"I can finally see you're as f*cked up as me so how do we win?"
-Sick of Losing Soulmates, Dodie
The first time Elle met the great Benny Watts was still clear in her mind. It was not a happy first meeting. Instead, it was a rather solemn one at an alley somewhere in New York City. She was just sixteen and so was he. Elle was lighting a cigarette between her thumb and index finger while sitting on the ground. She put the cigarette in her mouth, satisfied with the way it warmed her up on the cold December night. Suddenly, she heard footsteps coming next to her. Elle did not bother to look up from the ground. A part of her wished it was some criminal who would stab her to death. For some reason, dying sounded better to her than to be beaten up by her father every single day.
"That's my spot." The male stranger said as he stood right next to her. Smoke came out of her mouth before she spoke.
"I don't think so." For a moment, the stranger was silent and Elle hoped he would just leave her alone. Instead, he sat on the ground next to her and started drinking straight from a bottle of alcohol that he brought. She finally looked up from the ground and looked at the guy. The alleyway was poorly-lit but she could make out his facial features. He looked young, she thought, probably younger than her. How he managed to get an alcohol with that face, she had no idea and she figured it was better to mind her own business.
"Hm?" The stranger caught her staring and smiled very slightly. "Drinks?" He offered her the bottle of alcohol and she used her free hand to take it and took a sip of the bitter drink.
"Thanks." She managed to say as she gave him back his drink. She brought out the box of cigarettes which she stole from her father from her pocket. "Smoke?" His smile grew wider as he took a cigarette.
"Thanks." She used her lighter to light his cigarette as she smiled back at him. He put the alcohol bottle in between the two of them before he started smoking. "What's your name?"
"Elle. And you?"
"Benny." He said after letting the smoke pass in between his lips. "It's dangerous around this area, especially at night. Criminals are lurking around, you know, so unless you want to die with a knife stabbing your heart, you shouldn't come here alone"
"Well, I can say the same to you."
There was a long pause before he spoke up.
"What if I do want to die?"
This time, it was Elle's turn to pause.
"The same applies to me."
They didn't say anything more after that, falling into a comfortable silence as they both smoked their cigarettes and alternately sip on the single bottle of alcohol that they had. They stayed like that until Elle had to come home and Benny silently bid her goodbye.
That was the first time it happened. Then, it turned into a weekly thing then into every other night. Elle would always bring the cigarettes and a lighter while Benny would always bring a single bottle of alcohol with him. They would mostly stay silent. They would talk about the weather or some recent news that irritated them but the conversations never got deep. Even after two years of their unarranged meetings, Elle could not consider Benny as anything more than a stranger.
When they both turned 18, the meetings stopped - rather, Elle stopped coming to the alley. She had no more reason to. She left home, away from her violent father. A part of her wondered if Benny still came even when she was not around. She wondered if he waited for her. They did not even exchange contacts.
