- 6 weeks into summer break, 1 month since the summit ended -
Neal's dad had stayed out late the night before, only coming home at nearly 2 o'clock in the morning. He was so furious with him. It had been months now of everyone in the family knowing what 'a late business meeting' meant. And yet he still continued to use it as an excuse to openly cheat on Neal's mother, and they were all supposed to continue acting like they believed him. How had his life turned into this? They had been such a typical normal family, or so he'd thought. He had the cool dad everyone liked to hangout with, he'd always been close with his mom, and he'd thought his brother was his best friend. Now he couldn't even stand being alone in the same room as his dad, his mom drowned her sorrows in hours at the tennis courts, and bottle after bottle of wine. And Neal hadn't spoken to Barry since the party 3 months ago, and he didn't want to. He now regarded his brother in much the same way he saw his dad. They were both womanizers who thought of no one else's wants but their own. Barry had been fine leaving their mother in the dark just so their dad would pay for his new car, which was not the person Neal thought his brother was.
"Hey buddy," Mr. Schweiber greeted Neal in the kitchen the next morning.
Neal tried his best not to roll his eyes, and to hide his disdain. "Hey dad." He said brusquely, with no expression.
"I was thinking we might go check out that new movie, what, what's it called?" He snapped his fingers trying to call the name to his mind. Neal just stared at him blankly. "You know, the comedy, it's Egypt something."
"Flatfoot in Egypt." Neal answered him flatly.
"Yeah, that!" He smiled at his son. "What'd you say?"
"I've already seen it." Neal looked at his father finally. "I'm going to go hangout with Melody. I'll be home later." He told him then went out the door, hoped on his bike and rode off down the street. Mr. Schweiber looked sadly back at his son.
Neal hadn't made plans to hangout with Melody, but he just couldn't be home with his dad right now. He rode for a few minutes before arriving at Melody's house. He knocked on the door, to be greeted by Nick.
"Daniel dude you bas- oh. Hey. It's Neal right?" He was expecting Daniel but stopped mid sentence and looked down to greet Neal.
"Yeah. Is Melody home?" He asked, winded from his ride.
"Uh, yeah I think so." He replied then just went into the house. Neal followed, shutting the door behind him awkwardly when it was clear he wouldn't receive an invitation inside. "Melody! You're boyfriends here!" He yelled up the stairs. "You can just wait upstairs if you want." Nick told him pointing toward the living room, before going back into his room.
"Thanks." Neal replied then went upstairs and sat down rigidly on the couch.
After a moment Melody poked her head out from her bed room, still wearing pajamas, with a phone pressed against her chest. She looked out at Neal shocked. "Oh, you really are here. I'm sorry, did we have plans? I completely forgot!" She apologized, just assuming she was in the wrong.
"Oh, no. We didn't, I just- Sorry, I just showed up here." He apologized.
Melody looked back at him, he was trying to put on a brave face but something was clearly wrong. "Hey one minute." She said into the phone she was holding, then set it down and walked out to come sit by Neal on the couch. "Hey, Neal what's wrong?" She looked at him worried.
"Nothing." He tried to blow it off, but she looked at him seriously and he knew he couldn't lie to her. "Just stupid stuff with my dad, it's nothing. Really I'm fine."
Melody looked at him sadly. "Okay. Well how about I go get dressed, and we can go hang out and talk if you want?"
"Yeah, let's do it." He told her. He loved how caring she was, he knew he could always count on her for a stable shoulder to lean on.
"Okay, let me just finish up and say goodbye to Parker, I'll get dressed then I'll be right out. We'll do whatever you want." She smiled at him, kissed him on the cheek and walked back to her room.
He smiled at her, then it occurred to him. Who the hell was Parker? He sat on the couch, a million thoughts running through his mind. When he heard her voice stop in her room he got up and stood outside her bedroom door.
"Hey Melody?" He asked through the close door.
"Yeah?" She replied, obviously in a far corner of her room moving around.
"Who's Parker?" He tried to sound casual.
"Just a friend from the summit. I'm sure I've mentioned him haven't I?" She replied distractedly.
So Parker is a guy. Neal thought to himself annoyed. "No, I don't think so." He told her through the door.
"Oh, weird. Yeah, he was just a guy I met at the summit. He's cool, you'd like him. We were debate partners a few times." She said casually while getting dressed.
"Pretty sure I won't." Neal muttered under his breath.
"What?" She asked, not having heard him.
"Nothing." He replied hurriedly. "So what was he calling about so early?" Neal tried to sound casual.
"He just had a question about this lecture we sat through on contextualizing events from history with modern happenings. I took more thorough notes then he did and he was wondering about this one theory the professor had. Why?"
"No reason, just curious." He replied innocently. "So it was all shop talk, not a personal call?" He tried to act like he wasn't hoping for one answer.
"Well I mean, once I explained the theory to him we caught up a little. I haven't talked to him since the summit got out, so we talked about just like general life stuff. His sister just got engaged." She explained now getting a little confused by why he was so interested.
"Oh, cool." He decided to be quiet and leave to Parker subject alone. It was really bothering him, but he believed her that Parker was just a friend. Why would she lie, and besides he was some nerd from the summit, he couldn't be that big of a threat to Neal.
Melody finally opened the door. "I have some pictures from the summit if you want to hear about my friends I made there." She told him.
He smiled showing a fake interest. "Pictures, yeah, I'd love to see pictures!" He really just wanted to see what this Parker looked like to put his worries to rest.
She grabbed a shoe box from her closet and sat down on her bed. He came and sat down beside her. She pulled out some Polaroids and began to point out people, recalling names and memories. Most of them were girls, sprinkled with a few boys. Non of whom Neal found threatening. He had high enough confidence that he wasn't worried about the average looking dude. "
"Oh, and here's me, my sweet mate Carly, Emily, and that's Parker right there." She told him, pointing at possibly the most hansom young man Neal had ever seen. He looked at the image shocked.
"I'm sorry that's Parker?" He asked confused. "That's who you were just talking to?"
"Yeah." She replied as if it were nothing, because to her nothing was.
"I'm sorry so he's some freaky genius and a male model?" He asked.
Melody laughed. "I mean hey do you want his number?"
"No" He replied quickly.
"Yeah, I don't know. He's alright I guess. All the girl's at the summit were obsessed with him though." She replied.
"Yeah I can see why." He mumbled to himself, so she couldn't hear him. "And he was your debate partner?" Neal asked.
"Yeah, I was one of the only girls who left him alone, because I already have a boyfriend." She smiled at Neal. "So listen, it's completely up to you, but I was thinking, the museum just opened up that new science center, with those like cool interactive experiment things. Do you want to check it out?" She asked getting up to go put her shoes on.
"I don't know, would Parker want to go?" He mumbled sarcastically, but not quiet enough.
"I'm sorry, are you jealous of Parker?" She asked mostly teasing her boyfriend.
"Of course I'm jealous of Parker!" He replied annoyed, standing up and throwing his arms up in frustration, finally stopping pretending. "He's tall, and athletic, and every girl in this school would bend over backwards to date him, why would you be any- I'm sorry are you laughing at me?" He stopped mid rant because Melody had begun to laugh.
"Of course I'm laughing at you. Neal, I'm laughing at the absolute ridiculousness of the idea that there could possibly be any one but you."She looked at him lovingly. "You're right about Parker, he is tall, smart, and really nice, and most people would consider him very attractive."
"I'm sorry is this supposed to be making me feel better about this whole thing?"
"BUT, you know what he's not?" She said walking over to him and placing her hands on his shoulder so he would look up at her. "He's not you Neal. He doesn't make me laugh, he doesn't know why C-3PO is my favorite character in Star Wars, or what my favorite ice cream flavor is, he can't quote virtually every line from Caddyshack, he doesn't pretend to be bad at chess just to make me feel better, I bet he couldn't even attempt ventriloquism, and at the end of the day. He's not who I want to talk to. I don't know what exactly in this relationship I haven't been clear about, but you're my guy Neal." She spoke sincerely.
"Bu-" He tried to speak but she cut him off.
"But what? I get that he might be hot shit to other girls, but I'm not other girls. I already met my prince charming, and he sweeps me off my feet everyday. Neal, I'm not with you out of convenience until the next guy comes along. I'm with you because everyday I wake up, and think how lucky I am that the guy I've had a crush on since I was 12 years old is a part of my life." She looked at him vulnerably but he still looked perturbed. "You don't think I get jealous? Of course I do. But I don't let it bug me down too much, because I trust you." She was now a little hurt he apparently didn't feel the same.
"What do you have to be jealous of? I'm me, you're the only girl who's ever even looked at me. You are a tall red headed goddess. Every guy in this school is looking at you, and looking at me confused by what the hell you're doing with me." Neal began to pace around the room.
"Hey, stop, you don't get to do that." Melody said vaguely angry for the first time. At first she thought his worry was cute, now she was annoyed.
"Do what?"
"Put me on this pedestal. Like I'm too good to be with anyone, especially you. You're not the lucky one in this relationship Neal. Any girl in this school would be lucky to date you, and if I'm the only one who can see that. Well then good, because I don't want the competition." She paused. "Now can we stop this please? I don't want to fight. I know, you might be a little paranoid about this kind of stuff, because you're parent's relationship isn't exactly what you thought it was. But... You have nothing to worry about with Parker. I would never do that to you." She walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his neck and he wrapped his arms around her waist in return as she looked at him sweetly. "I like my men short, unathletic, comedy obsessed, and very Jewish."
Neal laughed "Well then you're in luck I guess."
"Good." She had the most adorable look on her face, Neal thought. "Truce?"
"Truce." He agreed. She smiled at him then leaned down and kissed him.
A simple small kiss turned into a longer one and the pair slowly walked backwards to lay back on Melody's bed. After kissing for a while, laying side by side and holding each other on Melody's bed they stopped and Melody just rested her head on his shoulder placing her hand on his chest.
"I'm sorry." Neal told her.
"It's ok." She told him sweetly rubbing his chest with her hand.
"The stuff with my parents has just really been getting to me lately." He explained sadly.
"I know. It's ok." She comforted him, nestling her head comfortably in the crook of his neck.
"My dad was out until 2 am again." He said simply.
She looked up at him sadly, knowing what that meant and how it must be affecting him. "I'm sorry Neal." She waited a moment, then got up and turned on the tv and laid back down beside him. "We're not going anywhere today. We are going to stay right here, and just lay down, and watch tv, and do nothing. How's that sound?" She told him.
"Sounds perfect." He smiled and kissed her forehead.
They spent the entire day this way. Just holding each other in Melody's bed, watching tv, talking, and kissing. Melody was his safe place, his sanctuary. His parents were all over the place and every other word they told each other was a lie. Sam and Bill were his best friends, but Sam could be so critical. Melody had never judged him, she was always so supportive, even when he didn't think he deserved it. She always knew how to make him feel better. In that moment he knew that no matter what happened in his life Melody would be there for him, she would always be a shoulder for him to lean on, in the good times and the bad times. He knew she would always be there and on his side. Because for a reason he'd never understand, she wanted to be with him.
Neal looked down at sweetly. "Hey Melody?" He spoke softly.
"Yeah?" She asked casually then looked at him seriously, reading a look she didn't recognize in his eyes.
"I love you, you know." He told her seriously but happily.
She was frozen for a moment as she processed what he'd just said, then she just smiled at him. "I love you too... I always have." She blushed. Melody couldn't remember ever being this happy and content.
Neal leaned down and kissed her again.
AN: So, I might be doing more chapters at some point if I feel like writing more. But I'll probably just leave it here. I love Freaks and Geeks, and I really like this relationship I've made between Melody and Neal. But I realize at this point. There's not much story left to tell. I'm pretty much just writing nothingness at this point. I'm writing just casual real life, which is boring and not story worthy. And I'm 21 chapters, 60,000+ words deep into a story from a 1 season show with a very small following. I'd be very surprised if anyone is reading this. I wanted to get into season 2, and show Melody being there to comfort Neal as his parents get divorced, and as Sam starts to date Maureen and get in more with the cool kids, and stay there. Which are both things the producers said they would have done in season 2 (not the Maureen bit, but I think it just makes sense. They hung out with her as a friend so we know Sam doesn't think she'd boring, and she'd be an in with him and the cool kids since she's cool and likes him too.) I was also going to delve into Melody's bad relationship with her family. But honestly if I did either of those things it would just be more and more chapters of the same, one of them being sad, and the other comforting them.
Long story short, Melody and Neal both have broken homes, and become a family for each other. They are each other's support system. Sam begins dating Maureen, who sometimes hangs out with Bill, Kayla, Melody, and Neal, but mostly takes Sam to hang out with the other cool kids. Sam distances himself from Bill and Neal his sophomore year, trying to be cool, but realizes it's not what's important and comes back to them. He dates various girls throughout the years, but never questions his place with Neal and Bill again. Bill and Kayla date for their entire sophomore year, and break up amicably in the middle of their junior year. They always remain friends though. Bethany tries to get with Nick all year, but he just never even looks at her as a dating option, because she's his little sister's best friend. Toward the end of their senior year, once Nick has tried to go off and make a living as a drummer and failed he comes home and finally think's Bethany is adult enough and begins to date her. They get married only 8 months after they begin dating. Melody and Neal date happily from the end of their freshman year through the rest of the their high school and college careers. Melody graduates valedictorian of their class and get's into Columbia where she studies to become an anthropologist, Neal gets into NYU where he studies comedy writing and they move into an apartment in New York together. Neal proposes to Melody on their 8 year anniversary and they get married when they're 23, after dating for 9 years, and building their own family together with friends, since neither of them can depend on their parents for love or support. The couple moves to California at some point and Neal becomes a tv comedy writer in Hollywood, Melody teaches anthropology at a local university. They have 3 kids named Samantha, Abigail, and Bill. And they live happily together, beating the odds. Finding true love with their first ever relationship, because they just get each other. They have since their first conversation, and they do for the rest of their lives. They support each other, and Melody is always there when exactly when Neal needs her.