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"Are you OK, Alec?" Jace queeried as he soughted through his books for college, sitting at the kitchen table. "Could you stop pacing? It's driving me insane."

"Oh, uh, yeah," I answered, still staring at my phone as I sat down on the couch, my thumb hovering over the button that would call Magnus. Should I? Shouldn't I? I probably should... nope, definitely not. No way. But...

"What are you doing with that phone of yours? You never contact real people like a normal person," Jace commented off-handedly. "What's changed?" There was a pause before Jace's head snapped up and his eyes widened in relation. "Oh no you didn't... You took my advice!"

"What advice?" I asked, doing my best what-the-fuck-are-you-crazy? impression.

"You met a guy," he stated cheerfully, standing up from the kitchen table and jumping over to the couch that was barely two meters away. "I can't really talk guys with you, 'cause I'm a dude, but if he's girly, we can pretend-"

"Jace, what could possibly make you think I met someone?" I demanded, holding my phone to my chest to hide the screen from any prying eyes.

"This is uncharted territory. You never mope around with your phone, it's always on your own, so there must be a second person involved," he deduced, sounding proud of himself. "So? What's he like?"

I let out a deep sigh. "There is no one, Jace."

"Fine, fine, fine, don't tell me," he said, defensively putting his hands in the air as he trudged back to his stacks of homework.

There were a few moments of silence and me pondering whether to call or not, before I heard a voice right next to my ear say "Who's Magnus?"

I almost jumped out of my skin, shocked by the proximity of Jace's voice next to my ear. I spun around, scowling at my flatmate angrily. "Jace! What the fuck?!"

He tutted, walking away with a smug smirk on his face. "Told you there was someone." I rolled my eyes and turned back to my phone. "So, who is he?"

"A guy I met at the book-store," I mumbled, remembering his bright voice and his teasing-

"Aww, isn't that nice. You can be geeks together!"

"I don't think he's geeky," I said thoughtfully. "He's chatty, but not geeky... not really."

"Is he cute? Ya know, as a gay guy?"

"Yes, definitely." Well, cute was an understatement. How about beautiful, majestic, hot as Hell... "He bought me a book, so I kind of have to call him."

"I'd help you, man, but my expertise in love is only in the field of wooing women. If he's on the feminine side-"

"Ok ok ok, Jace. I get the picture. Now go away so I can call him," I ordered.

"Sure you're gonna call him?"

Definitely. Maybe. I don't know... "Fuck off!"

"Fine, I'm going," he sighed, giving up. I knew he had good intentions at heart, but I needed silence so that I could draw a mental chart of the pros and cons of calling this stranger who wouldn't like me if he knew my job. Yeah, it's probably best I don't... "Shit!" I exclaimed. In my wallowing state I managed to accidentally press the 'call' button. I was about to hang up, but Magnus beat me to it.

"Hello?" the voice that I recognised called through the phone cheerfully. "Magnus Bane here."

I spent a few moments fumbling with my phone, before quickly spluttering an answer. "I-it's Alec here. From the book-store." Oh crap oh crap, it was way too early, wasn't it? I should have waited till tomorrow, or next year, or-

"Ah, yes," the voice replied in recognition. "Blue-Eyes! The cute one who likes reading Game of Thrones."

"Yeah, that's me," I confirmed lamely. "I called 'cause I have you're number."

"You do indeed," he said, a smirk in his voice.

After a somewhat awkward pause, I began to talk. "I-I was wondering, could we meet again sometime? Our 'meeting' thing in the café was cut a little short..."

"Oh yes, sorry about that, darling." I blushed at the nick-name. "I did enjoy our "'meeting' thing". Would you like to have another "'meeting' thing?'" he asked, a sly smile seeping into the tone of his voice.

I gulped, remembering the stranger's amber eyes, playful at first glance, but with a predatory undertone. "Y-yeah, I would."

"Great!" he exclaimed. "How does tomorrow at six suit you?"

"'Kay, it's a date," I replied quickly, before realising what I just said. "Um, not a date, as in a date-date, a date as in a time thing, not that it isn't a date, if you didn't want it to be-"

My rambling was cut off by his bright laugh and a dismissive "you're adorable," and I flushed red, thanking God Magnus couldn't see me. "So I'll see you at six, in the same place as yesterday?"

"Yes, see you then," I managed in a steady voice.

"Yay! See you tomorrow Blue-Eyes."

"Bye." And then we both hung up. I let out the breath I had been holding in and I could feel my rapid pulse gradually calming down and finally reaching its normal speed. God, I had been so nervous and I had no idea why. I had been with so many hot men. I was far from being a virgin. I was used to being naked in front of an audience. Why was I so nervous for just one guy? Albeit, a very hot guy who was far more attractive, in my opinion, than all the porn stars I had been with. Combined.

I was now nervous for tomorrow instead of the phone-call; what should I wear? How will I tell him I just want to be friends? What would he think of porn stars? All sorts of questions floated around in my mind as I got ready for bed and crawled under my duvet.

Unable to sleep because of my expectations for tomorrow, I decided to pass the time by checking emails. I succeeded in taking my mind off the beautiful stranger I barely knew and turned my attention to my "work". I had received an email specifying all the details for my next scene, which was with a famous dude (so famous I'd never heard of him) who went by the alias of the "High-Warlock of Brooklyn" which was a very eccentric name compared to my "Ryder Creighton" which was apparently sexy. Not that I particularly cared. At least no one would be able to link that name with my true identity.

My scene with the "High-Warlock of Brooklyn" was going to be next Monday at nine o'clock in the morning. Ugh. I was really not looking forward to having an arrogant porn super-star with an ego bigger than his dick crawling all over me. Not that that didn't usually happen. It did, only the guys I'd been with were more about money than they were about being famous.

Next Monday was going to suck, I decided, but in the meantime, I had Magnus to think about. For the first time in months, I dreamed about something other than rough, uncaring hands smothering me. Golden-green, vibrant eyes filled my mind instead, eyes with history and mystery behind them. A mystery that I would gladly solve. At least it would take my mind off reality for a while.

"So what's your favourite colour?" It was six o'clock and we were in the same café as the day before. It felt almost as if we had never left.

"Um... black."

"Black is not a colour."

"Neither is rainbow," I pointed out. "Rainbow is a colour scheme."

"And black is a shade. It's also really depressing, but sexy, I suppose, if you use it in the right way," Magnus said, looking me up and down suggestively. I blushed a little, just from one look he gave me. God, what was wrong with me? Why was this guy affecting me in this way? Until a day ago, I had absolutely no interest in dating- or men- whatsoever.

I looked down at my clothes subconsciously. I was wearing a black, long-sleeved shirt with a pair of black jeans and some ankle boots. I had made much more of an effort than I did yesterday, probably because of my date- or whatever it was- with Magnus. "Don't worry dear, you look fine," he reassured me cheekily. "Just... lose the shirt, and the jeans, and whatever type of panties you have on under there."

Great. Now I was pretty sure I was the colour of a tomato. I looked away from him, probably appearing to be a little embarrassed which made him chuckle. "What I'm wearing is fine," I protested.

"I'm not saying it isn't, but a young man like yourself could always learn a few fashion tips from someone older, like me."

"Older? How much older?"

"Well, you are what, twenty? Twenty-one?"

"Eighteen," I said flatly.

I saw a little surprise in his eyes. "Eighteen? Are you still in college?"

"No, I never went to college," I said somewhat sadly. "Didn't have enough money."

"Your parents didn't pay for it? They're like, billionaires!"

I paused, considering lying to him, but what would I say? "My parents kicked me out when I was seventeen. Because I'm gay."

His eyes widened and a look of shock appeared on his face, making me regret telling him almost instantly. His hand went to his mouth. "I am so sorry," he said carefully.

I shrugged. "I'm over it. I now live with a guy who does have money to pay for our flat, so it's not so bad."

There was a long silence in which we looked at each other, the same sad expression on our faces. "Well," he said after a few moments, "to answer your question, I'm am twenty-six."

He then picked up the conversation again, wisely keeping it away from the 'parents' side of things.

Magnus was picking at a muffin he held in his hands, his fingers decorated with a few rings that glinted when they caught the light. His hair was still in a small ponytail with a few stands loose around his face. His eyelids had some shadow around them and his lashes were lined with a little bit of eyeliner, making his amber eyes stand out even more than they already did. Magnus was striking. Just a little makeup and smart clothes and he was already more than I could dream of.

I sat there, not touching my coffee, staring at the stranger I knew I wouldn't be able to have. If my situation had been different, I would definitely want to go out with this guy, given I barely knew him. He seemed bright and smart on the outside, his personality kind of addictive. I found that the more I heard him speak, the more I wanted to listen.

"Have you started reading that book I bought you? What was it called... Foundation?"

"Yup, Foundation by Isaac Asimov. And no, I haven't started it yet. It's a classic, so it's bound to be good." He nodded, nibbling at his half-eaten muffin. "Why were you in that store yesterday? Presumably not to pick up guys..."

He smirked. "No, it wasn't. I'm at that store quite a lot. I have this crime novel addiction that needs a regular feeding..." I let out a small laugh before I could stop myself. "What's funny?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Nothing, nothing," I insisted.

"You find reading crime novels funny?"

"No, it just that you don't... look, like the kind of person who-"

"What do I look like then?" Magnus challenged.

I raised my fingers to my lips and began chewing at my nails as I mumbled "You're hot."

He grinned, flashing his perfect pearly teeth. "So, hot people can't read crime novels?"

"No, no that's not what I meant-"

"Hot people can't read at all?!" He gasped mockingly. "That is a very broad generalisation, Alexander," he tutted.

I sighed in exasperation, but smiled fondly and he beamed innocently back at me. Then, a question I had been eager to ask him popped into my head. "What do you do for a living, anyway?"

His expression fell at that question and he looked away from me. Perhaps I had hit a nerve there? "Oh, um, I... I have a job, but I'm trying to get out of it. I don't particularly like it. I'm good at it, but I'm only doing it for the money. Once I find a different job that pays well, I'll leave my current one." I noticed he didn't directly answer the question, in fact, he dodged the answer completely, but I decided not to push it.

"I'm in a similar sort of situation," I interjected. "I have a job, but I'm looking for a different one."

Eager to change the conversation, he looked at his watch. "Oh my, we've been here for over two hours! How time flies when you're in gorgeous company," he said with an almost fake cheer. He stood up and I rose with him. "Would you like me to give you a lift home? My car is parked just around the corner."

"Sure, thanks." I smiled, though I was sad the date was over. It was only eight-thirty, but maybe I'd invite him in for a bit. Hopefully Jace wouldn't be back from school.

Magnus offered me his arm and I hooked mine through it. We left the café and headed for his car.

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Until next time...

AllNightmareLong666