Somewhere In Brooklyn

Chapter 14

November 10, 2017

"You should go talk to her, ask her name."

Dale tried to ignore his friend by putting in his earphones, but Scott snatched it away. "Don't. Don't do that. Don't push me away. I only have a week to annoy you, so work with me here, man."

Guilt instantly kicked in. Dale sighed and nodded. Normally, he would feel angry that his sister's boyfriend was babying him but right now he's all he had.

After that night, everything Dale had was gone and replaced with a stutter. Scott was the only one who stayed with him. Even now when he's studying in Pennsylvania, Scott checked up on Dale from time to time, making him one of his responsibilities.

He tilted his head to look at Scott; same long and messy black hair, same short stubbles on his uneven jaw, same crooked smile. Nothing had changed. Physically. But they both knew one's soul will never be the same after they lost a part of their heart.

Scott nudged Dale again and nodded his head at the direction of the redheaded girl. Dale resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He didn't bother to tell Scott that he already knew Althea's name because that'll only lead to interrogation and as the older guy could tell, Dale didn't like talking.

There was also this nagging thought inside his head, making him feel like he shouldn't know her name because she didn't gave it to her. He didn't deserve it. Yet.

He shook his head and unzipped his bag, pulling out his notebook and pen.

I. DON'T. WANT. TO. He scribbled and showed it to Scott.

"If you don't, I'll do it then. I'll be your wingman," he said.

Dale mustered up the deadliest glare he could give. Gripping his pen so hard it might snap, he wrote again. If you do, I will make sure you will reunite with the love of your life down there – six feet underground.

Scott's eyes widened, he didn't reply for a minute. That's when Dale realized his mistake. He went too far, mentioning her to Scott like that. They were both shocked of what he wrote.

He tried to erase what he said by writing lines over it but Scott stopped his hand. "I-I'm s-sor-ry."

"You have nothing to be sorry about, Dale. It's fine," he said softly, then let out a broken chuckle. "You know, you have the same death glare as hers. You both look like a puppy trying to be so brave and intimidating but you both just look so cute."

"Sh-she was b-brave."

He nodded. "She was. And you know what? She'd want you to be brave like her. So, go for it, Dale."