Two Days Ago.

I sit in the moving, metal box of a death trap, waiting for it to reach the place where Charlie waits.

I glance down at my dark violet vintage dress that has multicoloured patchwork done on it to be more stylized. I had sewn each patch on myself - my mother was mortified, saying that I ruined the dress. But I like it better this way. Also... it is MY DRESS! I can ruin it if I want to!! For an accessory, a small sized top hat with a smaller pink bow, sits on my head. The hat is the same colour as the dress, a vintage dark purple hue. Steel-toed violet boots that each have three metal spikes on the toe of the boot protect my feet. I wear fingerless gloves of a deep purple shade that hides make-shift brass knuckles that sit nicely on my hands. My black belt - which serves as a decoration - also doubles as a whip.

I feel the car pull to a stop and as soon as the doors open, I gracefully leap out while cursing the death trap and I walk away from it.

"I'll be back to pick up you and master Charlie later this evening." The driver calls out before he drives away.

"Okay," I wave and enter the building.

As I enter, I am greeted by loud, blasting sounds of games and children laughing. My eyes gaze around the room for Charlie, hoping that I wasn't too early. And then I see him standing across the room, his ginger hair blows gently with the wind every time the doors open. He is wearing a nice suit, with a few buttons on his shirt undone. I see him smile as his eyes meet mine and I smile back.

"So, I see you decided to come." He speaks, walking towards me. "I was beginning to worry that you weren't going to show." A laugh echoes from his tone before he stops in front of me and pats my head.

"I couldn't let you come here all alone," I reply, pulling his hand off of my head and then I try to put my hair back in place. "That wouldn't be very nice of me, especially after I agreed to accompany you here."

"Thank you." He comments and holds out his hand to me, "may I lead you into the party?" He asks, looking into my eyes. I look down at his hand and then back at him and my smile softens a bit.

"Yes you may." My hand grasps onto his, it is softer than I expected it to be, but it is also warm and nice.

"So, what do you want to do first? Grab a bite to eat, get a drink, or play some games?" He asks as he guides me further into the building.

I look around at all of the fun, my indecisive mind refuses to choose, so I shrug my shoulders and utter a simple "I dunno." He lets out a light laugh and gears us towards the hoops game.

"I guess I should show you how I throw some hoops," he comments as we arrive. He starts the game up and throws the first ball. "So, what do you do for a living?" He asks, grabbing the next ball to toss in.

"I'm a detective," I respond bluntly. He hesitates on throwing the next ball for a moment as he turns to face me.

"Oh? What's that like?" He turns back to the game and continues in his shooting, trying hard to get the ball to go into the net.

"It's alright," I lean against the game's exterior. "Sometimes it is fun and adrenaline pumping, but sometimes it is boring with a lot of paperwork to do." I watch as he picks up his last ball and tosses it at the net. He misses. "So, what do you do?" I ask as he starts another game up.

"Oh uh," he looks down at his first ball before tossing it, "I'm a bartender."

"Oh? Nice." I comment, "do you work in a bar bar? Or like a Starbucks kind of barista slash bartender?"

"I work in an actual bar," he lets out a laugh as he throws another ball, missing the net by a bit. "It isn't too far from here, I could probably take you there another day. Granted you would still want to go out with me on a second date." He replies, turning to look at me with his warm smile.

"I think I could go on a second date with you," I reply with a soft chuckle. "But you'd have to buy me dinner first."

"I think I can make that work." Charlie replies as he throws his final ball, "do you want to have a go at this?" He asks, turning to me. "Besides, I've had plenty of goes at this already, it is definitely your turn now."

"Okay," I paint a smile on my face and start the machine up. "But you'll have to show me how it is done, I'm not very good at games that involve hand - eye - coordination." I joke a little.

"Alright," his smile softens and he walks over behind me, "you start throwing the balls once the timer starts going." He explains, gently embracing my arms with his. "You will then hold the ball like this..." he guides my right hand to the bottom of the ball and my left hand to the top. "Then you lift it up and..." he lifts my hands up as he helps guide me in tossing the ball. "...shoot!" We toss the ball into the air and I can feel his chest still behind me as he holds his breath, watching the ball glide through the air. Swoosh. The ball hits the net and goes in.

"It went in!" I exclaim with a bright smile and turn to him.

"Of course it did, I was shooting it for you." He jokes, and I hit him softly in a joking manner. "Now, do you think you can do it too?" He asks, taking a step to the right of me and brushing his hair back behind his ears.

"I think so," I reply, grabbing the next ball in line. I hold the ball as instructed and I follow through with the other instructions. The ball hits the rim of the net and bounces off, gaining no points.

"Agh... so close!" Charlie gasps, sounding more upset that I missed than how I felt about missing. "You'll get it next time."

"Of course I will," I reply with a smirk, readying the next ball. "I had a good teacher afterall." I throw the ball and watch as it bounces off the rim and just barely goes in.

"Yes! That's the juice!" He throws his fist up in the air before bringing it back down with excitement. "If you make the next throw, I will buy you a round of drinks."

"A lover after my own heart." I laugh and throw the final ball, praying that it goes in - I love alcohol, but man is it expensive! The ball hits the rim and bounces into the net. "Woo!" I throw my hands into the air to show my excitement. "It went in!"

"A promise is a promise." He exhales, and takes a step back. "Do you want your drinks now? Or do you want to play some more games?" He asks as I turn to him.

"Hmm, that's a tough one." I joke a little, "but I am going to have to say drinks. Because that last round of basketball hoops was super tiring." I laugh and he does too.

"Alrighty then," he smiles and reaches for my hand, grasping it gently within his own. Charlie then guides me towards the bar, past the games that form rows of happy children of all ages. "What will be your poison?" He asks, sliding onto a vacant seat.

"Uhm..." I ponder on it for a moment, "I think I'll go with an oldie but a goodie - I will choose a rum and coke." I reply as I slide onto the vacant seat next to him.

"A rum and coke? That's like an old man's drink!" He laughs, but orders the drinks anyway. "I think I will call you granny now."

"It may be old but is still better than what kids these days are putting down their food holes." I laugh, leaning back a bit in my seat. "You hear about that Tide Pod Challenge that went viral? Where kids actually ate laundry detergent pods? I'd rather have an old drink of rum and coke than die with my insides smelling fresh."

"Whatever you say, granny." He laughs a warm and hearty laugh as the bartender slides our drinks over to him. "Thanks!" Charlie slides the money over to the bartender with a tip and then he hands me my drink.

"Thank you." I smile at him softly before taking a sip of my drink. The cool, golden liquid touches my lips and trickles down my throat as I swallow. The alcohol's burning touch wears off after a few seconds pass and I take more moderately sized sips of the rum and coke.

"Is it good?" He asks with a smile painted across his face.

"Yeah." I nod, taking a few more sips, larger ones than before.

"How are you feeling?" He asks, carefully taking a sip from his glass. His eyes gaze into my glass as I bring it up to take another sip.

"I'm feeling okay..." I lie, because right now I am beginning to feel awkward and a little bit weirded out by his questions and actions, but I would be insane to admit that to him.

"Just... okay?" He leans in closer and I can feel my heart begin to beat a little faster.

"Y-yeah?" I stutter a bit while beginning to lean back, away from him. But then I feel myself begin to slip and I reach out to grab something, anything. The last thing I want is to appear like the fool I know I am - but he does not know that yet.

I feel his hand grasp mine and he yanks me towards him. I feel our chests meet and I gaze into his eyes. My heart beats as fast as ever and my cheeks burn with a blushing hue.

"Is yeah all you can say right now?" Charlie remarks, pulling me up onto my feet. "Mind if I show you somewhere special?" He asks, his voice soft and calming.

"S-sure." I reply with hesitance, my body refusing to say no.

"Perfect. I know you'll love it." He wraps his right arm around me and casually guides me towards a back door, towards an unknown area. "It will be a grand surprise for you."

His voice begins to soften as my vision begins to blur, and the feeling of unease returns.

"D-did...j'you-u put s-s-something in my drink?" I slur a bit, losing more of my vision.

"No," he replies, leaving the building while leading me towards a loitering vehicle - the same one that dropped me off. "But I paid the bartender to slip something in for me. I told him it was your medication, because it is time for your medication. Is it not, my dear granny?"

"T-that's n-not r-right..." I lean against him, no longer being able to support myself.

"No, it's only not right if you get caught." He taps my nose and then opens the car door. "Now, it is time for your nap. Wouldn't want you to lose any of your beauty sleep, my dear old granny." He whispers softly into my ear and then he slides me into the vehicle.

My body is no longer strong enough to resist and I slump down into the back seat of the car. My eyelids are heavy, making it harder to keep my eyes open. Slowly, I feel myself drifting off into an uncontrollable sleep, just as the car begins to drive away.

Driving towards the unknown.

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Chapter Word Count: 2023