The Strange Man

The Date

The following afternoon, Dahlia came into the bar. "Hi, guys," she said. Mac went up to Charlie and smiled. "You ready, man?", he asked. Charlie shrugged. "I don't know, dude... What if she says no?" Mac sighed. "She not gonna say no! We spent all night planning!" "Fine. I'll... I'll give it a shot," Charlie said hesitantly. "There you go, dude!", Mac said with a giant smile.
Charlie walked up to Dahlia, who was sitting on one of the bar stools. Before he was able to say anything, Dennis walked up and put his arm around Dahlia. "Are you excited for our date tonight?" He stared at Charlie cruelly as he spoke.
Dahlia, though very uncomfortable, tried to be kind. She smiled. "Yes, Dennis. It's not a date, but I am looking forward to it." After saying that, she noticed Charlie standing beside her. "Hi, Charlie!", she said. He always made her happy.
Charlie frowned and walked away. "He must be in a mood or something," Dennis explained.
"What happened?", Mac asked Charlie when he walked back over to him. "She's going out with Dennis," Charlie responded softly. "What?! How is that possible?!... Dude, we've gotta do something!" Charlie hung his head. "No. I think she actually likes him or something. She was smiling." Mac rolled his eyes. "She smiles at basically everyone! She's like the nicest person ever," he said, trying to encourage his friend. "I... think I'm gonna go back to doing Charlie Work," Charlie said sadly.
Mac frowned. He wasn't going to give up until Charlie and Dahlia were together. He needed to do something.
"Hey, Dennis," Mac beckoned. Dennis stopped flirting with Dahlia. "What do you want Mac?", he said as he rolled his eyes. "I've gotta talk to you over here, dude," Mac responded. "Why can't you just say it right here?" Dennis was annoyed by his friend. "It's really important." Dennis rolled his eyes again. He knew that Mac wasn't going to give up until he got what he wanted, so he walked over to him.
"What?", Dennis asked. "You can't take Dahlia on that date tonight! Charlie was gonna ask her and they were going to get married and have a beautiful life together!" Mac was talking at the speed of light. "Calm down, Mac. Just... calm down," Dennis said, looking back at Dahlia to see if she was listening in. "Here's my counteroffer," he continued, "I will take Dahlia out tonight and I will not yield for Charlie, and I will both destroy Charlie and prove yet again that I am the most irresistible man alive." He patted his friend on the back, then said, "Okay?" He then walked back over to Dahlia. Mac stood alone with his eyes widened. "S***," he said to himself.
Since Mac wasn't clever enough to stop them, Dennis and Dahlia went on their date. Dahlia, who wasn't very familiar with fashion (seeing as her main fashion icon was Columbo), went to Dee for fashion advice. In the end, Dahlia ended up wearing a basic, short-sleeved white blouse with a basic black skirt that went to her knees (which Dee said was a bit too long, but Dahlia thought it was a bit too short). Her shoes were basic black flats. She looked like she was going to work (not like she was going on a fancy date), but it was a step up for her.
"At least wear some makeup," Dee insisted. "I'll put on some mascara and lipgloss, but that's it," Dahlia offered. Dee thought for a second before agreeing.
"Why are you even going out with Dennis?", Dee asked before leaving Dahlia's apartment. Dahlia shrugged. "He creeps me out, but I think he deserves a chance," she answered. Dee sighed and said, "Dahlia, you're way too nice. Dennis is going to use you to prove his masculinity, then throw you out. While I miss being the only woman in the gang, I know that you deserve better than that and I want you to be happy." Dahlia was surprised by her friend's kindness. "Thanks, Dee." "Hey," Dee responded, "anything to make my brother miserable." She smiled, hugged Dahlia, and then left.
Even with his extensive grooming ritual, Dennis was extremely punctual, which was good for Dahlia because she was always ready early. Dennis wouldn't stop trying to charm Dahlia the whole night, and Dahlia, though uncomfortable, continued to be as kind as possible. The restaurant was nice, much nicer than Dahlia was used to, but the date wasn't at all enjoyable for her. Whenever she tried to talk about what she was interested in (cats or what Charlie and her had found in the sewers, for example), Dennis shut her down and talked about himself or gave her cheesy compliments.
After Dennis attempted to buy her a drink for the fifth time that night, Dahlia knew that she wouldn't be able to stay kind for much longer. "I need to use the bathroom," Dahlia said, standing up. "Me too," Dennis said with a smile. "We can go together." Dahlia was running out of energy, but refused to break.
'This is nice,' Dahlia thought when she entered the bathroom. She was right; the bathroom was clean and roomy. She knew that Charlie did his best to keep the bathrooms clean at the bar, but they would never come close to the one she was in now.
Dahlia was admiring the fancy restroom when Dennis barged in. "Dennis! What the h-", she began before he shoved her against a stall and began kissing her intensely. She shoved him away and gave him what she thought was a soft punch in the face, but was actually much stronger (her years of practicing self defense had made her surprisingly strong). Dennis fell back and groaned in pain. "What the f***?!", he yelled. "I am so sorry!", Dahlia yelled. She didn't mean to hurt him; her instincts just kicked in. She went over to help him, but he yelled, "Get away, b****!" Dahlia put her hands over her mouth in shock and fear. What was she supposed to do? He obviously didn't want her help.
Dahlia just ran out of the bathroom, grabbed her jacket from the chair she was sitting in, and left the restaurant. She ran across the street and down the sidewalk a bit before going into an alley and falling on her knees. The event replayed over and over in her head, causing her to cry. She had always been afraid that she would hurt someone, and, that night, her fear came to life. There was a lot of anger and sadness inside of her as she was on the ground crying. When she wiped her face, she realized that she had been wearing mascara. The night was getting worse and worse for her.
She had no idea what to do now. Dennis was her ride, so she decided that she would take a taxi back to her apartment. She tried not to speak or make eye contact with anyone on her way to the taxi and then on her way to her apartment because she knew she was a mess. As soon as she got to her apartment, she showered in an attempt to clean herself of the situation and muffle her tears. Once in her pajamas, she flopped on her bed for a moment with thoughts racing through her head. After a couple minutes, she became angry. She could hardly contain herself, so she punched a wall and screamed before realizing that people could probably hear her. More importantly: Charlie could probably hear her.