Dine Right diner. Alex had been coming here with Chase ever since the other boy had gotten his license. Just earlier that week, Alex and Chase had met up here to discuss the new student coming to school. Normally, this place felt like home, even more than his own house. Tonight, however, it felt unfamiliar. It felt like he was entirely out of his element, and completely alone as he sat across from Madeline.

Actually, being alone really sounded better than this. Better than being trapped here, sitting across from his classmate, who was sipping at her coffee like she hadn’t just completely changed Alex’s life.

“I’m sorry you had to get swept up in all of this mess, Alexandra,” Madeline admitted, sounding almost genuine as she set her cup down. “We try to keep normal people out of it as much as possible.”

Normal people. Alex knew what she really meant by that. She meant human. Briefly, Alex wondered if she’d use the term normal if she knew how his skin crawled when she called him Alexandra - his deadname. But he didn’t have time to think about the nuances of how people perceived his gender; there were more important things going on.

“Where’s Chase?” Alex asked, ignoring Madeline’s apology.

“[OTHER HUNTER, PLACEHOLDER] should be bringing him here any minute,” Madeline answered, seeming unfazed by Alex’s impolite behavior. Suddenly, though she seemed to shift demeanor. She put her elbows on the table and leaned forward, looking at Alex with enough intensity to make him a bit uncomfortable. “But before they get here, I need to ask you some things.”