Melanie walked into the run-down warehouse that had been her home for as long as she could remember. As she walked through the building, her foot bumped into a glass bottle. She crouched down to pick it up, examining it. It was a bottle of liquor...completely empty...and clean. It hadn't been laying there for long, even the stench of alcohol was still fresh. She stood up, scowling, before chucking the bottle with an angry scream. It shattered against a crate, fragments of glass flying everywhere. Moments later, the door to the upstairs room was kicked open, and her dad stepped out.
"Who's there?!" He shouted, looking around.
His eyes landed on her, and he sighed, relaxing. Rubbing his disheveled hair, he walked down the stairs.
"Sorry, kiddo. You startled me there." He stated. "What was with that howl anyway?"
Melanie scoffed. "Oh, so now you care what's going on with me?"
Phillip paused. "Yeah, I deserve that."
"You're not blacked out yet." Melanie observed.
"I've been...limiting myself." He said. "I just...if you get in trouble again...if something happened to you, I'd have nothing left, Melanie."
Her expression softened. "Don't worry about me, dad. You should take care of yourself."
"Kid, I know I'm a shitty dad, but I care about you. What's wrong?" He asked.
Melanie sat down on a crate, looking down. "The Vytal Ball's coming up."
"So this is relationship troubles then?" Phillip questioned.
"No...yes...sort of...he asked me out, and I said no." Melanie took her hat off and shook her hair free.
Phillip raised an eyebrow. "Do you like him?"
"Yes...I tried not to, but...yes, I do." Melanie admitted.
Phillip sat down as well. "Then why?"
"Because he's..." Melanie grit her teeth. "Because he's Crimson Dram."
"He's..." Phillip's eyes widened. "Oh...Melanie...are you...trying to protect me?"
"Yes!" She shouted. "Yes, I am!"
He stood. "Melanie, I'm not worth it."
"Bullshit!" She put her hat back on and stood to look him in the eye. "I don't give a damn about what you've done or how you feel, you're my dad. You're the only family I have, and that means you are more important to me than anything else."
Phillip sighed. "Don't throw away a chance to be happy...Melanie, if you really like him, that's more important. Go to that dance, enjoy yourself...don't let that moment slip away from you."
Crimson sat in the engineering lab, tinkering with his scrollglasses. He was delicately connecting the wiring to the light-up display, when he heard someone taking a seat next to him.
"Hey, can we talk?" Melanie asked.
"Juuuust a sec." Crimson said, attaching the last wire. "And there." He leaned back, screwing all the pieces back together. "What did you wanna talk about?"
Melanie took a deep breath. "So...the Vytal Ball...do you still want to go?"
He paused, looking over. "You mean...with you?"
"I..." Melanie's gaze fell on the faint scar beside Crimson's eye. "...yes."
"What changed your mind?" He asked.
Melanie sighed. "Remember what I said about enjoying the good moments while you can? I guess I needed to listen to my own advice."
Crimson smiled. "Well, Melanie Lemay, it would be my honor to go to the dance with you."
"I still need to steal a dress." Melanie muttered.
Crimson cleared his throat. "What was that?"
She rolled her eyes. "Fine, fine, I'll just steal the money to buy one." After a moment, she giggled. "Relax, hotshot. I'm joking. I should be able to figure something out."
Crimson gave a chuckle. "See you at the dance then?"
"Yeah." Melanie smiled. "And Crimson...thank you."
