Hello Brooklyn

Brooklyn knew what she was doing was wrong from the moment she had pulled the amber-colored liquor from Jack's hands and took a swing.

Yes, she had caught Jack drinking-relapsing- and all she could do was pluck the bottle from his hands and take a swig of it herself. It was irresponsible and she knew it.

Rian and Zack were in the next room, flipping through the television channels aimlessly until they found interest in one of them.

"Don't tell, Brookie. Please?" Jack asked, pleadingly.

She puffed out a breath before sinking beside him, leaning her back against the cabinets and simply taking another drink instead of answering.

It was strange for Brooklyn to be drinking. She had never been the partying type of girl, never the one to be caught dead drinking during the day. She actually hated the taste of alcohol and had really no reason for drinking at the moment.

It didn't take long for the alcohol to start to taking affect on her, being a light-weight. She was to the point of seeing walls moving, but still sober enough to know what she was saying and what was going on around her when Rian came in just in time to see Jack take a swig from a vodka bottle that he'd dug out.

Of course, being the guardian-type figure out of the boys, Rian wasn't the happiest camper upon seeing his best friend relapsing so quickly after going through months of rehabilitation.

Brooklyn saw Jack's dark brown eyes turn fearful as Rian walked over and pulled the bottle from his fingers before dropping it in the sink where the bottle shattered. "Jack, get up. I'm taking you home," Rian said calmly though both Jack and Brooklyn both could see the anger boiling beneath the surface.

Jack gulped but reluctantly got up from the cold, tiled floor knowing that if he protested that Rian's fuse would blow sooner than anyone wanted. "Bye Brookie," he said sadly. "Thanks for letting us stay over and for breakfast. Call me if... you know, someone stops in," he said.

She nodded, not getting up from her place on the floor. "Kay," she said before taking another swig out of the bottle.

She was positive that Rian wasn't happy with her and Zack would be angry with her too once he found out that she was in a way influencing Jack to drink by drinking with him. She would be mad too, hell, she was angry with herself for being irresponsible but she was tired of never letting loose. She always took things so seriously.

Instead of beating herself up about the situation, she resorted to the bottle still gripped firmly in her hands and decided to hate herself in the morning.

Brooklyn heard the front door slam shut, signaling that the three boys had officially taken their leave.

It wasn't until later when she was completely wasted and still on the kitchen floor where the guys had left her that Alex had made his appearance.

She hadn't even noticed his presence until he clicked his tongue and shook his head in disapproval as he leaned over the counter top to peer at her. "Alex!" she cried, a sloppy grin slapping across her pretty face. "Wh-what are you doing here?" Her voice sounded like it had went up an octave with the alcohol running through her system.

"To look after you," he said, 'tsk'ing her behavior. "What in the hell do you think, you're doing!? Allowing Jack to drink!?" he cried, suddenly appearing directly in front of her, disappointment more evident in his tone than anything else. He pulled the now empty bottle from her grip and set it on the counter above her head.

Brooklyn's lips quivered before her lower lip jutted out slightly into a pout. Tears filled her ocean-blue eyes as she looked at the angered and disappointed face of the boy standing before her. "I'm sorry! Don't hate me!" she cried.

Alex sighed at her reaction and watched as she brought her arms around his neck. She frowned when she found nothing to hold on to though. Brooklyn sighed before slapping her hand up and down, through Alex's knee. "I'm so sorry," she said, her voice a tad quieter than before.

"Come on," Alex said, putting his hands on his hips, commanding her to rise.

"'Kay," she said before pulling herself up. She swaggered a little, though not much. "Where are we going?" she asked.

"Up to your room," he said.

Brooklyn smiled. "What we gonna do in there?" she asked following him like a lost puppy as he guided her to the staircase.

"We are not doing anything. You are going to bed."

"Awe!" she whined. "I don't want to!" she said, turning away from the stairs before her to face Alex who was waiting for her to go up. "Can we watch The Little Mermaid?"

"No. Go to bed," Alex said, firmly.

She sighed, sounding almost childish before she started clambering up the steps. She only made it a quarter of the way up before she stumbled and plunged forward, talented enough in her drunken stupor to trip up the stairs.

“Are you okay?” Alex was at her side in a millisecond, finding strength within his mind to help her up. After much straining, Brooklyn stood up and made a pouty face. Her nose was covered in a red, thick substance. Blood. Alex’s rare protective instincts kicked in, and he roughed her to the bathroom. He guided the damsel into wiping the blood from her face with a warm, wet rag.

“I wanna go to bed. I’m tired,” Brooklyn slurred. The brown-eyed boy knew he should be mad at her, but he couldn’t find it in his soulless existence to be irritated with her behavior. He only sighed and held her shoulder into the bedroom. “Will you sing with me?”

“What?”

“I feel like singing. Let’s go down to the farm to see the animals. Can you see a cow? Can you see a sheep? Can you see a-“

“What the hell are you singing?

“The animal farm song!” Brooklyn exclaimed with pride and continued the oh-so childish song. She coaxed Alex into singing with her, and he was none-too pleased.

“Maybe you should get some sleep, Brooklyn. You sound tired.” The drunken girl put on her best thinking face, and finally agreed.

“Only if I get a goodnight hug!” Alex decided that, if it would help her sleep, he would embrace her quickly. But he did not expect what happened next. Right as Alex started to pull away. Brooklyn somehow pulled him toward her, and kissed his ghostly lips. He couldn't be kissed... he was a ghost! How was this possible.

Before Alex could protest, Brooklyn had fallen asleep. "I felt that." He brought a cold ghastly finger to his lips that weren't really there, "How could I have felt that?"