The Strange Man

The Trial

  Charlie recalled his past; his childhood with his mother who had slept with practically every guy who entered their house. His high school years in which he was bullied and told to eat disgusting things. What he couldn't seem to recall was ever feeling a connection like the one he had with Dahlia. Maybe because he had never experienced such a feeling.
  Of course, he did love the gang in an odd, love-hate kind of way, but they never seemed to understand him. Dahlia did.
  "We are friends," he assured her. They stared into each other's eyes again. This time, it seemed to last longer than the other moments they had shared. Dahlia realized what might have been happening and snapped out of it, looking around the small office. "This is nice," she said, trying to create a more casual atmosphere. Charlie continued to stare for a bit before processing her words and coming back into reality. "Oh... yeah," he said awkwardly. "I think it's technically supposed to be Frank's since he owns most of Paddy's, but we all use it." Dahlia nodded and observed the room for a second before there was a loud knock at the door. "Charlie!", Mac yelled. "Dee wants to get rid of our guns, so we're gonna have a trial!" Dahlia was confused. "A... trial?", she asked. Charlie nodded, embarrassed by his friend. "We do kinda like court trials sometimes to settle conflicts. It's kind of fun or whatever," he said as he rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Cool!", Dahlia said. "Can I help?! I've actually been a part of many court cases, you see," she said excitedly. "Sometimes I find important stuff for cases and I'm called to testify." She wanted to stop talking, but she was passionate about her work. "I've actually been a part of some murder trials because some people don't trust the police and would rather hire a private investigator such as myself..." Her words amazed Charlie. She was like Columbo. "Woah," he said. "I didn't know that you had done so much." Dahlia nodded and smiled. Charlie now had a secret weapon against the rest of the gang and he knew it.
The trial was very chaotic compared to the cases Dahlia had been a part of. There was a lot of yelling and name-calling, but Dahlia was able to convince them to compromise at the end; they could keep their guns as long as they could use them properly and only use them when necessary (which meant that they would no longer pull their guns on each other). Throughout the trial, Charlie attempted to use court jargon. Sometimes he was correct and sometimes he wasn't, but his effort and passion made Dahlia smile.
When the trial came to an end, Frank seemed really impressed by Dahlia's abilities. "You've got talent, kid," he told her. "I've got some... issues that I want you to take a look at." Was she on Frank's good side now? Though she was a bit worried about what the "issues" could have been, Dahlia was delighted that he liked her now. The gang mumbled, telling him to stop, then saying something about how she wasn't going to help him pull off illegal schemes.
As Dahlia stood listening to the group talk about Frank's history of illegal actions, she noticed that Dennis was staring at her. It made her uncomfortable. 'She can be really persuasive,' Dennis thought. 'Really good with words.' He found that attractive. He himself was a very persuasive person who also had a way with words. When he realized that she had noticed his staring, he smiled slyly at her and winked. She smiled back awkwardly; she wasn't used to being flirted with or even noticed, especially not by someone who appeared to be so attractive (to others, at least). Didn't he hate her or something? Maybe not.
It was pretty late by the time the group was done talking and drinking (except for Dahlia, of course, who had a Coke). Dennis offered to drive Dahlia home, but Charlie interjected and told him that they lived in the same building. "Maybe you can drive Charlie, Frank, and I home," Dahlia suggested. Dennis did a fake smile and agreed. He didn't want Charlie and Frank getting in the way of his process, but he couldn't say no. "Sure," he said, "I'll drive you all home. It'll be loads of fun!" Dennis repressed his frustration as he took out his keys and began walking to his car.