I promised chapter 2 this weekend and this is about as weekend as it gets. Thanks for the positive reaction to chapter 1. Enjoy!

Chapter 2

About a week later, Melanie made contact with Freddie. He was living with his mother, just like she was. But since he was a college graduate, Marissa at least allowed him to do laundry on his own, though he still wasn't supposed to use sharp knives. He had just finished loading the dryer, when his phone rang.

"Hello." Freddie answered the call, not recognizing the number.

"Hey, Freddie. It's Melanie." The blonde said cheerfully. "You know, Sam's sister."

"Oh, uh, hi, Melanie." Freddie responded, propping himself up against the machine. It took Sam nearly a two hour phone conversation to convince him she really had a twin sister. He then verified her existence with Carly and Spencer and even did some investigating online to ensure himself that he wasn't being pranked by his devious friend.

"Sam told me you'd be calling, I understand you're moving back to Seattle for your graduate work."

"I'm already here, I finally finished unpacking." She giggled. "I'm staying with my mother 'till my residency begins at the hospital."

"Yeah, Sam said you were going to U-Dub. You're studying nursing, right? I didn't know nurses did residency."

"I'm already an actual nurse, I'm working on my midwife certification. I got in on a program that helps me earn part of my degree by working hands on, plus it helps pay for it. I still have to do a good many classes, though. That's kind of why I called, I was hoping I could get you to show me around campus. I'm starting in a couple of weeks and I don't know anything about the place. Or anyone in Seattle for that matter. Maybe we could hang out sometime."

"Sure, Melanie. That'd be cool." Deep down inside, Freddie was just glad to have someone his own age to be friends with, especially a girl. He and Spencer had become pretty close over the years, but Spencer had his own friends and Freddie didn't exactly fit in with thirty-somethings; especially ones that were into different 'recreational' activities. He certainly never found anything attractive about any of the girls in his classes. At work, it was strictly against Pear's policy for co-workers to date. Most of his female co-workers were considerably older than him anyway.

"Do you want to maybe get together and get caught up?" She asked, kind of flirty. "I haven't been to Groovy Smoothie since high school. Maybe you're free this afternoon?"

"That sounds good. I just put clothes in the dryer, I have to stay here until they're done so I can take them out. I could meet you in, say about an hour."

"That sounds perfect. I need a little time to make myself presentable."

After the call ended, Freddie scoffed at the idea of Melanie taking time to look nice to go for smoothies. The Puckett girls might be twins, buy they couldn't be any different. Sam could hardly be bothered to put on makeup for prom, let alone going for smoothies.

A short while later, he entered the shop and found Melanie sitting at a table waiting for him. She was wearing a knee length gray skirt and a pink blouse with a denim shirt overtop. As usual, her hair was up high in her pony tail and she was wearing the perfect amount of makeup and obviously a little nervous.

"Sorry it took so long, I had to get everything folded after it came out of the dryer. I didn't want my shirts to get all wrinkly."

"That's OK, I just got here myself, I was on the phone with Sam. So what should we order?" Melanie asked after she hugged him.

"Well, I've taken a liking to the new Mango Madness flavor, but your sister was usually good with anything Peach or Strawberry. You know Sam, she'll eat pretty much anything as long as it's not green or too healthy."

"Hmm, I guess I'll try the Mango, too. Do you think we could maybe get some fries or something, I'm starving. You've maybe heard my mom's not much into the whole cooking thing. The only time there was actually food in the house since I moved back home was when I bought it and she ate it all on a drunken binge in the wee hours of Sunday morning."

"Yeah, Sam used to tell us how things were. I guess that's why she was always raiding Spencer's refrigerator." He chuckled at the thought of Sam's constant hunger. "She tried that at my place but since my mom's a big health food nut she quickly figured out that there was nothing in our kitchen she wanted."

Melanie just look at him quizzically as he continued. "To tell you the truth, that's why I usually eat out. A guy can only put away so much tofurkey or gluten free pasta. And don't get me started on the eggless eggs for breakfast. Oh, jeez, I didn't mean to insult you, you're not a vegetarian or anything are you?"

"No, who wants to hang out with a girl who eats nothing but salads?" She flirted. "I actually tried vegan the other year but it just wasn't for me. I guess the Puckett instinct to eat meat is just too strong."

The two ordered their food and drinks and took a seat while they continued their conversation.

"Yeah. Sam can sure put away the bacon. Or chicken wings or ribs. Pretty much anything that comes from a pig or a chicken. Or a cow for that matter."

"Heaven forbid Sam would eat anything that wasn't coated in sugar or deep fried. Hey, that's ironic, I just ordered French fries." She giggled. But, I swear my sister has the metabolism of a racehorse or she'd weigh three hundred pounds, the way she eats. I do try to eat healthy, but I have to splurge once in a while, especially when it comes to fried chicken or Chinese food."

Freddie tried to drop the subject of a girl he missed terribly. "So did you want to maybe go and look over campus some day? I've been taking an evening class over the summer since I work during the day until fall classes begin, but I'm free Thursday if you are."

"That'd be great. Would you mind maybe picking me up? I hate to be a pest, but I've been riding the bus because Mom's car is falling apart and I don't have enough saved up to buy one yet."

"Sure, Mel. We can even car pool when your classes start, too. Your mom's place isn't that far from Bushwell, I can just swing by there on my way to school. No use in you taking the bus if you don't have to. There are so many weirdos on Seattle public transportation it's not funny."

"Tell me about it. Just yesterday, there was this guy and he was rubbing his, um . . . know what, uh, actually, never mind. It was just gross. So, have you talked to Sammy this week?" Mel asked, just to feel things out.

"We've batted a few texts back and forth, but every time I have a few minutes to call, she's busy and she always tries to call me back when I'm either working or in class or studying."

"I know you miss her, Freddie."

"Sure I do, I kinda wish she'd move back to Seattle and I've hinted at it more than once. Thing is, I really didn't have time to go to L.A. this year, and I can't see myself moving there permanently. Especially since I got in at Pear. As much as I would like to try it with Sam, I guess we just can't make a go of being together. I know she was really bummed that I wasn't able to go see her this summer but I needed to get this one class in before the fall semester starts. It's really intense and there's so much homework it's not funny."

Mel realized Freddie was still as hung up on Sam as her sister was on him. It still didn't stop her from finding him attractive and the more time she spent with him the more she liked him. Before long, her flirting became more intense and Freddie found himself flirting back on occasion.

Melanie and Freddie spent most of their free time together. They would study together, hang out on the weekends and keep each other from getting bored when they didn't have school work. They tried dating other people a few times, but never got serious about anyone. It was like they both simply couldn't find anyone to suit their interests.

Of course, it didn't hurt that Melanie had liked him since the time they went out years ago and he found her to be a perfect copy of the one girl he always was attracted to, at least in appearance. Her personality was more like that of Carly or other 'normal' girls, but that was not always a bad thing. While he liked Sam's unpredictable side, he was a very down to earth person and always hoped he could find a way to tame the wild pony that was Sam Puckett.

Melanie never called him nub or made fun of his mother and certainly never did anything to taunt him physically like giving him wet Willies or wedgies. She even got along with his mother the few times they saw each other. It was a huge help that she was polite to the older woman, unlike her sister who seemed to take sheer delight in harassing her.

Marissa took a while to get used to the blonde but she soon came to realize the Puckett sisters were completely different and she was glad that her son was finally friends with a girl she didn't despise. She even got to the point of trying to encourage Freddie to ask Melanie out on a date. After all, if he went out with her it would certainly stop him from waiting around for Carly or Sam, especially Sam.