punks / matt champion

chapter 36

MATT'S POV

wow, this girl really knows how it be now. and i was surprised at first that she had thought of that, but then i realized that we would both be benefiting from it. by causing trouble at the dinner table, there'd be a chance that mel would find herself easing into our new friendship, and that my loafer of a father will find that he won't want nothing to do with this family.

i'm fine with that.

"shall we do this?" she giggles.

i give a lazy but excited smile, nodding. this is gonna be good.

i open the bathroom door and lead mel out the hallway and into the dining room. i spot my mom looking pissed as hell when she sees we've returned. or at least when she sees mel. i fucking hate that she's been interrogating mel when she's just met her, and a strong part of me wants to call her out on it, but i know it'll ruin the plan.

mel's not weak, i know she won't let a few snarky remarks get to her.

...

MEL'S POV

"sorry about that," i say as i tuck my chair in. i know this isn't like me, but his mom's kind of a dick. okay, a pretty big dick, but i wanna go through with this to put her in her place. "i had the sudden urge to tend to my herpes ... i know it's too much info, but i prefer to be upfront about it."

laura almost chokes, letting her fork hit her plate. "herpes?!" she immediately turns to matt, her face reddened.

frank gives matt a look, then goes to comfort laura. he tries not to stare at me. "sweetheart, calm down..."

matt doesn't say anything, just sits there with wide eyes. but we both make eye contact for a moment, and i nod my head, encouraging him to make something up.

he turns back to his mother. "uh, i mean- pshh," matt waves his hands. "it's pretty much nothing compared to HPV though."

ooh, that was good. a boy is smooth.

his mom literally lets half chewed food fall from her mouth. "what?"

"well, if you think about it-"

"HPV?!" at this a giggle almost escapes my mouth.

his father then cringes. "weren't you given shots?"

matt shrugs, and i can hear my sub conscious laughing in my head.

"i'm sorry," laura turns to me. "but what do you think you're doing giving my son damn STIs?"

even though neither of us have STIs, i absolutely adore how she assumes i'd be the one spreading them around.

fucking bi-

"oh ma'am," i look down at my uneaten food that still sits on the table, "actually, it's the other way around."

"jesus," frank puts down his own fork, and pulls a worried look. "son, herpes?"

at this point, my urge to laugh is about to break free.

i can see that matt feels incredibly uncomfortable when his father calls him that, but he keeps his cool. "oh father," he sighs sarcastically. "why sound so disappointed? isn't it better your boy having an STD than selling crack on street corners like his dearest father?"