After four days I'm back. I hope this is worth the time I put into it. It's longer than all the other chapters because it has weird stuff in it. There are some guest appearances and a pre party party. Please read…
Standard Disclaimer: If I borrow the characters… and they come back a little damaged… that's not a problem is it?
Here we go…
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February 13th, 11:00 pm- One Day before Valentine's Day
Pete yawned loudly. He had worked a little too hard it seemed. Talk about burning the midnight oil… okay, so it wasn't really midnight but it was late enough. "I'm leaving… can I count on you guys to finish decorating?" asked Pete loudly. Elliot nodded. Pete picked up his jacket and put it on. "Will you remember to lock up? After all the name 'Leiline Observatory' makes people automatically think that this place is full of valuables…" Melody gestured for him to shut up then told him they would. Pete walked to the doorway as leaving then stopped. A collective sigh was heard. "Oh and Malik, if yet another fight breaks out, the emergency hatchet is in the hallway, ok?" Malik mumbled something which Pete took to be a yes. After waving briefly, Pete Inkapilia left the building.
"Hmm… there goes the last shred of sanity…" said Malik half-heartedly. Werner had left earlier to pick up Ekatrina and Virginia and Leehalt had made up some excuse to leave as well. Not Leehalt that was sane anyway…
"Yes…" agreed Elliot. He seemed thoughtful as he stood up. "Now we can all do something fun."
"What about our promises to Pete?" questioned Melody as she straightened the table cloth on a nearby table.
"We will lock up, and I know where the hatchet is," answered Malik. "Besides we're practically done decorating."
"Yes… it does look great doesn't it?" mused Melody as she inspected their handiwork.
"Yes it does… and best of all no purple or orange…" stated Elliot. Melody glared at him.
"Don't you dare mock me, Elliot…" warned Melody.
"Let's not get Elliot's blood on our decorations…" advised Duran.
Melody turned to face him. "We don't need your insight on this Duran," she yelled.
"Exactly…" began Elliot as he closed in on Duran. "Is anyone opposed to getting Duran's blood on our decorations?"
Malik sighed. "Look, I like group murder as much as any of you but isn't there a better way to waste our time?'
Melody seemed hesitant to cease the upcoming attack but finally relented as a new idea hit her. "You know what you're right… we're all single… and I've heard of a party in Humphrey's Peak…"
Elliot looked a little surprised. "Humphrey's Peak… I've always thought it was a quiet, quaint little town."
"It usually is, but for some reason or another there is a party right now…" continued Melody.
"So what are we still doing here? Let's go…" exclaimed Duran.
Melody ignored him and turned to Malik and Elliot. "So will you guys come?"
Ellliot nodded slowly.
"Of course… we work way too hard as it is..." said Malik as he stood up.
"Okay so
it's decided then… we're all going to party" cheered Melody.
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Melody knocked on the door, for the second time, becoming rapidly annoyed. "If someone doesn't open up soon…" she began.
Suddenly the door swung open revealing a pleasant looking young man. Though not especially out of the ordinary he did have one striking feature: wild, green hair. Melody, completely forgetting that she herself had purple hair, could only gape at him.
"Well, just what we need… more uninvited guests," stated the green haired man jokingly.
"Hello…" said Melody a bit crossly… she didn't like to be kept waiting.
Malik shook his head in disapproval. "Melody don't be so rude…" he scolded.
The man laughed. "So I take it that Melody is always this impolite…" he sneered, losing his prior friendliness.
Melody growled. "Look I don't know who you are but…"
"Clive!" interrupted a feminine voice. A young woman walked up to the door. "Are you hassling our guests?"
"Of course not Cathy… I was just getting acquainted with Melody and her friends…"
"That's Ms. Vilente to you," corrected Melody rudely.
Clive smiled. "Of course Ms. Vilente… forgive me… come in." Clive stepped aside and let Melody and her entourage in.
As they walked in they could hear Clive bickering with his female companion about something. Elliot looked shocked as he entered.
"I wouldn't have expected such a rowdy gathering… this is Humphrey's Peak isn't it?" asked Elliot as he looked around. However, there was no answer… everyone had somehow dissipated into the crowd. Elliot was all alone…
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"Oh hello…"
Malik turned around to see who was speaking to him. It was the same lady from before… Clive's companion. "Nice to see you again…" he replied.
She smiled. "Yes… though we never were introduced formally. "Umm… I'm Catherine."
"Malik…"
"Listen, sorry about earlier… my fiancé is a little rough around the edges… he's not a bad person though."
"It wasn't really his fault; Melody is a bit belligerent…"
Catherine beamed at him. "Oh I see… Clive said she was a self-absorbed wench."
Malik frowned. "Well I wouldn't go as far as to call her a self-absorbed wench."
"Sorry… I didn't mean that… you care about her a lot don't you?"
"Eh… no not really… I've just known her for a long time that's all…"
"Oh well… would you care to dance?"
Malik seemed a bit startled but didn't see why he shouldn't. "Sure…"
Catherine hesitated for a moment. "Ah… actually I probably shouldn't…" Malik stared at her somewhat strangely. "Oh no… Clive's not the jealous type… it just that… Melody's glaring daggers at me."
Malik turned around. A little ways off Melody stood, staring at the pair. She did seem a little angrier than usual… "Oh don't worry about it… that's her friendly look… let's dance."
"Okay if you say so…"
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"Hello ladies..." Duran sighed as he was ignored yet again. He simply could not remain single… tomorrow was Valentine's Day. Maybe if he approached one girl rather than a cluster… ridiculous…
"Hey which one of you wants to come home with me…?"
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Elliot sat on the couch… alone and surrounded by party animals. He shivered slightly. Suddenly a girl approached him.
"Hello," she mumbled shyly. "Did your friends abandon you too?"
"Yeah sort of…" he admitted.
"Oh same here…"
"Well, if you want we can be alone together," suggested Elliot. He stopped realizing that his statement made no logical sense.
The girl giggled. "I would like that very much… My name's Ellie…"
"My name is Elliot."
"Wow they sound almost the same…" Ellie giggled again.
"Yes, they do…" Elliot found himself laughing right alongside of her.
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Melody downed a glass of rum then refilled it. If Malik wanted to dance with that hussy that was his business. She sipped the rum as if thinking.
"Boo," shouted Clive maliciously. Melody jumped and spilled some of her drink.
"Ooooh… you are positively obnoxious…" screamed Melody as her arms flailed around wildly. Clive laughed.
"I'm sorry…" he held out a napkin as a peace offering. She wrenched it from his hand bitterly. "I couldn't help it…"
"Hmm… why am I not surprised…" Melody began to wipe her face. "It splashed on my face... my make up… it's smudging."
"Oh the humanity…" cried Clive sarcastically.
"Just leave me alone."
"Vain…"
"Excuse me?!"
Clive smirked at her. "You are the vainest person I've ever met."
Melody refilled her glass and gulped quite a bit down. "If you've got it why not flaunt it…" She paused seeming thoughtful. "Modesty is for the insecure."
"Catherine?" asked Clive.
Melody stared at him in amazement. "How did you know I was referring to her of all people?"
"She's dancing with that man you came in with…"
"Who? Malik? I don't care…"
"She must be doing something right if she's my fiancée…"
"Beauty is everything!" yelled Melody sounding somewhat hysterical.
Clive frowned at her. "Beauty wasn't enough to catch Malik's eye… now was it?"
"I don't want to catch Malik's eye…" Melody downed the rest of the glass. "I want to be beautiful."
"Beautiful and alone?" asked Clive. Melody turned away. "Personality… that's why I'll marry Cathy."
Melody sighed. "You're an obnoxious man…"
"Maybe… but Catherine is going to marry me isn't she?" Clive stood up. "Good bye Ms. Vilente."
"It's Melody…" she corrected… only to discover that he was gone and she was alone.
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"I'm sorry I can't dance very well…" apologized Catherine as she stepped on Malik's foot for the eighteenth time.
"Don't worry about it," lied Malik as he felt a searing pain run up his leg.
Clive walked up chuckling. "Cathy… are you torturing this poor man?" scolded Clive.
Catherine laughed. "Clive meet Malik… Malik meet Clive."
"Thanks for keeping Cathy occupied…" said Clive.
"Think nothing of it… though I hope you'll understand me when I choose to take a break in dancing…" replied Malik.
Clive laughed. "It's fine… I'll take over now…" Malik stepped back allowing Clive to take his place. "Oh you should probably try and find Melody… she's drinking quite a bit of alcohol and is waiting for you."
Malik thanked him and went off to find Melody.
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"Why are we leaving so soon?" complained Melody as she followed Malik.
"Because you're drunk…" replied Malik.
"I was having a lot of fun…" stated Melody as she stumbled over a couple of rocks.
Malik chuckled. "I'm sure you were… you drank enough to intoxicate an elephant."
"Are you calling me an elephant?" asked Melody angrily.
Malik sighed. "No I'm not… now hurry up."
Melody staggered a bit faster, taking a couple steps before falling down unto the ground. "Owww…" she whimpered. Malik turned around to find Melody sitting on the floor.
"Are you okay?" asked Malik sounding a bit more concerned than he had intended to. Melody nodded and stood up. "Good… be more careful…"
Melody giggled. "Malik will you carry me?"
Malik rolled his eyes. "No…"
"Oh come on… a piggy back ride…"
"No…"
Melody scowled. "Well you know what, I refuse to move from this very spot… so there," she announced triumphantly.
Malik sighed. "Fine then hop on…"
Melody jumped onto his back with a gleeful "Whee…"
"Ugh you're heavy…" complained Malik.
Melody was silent as Malik carried her. He walked slowly for a while.
"Malik if I'm too heavy… you could put me down…"
"No it's okay…" he walked a bit more.
"Are you sure?" asked Melody.
Malik paused. "Actually I'm lying… you are too heavy…" He set her down. "I'm sorry…"
"Oh it's fine…" Melody looked around. "You know what… the waste land is a horrible place… at least some parts…"
"Yes, that's why we're working so hard to fix it…"
"Malik, you're about nineteen aren't you?"
"Yes, I am."
"You know I was once engaged like that Catherine girl… well not engaged, his parents wouldn't allow him to marry me. My sweet heart and I were going to elope. It was supposed to be romantic… you know traversing the wasteland together."
"What happened?"
"That was three years ago, I was nineteen… we did elope and we did traverse the wasteland… but we were attacked by bandits…" Melody paused. She laughed mirthlessly. "He thought he could protect me… the boy's bones are disintegrating somewhere out there…"
"That's horrible…"
Melody sighed. "It's the life we live…"
"I'm sorry…"
"No… I'm sorry I told you that… I can't be optimistic like you or Catherine or Clive…"
"It doesn't matter…"
Melody blushed slightly. "Umm… we're here… we're at Little Rock…"
"I know… Goodnight I guess…"
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So how was it? Please review… Next chapter may be up in anywhere from one to two days.