iSing Because I'm Happy

Carly was showering the next morning when Sam, half dressed, wandered into the kitchen, where she found Melanie, sipping a cup of chamomile tea, looking fresh as a daisy.

"Hey…"

"Good Morning, Samantha"

Melanie took one look at her sister – her hair amiss, shirt rumpled – and she knew. It would have been fairly innocuous to anyone else, but this was her sister. She noticed things that other people may have missed – like, for example, the fairly basic fact that Sam's boxers were on backwards. She couldn't help but smirk.

"Rough night, Sis?"

"Shut up and drink your tea…"

Melanie didn't mean to be hurtful, of course. Far from it. She was, in a way, living vicariously through Sam. She certainly had no interest in women, but she was just the slightest bit… jealous, perhaps. She adored Freddie and the feeling was certainly mutual, but their relationship simply hadn't reached that level yet. They were together every chance they got, kissy, cuddly, and romantic, but she didn't know what that level of intimacy felt like. She knew a reasonable analog, though. She could only imagine that that degree of pleasure gave you feelings like the ones she felt when she sang. The solitude and quiet of recording had only intensified the electricity that flushed through her when she allowed her soul to unburden itself through song. She felt vulnerable and naked, yet empowered. She knew that physical intimacy must bring about a feeling close to that. It had to.

Seemingly out of nowhere, Sam spoke again.

"So… about that song… Thank you. How did you remember after all of this time?"

Melanie scoffed. It was impossible for her to have forgotten. It wasn't everyday that your entire world changed. It wasn't a normal childhood experience to have the one person you trusted, who knew everything about you… who could finish both your sentences and your thoughts… changed everything about themselves – eschewing clothes, beauty pageants, interests – and told you – at the ripe old age of twelve – that not only were they gay, but also that they may have fallen in love with the one person in the world who would not only complete them, but also the one person whom they would never be able to have.

"Samantha, please… How could I forget? You must've played that song a thousand times. I could've sung it from memory. I'm glad you appreciate it. It was my gift to you. I did it because I love you and I'm so proud that you're my sister. I'm so happy that you've gotten the only thing in the world you've ever wanted. I know you are happy together and I can't begin to tell you how happy I am for the both of you. It was the least I could do for you."

Sam's eyes met Melanie's from across the room. She was absolutely stunned. It was the first time in her entire life – so far as she could remember – that anyone had ever told her that they were proud of her.

"So…" Sam tried to sound cool and uninterested, "this singing thing… is this what you want to do… is this what makes you happy?"

Melanie immediately felt her throat constrict. She was choking. She couldn't speak. She was stunned. Her sister didn't talk like this. She tried to compose herself inside and say what needed saying.

"God, yes... it's… it's like…"

Sam jumped in, just like when they were kids.

"…like someone shocked you and this warm tingly buzz is running through your entire body, all over, out through your fingers and down through your toes… Like the entire world is completely in sync with you…?"

Melanie was stunned.

"How did you….?"

Sam smiled at her stupidly.

"We're twins, Bitch… I just get you. Besides, that's, I think, what love feels like.

Melanie flushed warm. She knew Sam understood. She spoke weakly, as though she was completely embarrassed.

"I would've told you, Sam… I was afraid you'd think it was stupid… It's just what I love to do. It's what I'm the best at. It's what got me through… all that darkness, and I always had an audience of one."

Melanie didn't have to explain. Sam undoubtedly knew.

"Mel, look, if it's what you want more than anything, then you need to do it. If it means that much to you, then you don't have a choice. If it's what you were born to do, then you have to do it. I'm behind you all the way. Whatever you need, I'm here for."

She could feel her knees going. Her sister never 'did' feelings. That wasn't the Puckett way. If you were a Puckett, everything was kept deep inside, never to see the light of day. If you didn't bury it deep, it would come back to hurt you. That's just what it was to be a Puckett. Sam never did play by the rules, though, so maybe now she had decided to rebel against rebellion. Maybe now Sam wanted to be just a little bit like 'normal' people.

"Look here, Princess… if it makes you happy, do it. Look at me and Carly…"

Melanie couldn't help herself. She burst out into a giggle fit while Sam simple gaped at her, stupidly.

"What? What the hell?"

Melanie struggled to fight off the giggles long enough to tell Sam what she had inadvertently stepped in.

"I'm… God…Sam… I'm sorry… you just… don't ever say…do… Carly… in the same sentence…"

Just then, a little light bulb – one Sam hadn't previously killed by ingesting pounds of ham – went off inside her head. She realized how it had sounded. She laughed so hard that she subsequently burst into tears. It was a moment the likes of which the Puckett girls hadn't shared since they were little girls. It was silly. It was stupid. It was wonderful and adorable and warm and everything that Melanie had wanted from Sam for a very, very long time. They were beginning to feel much less like adversaries and more like sisters.

Melanie casually set her teacup down on the countertop and ran into Sam's arms, hugging her like they hadn't since they were little. Two had become one again.