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"Dinner with Langdon, Ana? You can't be serious!" Mallory scolded as she dried a dish. "I mean, you seriously don't trust him do you?" Anastasia's stomach had been churning with butterflies ever since her encounter with Langdon, and she couldn't stop thinking about the next part of her interview. She had thought helping Mallory with her chores would distract herself, but that had been quite far from the truth.
"It's not like I could really say no, Mallory." Ana argued as she put away a plate. "Michael is...persistent."
"Michael?" Mallory froze, almost dropping a dish.
Ana looked at her awkwardly. "He...likes me to call him Michael."
"I don't believe this! Ana, you have to be careful. I mean..two interviews? Why two? I don't trust him." Mallory crossed her arms as she looked towards her friend.
Anastasia sighed as she leaned against the sink. "Mallory, you're overreacting-"
"No, I'm not!" She fired back. "I'm worried is all. You've been thinking of this guys name for what...months now? And when he shows up you say that..you've got this strange connection or something? And now he's asking you to dinner? You know nothing about him, Ana. Maybe he's involved with this somehow."
"Yes! Maybe he is, Mallory!" Ana huffed. "I know, I know! It's sounds stupid. But I can't help it, Mal. Michael knows something! I can feel it! And if having diner with him allows me to find out whatever it is I need to know...well I'm going to do it." She rushed with a breath.
Mallory sighed as she adjusted her glasses, feeling guilty for starting an argument with her sister figure. "I'm sorry. It's just...if you're right about Langdon, I mean...if he's involved somehow or knows something, it might not be for the right reasons, Ana. I know you said you feel this...pull towards him. And I know you want to trust him. Just please...be careful. Be smart. Despite what you think, he may not be the good guy."
Anastasia bit her thumb nail as she listened to Mallory's speech. It made her nervous. Nervous, because she could be right. Maybe Langdon was the bad guy. "I know that. And I will be careful, I promise. It's just...I finally feel like I'm getting somewhere, you know?"
Mallory nodded. "Yeah, I know. I'm sorry for getting angry."
"No, don't be." Ana smiled. "I'm glad I can count on you for your honesty."
The girls went back to finishing their chore, working in a comfortable silence. And after a few minutes passed, Mallory whirled back to Ana. "Oh, my God, you have a crush on him!"
Ana's eyes bugged out of her head and she hurriedly clamped her hand on Mallory's mouth. "Be quite! And No! I do not!" She argued.
"Of course, you do!" Mallory pushed the hand away. "Why else would you be acting this way? Every time I mention him you get all flustered!"
