She continued as if Jon hadn’t even spoken up, she didn’t want to hear just how Richie got more. "Rock music singing friend." Her chest heaved as she warmed up, "You wine and dine me until I forget my name and then...."
“Oh for Christ sake Mel!" Richie groaned and tugged her none too gently to him shutting her up with a blazing kiss.
Shannon rolled her eyes in disgust and finally found her wayward shirt behind the couch. With an indignant huff she pulled it on and reached for Jon’s hand tugging him up and mumbling "Come on.. let’s get while we can get."
The tirade came to a sudden stop as her brain short circuited. Shivering she pulled away and turned, Richie's arm securely around her waist. "Where do you think you're going?"
Shannon stopped and turned to glare "To my room .. as if it's any of your business!"
She stiffened at the anger in her sister's eyes. "Shan, shit, I ... Dammit." she glanced up at Richie and for a second or two could only think of getting to her own bedroom and feeling all those things he’d started helping her feel in the last three days. Tearing her eyes away from the temptation that was Richie, she looked back at her sister. "Hey, I'm.. hell I'm sorry."
Shannon stopped still, her anger at Mel slipping for one instance until her eyes lit on Richie’s amused face.
"Oh wipe that smirk off your face Mr. Sambora!" she yelled.
Richie stifled a snort and stuttered "Wha?? I'm not..." he gave an innocent stare.
"It IS all your fault!" she closed the distance between them glaring way up into his face. She wavered for a moment when she realized just how puny she was next to him but she was so angry she wouldn't back down. "You turned her crazy!!! She hasn't been herself since she knew we were coming here and its ALL YOUR FAULT!" she punctuated her last words with a stomp of her tiny foot.
Mel backed into Richie, keeping her body safely between her sister and her guy. Fuck when did he become that? Even as kids he was just "her friend." "Now sis..."
"Oh don't you now sis me Melanie!!!" She ground out. "You!! You know nothing about him!!" she pointed back at Jon, who was still sitting right where she'd left him. "So where do you get off saying all those... nasty.... mean......" Shannon huffed and fought back tears
Jon's eyes honed in on the tiny woman getting ready to go toe to toe with Rich as if she were as big as him. Damn she was impressive all golden and angry. He was going to stick around, this just had to get better.
Mel winced, "I was .. angry?"
Shannon got her emotions a bit more under control "And you!" she turned face to chest with Richie again " Who do you think you are coming in here and changing everything???? We were fine!! She was fine!! She was SANE!!" She couldn't think anymore, it was all just too much. "I just...." She bit off her words and stuffed back a sob. With a shake of her head she turned around and fled the confusion, shutting her bedroom door with a bang.
"She thinks I'm insane?" She turned to Richie her eyes starting to shadow, "I can't have her thinking I'm nuts."
"Mel she's just mad," Richie reassured her. Damn he'd just been dressed down by a freaking munchkin and didn't even get a chance to explain... not that it would have sunk in, not in her state of mind anyway.
She pulled away from Richie She had to get away from him and from his influence.. She had to get sane. If sane was boring and quiet and alone, then she had to be that. She took a deep breath and tried to corral the emotions running through her, her voice going soft. "I gotta be sane... for her."
He kept a hold of her turning her toward him "You ARE Mel.. you ARE sane..... just let her cool down ok?" He shot Jon an exasperated look tinged with a bit of anger. "Give her time, Mel this is all a little... different for her I'm sure"
Jon's brow lifted as if to say, hey don't look at me, I didn't make her crazy. "Man, its NEVER dull around you."
"She’s grown up with me taking care of her, being her rock, I didn’t do anything but center on her, I can't yank that from her, I .." And all she wanted to do was curl into his arms, but that made her normal and Shannon didn’t want her normal. "I can't do it to her Richie."
"Maybe it's time you let someone else center on her hmmm?" he said softly "Maybe its time you let someone center on you?"
Her head dropped as she studied the floor. "She's never.. God I never even thought, she has never ever seen me be anything other than just boring old Mel, and then you walk up and nothing is boring or mundane. It never was around you."
"She's never known the real you......Not like I do...." he said "Trust me Mel... give her time.. Let her get to know who you REALLY are."
"Jon do you fuckin' mind?" Richie said in exasperation.
"Hey I only speak the truth dude. Shannon said she was boring, quiet, hell, like a nun, but this? Fuck if she ain’t a wildcat and YOU said this is how she really is?" He stood to move to Shannon’s room. "Man I feel sorry for lil bit."
Richie shook his head "Come on." He took Mel’s hand and pulled her towards her room, shutting the door behind him.
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