Today was the day. The day Berwald had been both anticipating and dreading for a week. Awkwardly talking to himself and reading social interaction guides online was all for this. Going to the mall with my coworkers. He stood in front of his closet, fresh out the shower, only in his underwear, trying to decide what to wear. Most of the clothes – in his opinion — made him look like a dad. And the clothes Matthias bought for him would make it look as if he were an immature college student. Yeah, Matthias may be able to pull off such outfits, but if Berwald dressed like that, he'd look like he was trying too hard to look cool and young – even though he actually was one of the youngest in the department. He tugged on the old football jersey hanging at the back of the closet. No. He took a hanger from the closet and looked at the nebula designed t-shirt that hung from it – one of Matthias' picks. He looked over to a black varsity jacket with dark grey sleeves and black-&-white-striped cuffs and collar and then to a pair of khaki skinny pants. I can make this work, right? He put on the ensemble and examined himself in the mirror. Fuck it; I'm not going. He slumped into bed and weighed his options. If I go, I might be the only one there. They might ditch me and I'll look lonely wondering the mall all alone. But if they are there, I might do something embarrassing and look stupid. If I don't go, I'll look like an antisocial ditcher who doesn't stand by his word. People will be disappointed and talk shit. He frustratingly slapped his hands onto his face. WHY AM I SO FUCKING NERVOUS? I've been talking to these people every day and we've gotten well acquainted. 'm pretty sure they don't think I'm a loser. I told Tino I was going to show up and, by Jove, I'm going to show up! He put on his shoes, took his wallet, phone, and side-arm – in case of emergencies — and marched out the door. His own vehicle was still in the garage; he didn't use it very often, only for doing personal things. Should I use my car or the police car, taxi maybe? Taxis were rather hard to find in the suburbs and driving the police car didn't seem right for this situation, so personal car was the best option. He drove the Dodge Challenger out of the garage and followed the GPS on his phone to the mall Tino talked about.

"We're going to Waterfront Mall, at four o'clock. You know where that is, right?" Tino inquired to Berwald.

"Yes, I know," Berwald answered, knowing damn well he didn't have a clue as to where Waterfront Mall was.

"We're going to meet up at the water fountain at the center of the mall."

"Mhm."

"I really hope you show up," Tino said with such a warm expression he almost made Berwald's heart melt.

"Don't worry; I'm going to." The other officers and workers said goodbye as Berwald waved and left.

"You have reached your destination," a robotic voice announced as he slowly entered mall parking lot. He would've been better off just asking for directions; the navigator gave him such a long and twisting route. The drive was way longer than it had to be. After finding a parking spot, he got out the car and walked across the hot pavement. The air was so hot and humid and the summer sun was hitting hard. The large white sign read "Waterfront Mall: West Wing" at the top of the wide entrance wall, which was an amalgamation of windows. High above was a large entrance shade, clear enough for sunlight to shine through, but tinted enough to keep people from getting the sun in their eyes. It spanned yards ahead of the actual entrance. Under the shade, was an intricate water fountain that had water shooting up as well as water pouring over the tiers, down into a shallow pool filled with Koi fish and spare change. Berwald looked around the fountain, discouraged to only see the unfamiliar faces of teens and a few young adults. Not even Tino was there. He sighed despairingly and turned back to the parking lot. Figures, he shouldn't have expected anything else.

Halfway to the car, he realized something. Wait, did Tino say the fountain was at the front or in the middle of the mall? He wasn't sure, but he needed to be certain. He paced back towards the entrance and went inside, air conditioning splashing him in cold air. The mall interior was quite large, four floors, wide, and packed with shops and restaurants. The inside was mostly white, save for some of the stores and signs. Berwald walked up to the tall color coded board a few feet away from the entrance. "You are here," written in a small white font next to a red pinpoint indicated his location. At the center of the map, where all the wings met, was a circle, what Berwald could only hope was supposed to be a fountain. He followed the path set out for him, going deeper into the mall, ignoring all the free samples and sales being offered by the kiosks. It was a long walk in this maze called a mall; the "You are here" signs were the only thing helping him keep track of where he was. And behold, the fountain was in view, just a couple yards more. He got to the fountain, a large round pool with clear blue water. High above, were false clouds, which looked to be made of dark gray marble, suspended at varying heights (the tallest reaching the second floor), gushing down waterfalls into the pool. They couldn't possibly just be flying like that, Berwald thought on the clouds, they must be held up by poles hidden behind all that water. He wandered around the pool, looking for a glimpse of someone familiar. If I see Tino, I'll sneak on him and scare 'im. He smiled to himself thinking about Tino's possibly childish reaction, jumping up and shrieking like a little girl. He circled the pool, growing ever more worried, seeing nobody from work. Then, a soft tap on the shoulder. He whipped his head back and saw no one. He faced forward and continued walking, with little feeling he was being followed. Another tap on the shoulder. He turned, this time rotating further, and saw Jessica with her smart-Alec smile. She gave him a quick hug and Berwald squeezed back. It was a warm, fond little moment, but Berwald didn't think it made him special. She did that to all her friends; she's even hugged him a few times at work.

"I knew it was you, by the way," Berwald said.

"No, you didn't."

"I knew." The two began walking to a bench, where a few other friends sat and stood around. Tino, Grete, Andreas – those two were pretty much always with each other — and that booking officer Berwald didn't bother to remember the name of, the guy who kept staring, Tino's best friend. The group looked so different in casual clothing, seeing the girls with their hair in something other than a pony tail or a bun; Andreas looking much younger in his white flannel shirt and black skinny jeans; Grete in an oversized white sweater with pink flower print and tights. They were almost wore a long sleeve crop top and skirt. Berwald didn't really have any expectations for what the booking officer might wear, but his black Star Wars jacket and Khakis suited him. But Tino was the one who really grabbed his attention. He wore a simple pink t-shirt with a little pocket that had little white dog design peeping out, a pair of ripped skinny jeans, and a black beanie. Tino would look good no matter what he wore. Maybe his uniform disguised it, but Tino's frame seemed much more husky. Berwald didn't remember him being so muscular.

He was relieved. He was so worried about looking like a college student; in reality, everyone else was dressed the same way. Well, they weren't that old, so it wasn't that strange.

"No, you didn't. While you were walking around, you looked in our general direction twice and didn't even notice us. I think you need new glasses."

As they got to the bench, Tino turned from his friend and grinned up at Berwald.

"Hey, Berry." Tino waved to them followed by the hey's and hi from the rest of the bunch.

"Hey," Berwald waved back with a quick wrist flick, giving a welcoming smile. He took into consideration what Tino (and Matthias) had said about smiling more. His smiles were the only show of emotion he did when he was amongst his peers and he didn't even do them very often. He never really laughed like when it was just him and Tino on patrol. But he did make the others laugh, and they quickly changed their outlook on him. "David's not here yet?" he asked. Throughout the week, most of the group that initially said they were going had a change of plans. The only people who were actually confirmed were Tino, Grete, Andreas, Jessica, David, and himself… and the booking officer I guess. Everyone else were just maybe's, I'm-not-sure-if-I-can-make-it's, and I'll-try's. Berwald honestly thought it was better less people were coming; there was less pressure that way and these people were the ones he was closest with and genuinely considered friends.

"Naw, he comes on his own schedule," answered Grete, "like thirty minutes to an hour late. What time is it?"

Berwald checked the time on his phone. "Ten past five." Berwald hadn't really been paying much attention to the time, but when he thought about it, he realized he must have been at least half an hour late. Taking into account his time wasted on deciding what to wear, driving, then walking all the way here, there was no way he showed up at four. How long did he make them wait? Hopefully, they didn't think he was going to bail on them.

"Let's just go; we'll probably see him wondering around the mall, somewhere."

Tino and his friend got up from the bench and the bunch all began walking towards the north wing. Grete put in her headphones and walked ahead of the pack; Berwald, Tino, and other walked in a row with Jessica and Andreas conversing behind them. Berwald looked over to Tino's bland looking friend. He also wore glasses and his hair was down. He was quite boring looking, but who was Berwald to judge. Some people considered him boring looking as well. The officer was only talking to Tino, as always. They were close after all, being best friends since the sixth grade.

"Hey," Berwald greeted again, trying to break the ice between them.

He nodded and smiled awkwardly. "Hi," he said quickly and calmly before breaking eye contact and looking at his phone.

Berwald and Tino's friend had seen each other somewhat frequently over the week. Berwald and Tino would bring arrestees to him every night and the officer would just talk to Tino while either one of them were filling out the reports. He and Berwald didn't interact all that much, other than saying "hi." The booking officer often just stared, but when he started feeling that Berwald may be annoyed by the rude gesture, he stopped (or at least did it while Berwald wasn't paying attention). The last thing he wanted to do was get on the bad side of someone so scary. Berwald actually did comment on the constant gazing, which was one of the few times he spoke the officer. "Hey, can you stop?" he said. He may have come off as mean; maybe that's why the guy was always tense around him. From that point on, the awkward officer stopped the staring and Berwald didn't even think to talk to him after that. There was a wall between them that one of them would have to break if they were going to see each other so often. They were both friends with Tino, so they might as well try to get to know each other.

Andreas closely examined them from behind, narrowing his eyes, trying to zoom into their features.

"You guys ever notice that Berwald and Eduard kind of look alike?" he asked. Berwald and Eduard turned to Andreas.

Thank God Andreas said his name or else Berwald wouldn't have known what to call him.

"No, not at all," Jessica objected.

"They don't look alike. There's a huge height difference and Berry's buffer. The only things they have in common are blond hair, blue eyes, and glasses," Tino pointed out. "And black jacket... and khakis."

Berwald and Eduard looked down at their outfits and then at each other's.

"They're just dressed similar. Berwald is Eduard if he tried harder," Grete said from the front, without turning back. How could she even hear the conversation with the loud music from her headphones? The others could hear her song loud and clear.

"That's harsh; Eduard tries hard enough," Tino said.

"Not enough to look like Berwald," she replied sassily.

"Excuse me," Eduard scoffed, placing his hand pompously on his chest, "I don't need to try to look like anyone. I'm already amazing the way I am."

Andreas grinned. "She just wants you to look like Berry 'cause she thinks he's hawt," he razzed.

"Excuse me, what," Grete hissed lifting up a headphone and turning back.

"Nothing." Andreas coyly rolled his eyes.

"No, say it again." Grete marched back and Andreas quickly jogged off to avoid her wrath. Grete began chasing after him. It's been an ongoing gag in the group ever since Grete uttered the words.

Eduard nudged Tino. "Looks like you got even more competition for her love."

"Shut up," he said playfully, bumping Eduard's arm.

It seems as if everyone was already well acquainted with this guy and Berwald was the odd one out.

"I'm not competing. Tino could have Grete all to himself. I respect the guy code like that," Berwald joshed, trying to appeal to Eduard's sense of humor. It worked; Eduard let out a half chuckle and snort, but that may be because of Tino's annoyed expression. Tino flared his nostrils, let out a loud breath, and punched Berwald in the arm.

"Ow, that actually really hurt," Berwald said, rubbing his bicep.

"That's what you get."

"My arm did nothing."

"But your mouth is doing something; you rather I punch you in the mouth instead."

"No."

"Yeah, 'cause you don't want any of this raw power, you nerd. I'm gonna head over to the bathroom." Tino walked off. Now it was just Eduard and Berwald and the wall.

"Sooooo, Tino says you've known each other for a while," Berwald started.

"Yup. Since the sixth grade. We even went to the same academy. You're his new partner?" Eduard continued.

"Yup. He gets pretty crazy sometimes, but he's not too hard to handle."

"I'm sorry in advance. Must've had some crazy nights with that wild thing in the car."

Berwald narrowed his eyes. "Say that again, but slower."

Eduard rethought the phrase and took a sharp inhale of realization. "I didn't mean it like that," he giggled. "You have a dirty mind."

"WASSUP LOSERS!" David announced, arms wide open as he approached.

"Hey," Jessica said.

"Hi," Eduard greeted.

"Sup," Berwlad said nonchalantly.

"Hi, David," Tino said as he came.

"Stop; I'm tired of running," Andreas panted as he bended over his knees to catch his breath. "Hey, David."

Grete slowed down behind him and gave him a good thwack to the back of the head before rejoining the group. "Hi, David."

"Ow," he murmured, rubbing the back of his head.

"Sup."

They continued their stroll down the wing. The first floor had many different clothing stores that suited different people's fashion tastes. As well as stores that exclusively sold shoes and related items and jewelers whose contents sparkled with the twinkling lights that bounced off their lustrous surfaces. There were a few high-end eateries on this floor and a supermarket. In the center of the walkway, were kiosks selling candies, perfumes, makeup, hair care products, etcetera.

"Want to go to the bowling alley?" Jessica suggested, feeling bored with just talking and walking.

It was a unanimous agreement. They looked around for an elevator, but all were either in use, couldn't fit everyone, or out of order. David, being too impatient to wait more than two minutes, decided to take an escalator and everyone else followed. The second floor was almost no different from the first. The only differences being it had no kiosks and there were other stores that sold sports gear, toys; a couple music stores and…

"Look at those puppies!" Jessica squealed and ran to a store window. A pet store. Grete and Tino walked by her side and the rest of the guys calmly sauntered over to the window to take a look.

"Tino, that one looks like the puppy on your shirt," Grete pointed out, pointing to the little white Maltese yapping at them. Tino whined and brought his arms forward, curling his fingers as if he were strangling someone.

"Awe, it's too cute. I just want to choke it and send it straight to heaven because it deserves better than to live on this terrible planet." Nobody questioned it. Everyone was already used to Tino's outlandish remarks.

After the three pulled themselves from the window, they continued up to the next level. The third floor was almost exclusively electronics and geeky collectibles, with only a few clothes shops and a bookstore slash school supply store. This floor also had the cinema, skating rink, and the gym. Now, David was the one getting all excited. There was a large comic book store that was having a sale. Eduard's attention was also directed at the comic book store, while the rest seemed more interested in the video game shop. They separated with David and Eduard going to the comics, and the rest going to the games. Andreas and Grete looked through the new releases for anything that looked interesting. Berwald wasn't much of a gamer, so he didn't know all that much about the hottest games. He just played with Tino and Jessica on the console that was left on for the customers to try. It was already set to a first-person shooter. Berwald grabbed the third controller. He was just button mashing the entire time and didn't have a clue what he was doing. Tino looked just as clueless. Berwald looked to his portion of the screen. He was just spinning and shooting at the sky. Jessica knew the game; she easily beat him and Tino in their matches with all her tactics and weapon choice. Jessica laughed and criticized them on their poor gaming skills.

"This game means nothing; I shoot real guns," Tino snarked. "In the real world, we don't twiddle our fingers; we pull triggers."

After Andreas bought what he needed, they left the store, and waited for the other two. Eduard and David came out the store with two plastic bags filled with the latest issues of whatever series they were reading and figurines. It seemed as if they were having an argument about the death of a superhero, if he actually died or if it was too early to tell.

"He's dead, David. Get over it."

"There's no body and no witnesses."

" 'kay, let's go, you two," Jessica called out. "Y'all can argue about your nerd stuff later."

They continued up to the fourth and final floor. The escalator led right into the food court. The steam from the food being cooked up snuck into Tino's nose. He took in deep whiffs of the savory aroma.

"Guys, I really want t'eat. Before we go bowling, let's go eat. That food smells really good," he craved.

"Sounds fine, anyone else hungry?" Eduard questioned. No one else was actually hungry, but it was almost dinner time, so they thought "eh why not?"

"So where do you guys want to eat?" asked Jessica.

"I wanna eat whatever I'm smelling."

"I'm fine with anything," Berwald shrugged.

"Yeah, I don't mind either," Grete chimed in.

"Oh, you don't want to choose because Berry doesn't want to choose," teased Jessica, wiggling her brow and crimping her lips into an immature smile. The rest – except Berwald, of course — giggled and oohed like school kids. Grete's face went to a stern deadpan expression, trying to convey annoyance, but also trying to hide any traces of amusement. Her cheeks turned pink and she elbowed Andreas in the stomach.

"Why?" he grunted at the striking pain in his gut.

"You started this."

"Okay, let's start eating," Tino rushed.

"Calm down; the food isn't going to run away," Eduard eased.

"Don't get between me and food, Eduard. I won't hesitate to fight you." Tino raised up two balled up fists.

Eduard playfully lifted his hands in surrender. "I'm not trying to get between you and your food." Since Tino was the only one who decided where he wanted to eat, they followed him. He followed his nose around the cafeteria, going from restaurant to restaurant, stall to stall, trying to find the source of the mouth-watering tanginess.

"We've probably walked off two kilos just looking for a restaurant," Berwald said.

"I know where I'm going; my nose knows the way," Tino argued.

'Naw, no; your nose is lost as hell, too," Berwald disagreed shaking his head. "We've been walking for about nine minutes; this place isn't big enough to be walking for nine minutes."

"Umm, nobody told you guys to eat what I'm eating; you guys could just eat pizza or fast food and all that heart attack mess, while I could eat my healthy Chinese food."

"How can you tell if it's Chinese food?"

"It smells Asian."

"What does Asia smell like?"

"You can just tell the ethnicity of a food from how it smells; maybe if your nose was as sensitive as mine, you would also be able to tell."

"Can you tell I'm European just from my scent?" He lifted his shirt over his nose and took in a deep inhale, "You can just smell that good ol' European musk. Oh yes." The others broke into a short fit of laughter, Grete laughing way harder than she should have and catching everyone's stares.

"It wasn't that fun..."

"Shut up, Eduard."

"I'm just gonna eat pizza," David reconsidered.

"Yeah, me, too," from Grete and Andreas simultaneously.

"I'll go with pizza," agreed Jessica. "I'll go look for a table."

"You going to go with them?" Eduard asked.

"Nah, I want to taste Asia." Eduard chuckled. It seemed like he was getting less nervous around Berwald.

"Fight me," Tino challenged.

"Nah, I'm good."

The group met up at a set of tables that Grete and David had pushed together. David, Grete, Andreas, and Jessica had already gotten their pizza and Tino, Eduard, and Berwald had just arrived with their trays of food. They took their seats. David fanned his nostrils.

"Oh yes, the smell of Europe and Asia are uniting."

Grete was also fanning the smell into her nose. "Oh yes, the smell of Istanbul."

There was a sudden sharp noise. The group looked around surprised and wide-eyed. Their attention all went to Berwald, who was also wide-eyed, his hand covering his nose and mouth.

"Did that noise just come out of you?" Tino asked. "Was that supposed to be a laugh or a sneeze?"

"Yo, you just made Berwald laugh," Jessica ogled at Grete.

"I thought it would sound deeper," Andreas commented.

Another sharp noise escaped Berwald's mouth. "I just have hiccups." He let his hand down.

"Damn, I really was hoping you laughed," Grete cursed.

"Oh, so you want Berwald to laugh," David smirked and nodded his head.

"That's the point of a joke, David, to make people laugh. And I'm pretty sure all of us want to know what his laugh sounds like."

"Especially you, though," David mumbled.

Tino pulled out his mobile and proceeded to take pictures of his food on his phone.

"Are you seriously going to finish that?" Grete asked Tino. "It's massive."

"I can finish it."

They bantered as they ate and after they finished. Berwald was more talkative towards the beginning of the conversation, but spoke less and less as the conversation stretched on. So far, he hadn't been too nervous; he seemed to be doing well. Probably, all that time talking to these people over the week helped build up his confidence. They had gotten used to the fact that he didn't talk too often, but he did in fact talk. David took a bit longer to convince – and Berwald still wasn't a hundred percent sure he was—but he eventually got acquainted with him as well. David had the tendency to speak a lot, similar to Tino. But unlike Tino, he didn't care if his conversation partner was getting bored by the constant yammering. He would just talk and talk and Berwald would just pretend to be interested and nod and hum. He didn't actually have to speak too much.

After they finished up their dinner, the group continued down the wing. The fourth level had the food court and recreational activities. There was a gaming center, bowling hall, and miniature golf. The ceiling was also especially high to make room for the tall roller coasters in the indoor theme park that took up most of the space in the floor. Because of all the "fun stuff", this was where most of the teens and young adults hung out.

"Hey," Tino whispered to Berwald, nudging him with his elbow.

"Yeah," Berwald whispered back.

"The sweater Grete is wearing, that's the one I got her on her birthday. The day I got friend zoned," he frowned.

He looked over to her. "It's a cute sweater."

"Did you just say you think Grete is cute," Jessica said, tuning in on their conversation.

"Oooh," Andreas mouthed.

"That's not what I said. I was talking about her sweater."

"Oh, Grete, Berwald thinks your sweater is cute," Eduard chimed in.

"I know; I'm not deaf," Grete replied bluntly. "You guys are so childish."

"Exactly, what are you guys? Middle-schoolers?"

"They even agree with each other," Andreas snickered.

"Shut up," Berwald and Grete said simultaneously, causing an uproar of ooh's.

"Grete is single, by the way," Eduard nudged, wiggling his eyebrows. "Tino might try to fight you, though."

"Stop it." Berwald would have never imagined himself in this kind of situation. Where a bunch of his own friends would suggest he and another friend should date, even if it was just a joke. The closest he's been to this was when somebody in his class would say someone liked him or he and so-and-so should date as a way to humiliate that person. Of course their reaction was negative. EW! NO! Don't even say that! I would never date him. No one wanted to date the biggest nobody in school. He could tell this situation was different, though. It was just friendly teasing. He looked over to Jessica; he noticed she was shivering uncontrollably.

"Are you cold? I can lend you my sweater if you are." Berwald offered.

"Oh, thank you." Berwald slipped off his jacket and handed it to Jessica who put it on. It was much too large for her; the bottom of the thick black jacket reaching almost to her knees and the sleeves completely hiding her hands.

"Grete, you better fight her."

"David, shut up."

"Berwald the lady killer strikes again," Tino chanted.

"And they say chivalry is dead," Grete smirked.

"I didn't do anything all that chivalrous; it was just what you're supposed to do when your friend is cold. And I'm not a lady killer."

"Oooh, modesty," Tino grinned.

They reached a large glass wall, behind it could be seen the bowling lanes, the bowling ball returns, the seats, and the scoreboard screens. Berwald walked to the door, held it open for the rest of them and followed behind. The floors were carpeted with a retro pattern, dark purple with various colored triangles. There were others already bowling, a family, a couple adolescents. They went over to the cashier counter and paid for two-hours worth of games on two lanes plus bowling shoes. The clerk assigned their adjacent lanes. The floor became shining waxed wood a few yards before the start of the lanes. They took their seats and put on their rental shoes. Eduard typed their names into the scoreboard. Tino and David got a little too excited and got the balls immediately after putting on their shoes. Tino ran into the lane, pulled his arm back, and swung the ball forward. It sped down the alley and knocked out all the pins in one go. His eyes lit up and he pumped a fist into the air.

"I got a strike on the first try! Try to beat that, you fools."

"Uhuh, but it doesn't count, though, because your foot was over the line," Grete rained on his parade.

Tino looked down to his feet. He was standing right over the foul line. "I still get another shot." He took another ball and jogged over to the lane, being more careful to know where his feet were placed. He rolled the ball and it drifted to the side of the lane, almost into a gutter. He only hit down three at the edge. He crinkled his nose and rolled his eyes in vexation. In the next lane, David managed to hit down five pins in his first frame, but almost missed the remaining pins, only hitting down two.

"Ha, suckers," Andreas taunted. He took a red ball from the ball return and went to the lane after Tino. Berwald went after David and took a ball. He walked over to the lane and inserted his fingers into the holes. It didn't look too hard and he's bowled a couple times before, on school field trips and being dragged by Matthias as a way to spend quality time. He brought his arm back, shot it forward, and released the ball. It glided into the center pins, a seven ten split. Berwald clicked his tongue and hissed at the tough trial. Andreas was also in the same situation. They both went back to get their second balls. Berwald swung and aimed for the right pin and struck it down. Andreas luckily was able to hit one of the pins and it flew into and knocked down the other. He smirked over to Berwald. "I got skills."

"You got lucky."

It was Eduard and Grete's turns. Grete was confident in her bowling skills and effortlessly rolled her ball down the lane and knocking them all down. "I got a strike on the first try! And I didn't even step over the foul line."

Tino stuck out his tongue. "Berwald control your woman; she's harassing me."

Grete turned back and flipped him off. Eduard just finished his frames and Jessica went up. David took his ball and prepared for his next frame. Since the number of people were unevenly matched, one lane took three and the other took four. David, Berwald, and Grete for one lane; Tino, Andreas, Eduard, and Jessica for the other.

They continued playing until their time was up and the machines stopped resetting the pins. David tried to get in one last round, but the machine didn't put the pins up after he knocked them down and his score wasn't counted. Jessica topped everyone with her high number of strikes. Tino ended up the lowest, with him forgetting to notice the line.

"I could've won. My bowling skills are top notch; it's just because of that friggin' line that I lost," he ranted.

"Even if you didn't get fouls, you would have lost," Eduard corrected. "You barely hit any of the pins and barely got any strikes."

Tino crinkled his nose it him.

Jessica grinned and her eyes lit up as an idea popped into her head. "Before we go, we should see the fountains in the back. I want to take some pictures."

"I don't want to be in any pictures," Berwald sighed.

"C'mon, it's our first time hanging out with you; we gotta make this memorable."

"Okay, but why now? Why didn't we take the pictures when we got here?"

"I'm not talking about those fountains; I'm talking about the ones in the back."

How many fountains does this mall have?

There was a reason it was called Waterfront Mall: it was, well, in front of the water. Behind it was a bay with fountains. Every night, there would be a colorful water show. It repeated every couple hours throughout the night into the early morning.

"Jessica's right; we should totally go," Tino agreed.

"You know how I feel about taking pictures. I don't want to," Berwald pleaded.

"We won't post it anywhere, right guys?" Tino looked to his friends. They all nodded and agreed. "It will be pictures just between us. We won't even show anyone at work."

Berwald conflictingly bit his lip. "I don't know. We'll walk there and see."

"Perkele, Berwald stop being so shy for fuck's sake! Grete thinks you're hot; I think you're hot, not in that way, and your outfit is awesome! Let's take that picture!" Tino firmly grasped Berwald hand and marched forward. They went back down to the first floor and walked out the sliding glass doors of the back entrance. Berwald moaned and groaned the whole way there as Tino yanked him along.

The back of the mall was a wide walkway paved in red bricks. Tall black lampposts were placed equidistant from each other and illuminated the evening view. The ground was covered in extravagant street art and murals, done mostly in chalk or paint. Colossal modern art sculptures were dispersed from end to end. The walkway served as an art gallery and the mall invited any up-and-coming artist to put their creations on display. There were also stands and kiosks to sell snacks and merchandise. There were shops for bike and electric scooter rentals. Across the baywalk, opposite from the mall was a peach colored seawall designed with marine themed mosaics. The wall wasn't too high, but tall enough to keep children from falling dawn the two-yard (1.8288 meter) drop into the ocean.

"Hey, what time is it?" Jessica asked.

Eduard looked at his digital watch and raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Going to be ten soon. The time went by so fast."

"Yeah, but at least we didn't miss the water show."

"We have thirty minutes until it starts."

"Enough time to take pictures," Tino wiggled a brow to Berwald. He fished his phone out of his pocket and set it to camera mode. "Let's take a photo by that sculpture over there." He pointed to a metal monument depicting a highly detailed pair of hands, starting from the wrist, fingers curled and meeting together in the shape of a heart. There was another smaller hand in front of the two, its middle and ring fingers folded in and the index, pinkie finger, and thumb were extended out. "I'm gonna ask that guy if he can take a picture," he said, referring to an older gentleman walking passed.

"I could be the one who takes the picture," Berwald so generously offered.

"Yeah, it could be a group selfie; you could be at the very front of the picture and the camera could be focused on you and we'll all just be behind you, y'know," Tino said with a cheerful sarcasm.

"I was thinking I could be behind camera, not in the picture."

"No, you're going to be in front of the camera, in the picture."

The gang walked to the sculpture. Eduard looked down at the black marble base of the statue and read the stainless steel engraved plate. " 'I Love You' by Hayala Sabbagh."

"What do devil horns have to do with love?" Andreas asked.

"That's 'I love you' in sign language," Jessica corrected. "The thumb makes a difference."

"Umm, sir, can you take a picture of me and my friends?" Tino asked, walking over to the old man.

"I don't mind," he accepted.

"Thank you," Tino handed him the phone and scurried back to his friends by the sculpture. "Now you can't escape or you'll waste the nice man's time," he snickered to Berwald. Tino had a point; he didn't want to annoy the guy by coming up with a thousand excuses or procrastinating. It might also annoy his new friends. All he could do now was just accept it. He got down on one knee, along with David and Andreas. He signed "I love you," with his hand placed next to his cheek and smiled for the camera. Two quick bright flashes and that was it. Tino rushed to the gentleman and thanked him.

"Glad to be of service," he said as he gave Tino his phone. The rest of the group circled around Tino to take a look. It was an unspoken agreement: everyone must make one of the gestures displayed in the statue. They had varying poses with varying expressions, but all either shaped their hands in a heart or made the sign. Berwald felt dissatisfied with himself in the picture, but he didn't want to do it over either.

"I'll just send you guys the pictures later. Berry, you look really nice," Tino grinned. Grete also wanted to compliment Berwald, but she was fed up with her friends' childish reactions.

"Thanks, you look nice, too."

"Don't I look nice?" Eduard smirked, putting his hand to his chin and batting his eyes.

"No."

"Grete! You're too mean," Tino upbraided. "You look nice, Eduard."

"Thank you. What did I ever do to you, Grete. You're so mean to me."

"I'm not mean, just honest."

"Well, why aren't you honest with other people?"

"Because other people get easily offended. You can actually handle the truth."

"I guess so, but I still get hurt. Tone down the honesty."

"Fine."

They spent the rest of their time looking at the art and watching an artist put the finishing touches on his street painting, waiting until the show started. They walked to the seawall and bantered while they waited. The sound of music began to play. Berwald looked around to find whatever the source of the music was, but everyone else's attention was given to the water. From the corner of his eye, he noticed moving white lights and his attention was also brought to the bay. Little glowing spouts sprouted from the water and swayed in accordance to the rhythm of the music, like tall grasses dancing in the wind. Another set of illuminated fountains rose and dropped as it wound and snaked across the surface. The waters continued to dance as the music's beat gained in intensity. Aqua-halos shot up and swung along. They flew higher and fell and continued to bounce like sound waves. The halos crisscrossed into crowns. Mountains of water boomed as they erupted into the air with the powerful tempo. The water was a dancer moving in choreography with the song across a liquid stage. It seemed Jessica was too entranced by the show, she forgot her original motive for coming: taking pictures of them with the fountains. Eh, whatever; they already snapped some photos with the sculpture. There was a low disruption in the sound, but the dancer went on and Berwald kept his eyes on her. The disturbance continued, but Berwald paid no mind.

"Are you going to get that?" Tino asked, tapping on his shoulder. Berwald's attention was finally brought to the noise, his phone. He took it out his pocket. It was Matthias.

"I'm going to go somewhere quiet."

"Sure."

Berwald went back into the mall, where the loud music was muffled enough, and answered.

"Hey, Ber, are you coming?" Matthias asked with subtle worry.

"Hm?"

"To the bar. Remember? We talked about it. We were going to go around the town after."

Wanna go out around the town on Saturday, just walk around. I'll meet u at the bar.

I'll think about it.

I'll think about it usually meant yes, so Matthias didn't have a doubt Berwald would show up.

Matthias had been so enthusiastic about Saturday, today. He wanted a quality time. A time they could just be out together and enjoy what the city had to offer. Having fun, just the bros. They would have a couple drinks before heading out for a night on the town.

Berwald froze. Matthias' little outing had totally slipped his mind. Matthias talked about it so much; how could he forget? He was only thinking about his plans with Tino and the gang. He cleared his throat and gave wet coughs.

"I'm so sorry; I-I can't make it," he said in a deep nasally voice. "I forgot to call ahead of time to tell you; sorry, but I have a really bad cold. I have an intense migraine and I'm throwin- I'm throwin' up a lot. I'm sorry if I wasted any of your time." He gave a few more coughs for effect.

"Oh." That's sad to hear. His voice went flat, something he did when he tried to disguise his dejection.

"Yeah, I'm so sorry." Berwald fidgeted with his nose and forced a sneeze.

"Should I come over and..."

"Oh, no that's not necessary. It's so late and I don't want to waste more of your time."

"No, it's fine; I want to help you get well."

"That's so kind of you; you're such a caring older brother, but I don't want you to catch this, okay?"

"I don't mi…"

"It's real bad. It makes me happy to know that you're safe and healthy and it would make me super upset if you got sick just because of me. All I need is some good night's rest."

That's so thoughtful of him thinking about me like that. "Are you sure you don't need me to help out?"

"Yeah, it'll probably pass over after a day or two. Y'know, my immune system. I've never gotten that sick."

"Okay, but you don't need anything at all?"

"No, Matthias, thank you for offering." He yawned. "I'm already getting pretty tired. You just enjoy yourself." Cough. Cough.

"Well… Okay, get well soon."

"Yup. Bye."

"Good night. I love you."

"Love you, too." He hung up. Berwald needed to head home. Most likely Matthias wouldn't go to his house; he wouldn't do anything that he thought would make his brother upset. But there was still a small chance he would pop up to check on Berwald at his house. He walked back to his friends at seawall. He watched the fountains with them a little longer.

"I'm gonna head home," he mouthed to Tino.

"So soon; really?"

"Yeah."

"You're going home?" Eduard popped in.

"Mhm. I gotta get going."

Tino didn't need an explanation; he wasn't the type to ask for potentially personal information.

Berwald said his farewells.

"Bye Berry. Have a safe drive."

"G'bye; see you at work."

"Bye."

"Good night."

"Good bye. See you soon."

He waved them off and walked back to the mall entrance.

"Wait, Berry!" Jessica called as she race walked behind. Berwald looked back.

"Your jacket. You almost forgot it." She handed it back to him.

"Oh, thanks."

He walked through parking lot and back to his car.

Matthias sat forlorn by the bar counter; in the same seat he's been sitting (and now sulking) in for an hour and fifteen minutes. If it were any other person, he would've left after about twenty minutes, but he was always more patient when it came to his brother. He was always sure Berwald would come, even if not immediately. But now, he was just told he wasn't coming. He sighed and put his head in his hand in disappointment. Something felt off, but he didn't question it.

"Do you have any ideas for casual clothes to wear if I'm going out?" he remembered Berwald asking while they laid in bed together.

"You could wear whatever you want; you'd look nice in anything. For Saturday, right?" he asked in his soft pillow talk voice.

Berwald's eyes fluttered as if he had just woken up from a nap. "Yeah, Saturday."

Matthias rolled closer to him and wrapped his brother's arm around himself. "So you've decided you're coming?" he hummed, nuzzling up to Berwald.

"Still thinking about it."

"You better come or else what's the point of me showing up at a bar alone. The city is nice at night; we should see it together."

"No, not really."

"Hmm?" Matthias hummed inquisitively.

"The city's not that nice."

"Why's that?"

"You don't see stars. Just lights."

"So? Lights are pretty. They kind of look like stars."

"Yeah, but real stars would be nice to see once in a while."

"Maybe on Saturday, we could go to, like, a space auditorium or an observatory. Why are you so interested in stars anyway?"

"Just something that I was thinking about."

Throughout the week, he'd been making plans. He even searched for museums in the area that had space themed exhibits. But now, there was no point. Berwald wasn't coming. It was so sudden, but it was nothing to be worried about. Ber wouldn't hide anything from him. If he says he had a cold, then it was just a cold. There were no secrets between them. Since he's already here, he might as well have a couple drinks, to help ease the sorrow. He didn't need anything fancy, just something get him a little buzzed. It was a habit of his, drinking when upset. Something he picked up from his father. But he usually made sure to drink in moderation; he didn't want to risk becoming an alcoholic. But even though he tried so hard to drink responsibly, he'd wake up the next day without any memory. He waved over to the bar tender, asked for three shots of vodka, and put the money on the counter. He downed them straight. His tolerance was pretty high. He hopped off the stool and stretched his back to adjust from sitting for so long in the chair. As he stretched back, he noticed a girl sitting at the other end of the counter, head in her hands, surrounded by two empty shot glasses. She looked glum. He sauntered over to her.

"You okay? You're not looking so hot."

The girl lazily looked over to him with a lost expression.

"I didn't mean that you weren't... y-you're very hot; you just look upset."

"I know what you meant; it's just taking a while for me to process. I'mmmm...not in my most sober state right now," she drauled.

"Well, neither am I. Mind if I sit?"

"It's not my bar, so it's not my decision where you sit."

Matthias furrowed his brow. It seemed like he also needed time to process things.

She sighed through her nostrils and rolled her eyes. "Sure, you can sit."

He pulled out the stool beside her. "Why are you sitting all sad and alone? You're too pretty to be alone."

"I regret letting you sit."

Matthias chuckled. "I'm not trying to hit on you. I'm just trying to help you feel better and compliments usually make people feel better."

"Couldn't you think of less cheesy and overused?"

"Well, seeing as how I get most of my girl advice from fuckboy friends and the internet, no, I can't. But really though, why do you look all upset?"

"Because if you hadn't noticed, I'm alone. Was supposed to be here with some guy for our first date and now," she blew a raspberry, "I'm the only one here."

"That's the same exact situation I'm in right now."

She raised her eyebrows. "You're on your first date with some guy your friends hooked you up with? I don't judge."

"Something like that. A brotherly bonding date? I guess you could call it that."

"Oh, so like, a bro date."

"If that's a thing, then yes."

"It's a thing." She clicked her tongue. "I still can't get over the fact that I got stood up. I put so much effort into this cute outfit and my hair and make up, and now I'm alone."

"But now you're alone with another loner," he joked. "Does that truly mean you're alone?"

"Yup."

"Well then, would you like to toast to our loneliness?"

She shrugged. "Eh, sure."

He waved to the bar tender. "Two drinks, my good man! Bring us your finest..." He looked back to the girl and spoke with a lower voice. "What would you like?"

"I don't know, something strong?"

"Something strong!" He yelled.

Berwald arrived at his house. Luckily Matthias' car wasn't parked around. He parked the car and unlocked the door into his house. He kicked off his shoes and pulled his clothes off before jumping into bed. He didn't know if or when Matthias could pop up, so he had to be prepared. He lied in bed for an hour, just staring at the ceiling and looking through his phone. Well damn, if he wasn't gonna show up, I should've just stayed with them a while longer. His phone began to buzz. It was from Tino.

"I wanted to send u this before I forget"

The picture they had taken before with the rest of the group popped up on the screen. Then another picture. It was him. His back was towards the camera, but the angle still showed a clear picture of his face. Him leaning over the seawall; one arm resting on it the wall; the other balled up in a fist, holding up his head. All against the backdrop of the colored fountains.

"when did u take that" Berwald sent.

"while u weren't looking"

"delete it"

"never"

"delete it plase"

"*please" Berwald corrected.

"no, it's a nice pic"

"it's against the law to take a picture of someone without their consent"

"I am the law"

"Tino PLEASE just delete it"

"Fine"

"Thanks"

"Did anything happen after I left"

"no, we just watched the fountains, talked, then went home"

Berwald didn't really know what to talk about next, but he didn't want the conversation to end.

"I had a nice time"

"yeah me too. I really liked the bowling"

"u guys usually hang out there"

"sometimes, it's kind of a new place, but there's so much stuff to do"

"cuz it's so big"

"hah, that's what she said. I'm mentally a 12 year old"

"you're also physically 12"

"I'm not that small"

"that's what he said'

"we're both mentally 12"

"yeah"

Author's Note: Changed Berwald's football position from defensive tackle to Defensive End. I don't know shit about football, so I may change it frequently. Changed it cuz defensive tackle players are too thicc. Berwald's body type is most similar to Cameron Wake (according to my brother).

Also, all the parts about Ber being a loser are his own views on himself. His school life didn't suck as bad as he thought, but it did actually suck pretty bad. He does actually have good moments, but he doesn't focus on them.

Give me advice on writing if you can. I feel as if i'm doing something wrong