The sun seemed to grow hotter with every passing second. Even in the shady green trees of Prospect Park she could still feel the endless heat that never seemed to fade away. She sat there on top of the picnic blanket with the book of poetry settled on her lap. After about a week of ignoring Colton, and him half heartily trying to reason with her, Brooklyn finally cracked and heard what he had to say. Though it was the same it had always been. For them to start fresh like nothing happened. And as a complete idiot, she went along with it. Oddly enough, they had gotten along without fights whatsoever, though at times Brooklyn wasn't fully into....whatever they were. Other times she absolutely was.

Today, she was surprised when he had asked her to bring along one of her books seeing as he was never much of a reader. Then again, they did get into one of their fights and made up just a few days ago, so maybe he just said that to make up for what happened. Either way as Brooklyn came to the very last sentence her voice became soft and dreamy before ending with a small sigh. Closing the book Brooklyn held it close to her chest while saying, "Now that wasn't so bad, was it?"

"If you're into all that romantic nonsense then I guess it's alright." Colton shrugged.

"And what's wrong with that?" Brooklyn questioned. Clearly some bitterness was still left over from the incident, and she was beginning to reach her breaking point if he kept this up. "Would it really hurt that much to be a bit sensitive?" in the past few months of their....relationship of sorts, there was always some bump in the road. Now, she wasn't dating him for crying out loud, but....it was pretty close to it. Everything was sort of complicated. They're on again and off again constantly. She's kissed him a couple of times, but Brooklyn never felt any type of feeling that's supposed to happen. And whenever she'd ask what they were, he'd simply say that he loves her and leave it at that.

Though her gut feeling said otherwise....Brooklyn never believed he really meant those three words, but something inside her kept her in the same position as always. Whenever they'd break off, he'd go off with some other girl. If Colton were to try to win her back, Brooklyn would promise herself not to give in so easily. Yet somehow he always got what he wanted. Then the cycle would start all over again. Brooklyn hated it, and wanted nothing more than to leave him and everything else behind.

"Sensitive isn't in my vocabulary princess."

"Why do I even bother anymore," Brooklyn mumbled under her breath.

"Look, you want us to work out or not?" Colton asked firmly.

"Of course I do...why wouldn't I?"

"Then stop being so sentimental all the time."

Now, Brooklyn would defend herself. But when she's tried he wouldn't listen. Then he try to kiss her to make things right,. She'd push him away, causing him to get madder. And then things got more and more complicated. Brooklyn didn't realize she had started getting teary eyed until Colton had told her to stop with the crying. There was no need to get like that. Sniffing her nose and wiping her eyes she looked away from him.

"Oh c'mon. I didn't mean it that way."

"Then what did you mean?" she asked

"Not whatever it is you're thinking this time," Colton shot back. "Maybe that's the problem. You read too much sappy poetry and get all these ideas."

That's when Brooklyn finally hit her breaking point. "That's it! I can't do this anymore!

"What? Read that stupid book of yours because that's something we can actually agree on!" Colton yelled back.

"This you idiot!" she was near tears at this point, yet, somehow kept it all together. "Whatever is going on I can't do it anymore. I thought you were this sweet guy who actually cared about me but you don't, and I don't think you ever d-" before Brooklyn could finish, she was pulled in by the waist and felt his lips on hers. Without a second thought she began whacking the book against his head in order to be released. "Keep your empty promises and meaningless kisses cause I've had it."

"Fine by me," Colton replied. "There are plenty of other fish in the sea for me. But for you?" he laughed. "I highly doubt anyone would give the time of day to someone like you."

*Bang* *Plop* *Thud*

The next thing Brooklyn knew was that she had landed on the ground. She was so wrapped up in the memory that still burned in her brain that she barely had any time to comprehend what had happened. Anything that was in the basket had spilled out onto the cold sidewalk. She hoped that nothing was damaged in any sort of way.

"Sorry, I's was so lost in thought I's didn't see where I's was goin'." was what pulled her back into reality.

"No, no, it was my fault. I should've kept my eyes where I was going." she looked up to see deep brown eyes that seemed to stare right into her soul. It was almost memorizing the way this stranger's gaze seemed to lock in place with hers in those few seconds. It made her heart beat a mile a minute the longer she stared. Soft as the gaze may be, the person she had ran into seemed a bit...rough around the edges. She quickly took notice of the black smudges on his hands and the rosy color on his pale cheeks from the cold fall weather.

"Here, lemme help ya with that stuff," he said in a thick Manhattan accent. Wait - what? Manhattan what was she - oh yeah...the move. Brooklyn's mind was buzzing left and right so much that she nearly forgot about the move she made with her mother after her father's death back in August. They were starting to struggle a bit due to the lack of income now, Brooklyn had stopped going to school for a multitude of reasons, and eventually Mrs. Meyers decided that they were to move to Lower Manhattan for a fresh start.

Finding a job was easy enough, for her mother had a friend who lived next door to a family owned bakery that was looking for a few extra hands. Long story short, they both got the job and Brooklyn couldn't be more happier than working there. She loved being surrounded by the sweet smells of fresh baked goods. Having dough between her finger tips instead of blisters from sorting this and that back at the dress shop.

"Thanks for the help, Red," Brooklyn said, taking quick notice of the flaming red locks that were atop the boy's head.

"Actually, the name's "Albert". Fun sized," he smirked.

She barely caught what he was saying, for she was drawn in by the sound of his voice, and that smirk......though, Brooklyn didn't want to admit it to herself, there was no denying he...had nice features. "Actually my name is...." oh boy how weird was this going to be? Why did her mother decide out of all the names to name her it had to be after a freaking city! "Brooklyn....yes like the city, it's a long story. Which there isn't much time for because it's getting late and I should go." she turned around and began walking away before things got more awkward, but stopped and turned back to say, "Sorry again for bumping into ya. It was nice meeting you, Red." and then she took off as quickly as she could.

Well that couldn't have gotten any worse now could it? But it didn't matter. It was over and she was never going to see him again anyways. It's a big city. What are the chances of running into some strange redheaded boy on the streets again? Next to none by Brooklyn's conclusion. It was in that moment Brooklyn had to pause in her tracks for a moment or so as her mind seemed to quickly flashback to that summer.....wait, was that? No, it couldn't be. She'd have to be completely insane to think that. She shook off the feeling and made her way back home.

Although, it did take a few minutes to actually figure out where she was. Everything was still so new, so it was only natural for Brooklyn to take a few extra seconds to make sure she was going the right way. Eventually she did find her way back to the tenement building. She walked up the steps to her floor and let herself into the new home. She closed and locked the door before taking off her coat and hung it up on the wooden hook that was on the wall. Twilight and Calico came and greeted her by rubbing against her legs.

The alley cat had decided to stow away in a box of blankets during moving day. It was a shock to Brooklyn at first, but it also brought comfort to her knowing a piece of home had came with her. At least she'd have someone to talk to when she needed to get things off her chest. Which was lately because ever since she stepped foot on Manhattan ground she felt something begin to stir inside. Good or bad, she was unsure, either way, Brooklyn had a hard time shaking those feelings away. She kept telling herself it was because of her father's death, which had hit her in the most unusual way. Upon hearing this news, Brooklyn felt mixed on the whole subject. Yes, he wasn't the greatest person for the past few years, but he used to be. She often pondered on the fond memory of what once was. He was still her father, and she had hoped things would have returned to normal after awhile....it did and didn't at the same time. She didn't get hurt anymore, just yelled at when something would go wrong by accident. So, it sounded more complicated than Brooklyn originally thought it was, but what's new? When has anything not been complicated in her life? Absolutely nothing at all. Nothing was easy for her, and that was just the cold hard truth. Though, it didn't matter all that much since it had become a part of her daily life.

Once she had petted the cat, she headed over to the kitchen where her mother was already getting started on dinner. She placed the basket on the countertop and began to put the items in their proper place. Upon coming to the fruit, she carefully examined them to make sure there weren't any bruises of sorts. She was such a klutz for not watching where she was going - that's when Brooklyn suddenly remembered she forgot to get a newspaper. And, it was much too late to run out and get one anyways. Then again, it's not like there's anything she likes to read...she bit her lip at the memory of the redheaded boy she had ran into, but stopped herself from any further thoughts. She had too many things on her mind already, and didn't need to waste space on something - or in this case someone - in her head.

───── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ─────

Author's note

I will admit, this was sort of a struggle to do. Writer's slump was awful when it came to this part, but after powering through it and looking through Mystery Girl it all came together. Plus last minute edits is still a life saver. For reference purposes, this and a few other chapter share the same themes with Mystery Girl, (aka story where Brooklyn was first introduced). A few scenes will be repeats of sorts, but we're going to see Brooklyn's POV of the events since the one shot was mostly from different characters, the majority of things will be completely new so we're not going over the same thing again. In other words, a good chunk will be new throughout with only a hint of old content, (hopefully that makes sense). Also I know there wasn't that much development with Colton, BUT I think there isn't a single person reading this who won't mind that at all. Hope you enjoyed it, thanks for reading, and I'll see you next time.