Fine-" She tilted her head a bit. "And the ratings?"

"Fine, never been better, actually!" He chuckled, opening the door to Charlie and entering right after.

"One minute." Roger showed his index finger already setting up the equipment.

"Well," Alastor released his arm from Charlie's grip. But automatically, he held her hands while looking at her. "I will work for a couple hours more, then my day is done. Want to wait for me so we can have lunch, or do you want to adventure yourself in the city?"

For a moment, Charlie just kept her eyes on Alastor's before proceeding on smiling and holding his hands back. "I can wait for you!"

Alastor looked down, just now realizing he was holding her hands. "I won't take too long." He smiled at her and let her hands go. She didn't react at all; he just simply went away, entering the room with the microphone and desk.

Charlie spent the rest of the day admiring Alastor's work. Even though Ruth's words echoed in her mind, she tried to not care about it for now. She just wanted to enjoy the day with the man she potentially… Was enchanted with…

Corrections:
Beta readers:
Angel: angie_bun
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