I'm not built for heat.


Chapter 5

Another day in paradise

Hiding in the bathroom, Edd surveys the newly added wounds and bruises the jocks has left on his body. They've all been carefully – hah! – placed so that no one will be able to see them on first glance, and Edd is making sure they won't be noticed on the second one. So far, Mel hasn't noticed that her foundation is being used by a second part, and he would like to keep it that way. Being 12 years old is hard enough as it is, there's no need to fuel the fire even more by letting people know he's using his sister's makeup.

Sighing to himself, he reaches out to Mel's toilet bag and grabs the now familiar foundation bottle. It's quite thick, so it covers marks up very nicely, he must admit. Opening the lid he starts the process of covering his bruises with the skin colored goo, using only as much as he needs. It's not quite his tone, but it's been working enough for people not to notice, so he'll take it. It's not like he can ask Mel to buy one that's not her skin tone without sounding insane and raising suspicion. She already seems to be quite suspicious as it is which he probably can't blame her for either. After things seeming to go well for a short while, it would raise a few eyebrows to suddenly shut yourself in and avoid everyone around you… which he might have done in order to avoid more problem at school. Not the best solution, he knows, but what can he do? He's just a 12 year old kid whereas the jocks are 16 at least!

Another sigh escapes him as he thinks about the odds that are against him. There's nothing he can do to make the jocks stop. Talking to people won't help, especially not Mel since they're claiming that she's the one who sent them after the small preteen kid. At first he didn't believe it, but now… with how she's been avoiding him herself… now he really can't deny it…

Flushing the toilet to make it seem like he's been using it – just in case she's listening – he puts the makeup back into the bag and then washes his hands to get rid of the remains of the gooey substance. Once he's done, he unlocks the door and carefully peaks his head out to see if the coast is clear. He can hear loud laughter coming from Mel's bedroom – she's recording with her friend, Amanda again, something he learned quickly is a thing they always do. Not that he minds. It gives him time to sneak around his house without being detected. He does wonder sometimes what they're doing while recording to make them laugh as much as they are, though he's obviously not about to ask her about it. The laughter remains quite loud as he walks up to his bedroom door, opens it and then closes it behind him. Only then does the laughter seem to die down a bit.

"I swear to GOD AMANDA!" Mel wheezes in rage filled laughter as her friend jumps on her head once again, forcing her to start the level right over – AGAIN!

"Why? What's wrong?" Amanda giggles. "You seem to be having some trouble there bud."

"U-huh! Yeah! I wonder why!?"

"Do you need me to help you?"

"NO! STAY AWAY FROM ME!" Mel yells out as Amanda's little cat is jumping towards her again. "I swear to God, 'Manda! I swear!"

Giggles is the only thing she receives as she hurries out of the way from her friend, doing everything she can to get on track for the end of the level before she's sent back to the start once more. Doing some wall jumps to get up on higher ground, she slides on some ice just in time for a snowman to throw a snowball at her, killing her.

"NOOO!"

"Woah! Jeez! I had nothing to do with that, at all!" Amanda laughs now. Straight out laughs.

"U-huh… yeah… u-huh…" Mel cries/laughs in defeat which only causes Amanda to laugh harder at her pain. "I'm gonna kill you. I'm gonna kill you! Come here!"

The friendly batter continues on for a while before they manage to FINALLY complete the whole section they're on, unlocking the next one. Agreeing that it might be for the best to call it a day, they say their goodbyes, close down their live streams and close their computers.

Standing up from her chair, Mel stretches as much as she possibly can, feeling something pop in her back. It didn't hurt, so she assumes she's fine and carries on with her day. Upon leaving her bedroom, she thinks at how Edd has been so… distant from her lately. She's not quite sure when it happened, but she knows something must've happened to him to make him avoid her to such extent, even in their own home. Stepping out through her door, she quickly throws a glance towards Edd's. The lights are on, so he's in there. Killing a sigh, she walks down the hallway from her room and towards the stairs. Her room is the old guest room that is located right by their parents' room, meaning she has to walk in the direction towards Edd's in order to reach the stairs to get down and into the kitchen. She does think about calling out to him and ask him if he needs anything, but she stops herself. If he wants to avoid her… then why would she force him not to?

Making her way down the stairs, the thoughts are roaming around in her head, trying to figure out what might have caused her brother to avoid her like this. It's not normal… well… it kind of is, thinking how he was absolutely terrified of her at the start, along with all of the children in the cul-de-sac. But then there was that one week where everything seemed to be getting better, only for the following week to crush all hopes of redemption. Something really must have happened! Unless… he just doesn't want her as a sister?

Stopping mid-step just before she's entered the kitchen, she pays the thought a little more attention: What if he just doesn't want her as a sister? That… is not as illogical as it sounds. Everyone knows that when kids are in the picture of a couple's divorce, the kids will suffer in many different ways. She sure knows how she felt when her parents told her they were getting a divorce, how she felt when she saw how they belittled each other behind their backs… how she felt when her mother told her that she's met a man, that she's going to marry him and that she will get a little brother. Yes… she remembers that day clearly… that horrible day when her mother and "stepdad" announced that they were going away, leaving her to take care of her little brother in the meantime, how she realized they just wanted her to be a free babysitter. Yes… she remembers that pain clearly, along with the anger. But… what about Edd? His parents got a divorce to, so who's to say he's not suffering greatly from all this as well? All of the sudden his father marries another woman, brings her daughter into the picture, forcing him to call her "sister" and telling him that she is the new "authority" whenever they are gone – which is basically always. Yeah! Who's to say he's not a little – and by "a little" I of course mean "a lot" – pissed off at the situation. He's just been forced to respect a person he's never heard about!

Sighing greatly, Mel closes her eyes and rubs her hands over her cheeks. She's been so busy trying to make the kid not be afraid of her she completely forgot that it might not be a matter of fear, but rather hate. And to be frankly honest… she has no idea how to deal with that.

The ticking sound of the clock soothes her mind a little, but only a little. She's still tense with the revelation that her brother might in fact hate her just for being there, for what she represents whenever he sees her. She can't possibly stop the heavy sigh that escapes her as the dark thoughts build up inside her mind. No… not possible at the moment. She lets her hands fall to her sides as she feels the slight wetness emerge at the corners of her eyes, the same wetness she thought she would never feel again after all that's happened. Looking in the direction of the kitchen, she went downstairs to get something small to eat before dinner, but she's not hungry for anything anymore. She looks back up the stairs, in the direction of Edd's room. She wants to talk to him about everything, but she knows that might just add fuel to the intense fire, and she's not ready to face that yet.

She shakes her head, turns around in the direction of the door and walks up to it. Putting on her shoes she doesn't think about where she will go. She just needs to get out and get some fresh air and just… get out of there. Looking out the window, she decides against a jacket as seems to still be pretty warm outside. Autumn can still wait for a few weeks. Before she grabs the handle to open the door she turns slightly around again. Just because he wants to avoid her doesn't mean she can just leave without letting him know. But does he really want to hear from her? Turning around fully, she walks back into the kitchen, grabs a sticky note (because they're everywhere) and writes a small message on it, but instead of setting it on the wall with the others; she leaves it on the stack and places it on the kitchen table for him to find easier. Then she leaves.

The sound of the front door opening and closing draws Edd's attention. He's been busying himself by going over his homework for the fifth time and he's getting quite bored, but he's not dared to leave his room, fearing to encounter Mel as she left her bedroom not long ago. But now it seems like she might've left the house… or there's an intruder.

Swallowing down his nerves, Edd opens his bedroom door and peaks out, much like when he was leaving the bathroom. It's quiet. He opens the door completely and lets himself out closing the door behind him as he goes. Heading down the stairs, it's still quiet in the house. Did she really leave? He soon finds his answer on the kitchen table. A stack of sticky notes with a small message written on the top one: Out for a walk. Brb.

Out for a walk? Where? He ponders for a moment, thinking how she might be meeting up with the jocks to tell them what to do to him tomorrow, Monday. He never thought he would think that a weekend moves to fast. Trying to calm himself down, he takes a couple of deep breaths and thinks about positive and nice things, such as a sunny day and calculus. It does little to no help.

Mel sits on the ground by the small creek that's flowing just outside of the cul-de-sac, watching the water flow on by right before her. She's seen two of the kids in the cul-de-sac swim in it – Jimmy and Sara? – so it can't really be that deep, right? Crooking an eyebrow at the thought, she stands up from the ground to pick up a rock and tosses it into the water. She tries to follow it through the water with her gaze… and actually manages. Wow, it really is not deep at all. Probably up to her knees, maybe a little higher, so she could easily walk across it with no problem other than getting her pants and shoes wet.

Sitting back on the ground, she gazes up at the sky for a moment. There are no clouds so it's kind of hard to gaze at clouds and make out their shapes. You know? With a soft sigh she closes her eyes and focuses on the sounds around her. Birds that sing and fly by, some cars in the far distance away from the cul-de-sac, some kind of bug that flies by her face very quickly… chattering voices and footsteps heading her way.

She opens her eyes in time with the footsteps stopping, the ones walking spotting her sitting on the ground, most likely. Slowly turning her head their direction, to her left, she spots two girls, and four boys… hmm… let's see… The redheaded girl is Sarah, the blonde one Nazz – it's easier to remember their names as they're the only other girls in the cul-de-sac. Next up are the boys… that's trickier. She definitely knows who Kevin is, fairly certain that Jimmy is the one who hangs out with Sarah. The one with a piece of wood… Johnny? It was similar to Jimmy, she remembers that much. Then there's the tall boy from a foreign country… erm…

"Rolf is having second thoughts about the plan of relaxing that Casanova Kevin presented." Said kid says without letting his eyes off of Mel.

Rolf! That's it!

"Wh-what?!" Kevin says, looking over at the taller kid. "N-no way man! We can totally chill and swim even if she's here."

A frown adorns her face at the specific phrasing that Kevin kid used, causing some concern to grow amongst the other kids. No, don't scare them! Dang it Mel! Letting out a sigh, she stands up from her spot, ignoring the looks of shock and horror as she does and walks away, unable to see the now surprised expressions on their faces. She doesn't walk far, just far enough along the creek to make them feel comfortable to swim in it and have some fun despite her being there. There's probably a good 30-40 feet between them. That should be enough.

Walking for a moment before sitting back in the ground, she allows gravity to grab her and pull her down so that she's laying on the ground, legs stretched out and arms resting on her belly. It doesn't take too long before the sounds of splashing water and laughter fills the air, drawing a small smile to form at the edges of her lips. She closes her eyes. If she just avoids them, they'll feel safe.

A small moment goes by before she can hear some of the voices call after Nazz, asking where she's going. After that, she can hear the soft sound of footsteps getting closer to her. She doesn't open her eyes, waiting for them to reach her and for Nazz to say why she's there. It's better to make them feel in control of the conversation after all.

"Hey." The small voice eventually says, and as promised; Mel opens her eyes. "I-uh…" She blinks slowly, remembering some document that said it signals calmness amongst cats… or something. Either way, it seems to work. "Are you alright?"

Looking up at the kid girl, Mel gives her a small smile. "Yeah, just fine." She says, placing her hands under her head and closing her eyes again. "And you?" Calm behavior – don't make them fear you!

"I was just… wondering." Nazz says, and then remains quiet for a while. Mel let's her. It doesn't take too long before she can hear an annoyed sigh escape the girl and she opens her eyes to look at her again. "I'm really sorry about Kevin." She says while sounding a bit annoyed at the boy. "He doesn't really understand to concept of communicating with others without making them feel bad."

A sliver of anger swims through Mel. "He's a bully?" She says whilst trying to remain calm, but can't ignore the chance that Kevin might be bullying her kid bro.

"Not really but… sometimes it might seem like it…" Nazz says, trying to put on a smile, but it vanishes soon after as she continues. "Especially to the Eds-" THAT KID IS DEAD! "-before…" What?

"Before what?" Mel asks, trying not to sound to demanding. What happened before she got here?

Instead of an answer, Nazz merely gives her an uneasy look before changing the subject. "So… uh… How's Double-D doing?"

Leaning back into her hands, Mel looks away from Nazz and up at the sky. "Not sure. He seemed like he wanted some space so I went for a walk. Now I'm here."

"Oh…"

It's quiet for a moment before Sarah calls on Nazz, drawing the other girl's attention. Looking back and forth between her friends and the teen laying on the ground, it's clear that the young girl doesn't know what to do. It draws a soft chuckle from Mel, but it's too soft for Nazz to hear.

"Why don't you go back to your friends?" She says. "Seems like they miss you."

"W-well… um…"

"It's fine. I won't be here for much longer anyway. Gotta get home before Edd insists on making dinner, again. Lord knows he cooks a lot."

"Oh, ok." Nazz says, seeming to be a little calmer. "Tell him I said hi!"

"I will."

And with that the two girls separated. The younger one to play with her friends and have a good time, the older to return home to a tense atmosphere, hoping to prepare something her brother will like. She would let him cook, if it wasn't for the fact that he cooks every single day of the school week, Monday-Friday, as her last class ends roughly 30 minutes after his. She really does try her best not to be a burden for her brother… unaware that he is basically doing the same.


If there's one thing we all know: it's that Edd knows how to cook.