Chapter 14

"Tell her now, Alan," Gary growled, as he walked past the table Alan was seated at. Alan looked at him stupidly. Gary popped his eyes out, and jerked his head in the direction of Melody, who was seated at the same table, with Ronnie, Blue, Julius, The Rev, Petey and Louie.

Alan, getting the idea, shook his head slightly.

Gary gave him a look that said, "why not?"

Alan said, quietly, and embarrassedly, "Shewontsayyes."

"What?" Gary asked, leaning in closely.

"She won't say yes," Alan repeated.

"How do you know?" Gary questioned, "Go ask, man,"

Alan walked over to where Melody was sitting. Taking a nervous gulp of air, he cleared his throat and asked:

"Melody, can I talk to you?" while he leaned down next to her ear so only she could hear.

"Yeah," Melody, smiled up at him, getting out of her chair. She followed him outside, still smiling.

"So, what did you want to talk to me about Alan?" She asked, leaning on the railing around the steps they were on top of.

"umm.." Alan couldn't say it. "I..., I was wondering if..." he trailed off.

"What is it?" she asked kindly, looking at him expectantly. When he didn't say anything, she said, "Come on Alan, you know you can tell me."

Alan looked her over. She was wearing a beautiful blue dress, perfect looking. Her eyes were twinkling, and she looked so happy. He sighed, she was so beautiful.

"Alan?" she whispered, taking a step closer to him, "Alan, what's wrong?"

"Nothing," he answered, smiling, "nothing."

Melody smiled in relief, "Good! I thought some disaster had happened for a minute there."

Alan smiled back weakly. He knew he had to ask. He couldn't hold in his feelings forever, and he had to know if she liked him back.

"Melody," he said, getting ready to blurt out what he was going to say, "Will you go out with me?"

Melody stared at him. For a second, Alan thought she was going to say yes, but then, her face fell. He knew she was refusing him.

"Oh Alan," she sighed, putting her hand on his shoulder.

Alan shook her off. Suddenly, he was mad. He was mad at himself, mad at her, mad at Gary for encouraging him to ask her out, mad at everything.

"Don't, oh Alan me," he muttered, avoiding looking at her.

"Alan, I like you as a friend, but... but not like that," she said sympathetically.

"I should've known," he said angrily.

"What do you mean?" she asked, touching him again on the shoulder.

He wrenched away, "I should've known you wouldn't want to go out with me." He said, not sure why he was opening up to her, "I mean, you had Ronnie, why settle for something less than him?"

"Alan," she moaned, "You are not less than him!" she exclaimed, trying to talk to him.

"Really?" Alan asked, face screwed up in anger, eyes flashing. "Then how come you went out with him. But not me."

Melody looked at him in surprise, "Alan, I never..."

"You never what?" he asked, "Never considered me? Did you think you were better than me?"

"Alan!" she yelled, emotions catching in her face. Her voice sounded choked, "Alan what are you saying?" Her pained eyes bored into him. Alan hardened his heart and glared back at her.

"Alan I never ever thought I was better than you!" she tried to explain, "You're my friend, but that's all."

Alan ignored her, "look, just because I'm not as good-looking as Ronnie..."

"That isn't what this is about!" she cried, tears slipping down her face. The wind flung her hair into her face. "Did you think I was that shallow? That I could possibly..."

Alan didn't answer. Suddenly the anger was gone and he was just... emotionless.

Melody stared at him, biting her lip, "You don't know me at all."

She turned and started to walk away. Halfway to the gym doors, about to enter where the banquet was taking place, she paused.

"I'm sorry Alan. I like you as a friend, and I didn't mean to hurt you."

Alan watched her walk away. Then, he turned on his heel, and walked towards his car.

----

Melody ran up into her room, tears in her eyes. She wrenched off the dress she was wearing, and threw it on a chair. In only her underclothes, she broke down crying on the bed. The words Alan had said were still fresh in her mind. He had been so mean, so heartless, so cold. So unlike the Alan she knew. And his eyes. His eyes had been so icy, so unfeeling. It had scared her. She never wanted to see his eyes like that again. What had caused all that?

She still couldn't believe he had asked her out. The thought was scary, she didn't like Alan like that. He was just one of her good friends, very good friends. The truth was, since Ronnie, she hadn't thought of anyone as anything more than a friend. The breakup with him had hurt her, and she wasn't ready for a new boyfriend. She wrapped herself up in a bathrobe, and went to the bathroom to remove her makeup. She found the bathroom occupied by one of her younger brothers.

"Get out!" she growled at him, not wanting to deal with anyone. "I need to use the bathroom!"

"Jeez, who bit you..." Marcus, the young boy complained.

Melody slammed the door behind him, washing off her face. As she brushed her teeth, she remembered something Alan had once said to her.

"You want a guy who will hold you around the waist just to smell your hair. Or hold your hair back for you while you brush your teeth."

She smiled at that thought. Alan had told her these things after she had broken up with Ronnie.

A memory flooded into her brain. After football practices, they had fallen into the habit of Melody waiting outside while Alan showered, and then the two of them walking home. On this particular day, Alan had emerged from the locker room to find Melody crying. He had wiped away her tears, well tried too. He had told her about the kind of guy she wanted to date, not Ronnie.

But the tears had kept flowing until, finally, he gave up and held her in his arms. Melody remembered the sense of warmth and comfort she had felt wrapped up in Alan's warm embrace. She had felt so protected, like nothing in the world could ever hurt her. Thinking about it, she hadn't felt that way with anyone before. Not even when she hugged Ronnie, or kissed him.

What did this mean? Did she like Alan? Melody sighed, looking at her reflection. Do you like him? She questioned herself silently. Do you? She considered the feelings she got whenever she was with Alan. She was... happy, was the only way to describe it. She had fun with him, he made her laugh. She always loved to wipe his bangs out of his face. He always needed a haircut, but never got one, giving him the resemblance of an adorable shaggy puppy. Especially when he gave her this look, this look that just told her she was important.

Melody sighed, what she really liked about Alan was how he made her laugh. He made her laugh so hard, so often it was hard not to smile just thinking about him. He would do crazy things, say odd things, just about anything to make her smile. He was always there for her. Jeez, why hadn't she noticed it before? Thinking of it now that she knew Alan liked her, it seemed so obvious.

Suddenly, it all came clear. The way she felt with him, everything about him. I like him. She thought. I like Alan. I like him so much. She couldn't control it anymore, she had to tell him, soon. In the morning. She wanted to see his smiling face again, his happy, sparkling eyes. She walked slowly into her room, waiting for the morning.

---

Alan drove home, his hands tight on the wheel. He was still angry, but also upset at himself. The things he had said about Melody weren't true at all, in fact the thoughts hadn't even crossed his mind until he blurted them out to her. He saw that what he said had really hurt her, she had started crying. He sighed, and thought about her for a minute. Jeez, why couldn't she have said yes? Why didn't she like him? He rubbed his head with his hand.

When he looked up again, he saw another car, heading straight towards him. Alan jerked the wheel to the right, trying to swerve. His car didn't swerve fast enough. The other car, a blue camero, plowed into the side of his car. Alan hit his head on the window and everything faded, getting hazy until the world went black.

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only one more chapter left! And I apologize for the cliffhanger.... but hey... I can't help it, it draws you in! (besides, im updating the next chapter right now anyway so im not that mean!)