Lennox walked into the kitchen, half-asleep. She looked over at the clock—midnight. She yawned and walked over to the refrigerator. Her throat was really dry, and she needed something to drink. She reached inside and pulled out a bottle of water. She took a big sip and decided that it was good, so she headed over to the kitchen table and stopped when she saw Mel sitting there. She raised an eyebrow. "Aunt Mel?"

Mel looked up at her and smiled. "Oh, hey, Lennox."

Lennox sat down at the table next to her aunt. "What are you doing up?"

"I… just couldn't sleep." Mel shrugged and looked down. "What about you?"

"My throat was dry," Lennox replied. "You know I can't sleep when I'm thirsty."

Mel nodded. "I know." Her smile faded.

Lennox knew something was wrong. "Hey, what's up? You don't act right."
Mel shrugged. "I just…" She looked at the wall. "I don't know. Tonight's not exactly been a good night."

"Really?" Lennox leaned forward. "How did it go breaking up with Mickey?"

Mel looked at her niece for a second. "How did you know about that?"

Lennox thought for a second, then responded, "You just said you had a bad night. I guessed."

Mel nodded. "Oh. Well, it was…" She looked at Lennox for a second. "Awful. Just terrible."

Lennox made a face. "Really? What happened?"

Mel sighed. "Mickey was just a pig. I don't know how I ever got involved with someone like him."

"Why? What did he do?" Lennox asked.

"Everything." Mel felt tears coming on, but she fought them back. "And then I came home, and Laurie—" She stopped herself.

Lennox was immediately intrigued. "Laurie…? Laurie what?"

Mel shook her head. "Nothing. Let's not talk about this."

"No, you've already got me interested." Lennox tapped her fingers on the table. "Finish your story. What about Laurie?"

Mel shook her head. "You can't tell Joe. Promise me you won't."

"Cross my heart." Lennox put a hand over her heart.

Mel hesitated, then said, "Laurie… was here. Joe wasn't supposed to have a date. Not after last night."

"Oh, yeah! You never did say what exactly happened last night. Neither did he." Lennox stared at Mel like she was waiting.

Mel smiled and giggled like a schoolgirl. "It was great, Lennox! It was just amazing! I told him that things weren't going well with Mickey, and he told me that someday I'd find the perfect person to spend the rest of my life with. He complimented me and just… I couldn't believe it. In bed last night I thought about it. I tried to tell myself that it was strictly business and that Joe was just being my friend, but then it hit me. We have something more than friendship. I was ready to do something about it and I thought that he was too." Mel felt more tears. "But I guess not. Laurie is in his room with him."

Lennox's heart broke for her aunt. If only Mel knew what Joe had told her and Ryder. Lennox thought about telling her, but how could she now? What if Mel said something? Not only could she ruin things with Mel and Joe, Joe would be mad at her and not trust her anymore.

Lennox took Mel's hand. "Aunt Mel, I'm sorry. None of us had any idea you felt this way," Lennox lied.

Mel let her eyes fill with tears thinking about it. "It's my fault. I waited too long, didn't I? If I'd just accepted it last night, if I'd done something earlier…" A tear rolled down her cheek. "…maybe I'd be in his room right now." She covered her mouth. After it registered what she had just said to her niece, she looked at her. "I'm sorry. That was too much."

"No, it wasn't. It was incredibly sweet." Lennox smiled at her aunt. "Look, Aunt Mel, none of this is your fault. Nobody expected this. I'm sure Joe didn't."

"Well, obviously." Mel grabbed a washcloth off the table and wiped her eyes.

Lennox kicked herself inside. "I didn't mean it like that."

"No, no, I understand." Mel smiled at Lennox. "Thank you. You really are a good person, Lennox." She stood up. "What do you say we go try to get some sleep?"

Lennox stood up. "Sounds good."

They smiled at each other for a moment, then Mel pulled her niece in for a hug. She loved that she could be crazy fun Aunt Mel, motherly Aunt Mel, and still somehow manage to be close trustworthy friend Aunt Mel to her niece all at the same time. It was a hard job, but she wouldn't trade it for anything else in the whole world.

Lennox followed her aunt upstairs. Once there, they said goodnight, and went to their rooms. As soon as Mel's door shut, however, Lennox darted out of her room and ran over to Ryder's. She ran in without knocking on the door and, after closing it quietly, ran over to Ryder's bed and shook him violently.

Ryder's eyes snapped open and he looked wide-eyed up at Lennox. "What are you doing?" he cried.

"Ryder, you should've heard what Aunt Mel told me downstairs!" said Lennox. "She said that she was ready to try a relationship with Joe! Do you know what this means?"
"I should consider killing you for waking me up in the middle of a dream with Taylor Swift?" Ryder suggested sarcastically.

Lennox rolled her eyes and shook her brother again. "No! It means we really messed up!"

Ryder was confused. "What? How did we mess up? This has nothing to do with us."

"Of course it does!" Lennox cried. "Joe told us and we didn't tell Aunt Mel."

"Because Joe told us not to," Ryder reminded her.

"But we should have." Lennox sat down next to his bed. "What if we've ruined things between them?"

Ryder shrugged. "I… I don't know."

Lennox sighed. "Me neither."

A/N: This chapter feels like filler. Anyway, I hope you guys liked it! :D