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To Love or Not To Love: A Romeo and Juliet Parody



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Sun Jan 31, 2016 1:02 am
bluewaterlily says...



“I can’t wait for you to see the dress I designed for the masquerade scene,” Lauren told Melody, an excited smile spread across her lips.

“I’m sorry,” Melody cut in, “did you just say dress?”

Lauren quirked a skeptical eyebrow. “Well, of course it’s a dress. Did you think Juliet would be wearing pants?”

“She could,” Melody argued defensively.

Lauren rolled her eyes. “Right, because girls always wear pants at grand balls …”

“Who said that there needed to be a grand ball? Juliet is supposed to be the daughter of an FBI agent, right? So what about a fight scene?”

“Oh my God,” Lauren marvelled. “It’s worse than I thought. This is why we found each other, so I can help you discover your inner femininity.”

“Hey, just because I don’t want to wear a ball gown doesn’t mean I’m not feminine.” The argument sounded weak, even to her own ears. Lauren stared at her dubiously the whole time.

“How many pairs of heels do you own?”

“One…”

“And how many purses?”

“Why do I need purses when I have pockets?”

“If you think pockets count as a substitute for purses, then I may have my work cut out for me.”

“And what work would that be?”

“To introduce you to a less …dark form of fashion,” Lauren answered. “Not that those boots don’t have its charms,” she quickly added.

Melody raised in eyebrow. “So what forms of fashion do you have in mind?”

“Well, firstly we need to inject some colour into your wardrobe, y’know, other than black.”

“But black goes with anything.”

“So does white,” Lauren pointed out. “Anyway, fashion isn’t about all colours going with everything. It’s about finding a balance - experimenting. Which is what we’re going to start doing with you.”

“So I get to be a Barbie doll?”

“You get to be my project,” Lauren corrected her. “And it will be awesome!”

She took Melody’s hand and led her to the backstage dressing room crowded with racks of costumes reminiscent of the 1920s Prohibition era. A shimmery array of flappers dresses, ranging from mid-thigh length, to floor length caught Melody’s eyes, their gold, red, white, silver, and black sequins glittering in the light. Feather boas dangled from another rack, and Melody glared at them. If she had to wear a dress, fine. But a feather boa? That was just too wrong on so many levels. Lining the tables on the adjacent wall were cloche, feathered, and peekaboo hats. Hand mannequins wore satin shoulder length gloves.

“I’m trusting you, Lauren,” Melody grumbled. “Against my better judgement.”

Lauren smiled widely, excitement sparkling in her eyes. “You won’t regret it.”

“That depends. Do I get to wear black?”

Lauren pinched the bridge of her nose. “Didn’t I just say no more black?”

“Not directly.”

“Fine. No more black.”

Suddenly, muffled conversation and the sound of footsteps could be heard from outside, after which the doors burst open and Eric emerged, followed by Bobby, Casey and Logan.

“I have arrived,” Eric announced.

Lauren shot him a slightly annoyed look. “What are you doing here?”

“Mrs. Bing asked me to check on my costume,” Eric answered.

“Well, you can’t be in here right now.”

“Says who?”

“Says me,” she retorted. “Mel was just about to try on her Juliet costume.”

“Really?” A small smirk played across Eric’s mouth. “I’m just in time then.”

Melody felt a blush creeping across her face.

Lauren let out a sigh. “You’re just in time to leave.”

Eric ignored her. Instead, he walked over to Melody and wrapped his arms around her waist, smirking down at her. “Would you like me to leave?”

Melody shook her head. “No, you can stay. But no laughing.”

“I would never,” he assured her before turning to throw his sister a smug look of satisfaction.

“Mel!” Lauren protested, giving her a look of disbelief.

“What?” Melody asked. “We haven’t seen each other all day.”

“You can thank my step-mom for that,” Eric grumbled.

Melody recalled the recording Lauren had played to her earlier that day of Eric being lectured by Janet. He had clearly been affected by her words in some way, and the idea almost caused Melody to laugh, until she realised that she wasn’t supposed to know. After all, Eric had no idea that the entire event had been recorded.

“Let’s not bring that up again,” came Logan’s voice from behind a line of costume racks. Melody guessed he was probably looking for his outfit.

Melody feigned confusion. “Bring what up?”

“Oh, y’know,” Eric shrugged, “the fact that I’m never having k-”

“Kangaroos live in Australia, right?” Casey suddenly cut in.

“Kangaroos?” Bobby echoed. “Why the heck did you just mention kangaroos?”

“To get E to shut up.”

“And the first thing that came into your mind were kangaroos?”

“Well, I was watching this documentary last night, an -”

“Oh my God.” Bobby put his head in his hands in defeat. “Not cool, Case. Not cool.”

“I love watching documentaries,” Lauren said.

At that moment silence fell, both Lauren and Casey’s eyes met and Melody noticed a warm blush creep into her friend’s cheeks. Eric looked at Melody and rolled his eyes, pointing a finger at his mouth as he pantomimed gagging. The silence might’ve continued had Logan not re-emerged.

“E, I saw your suit. It looks pretty cool.”

“I wanna see -”

“No!” Lauren stopped him, finding her voice box again. “You second. Mel first.”

With that, she took Melody’s hand and led her to the corner of the room where a mannequin stood with a white sheet draped over it. There was an ecstatic look on her face, her eyes vivid with confidence excitement as she reached for the sheet to remove it, asking Melody, “Are you ready?”

Seeing her new bestie’s enthusiasm, Melody forced a smile. “I’m ready.”

Lauren waited until Eric and the boys had taken a seat, and then, like a magician doing a magic trick, she ripped the sheet away to reveal a stunning floor length ivory dress, falling delicately. The fabric was gossamer and delicate. The dress had a plunging neckline, capped sleeves of gossamer, lacy material, and an empire waist. At the center of the waistband, a flowery arrangement of eight black beads was fixated, other small beads surrounding the top portion of the skirt, the dark beads contrasting with small white beads. Where the cluster of white and black beads ended, a liberal sprinkling of pearls was artfully scattered across the rest of the skirt.

“Well?” Lauren asked, practically brimming with excitement. “What do you think?”

“Not bad, alien,” Eric commented and his friends nodded in agreement.

Lauren’s eyes turned to Melody, and she bit her lip. “What do you think, Mel? No, wait. Before you say it’s not your style or your colour, I want you to try it on.”

With that, she lifted the dress off the mannequin and thrust it into Melody’s arms, shoving her into the dressing room.

As Melody slipped out of her clothes, she could hear the conversations outside.

“Can you show me my costume now?” came Logan’s voice.

“It’s my turn,” Eric cut in.

“Your costume is next door,” Lauren informed him. “Samantha’s fixing the shoulders right now so you’re gonna have to wait. Come on, Logan. I’ll take you to see yours.”

The sound of footsteps walking away could be heard.

“Eric, you still there?”

“Yep,” he replied.

“Can you talk to me while I change?” she asked, even as the request left her lips she felt stupid, but the dress in front of her, as beautiful as it was, made her feel self-conscious, and she needed something or someone to distract her.

“Sure,” Eric agreed. “What do you wanna talk about?”

“Why don’t we start with why I haven’t seen you all day.”

“Missed me that much, have you?” Melody could practically see the smug look on his face. A moment later, she heard him sigh. “I’ve been trying to hook Reese up with another girl.”

Melody frowned as she started slipping into the dress. “I thought Reese was dating that cheerleader.”

“He is; I’m just planning to get rid of her.”

Melody couldn’t help but chuckle. “You found anyone yet?”

“No,” he grumbled. “But I’m gonna keep looking.”

Melody laughed. “You’ll find someone for him. Verona is crawling with cheerleaders.” She fiddled with the zipper for a minute, but could only pull it up to her midback.

“You almost done?” Eric asked.

When she emerged from the dressing room, she found Eric standing by the mirror, absently playing with his phone. He must have heard the quiet rustle of her dress, as his head snapped up, and his sea-blue eyes widened and began to drink her in. She suddenly became self-conscious of her appearance as the draft in the room hit her bare back, and she folded her arms across her chest, feeling small under the weight of Eric’s gaze- like a child playing dressup in her mother’s closet.

“You’re staring,” she said, severing his trance. “I look ridiculous, don’t I? I tried to tell Lauren, but she wouldn’t -”

“Mel,” Eric said, gently prying her arms away to place them against her sides. “You look…amazing.”

Melody smiled in appreciation. A warm blush flooded her cheeks, but his compliment felt so genuine, the self-consciousness evaporated. When she looked in the mirror again, she felt better about what she saw, and for the first time, she actually believed him.

“Thanks, Casanova. My mother would have loved all of this. She was part of drama club, and she always loved classic Hollywood era and vintage clothing. You know, she was actually named Elizabeth, after Elizabeth Taylor.” Melody rolled her eyes but a small smile quirked her lips. “Maybe she’s the reason I’m doing this play.”

Eric nodded in agreement with a small smile of his own. “Maybe she is.”

Melody placed her arm behind her back, trying to tug the zipper into place. But no luck.

“Eric?” she asked quietly, “do you think you could help me with the zipper? It’s stuck.”

Eric’s brow quirked in amusement. “Have you tried pulling it?”

She threw him a look. “Yes, smart-ass, of course, I have, but it’s not working.”

He chuckled and signalled for her to turn around. His fingers brushed against her bare back, a trail of goosebumps rising in the wake of his touch. For a moment, his fingertips lingered against her skin, sensual but at the same time gentle. Melody shivered as Eric tugged the zipper, and it glided into place.

“There, that wasn’t so hard,” he teased.

“You took long enough.”

“Maybe that was intentional,” he winked.

“Maybe?” she repeated, quirking an eyebrow.

“Definitely,” he nodded, moving closer. Eric placed his hands on her hips, drawing her close. Their noses almost touched, and he leaned in for a kiss. But fate had other ideas.

“Oh my God!” a girly squeal interrupted them and making both jump back in surprise. “Mel!” Lauren exclaimed, eyes wide and a huge smile sprawled across her lips. “You look gorgeous.”

“Perfect timing, alien,” Eric grumbled.

Lauren ignored him as she handed Melody a pair of satin evening gloves that went all the way to Melody’s elbows when she slipped them on. As Melody donned the gloves, Lauren fixed a white headband on Melody’s head.

When she wasn’t looking, Melody reached a hand to remove the headpiece. Lauren caught her in the act and scowled.

“Mel! Leave it on!” she admonished as she lightly slapped Melody’s hand away.

Defeated, Melody sighed and let her arms fall to her sides. She fixed Melody with a stern glare before turning to Eric.

“Okay, as annoyed as I am that you interrupted mine and Mel’s girl-time, I need you to put on your outfit, too.”

“Is it finished?” he asked.

Lauren nodded, pointing to the open-door at the far end of the room. “Ask Samantha to give it to you.”

Eric walked off to the direction of the room and Lauren waited until he was out of earshot before turning back to face Melody.

“This is gonna be so great! I can’t wait to see you both in costume together!”

Melody smiled. “It will be. Eric in a suit? That’s priceless.” What she didn’t mention was that she had seen that before. But Melody would gladly see it again.

Lauren smirked. “I know right.? Now, here comes the fun part. I get to style your hair.”

“Come on,” Melody protested. “I’m in a dress. Isn’t that enough?”

“It’s a start,” Lauren said.

“Is it supposed to be this … loose?”

He was dressed in a three-piece suit, grey in colour, over a deep blue high-collared dress shirt.

“It’s the 1920’s, Eric, the jackets weren’t supposed to be fitted. Now where’s the tie?”

“Here,” Eric pulled it out of his pant pocket. “I can’t fix it, and Samantha’s busy with Logan -”

“I can do it.”

Both Eric and Lauren met Melody’s gaze in surprise, and Melody noticed Lauren eyeing her skeptically. Ignoring Eric’s mystified look and Lauren’s doubtful one, Melody took the tie from Eric and set to work fixing it. As her fingers deftly moved - putting the tie’s end to the right side, then the left side, then bringing the tie up in a loop - she could hear his breath hitch, smell his cologne and feel his chest move up and down. Melody found that she couldn’t look up into his eyes otherwise she would blush. Investing all her concentration on the task at hand, several minutes passed until she was finally done. Smirking, Melody took a step back.

“How’s that?” she asked Eric.

Eric looked down to evaluate his tie before meeting her gaze, half-bewildered and half-impressed all at once. “I have no idea what you just did, but well done.”

Melody smiled and shrugged. “My mother’s father was old fashioned, and made her learn how to fix a tie. She always had to fix my dad’s tie, so she made me learn. Never thought it would come in handy.”

“And then I came along,” Eric winked.

“Yes,” Melody nodded solemnly. “The reason we found each other was so I could fix your ties.”

“And my hair, too,” he reminded her.

“And your hair,” Melody conceded. “You’re a hot mess, Casanova. What can I say?”

“A hot mess?” he echoed, quirking his brow with a smirk. “I like the sound of that.”

“Good, because that’s another thing you’re the posterchild for.”

“What was the other thing again?”

“Cocky rich boys.”

“Right,” he nodded with a wider smirk. “How could I forget?”

“I don’t know,” Melody replied, returning the smirk. “But I do know,” she began casually, “you look really nice in that suit.”

“Mel,” Lauren complained, looking nauseated. “Don’t do that. His head is big enough already.”

“Don’t interrupt,” Eric hushed her with his hand and turned back to Melody. “You were saying ..?”

Melody played along, cocking her head to the side in appraisal as she placed her hands on her hips. “I think you heard me the first time.”

A mischievous glint sparkled in his eyes. “Maybe I did, maybe I didn’t…either way, it wouldn’t hurt to hear it again. You know how I love compliments.”

She rolled her eyes, but a teasing smile quirked her lips. “Well, you clean up nicely.”

“I do, don’t I?” he teased. “Then again, you don’t look so bad yourself…”

“Is that really the best you can do?”

He quirked an amused brow. “Is that an invitation to make you blush in front of everyone?”

“Why?” Melody smirked. “Does it happen to involve your wildest dreams?”

“Well-”

Lauren cleared her throat pointedly, cutting him off before he could finish his sentence.

“I hate to interrupt,” she said, sounding not at all like she hated to interrupt, “but Mel and I are busy, and you’re distracting her.”

Eric shot her a frown. “And you’re distracting us.”

“Well, Mel and I were here first.”

Before Eric could respond to that, Casey emerged from the adjacent dressing room.

“Uh, Lauren,” he began, frowning down at something long, dangly and thin in his hands, “what are these seatbelts doing in my pockets?”

Lauren smirked. “Those aren’t seat belts, Casey. They’re suspenders.”

Casey looked even more confused than before. “Why do I need to be suspended?”

“Because you’re an idiot,” chimed in Logan, who reappeared with his costume folded over his arm. “Those are to hold up your pants.”

“But I don’t need help holding up my pants.”

Lauren couldn’t help but shake her head at his growing confusion before walking up to him and taking the suspenders from his hands.

“I’ll show you how it’s done,” she said. “You take one side of the clip and attach it to the front of your pants.”

Casey followed her instructions. But as soon as he’d attached it, he let the other end fall.

“What now?” he frowned, still clearly very baffled by this new accessory.

“Now you need to bring the other end over your shoulder and attach it to the back of your pant.”

Once again, Casey followed her instruction, but once he’d slung the other end of the suspender over his shoulder, he appeared to find it difficult to attach it to the back of his pants.

“Guys, a li’l help here,” he struggled. “I can’t reach.”

None of his friends moved an inch.

“Come on.”

“Sorry Case,” Eric apologised. “But watching you try is just too entertaining.”

“Y’know,” Logan mused aloud, “I’ve always thought your arms were unusually short.”

“Funny,” Casey rolled his eyes, still trying to attach the other end of the suspender to the back of his pant.

“I could help,” Lauren offered, but Eric quickly beat her to it. Clearly he wasn’t about to let his little sister get cozy with his friend on his watch.

Melody, sensing Eric’s intentions, tried to distract him. “Eric, I need to redo your tie. It looks crooked.”

“It’s fine,” he tugged at it absently.

Lauren exchanged a knowing glance with Melody, who winked at her. She shook her head. “No, Mel’s right. It’s definitely crooked.” She subtly scooted closer to Casey.

“Is someone gonna help me with this, or not?” he frowned, still trying to reach for the clasp with great difficulty.

“I am,” said Eric, “I’ve put on stupenders before.”

“They’re called suspenders,” Lauren corrected him. “Anyway, I’m the head of costumes, so let me do my job.”

Eric did not look pleased as he watched Lauren walk over to where Casey was, standing too close for comfort as she helped him with his suspenders.

Logan, who’d been watching all this with an air of amusement, threw his friend a knowing smirk. “It’s all getting a li’l awkward, isn’t it? That’s what happens when you give your friend permission to date your little sister.”

“Are you sayin’ I made a mistake?”

Logan shook his head with a chuckle. “I’m sayin’ you better get used to it.”

Melody noticed the way his gaze followed Lauren and Casey, settling on them with a frown. A furrow formed between his eyebrows, like it did every time he was frustrated.

Trying to dispel the tension, Melody cut in, “I can fix your tie for you, Casanova.”

But Eric was thoroughly uncomfortable. “I don’t care about the stupid tie.”

Melody rolled her eyes, ignoring his grumbling. “It’ll only take a minute.”

Eric stiffened as she leaned forward and started to unwind the knot before relooping it to form a triangular knot. He carefully avoided her gaze and she noticed a faint red flush crawling from the back of his neck to the tips of his ears. She worked with deliberate slowness, and by the time she was done, Lauren had successfully helped Casey with his suspenders. Unfazed by his partly bewildered and exasperated look, Melody smirked and stepped back. “There.”

Eric stared down at his tie and cleared his throat awkwardly. “Looks the same to me.”

“Yes,” Melody agreed, giving him an innocent smile, “but now it’s straighter. You’re welcome.”

Eric scoffed. “You were trying to distract me.”

“It worked, didn’t it?” Melody replied cheekily.

Eric frowned but of course, wouldn’t admit it. Laughing, Melody took his hands in hers.

“Come on Casanova, lighten up.”

“I can’t.” His frown deepened as he swallowed, putting both hands in his pockets. His gaze was still firmly on Lauren and his friend. “How am I supposed to get used to this?”

“Get used to what?” Melody asked.

“My sister and one of my best friends being a ... “ he paused to clench his jaws uncomfortably, “... thing.”

It took all of Melody’s will power not to laugh at his seriousness over something so insignificant.

“Casey just asked her to the Deb ball, that’s all,” she tried to explain, “I don’t think that means they’re a thing just yet. They haven’t even been on a proper date -”

“They have,” he cut in. “A few months back.”

Melody’s eyes widened. This was news to her.

“How did it go?” she asked, slightly annoyed that Lauren had kept that from her. She made a mental note to ask for an explanation the next time they were alone.

Eric shrugged. “She’s not exactly gonna tell me, is she? Then again, she doesn’t have to. Look at them, they look like they’re already married.”

Melody smirked, arms folded and a satisfied smile on her lips as she watched Lauren laughing as she helped a struggling Casey, blushes painted on both of their cheeks. “Yep. Definitely the honeymoon phase.”

Eric grimaced before turning away.

Melody sobered, and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Hey,” she said gently, “you don’t have to worry so much.”

“She’s my sister,” he retorted, “the only one I have. It’s my job to worry about her.”

“I know that,” Melody replied, “and it’s good that you look out for her, but she can look after herself too.”

Eric’s jaw clenched and he looked away, glaring at the wall. Melody realized it was time to switch tactics. At this point, it was too early to get through to Eric. He still needed time for her words to permeate. She decided, maybe she could distract him for a few minutes, or a moment if nothing else.

“You know,” she began casually, “I think your costume is missing something.”

Before he could respond, Melody turned away from him and began searching through hats. She selected a gray one and approaching him, Melody ruffled his hair before setting the Fedora hat on the top of his head, angling it, so its wide brim shaded his eyes. She imagined him in a black and white movie, feet kicked up on a desk, and hat covering his eyes. She couldn’t help it; she laughed.

He pushed the hat up, showing his eyes as he quirked a slightly offended brow. “Are you … laughing at me?”

I would never,” Melody assured him, “I was just thinking about how good you look, Casanova and how you look like you just stepped out of an old movie.”

“Yeah?” he smirked at that. “Like the Godfather? Or Scarface …?” He pointed at the small, faded scar that ran down the side of his left eye.

“Exactly like that,” she agreed, standing on her tiptoes to kiss his left cheek, right where the scar ended.

When she pulled away, she could see the slightly puzzled look on Eric’s face.

“Lauren was right,” Logan mused, watching Eric and Melody, “It is like you’re married.”

Apparently that comment was too much for Eric. Blushing furiously, he immediately removed the hat from his head and aimed it at his friend, narrowly missing his head as Logan ducked in time with a chuckle.

“Stop picking on him,” Bobby intervened.

“Yeah, can it, Logan,” Eric grumbled, a blush still creeping in his cheeks from his comment.

His friend merely raised his hands in mock surrender. Barely a second passed before Reese strolled into the costume room. Melody frowned as her eyes fell on the girl walking closely beside him.

Eva.

Melody glanced over at Eric and it was clear that he too was far from happy to see her here. It certainly wouldn’t help improve his already sour mood.

“I thought we were meeting at Casey’s after school,” Reese asked, aiming the question at his friends. “What are you guys doing in here?”

“Mrs Bing cornered Eric after fifth period and said we had to try out our costumes,” explained Bobby.

Reese frowned at that. “Then how come you didn’t tell me?”

“Because we knew you’d bring your annoying shadow,” Eric muttered, quiet enough for only Melody to hear. She didn’t bother to hide her smirk.

“What?”

“It must’ve slipped our mind,” Eric explained.

Eva smirked unpleasantly. “Forgetting things already, are you? Isn’t that supposed to happen when you hit, like, forty?”

“I dunno, Eva, you tell me,” Eric said, coolly shrugging off her insult. “You’re the one with the wrinkles.”

If Reese’ girlfriend was offended by that comment, she was good at keeping it in. She airily tossed her hair to the side and pursed her lips together.

“I’m gonna go check out my costume,” Reese told her, before walking off. It wasn’t long after he’d left that Eva narrowed her eyes on Melody.

“Wow, Melody,” she exclaimed, cocking her head to the side. A look of false surprise settled on her plastic face as she said, “You actually almost look like a girl.”

Anger simmered in Melody’s blood like lava. One thought played in her mind. Don’t punch. Don’t punch. Don’t punch. She clenched her hands into fist, balling them in the fabric of the ridiculous skirt.

“Wow, Eva,” Melody parroted, mimicking her as she tilted her head to the side in thought. “that’s the longest sentence I’ve ever heard you use. And you used a four syllable word. Good for you; you get a gold star.”

Eric and his friends didn’t even try to stifle their laughter. Eva rolled her eyes but she stiffened, looking slightly nervous as she saw Melody’s hands clenched into fists. Melody didn’t miss the look of apprehension on Eva’s face.

Melody stepped closer to Eva, who flinched. She threw a helpless glance over her shoulder to the racks of clothing where Reese was.

Melody offered a wry smile and said, “What? Were you expecting me to waste a perfectly good punch on you? Sorry, but I won’t help you find an excuse for another nose job. Maybe the next girl you insult will, though.”

Without looking back, Melody pushed past Eva, Eric, and his friends and stormed off.

“Mel, wait -” Eric chased after her.

Ripping off the gloves and headband, letting them fall to the floor, Melody paused to throw Eric a look over her shoulder as she called, “I guess you were right, Eric. She is worse than Ruby.”

He threw her a look of sympathy. “Don’t let her get to you. She’ll be gone by the end of the week.”

“Gone from life?” Melody asked hopefully.

He chuckled, approaching closer to close the gap between them. “I would, but murder isn’t really my style …”

“As disappointing as that is to hear, I guess it wouldn’t make a difference even if it was your style. Evil never dies that easily.”

“At least she’s not dating one of your friends,” he pointed out. “Imagine what it’s like for me when Reese drags her along everytime we go out.” Eric paused to let out a sigh.
“I will get rid of her. I just need to find the right girl to replace her.”

“Just keep looking. Though if you change your mind…”

Eric shook his head. “I won’t.”

“But you should.”

“I should what?” he asked.

“Change your mind.”

He looked at her like she was crazy. “Why would I do that?”

“Because she’s a bloodsucking leech, so good luck getting her to latch off that easy.”

“I got rid of Ruby, remember?”

“Barely,” Melody pointed out. “They’re like boomerangs; they always come back.”

“I can handle it,” he assured her. “Have a li’l more faith in my abilities.”

“I will when she’s gone.”

He chuckled. “I’m gonna hold you to that.”

Melody smirked. “I can live with that if you can.”

He nodded. “Let’s get outta here. I don’t know about you but I’m starving.”

Melody laughed. “You’re always hungry, Casanova.”

“I am,” he admitted. “It’s the fast metabolism. Let’s go.”

He was about to turn and head for the door when Melody stopped him. “You might want to take off your costume first.”

Eric looked down at his attire. “Oh right.” With that, he began to remove his jacket and unbutton the waistcoat underneath, tugging the tie loose until his neck was free. He then proceeded to undo the buttons of his dress shirt

A blush overtook Melody’s cheeks as she watched him unbuttoning the dress shirt. He seemed completely oblivious to her presence. As Eric reached the top button, she cleared her throat. She decided to focus on his face instead of the strip of skin peeking through the dress shirt.

Clearing her throat, Melody said, “Casanova, I’m still here.”

“Hm?” Eric glanced up at her for a moment and then the realisation of her statement hit him. “My bad.” With that, he turned around so that his back was to her. However, he still continued to remove his shirt. The air of casualty and familiarity and comfort surrounding him took Melody by surprise. Lauren and Casey’s voices jibed in her head, “It’s like they’re married.”

“Thanks,” Melody said weakly, as he undid the last button before slipping the shirt off. She could see his back muscles rippling, and realizing she was staring, she quickly dropped her gaze to the floor. Eric slipped on his Polo shirt, fastening the buttons, and then smoothing down the wrinkles and fixing his collar. He stared at her expectantly only to find her gaze averted.

“Mel? Why are you looking at the floor?”

She ignored the question, instead turning, so her back was to him. “Could you unzip me?”

Eric smirked. “Struggling with that zipper again?” he teased.

“Hey, it’s not my fault I don’t have monkey arms and can’t reach all the way down my back. I swear whoever made zip dresses is an idiot.”

He chuckled before walking up behind her. Melody held up her hair for him, and Eric began to unzip the dress very, very slowly.

“Tell me when to stop,” she heard him say over her shoulder.

Melody couldn’t help but smile at how..how gentlemanly he was being. There was that warm sensation in her chest, spreading through her veins. It made her feel valued. Special, even. His words from the other Saturday at the mall danced through her mind when she had told him she was nothing special. I disagree, he’d argued, with that stubborn but tender gleam in his eye, “In a very short time, you’ve become quite special to me.” A shiver crawled down her spine at the light touch of his fingers through the fabric, as he was careful to avoid contact with her bare skin.

“Uh, Mel?” Eric began, once he reached her mid-back, and he paused. He even sounded slightly uncomfortable. “I think you can take it from here.”

Melody shook her head. “No, you’re almost there. You can keep going.”

She could imagine the embarrassed grimace on his face as he, with more deliberate slowness than before, carefully pulled the zipper down to bottom. He quickly withdrew his hands. Turning to face him, Melody flashed him a smile before giving him a peck on the lips- their first kiss all day. Even in the dim lighting of the dressing room, she noticed his vivid blush.

“Thanks, Casanova.”

“Y-your welcome,” he said, his voice slightly dry.

She didn’t have to look at his neck or ears to know they were turning pink too.

Giving him another smile, she squeezed his hand, surprised to find his palm was slightly sweaty. “I’ll go get dressed, and then we can get the hell outta here. How does that sound?”

That seemed to perk him up a little. “Sounds good.”

Just as Melody was about to leave, they heard a familiar and unwelcome voice.

“Eric, where are you?” Kelley called, strutting inside.

Melody scowled. Barbie #2, because one enough isn't enough. Melody made sure to close the small distance between herself and Eric, pressing close to his side and interlacing her fingers with his.

Not bothering to hide the disdain from her voice, she asked, “What do you want?”

Kelley barely threw her a glance. Her eyes were locked on Eric. Taking the doll baby out of her bag, she said, “Your turn.”

Eric rolled his eyes. “Throw it.”

“No!” Kelley exclaimed sharply. “When are you gonna stop treating her like a football?”

“When are you gonna stop treating it like a real baby?” he retorted. His fingers slipped away from Melody’s, but as he was passed her to approach Kelley, the bottom of his shirt suddenly caught with her the zipper of Melody’s dress.

Melody winced and Eric grimaced as he tried to pull apart but to no avail. As he awkwardly shuffled forward to accept the doll, Melody had no choice but to follow. Kelley watched with a smirk.

“Wardrobe malfunction?” she asked innocently. Her eyes traced a path from the top of Melody’s head, all the way down to her feet, noticing every little detail. Kelley's lips pursed critically.

“Eva was right,” remarked Kelley, “you almost look like a girl, Melody.”

Without missing a beat, Melody replied, “Eric was right. The doll looks more real than you do, Kelley.” She plastered a fake smile on her face.

Kelley frowned at the insult, but just like Eva had done, she held her anger in. With a smile of her own, she met Eric’s eyes again as he awkwardly managed to collect the doll from her, his other hand still trying to unhook his shirt from Melody’s zipper.

“Cheerleading practice has been cancelled, so once your time is up, you’re going to have to drop her off to my house.”

“Kelley, can I ask you something,” Melody interjected. “Have you lost what little of your mind you had?”

Kelley raised a perfectly plucked brow. “Excuse me?” This time she didn’t try to hide her offence.

Eric, who had been listening quietly until now, decided to intervene to avoid a confrontation.

“Fine, whatever, I’ll drop it off. You can leave now.”

Kelley smirked. “I’ll see you then.”

As Eric was preoccupied with trying to free his shirt from the zipper, Kelley leaned forward and patted his cheek before strutting away. Melody felt her blood boil in her veins as she watched her go.

“I see why you needed help with this,” he grumbled, very much unaware of what just happened.

She rolled her eyes. Once Kelley was gone, Melody reached behind her back, tugging hard on the zipper until it finally gave. “There. Now, I’ll go change, and we can go for lunch. Sound like a plan, Casanova?”

Eric just nodded, clearly relieved his shirt was finally free.

Melody slipped out of the dress and back into her t-shirt and jeans. She was relieved to be back in her own clothes, that felt as natural as a second skin. With the dress draped over her arm, she exited the dressing room. Standing near the door was Eric. Melody placed the dress back on the mannequin and turned to Eric with a smile.

“Ready, Casanova?”

“Of course I am,” Eric scoffed.

Taking his hand again, Melody’s grin widened as she said, “Great. Let’s get the hell outta here.”
"A poet is, before anything else, a person who is passionately in love with language." - W.H. Auden





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Sun Jan 31, 2016 8:13 pm
*coco says...



By the time Eric reached home, it was almost 6 o’clock. He stepped inside to an empty hallway, shrugging off his jacket and unbuttoning the top buttons of his shirt.

“I’m home!” he called out, glancing about the place to see where everyone was.

Trent, who had been clearly been inside the lounge, popped his head out of the doorway.

“So am I,” he retorted with a frown, “You don’t see me announcing it to the entire house.”

“Where’s Janet?” Eric asked him.

But Trent just ignored him and headed up the stairs. Eric decided to head for the kitchen, but when he walked in, he only found the maids.

“Anyone know where my step-mom is?” he asked them.

“Miss Janet is in the television room,” one of the maids answered.

He nodded his thanks and headed back out into the hallway, absently picking up and apple from the fruit bowl on his way out. He took a bite before heading down the long wide corridor towards the TV room. When he opened the door, he could hear conversation from familiar voices other than Janet’s.

The first belonged to Casey’s mom, Alison.

“Don’t you just want to scream at Carmen?” Eric could hear the annoyance in her voice.

Logan’s aunt, Teresa, appeared equally as annoyed. “God, she is so annoying!”

“She’s married to Jeremy Lazar, what do you expect?” Reese’ step-mom, Phoebe, cut in.

“Yeah, their daughter’s pretty annoying, too,” Eric chimed in, taking another bite from his apple, as he approached the large couch where all four of the women were sat watching TV.

All four heads turned to face him and Janet spoke first.

“The girls and I were just catching up on the Real Housewives of Verona,” she explained.

Logan’s aunt nodded, before throwing Eric a smile, “Only so we can moan about the Lazar’s.”

“They are very annoying,” Eric agreed, speaking from experience.

“You didn’t date her, did you?” Janet questioned suddenly, as though she were surprised she hadn’t asked him about it before.

“Well, I wouldn’t call what we did ‘dating,’” Eric said, unintentionally repeating the same exact answer he’d given to Melody the day before.

Janet threw him a disapproving shake of the head. “Forget I asked.”

“At least your boy’s not dating a DiMario,” Reese’s step-mom pointed out to her friends with a disapproving purse of lips. "They've signed on to do the show, did you hear about that?"

"Really?" Janet sounded surprised. "I thought the only new family to join this season would be the Callores -"

Eric almost choked on his apple.

"The Callores?" he repeated in disbelief. "No way."

As proof, Janet used the remote control to fast forward towards the end of the episode before pressing play again, “Watch.”

Next time on the Real Housewives of Verona …” The scene quickly changed to Ruby’s mom sitting at one of the fancy restaurants she owned, the other housewives around her.

So Jeremy just signed a business deal with Tobias Callore,” she announced snobbishly to the rest of the women. “ I was thinking of inviting his wife, Lana, to the barbeque party I’m throwing this Saturday. It’ll be a great chance for her to get to meet all of you.”

Is she nice?” one of them asked.

She’s sweet. You’ll like her.”

Janet stopped it at that.

“See?”

“I can’t believe it,” Eric marvelled. “Bowtie is gonna be on TV.”

*

The next day school was another boring affair. Aside from finding out that Marvin Callore and his family would soon appear on one of Verona's most watched TV shows, not much had happened. And as far as his hunt for Reese' new girlfriend, Eric was becoming dangerously close to giving up.

Third period saw him walking into the school office, Mr Plus had asked him to pick up the new math books that had arrived.

“Morning, Mrs Lockwood,” he greeted the receptionist. Mrs Lockwood was Verona High's longest serving member of staff, and was a favourite among its students.

Looking up from her stack of manila folders, she smiled warmly at him. “Good morning, Eric. What can I do for you?”

“Mr Plus sent me to pick up the new Math books.”

“Ah, yes of course.” She stood up from behind her desk and removed her glasses. “One moment.” She disappeared behind a wall of shelves and Eric slumped himself down onto one of the empty armchairs scattered around the waiting area. It was then he realised that he wasn’t alone. Sitting just a few feet in front of him was a very stunning and very familiar looking girl. She had long, ginger hair that fell past her shoulders and plump, very appealing cherry-red lips ...

“Do I know you?” he blurted out suddenly.

The girl looked slightly alarmed for a moment before she answered, “It’s my first day.”

“So you’re new?”

She nodded.

“I feel like I know you from somewhere …” he frowned curiously.

“I do modelling,” she said. “Maybe you’ve seen me on a billboard somewhere.”

Suddenly the memory of being stuck in traffic at Verona Maine came to him. He recalled looking out of his car window to see a towering billboard of the same ginger-haired girl holding a perfume bottle. “You were on a billboard,” he confirmed.

"I was."

A spell of silence fell between them as a plan slowly began to form inside Eric’s head. He’d been searching all week for a new girl to occupy Reese with, and he hadn’t had any luck. Until now.

“You’ll do nicely,” he said out loud.

“Excuse me –?”

“Eric, here are the Math books.” He looked up to see Mrs Lockwood approach holding a huge stack of books. She placed them on the empty chair beside him before turning her attention to the girl. “Miss Pearson, thank you for waiting. If you’d like to follow me, I’ll show you to your first class –“

“I can take her,” Eric offered.

Mrs Lockwood rose her brow in surprise. “Are you sure?”

“I’m sure,” he nodded. “You just get back to your work and leave it to me.”

“Thank you, Eric,” she said, clearly quite taken aback by his gesture, “that’s very kind of you.”

“My pleasure,” he smiled brightly. He waited until the secretary was out of earshot before turning back to the new girl, who looked less than happy to be escorted by him, not that Eric paid any attention. “Follow me, Pearson.” He handed her some of the books to carry. “D’you mind?” he asked, piling on book after book until she was holding more than he was. “They’re kinda heavy.”

Before she could even protest, he marched on ahead down the large school foyer towards class.

“So you’re a model?” he began conversationally, as he led her down the corridor.

“Yes,” she confirmed.

“Runway model or face model?”

“Face,” she answered, before craning her neck to look up at him curiously. “How do you know so much about models?”

“I dated a few of them,” he answered simply. There was a pause. “So are you seeing anyone at the moment?”

“Uh, no.”

“Not even casually?” he asked.

She shook her head.

Excellent. “Do you mind casual dating?”

The new girl stared at him for a long moment. “Why are you asking me so many personal questions?”

Eric appeared not to have heard her. “Would you say that you’re a materialistic kinda person?”

“I …” She struggled for a moment due to the weight of her pile of books. “No, I wouldn’t say that I am. Are you going to stop asking me questions now?”

“Sure.” A slightly longer pause followed. “So what’s your first class?”

She sighed in defeat. “English.”

“English?” he echoed in confusion. “Then what are you doing in the Math building?”

“What?” she spluttered. “I-I thought you were taking me to my first class!”

“No,” he retorted. “I was just getting you to help me carry these books.”

The new girl stopped dead in her tracks but by then they’d already reached Mr Plus’ door. As if sensing Eric’s arrival, his math teacher came out to meet him.

“There you are, what took you so –?” He paused mid-sentence when his eyes fell on the new girl holding the larger pile of textbooks. “Who is this?”

“New girl,” Eric answered simply.

“What new girl?” came several voices from inside the classroom. A few of Eric’s classmates even craned their necks to try and catch a glimpse.

“Quiet down,” Mr Plus told them sternly before turning back to face the girl. “Please ignore my class,” he told her. “Are you alright? You seem lost.”

The girl looked to be on the verge of tears. “I need to get to English class.”

Mr Plus turned his head to Eric. “And you brought her here?” he frowned, visibly unimpressed. When Eric shrugged his shoulders innocently, Mr Plus took the large pile of books from the new girl and dumped them back onto Eric. “Get inside and hand them out while I take her to Mrs Wells.”
"Do you know what my heart says now? It says that I should forget about politics and be with you. No matter what. You're a true Queen, a Queen any King would kill for." - Prince Francis ♕





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Sun Feb 28, 2016 6:00 pm
bluewaterlily says...



Ms. Wells paused when Mr. Plus stopped at the doorway with a girl alongside him, staring at the group uncertainly like a defendant standing before a jury with the impending threat of capital punishment.

The students ogled at her, and as Melody stared at the girl, she understood why. She had a certain air of glamor about her. Guys nudged each other, whistling and catcalling. The new girl shuffled uncomfortably. Remembering her first encounter with Eric, Melody felt a surge of sympathy for the girl. She glared at the boys.

“You have a new student, Ms. Wells. This is Chloe Pearson.”

Ms. Wells appraised the girl. “Your entrance caused quite the distraction. Take a seat, Ms. Pearson so we can carry on with class.”

“New girl,” snickered a few voices.

Chloe made her way to the back. As she was about to take a seat in the empty desk in front of Melody, Ruby plopped her backpack down. Poor Chloe stood there, eyes brimming with tears and looking overwhelmed. Melody and Lauren exchanged knowing glances, shaking their heads in dismay.

A vicious smirk twisting her lips, Ruby said, “Sorry, Ariel, but this seat is taken.”
Melody leaned forward, grabbed Ruby’s bag, dropping it to the floor with a loud thud.
She deflected Ruby’s smirk.

“Well looks like it isn’t anymore.”

"Standing up for a fellow freak, Bloody Mary?”

Melody rolled her eyes. “Don’t be jealous you don’t have a coconut bra or prince.”

Ruby looked at her seriously. “I will; his name is Eric.”

Lauren burst out laughing. “Hit your head again this morning, Ruby?” She gave her a sympathetic shake of her head. “I don’t know what’s more ridiculous; you referring to my brother as your ‘prince,’ or you thinking he’s still interested in you.”

The new girl, Chloe, had been listening to their back and forth jibes in nervous silence, before finally speaking up.

“I can sit somewhere else -”

“No,” Melody ground out, glowering at Ruby. “You can sit here,” Melody assured her, softening her voice and expression as she noticed the look of panic emerging on Chloe’s face. Melody directed a firm glare at Ruby as if daring her to argue. When she didn’t, Chloe seemed to take it as her permission to sit down.

“Thanks,” she said meekly, though the gratitude in her voice was evident.

“Just ignore her,” Melody told her before introducing herself. “I’m Melody, by the way. I was actually the new girl until you came along, so if anyone can sympathise with you, it’s me.”

Lauren gave her a warm smile. “And I’m Lauren. I’ve known girls like Ruby my whole life, so if you ever need help with them, come to me.”

“If she ever messes with you, and you need someone to kick her ass, I’d be more than happy to do the favor.”

Chloe’s eyes widened at that. “No, that’s okay. I like to avoid confrontations.”

Melody smirked. “Ruby is more bark than bite. Don’t let her intimidate you. She’s definitely more afraid of us than we are of her. Stick with me and Lauren, and she won’t get to you.”

The new girl smiled at that, her earlier nerves finally melting away. “I think I’ll take you up on that offer.”

Lauren smiled. “Great. You should have lunch with us today.”

“I’d love to.”

For the next two classes, Melody and Lauren spent time getting to know their newest companion a little better. They discovered that Chloe was quite a famous and upcoming teen model with already a few billboards and advertisements under her belt. She had moved to Verona with her mom - who was also her manager - after Chloe insisted on taking a break from modelling to attend High school.

“My mom’s pretty controlling,” she explained. “My whole life she had me homeschooled. But after my 15th birthday, I’d had enough.”

“I’m not surprised,” said Lauren. “Being stuck at home for that long would drive anyone crazy.”

“I just needed to spend more time with people my age. As much as I love modelling, I want to experience normal things.”

“Well, Verona High isn’t exactly what I would call normal,” Melody commented.

Lauren chuckled with a nod. “I have to agree. Everyone here is…”

“I think I know what you mean. There was this guy who was sitting in the school office with me. At first he recognised me from one of the billboards I was on, but then he started asking me all these weird and personal questions ...”

Melody rolled her eyes. “He was hitting on you.”

“I’m not sure,“ Chloe shrugged. “And then he took me to the wrong class and made me carry all his books for him.”

“What an ass,” commented Lauren.

Melody nodded her head in agreement. “If you see him again, let me know.”

The bell rang for lunch and the girls moved their conversation into the hallway.

“I am starving,” groaned Lauren, as they made their way

“This school is so big,” Chloe muttered.

“Don’t worry,” Melody assured her, “It gets smaller everyday.”
"A poet is, before anything else, a person who is passionately in love with language." - W.H. Auden





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Mon Feb 29, 2016 5:57 pm
*coco says...



It was lunch time and Eric and his friends were just taking their seats in their usual spot at the back of the crowded cafeteria, when Logan spotted Melody and Lauren walking in.

"Isn't that the new girl?" he asked Eric.

Eric looked over to see Melody and the alien standing with the same girl he had met at the school office. It wasn't until the new girl pointed over at him and Melody scowled, did he realise he was probably going to get into trouble.

Before he knew it, Melody had stormed her way in front of him.

"Were you hitting on the new girl?"

Eric gaped. "No!"

"Then explain to me what happened, because from what she told me, it sounds like you were!"

He signalled for her to come to one side, so they could talk privately without being overheard. “I weren't hitting on her. I want her to be the one to replace Eva.”

“Absolutely not,” Melody ground out, her eyes narrowed.

“But why?” Eric asked with a perplexed look on his face.

“Because she’s new and she’s vulnerable,” she answered. “The last thing she needs is to be set up with someone like Reese.”

“What’s wrong with Reese?” He paused as the answer to his own question came to him. “Ok, scratch that, I admit, he has his flaws. But at one point so did I.”

Melody folded her arms across her chest. “What’s your point?”

“My point is I’ve changed – kinda – and if I can change, so can Reese. He just needs to be pushed into the right direction … by the right girl …”

“Well you’ll just have to find another ‘right girl’ because I’m not gonna let it be Chloe.”

“Oh, come on, Mel,” he pleaded, “It’ll be good for her, too, y’know. Her popularity will hit the roof!”

“She doesn’t care about being popular,” Melody pointed out.

But Eric persisted. “Why don’t you let her meet Reese – just once – so she can make up her own mind about him?” he proposed. “If she decides she doesn’t like him then I’ll leave her alone.”

“I’m not agreeing to anything,” Melody cut in pointedly, “Not until you apologize to Chloe.”

“Apologise?” Eric quirked a brow and then laughed as if she’d just told him a joke. “I don’t do apologies.”

"Really?" Melody rolled her eyes. “Then this can be your first time.”

Eric shook his head. “No.”

“Yes.”

“Maybe I should talk slower,” he said, taking a few steps closer to her. “N-o.”

“Really, Eric? It’s just two words. What’s so hard about that?”

“It’s not hard, I’d just prefer to say something else with two words, like ‘Not me,’ or ‘No way,’ or ‘Touchdown.’

“That’s one word, Einstein,” she pointed out.

“Really? I always thought it was two.”

Melody threw him an exasperated look. “Stop changing the subject!”

Eric regarded her for a moment, trying to bite down a sudden feeling of irritation. “Look, Mel, I’m not gonna apologise. I didn’t do anything wrong.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Are you serious? You took her to the wrong class, made her feel uncomfortable by asking weird questions, and you made her carry your books. All so you could play matchmaker.”

“In my defence, those books were heavy.”

Melody shook her head, exhaling an exasperated sigh as she pinched the bridge of her nose. “Not an excuse. This isn’t about the books, Eric.”

He stared at her in confusion. “What’s this about, then?”

Wow, he really doesn’t know. Shock hit Melody like a thunderbolt as she realized Eric truly didn’t understand the problem. Him. Or his ego, at least. Exasperation coiled inside her as she recalled Eric smugly remarking, Janet told me once that when I was small she couldn’t tell me off, ‘cause everytime she tried to she’d look at my face and then give up.

“It’s about your ego.”

Ego?” This time, it was Eric who appeared shocked. He looked taken aback; his brow rose high on his forehead as if he wasn’t sure if he’d heard her right. “I don’t have an ego.”

“Then why do you find apologizing so damn hard?”

“I don’t find it hard,” he countered, “I just find it unnecessary.”

“Unnecessary?” she echoed, shaking her head in dismay. “You’re unbelievable. How can you seriously think that you don’t ever have to apologize?”

“I didn’t say that I won’t ever apologise,” he corrected her with a slight frown. “I just said I’ve never felt the need to. Like now, for example ...”

“Even though you were in the wrong?”

His frown deepened. “I don’t think I was.”

“Eric, just because you don’t think you’re wrong doesn’t mean you aren’t.”

“And just because you think I’m wrong it doesn’t mean I am.”

“Eric, you were completely out of line!”

He scoffed. “Because I asked her to carry a couple of books?”

“This is not about the books! It’s about how Chloe is new and you singled her out with the intention of only using her to replace Eva. You made her feel uncomfortable and then led her to the wrong class.”

Eric shrugged nonchalantly. “I forgot which class I was supposed to take her to. She should’ve reminded me.”

“She shouldn’t have had to remind you!” Melody snapped. “You know, Eric, this isn’t the first time you’ve done something like this to a girl.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about how you always seem to make a new girl feel singled out.”

“Oh, come on, I forgot to take her to the right class. Big deal …”

“Iit is a big deal! She doesn’t know her way around and you said you’d help her but you didn’t.”

“But she got to her class eventually.”

“No thanks to you,” she countered, “and that’s not even the point.”

Eric rolled his eyes. “Let me guess, the point is I was being an ass?”

“That’s exactly the point!”

“What a surprise?” he scoffed with sarcasm. “I’m always the villain, even when I’m not.”

Melody felt a sudden twinge of guilt. “That’s not what I said or meant, and you know it.”

“Do I?” he countered. “What I did was harmless but you’re making it out as if it was something bigger. And then you accuse me of doing it before …”

“I was the new girl too in case you’ve forgotten.”

“Yeah, and I flirted with you a few times … but it was harmless. Are you expecting me to apologise for that, too?”

“No, I’m trying to make you understand what it feels like.”

“Fine, if it means that much to you, I’ll be a little nicer to her from now on.”

Melody raised an eyebrow. “A little nicer?”

“Yes, a little nicer,” he repeated, visibly irritated by this entire conversation, “I don’t know her, what do you want me to do? Go up to her and give her a hug?”

“No, but I want you to to at least apologize to her for being rude.”

“But I wasn’t rude!” he argued. “Come on, Mel, all I did was just ask her some stupid questions.”

She rolled her eyes. “Those questions made her feel uncomfortable.”

“How am I supposed to know it made her feel uncomfortable?” he retorted. “I’ve always talked to girls like that. It’s just how I am, and they never thought it was rude.”

“Or maybe,” Melody challenged, “they were too intimidated to say anything.”

“Right, because I’m such a monster,” he drawled sarcastically.

“Would you stop that?” she snapped once more.

But Eric appeared not to have heard her. He seemed angry, “First I’m an ass, now I’m intimidating … any more names you wanna add to that list?”

“Eric, stop that. Stop trying to manipulate me by twisting my words and victimizing yourself. Telling you when you’re wrong is not me calling you an ass or intimidating.”

He said nothing at first, he simply regarded her for a few seconds, unexpectedly riled by her observation of him. Then finally, he straightened himself, tugged at his collar and muttered something about being late for football practice.
"Do you know what my heart says now? It says that I should forget about politics and be with you. No matter what. You're a true Queen, a Queen any King would kill for." - Prince Francis ♕





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Mon Feb 29, 2016 6:00 pm
bluewaterlily says...



“Eric-” Melody started, already feeling the guilt settle in her gut. Hurt knifed through her core as he turned away from her and stormed off.

“I’d let him cool off for a bit, if I were you.”

Melody turned to see Bobby approaching.

”I think,” she said in a daze, “we just had our first fight.”

He nodded. “It was pretty entertaining, too. At one point Logan started making bets on who he thought was gonna win.”

“Who did he bet on?”

“Eric,” he answered. “But Lauren and Casey went for you.”

She nodded, unsurprised by Lauren’s choice. And it seemed where Lauren stood, so did Casey. “Who’d you bet on?” she asked casually.

“Well, I’m not gonna bet against my friend, but I’m not gonna pretend he’s right all the time either.” He paused. “I guess I was neutral.”

Melody looked at him, eyes wide in surprise. “Smart choice.”

He smirked before turning to face Casey and Logan. “Let’s get going. Practice starts in five.”

“Am I the only one hoping Eric takes his anger out in the field?” smirked Logan as he joined them.

Casey threw his friend an uncertain look. “You better hope he doesn’t kick your ass.”

“You better hope he doesn’t kick yours when he finds out you betted against him,” Logan retorted, before heading for the exit.

Casey’s face visibly paled at that. “W-wait,” he stammered, following after Logan. “You’re not really gonna tell him that, are you …?”

Melody watched them go, until Lauren approached. She stared at Melody in sympathy.

“You okay, Mel?”

She gave a jerky nod, running her hand through her hair. “Yeah.”

“You did the right thing.”

“Doesn’t feel like it.”

Lauren shrugged. “Well, this is Eric we’re talking about. Sometimes he just needs to be put in his place. What he pulled with Chloe was wrong, and someone had to tell him that. Most people would’ve been afraid to do it, but I’m glad you weren’t.”

“I know,” Melody sighed. “I just hate seeing him upset, especially when I’m the one who caused it-”

“No,” Lauren said sharply. Melody looked up in surprise. “Don’t do that, Mel, don’t blame yourself. You did nothing wrong. Eric didn’t like to hear what you had to say because it was true. There’s no need to take up for him.”

“I’m not. At least I don’t think I am. It’s just … it’s just hard to choose between a friend- a new friend- and my boyfriend. And I think he thinks that I chose Chloe over him this time. I wasn’t trying to take sides.”

“Well he backed you into a corner.”

Melody shifted uncomfortably. “Not really.”

Lauren watched her with pursed lips. She shook her head in dismay, almost disappointment, and that caused Melody to feel that pang in her chest again. “You don’t even realize you're defending him. You’re still letting yourself take some of the blame.”

“I’m not trying to defend Eric. I mean I will, unless he’s wrong, because to tell him he’s right when he isn’t won’t do him any favors. But even when he’s wrong, I won’t walk away. I’ll still stand by him.” Because he’d do the same for me. Because no one’s really done that for me…except my uncle...and I think I just might be falling in love with this boy.

Lauren gave her that knowing stare, and Melody felt stripped down to her soul. Her eyes were pensive and piercing. Unreadable. “I know you will, Mel. You already have.”

“But does he know?” Melody asked.

“If he doesn’t, then he’s an idiot.”

Melody avoided her gaze, choosing to look down at her boots. “We’ve had a few mini-arguments, but this was our first fight.”

“Eric can’t hold a grudge very long,” Lauren assured her.

Melody eyed her dubiously. “It was pretty bad, Lauren.”

There was silence as Lauren let her words sank in and realization dawned on her face, quickly morphing into horror. “Mel, are you afraid Eric will break up with you because you didn’t cave into him?”

Melody shrugged nonchalantly. No. Yes. “I don’t know.”

“He won’t,” Lauren assured her. The unspoken implication hung in the air, heavy between them as if to say, And if he tries, I’ll kick his ass. “All couples fight eventually. He just needs time to get over it.”

Melody nodded.

“Come on,” Lauren said, motioning for Melody to follow.

“Where are we going?”

“We never finished our girl time. I still have to do your hair and makeup, and we still need to introduce you to new fashion. I talked to Chloe about it. She said she’d help.”

“You’re taking me to the mall, aren’t you?” Melody sighed tiredly.

Lauren grinned. “So you have heard of it. There’s still hope.”

When Melody didn’t return the smile or laugh, Lauren sighed, the smile melting off her face. “Come on, Mel. It won’t be so bad.”

“That’s not what I’m worried about.”

“Everything will be fine,” Lauren promised. “Just give it time. Now let’s go. The mall closes at 11.”

“Lauren, it’s only 3:00.”

“I know what time it is, but we have a lot of work cut out for us.”

“How long does it take to shop for some clothes?”

“Mel, what’s the longest you spent in a clothing store?”

Melody shrugged. “Ten minutes? Twenty minutes max? I usually shop at thrift stores. It’s not like they have huge selections.”

“Well, I know at least ten different places we need to look.”

“It’s just clothes. What’s the big deal?”

“What’s the big deal?” Lauren repeated. “Fashion is expression. It’s art. And the way you dress says a lot about your identity. And the way you dress is not letting your true colors show.”
“What’s wrong with the way I dress?”

Lauren hesitated. “It’s just not who you really are, Mel.”

“You sound like my ther-” Melody stopped mid-sentence as she realized she was about to say her therapist.

“Your what?” she asked in confusion.

Melody shook her head. “Never mind. Doesn’t matter.”

Lauren sighed, letting the matter drop, much to Melody’s relief. “All I’m saying is the colors you wear don’t reflect your personality. All the black, well it’s just morbid. But the way you dress doesn’t show your personality to the world.”

“And that’s a bad thing?”

“Yes!” Lauren cried, smacking her forehead.

“So what colors do ‘show’ my personality?”

Lauren titled her head to the side in thought. “I don’t know, Mel. You have such a vivid personality, I can see it being any color, really. A blend of all colors.”

“Like a rainbow?” Melody laughed incredulously.

Lauren shook her head. “No, more like white.”

“White?” Melody asked skeptically in disbelief. Of all the colors, that was the least expected. Melody would have expected pink before white.

“Yeah,” Lauren nodded unfazed. “Because white is a mixture of all colors.”

“How is that possible?”

Lauren shrugged. “White is the complete reflection of all visible wavelengths of light. So it’s basically all colors combining to form white. That’s the beauty of white. . It looks like only one thing when really it's a perfect blend of many little things. You’re like the color white. All these contradictions, all the brightness and even darkness at once working in harmony.”

Melody stared at Lauren for a minute. “That was deep.”

“What?” Lauren blushed. “I paid attention when we were learning about the visible spectrum in physics. Okay, it was only because it dealt with colors which deals with fashion...”

Melody laughed, a smile curling her lips. Gratitude washed over her. “Well then you’ve learned more than I have.”

“Not much,” Lauren shrugged. “Never been much of a science person. Art’s my thing.”

“I always liked math,” Melody said. “It was always black and white. Right or wrong. Straightforward.”

Lauren pulled a face. “Exactly why I never liked math and science. I found it boring.”

“Like going to the mall?” Melody offered.

Lauren smacked her shoulder. “You just need to know what you’re looking for.”

“Clothes-”

Lauren rolled her eyes. “Yes, but not just any clothes. They have to fit your personality, and you need someone to help you. An expert. Which is what Chloe and I are for.”

“I’m trusting you.”

Lauren smirked. “Good because we won’t let you down.”

“I’m going to like like a walking rainbow or flower at the end of this, aren’t I?”

“No,” Lauren corrected, ‘you’re going to look like you.”

“I don’t even know that means.”

“But lucky for you,” Lauren said, eyes twinkling as she took Melody’s hand, “I do.”

--
Melody spotted Bobby sitting alone in an empty classroom. As she got closer, she realised he was texting someone.

“Bobby?”

To his credit, Bobby didn’t jump, though he did seem a little startled by her sudden appearance.

“Mel, hey … What are you doing here?”

“I uh … I wanted to talk about Eric..’

Bobby leaned back in his chair and regarded her for a moment with an intense concentration that almost felt invasive. Melody suddenly wondered if maybe she’d made a mistake in coming to talk to him. But then his mouth pulled into a subtle smirk, and he cocked his head to the empty chair opposite him. “Why don’t you take a seat?” He waited until Melody had sat down before speaking again, “Is this about the fight you two had the other day?”

Melody nodded. “I know you said to give him time, but ... I thought you meant an hour or two, not a day or two.”

“Time moves more slowly in Eric’s world,” he said. “When I say he needs time, I mean he needs longer than a couple of hours.”

“Is he alright?”

“He’s fine.”

Melody nodded, though the fact that Eric seemed unaffected by their fight stung a little. “If he’s fine, then why hasn’t he spoken to me in two days?”

“This might be a little hard for you to understand but this isn’t him holding a grudge.”

“Then what is it? Is it because I bruised his ego?”

“Yes,” he nodded, “and no.”

“Does he feel like I chose Chloe over him?”

“Yes … and no.”

Melody shot him an exasperated look. “Can you please give me a proper answer?”

“Eric’s never been spoken to that way before,” Bobby revealed in a measured tone. “And that’s not ‘cause people were too intimidated by him to say anything,” he stopped there to shoot her a look which suggested that that particular comment of hers had been below the belt. “People here aren’t afraid of him, Mel. They respect him and his family. There’s a difference.”

“If they respect him and his family, then they should tell him the truth.”

Bobby arched a brow. “You mean tell him that sometimes he can be rude, arrogant, insensitive …?” Bobby shook his head with a smirk. “That’s half of Verona High, Mel.”

“But I didn’t grow up in privilege, Bobby. I grew up middle class, so when someone is that, we call it like it is.”

“And that’s exactly my point,” he said, “You grew up with a mom and dad constantly correcting you whenever you made a mistake, teaching you so that next time you wouldn’t make that same mistake again.”

“What about Janet?”

Bobby leaned back in his chair and released a long breath. “Janet gave E a lot of love, but not much else. I think she’s slowly starting to realise that might’ve been a mistake on her part. You have to see it from her point of view,” he tried to explain, “Eric was just four when his mom died - practically a baby - so when Janet married into the family she essentially became his mom. She did whatever she could to fill that void, to keep him happy. That wasn’t easy, especially with Eric’s dad putting him down all the time and his brothers having little to no time for him.”

Melody nodded. “So you’re pretty much a brother to him.”

“I guess so,” he admitted after a moment before returning to the subject matter at hand. “The point I’m trynna make is that while Janet did the best she could in the circumstances, Eric has never had someone to show or tell him when he’s wrong.”

“Until I came along,” Melody deadpanned.

“Exactly,” he nodded, “and now he’s having to hear things about himself he’s never had to hear before.”

“So is that a good or bad thing?

“It’s a good thing,” he assured her, “but now that I’ve explained his situation to you, I think next time, you might wanna change the way you go about it.”

Melody nodded, thinking about all the people she’d lived with after her parents’ deaths. Their attempts at discipline had been less disciplinary and more punitive with coercion. She’d never responded well, and the more force they exerted, the more she resisted. Why did she think it would be any different with Eric? “So how do I make things right?”

“That’s up to you,” he told her. “You can either give him more space and wait it out, or … you could be the one that makes the first step.” At that moment the bell rang, signalling the end of lunch. Bobby stood up from his seat, slinging his backpack over his shoulder. He looked down at her and asked, “Did that help?”

“Yeah,” Melody said. She gave him a small smile. “Thanks, Bobby.”

“Any time,” he winked.
"A poet is, before anything else, a person who is passionately in love with language." - W.H. Auden





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Mon Feb 29, 2016 7:57 pm
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*coco says...



It had been two whole days since Eric and Melody’s argument. He had spent those two days purposely avoiding her at all costs, whether it be in the school hallways or at the cafeteria. It wasn’t because Eric was angry at her, but because he was very much aware that however hurtful some of her words had been, they were true, even if he tried to deny it. And while he was able to get away with choosing to avoid his girlfriend for the first day, on the second day both Lauren and Bobby had made it their mission to talk some sense into him. Threaten would probably be the better word ...

Apologise, or I’ll kick your ass, had been Bobby’s exact words to him this morning, and Eric realised that however much it would hurt his pride, he would have to stick his tail between his legs and do the unthinkable. Eric dug into this pocket and pulled out his cell phone, opening up the message icon before tapping on Lauren’s name:

‘Alien, where’s Chloe?’

Five seconds later.

‘Library. Leave her alone, or I will find u and kill u.’

‘Noted.’

Pocketing his cell phone, he shoved his books and bag into his locker, slammed it shut and headed for Verona High’s school library in the east wing of the school.
The hallway leading up to the library was pretty much deserted. Once Eric stepped inside, the librarian, Mrs Page, was so surprised to see him that she spluttered into her mug of coffee.

Once she’d mopped herself up, she looked at him and asked, “Are you lost, Mr Van Holden?”

“Nope.”

He looked around the small clusters of students that were dotted about the place and spotted Chloe sat in the far corner alone, notebook and pen in hand, going through a familiar looking book that Eric had a copy of himself: The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne – a required read for history class.

“Pearson,” he acknowledged, only to be met by silence. Chloe was clearly making an effort to ignore him. “Oh, I get it, the silent treatment. Very original.” But Chloe refused to rise to his bait, so he searched for a topic of conversation. Glancing down at the book, he asked casually, “Have those two little boys been caught yet?”

Chloe’s mouth gaped wide open. “Oh my God! You just … you just spoiled the entire book for me!”

Oh, great!

“I’m really not doing myself any favours, am I?”

“No, you’re not,” she retorted, visibly irritated, “now if you don’t mind, I’d appreciate it if you’d just leave me alone.”

Eric sighed. “As much as I’d love to, I’m afraid I can’t.”

Chloe looked up at him, “Why not?”

“Because I …” he cleared his throat, feeling uncomfortable, “I owe you an apology, for the other day.”

Chloe appeared genuinely surprised by his sudden apology. It was clearly unexpected, even for her.

“If you don’t accept the apology, I’ll have no choice but to find a way to show up to each an’ every one of your classes an’ annoy the hell outta you, until you do.”

Chloe rolled her eyes, but he could see her mouth quirk up a little.

“So am I forgiven?” he asked, feeling the last few pieces of his pride (and dignity) crumbling away. He didn’t even want to wait to hear her response, “I’ll let you think on it … Enjoy the rest of the book.”

And with that, he headed out.
"Do you know what my heart says now? It says that I should forget about politics and be with you. No matter what. You're a true Queen, a Queen any King would kill for." - Prince Francis ♕





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Mon Feb 29, 2016 9:15 pm
bluewaterlily says...



Melody and Lauren were waiting for Chloe at her locker after school. For the past two days, she had been hanging out with Chloe and Lauren, trying to distract herself from the fight she had with Eric. They made eye contact in the hall a few times until he quickly looked away. It was like they walked a fragile line and if one of them crossed it, it would break. She shook her head trying to stop thinking about Eric once she saw Chloe approaching.

Melody resigned herself to another day of being dragged to the mall and forced to try on clothes by Chloe and Lauren. The day before almost everything Lauren had shown to Melody was a skirt or dress. Melody had halfheartedly tried on a few blouses at Chloe’s urging but she drew the line at skirts.
Lauren frowned apologetically at Chloe when she approached.

“Hey, Chloe,” she greeted, looking her over with a worried frown. “I’m sorry Eric came to see you in the library. Did he annoy you?”

“No, actually – well, apart from completely giving away the ending to the book I was reading –“

“I’m gonna kill him,” Lauren cut in, and Melody hid her face in embarrassment.

“But he apologized to me.”

That comment was met by a shocked silence. Melody and Lauren glanced at each other, mouths hung open and eyes wide.

Melody was the first to find her voice again. “I’m sorry, did you just say that Eric apologized?”

When Chloe nodded, Lauren asked, “We are talking about my brother, here, right?”

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure there’s only one Eric around here …” she chuckled.

“Wow,” Lauren marveled. “I am actually … shocked.” She turned to look at Melody again, “Maybe that argument was the kick up the backside he needed, because my brother has never apologized for anything – ever.”

“He did apologize to me once,” Melody spoke up.

Lauren stared at her in shock, eyes wide. “When?”

Melody rolled her eyes at memory. “When Ruby told him Jeffery kissed me and we had that...misunderstanding..”

“He actually apologized to you?!” Lauren spluttered in disbelief. “He told me he took you out to lunch to make it up to you. Is that what you mean?”

Melody shook her head. “Yes, we went out for lunch, but he really did say ‘I’m sorry.”

Lauren shook her head in disbelief. “Unbelievable. Mel, you’re the first person he’s ever apologized to.”

Chloe smirked, exchanging a knowing look with Lauren. “Let me guess, Mel’s the only reason he apologized to me.”

Lauren nodded. “Bobby-my brother’s best friend- may have had something to do with it, but it was mostly Mel.”

Chloe’s smirk widened. “That’s because he is hopelessly devoted to her. He just doesn’t know it yet”

Lauren grinned. “You’re right, Chloe. So hopelessly deveoted to the point he always interrupts me and Mel’s girl time.”

“He is not!”

Both their grins widened and they stared at each other in amusement.

Melody cleared her throat. “So are we going to the mall again?”

Chloe shook her head. “As much as I’d love to, I have to go to work.”

Both Lauren and Melody stared at her in intrigue. “I didn’t know you had a job,” Lauren said. “Where do you work?”

“At the new coffee shop, Verona Java. You two should check it out.”

“Do you like it?” Melody asked the cogs in her mind turning.

Chloe nodded enthusiastically. “I do. The owner, Sophie, is really nice and I like making latte art in the coffee foam. I’m getting good at it.”

“Are there any jobs open?” Melody asked suddenly making both Lauren and Chloe look at her in surprise.

Melody shrugged. “I need the money for college.”

Chloe’s face broke into a grin. “You should apply then! We can work together; it’ll be so much fun.I have to go now.” She turned to Lauren. “Keep trying to get her in a skirt. Send me the footage of that.”

Lauren quirked a brow. “You do realize I’m not a miracle worker right?”

Chloe shrugged. “Anything’s possible in Verona. Hell freezing over, Eric apologizing, Mel in skirt…it’s only a matter of time.”
"A poet is, before anything else, a person who is passionately in love with language." - W.H. Auden





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Mon Feb 29, 2016 9:17 pm
bluewaterlily says...



Melody approached the boy’s locker room, hoping football practice was over and that she could catch Eric. She was still reeling from the news that Chloe had told her that Eric had apologized to her. She couldn’t help but feel a touch of pride at Eric for trying. She knew it was not an easy thing for him to admit being wrong, and his ego was still probably a little sore as a result. Melody also knew while he had apologized to Chloe, he would not seek her out. If they wanted to move forward, Melody would have to be the one to do the propelling.

Steeling herself, she walked into the locker room, and was greeted by the sound of rowdy laughter and conversation. To her horror and dismay, a whole group of footballers were in the process of stripping out of their jerseys and slipping on their regular clothing. Melody could hear them talking about everything from bragging about their latest conquests, to the upcoming football game against Hamlet Academy. But her presence didn’t go unnoticed for long. Looks from Eric’s teammates, some puzzled, some amused, darted her way one by one.

“What’s the Goth girl doing here?” one of them smirked.

“That’s Melody Grey.”

“Isn’t she the one datin’ E?”

That caused laughter amongst some of Eric’s teammates, followed by a round of cat-calling.

Melody rolled her eyes. Meatheads. Determinedly, she continued walking down the aisle of lockers and benches. The place was a mess; clothes, gym bags, helmets and other gear were tossed about in every direction; and the place had an unpleasant odour about it; sweat mixed with expensive cologne.

Just as Melody was about to give up on her search, she finally spotted Bobby all the way at the back of the room, followed by the familiar voices of Logan, Casey and Reese coming from the same direction. Knowing that Eric was probably back there too, Melody took a deep breath and headed their way.

“I’m just saying …” Logan’s voice sounded out, “That was a pretty bad miss.”

“It’s not my fault Case’s throw was so shite,” Reese countered.

“Hey!” Casey exclaimed. “It was an open ball -!”

Their bickering was cut short once Melody appeared. She could see the mixed look of surprise and horror flitting across their faces. Eric, who had his bare back to her and a towel over his head, remained completely oblivious to her presence.

“Which one of you asses stole my cologne?” he asked as he rummaged through his locker.

Bobby gave a slight cough, nudging Eric and nodding in the direction behind him. Eric frowned in confusion before turning around. When his eyes settled on Melody, they widened in complete horror.

“Mel, wha-?” He quickly pulled the towel from his head and wrapped it around his bare chest. “W-what are you doing here?”

Melody found that she couldn’t answer at first. Aside from the fact that he wasn’t wearing a shirt, she was too preoccupied by the sight of Eric’s mane. His hair was dripping wet from his shower and the water had completely dampened his usual curls. Even the colouring looked darker. It all made him look so … different.

“Well ...” Melody began sheepishly. “Chloe said that you apologized to her, and I just … well, I wanted to say thanks.”

The tips of his ears turned pink. “So you decided to come in here?”

At that moment, Logan started tugging on the towel Eric was clinging to. “I’d like my towel back please, if you don’t mind.”

Eric shot him a puzzled frown. “What the hell are you talkin’ about? This is my towel!”

Logan shook his head with a smirk. “No, I’m pretty sure that’s mine ...”

It was Melody’s turn to blush. “I thought it would be just you.”

“I’d ask everyone to leave, but I’m pretty sure they’re half-naked …” said Bobby.

“I can come back another time…” Melody offered.

Eric stared at her; the nervousness in her stance and the blush rising in her cheeks. He glanced over at Bobby for help, but his friend just gave him the usual pointed look mixed with a hint of sternness. Eric knew what that look meant, he’d received it enough times over the years. And so, taking in an inward breath, he glanced back at Melody again.

“Just give me a minute to, y’know … put a shirt on.”

Melody nodded turning so her back was to him. “Right..”

Eric could hear Logan and Reese sniggering in the corner and fought the urge to throw his helmet at them. He quickly pulled on one of his training shirts, gave his head one last scrub with the towel, before approaching her.

“Let’s go through here,” he said, pointing to the back door of the locker room which led outside to the school parking lot. He was aware that his hair was still very much wet and there was a slight chance that he’d catch a cold, but he was also aware that he needed to get her out of the boys locker room, whatever the cost.

Melody followed Eric out into the parking lot. She frowned as the cold air hit her skin, and she noticed Eric with his wet hair and no jacket. She didn’t want him getting sick, on top of still recovering from the car crash. Shedding her loose fitting-leather jacket, she offered it to him.

“Here. It’s not Prada but it should keep you warm.”

Eric stared at it with a quirked brow. “You do realise that won’t fit me, right?”

“It might be a tight fit but it should work.”

He shook his head stubbornly. “You keep it. I’m fine.”

“Is that why you’re shivering?” she countered. “Really, Eric? It’s close to freezing out here and you put on a t-shirt?”

“I needed to get you outta there, and this was the first thing I could find,” he retorted matter-of-factly. Even as he spoke, he could feel the cold creeping up his back and towards his neck. But he ignored it.

Melody rolled her eyes. “Would you quit it with the tough guy act? I’m just trying to help. Excuse me for caring.”

“Really? Because it sounds like you’re just having another go at me.”

Melody stared at him incredulously. “Are you serious? How is me being concerned about your health having a go at you?”

“You just said I’m putting on a ‘tough guy act.’

“Well if you’re not, then why won’t you take the jacket?”

“Uh, because it’s yours,” he retorted. “You’d get cold, too.”

“I’m fine, I have a long sleeve on.”

But Eric still wouldn’t take the jacket. “I’m fine, too.”

Melody rolled her eyes. “Fine,” she snapped. She tugged her longsleeve off to reveal a t-shirt underneath. “You won’t wear a long-sleeve or jacket, then I won’t either.”

Eric simply gaped at her for a long moment.

“Wha … who … Did you hit your head this morning?”

“ I could ask you the same thing.”

“I play football, I hit my head all the time,” he retorted. “What’s your excuse?”

Before she could stop herself, Melody retorted, “Dating you,” As soon as the words flew out of her mouth, she felt her jaw drop. Eric gaped. He felt his jaw actually fall open as far as it could possibly drop.

When he finally found his voice again he responded with an accusing tone, “I was right. You are having another go at me!”

“Eric,” Melody said looking pained. “I’m not...I wasn’t trying to have a go at you. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. I’m really sorry.”

Eric stared at her in silence, unsure of what to do or say next. “You … you don’t have to -”

She tried to meet his eyes. “Yes I do. I’m sorry about what I said. And again, thank you for apologizing to Chloe. I know that wasn’t easy. For what it’s worth, I’m proud of you.”

Eric released an uncomfortable sigh and shoved his hands inside the pockets of his pants. “Look, Mel, about our fight …”

Hope sprung from her chest. “Yeah?”

“You were right … about what you said.”

“What made you come around?”

He shrugged awkwardly. “I had a lot of time to think about it … an’ Bobby might’ve had a word with me.”

Melody laughed before sobering. “He had a word with me too.”

Eric’s brows rose. “You both talked about me?”

Melody blushed and nodded. “Well I asked him for some insight on how to make things right with you.”

“And what exactly did he tell you?” Eric questioned, his stance turning defensive.

Melody stared at him sheepishly. “Well he told me a little about how you grew up and that even with Janet around, you never had anyone to really tell you when you’re wrong--until I came into the picture. “

Eric’s jaws clenched in visible anger. “He had no right telling you about all that.”

Melody took a step closer and placed a placating hand on his shoulder. “He was only trying to help you. If anyone’s to blame it’s me. I wasn’t expecting him to tell me that or talk to me about your private homelife. Really, I just wanted advice on what I could do to make things better between us. And I got it.”

But that did nothing to soothe his anger. “He’s an asshole.”

“He’s your best friend,” she corrected. “He was only looking out for you. Like I’m trying to. Look, Eric, I’m not sorry for what I said, but I am sorry for how I said it. I don’t know if that changes anything. I hope it does, but either way, I’m still sorry.”

“Stop saying sorry,” he interrupted her, a frown still creasing his forehead. “Didn’t I just say you were right?”

“Yeah I guess you did,” she admitted reluctantly. “ But I just wanted to make sure things were okay between us … are they?”

Eric scoffed, clearly confused. “Of course they are. Did you think I was gonna break up with you over this?”

Melody shrugged, staring down at her boots. “Well we didn’t talk for two entire days so how was I supposed to know what you were going to do?”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” Eric sighed, sheepishly rubbing the side of his neck. “I suppose I should apologise for that, too. If Bobby should’ve opened his mouth about anything, it should’ve been to tell you to give me some time.”

“But two whole days?”

He shrugged. “I have no concept of time.”

“I missed you, Casanova.” Then lightly, she added, “Who else would I have no to drive me crazy?”

Eric stared at her. “What about the alien? She’s been driving me crazy these past two days ...”

“Me too,” Melody admitted, making Eric stare at her in shock. “We spent several hours at the mall where she forced me to try on clothes. She says I’m her fashion project, but I say Barbie doll.”

He smirked, if only a little. “She does that. My entire wardrobe was picked by her. I drew the line at her choosing my socks.”

Melody laughed. “I draw the line at my boots.Or wearing a dress or skirt. She’s still fighting me about that, by the way. You can tell Lauren she’s fighting an uphill battle.”

“I -” Eric’s words broke off as he gave a sudden loud sneeze.

Melody frowned at him. “You need to get out of this weather.”

Eric blinked and then sniffed. “I’ve never sneezed in my life.”

Melody rolled her eyes. “Whatever you say, Superman.”

“I’m serious, I -” He sneezed again, this time wiping his eyes.

Melody sighed. “Well I hate to break this to you, Casanova, but it looks like you’ve caught a cold.”

She shrugged her jacket off, and draped it over his shoulders. Eric gave her a slightly surprised look that was ruined when he sneezed again.

“Leave it on,” she said sternly.

“I can’t get a cold,” he said, recovering from the sneeze. “I don’t get colds.”

“Everyone gets colds,” she said.

“Well, I don’t.” There it was again, that stubbornness. “I’ve never -” He sneezed again, clearly becoming frustrated by his sudden predicament.

“You were saying?” Melody asked dryly.

“This is all Logan’s fault.”

Melody raised her eyebrows. “How so?”

“I wanted to shower first an’ he cut me off, and then Bobby went in, then Reese, even Casey jumped the queue. If they’d let me go first, my hair would’ve been dry by now -” Eric sneezed three more times before clutching onto the jacket around him as if it were his lifeline. “I’m gonna kill them.”

Melody bit back a smile. “Come on Casanova. Let’s get you back inside.”

For once, Eric didn’t argue. Obediently, he followed her inside to find the locker room completely empty. He felt relieved. Melody had already seen too much of him earlier, the last thing he wanted was for her to see even more of the rest of his teammates. He felt another cold flush tingle his spine and he hurriedly sprinted towards one of the hair dryers by the third row of lockers.

Melody watched in intrigue as Eric dried his hair. She noticed that slightly damp, his hair appeared dark brown and more wavy. But as he dried it, she noticed how his natural chestnut color returned. As Eric turned the dryer off, and patted his hair dry, his wavy tresses at the top of his head curling wildly, a stark contrast against the skin cropped hair at the back of his neck and sides of his head.

“I can’t believe …” He sneezed again, “I’m letting you …” Another sneeze, “see me like this.”

“Oh relax,” she assured him, flashing him a smile. “I think you look cute.”

Melody didn’t miss the blush that came across his features, but he appeared determined not to let it show. He picked up a random bottle of gel from the counter top and began meticulously styling the top of his mane, calming the wild curls into their usual softly tousled ones.

“Better now?” Melody asked

Eric only sneezed. “My eyes are watering.”

“That’s because you have a cold,” Melody answered mildly.

“Yeah, I heard you the first time … Man, this sucks,” he muttered after another sneeze.

“Why don’t we go get something hot to drink?” Melody suggested. “Chloe works at this new coffee shop that’s just opened on Verona Maine. They sell hot chocolate too.”

He nodded as he sneezed again. “I need my jacket.” Then he sneezed two times in a row, bent over double now, tears gathering in his eyes. “Can you -?” Another sneeze.

“Sure,” she nodded, understanding his request even though he wasn’t able to finish his sentence.

She turned to his locker and opened it. As the locker door swung open, she noticed a newspaper article clipped to it. Smiling in the captain was Eric, and even though the photo was in black and white, the excited glimmer in his eyes stood out on the page. An unrestrained grin adorned his lips, and Melody’s heart twisted. She loved seeing that rare smile and would do anything to be the reason behind it. Melody studied the picture more closely, realizing it was one of his championships. She skimmed the contents of the news article.

“Mel-” Eric asked, making Melody nearly jump back. She tore her eyes from the news article and grabbed the jacket before slamming the locker shut. “Did you-” He sneezed again. “Find it?”

“Yeah, I got it, Casanova.” She turned and handed it over to him. “Armani. Nice.” She smirked as her teasing completely flew over his head as he shedded her leather jacket and hurriedly replaced it with his own, pulling up the collars to shield the sides of his neck. “Ready to get the hell outta here?”

Eric sneezed another two more times before he nodded. “Let’s go.”

Slipping her hand into his, Melody smiled as they walked out to the parking lot. The gaps between her fingers, now filled by his, felt like voids that had been closed, and it hit her, just how much she’d missed this. Being with Eric and teasing him and just feeling his presence. Everything felt more complete with him around.

“What are you smiling at?” he asked her.

Melody blushed. She tried to shrug it off casually, but couldn’t help it when she smiled even more. “You.”

“Huh?”

Another shrug. “I’m just happy,” Melody said. “Happy that we made up.”

He smirked that infamous smirk of his. “I’d kiss you right now but -” Another sneeze, “germs.”

“Maybe it’d be worth it.”

“It won’t be if I accidentally sneezed in your mouth.”

“I thought you were all about taking risks, Casanova.”

Eric seemed unsure at first, and she could see the inner battle going on in his head. Before she knew it, he’d wrapped an arm around her waist and gave her a quick peck on the lips before pulling away. And then he sneezed another three more times.

Melody smiled. “It was worth it, wasn’t it?

“You tell me,” he sniffed.

“It was.”

He sniffed again. “If you say so …” There was a pause. “You wouldn’t happen to have a tissue on you, would you?”

Melody nodded. “I do.” She reached into her pocket and handed one to him.”

He took it sheepishly. “Thanks. You might wanna block your ears.”

*

They entered the dimly lit cafe to find it bustling with customers and baristas. Running the cashier at the wraparound bar was Chloe. On either side of the bar were glass countertops displaying desserts. Mounted on the wall was a large blackboard where the menu was scrawled in colorful chalk.

“What are you in the mood for, Casanova?”

“A blanket,” he sniffed.

Melody gave him a comforting squeeze of his hand. “Why don’t you find a seat? I’ll be over in a minute.”

Eric sneezed and nodded.

Melody made her way to the counter. As Chloe finished ringing up one customer, she looked up to see Melody in line and smiled widely. Melody flashed her a grin.

“Hey, Melody. Have you thought about that job?” asked Chloe with a hopeful look on her face.

Melody nodded. “I’m thinking about applying but first I have to talk to Eric about it.”

Chloe’s face fell slightly at the mention of him. Melody knew her feelings toward him were still ambivalent at best, and she hoped as he got to know her more and vice versa, that changed.

“How are things between you two now…?”

“Better. We finally made up after two whole days.”

“That’s good,” Chloe replied, relief flitting across her face. “So what do you want to order?” She looked nervously over Melody’s shoulder to where a line of impatient customers stood..

“One hot chocolate and a white chocolate mocha. And,” Melody stalled her eyes skimming the desserts menu, “three salted caramel cake pops.”

Melody paid for the food and returned to the table in the corner where Eric was sitting.

“Hey Casanova, I got you some hot chocolate.”

“You forgot to -” He paused to sneeze again, “I didn’t give you money …”

“Eric, it’s fine. I have my own money.”

“That’s not the point,” he frowned. “I was gonna pay.”

Melody rolled her eyes. “You’re always paying. Now it’s my turn. And don’t tell me girls can’t pay for themselves or their boyfriends. It’s the 21st century.”

“It doesn’t matter if it’s the 21st century,” he retorted, sniffling again. “You shouldn’t have to pay if I’m -” Another sneeze cut him off.

“You’re right. I didn’t have to. I chose to. Don’t worry about it.”

Melody was sure that had Eric not been hampered by a cold, he would’ve argued with her until winning his point, but since that wasn’t possible, he settled for a mild look of annoyance instead.

“Come on, Casanova, are you really going to get mad at me after we just made up?”

He shook his head and sneezed.

“Good,” Melody replied, pushing the steaming mug of hot chocolate toward him. “I also got chocolate caramel cake pops, because you can never go wrong with more chocolate, right?” She winked.

Eric leaned over for his hot chocolate first, lifting it from the table. He regarded it for a moment before taking a small sip of the steaming beverage. Immediately he released a sigh of contentment.

“Better?” Melody smirked.

Eric nodded. He could feel the hot liquid rushing down his throat, soothing his cold. He swallowed another soothing gulp and distant memories of sitting by the fire with his family at Christmas came to mind.

“What are you thinking about, Casanova?”

“Nothing, it’s just … drinking this stuff always reminds me of Christmas.”

“Is that a good thing or bad thing?” Melody asked cautiously, trying to gauge if he was thinking about his mother.

“Good, I suppose …” He took another swig from his mug. “I mean, who doesn’t love Christmas?”

Melody smiled ironically. “I don’t know. I used to, but ever since my parents died…it was only two weeks before the holidays.”

Eric glanced up at her and sniffed. “I’m sorry, Mel, I didn’t know that.”

“It’s okay, Casanova. It’ll just be hard this year, especially for my uncle. Honestly...I guess this sounds horrible, but it’s going to only make it harder for me. The house my uncle lives in is the house he and my mom grew up in, and it’s already so empty without her...it’ll only be worse on the anniversary of her death and then on Christmas. I just don’t wanna be there those days, you know?”

He nodded with genuine understanding. “I know what you mean.” It was the same reason why he and his brothers had stopped visiting their winter lodge during the Christmas holidays. It reminded them of the mother they lost. But maybe Melody could make use of the place. “Y’know, you could stay at the cabin if it starts getting too difficult at home.”

Melody’s face lit up. The tension constricting her chest eased. “Really? You mean it?”

“Sure,” he nodded

“I’d love that. I was actually thinking...or hoping that-that,” Melody stuttered, mouth dry and heart beating wildly, “that maybe we could go and spend Christmas night there.”

Eric’s eyes widened, and a scarlet blush flooded his cheeks, spreading to his ears. He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, clearing his throat after he coughed and sneezed. “I can’t, Mel. Janet will kill me, an’ to be honest, she’s kinda put me off for life ...”

Melody’s eyes widened as his words punched the air out of her lungs. “I-that’s not what I meant. I didn’t mean that.” Patches of heat scorched her cheeks, and she was sure her cheeks were as red as poinsettias. “I just meant we could celebrate Christmas together … maybe watch some movies or something ...”

Visible relief flooded Eric’s features. “Oh, is that what you meant?”

Embarrassment erupted inside her again, making her cheeks burn like lava. She avoided his gaze. She picked up a cake pop and shoved it into her mouth, chewing and swallowing with deliberate slowness.

“These are delicious. You should try some.”

Eric shook his head. “The last time I had one of those I nearly choked to death.”

“What happened?” She asked, more than happy to change the topic, although he was the reason she had bought them in the first place. Well, I guess that’s what I get for not asking him what he wanted.

“I came home from school one day - this was when I was about 6 or 7 - and Janet had left out some cake pops she’d ordered for mine and Lauren’s birthday party. I snuck a few in my hands when no-one was watching and took ‘em up to my room. Little did I know, my brother was hiding in my closet waiting to scare me. Just as I put one of ‘em in my mouth, he jumped out screaming, and it scared the crap outta me so much I almost choked.”

Melody shook her head. “Your brothers really are something, aren’t they?” She still held out the cake pop to him. “Well, I think your chances of choking to death while being scared to death are slim to none out here. I had one shot to scare you-on the first day we met, so if that didn’t work then I am pretty sure it’s too late now.”

He considered her words for a moment. “What if I sneeze while I’m trying to swallow?”

“Then I’ll do the Heimlich maneuver.”

“Please don’t,” he told her. “My brother tried that an’ I swear he almost crushed my ribs.”

“Well letting you choke to death isn’t option,” she teased.

With a smirk, he finally took the cake pop from her and quickly popped it into his mouth. He barely chewed it for longer than a few seconds before swallowing.

“Would you look at that? You’re still alive.”

He chuckled, before reaching for his mug once more and taking another sip.

“So,” Melody began, “I was thinking about getting a job.”

“Yeah?” he asked, interestedly. “Me too. Where are you thinking of working?”

“Here actually,” Melody answered. “Chloe told me they have a few spots open.”

Eric glanced about the place they were in. Verona Java was relatively new compared to most of the coffee places dotted about the town, but the place had a nice vibe to it. It was sleek, modern, comfortable, and the people who worked there seemed friendly enough. He could see Melody working here and enjoying it, too.

“I just wanted to talk to you about it, just to see what you thought.”

For a moment, Eric wondered why that mattered to her; his opinion. But he didn’t allow himself to dwell on that question for too long. “I think it’d be great for you to work here,” he told her. “It’s a cool place … an’ you’ve already made a friend here which helps.”

Melody smiled at him in gratitude. “Thanks, Casanova. Where are you planning on working?”

He let out a sigh. “Somewhere a lot less enjoyable; my family’s firm.”

Melody smiled in sympathy. “Sorry, Casanova.”

“When I get enough money to buy a new car, it’ll be worth it.”

“So the job will only be temporary?”

Eric nodded before sneezing again. “I don’t really need permanent work.” He was about to say that it was unnecessary, given his family’s financial status, but he realised that could potentially come across as snobbish. Instead he decided to explain it from a different angle. “At the moment, my football is more important.”

Melody nodded eagerly. “How is football?”

Eric let out another sigh, this time longer. “I don’t know … Practice has been going all right, I guess. I can actually manage an hour without feeling any pain, but …”

“But …?”

“I’m still on second string,” he finished, his tone bitter with disappointment. “The game against Hamlet Academy is just two weeks away - it’s the game of our season - and I’m starting to think I won’t be able to play in it.” The thought had been plaguing him ever since that dreaded training session where he was demoted from the first team. It wasn’t just that he wanted to be part of the biggest game of the school season, it was that his dad was expecting him to be a part of it, not to mention the scouts that would be coming from all over the country to watch him play. The course of his entire future was riding on that game, and the thought that a stupid injury could destroy that made something inside his chest ache.

Melody placed an understanding hand on his, giving it a squeeze. “Has Clancy mentioned anything about moving you back to first string? You’re the quarterback,” She added incredulously. “Who could possibly replace you?

Eric quirked a bemused brow. “There are at least five guys that have been waiting for me to be in this position so they can step in.”

“Assholes,” Melody muttered.

He shrugged. “Football is a competitive sport, Mel. There’s no space for second-best.”

“I know,” she sighed. “But It’s not fair to you, and I hate that.”

He smiled at her in appreciation.

“I saw that newspaper cut-out you have stuck inside your gym locker,” she said. “When was that taken?”

“After I won my first championship,” he answered, a sense of pride filling his features.

“I thought so,” she smiled. “You looked so happy in it.”

“It was a special day for me,” he said fondly. “It was the final game of the season against Hamlet Academy. I threw five touchdowns including the winning one, and became the youngest ever high school quarterback to do so. That was the moment everything changed for me.”

Melody noticed how his eyes lit up as he talked about the memory and it moved something inside her. She felt that same desire to make him smile. Reflecting a smile of her own, she said, “Tell me more.”

“I just felt …invincible.”

“Must be a pretty amazing feeling. Do you feel like that every single game?”

“Pretty much,” Eric nodded. “It’s a high that’s addictive … but in a good way,” he added. “Because every time I chase that high, everytime I push myself in the field, I push myself in other parts of my life without even knowing it.” He paused, throwing Melody a sheepish look before taking another swig from his mug. “I’m probably not making any sense …”

Melody smiled and shook her head. “No, it makes perfect sense. It’s what you love doing. That’s how it’s supposed to make you feel. Like you’re invincible and could stay immersed in that moment forever, right? Something like that?”

Eric nodded, relieved that she understood. “Exactly like that. Which is why it’s so important I get back on first string.”

“You’ll get there, Casanova.”

He wasn’t so sure about that, but regarding her for a moment, a question came to mind. “So what about you? What makes you feel invincible?”

Melody looked down. “It’s not important.”

But Eric insisted, “Tell me.”

She sighed but Eric pinned her with an intense look that she caved under. “Playing music. Not just playing it; singing it too. I dated this guy who was into rock music and I ended up being his backup singer. And I was the only female backup singer.” Melody shrugged, tilting her head to the side. “I’d listen to pop my whole life, so rock was a new change. It was so edgy and it electrified me. Exhilarated. Made me feel alive. It was the one time I wasn’t afraid to be in the spotlight. And I guess, after the whole cheerleader thing didn’t work out, I kind of built this identity around it. I felt like I fit in with other musicians like me who didn’t go for the same thing everyone else did. I know a lot of people don’t understand rock, metal or Goth in particular. I’m accused of being morbid or dark but that’s not what it’s about. Maybe for me, it was empowerment.”

Melody met his eyes again. “I actually haven’t felt that way in forever. Not since my parents died,” she said quietly with an awkward cough.

“Do you think you’d ever wanna get back into it again?” Eric asked.

Melody shrugged uncomfortably. “I don’t know. I haven’t really sung in almost two years. And it took a lot out of me to even take out my dad’s guitar again a few weeks ago. I played it for the first time in two years. I miss it; I just don’t know when I’ll be ready. If ever.”

Eric nodded. He understood her reservations, her fears, because he felt them himself.

“It’s not like it matters, anyway.”

“‘Course it does,” he argued, “it’s something you love to do.”

“It really doesn’t,” Melody insisted, “I haven’t done it in so long, and so much has changed, how do I even know it’s something I love?”

Eric sniffed. “Well, you won’t know … unless you get back into it again.”

“I guess,” Melody admitted.

Eric nodded as he sneezed again. Then he sneezed two more times. “Damn it,” he muttered, rubbing his eyes, “I thought it stopped.” He then excused himself before taking out another tissue and blowing his nose. Unbeknown to him, it caused the tip of his nose to turn pink.

“This isn’t something that just goes away, Casanova. It can take about a week.”

“A week?!” he exclaimed in horror. He shook his head defiantly. “No … No, I can’t be ill for a whole week!” He paused momentarily as he remembered the training session he would have tomorrow. “Clancy’s gonna eat me.”

“Relax, Casanova,” Melody assured. “You’ll be alright. You might get a little tired faster but you should still be able to train fine. If it helps, we can get you some cold medicine today.”

Eric sneezed another three more times as she talked. “Sounds like a good idea.”

Before Melody could respond, she saw Lauren and Chloe approaching. A satisfied grin quirked Lauren’s lips as she saw Eric and Melody sitting together. She pulled up a chair and dragged it to Melody’s side of the table, and Chloe did the same, looking less than happy to have to sit closer to Eric’s side.

“What are you doing here, alien?” he frowned.

“I could ask you the same th-” She stopped. “Why do your eyes look so watery?”

“He has a cold,” Melody answered for him.

Lauren scoffed in disbelief as she regarded her brother. “You never get a cold -”

“I told you,” Eric told Melody, before sneezing again.

“Do you want some more hot chocolate?” Melody offered. “It might help.”

Eric shook his head. “I need to drug myself.”

“We’ll stop at the drugstore on the way back,” Melody promised.

Lauren rolled her eyes. “Mel, he’s fine. You don’t have to dote on him.”

Eric sniffed before shooting his sister a pointed glare. Any response to her comment was drowned out by another round of sneezes.

“I’m not doting on him,” Melody protested.

Lauren raised a skeptical eyebrow.

“I’ll go get more hot chocolate,” Melody said getting up from the table before Lauren could respond or Eric could argue.

“Thanks for the apology earlier ...” Chloe said once Melody was gone, looking at Eric, “I have a feeling she had something to do with it, but I appreciated it all the same.”

“Then why do I get the feeling you’re still not much of a fan of me?” he remarked.

Chloe shrugged. “No hard feelings. You seem to make Melody happy, so I guess that’s something. Besides, I’m a model. I’ve had guys say worse things.”

Eric chuckled at that, “I can imagine.”

Her lips relaxed into a more natural smile. “So, what was up with all the questions anyway? You obviously have a girlfriend, who were you trying to set me up with?”

“A friend of mine,” he answered, “... who has a girlfriend, too.”

Chloe raised an eyebrow. “What makes you think I’d be interested in someone who’s already in a relationship?”

Eric leaned back in his seat and smirked. “‘Cause he won’t be in a relationship for much longer.”

“Why not?”

“I’ve taken it upon myself to make sure they break up,” he answered simply..

“You’re seriously going to break them up?” she asked incredulously. “Who do you think you are?”

“An excellent friend,” Eric answered simply, unperturbed by Chloe’s outrage. “That girl doesn’t deserve him.”

“Who is she?”

Lauren rolled her eyes. “Eva DiMario. Can’t believe I’m saying this, but Eric’s right. She’s like Ruby, only ten times worse.”

Chloe pulled a face. “Then she must be awful.”

“I can handle her. She’s harmless,” Eric assured them. “I just want her as far away from my friend as possible.”

Lauren threw him an unimpressed look. “‘She’s harmless?’ That’s the same thing you said about Ruby when you broke up with her, and she took it out on Mel.”

“And then I took away her popularity,” Eric reminded her. “So who had the last laugh?”

Lauren pursed her lips, knowing he had a point. “You know if Eva finds out, she’ll try and kill you right?”

Eric rolled his eyes. “Big deal. Let her try.”

Chloe gave a small smirk, looking at Lauren. “Well lucky for him, he’s got Melody for backup.”

“Who says I need any backup?” Eric asked.

Chloe shrugged. “I don’t know. Most of the girls around here are a little…”

“Insane?” Lauren offered.

“Yeah, that.”

Before Eric could respond, Melody made her way back, carrying three mugs of hot chocolate.

“The line was long,” she explained, taking a seat next to Eric.

“We were just telling Eric what a bad idea it is for him to go after Eva,” Lauren filled her in. “Naturally, he’s choosing to ignore us.”

“He also ignored my method to get rid of her,” Melody replied with a shrug. “It’s a permanent solution.”

Both Lauren and Chloe’s mouths widened as they gaped at her, and Eric almost choked on his next sneeze.

“And you thought I was the crazy one,” he teased.

“I didn’t tell you what she said to me a few days ago. When I tried on my Juliet costume, she said ‘Wow, Melody. You almost look like a girl.’”

“Good thing she’s harmless,” Lauren replied, shooting Eric a glare.

“Sticks and stones,” Eric responded, “At least now you understand why I wanna get rid of her, right?”

Chloe agreed. “Yes. She sounds horrible.”

“She is,” he nodded. “So you’re up for it, then?”

“For you getting rid of her, yes,” Chloe said. “But that doesn’t mean I want to be set up with your friend.”

Melody perked up at those words and sent Eric a questioning look. “What’s she talking about, Eric? You’re not still going through with that crazy idea of yours, are you?”

“What’s so crazy about it?” he asked. “My plan is foolproof: get rid of Eva and replace her with Chloe.”

“And if Chloe doesn’t want to be the replacement?”

“Why wouldn’t she?” he retorted, genuinely confused by that question.

“Because I’m happily single,” Chloe spoke up.

Eric scoffed her comment away. “For now.”

Chloe eyed Melody with genuine sympathy. “Is this what you always put up with?”

“Hey, I’m right here,” frowned Eric.

Melody shrugged. “If you mean his persistent stubbornness, then yes.”

“Look,” Eric began, “I get that you have your reservations, but why don’t you meet my friend at least once before making up your mind?”

Chloe shrugged, taking a sip of her hot chocolate. “Well I guess it can’t hurt.”

Lauren’s eyes widened. “Chloe!”

“Can it, alien.”

Chloe sighed. “Well it’s the only way to get him to leave me alone, isn’t it?”

“I honestly feel like I’m the sanest person here,” Lauren huffed.

Eric shot her a glare. “Well, you’re not.”

Chloe looked down at her watch and then stood up. “My break’s over. I have to get back to work,” she replied. “I’ll see you later, Lauren and Melody.”

“We’ll talk later, Pearson,” Eric called after her.

“It’s Chloe,” she sighed.

“We’ve got to work on your people skills, Casanova.”

“I still think she doesn’t like me,” said Eric, as they watched Chloe go.

“I wonder why…” Lauren commented.

Eric looked to Melody for support. “You can see I’m trying, right?”

“It’s a start,” Melody replied cautiously.

“Mel!” Lauren exclaimed.

Eric threw his sister a smug look of satisfaction.

“Well, he is trying,” Melody said with a shrug.

“I was right,” Lauren grumbled. “I am the sanest person here.”
"A poet is, before anything else, a person who is passionately in love with language." - W.H. Auden





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Fri Mar 04, 2016 7:16 pm
*coco says...



“Are you planning to drug yourself?” asked Lauren as she walked into Eric’s bedroom to find him huddled under the covers with an assortment of pharmaceutical cold remedies littered about him. She stopped by his bedside and picked one of the packets of medicine and asked, “Is this the stuff you bought with Mel?”

Eric nodded and she rolled her eyes.

“You’re such a drama queen.”

Eric had barely recovered from another sneeze, when Janet poked her head through his bedroom door, clearly alarmed by the sound.

“Eric, what’s wrong, sweetheart?” she asked with concern as she spotted him shivering beneath his covers.

Still sneezing, Eric groaned, “I got a cold.”

Janet fully entered the room now, stopping by Eric’s bedside. Leaning over, she placed a gentle palm onto his forehead and confirmed that the worst.

“You have a bit of a temperature,” she frowned. “Oh, you poor thing ...”

Lauren scoffed from where she stood, “Please, it’s just an excuse to get some atten –”

Eric sneezed on her. Then he sneezed another two more times.

Janet ignored Lauren’s shrieks of disgust, her eyes falling on the medicine scattered around Eric’s bed.

“What’s all this?” she asked.

Eric sneezed another twice more before he croaked, “Medicine.”

“For a cold?” she echoed. “No, no, no, you should never take medication for that. It’s completely unnecessary. Your body should fight it naturally. Honestly, what do they teach you kids at school these days?” Eric watched in alarm as Janet gathered all of the pill bottles and syrups before dumping them into the trash can. “The best cure for a cold is natural medication …”

But Janet may as well have been speaking another language. “What?”

His step-mom rolled her eyes in dismay, “I’ll be back in a moment.”

Janet exited the room only to return fifteen minutes later accompanied by one of the maids carrying a large tray.

“What’s all this?” Eric croaked, his voice now very sore from all the sneezing.

“This ...” Janet lifted a glass of yellowish liquid, “is for you to gargle with. It’s honey, apple cider and vinegar.”

“Gross.” Eric cringed.

“And this,” Janet lifted a glass bottle this time, “is ginger and lemon tea.”

Eric shook his head defiantly, “I’m not drinking that –“

“Hot liquids will stop you from being dehydrated,” Janet cut in. “It will make you feel better –“

“Urgh, what’s that smell?” exclaimed Marcus, walking in with Rose at his heels.

“Janet’s trying to poison me,” Eric grumbled, blowing his nose, causing a pink tip to form there.

Marcus chuckled at the sight. “Look, Rose,” he pointed to Eric, “it’s Rudolph.”

“Funny,” Eric muttered, retreating even deeper beneath his covers to hide his face.
But Rose leapt onto the bed and wriggled her way towards him, a concerned look on her small, round face. “What’sa matter, Uncle Eric?”

“He’s become the germ monster,” Marcus teased, picking her up. “Let’s let him rest. You can come back later.”

Eric spent the remaining half hour blowing his nose, sneezing and drifting in and out of sleep. At around nine o’clock, Janet had come up with some homemade tomato soup for dinner. She had just propped up his pillows for him to sit up and eat when River strolled in carrying Rose.

“She’s got something for you.”

“What you got there, Rosie?” he asked, swallowing a spoonful of soup and feeling the sensation of warm liquid flowing down his throat.

“I got my blanky to keep you warm,” she said, before placing it over his lap. She then revealed her giant unicorn. “And Mr Fluffy, to make you smile until you get better.”

Eric couldn’t help but smile as she placed the giant stuffed animal beside him, it was the prize he had won at the winter carnival Melody had taken him to. Rose had fallen in love with it the moment he’d given it to her and refused to let it leave her side.

Before he could say thank you, he sneezed so loudly, his throat burned. Trent, who had been walking down the hall, stopped abruptly and peered in. When he realised the sound had come from Eric, he removed the handkerchief from his suit pocket that he normally used for accessory purposes and placed it over his mouth and nose. “Stay away from me,” he warned.

River smirked as he watched Trent go. “I think you should sneeze on him. Just for laughs.”

Eric stared at him blankly. “Do you want me to die young?”
"Do you know what my heart says now? It says that I should forget about politics and be with you. No matter what. You're a true Queen, a Queen any King would kill for." - Prince Francis ♕





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Sat Mar 05, 2016 12:48 am
bluewaterlily says...



“Mel, what are you doing right now?” Lauren asked when Melody finally answered the phone.

“Just some homework-“

“Turn on the TV right now.”

“What? Why?” Melody asked in confusion at Lauren’s uncharacteristic abruptness.

“The Real Housewives of Verona,” is on Lauren explained. “And guess who’s on it?”

Melody scowled. “If it’s Ruby, Kelley, or Eva I’m not interested.”
“It’s not them.”

“Then who is it?”

“Just turn it on and see for yourself.”

Melody sighed and reached for the remote, switching to the TV show showing a barbeque party but the screen panned to two women and two men talking around a patio in the evening. The women were drinking wine and laughing.

“Get ready,” Lauren warned. “Are you sitting down?”

“Why do I need to be sitting?”

“Are you sitting?”

“Yeah,” Melody answered confusedly.

“Good because here it comes.”

“Lana, darling,” a woman that looked like an older version of Ruby crooned with a sugary voice that Melody instantly hated. “You must be so proud of Marvin.”

“Please don’t tell me…No."

"Yes," Lauren answered grimly.

But before Melody could finish her sentence, the camera switched to focus on the face of Verona’s biggest nerd. His braces flashed as he smiled in pride, glasses sitting crookedly at the bridge of his nose beneath bushy eyebrows. Above his sweater vest an atrocious bowtie featuring clashing dandelion yellow and navy blue stripes rested.

“Bowtie!” Melody sputtered in horror.

“Keep watching,” Lauren commanded but Melody was too morbidly fascinated to turn the TV off.

Relief flooded Melody when the camera temporarily panned to Lana. She beamed a smile down on Marvin. “We are. Not only was Marvin accepted into Dunsianam, but he has continued the family tradition once he was accepted into Dunsiane University, but he has been offered an all-expense paid scholarship.”

Melody rolled her eyes. “Great, that’s where I’m applying,” she grumbled.

“Seriously?” Lauren asked and Melody could imagine her eyes widening.

“Yeah,” Melody replied. “I guess it’s a family thing. My uncle and mom studied business there.”

“Is that what you want to do?” Lauren asked curiously.

Melody shrugged. “I don’t know,” she admitted. “It’s a family thing I guess.”

“But do you really want to go there?" Lauren asked and Melody could have sworn she heard a hint of concern in her friend's voice. She felt a surge of annoyance, thinking Lauren was doubting her abilities to be accepted into Verona's prestigious local university. But Melody quickly realized Lauren was not doubting her. She was concerned for Melody's happiness and wanted her to only go to Dunsinane because it would make her happy and not her family. It felt refreshing for someone to care about her happiness or what she wanted as opposed to what they expected her to do. And it moved something in her, amazing her at what a good friend Lauren was.
" Especially if Bowtie’s going to be there…”

Melody hated to admit Lauren had a point and she felt a nagging and sinking feeling. “Well we don’t have to see each other. We won’t even be the same majors. I’ll be studying business…”

“What do you plan to major in, Marvin?” Ruby’s mom asked.

Melody waited with baited breath as the camera focused on Bowtie again. He flashed what he must have assumed was an award winning smile at the camera.

“I plan to pursue a degree in business with a concentration on computer programming.”
“You were saying?” Lauren asked dryly.
Melody had no reply to that. To her relief, the camera switched back to Ruby’s mother whose lips split in a fake smile.

“How exciting!” she exclaimed. “You’ve been accepted into college –on a full scholarship, the deb ball is coming up soon, and you’ll be graduating soon.
So many exciting events. Speaking of the ball, who is the lucky girl?”

The proud smile melted from Marvin’s face as his thin lips pressed together nervously. A red flush spread across Bowtie’s face. He coughed awkwardly. “I
actually haven’t asked her yet.”

Melody tuned into those words.

“You don’t think he means…” Lauren trailed off.

Ruby’s mother’s face scrunched up in false sympathy. Melody felt her stomach churning and she had to resist the urge to gag. “Oh honey, it’s hard to believe a catch like you is shy.”

Melody snorted. “Who writes this stuff, Ruby?”

“How cute,” Lauren quipped, “you actually think she knows how to read and write.”
In spite of herself, Melody laughed. “Fair enough.”

Tell us more about your mystery girl,” Ruby’s mother urged.

“Well…” Marvin trailed off.

“Oh how darling,” she laughed. “Poor dear is tongue tied. Don’t be so shy, dear! Tell us! For all you know, she could be watching.”

The thought seemed to be too much for Marvin whose face visibly blanched until it was white as the dinner cloth.

“Well….” He stuttered. “She is stubborn and outspoken. But she is not like the rest of the girls. She is independent.”

Melody felt her face burning with indignation. “And that’s a bad thing?
Maybe in land of the Plastics.”

Ruby’s mother raised her eyebrows. “She sounds like quite a challenge. Is she worth it?”

Marvin seemed unsure for a moment and his mother nodded vehemently before speaking up. She placed a supportive arm around Marvin’s shoulder.
“She is. She just needs more…refining, which my Marvin can do in no time.”

Ruby’s mother nodded skeptically , pursing her lips. “Well, sounds like one of a kind. You better not let her slip through your fingers.”

“Please let her slip through your fingers,” Melody muttered.

“You better ask her to the ball before someone else snaps her up,” Ruby’s mother advised.

“She is already seeing someone,” Marvin explained sullenly.

Ruby’s mother’s eyes lit up with malice. “Don’t let that discourage you, dear. Someone as smart as you should be used to competition. Just step up your game.”

“What game?” Melody snorted. “Chess?”

“Or robots,” Lauren muttered.

“Next time on The Real Housewives of Verona Lana and Tobias discuss a business proposal to expand their software company while Marvin works up the courage to ask his mystery girl to the ball. Will he succeed or has does another boy have the upper hand? Stay tuned.”

“Unbelievable,” Melody said shaking her head and fanning a hand to her face as she felt her cheeks flame in embarrassment. “Please tell me Eric wasn’t watching that.”

“No, he’s asleep.”

“What?” Melody asked incredulously. “No way! It’s only 10 p.m.”

“Don’t believe me?” Lauren asked amusedly. Melody could imagine her smirking. “I can show you proof.”

Before Melody could answer, her phone buzzed as she received a text.

Tapping the message icon, she opened the message from Lauren to find a picture of Eric asleep.

He was huddled under a pile of blankets, the top one a pink quilt, much too small to cover his whole lanky frame. Melody assumed it was for Rose. His head was pressed to the side of pillow, curls mused and she could see his eyes were closed and his nose was red. She laughed when she noticed his arm wrapped around a giant pink stuffed unicorn- the one he had won for Rose.

With a pang of guilt, Melody realized he was sick and it was her fault.

“Pretty funny right?” Lauren grinned.

“How’s he feeling?” Melody asked instead, concern bleeding through her voice.

“Mel, you don’t have to dote on him. Janet and Rose are already doing that enough. He might not be at school tomorrow but he’s fine. He’ll just sleep it off.”

“It’s my fault he’s sick.”

“Mel, do you even hear yourself?” Lauren asked in disbelief. “Are you sick too? Is it the fever talking?”

“Well when we finally made up today it was after football practice and he was still in the locker room and he had only a t-shirt and shorts and his hair was wet and it was cold…”

“You were in the locker room!” Lauren spluttered, her reaction an even blend of horror and laughter.

“It was the only time I knew I would see him today,” Melody explained, that familiar heat spreading to her neck. “And I knew he wouldn’t come and find me, so I had to had to be the one to confront him. It was my only opportunity.”

“Or,” Lauren quipped, “you really wanted to see him.”

“Well yeah,” Melody said like it was obvious but chose to ignore Lauren’s hidden implication. “I haven’t seen him in two whole days.”

“I wish I could get that lucky.”

Melody smirked. “Admit it, you’d totally miss him.”

“Maybe,” Lauren agreed. “But my aim is getting better.”
"A poet is, before anything else, a person who is passionately in love with language." - W.H. Auden





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Tue Mar 08, 2016 5:25 pm
*coco says...



The next morning Eric woke up to a heavy head and a very, very stuffy nose. His step-mom must have put something in that tomato soup he’d had the night before because thankfully he managed a solid eight hours sleep despite having a blocked nose. Wiping his face with his arm, he shoved aside some of the blankets over him, knocking over Rose’s stuffed unicorn, before gingerly getting to his feet.

It felt weird to be at home on a school day. Eric hadn’t been off school since the accident. It made him feel … uneasy – especially considering his return to the first team hadn’t yet been confirmed.

“Eric, are you awake?” Janet called from downstairs.

“Yeah,” he managed to reply, his sore throat making his voice sound more like a frog croaking.

“Would you like me to bring your breakfast upstairs? Or are you feeling up to coming down? I’m all alone downstairs so I wouldn’t mind the company.”

Eric opened his bedroom door and could almost smell the fresh bacon and eggs and toast. Mouth-watering, he raced downstairs, almost knocking over a few of the maids refilling the vases, on his way into the dining room.

“Eric, honestly,” sighed Janet as he took the chair opposite her at the table, “the eggs aren’t going to run away.”

But Eric had already swallowed his first fork full. “I feel like I haven’t eaten in a month.”

“You always feel like that, sweetheart.” Janet lifted her teacup from its saucer and politely took a sip. “How are you feeling today?”

Eric shrugged. “The sneezing’s stopped. I just have a headache an’ a stuffy nose.”

Janet waved her hand at that. “Nothing to worry about,” she assured him, “just use today to sleep if off and tomorrow you’ll be as good as new.”

Eric hoped she was right, just being away from school for a day seemed hard enough; thoughts of Peck and Coach Clancy running through his head.

“What are you thinking about, sweetheart?” she asked, cutting through his thoughts.

“I’m just gonna miss practice,” he replied, taking another fork full of scrambled egg.

“I’m sure that’s not all you’re gonna miss …”

Eric looked up in time to see a strange kind of half-smile on his step-mom’s face. He eyed her curiously for a moment before asking, “What do you mean?”

“I mean I’m sure you’re gonna miss that girlfriend of yours – you know the one I’ve yet to meet, but had the unfortunate privilege of speaking to the morning after the two of you spent the night together doing God only knows what and where –”

“Jeez!” exclaimed Eric, dropping the glass of orange juice he’d just about to drink from. He hardly even noticed one of the maids coming up beside him to mop it all off the table cloth. “Come on, Janet, we’ve already been through this –“

“I know we have,” she cut in, “I’m just trying to make a point.”

“What point, exactly?” Eric countered. “I already told you nothing like what you’re thinking happened.”

“Yes, that’s what you keep telling me –“

“Well, you need to believe it, an’ congratulate yourself while you’re at it because you’ve actually put me off for life.”

Janet clapped her hands together in pure delight. “That’s wonderful!”

Eric shook his head in dismay. “Can I eat my eggs in peace now?”

“Of course,” she smiled sweetly, before picking up her teacup once more, “After you tell me when I’ll get to meet her.”

Eric groaned out loud.
"Do you know what my heart says now? It says that I should forget about politics and be with you. No matter what. You're a true Queen, a Queen any King would kill for." - Prince Francis ♕





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Wed Mar 09, 2016 2:01 am
bluewaterlily says...



Lauren had warned Melody Eric would probably not be at school. But it was still disconcerting to show up to school only to find him absent. Though Melody wouldn’t readily admit, it made her feel uneasy and out of place like when she’d first showed up to Verona or when he had missed school because of the car accident.

She pulled her English textbook out of her locker and she slowly closed the door. She was deliberately stalling so she would put off Mrs Well’s class as much possible. If Eric had been here, he already would have escorted to her classes so she wouldn’t be late.

Ever since he had taken up the challenge of making keeping her out trouble, Melody had managed to be avoid tardiness and detentions, with the exception of earning herself a detention for “disturbing” the class when she standing up for Chloe. Her disciplinary record had been clean for almost two weeks. Though she wasn’t sure that was helping Eric’s case, since her uncle thought it was the influence of Marvin.

As Melody passed a row of lockers she noticed Kelley and Peck huddled together talking to each other. Melody rolled her eyes when she noticed Kelley seductively leaning against the locker next to Peck. Scowling, Melody moved closer to eavesdrop.

“You want me to go to the deb ball…with you?” Peck asked in disbelief, raising a dubious eyebrow.

“Why not?” Kelley said with an answering shrug. “It could be good for your popularity.”

“I thought you were going with Eric.”

Melody felt a rush of anger. She thought anyone at Verona High who wasn’t living under a rock knew about their relationship to know Eric was only taking her. Or Melody had thought they all had enough sense to know unless Eric or another girl had a death wish,
Melody wouldn’t allow casually date her and shove her to the sidelines only to have a fling with another girl.

Kelley rolled her eyes. “No, he’s going with Melanie Grey.”

“That Goth girl?” he snickered. “Thought she was a dyke.”

This time it was Melody who rolled her eyes, indignation burning through her.

Kelley pulled a face. “I know right? But I’m not interested in Eric anymore. He’s lost credibility ever since he was moved to second-string.”
Peck looked uninterested. “And why should I care?

Kelley stared at him as if he was stupid. “Because as Eric’s popularity is going down, yours is going up. And if you happen to become the quarterback…”
Peck smirked. “Shouldn’t be too hard. Eric hasn’t landed a single touchdown since he was kicked off first-sting.”

“It’s not his fault!” Melody protested to herself, recalling the car crash and the horrific sight of him in the hospital bed. She felt that all too familiar sting of guilt. Because of her, his dreams of professional football might be over.

Melody’s eyes widened as Kelley craned her neck, eyes narrowed and looked straight in her direction. Immediately, she flattened herself between the row lockers and the nearest doorframe to hide herself from view. Not being able to see anything, Kelley turned back to Peck.

“You just might win the crown this year with my help.”

He folded his arms across his chest, looking down at her. “You’ve never won the crown.”

Kelley scowled. “Only because of Ruby- who isn’t even relevant anymore.”
Wow. Melody shook her head. Though she definitely didn’t care for Ruby-or Kelley- for the matter but a part of her found herself feeling unwillingly sorry for Ruby.

To have friends like that… Melody had been there in her cheerleading days so she understood how fickle friendships were with people like Kelley.

He gave her a shifty look. “You really think you’ll win?”

Kelley shot him a haughty look. “I’m head cheerleader. And with Ruby out of the way, it is down to me and Eva. And word is that the winner will be either you or Eric. You’re catching up pretty fast. If you want to get ahead, then knock him out of first-string for good. If you say yes, then it will be almost a done deal.”

Melody could see the battle going on in Peck’s mind as he nodded thoughtfully, weighing the pros and cons. Passing Kelley a side glance, he said, “I need to think about it.”

Kelley scowled, lips pursed in impatience. “We’ll talk after practice.”

Shaking her head, Melody watched as they both went their separate ways. As Peck strolled past her, she muttered under her breath, “Asshole.”

Making her way to Mrs Well’s class, Melody spotted Bowtie on the opposite side of the hallway, pulling books out of his locker. Great, two asses for the price of one.

Fury burned through her as she remembered what he said last night. If Eric had been watching and Lauren was wrong...

Crossing over to her side, she snapped, “Marvin, we need to talk!”

Bowtie shrieked and visibly flinched, books and papers flying in disarray. Stooping to collect his supplies, he looked up at her glowering face. While one hand blindly groped for his papers, wrinkling them, the other hand fiddled with his glasses. He reached up and removed them from his face before breathing on them and fogging the lenses. He wiped the surface clean with his handkerchief that matched his bowtie.

“Mel-Melody, what are you doing here?”

Melody ignored the question. Placing her hands on her hips, she said, “I saw what you said about me last night on The Real Housewives of Verona.”

His jaw slackened. “You watch that show?”

She rolled her eyes. “In case you’ve forgotten, I already have a boyfriend. So if you like your face, then you better shut your mouth.”

He gulped stood up, eyes wide, like a deer caught in the headlights. “Boyfriend is a relative term.”

Melody gripped his collar and shoved him against the locker. “What exactly are you trying to say about my boyfriend?”

Bowtie looked down at where her hand was firmly clenched around his collar. He chose
to ignore the question and instead, “And history repeats itself, thought I thought Eric would be the one.”

Melody laughed dryly. “Eric isn’t the one you should worry about. It’ll be me. So if you don’t want me to kick your ass, I suggest you let go this crazy idea that your parents and my uncle have that we should date. And don’t think I can’t kick your ass; I have a black belt in karate. But if you don’t believe me, feel free to ask Eric and let me know how that works for you.”

Without waiting for a response, she released the wad of fabric of his shirt. Caught by surprise, he slumped against the locker, staring at her, eyes wide in shock and horror. Melody stormed off to her least favorite class thinking, It’s going to be a long day.
"A poet is, before anything else, a person who is passionately in love with language." - W.H. Auden





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Tue Mar 15, 2016 7:53 pm
*coco says...



After a boring day which consisted of sleeping, eating and sleeping some more, Eric was happy to hear Janet’s voice from downstairs saying that he had a visitor. There was a strange moment when he’d thought that it was Melody, but that thought left as quickly as it came once he realised that would never happen. Still the thought didn’t stop something in his chest from skipping a beat. After a while there came a knock on the door and in came Bobby. He held the neckline of his jumper up to cover his nose.

“How you feeling, E?” he asked, his voice muffled by his jumper.

Eric frowned at him. “I’m fine. Where’s everyone else?”

“They’re here,” Bobby answered, removing the jumper from his mouth and making his way to Eric’s bedside. “Rose cornered them in the hallway, something about wanting to show them her new tiara …”

Eric hid a smirk, though he was sure to not let Bobby see it. He wasn’t too happy with him at the moment. Bobby, being Bobby, caught on fast.

“Try not to look so happy to see me,” he remarked with sarcasm.

“I’m not happy to see you,” Eric retorted bluntly.

Bobby quirked a brow, “Why’s that?”

“’Cause I’m mad at you,” he answered. “You ran your mouth to Mel about things she doesn’t need to know – things that aren’t yours to tell.”

Bobby rolled his eyes. “If you’re talking about what I said about how Janet had to raise you, then I disagree, I think she deserves to know – especially when you pulled out your brat card on her just ‘cause she hit you with some home truths.”

Eric glared at him. If anyone else had talked to him the way his friend had done just now, he would’ve kicked the crap out of them. Only Bobby had the permission to talk to him this way and sometimes Eric wondered if that privilege was going to bite him in the backside one day.

“I don’t care what you think,” he bit out stubborn, “it still wasn’t any of your business to talk about –“

“Are you, or are you not back together again?” Bobby cut in.

Eric frowned, “Yeah, but –“

“So instead of getting mad at me, you should really be saying thank you.”

Eric scoffed. “I’m not thanking you for anything.”

“That’s ‘cause you’re an ungrateful brat,” but even as he said those words, Bobby smirked. Before Eric could respond, his friend threw a flask towards him which he caught easily. Eric looked down at it with a confused frown before looking back at Bobby. He’d been too busy being angry to realise his friend had been carrying this all this time.

“What’s this?”

“Hot chocolate,” Bobby answered. “Mel bought it for you from Verona Java.”

Eric eagerly opened up the flask and took a whiff from the steam coming from the hot beverage inside. He was just about to take a big swig when Bobby snatched it away from him.

“Don’t drink it yet, you maniac, it’s piping hot!”

“I knew that,” he mumbled sheepishly. Truthfully, since being ill Janet had been forcing him to drink so many of those herbal teas of hers that he’d forgotten what any other liquid beverage tasted like.

Just then Reese, Casey and Logan spilled into his room with Rose following at their heels. Eric was suddenly glad he hadn’t drunk from that flask because if he had done he would’ve probably choked to death.

Rose had given all three of his friends a makeover like only she could. Reese was in the fairy wings Eric would normally be forced into, Logan was wearing a tiara and Casey was carrying so many stuffed animals, he looked like he was going to suffocate.

“Boys,” Eric smirked, “looking good.”

Bobby quickly pulled out his cell phone. “Say cheese.”

Rose hurried in front of them, dressed in her fairy outfit, before posing for the picture, “Cheese!”

Eric almost doubled over laughing. “Oh man,” he sighed, wiping a tear from his eye and clutching his stomach. “I feel better already.”

“Go ahead, laugh it up,” Reese frowned, tugging uncomfortably at the strap from the fairy wings. “How do you wear this thing? It’s so tight.”

“I do it for this cutie,” he said, as Rose climbed up onto his bed to sit on his lap.

“Uncle Eric, don’t you think Logan looks so pretty in my tiara?” she asked brightly.

“He sure does.”

Logan chuckled. “Apparently, it matches my eyes.”

“Uh, can … someone … please … help me?” Casey’s muffled voice came.

“Oh, sorry, dude,” Logan lifted one bear. “That better?”

“You can let them go now,” Rose smiled and Casey let out a sigh of relief as he let all the stuffed animals drop from his hands.

“So how was practice?” asked Eric, making himself comfortable, Rose happily tucked up next to him.

“We worked on defence today so luckily you didn’t miss much,” answered Reese.

“Peck’s still confident about takin’ your shirt, though,” Logan added.

Eric scowled.

“Case, accidentally kicked him in his sensitive area,” chuckled Bobby.

Dude!” marvelled Eric, very impressed. “You’re starting to become a legend.”

Casey smirked proudly. “That asshole is just waiting for me to sucker punch him.”

“Speaking of Peck …” Bobby cut in, “Mel told me she saw him and Kelley getting close in the hallway …”

“Why would I care about that?” scoffed Eric. Truthfully, Kelley could take the school caretaker and he wouldn’t bat an eyelid.

Bobby chose to speak his next words more carefully, “Apparently Kelley was talking crap about how your popularity’s gone down since you’ve been put on second string an' how Peck can take your place once he takes the quarterback spot.”

That little …. Eric could feel his blood boil. Until now, he’d assumed that Kelley was just another stupid blonde cheerleader, but he clearly hadn’t given her enough credit. It was a smart play, using his tactic on Ruby to try to destroy him – try being the key word. Little did she know that if she wanted to push him off his pedestal he would give her one hell of a fight.

“Why aren’t you mad?” asked Reese, breaking through his thoughts. Eric realised all of his friends were looking at him in silence, looking slightly concerned.

“Who says I’m not mad?” he asked. “I’m furious.”

“But … you don’t look it,” replied Casey.

“I don’t take threats seriously,” he explained coolly, picking up his flask of hot chocolate and taking a careful sip, “Call me confident but the only way Peck’s gonna snatch my shirt from me is over my cold, dead body.”

“Fighting talk,” smirked Logan, rubbing his hands together in excitement. “I like it, E. Count me in.”

“It’s a good thing you don’t know what Bowtie’s been up to …” commented Reese.

Eric glanced over at him. “What’s he been up to?”
"Do you know what my heart says now? It says that I should forget about politics and be with you. No matter what. You're a true Queen, a Queen any King would kill for." - Prince Francis ♕





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Wed Jun 22, 2016 12:14 am
bluewaterlily says...



Melody was sat on an overstuffed couch in her uncle’s office. With her arms folded, she stared at the wall so she wouldn’t have to meet the disappointed gaze of Uncle Jack. He was sat opposite her behind his desk, his back straight and fingers clasped. Melody knew what that meant. She had seen enough of that posture over the years to know that she was about to get a telling off.

She didn’t have to wait long to find out why.

“Just get it over with.”

“Another detention?”

Melody shrugged. “It's not my fault the teacher hates me.”

“The teacher hates you,” he echoed, visibly unimpressed by that statement. “Where have I heard that excuse before?” He did not wait for her to answer. “Your problem, Melody, is that you think everyone hates you, that everyone is out to get you. It’s always everyone else’ fault but your own.”

Melody’s jaw dropped and indignation and anger boiled in her blood. Red spots danced across her vision as she felt her blood pressure spike. “You know what your problem is? You're just like every other hypocrite in my life judging me and thinking you know me or what I've been through. You were never a part of my life until four months ago so what the hell gives you the right to tell me how to live it?”

“Hypocrite?” Melody could see a muscle twitch under his right eye. “How dare you call me that?”

“Why weren't you at the funeral? Why now? Why bother wasting your time on a lost cause? Is it guilt? Am I a charity case?”

“And there it is again!” her uncle shouted. “That ‘everyone is against me’ attitude ... “

“You didn't answer the questions.”

“Did you answer mine?” he countered. “I asked why, even after our conversation, did I receive a phone call from the school Principal telling me that you’ve ended up with another detention. And instead of answering me, you bring up the past.”

“Only because you're too busy trying to pretend it doesn't exist! How do you justify missing the funeral? Your own sister and niece. How could you?”

Melody didn’t miss the pained expression that flickered across her uncle’s face. “That … has nothing to do with this.”

She folded her arms and pressed on. If he wasn’t afraid to fight dirty, neither was she. She wasn’t going to go easy on him. “That's still not an answer. You didn't even come up with an excuse. Humor me. Lie to my face if you have to.”

“And what good would that do?” he asked. “You have already painted me as the villain in all this. Clearly nothing I say or don’t say will change that.”

Melody shook her head in frustration. “Why are you so afraid to tell me the truth then?”

“Because it will change nothing.”

“You won’t be honest with me but you expect to know where I am and with whom every little second. That’s a double standard.”

Her uncle said nothing for a long moment, the pained expression on his face more clearer than before. “You remind me of her more and more each day.” he said finally, his voice thick with emotion. Shaking his head, he stood up from his chair and turned his back to Melody to face the roaring fireplace behind him. With his hands on his hips, he sighed, “Which is why it pains me to see you like this …”

Shock rattled Melody to the core. “Like what?”

He turned back to face her. “Like this, so broken, so resentful, so distrusting …”

“Broken?” Melody echoed in disbelief. The truth of that statement felt as sharp as painful as swallowing shards of glass, ripping through her and tearing her from the inside. But she trusted and Eric and Lauren. They were helping her to heal. She was getting better. Right?

“I can see it in your eyes everytime I look at you,” he said, looking down at her. “You still haven’t forgiven yourself for what happened that night.”

Melody closed her eyes tightly, trying to keep the memories of that night at bay. She felt a wave of nausea hit her and the room seemed to grow smaller. “Don’t even go there with me. That topic is off limits,” she ground out. Not that. Not today. It’s bad enough I have to relive it every week in therapy. I’m just not doing it today. I can’t.” She sighed. “Why can’t you understand it’s not just something you bounce back from?” Melody ran a hand through her hair. “I’m trying, okay? I swear to you I’m trying.”

“Then why can I not see that?” he asked. “Why does it seem like you’re still unsettled and angry?” He released another sigh and wiped a tired hand down his face. “Why can’t you understand that you have to find a way - for your sake - because Melody, while I may not know what you’re going through, I do know what guilt can do to a person.”

“Aren't you at least a little angry that some drunk asshole got behind the wheel and killed my parents?”

“Of course I’m angry.”

“If it had been the person you loved the most how would you even find a reason to get out of bed everyday? That's something no one, no doctor or therapist, can explain to me.”

“Do you think it’s been easy for me?” he asked. “She was my sister.”

“And she was my mom.”

“She was,” he nodded. “Which is why I want to do for you what I didn’t do for her.”

“Which is?”

“Be there for you,” he said simply.

“Then why do you keep me at arm’s length?”

“And you don’t do the same with me?”

Melody sighed. “It isn’t hard when you’re always holed up in your office till God knows when, working.”

“You’re not the first person to feel that way.” He slowly sat back down on his chair and
rubbed the side of his temples.

“Then maybe you should do something about it.”

“Working helps me relax. It stops me from … thinking.”

“Even about your family?”

He nodded, “Especially about my family.”

“Are we that bad?” Melody asked half jokingly and half seriously.

“It’s not just you, or your Aunt Mary, or the family business. Everyone has their demons, everyone has things they’re working hard to put behind them.”

“They do. And somehow I still manage to do it. And I don't know why. Maybe because I owe it to my parents. Maybe it's for the people I care about. Right now that's the best I can do. Sorry if it's not good enough. It's all I got right now.”

“This,” he said, gesturing at himself and then at her, “needs to work - for both our sakes. I need you to embrace the life you have here now with me and your Aunt Mary and I need you to take school seriously; no more detentions, no more distractions, no more trouble. It’s the only way.”

Melody nodded. “Okay. I was actually thinking of getting a job at Verona Java. It’s a nice place and I could use some money for college...”

Her uncle quirked a brow. “The new coffee place? Why would you want to do something as menial as waiting around tables when you can work with me, or your cousin Dylan?”

Melody shrugged.“Beats playing secretary. We both know I have no interest in the family business.”

“Perhaps it’s time you did. After all, it is your business too.”

“ Maybe I have other plans with my life. Besides would you really want me working for you? I'd drive you even crazier than you already seen.”

“As I’ve said before my issues aren’t just with you, and as for your ‘other plans’ whatever they may be, Duqaine International is your inheritance, as it was your mother’s before you.It will always be a part of your life, whether you like it or not. It would be better for you to at least consider some future role in the company, however small.”

Melody sighed and nodded. “Noted. I'll think about it.”l

“Will you really think about it or are you just so to appease me?” he asked, “because I meant what I said earlier about this needing to work. No distractions and no trouble, and when I say that I mean that boy you’ve been spending so much of your time with.”

Melody couldn’t help but roll her eyes. “What if he makes me happy?”

“No troublemaker is ever going to make you happy, Melody. It might start out that way but it will only end in tears.”

“What if he isn't a troublemaker?”

“Since he has come into the picture you have broken curfew and landed yourself in many detentions.”

Melody shrugged. “I was doing that by myself before he came into the picture, and it's not his fault, everyone there is so uptight.”

“Let them,” her uncle advised. “You’re not going to know these people for long. Why let them get to you?”

Melody sighed. “I don't know. They make it so easy.”
“Or you make it so easy for them,” countered Jack. “Just try to keep your head down and get through this year,” he advised. “I want you spending less time out with this …. boy and more time at home with your books.” He paused to look at her for a moment. “How are your study sessions going with Marvin Callore?”

“Good,” Melody lied . “I got a B- on my last history test.” It was a half truth.

“I suppose that is an improvement,” he mused aloud. “Didn’t I tell you it was a good idea for him to tutor you?”

Melody forced a smile. “You did.”

“I am sure he will help turn that B into an A in no time.”

“Doubt even he's that good.”

“Nonsense,” his uncle dismissed. “I have it on good authority that he has already been offered a place at Dunsinane. That hasn’t happened twice in the history of the college. The boy is practically a genius.”

Melody resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “A Self proclaimed genius anyway.”

“You find him arrogant?”

“You don't?”

“He is confident in his abilities and proud of his achievements. I see nothing wrong with that. Maybe you could learn a thing or two from him about self-belief.”

Melody raised her eyebrow. “I didn't come here for a ‘Be More Like Marvin’ speech.”

“I am not telling you to be like Marvin. I am telling you that having some of his confidence will benefit you.”

This time Melody did roll her eyes. “You sound like my friends. Or they sound like you. I can’t tell which one it is.”

“It’s the truth.”

Melody shrugged again shifting slightly uncomfortably. She hated when the attention was on her like this, particularly when it came to people’s insights on her self-confidence or lack thereof. “I guess so. Anything else?”
Jack shook his head. “No, that is all.”

“Are we done now then?”

“We are.”

Melody nodded, standing up. “Okay. I can go now?’

Her uncle got that faraway look in his eyes as she stared at his mountain of papers on his desk. Melody knew he was about to throw himself into his work. “Off you go,” he gestured.

Melody have him a grateful nod. She briskly exited the office, glad to be alone finally. Or at least away from the family drama. But one thought kept spinning in her head. “I hate seeing you so broken.” Haunted or jaded may have been better words. But she didn’t want to dwell on it much longer or else it would only drain her more.

She needed a distraction, so she pulled out her phone and called up Lauren. “Hey, Lauren,” Melody said. “How about some girl time?”

Lauren practically sighed with relief. “Yes, please. There’s a football game on and I can’t even hear myself think.”

“So I’ll meet you at the mall?”

Lauren squealed. “See you there!”

Melody felt a small smile split her lips. “See you there.”
"A poet is, before anything else, a person who is passionately in love with language." - W.H. Auden





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Sat Jul 23, 2016 10:42 pm
*coco says...



Eric strolled into the school the next morning feeling fresh as a daisy. His cold had gone, his headache had disappeared, and his stuffy nose had cleared up. He was ridiculously excited to be back in school. He was determined to make today the day he finally sealed his place on the school football team. Not to mention the fact that he could see Mel again. Even though it had only been a day, he’d missed her. A lot.

He walked down the hallway towards his locker. Unfortunately the first person to greet him there was not Melody, but a certain head cheerleader.

“Eric.”

“Kelly.” He removed a bunch of keys from his pocket and opened up his locker.

She leaned against the neighbouring door, a smile curving the side of her mouth. “So I had a look at the team sheet yesterday when you were off sick. Your name still isn’t on it.” Kelly tutted in a way that was clearly meant to taunt him, “People are starting to talk, Eric. Rumour is Peck’s stolen your crown.”

“Rumour is that’s not your real nose,” he responded airily.

Kelly scowled. “You can insult me as much as you want. It doesn’t change the facts –“

Eric brought his face close to hers in a way that he hoped was intimidating. He recalled the warning Bobby and the boys had given him the day before regarding Kelly’s secret motives, and decided this was the perfect opportunity to lay down the law. “What exactly are you trynna get at, Kelly? ‘Cause by the sound of it, it seems like you’re hoping this so-called rumour to be true.”

Kelly pursed her lips, feigning confidence, but Eric could see straight through her.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Good,” he nodded, deciding to play along, “’cause I’d hate for anything to happen to your head cheerleader spot ...” He let the veiled threat hang in the air purposely.

A silence fell between them before it was broken by the school bell. Satisfied with his work, he backed away from Kelly, picked up a few books, and threw her a smug grin before heading down the hallway towards his first class.

Unfortunately for him, that was Health Class with Mr Sims, which meant the dreaded baby project.

“Sir, I don’t need to take this class anymore,” Eric declared as he walked in, barely noticing Kelley following quietly behind him.

Mr Sims decided to humour him. “Why’s that?”

“Because I don’t plan on getting anyone pregnant – ever.”

“Brilliant,” Mr Sims smirked. “I guess that means my scare tactic worked.”

“Actually, it was my step-mom. Y’know, you should really consider bringing her in to lecture about the dangers of underage pregnancy. She managed to put me for life,”

“You?” Mr Sims’ brows rose in surprise. There was a thoughtful moment before he said, “I might just take you up on that offer …”
"Do you know what my heart says now? It says that I should forget about politics and be with you. No matter what. You're a true Queen, a Queen any King would kill for." - Prince Francis ♕








The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.
— Marcel Proust