Once again ... okay, if you don't know I don't own OS by now, then ignore this part. Anyways, Harry's living with Melfina now! YAY! Life is good. Will it stay that way? Let's find out.
It was getting dark. Gene, Harry, and Melfina were lost in the crowd walking toward the shop/apartment that Gene and Jim had rented for use as their office and where they, along with the three women, lived together. As they kept walking, Melfina grabbed Harry's hand in a tight squeeze. Harry looked down at her hand and then back at her. She noticed the look in Harry's eyes was one of happiness.
"Don't worry," she said gently to Harry. "Our home is at the next right. We should be there in a few minutes."
"Oh! Okay, Melfina," Harry said quickly, obviously caught off guard by her comment.
Gene couldn't stand the fact that Harry was going to be living with them. Great. I thought he was dead and now this happens, he thought. He's not doing this for a job. He's doing this for her. He couldn't have changed that much, could he? No! Don't even begin to think like that, Gene. Of course he's doing this to get Melfina. That's the only reason, nothing else. You try anything, MacDougall, and I'll make sure you don't come back this time.
"Here we are, you two," Gene told Harry and Mel.
Harry watched Gene unlock and open the same door that Harry had blown his bionic arm through when he tried to talk to Melfina the first time they met. As the door opened, he could almost see the whole house from the doorway. There was a lot of room in the apartment and not a lot to fill up the space with. To his right, Harry noticed a kitchen area. Closest to him was the refrigerator, then a long counter-top for preparing food that went toward a wall that cut off the kitchen and the hallway. There was an island about four feet from the refrigerator that contained a sink and a washing machine for cleaning plates and utensils. Looking straight ahead at the wall opposite the door, he saw a door next to a flight of stairs that ran parallel with the wall. The stairs led to a very spacious room that could be seen clearly from the downstairs area, due to the fact that there was a balcony. To his right, Harry noticed a sofa, a recliner, and a bean-bag were all facing a big-screen, plasma tv that had to have been brand new. There was a stereo system and DVD player under the entertainment center that held the tv up. After stepping in, Harry looked to the walls that the door was attached to. He saw nothing placed near them except a desk with a laptop computer on it. This was obviously Jim's desk, seeing as how Gene didn't use computers much. The house didn't have many lamps. It seemed that in the room upstairs, there were monsterous windows replacing the wall that allowed sunlight to flow into the house.
Shocked by the surroundings, Harry slowly walked to the center of the house, trying to take everything in. He turned back around to Melfina and Gene, who were looking at back at him. Gene was wearing the frown he had been wearing since the arguement in the restaurant with Melfina, while Melfina was giving a very large, toothed smile to Harry. Melfina was glad that Harry wasn't dead. That was too much for her to bear, the fact that someone else had died because of the war that everyone in the galaxy was at over her. Harry slowly approached both of them smiling back.
"Thanks, guys. For everything. The hospitality, the job, the place to stay. It's all too much."
"No, Harry," Melfina said, "You needed a place to stay and we're more than happy to let stay with us. You can leave whenever you want, but I hope you'll stay with us for at least until you're situation gets better."
"Um, I guess I'll stay as long as you want me too, Mel," Harry said slightly embarrassed. "I don't mean to be demanding, Melfina, but where is my room? I've got to find a place to unpack."
"Oh no!" she exclaimed. "I forgot. We don't have a room."
"That would be a probolem, wouldn't it?" Gene said, trying to get a laugh out of the two of them. Gene was relieved when he heard this. Maybe Harry wouldn't get to stay there. Hopefully, he'd never see him again. Just then, he realized his nightmare. Due to the way Melfina had been acting, she could ask him to stay in her room. Gene just hoped and prayed she didn't do that. While he was contemplating scenarios in his head, Melfina spoke up with an idea.
"I've got it, Harry. I'll sleep on the couch. You can have my room. I don't mind it at all," she said, hoping he would accept.
"No, Mel. If it's okay with you, I'll take the couch. I usually stay up late watching tv, anyway. It would be easier for you and me.
"Well, I don't want to force you there."
"You won't. I promise. Besides, I'm also very difficult to wake up, so if you were doing something around the house, you wouldn't have to worry." Harry and Gene were both hoping she would say 'yes'.
"I don't feel right doing that to you, Harry. But if you want to ... then okay."
"Great!" Harry exclaimed as Gene breathed a smile of relief. "Where do I put my stuff?" he said motioning to the backpack in his hand which contained most of what he owned.
"Oh, I'll put that in my room," Melfina said, taking the bag from his hand. "It's going to be next to the door in my room. Your clothes will be in my closet. I have a shelf that I don't use in there. They'll be on that one, okay?"
"Okay." Harry couldn't believe it. He was sharing a room with Melfina, sort of. As Melfina ran into the room next to the stairs, which was apparently her room, Gene tried to get Harry's attention.
"Harry, you know, Jim's got a room that he's been talking about cleaning out for months now. If he can clean it out, you can stay in there. It has a bed and everything you would need. It's just full of junk right now."
"Thanks, Gene," Harry said. "By the way, does Jim and the others know I'm staying here?" Gene thought about the question before getting an uneasy look on his face.
"Um,...uh...no. And I don't think that they are going to take it well, especially the women."
"You mean the assassin and the Ctarl-Ctarl?" Harry asked.
"Yeah. Maybe you should go out and get some fresh air and I'll break the news to them," Gene suggested. "The shops haven't closed yet and I'm sure you can find something to do until I tell them."
"Yeah, I understand, Gene. I wouldn't want to get killed my first day here, you know," Harry said chuckling.
"Yeah, I know what you mean," Gene said, chuckling as well. "Well, you can leave now, and I'll tell them when they come back. They should be here in about ten minutes."
Melfina walked back into the room when she heard Gene tell Harry to leave. She quickly grew worrysome at that statement.
"What do mean 'leave'?" she said, beginning to look sad. "I thought you said he could stay, Gene."
"He can, Melfina. It's just that I don't want him here when Jim, Aisha, and Suzuka get back because they'll probably kill him. So I told him to come back later when I'm done talking to them, okay?"
"Okay! That's a good idea, Gene." Melfina was at least happy Harry wasn't leaving for good. "Hey, I'll go with you, Harry. There's a great place where we can get you some new clothes."
"Thanks, Mel," Harry said, "But I have my own place where I get clothes. It's at the plaza if you wanna check it out."
"I'd love to. We'll be back in two hours, okay Gene?" Gene wasn't happy with the fact that Melfina was going with Harry. He thought now would be the perfect opportunity for Harry to do something to her.
"Okay. But call me on your cell phone when you get there and before you come back, okay Melfina?"
"Sure, Gene. Come on, Harry."
"I'm coming, Mel. Hold on!" Harry screamed as he ran out of the door behind her.
As Gene was alone in the apartment, he wondered what he had done. With Harry there, everything that Gene had dreaded for so long was now in the house. How do you get yourself into these situations, you idiot? Why are you letting the enemy sleep under the same roof as what he's been going after? Melfina, why are you acting like this to, of all people, Harry MacDougall? Gene began to then wonder why his relationship with Melfina went sour. He would never admit it to himself, but his partying lifestyle, along with the fact that he had cheated on Melfina behind her back, may have had something to do with it. He had never even told her about the other women. Why should he? It was working so well. He did feel a sense of guilt bearing down on him to come clean, but he stopped himself every time he ever tried to tell her. He couldn't tell her. It would ruin her life. But Gene would rather have had her be with him, a cheater asking for forgiveness, than with Harry, an assumed psychopath.
Just as he was comtemplating if he would ever tell Melfina the truth, he remembered that Jim, Aisha, and Suzuka would be home soon. As he began to plan out how to tell them that one of the most notorious outlaws in the galaxy would be living with them, he heard the door being unlocked. Gene immediatly began sweating heavily, realizing that he would have to ad-lib everything to them as soon as he thought of it. Suddenly, the door opened and Jim walked in with the 'dysfunctional duo' behing him.
"Gene, guess what!" Jim said with a vengeful grin on his face.
"What?" Gene replied very monotone.
"I found a book to help us with the Outlaw Star! It was just what we needed," he said as Aisha and Suzuka argued loudly behind him over who should get the tv for the night.
"Hold on, Jim," Gene said. "Hey, you two! Shut up for one second!"
"What's wrong, Gene?" Suzuka camly replied.
"I've got something to tell you guys, and not one of you is going to like it."
At the plaza, Melfina was lost. She had been separated from Harry in the sea-like crowd. She tried to stand on her toes to get a higher view, knowing he could easily be spotted by his aqua-blue hair and pink ribbon. All she could see was bright, unnatural colors reflecting off peoples heads from the multi-colored neon lights hanging from the shops. The lights made everyone's hair a different color, including some the same color as Harry's. As she lowered herself from her toes back to her feet, she began to get worried. Did Harry go back to kill Gene while he was alone? Was he setting a trap? Maybe things were to good to be true. Just then, she heard a faint scream that was almost lost in the noise of the crowd.
"Melfina!" the voice said.
"I know that voice!" she whispered to herself. She began running toward the voice, hoping she would find Harry calling for her. As she got closer, she saw Harry notice her as well and begin running toward her.
"Melfina, I got so worried. I thought something had happened to you." Harry said in gasps, totally out of breath.
"No, Harry, I'm fine. Where were you, anyway? I thought we were going to get something to eat."
"Yeah, we can if you want, Mel. Hey, check this out." Harry then reached into a bag from one of the shops he had gone into with Melfina. "You didn't see me buy this when we were in my store, but it's really cool." Harry then pulled out a small, pink, band t-shirt for the musical group A.F.I. It was too small to be a guy's shirt. Harry had bought it for Melfina when she wasn't looking.
"I got it for you when you were in the women's section. Do you like it?"
"I love it, Harry!" Melfina exclaimed in joy. "Thank you so much!" No one had ever treated her like the way she was being treated tonight.
"You do like music, don't you, Mel?" he asked her.
"Oh, I don't really listen to it that much, Harry. I've never had the time. But I've always wanted to get into it. It seems really fun."
"Trust me, it is. Have you ever heard of this band?"
"No, not really," she said, partially ashamed that she was so blind to Harry's questions.
"Don't worry. I've got a lot of albums in my backpack at your place. I'm sure I can find something you like."
"Okay, hopefully your taste in music isn't bitter."
"It's not, Mel. It's sweet," Harry said smiling.
"Well, let's hurry," Melfina said grabbing Harry's hand. "The shops are going to close soon and we should get something to eat."
"Yeah, I'm really hungry," Harry said while following Melfina to the food court to get a quick snack. "Hey, I wonder how Gene is handling telling the others about me?"
"I don't know," Melfina said. "But don't worry, Harry. Gene's really good at these kinds of things. They're probably not that mad."
"What! Are you crazy, Gene!" Jim screamed. Gene apparently wasn't having a good time telling them about their new guest.
"I don't like it either, Jim," Gene screamed back, "But Melfina begged me to, and what was I supposed to say? No? I couldn't."
"Yeah, you could, Gene!" Aisha barked. "And what's worse, you let that bastard go with her! He's probably doing unspeakable things to her, which I'm gonna kill him for when I see him."
Just as she said that, the phone began to ring. Gene rushed to pick it up.
"Hello?" he said into the reciever.
"Hey, Gene. It's Melfina. We're at the food court and we're going to be home shortly. Just wanted to call, like you told me to."
"Well, I'm glad you're okay. Where's Harry?"
"Getting my drink for me. We're coming home right now, so I'll see you guys in about ten minutes."
"Alright. Stay safe. Bye."
"Bye."
Gene hung up the phone and turned around to the gang, who were all on the couch looking at him with wonder over who called.
"That was Melfina. They're coming here right now."
"I still feel uneasy, Gene," Jim said. "Are you sure he's okay?"
"Not in the slightest, but all we can do is hope he doesn't try anything. Until then, I suggest we all try to watch him closely, see how he acts around us and Melfina. Don't let him or her out of your sight for one second."
"We weren't going to, Gene," Suzuka said in her typical calm fashion.
"How the hell did he survive anyway?" Jim asked, still shocked over the revelation of Harry's arrival. "I saw him at the Leyline. He was dead, Gene! Dead!"
"I know. I was there before you. But apparently he's some tricks up his sleeve."
"This really pisses me off!" Aisha screamed. "Melfina's smarter than this. She even told us about what he did to her when he tried to take the Outlaw Star. Why would she let him stay here with her!"
"I don't think anyone but Melfina knows the answer to that question," Gene said, lowering his head as he walked back to his seat.
"It's because of what you did, isn't it, Gene?" Suzuka said to Gene.
"What did I do to her except care for her?" Gene asked angrily.
"You cheated on her is what you did." Suzuka sternly said. Just then the room grew silent. No one saw that coming.
"What do mean 'I cheated on her'?" Gene asked, this time in a worrysome tone.
"Please, Gene. Do you think I'm stupid?" Suzuka said. "It's obvious. The way you act, the way you treat her, the people you've brought here. Sure, you may be 'having fun' with women elsewhere outside from here, but I've seen the way you act to people when we go places. I know that you've slept with one too many girls, Gene, and now you've broken Melfina's heart."
"How do know he's been cheating, Suzuka? Why haven't me and Aisha noticed?" Jim asked.
"Who says I've cheated in the first place?" Gene said, getting up from his seat.
"To answer your question, Jim, you seem to always be too busy with business to notice, and as for Aisha, she wouldn't notice her legs being cut off if it weren't for the pain."
"Yes, I would!" Aisha screamed back.
"Anyways, I've seen him come home with women late at night, he's just very quiet about it. And I know that Melfina knows. She's told me she's seen you numerous times, when she wakes up in the middle of the night, making out and doing even more lewd things with them. She's seen everything, Gene, and frankly, I'm not surprised that she didn't run into the arms of the first person she saw on the street. As for Harry's role in this, I'm not going to judge him just yet. I need to see what he'll play as far as caring for her needs and the needs of the group goes. I'll definitely look after Melfina and do whatever it takes to make her happy, which apparently is more than you'll do."
The room was silent once again. Never had anyone critisized Gene or any other member of the group that bad. Gene stood there in total humiliation. His secret had been let out. And what's worse was that he now knew that Melfina knew. That's why she was so upset, why she avoided him, and why she cried herself to sleep every night. She had never been that sad before. As the room was still silent, the door burst open. Harry and Melfina walked in laughing at each other. Melfina had men's clothing over her usual attire while Harry was wearing a skirt and the pink A.F.I. shirt he had bought Melfina. Both of them were bent over in laughter, completely oblivious that the other members of the crew were in the room.
"Mel, you look ... so ridiculous!" Harry said, cracking up between his words.
"Take of the shirt you got for me. You're going to stretch it," Melfina giggled.
"Okay, we should never try on the clothes we buy for each other. Even if it was a joke," Harry said, beginning to break down in laughter again. "God, that was funny."
"Yeah," Melfina said. She turned to her left and noticed Gene in front of the couch. As he looked up at her, she ran toward him.
"Hey, Gene. Tell me, do these pants fit?" She ran toward him wearing a pair of brown, loose cargo pants that weren't her size. The only thing holding them up was a black belt with two rows of silver, pyramid-shaped studs in it.
"Um, no, I don't think they fit, Mel," Gene said slightly chuckling, trying to bring the mood in the house back up. Melfina noticed Jim, Aisha, and Suzuka on the couch and decided that now was the time for formal introductions.
"Harry," she said, "Come here. I want you to meet the guys."
"Okay, Mel. Just let me get this dress off." After he got the dress of with moderate difficulty, he walked over to Melfina and looked at the crew.
"Harry, this is Jim Hawking, Aisha Clan-Clan, and Suzuka ...um, Suzuka?"
"Yes, Melfina?" Suzuka said.
"I don't know your last name."
"'Suzuka' is good enough, Melfina. Don't worry."
"Okay," Melfina said happily, "And Suzuka. The whole family! Guys, this is Harry MacDougall. He'll be staying with us and working for 'Starwind & Hawking Enterprises'."
"We know who he is, Melfina," Jim said. "There's no need for introductions. All he has to know is that I'm his boss," he replied as he put his feet on the coffee table in front of the couch and leaned back arrogantly to get some laughter.
"Oh yes, my boss," Harry said while slightly bowing to him, "Whatever you request I will do, O great one." Harry's attempt at comedy was better than Jim's, causing Melfina and Aisha to begin chuckling and then burst out laughing as his 'ceremonial worship' of Jim got even funnier.
"Do you wish for your feet to be cleaned?" Harry said while kneeling at his side. Jim couldn't take it any longer. He exploded in laughter.
"Sure, but you've got to lick them clean," he said, seeing if he would actually do it.
"Do it yourself, man," Harry said as he got up and walked toward the bean bag. Everyone was having a great time. They had all forgotten the trouble they had had with each other over the past. Times were great now. After chatting with the group for a while, the ladies made their exits to different rooms of the apartment. After planning out their jobs for tomorrow, Harry had to get up.
"I've got to use the bathroom, Gene. Can you tell me where it is?"
"Sure. Down the hall and it's the first door on your right."
"Thanks, man," Harry said as he patted Gene on the shoulder and walked by him to the hall. Jim began to look nervous and motioned to Gene to stop him. Gene realized why Jim was freaking out and got up from his seat.
"Harry, wait!" Gene yelled at Harry. Harry quickly stopped and turned around to Gene.
"What is it, man?"
"Um, Jim's trying to fix the toilet in that bathroom. So, it doesn't work. There's one upstairs, just go in my room and turn left and that's the door for it."
"Okay. Thanks, Gene," Harry said brightly before heading up to Gene bedroom to use his private bathroom. Just as Harry entered Gene's bathroom, the door for the bathroom Harry was going to use opened. Melfina poked her head from the bathroom to look out in the hallway.
"Gene, what's wrong? You sounded like you were getting nervous," Melfina said.
"Oh, it's nothing. What are doing in there anyway?"
"Taking a bath. It sounded like you didn't want someone to come in here."
"No. Nothing like that happened. You can go back in now."
"Okay. I'll be out in a few minutes." Melfina then closed and locked the door behind her. Gene began to wonder if that's why Harry got up. To see her again. He still didn't trust him and wasn't about to let him out of his sight. Harry exited Gene's room and stood looking over the balcony at Jim. Jim looked up to see Harry giving him a smile.
"Hey 'boss', watch this!" With that, Harry jumped from the balcony landing on his feet right in front of the television set. As he got up from his crouched position which he landed in, he walked toward Jim and sat next to him.
"Top that." he said to Jim.
"Um, no thanks. You win," Jim said shaking at what he just saw. Harry was a daredevil, and a big one, too. There was no way a normal human could do that with such precision. Gene, unimpressed by Harry's stunt, grabbed a drink from the refrigerator and sat down next to them to watch tv. After time passed a few more minutes, Melfina emerged from the bathroom in a pink, silk nightgown and went to the kitchen. When she came back, she walked over to the guys with a glass of water in her hand and stood next to them watching a few seconds of tv.
"Um, guys," she said politely, hoping she wasn't disturbing them, "Where did Aisha and Suzuka go?"
"Oh!" Harry was surprised by Melfina due to the fact that he didn't see her. "Um, I think they went to sleep in their rooms. Are you going to bed, Melfina?"
"Yes, Harry. I'm very tired from today."
"Me too." As Melfina began to walk off, Harry got up from his seat and stopped her. "Wait, Mel."
"What is it, Harry. Is something wrong?"
"No. For once, everything is right. It's just ... I want to thank you for giving me a place to stay...and ...for everthing you guys have done for me. If there is anything, anything I can ever do for you ... just let me know. Okay?"
"Okay," Melfina said, beginning to cry.
"Aw, Mel. Don't be sad," he said as he wiped her tears away with his hand. "I hate it when you're like that."
"It's just ... I haven't seen you in so long, that I was getting sad. Now that you're back, and living with us, it just makes me very happy, Harry."
"Thanks, Mel," Harry quietly said as he gave her a long hug. "Goodnight, Melfina."
"Goodnight, Harry." Melfina closed the door to her room and slipped under her sheets. She stared at the wall for a few seconds thinking about Harry. She had feelings for him, but she had always tried to cover them up. Finally, she wouldn't have to hide them any longer. She wanted to tell him she loved him, but she thought that was too much for everyone to deal with now. She'd take it slowly for now.
"Goodnight, Harry," she whispered one more time into the darkness before falling asleep.
As Jim went up the stairs to his room, Gene turned toward Harry.
"Are you getting tired, Harry?" Gene asked.
"Yeah, a little," Harry said back.
"Well, I'm hitting the sack. I'll see you in the morning, 'co-worker'."
"Yeah. Goodnight, Gene."
" 'Night, Harry," Gene said groggily before heading back up to his room and shutting the door. As Harry got comfortable on the couch, he thought about how he was going to approach Melfina in terms of a relationship. He wanted to break down her bedroom door, wake her up, and tell her that he loved her more than anything, but not only would be disturbing Melfina, which is something he didn't like doing, he would probably get kicked out of the house. He shifted his body so that he was facing the tv screen. As the light from it poured onto him and the sound faintly dispersed through the room, he began to fall asleep.
"Goodnight, Melfina," he whispered as he quietly dozed off.
And that's chapter four! Well, things are looking good. "But Atreyu, when will there be action? When will there be suspense? When will there be a lemon? How much longer after that lemon will the next lemon get here?" All of these questions and more will be answered next time. Till then, don't touch that mouse and don't send me hate mail! You know who are!