//------------------------------//
// Ch. 3: What I Did Wrong 
// Story: A Party Went Off In Liberty City 
// by KingDaddyDiscord 
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        Niko groaned as Roman pulled him into a hug. Usually, he would be happy to see his only remaining family (apart from his father and uncle, but he never wished to see them again without a bullet in their heads) randomly like this, but not today. Of all days, they ran into each other TODAY.
        “Cousin, what are you doing in Broker? I know you have an apartment here, but wouldn’t you rather stay at your pent house?”
        “Yes, Roman, but I’m showing my friend here around.” Niko sighed and moved so that Pinkie could see Roman face-to-face. Pinkie drew in a huge breath.
        “So you’re Roman? Niko’s told me all about you! How you bought him an apartment, and helped him climb up the ladder of power, and how you got married, and everything!”
        “Niko, I see this one is a bit of a chatterbox! What’s her name?”
        “Oh, I’m---!” Niko covered her mouth with his large hand, searching his mind for a name that sounded more normal.
        My full name is Pinkamena Diane Pie…
        “Diane! Her name is Diane!” He said finally, removing his hand.
        “What? My name’s Pinkie!” She exclaimed. Roman looked at Niko with a confused face.
        “Nickname. Because, you know…” He gestured to her hair.
        “Oh! Well, a pleasure to meet you, Diane… or Pinkie, whichever suits you.”
        “Call me Pinkie!” The girl shook Roman’s hand heartily. Laughing, the Serbian man looked over at his cousin and friend.
        “I’m just surprised, Niko. Finding another girl, so soon after Kate…” When the fist connected with his face, Roman’s surprise was so sudden and so obvious that Niko could almost hear his mind wondering what had hit him.
        Looking over, he saw it was Pinkie’s fist.
        “Listen here, Mister Roman,” She looked down on him, reaching out for his hand. “Niko is your cousin, and you should be nicer to him by not saying things like that to him.” Roman looked bewildered at how this girl was acting.
        “And another thing,” She frowned harder. “I am not his girlfriend! He’s trying to be faithful to Kate, not find someone else to fill her place. I find that very respectable, and you should feel the same way. Do we see eye to eye on this?” She had thrust her face into his, and he simply nodded, still confused. She frowned for a minute before grinning again.
        “Glad to see we have an agreement!” She hummed to herself as she found an open table. The Serbian looked at his Yugoslavian cousin.
        “She’s a bit of a crazy one, but I think she has a good heart.” He said simply. Shakily, Roman stood up and sat down at the table across from Pinkie, who acted as if the previous moment had never happened. Everyone stared at her nervously, as if she was a ticking time bomb.
        “So, Pinkie… do you like to go bowling?”

~~~ ~~~ ~~~

        “Strike!” Pinkie shouted again. Roman cursed under his breath, comparing Pinkie’s so-far perfect score to his, the latter being riddled with spares, gutterballs, and splits.
        “I see you have finally met your match, Roman.” Niko chuckled, whistling as Pinkie got yet another strike, winning her third game.
        “I’m getting sick of bowling. Hey Niko, you want to go to the mall or something?”
        “Since when do you want to go to the mall?” The Yugoslavian asked his cousin.
        “Since when do I invite someone to go bowling and lose to a perfect score?” He shot back.
        “Aw, it wasn’t perfect!” Pinkie bounced up. “I mean, I did get a score of 300, but I think I might have gotten a foul somewhere along the line. Oh wait, isn’t that machine telling us if we got a foul or not? Never mind, it was perfect! But it was so much fun, we HAVE to do this again!”
        Roman grumbled and led them all out to Niko’s car, in which they had driven to the bowling alley in Broker.
        “So Cousin, what is it about her? I’ve never met someone with so much energy, especially here in the city. And on the way here, when we spoke a bit in Serbian, she replied to us perfectly. I doubt someone from the Old Country would feel so upbeat. Even when we’re happy, it’s weird…”
        “We are survivors, Roman.” Niko pulled his cousin closer as they watched Pinkie in the back seat. “When we smile, we help our memories of the countries now torn by war. When we cry, we are regretting everything we did to ruin it’s image. Unlike our fathers, we care for our home. That is what makes us the people we are.”
        “I… I like that, Cousin.” Roman laughed a bit before running to the car and getting into the passenger seat, signaling for Niko to drive them to a new destination. Smiling, the ex-soldier obliged.

~~~ ~~~ ~~~

        “That was a fun day!” Pinkie breathed, flopping onto the couch with her eyes closed. Niko chuckled and sat in a chair nearby.
        “I haven’t had that much fun since Kate…” He struggled. “Since Kate…”
        “Passed away?” Pinkie finished for him. He nodded, and took a deep breath.
        “Tell me to stop if I get too annoying for you.” He looked up. “Kate made me a better person. When I was around her, I did everything in my power not to slip into my old habits. When she passed away, I sort of slipped back a ways. That’s what got me killed, and got you into this mess.”
        “Yes-in-deedy!” She said with energy gushing from her voice. “Man, you’ve done a lot of bad things, from what I understand, but the princesses wouldn’t tell me any of your crimes. Could you tell me some? Like, the top five that you repeat?”
        Niko was taken aback. You don’t usually tell another person what crimes you had committed. Finally seeing no harm in telling the girl, he listed them off.
        “Let’s see. I stole cars. A lot. Sometimes I would steal dozens in a day.”
        And I still do, sometimes. He thought to himself.
        “Anyways, I also would rob stores, get some money. Maybe 20 or 30 dollars. Once I robbed a bank with Kate’s brothers, but that’s another story entirely.” He briefly thought about the death of Michael before returning to Pinkie.
        “I killed people. Lots of people. It’s one of the things I regret, there are just so many people in this city, most of them don’t deserve to die.”
        “And what about the authorities? What about them?” Pinkie asked. Niko leaned back, racking his brain for a way to explain this.
        “You see,” he began, “The police here are not very good. They’re cruel, preferring to shoot everything rather than handle them in a cool, collected manner. I’ve seen innocent people taken to prison for nothing whatsoever.” Pinkie gasped.
        “I can’t believe it! Those guys need to be taught a lesson in manners!” She suddenly covered her mouth.
        “Sorry, that was so unlike me.” She apologized. “They do sound like big meanies, though.”
        “You are not wrong, and I believe I’ve done just such a thing to most of them.” Niko sighed.
        “You did? How?” The girl’s white face stood out dramatically against her vibrant, hot-pink hair, making her stare stick out all-the-more. The Yugoslavian suddenly realized that he was sweating.
        “N-Nothing too serious. They were sent to the hospital, but I’m certain they lived. Positive.”
        Why does this girl scare me so much? She seems so… unpredictable. Like she could flip personalities on the flip of a dime.
        “Okie dokie lokie, then!” She stood up and yawned. “Well, it’s late, I’m going to bed. G’night, Niko!” She skipped to the guest room and shut her door after her. Niko sighed and walked over to his own bedroom.

        That night, for the oddest reason, all he could think of was the girl sleeping in the other room, worried for the oddest reason as to what she was capable of doing.