picture imperfect

"Last Time I Checked"

Song: So Contagious-Jamie Preciado

~Melody's p.o.v.~

I stared at Shane on the other side of the glass as he came in and sat down, picking up the phone. "Ah, miss Melody Perry. I don't believe I ever had the pleasure." I rolled my eyes and squeezed Jaime's hand for support. "You need to leave my friends and family alone, Shane." I said blankly to the tall, bulky man with slick black hair with greys here and there. His face went into a scowl as her glared through the glass at me. "Listen here, little girl, don't go poking around in things you don't know about!" That sent me over the edge. "Little girl?! No, you listen, Shane, I have gone through hell and back because of people like you! I AM NOT GONNA SIT HERE AND WATCH YOU HURT MY FAMILY AND FRIENDS! LET ME TELL YOU NOW, I AM NOT SCARED OF YOU OR ANYONE ELSE! AND I DON'T TAKE ORDERS FROM YOU OR ANYONE ELSE! SO, I'LL SAY THIS ONE MORE TIME, STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM MY FRIENDS! GOT IT?!" I scream, my face close to the glass as I stare into his eyes. His eyes looked afraid and worried. Good. A guard stared at the scene in silent shock along with most around us. I sat back down and stared at him. "Yeah, whatever." He stood up and slowly made his way back to the door. "Shane!" He turned. "What?!" He sneers. "You have to say it." I retort through gritted teeth. "I'm not gonna bother you, your friends, your family, or your stupid boyfriend anymore." He growled,  walking away.

~*~

"Mell-Bell! How did it go?! What happened?! Did he hurt you?!" Tony asks while hugging me. I sheepishly looked at my feet and Jaime walked onto the bus. "Wow! Your cousin has some fire in that little body of hers!" I glare back at my loud-mouth boyfriend. "Shut up." He laughed and kissed my forehead walking away. "What's he talking about, Melody?" My eyes went wide. "Uh, I don't know he's crazy! I gotta go though. I'll be back in a second!" I call over my shoulder.

~*~
I sat down next to Riv and stared down at my shoes. She was the only one I was comfortable with talking to and it was still difficult to speak about the topic on my mind. Pathetic, believe me, I know. "Hey! What's up, butternut?" I sighed and shook my head. "Nothing, just-..." She frowned and sat next to me. "Seriously, what's wrong?" I had a mental debate about telling her or not. "Come on, Mel! You can trust me! We're friends, right?" She asks with a small smile. I nod and take a deep breath before letting it all out. Telling here everything felt great. "Wow. So, you went to see Shane, huh?" I nod and she frowns. "Why are you looking like that?" She just shakes her head. "You should go talk to Jaime," I quirk a brow. "Why, what's wrong?" She sighs. "I hate to be the one to tell you this but, normally when Jaime does something like that, he has something to hide. It sounds to me like he's hiding it from you.." She trailed. I stood up and ran for the bus. "Thanks, Riv!"

~*~

I hurried to the bus as quick as my feet could take me. What if he's cheating on me, I thought. I shake my head and step on the bus. Tony snapped around and his eyes went wide. "Oh, hi, Mel-bell! What are you doing back?" His face was worried and slightly nervous, same as Riv's. "Not now, Tone." I mutter, walking to the back. "SURPRISE-you're not Kat." A short girl with yellow and black hair and a tall guy with green hair stood in the back lounge with Jaime. I furrowed my brows and gave a small laugh. "Last time I checked," Jaime quickly stands and wraps me in a hug, facing away from them. "Hey, baby! What are you doing back so soon?" I rolled my eyes and pulled away. "Jaime, what's going on?" He takes a deep breath and turns me to face the two again. "Melody, this is Criss and Ethan, some of Kat's friends." I wave and Criss runs up to me. "Do you skateboard?!" I laugh at her enthusiasm. "Sadly, no." She pouts. "That's a bummer.." Ethan came over and patted her back. "It's okay, Criss. Not everyone can be as amazing at skateboarding as you and Kat." My eyes go wide. "Kat skateboards?!" Criss nods excitedly. "Yeah! I taught her just about everything she knows." She smiled proudly. "Why don't you guys go play some videogam-" She almost tackled him, as she jumped over and hugged him. "Awesome, thanks!" She let go of him and skipped off to the front. We both looked at Ethan and he frowned. "Please, tell me you have Minecraft, if not, this is gonna be a long tour." He groans, dragging out the word 'long'. I nod and he takes a breath of relief. "ETHAN! THEY GOT MINECRAFT AND BATMAN!" He face palms and looks to the ceiling and muttering, "God, help me." He then walks to the front, shutting the door behind him. "They're staying for tour?!" I whisper-yell at Jaime. He frowns and nods. "Where did you find them anyways?!" He sighed. "I saw them around the venue earlier and asked them why they were here. They said that they came because they were HD's new merch crew." I glared. "And you believed them?!" He shrugged. "Seemed legit enough. They both had lanyards so they must've already run it by Tehran." I rolled my eyes. Sometimes, I worry about his IQ. "You never thought about the fact that they could've stole it from Tehran when she wasn't paying attention?!" He bit his lip. "That probably could've happened, too..b-but it didn't! They aren't bad kids. They-" I scoffed and walked up front mumbling, "Whatever, Preciado." He grabbed my wrist and pulled me back. "Can we just take a second and calm down?" I sigh and nod. He gestures towards the couch and I sat. "Look, I know you're upset that I didn't talk to you first. But, I thought you'd be okay with it. I mean, of course their not staying here but, I want you to trust me with everything and anything. Whether it be, letting some people on the bus for a while or going out to a bar for a while. I need you to put all of the trust in me that you can for this relationship to work. I promise to do the same for you. Because..." I nod slowly, urging him to go on. "Because I..uh, I love you, Melody Perry." I stare at him with wide-eyes. "I-I...I love you too, Jaime." He smiled wide, showing his dimples and kissed me.

[Edited]