Night Drive

A Song Fic

Disclaimer: I do not own Lizzie McGuire or Bryan Adams' "Cuts like a knife". I do however own Matt McGuire's thoughts.

Summary: After a hostile relationship with Melina, Matt takes a drive during the night to sort out his feelings.

Notes: This is rated PG-13 and is in Matt's POV.

Driving' home this evening
I could have sworn we had it all worked out
You had this boy believing'
Way beyond the shadow of a doubt

"Get the hell out of my house, Matt," Melina screeched as she threw a suitcase at or towards me, I couldn't tell which.

"I didn't even do anything," I defended myself.

It was true. I didn't do anything. It was always a rocky road that I was on with Melina. She always had to be right. She always had to have her way. She was very narcissist at times which annoyed me. She always accused me of doing something or someone for that matter.

This time it was about me giving the once over on our upstairs neighbor, Cassie Benton. Yes, Cassie is attractive, saying she was ugly as a hairless cat would be a huge lie. Okay, I just looked at her. Looking is one thing. Melina looks at our downstairs neighbor, Troy Ithaca, all of the time.

I guess maybe with women it's different. They can fantasize about Adam Sandler, Leonardo DiCaprio, Ben Stiller, or other celebrities, while if we even mention that we consider Sarah Michelle Gellar attractive, we get looked down upon.

It's really odd how everything kind of works out like that. Often times in movies, we get portrayed as sex crazed idiots who pant like hungry dogs when we see a woman that is attractive.

"Melina, please just let me explain," I pleaded as I stood near our leather couch.

She chuckled snidely, "You can explain as much as your heart desires, but that won't change the fact that I found someone who will actually love me."

Anger flared up inside of my body. I love her, okay, I love her more than anything in the world. For the past five years, she has been my world.

This is complete bullshit. It's happened so many times before. We fight, we kiss, and we make up. It's an endless cycle that has been happening since I was 16. I've been accustomed to it. I've gotten used to it.

I always thought it would be a fairytale with me and Melina. I thought it would be how my sister is with Gordo. Yet again, I'm not a character in a storybook with the fairytale life. I'm a real person who feels real emotions. I'm not Prince Charming. I'm Matt McGuire. I'm your average Joe. Hey, I like the name "Joe"…it amuses me.

Then I heard it on the street
I heard you might have found somebody new
Well who is he baby - who is he
And tell me what he means to you

"Who did you find? Did you find some rich bastard who will be your sugar daddy? Did you find someone to be a leech to and mooch off of? I can't be your knight in shining armor, Melina. I just can't. I thought you liked me for me," I yelled.

She sighed as she sprawled herself out on the couch and looked directly at me and stared at me with her blue eyes. Her blue eyes bored into me, as if she were searching inside of me.

"I found someone who I actually love. This has been some delusional fairytale, that I don't want to be a part of," she sighed.

"Are you a lesbian," I asked sarcastically.

"No I'm not Matt. I found a guy. I found Gordo," she snapped.

She smiled snidely as she put a strand of blonde hair behind her ear. I couldn't believe what I just heard. My girlfriend (or soon to be ex-girlfriend) had found love in my sister's boyfriend. What the hell is the world coming to? Does the world want to torture me endlessly until I breakdown and cry like a little girl? If yes, then I hate the world.

"What about my sister," I asked. "I thought Lizzie and Gordo were together."

"Nope, not anymore," she laughed. "She broke up with Gordo last month because of irreconcilable differences or some shit like that. I then ran into Gordo at Domino's when I was picking up my pizza, and we kind of hit it off."

Why was she spitting in my face? What have I ever done to her besides care for her and give my all to her? The world hates me. The world hates me and likes to see me get tortured for eternity. I hate the world and the world hates me. This is just peachy. Mmm…peaches. Melina likes peaches. Melina has a peach soap that makes her smell like peaches. I always liked that soap. I am thinking about soap, what the hell is wrong with me?

"Do you have all of your stuff," she asked as she looked around. "Good, get the hell out, I don't want to have to see you again."

I grabbed my suitcase and stormed out, slamming the door behind me. I passed the old lady with the cats as I ran down the stairs. Her red hair was frizzy and unbrushed, her red angora sweater and her plaid pants made her look stubby and fat. She held a calico cat in her arms. The cat was skinny and looked like it was very young. I ran past her because I have cat allergies.

"Hi Matt," she greeted me. "Going somewhere?"

I didn't respond as I continued to run down the flight of stairs, trying to forget everything I had been through with Melina. I held back a flood of tears that were trying to escape and flow down my cheeks. I felt as though I had been just a toy of Melina's for the past few years. My feelings about that are probably true, that's how Melina is. She's manipulative, bossy, narcissistic, and cunning. Yet again, there was something positively alluring about her. I don't know what though. Maybe it was the whole "Bad girl" angle or something.

I took it all for granted
But how was I to know
That you'd be letting go

I opened the door to the apartment building and slammed it behind me. I ran into the parking lot. I saw a guy with curly hair get out of what appeared a red car. I knew it was Gordo. He has a red car. He liked red cars and bought a red Toyota. I wanted to beat the living daylights out of him, but sadly he was only an innocent bystander. I hate how it worked out like that, damn you Gordo.

I got into my black Volkswagen and threw the gray suitcase into the back seat. As hurt and angry as I felt, I kind of felt free in a way. I didn't have to tend to Melina's every whim and demand like some insignificant servant boy.

Now it cuts like a knife
But it feels so right
It cuts like a knife
But it feels so right

I backed out of the parking lot and drove on to the dimly lit highway. I didn't know where I was going to stay for the night. Maybe I could check into a hotel or something, or maybe I could sleep out of my car. Maybe I could trade my car for a van and live down by the river. No, I don't want to live near the river; it reeks of pollution and dead fish.

Melina never liked sushi. She never liked any kind of oriental food. I always used to have to drag her to the oriental restaurants that I loved. That was when we were young and naïve and living in a fairytale.

There's times I've been mistaken
There's times I thought I'd been misunderstood
So wait a minute darling'
Can't you see we did the best we could  

I never really knew anything certain with Melina, except love her. I may even still love her now as I sulk about her kicking me out of the apartment and seeing her new love interest in the parking lot. I think right now I still love Melina, yet I hate her for hurting me. She tore my heart out and put it in a blender. Blender…smoothies…strawberry smoothies. Melina always loved strawberry smoothies. She used to have a strawberry body spray too. She always smelled so sweet; I think she was wearing that when she kicked me out of the house about twenty minutes ago.

Unfortunately Lanny moved to New York to go get a job in the music industry, so I can't go stay at his place, unless I drive to New York.

I think I'll go to Holiday Inn. Lizzie can get me a room there since she's been working there to pay off her college tuition. I don't know though. I simply do not know anything at all about anything. That's happened a lot in the past; I used to blank out all the time on science test. I hated science, especially Earth Science, it always seemed so pointless to me. Yet again, I really never liked learning about rocks or clouds.

This wouldn't be the first time
Things have gone astray
Now you've thrown it all away

I feel like blaming myself for this whole ordeal. Yet again I wasn't the whiny, arrogant bitch. I really can't blame Melina though; it's just her nature to be like that. It's not Gordo's fault either.

Now it cuts like a knife
But It feels so right
It cuts like a knife
But it feels so right

I want to blame someone though, it'll make me feel better, which just goes to show how much of a jackass I can be. Jackass…Melina hated that movie. She hated lots of things…Avril Lavigne, oriental food, blue eye shadow, frogs, and probably me.

To quote an Avril Lavigne song, "Why you have to go and make things so complicated?"

Why couldn't it be like the carefree days of junior high and high school when worried about the little things in life? Why did Melina have to be so complicated and make everything so complicated?

I pulled into the Holiday Inn parking lot and took the key out of ignition. I got out the car and got my suitcase out of the backseat. I walked through the dark parking lot to get the hotel doors. It must be awfully strange for someone to come to a hotel at about midnight.

I took it all for granted
But how was I to know
That you'd be letting go

Melina and I took each other for granted; you never really miss anything until it's gone. It's just really weird like that. Everything is weird though. Everything is weird in their own weird little ways.

Maybe this was a chance to start over fresh again, build a new name for myself.

Now it cuts like a knife
But it feels so right
It cuts like a knife
But it feels so right

I still feel as though my heart has been ripped out and put into a blender, but I'll get over it, where as Melina will be missing out because she's with Gordo. I almost feel sorry for him…almost. Hmm…moving on has a nice feeling to it, it's kind of comforting. Moving on is comforting…so is predictability, yet again predictability is boring. Oh well, life is a journey. I think I'll survive it.

[A/N: So…what do you think? I am honestly in love with this song fic because I just love lots of Bryan Adams' songs. Please review with your thoughts. Thank you!]