Hello Brooklyn

Brooklyn stepped out of her room, dressed in a new set of clothes.

She made her way down the steps in search of Alex. She easily found him in the kitchen, going through her liquor cabinet. She realized exactly what he was doing when he dumped the liquid down the drain.

Brooklyn wasn't going to protest.; she should have gotten rid of her alcohol stash when she met Jack- or at least hid it very well. "Alex..." she started after moments of silence between them.

"What?" he asked, his voice emotionless.

She paused at his tone. "Why are you so upset?"

"I'm not upset."

"You are," she said, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear. "I'm sorry about what I said upstairs, but it is time to face facts Alex. You really are dead."

"I know that!" he cried, spinning to face her for the first time since she had stepped into the room. "I know," he repeated, his eyes serious and angry.

He gathered the empty bottles accumulating on the counter before making his way over to the trash can. He tossed them inside carelessly, causing Brooklyn to flinch at the loudness of their shattering.

She studied him as he walked back to the fridge and looked through it. "That's not all you're upset about," she finally said, crossing her arms over her stomach.

Alex paused and slowly turned to face the small girl frozen in the doorway of the kitchen. "Yes," he spat bitterly. "I am upset over something else."

She stared at him for a moment, waiting for him to continue but after a moment she realized that he wasn't going to say anything else. "I'm not a mind-reader, Alex," she said. "What else are you mad at me for?"

Brooklyn saw his fists clench at his sides before he shook his head and went back to searching her fridge for any traces of alcohol.

"Come on Alex," she said firmly. "You might as well tell me everything now." He ignored her. "What's wrong Alex? Why won't you tell me?" Her words were coming out snidely now. "Not man enough to say what you're feeling?"

Before she could blink, Alex was in front of her. She could feel his breath against her face and she could see the anger flashing in his brown orbs. "I have every reason to be pissed off at you right now!" he said, trying to control the level of his voice.

She smiled at his sudden temper which only infuriated him more.

"You let Jack- a recovering alcoholic- drink! And not only did you allow him to drink! You sat down and drank with him! How immature are you!?"

"You are a fucking hypocrite! You died because you drank too much!"

"So what! Jack got help and you allowed him to ruin everything he was working so hard on! I expected a lot more from you, Brooklyn!" he said.

His words made her heart stop in her chest. He was disappointed with her and strangely, she hated it.

Of course, she wouldn't allow herself to show that though.

"You are not my mother! How did you know that I was drinking with Jack anyway?"

Alex rolled his eyes. "I checked in on Jack last night."

"Where were you while you were taking care of 'personal stuff'?"

"That's none of your god-damn business! The only thing that matters right now is the fact that you practically told Jack that it was okay to drink by drinking with him! It was bad enough to do that, but then I get back here and you're too drunk to do anything for yourself!"

She sighed and was about to say something but he continued.

"I shouldn't have to babysit you!"

"No, you shouldn't," she agreed. "Maybe you should have left me."

"Maybe I should have!" The two stared at each other for a long moment. "You kissed me last night," he finally said, his voice now soft.

She felt her stomach drop and her face pale at the words. "I what!?"

"You. Kissed. Me," he repeated.

"But-wha-NO!" she stuttered. "That's impossible!"

"I thought so too, but apparently it isn't! I felt it."

She stared at him, her mouth opened slightly in shock before the doorbell rang.

Alex sighed. "I have to go," he said suddenly, his eyes angry once again, his voice sounding agitated.

"Alex, wait, don't-" he disappeared, "go," she finished to the empty room.

A million thoughts were running through her head and she took a moment to try to compose them before the doorbell sounded once again.

She puffed out a breath before making her way to the entrance of her home.

Brooklyn turned the knob and pulled the door open. "Zack-" she said, surprised upon seeing the muscular boy standing on her front porch.