Melody always knew when Gideon's nerves were getting to him. He could be a little firecracker on some days and a ray of sunshine on others, but he did have moments where he was too nervous to be either. And whenever that happened, Melody would always find him down in the basement of the shack, stationed in front of the same pinball machine. He would sit in front of that machine for hours until he forgot about his worries or they simply filtered into the background of his mind. Usually they were little worries that only got to the guy because he was a ball of emotions. Something like an upcoming test or a bully pointing out his white hair and colourful clothes. Usually either Carla or Melody would go down there to cheer him up.

However, it was strange for Melody to see him down in front of the old pinball machine right at the start of summer. There was no school to worry about or bullies picking on him. Usually the kid was bouncing off the walls in excitement at this time of year. But there he was instead.

She flopped herself down in the bean bag chair that was off to the side of the pin ball machine. Even though Gid didn't turn to look at her, she knew he was aware she was there by the way he started shuffling in his spot. The pin ball fell through the opening at the bottom and the western skeleton in the machine mocked Gideon for his loss. The white haired boy let out a defeated sigh.

"What's the worry G Man?" Melody asked in concern. She leaned forward in her chair, though it was a bit awkward in the old bean bag chair. "You haven't pin balled this long since you broke Granny Carla's hair straightener."

Gideon reached up to touch his thick head of curls that he had once tried to straighten on his own. Melody remembered how upset he had been when one of the hinges came loose and the straightener came apart in his hands. He had been so frightened about how Carla would react. But Melody had managed to fix it for him once he had gotten into his third hour of pinball.

"I'm just nervous about something," Gideon mumbled, looking down at his scuffing feet. "That's all."

"Too nervous to tell me?" Melody asked with a reassuring smile, tilting her head to get in his line of vision. "Come on dude, give me the scoop."

Gideon huffed out a sigh and slumped down onto the old carpet floor. "Granny Carla told me my cousin was going to be working here for the summer. She's showing up tomorrow."

Melody tilted her head in curiosity. "Soooo," Melody trailed off trying to figure out what was wrong in the situation. "Where's the badness?"

"I haven't seen her since my parents funeral," Gideon replied, stuffing his face into his hands. "It wasn't exactly a fun time. It was actually a really awkward time."

"Well, it's not like you could help that," Melody reassured him. "You kids will get the chance lots of chances for fun times! You know, because it's summer. And summer is all about the fun times."

"You don't get it, Mel. The last time I saw Pacifica was six years ago," Gideon groaned. "What if we have nothing in common? What if she doesn't like me? I'm gonna have to spend the entirety of the summer with a teenage girl who despises me. That's the worst kind of person to invoke the scorn of, ya know? Post adolescent girls always say something sweet to your face and then they say something malicious behind your back. It would be just like the movie Mean Girls! I don't wanna live through that!"

The little freak out he was having was nothing new. Gideon's vocabulary could be pretty intense. Even more so when he was upset about something. Melody couldn't understand half the words that came out of his mouth. And he also went off on some weird tangents. Luckily, she was a Gideon freak out expert.

Melody leaned back in her chair and looked at the white haired kid with a playful look. "First thing, you probably shouldn't use Mean Girls as your guide for how the teens act," she told him with a smirk. She nudged his foot with her own and grinned. "She's not gonna hate you. I don't think anyone who knows you can ever hate you. Don't get so freaked, dude."

Gideon looked up at her with big blue violet eyes and she gave him a caring smile.

"And besides," Melody continued, she reached out and ruffled the kids curls. "If she somehow doesn't like you, you don't have to spend time with her. You've always got me on the home team, dude. No matter what."

Gideon beamed at her hopefully, making her heart swell. "Thanks Mel! Together, we can endure. No matter the horrid teenage hormones and secret hostility concealed with charm impedes us. Oh wait! Do you think she has a burn book! Do girls make those?"

She snorted out a laugh that made Gideon start smiling again. Nothing could make him feel better like making someone laugh. "You really need to start hanging around actual girls, G Man." She shoved him lightly with her foot, but he dramatically toppled over, giggling from his new lying position on the floor. He angled his head so that he was looking at her upside down and flashed her a grin. Melody returned the smile.

She did seriously doubt anyone could hate the little bouncy ball of energy. Even if he could be a bit clueless, a joker, and a huge drama queen, the kid had a big heart and a love for laughter that couldn't be matched. And if this Pacifica girl dared to pick a fight with him, you could bet she would be hearing from Melody. And not in a good way.

Xxx

But of course they all hit it off. I now have a headcanon that Melody uses Buffy speak and a bunch of made up sounding catchphrases and weird slang words.

Cool beans Good stuff Bad news bears Cool cat Lol cats Awesome sauce Coolness Awko taco

Stuff like that.