"So anyway, I'm in this bar, at a table, drinking alone." Charlene said.

"Alone?" Melinda asked incredulously.

"Yeah, alone. You know, like, trying to pick up guys. Anyway, this guy comes over, and offers to buy me a drink. I tell him to sit with me, and ask him what his name is..."

"'I'm Shorty,' he says. I nodded. 'I'm Charlene. What kind of a name is Shorty, anyway?'

"'A nickname,' he told me, laughing. I kinda thought, from the way he was acting, that he didn't like it that much, though. Anyway, we were talking. You know, the usual mindless chit-chat that people who just met start up in.

"After a while though, he started moving way too fast. I swear, he went from talking kindly to me to hand on my leg to arm around my shoulder in about four minutes. It was getting really uncomfortable. So I asked him to leave."

"You asked him to leave?" Melinda asked. She was shocked. Most of the guys in Balamb got rough if you did that.

"Yeah, and he took it really well. He got up, and left. Although I know why he did. He went across the room, out of sight. So I got up to look to see where he was, and I saw him talking to I guess it was a friend of his. Then all of a sudden that other guy, he had blond hair and some really wierd tattoos, came over and offered to buy me a drink."

Melinda couldn't help but laugh. A team! "Haha. So, what? The first guy gets you angry at men for being such pigs, and then a really nice, charming man comes along and sweeps you away?"

Charlene shrugged. "I guess so. But the way things went so smoothly between them, I guessed they've been doing things like that for a long time."

"So, this blond guy comes over, and then what happens?"

"So, like I said, this blond guy comes over, and he has really wierd tattoos on his face. He offers to buy me a drink, and I accept. I mean, I'm not going to refuse a free drink. So he sits down and orders us some drinks. 'My name is Zell,' he said all formally, maybe trying to come off as some rich polite guy...contradiction, I know.

"Anyway, we're sitting there, drinking, having a nice conversation. I don't know if it was because this guy was so charming, or if it was because I just felt like it, but we almost immediately started having a real conversation, like we've known eachother for a while. Of course, it wasn't on a great topic, so it was a trade-off. We ended up talking about the 'virtues' of weaponry, and how it helps us, not in defeating enemies, which shouldn't happen because war is bad (That's what he said. I don't believe him), but because they are useful tools, for hunting, and other things like that. I, of course just for the hell of it, argued that weapons, used in any way, shape, or form, were bad.

"'I don't believe you! That's rediculous!" he shouted. 'Without what we call 'weapons', where would we be? I mean, no swords, guns, or knives, we couldn't hunt. No axes, we couldn't chop down trees. Some wild animals require the harsh treatment of whips to tame them.' I stopped him midsentence, though. I didn't really like this whole argument thing.

"'I'm going to the washroom,' I said, 'And when I get back, I want you to have thought of something to say...that we won't argue over.'"

Melinda looked very solemn. "So. You went to the washroom."

"Yeah?"

"What did he say when you got back?"

"Well, I guess the only thing he found to say."

"I sat down at the table, and all of a sudden, he just blurted out, 'You have beuatiful hair, Charlene.' I couldn't help but stare at him. He was, like, so wierd. But whatever. I started laughing really loud at him. I shouldn't have, really. He was really nice, but I think it was just because of the whole thing him and his friend were doing. He asked me, 'What's so funny?' and he got really annoyed. I said I wanted to leave...'With me?!" He was really shocked when I said with who. We got up, and I grabbed him a started skipping over to where his friend was. I saw him, and I started walking toward him. Once we were beside Shorty, I told Zell that I knew what he was doing, kissed Shorty, and grabbed him and left."

Melinda was stunned. "You did WHAT?!"

"You heard me. It was rather funny. In about three seconds, I went from leaving with Zell to running out the door with Shorty. Neither of them knew what had hit him."

"So what did you and Shorty do after that?"

Charlene shrugged. "Not much. I gave him my phone number and told him to call me, then went home."

"That's so wierd," gaped Melinda, "Did he call you yet?"

"Ach! Of course he didn't call me yet, this just happened not three nights ago!"

The phone rang. Melinda arched an eyebrow. Charlene's jaw dropped. "Don't even..." she started, and then looked at the phone. Charlene jumped up and ran as fast as she could to the phone. "H-h-hello?"

"Hi," a voice said from the other end.

"Oh, hey...um, Zell...I'm kinda expecting a call from someone. Bye."

"Oh, um, okay. Bye, then," Zell said very disappointedly, "Shorty?"

"Um, yeah. Sorry, Zell."

"He is, you know, like, my best friend."

"Ohmygod. I'm sorry. But, I really gotta go."

Zell started to sing after he hung up. "Bro-o-o-oken hea-a-arte-ed!!" He couldn't help but laugh at his parody of himself.