Slightly out of breath, Kael and Martin sat down. They had made it to the station just in time, on their way towards a good time. “So, can you tell me now why you were so late?” Kael asked his friend. “Yeah, sorry about that. My dad got a message from school about two missing students and wanted to keep me home for today. I’m just glad that I got out.” While Kael did not know how regularly the school sent out notices like that, going by the standards of his old school… the situation must be serious. “Anyone knows what happened? Did they say?” Martin shook his head in answer. “No, only that parents should warn their children to be careful.” - “Well, damn. Hopefully, they just ran away or something like that.” - “Yeah. Me too.” The mood had turned somber, and only the rumbling noise from the subway and snippets of conversation from other passengers remained for a while.

They had almost reached their exit when Kael was brought out of his dark thoughts when Martin restarted their conversation. “So. You said that we were meeting one of your friends at the festival right?” - “Mh? Oh, yea. Andrea. She’s nice if a little rough around the edges. I’m sure you’ll like her.” - “Oh? Andrea, you say? She’s nice huh?” Martin wiggled his eyebrows as he spoke. That, and his tone, implying there was more going on. A picture of her well proportioned and fit body flashed before Kael's eyes for a split second. “Wha? No! No, I mean. Haaa. No, she’s a friend, full stop.” Martin’s grin was beginning to look evil to Kael. “Oh?! Just a friend huh? Well, friends first, more later. So, tell me more about this ‘Friend’. Is she hot?” Kael was sure he was blushing now and turned away from his friend. “Fuck! She’s like 26.” - “Haha! Perfect age then. Just the right amount of youthful body and intelligent adult. Also. I notice that you did not answer the question. Sooooo is she hot?” Martin never got a clear answer in the end. They continued to bicker while he made fun of Kael all the way to the outskirts of 'Party Street'.

The area in and around the hippest nightlife location was always bustling with customers when the sun had set. Today, however, the place was packed. There were large groups of people all the way from the station, walking in the same direction they were taking. Once on location, they had to maneuver around and through the packed crowd. Their destination was the bar ‘Moonlight’. From his admittedly limited knowledge of the area, it was owned by the same group that Andrea worked for. They also finally found out what this festival was about when they arrived. Since Kael heard about it from Andrea, he had tried to find out some information about the event, only to come up short. There were forum posts about the date and location, but nothing more. Being a cautious person, Kael had debated even telling Martin about it, knowing his friend would jump at the chance. Now, however, he was happy they came.

Tonight, in addition to the regularly available activities, there were many more carts selling everything from food and drinks to trinkets and merchandise. Most street vendors had pulled their carts closer together, making space for the small daises erected every 500 meters or so. From what Kael could see, there were a total of three stages all along the street, fully kitted out in equipment and lights. Live concerts were happening on all of them. Almost all establishments that had the capability had opened their inhouse dining areas towards the street, even going so far as to place standing tables on the sidewalk. They had stopped close to one of the three stages, listening to what Kael could only describe as electronic metal. As someone that had not spent much time on music, Kael was simply enjoying the different performances. Martin, however, was loving it. They spent about thirty minutes just listening to the music before a text from Andrea reminded them that they had come here with a purpose.

Walking through the spectacle of sound and light, the Moonlight soon came into view. Just standing on the outside, the bar looked high-end. While minimalistic in theme, the high-quality leather chairs and tasteful decor left little to be desired. Kael rechecked Andrea's text making sure they had the correct location. Once he was sure, they entered through the open glass door. Only the sudden lack of the all-consuming music outside made them realize exactly how loud it had been. Happy to grant their ears some relief, Kael led Martin up to the counter, where a well-dressed bartender was looking expectedly at them. “Hello, Uhm, Andrea Brooks told us to meet her here. She should be here?” The bartender calmly asked for their names before having a short conversation with someone through a telephone. “Just making sure. Miss Brooks is on the second floor in room 202. The stairs are over there.” Kael nodded to the man in thanks and began to move.

Now that his concentration was not entirely on the bartender, he noticed that most seats were empty. With the number of people outside, Kael had expected this place to be filled to capacity. Shaking his head, they took the stairs upwards. The sounds from the street grew ever so faint, leaving them with the quiet, slow jazz tune he had not noticed up until now coming from the speakers.

The door leading into room 202 was easy to find. Taking a deep breath, Kael looked at the excited face of his friend, his anticipation almost palpable. Pressing the handle, Kael pushed open the door.