Hi there! I'm back with another chapter of NCM! This will also be another intense one. If you recall from the last chapter, Rudy has some not so nice plans for Melba. Whether or not he can go through with it... well, we'll see here, or at least get a hint. Enjoy!

Warning: Contains... some may or may not an attempted assault. If you can't handle that stuff, I suggest you turn back while you can...

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 12: Break The Cutie

The next day...

Melba was walking down the street, alone that afternoon. But she didn't mind, as she could talk care of herself. Devery had to stay after school for a teen program, and their parents were out still working so she would have the house to herself for a few hours or more.

And she sure didn't mind at all...

If only she could invite Russell to play with her.

She had heard that he was in the hospital, and was completely worried. She had no idea what was going on with her friend. She had noticed that things seemed rather off about him lately. The injured nose, him not being as talkative as usual... him being timider.

Melba started to wonder if something was going on.

Well, she was going to visit him the next day, so maybe he'd tell her.

Soon, Melba reached her house. She walked in with the key her father gave her, and of course, saw a note from her mother reminding her of what she was to do whenever home alone.

Stay away from sharp objects.

Keep all windows shut and doors locked.

Don't let anybody that she didn't know inside the house.

Call 911 in an emergency, or go to Mrs. Willis next door.

The first thing the little girl decided to do was watch a little TV to pass the time. Then maybe she's could clean up and save her parents the trouble. Maybe also work on a get well card for Russell.

Little did Melba know... was that things in a little bit... were gonna get terrifying really quickly.

After twenty minutes since she got home... the doorbell rang. Looking at a nearby clock, she could see that it was six o'clock. Who could that be? "Who is it?" She asked.

"It's Rudy... may I come in?"

Rudy?

What was he doing here?

It was no secret that Melba didn't have the best opinion of the rich boy. Mostly due to his overall attitude and demeanor, and she felt that he was a bad influence on Devery, which would explain her brother getting into so much trouble. Not to mention, after what she heard of what happened this summer, and what he did to Russell... she wasn't so sure she wanted to see the almost murderer...

But still... it was someone she knew... and perhaps he was looking for Devery.

"Um, sure. Hold on a second..."

With that, she got up from the couch and opened the door, revealing the older teen, who smiled and greeted her, "Good evening, Mel. How're you doin'?"

"Fine... I guess..." Melba replied, "If you're looking for Devery, he's still at school for some after hour classes that were mandatory. So you'll have to come back tomorrow or something."

But Rudy shook his head with a chuckle, "I know about Dev. I came here to see you..."

"Huh?"

It was right then and there that Melba noticed the look on Rudy's face. He was smiling... but there was a look in his eyes... that disturbed her greatly, "Oh... well, I'm very busy. So you'll have to come back some other time!"

She then tried to slam the door in his face... but he caught it and forced it back open, practically walking into the house, and closing the door behind him. The look on Rudy's face became more sinister, and it was starting to scare Melba, "W-What is with you?" She asked.

Rudy smirked, "Just you wait and see, Melba sweetie... I feel like we don't know each other too well... so I was hoping to hang out with you... to get to know you better..."

Melba didn't believe a word he said. There was something off about him. Should she call the police? Mom and Dad? Devery? Mrs. Willis? The girl looked up at the teen, and straightened up, trying to be brave, "Y-You don't scare me! You better get outta my house right now, or else you'll be in biiiigg trouble!"

The response Rudy gave was a laugh, "Please! I think the only one who's gonna be in trouble... is you!"

Suddenly, he grabbed the child by her arm. Melba cried out and tried to break away, but his grip was strong, much to her surprise. He held her wrist so tightly that it was starting to hurt, "S-S-Stop! Please! Y-Y-You're hurting me!"

"That's the plan, my dear..." He replied with venom, "There's always more ways to get my revenge on that shrimp you call your friend. And what better way than to harm his girlfriend..."

Melba was shocked, "What... so you're the reason Russell's in the hospital?"

Rudy shrugged, "Well, I didn't intend on that happening, but I guess I can say guilty as charged. I'm also the one responsible for Russell's bloody nose! The one responsible for him being clingy to his brother and quieter. The one responsible for the nightmare he had!"

"Nightmare?"

Melba was becoming more and more disturbed and scared. Normally, she would be tough around these situations. But there was something about Rudy that was scaring her, "W-What are you planning to do to me? Beat me up? Kill me...?"

Rudy leaned in until his face was inches apart from Melba's, "Oh... I'm gonna do far worse than that... I'm gonna break you..."

Noticing the confused look on her face, he explained, "You see, when Russell woke up in the hospital last night, he mentioned in his dream that I was there, hurting you in a most despicable way... and so I thought... what a shame that would be if it were to happen in real life..."

Slowly, Melba was starting to realize that he meant. Even at her young age, she understood these types of dangers. Well, that settled it. She was definitely scared. The girl once again tried to escape Rudy's grip, but he only tightened it further.

Rudy could just laugh at the fear on her face, "Would you look at this? The all mighty Melba, the one who said I didn't bother her at all... is now trembling beneath me. How pathetic?"

"Rudy... why are you doing this?" She asked, tears threatening to fall.

"Why... why? I'll tell you why! It's that little shrimp's fault! Everyone loves him, and hates me! He insults me 24/7, and somehow people think he's funny! If I do it, I'm roasted for it! And when I decide to do something about my misery, I'm suddenly seen as this demon!"

Melba glared at him, "Can you blame them? I know how you beat poor Russell up this summer-"

SLAP!

The little girl nearly fell back when Rudy struck her across the face. He scowled at her, "Shut up! Don't you dare say 'Poor Russell', because that's all he's been getting! 'Poor Russell' this! 'Poor Russell' that! What about 'Poor Rudy'?! Nobody seems to care that I saved the shrimp's life when that thug tried to rob us! I got stabbed for crying out loud! But you never see anybody talking about that! No! All they care about me beating the crap out of him!"

He proceeded to tighten his grip even more on Melba's wrist, making her cry out again. Any tighter, then he might break her hand off, "So... after everything... I decided that enough was enough. People think I have no class? Well, I can show them how 'no class' I can really be! What you're looking at, Melba... is the No Class Monster! I already targeted Russell's dumb brother... and you're next on my hit list!"

"NO! Please, let go of me! Somebody help!" Melba cried out, finally letting her tears fall, but then Rudy grabbed her in his arms and held a hand over her mouth, "Shut up, brat! Let's not disturb anybody else... why don't we head to your room... where we'll have some privacy..."

It was then and there that Melba knew... that Rudy was right... she was in trouble...

Two hours later...

Devery was walking home after a long day at school, but he didn't mind because he was rather happy today. This morning, his parents had a conversation with him. To his shock and delight, they decided that he had been punished for long enough, and settled on cutting his probation down to only two more weeks. Soon, he would be able to do things he was forbidden or restricted from.

After that, he would work to better himself. After such a long time, he felt it wasn't worth it to sneak off on Halloween the previous year, while he was under punishment. He understood why his sister kept trying to drag him home that night. She genuinely didn't want him to get into any more trouble. Despite how much they fought and annoyed each other, they, like any other siblings, did love and care for each other.

And while Devery refused to admit it to anybody else... he enjoyed playing with Melba from time to time.

Perhaps she would like to play tonight. Mom and Dad were still at work, so he had some time.

Soon, he made it home, "Hey, Melba! I'm home! You there?"

Silence...

Aside from some... sniffling?

"Melba?"

Curious, Devery made his way to his sister's room, thinking she might be there. He knocked on her door, "Melba? You in there...?"

A few seconds passed with some silence, until he heard a small voice, "Y-Y-Yes..."

Devery would have simply nodded and left to do his business, if it weren't for the odd tone in Melba's voice, "Um... can I come in...?"

"S-S-S-Sure..."

With that, the teen opened the door and saw his sister curled up in a ball on her bed, crying softly. This worried him even more as he hurried over to her, "Melba. What's wrong? Are you okay?"

Melba sniffed as she looked up at him, "I'm... okay."

"You sure don't look okay..." Devery sat down beside her, "What's wrong...?"

"I... uh... I'm just worried about Russell... that's all. I'm worried about Russell."

The teen looked at her with confusion, "That's it? I'm sure the little guy will be okay. There's nothing to worry about. They said they saved him just in time, and he just needs to recover..."

Melba smiled... but deep down... she was terrified and traumatized... most of what happened a few hours ago... or more... what seemed to happen. She couldn't get it out of her head, no matter how hard she tried.

And honestly... she was worried about Russell... but mostly for his mental health... rather than his physical health...

At the same time...

Rudy was walking down a street before he rounded a corner and stood in an alleyway... thinking back to what went down two hours ago... when he realized what happened... or rather what seemed to happen... he put his face in his hands and moaned...

"What did I just do...? Who am I?"

Cliffhanger! Did Rudy actually go through with what he planned? Did he not? Well, whatever he did, it definitely left Melba scared and in tears. Next chapter we'll focus on Rudy again, and get a look into his inner thoughts. Until then, I'll see you guys later. And as always, don't forget to review, please. Thank you!