The Strange Man

The Gang's New Member

Dahlia was confused as to what exactly had happened in the past couple of days. Charlie, or (as she once called him) the "Strange Man" kept coming and going. She loved spending time with him, but wasn't sure what to do when he was gone. Maybe she was just supposed to wait like a dog waiting for its owner to come home. She wasn't a dog though. She was her own person and didn't want to have to rely on a man to tell her what to do. 'I'll go to the bar and find him,' she thought to herself and smiled.
When she opened the door, she saw Charlie standing in front of her. "I was just about to go to Paddy's and find y—" she started explaining. "You're better than The Waitress!", Charlie exclaimed. They stood for a moment in silence as they stared at each other.

Two Years Later...
"I think she should be considered a part of the gang by now," Mac started. "Exactly!", Charlie agreed. "I've been saying that for at least a year now!" Dee shrugged. "I don't know, guys... I don't think she would really fit." Mac sighed dramatically, then said, "Dee, you're only saying that because being the only woman makes you feel special." Dee got offended and went to open her mouth, but quickly got cut off by Dennis. "I agree with Dee. She just won't fit!" Frank rolled his eyes and commented, "It's because she still won't bang you after two years!" He laughed at his own comment. "We should vote," Mac said.
  Dahlia's PI business was thriving and so was she; her anxiety was under control and she had the gang right by her side (especially Charlie, her best, most loyal friend). She had a steady flow of cases to keep her busy, while still having time to hangout at Paddy's. Life was good for Dahlia Pruitt.
  When Dahlia walked into Paddy's Pub, she was greeted by some great news. "We've decided that you should officially be part of the gang!", Charlie said with a smile. "Really?!", Dahlia said with a smile even bigger than Charlie's. She had been waiting for this moment to come. Charlie and Mac hugged her while Frank munched on some food with a satisfied smile and Dennis and Dee leaned against the bar, sipping their beers and frowning.
  "Thank you guys so much!", Dahlia told the gang. "Don't let it get to your head," Dennis responded sternly. "Dude!", Mac said with a glare directed at Dennis. "Of course she won't!" Charlie said happily; his best friend was now a part of the gang and he was overjoyed.
  Dennis wasn't so happy about the group's decision. He didn't like Dahlia much because she never seemed very fond of him. Of course, he had used the DENNIS System on her multiple times, but it never worked. Instead of noticing Dennis, her attention was always directed at Charlie.
  Charlie himself had been having a rough time seducing Dahlia. He flirted and dropped hints constantly, but she never seemed to notice. He loved being her best friend (after all, he was closer to her than he had been to anyone ever), but he wanted more than just friendship with her. He didn't want to ruin their friendship by trying to turn it into something more, but now that she was a solid part of the gang, their friendship might be more solid.
  That night, he was planning on taking Dahlia to their favorite diner (the one where they spent hours talking about cats), and asking her on a real date to a fancy restaurant. He would wear his nicest clothes and steal some of Dennis's nice cologne. Everything would be perfect for her.
  In the middle of the night, Charlie was awoken by a knock at his door. He groaned and climbed out of his bed. His hair was an absolute mess (more than usual) and his eyes were barely open. He opened the door and saw Mac standing there. Mac shoved Charlie to the side and stormed into the apartment. "What the hell, man?", Charlie asked. "Frank told me that you're going to be asking Dahlia out!" Mac shouted. He was obviously distraught. Charlie, who was beyond tired and confused, asked, "So?" "You know that Dennis is gonna see this as a competition! He'll use his stupid system and we could lose Dahlia! Do you want that, Charlie? Do you really want that?" "No!... Wait... how does Dennis know?", Charlie inquires. "Frank told us both! He's been bored lately and he loves watching s*** like this go down!" Mac looked around. "Where is Frank, anyway?" "He's with Artemis... I think," Charlie replied.
  Mac liked Dahlia. He always had. She was always kind to everyone and she made Charlie happier than he had ever been. She was the only one who had ever understood Charlie. On top of that, she brought some morality to the group (which they needed). If he wasn't a closeted gay man, he probably would've had a thing for her as well. He was a closeted gay man though, so he was going to help the man who actually wanted to be with her. He was going to help Charlie.
  "My point is that Dennis is a jerk and we need to stop him from pushing Dahlia away!" Mac began pacing around the room. "Tell me what your plan is." "Why?", Charlie asked. "Because, Charlie, you don't have the best track record when it comes to relationships and I want to help you," he explained. "Now, just tell me your plan." He stopped pacing and stared at Charlie, waiting for an answer. "Well, I wanted to take her to our favorite diner and ask her to go to a nice restaurant with me and I'll dress nice and wear some of Dennis's cologne—" "Horrible!", Mac interrupted. "You're going on a date to ask her on a date when you could just ask her on a date. Also, you don't actually have any nice clothes and Dennis's cologne reeks." He shook his head in frustration, putting his hands on his hips. "Dude... you've gotta do better or we're gonna lose her. There's a lot riding on this," he said gently. "Really?", Charlie asked nervously. Mac put his hands on his friend's shoulders and looked sternly into his eyes. "Yes, Charlie. Yes."
  In the apartment next door, Dahlia woke up to her phone ringing. "Hello?", she answered. "Hi, Dahlia! It's Dennis. I was just wondering what you're doing tomorrow night." Dahlia checked the time. It was 3:26 AM. "It's too early for this, Den, can we do this tomorrow?"
  Dennis knew that Charlie was going to ask Dahlia on a date tomorrow and he knew that Mac was going to help him, which would give him a huge advantage. He needed to ask her out before he did. It's not that he liked her all that much, it's that he wasn't very fond of Charlie and seducing women was a game to him... a game he had to win.
  "No," Dennis said, "I... I need an answer tonight." He tried to hide his tenseness, but his belief that there was a lot riding on his plan was causing him a lot of stress. Dahlia rubbed her eyes and sat up straighter, trying to wake herself up. "Okay, Dennis," she said, attempting to sound as kind as possible. "No, I'm not doing anything tomorrow night. I try not to take cases on Saturday nights." Dennis smiled. "Would you like to go on a date with me?" There was a moment of silence before Dahlia answered. "Umm... sure," she said.
  She didn't like Dennis that way, but she knew how fragile his ego was and how sensitive he was. She didn't want to upset him. Also, he kind of creeped her out, so she wanted to give him a chance to prove that he was a good guy.
  "Great!", Dennis said happily. "I'll pick you up around 7:30, and dress nicely because it's a nice restaurant." "Okay, coo—," Dahlia began before Dennis hung up abruptly.
  "It's all coming together," Dennis whispered with an evil smile. He was taking this thing way too seriously.