The Strange Man

The End

When Dahlia ran, Charlie was left standing in the middle of Paddy's Pub. His friends watched as he stood staring at the floor in silence. He stood for a couple of minutes without speaking or moving before quietly going to the basement.
"What the f*** just happened?", Frank asked. The rest of the gang turned their attention to the confused man. "I think Dahlia just broke Charlie's heart," Mac said sadly. "S***," Dennis whispered. "Poor Charlie," Dee said.
In the basement, Charlie was sitting against a wall weeping silently. 'She doesn't love me,' he thought. He was full of sadness and pain. He had never felt so heartbroken. Even The Waitress didn't have that much power over him.
Charlie sat in the basement alone for a long while when he was startled by fast footsteps coming down the stairs. He wiped the tears from his eyes and put his head up a bit to see who it was. "Just leave me alone," he said softly and sadly. "Charlie!", Dahlia yelled. "Dahlia?", Charlie responded. Dahlia found Charlie and stood in front of him. "I've been looking for you," she said frantically. "Why? Why would you do that?", Charlie asked snappily. His words made her feel even more guilty and regretful. "Look, Charlie," she said sadly with her head hanging, "What I did was wrong... I was afraid that I wasn't actually good enough for you and that we would both end up getting hurt," she said softly and sadly. "I do... I do love you, Charlie."
Charlie looked up at Dahlia. His face was expressionless, so Dahlia had no idea what he was going to do or how he was feeling. He rose to his feet and stared at her tear-stained face silently for a moment. Dahlia's entire body tensed; she was expecting the worst. Charlie then did something completely unexpected. Suddenly, he grabbed Dahlia's face (his hands on her cheeks) and kissed her.
When Charlie pulled back, he saw how shocked she was and got anxious. "Was that... wrong?... Was I not supposed to do that?", he asked. Dahlia smiled. "I... I think you were," she said with a kind and joyful smile. He loved her smile, so he kissed her again. This time, she kissed back.
They kissed for a long moment, then Dahlia pulled back. "I've never really... kissed anyone... ever," she said shyly. "Am I doing okay?" Charlie was shocked. "You've never kissed anyone?", he asked her. She nodded with embarrassment. "Well, you're doing great... and I'm really glad I'm the first one to experience it," he said with a gentle smile, which caused Dahlia to kiss him again.
"Woah," Mac said. Charlie and Dahlia turned to see the whole gang staring at them in shock. Dahlia smiled at the ground; she was embarrassed that the gang saw her kissing Charlie, but extremely happy that she had done so.
"How long... have you guys been, like... standing there?", Charlie asked shyly. "A few minutes," Dee answered with a smile. "How in the hell did Charlie get you to kiss him?", Dennis asked Dahlia. "Well, obviously they're in love!", Mac answered excitedly. "I knew it from day one!" The whole group sighed and rolled their eyes at Mac.
"Aren't there rats and chemicals down here?", Frank asked; he was seemingly uninterested in Dahlia and Charlie. "Dude! You're ruining the moment!", Mac yelled. "Actually," Charlie said, "you're all ruining the moment." That made Dahlia laugh a bit and smile into Charlie's eyes. He smiled back. "Wanna leave?", he whispered. Dahlia nodded.
"Bye, guys!" Charlie yelled excitedly as he held Dahlia's and lead her up the stairs, smiling the entire time.
"They're gonna bang," Frank said nonchalantly. Everyone was annoyed looked at him. "We all know that!" Mac said.
They ended up not "banging", but rather cuddling and watching a movie

Years Later
In the three years since Charlie and Dahlia confessed their love to each other, a lot had happened. Dahlia's PI business was thriving and the bar was... staying afloat (like usual). The money from the PI business went into a small house for Dahlia and Charlie to live in together. They also adopted two cats and left catnip outside so that more would flock around the house.
About two years after the confession, Charlie proposed to Dahlia in the basement of Paddy's (where they first kissed). Mac didn't quite approve of the setting at first, but after some decorations, even he agreed that it was perfect (for Charlie and Dahlia, at least). It was a bit awkward at first (Charlie dropped the ring and stumbled over his words a bit), but it was beautiful, and so was the small, low-budget wedding that fit the couple's simple style.
The two never had children, but were happy owning multiple cats over the years. They remained happy and satisfied until the very end.