Chapter 4

Joan turned to Shannon. "Did I say something wrong Darlin' girl?"

Shannon glanced up and saw confusion in eyes so like Richie's. She rubbed her temples in confusion before shrugging. "I .. don't know, ever since he showed up she's been acting,” her voice halted as she searched for a kind word, "insane," she finished lamely.

Joan reached over and patted her hand gently. "Honey, Melanie is always like this around him. They always fought, drove each other crazy really, but let someone come against them and they always pulled together. Always thought when they grew up they'd end up together, but somewhere along the way they started being more enemy than friend. Never did understand why."

Her eyes shot up in surprise. "Together? Really? So they were like a thing back then?" Shannon tried to remember Mel ever mentioning a guy. Nope, she never had, as far as Shannon knew Melanie was pure enough for a damned convent.

Joan shook her head, "Not sure what they were to be honest. From kindergarten all the way through tenth grade they were inseparable, fought as much as they laughed, but something changed. Then she moved away and he became, well, who he is."

Shannon covered her confusion with a quick laugh. "Unbelievable! I listen to his music, his band, every day and she never said a word. Actually, I don't think she knew who he was until now. Heck, she probably still doesn't know it's the same guys I drive her crazy with! She calls it noise!"

Joan's teeth clicked together as she started to laugh. "She called all his attempts noise, then when he finally started getting it right she went to all his little *gigs* teasing him about it even then. Amazing she didn't know, she was a big music lover back then."

Shannon snorted, "Not anymore."

As the volume began to rise in the kitchen Joan leaned back and laughed slightly, her eyes moving to Shannon quickly. "Shhhh, they're starting again."

Shannon shook her head and said quietly "Well this sure makes up for the lack of excitement the last few weeks"

Joan patted her hand again and grinned, "Sweetie you ain't seen nothing yet."~~~~

Mel leaned against the kitchen door, and studied him intently as he poured four glasses of tea. The thought that he’d let her think he hadn’t succeeded churning in her gut. "Make ya feel good to let me make a fool of myself?"

Richie stopped in mid pour and turned slowly, her gleaming and glittering amber eyes stopping him cold. His throat went dry as he noticed the high blush covering her cheeks. He choked out a "sorry?" as the words "danger danger Will Robinson chanted inside of his head. Fuck she’s pissed again. Now what?

"Get a big laugh over silly Melanie?" She pushed off the door and moved closer, "You let me call you names and act like a fool. Funny, huh?"

"Mel you've called me names and acted like a fool ever since kindergarten, why should now be any different?"

She moved closer, pushing into his chest as she went on tiptoe to attempt getting eye to eye. "You let me think music failed you, you let me say horrid things, YOU, YOU, Dork!"

"I... let you...?" He laughed to cover the disbelief. "Mel you wouldn't let me get a word in edgewise. I didn't LET you do anything. As usual, you didn't give me a chance!"

Her finger arrowed into his chest; poking repeatedly as she warmed up to her rant. "TWO words Dork!! SHUT UP! You could of said it, you said it often enough back then. YOU COULD OF, OOOOOHHH you make me SO mad!" She ranted and felt alive, her heart fluttering as she poked and prodded at his rock hard chest, her mind scrambling to stick to the rant of his 'mistake.' Damn him. Damn him for smelling the same. Damn him for being here. Damn him for still getting to me.

Richie simply grinned as he felt her tiny finger poking his chest "What'cha mad for?" He continued his teasing, wanting, needing somewhere deep inside to see those amber eyes flash gold again. "Don't hate me because I'm famous."

She leaned back her eyes going wide, God dammit is he gloating? He looks like he's gloating. "Hate you for being famous??? YOU ....you.... jackass.. Hate you? I ... " Her worlds trailed off as she whirled and went to the door her voice going whispery, "Hate you for forgetting." she turned her voice growing stronger, "Hate you for being a DORK!"


His eyes narrowed. "Times like this I wish I could forget," he mumbled before raising his volume to match hers "Well maybe if you ASKED a question before spouting off those 'horrid' little quips you wouldn't have put your foot your mouth Mel!"

Her hands moved up to pull the clip from her hair, the threatening headache wouldn't go away thanks to the tightness of the clip. "You're such a jackass. Always making it MY fault. I should of thought? I should of? Why.. you ...you..." She stood there lips moving with no words coming out. He'd dammit done it again, reduced her to stuttering because he wouldn't simply take his part of the blame.

He watched her sputter, her cheeks flushing red, her light brown eyes glowing gold, and grinned to himself. Fuck if she wasn't something else. Always had been. As much as she could make his skin crawl, something about the sharpness of her tongue and the quick to ire attitude made him feel almost... normal. She never had been dazzled by what he did. When others would wax poetic over what he played he could count on her for bringing him back to earth and calling it noise. He’d missed that. Missed it more than he realized if his actions were any indication. He was acting so unlike himself. The known charmer, the ladies man, always the gentleman even when he wasn't being such a gentleman and here he was in his mother’s kitchen going toe to toe trading insults with a women like he was a wet behind the ears......... dork.

She started laughing, the look on his face was too priceless to not laugh at. He was damn near green around the gills, those droopy puppy dog eyes wide with some emotion she couldn’t read. True to form her thoughts rambled from her lips before she could think, the memory pushing away the anger as it teased the laughter into being. "Remember when we snuck into Old man Johnson's orchard? I thought you'd never stop throwing up. Hell you look that sick now!" She plopped into a kitchen chair and laughed til the tears began to fall. "Never saw one skinny guy eat so much so fast."

Richie tried not to laugh, he tried very hard, but her laughter was infectious along with the memory of that day. They couldn't have been more than eleven or twelve. He'd been stubborn even back then, wanting to show off for her, be a real man. He'd eaten so many apples he couldn't move and proceeded to puke for hours unwilling to go home and admit what he'd done. His chuckle started low before he slid into a kitchen chair and started laughing uncontrollably.

She hiccupped into the laughter, "You wouldn't eat apples for the longest time. Said they were evil." She leaned forward, curiosity getting the better of good sense. "Do you eat them now?"

He shook his head vehemently. "An apple a day sure will keep me the fuck away."

She lay her hands on the table, her eyes shifting up to take in his face. Damn he'd filled out well, not a gangly part on him anymore. "So tell me Scarecrow, which instrument finally led you to fame and fortune? The piano? Trumpet? Sax?” She gasped in the next thought almost too hard to even imagine. “Oh god, tell me it wasn't that accordion."

"You ain't shitting me Mel?? You really don't know?"He watched as pink stained her cheeks, and gathered himself for the next storm wave. She hated being embarrassed.

She looked away, furiously trying to regain a bit of sanity around the man. She didn’t want to admit that music had lost its power for her the day she left Woodbridge, that would give him an inroad to understanding and she didn’t want him to understand. It was too risky, too dangerous. He above all had the ability to undo all she’d finally gained for herself.

"I don't listen to music anymore Richard. How would I know?"

"Well Shay seemed to know, if her gaping mouth was any indication." He chuckled lightly as he watched her discomfort.

She winced at the ideas of the sounds that came from her sister’s room. "Shan listens to a lot of noise, with a few bits of music thrown in for good measure, sometimes so loud I think my ears might bleed, but that doesn't tell me which instrument you finally settled on."

"Guitar Melanie, I play guitar," he stated.

Her eyes closed as a vision formed in her head, a gangly brown headed youth who couldn't get right hand to work with the left, swiftly followed by the strains of memory music that even now made her shiver. Of course it was the guitar, once he’d figured it out he’d actually been great at it, if the few gigs she’d attended were any indication. She couldn’t let him know that though, not yet. "You sucked at guitar. You could play anything just looking at it one time but guitar, it made you so crazy. You couldn't get it. I mean.." She stood up, "you sucked at it, I'm sorry but I watched you practice remember? You sucked."

Richie rose and crossed to the counter picking up a filled glass and setting it in front of her none too gently "Screw you Mellie!" He turned back to try to figure out how to balance three more glasses in his hands and mumbled, "Told ya it would take time. I told ya I'd get it. Damn it if you'd just had a little faith..."