Melanie stood in her living room, vacuuming up the black dog hair that had accumulated in her white carpet. Not that it made much of a difference. This was probably the 80th time she'd vacuumed today alone. She'd been cleaning and tidying up the house all day today in attempt to make it look like her life wasn't a complete disaster at the moment. Melanie wanted everything to look like it was completely fine and going really well, even though it really wasn't.
Fred then starts barking.
Melanie turns off the vacuum and unplugs it.
"Sadie, do you have everything you need?!" Melanie calls up the stairs as the begins to gather the cord of the vacuum together.
"I can't find Peanut!" Sadie calls.
There's a knock on the door. Melanie shoves the vacuum into the closet.
"It's open!" She calls.
Johnathan Armanski, Melanie's now ex-husband and Sadie's father steps in.
This was the first time they'd seen each other since the divorce had been made final.
John was a red-head, just like Melanie and Sadie were. He had a small scruff on his face, dark eyes and a sideways smile that Melanie had always thought was so charming on him. Now, it gave her goosebumps, and not in a good way. John walks in and puts his hands in his pockets before nodding to Melanie. (A/N: Yes, it's Klaus from The Originals, shut up.)
"Hello, Melanie." He says, his voice deep and smooth.
"Hi." Melanie says, stepping behind John to shut the front door. As she does, she sees Chris pull up to the house in his car. He rolls his car window down and raises his eyebrows to Melanie in questioning. Melanie makes a slashing motion across her throat with her hand. Chris just nods and drives off.
Melanie shuts the door and turns around to find John kneeling, petting Fred with that sideways smile on his face.
"Oh, I've missed you too, buddy." John says to the dog.
"Sadie should be ready any minute." Melanie says before again calling upstairs, "Sadie, your dad is here!"
"I still can't find Peanut!"
"Look under your bed!"
"She still sleeps with that stuffed elephant?" John asks, standing up again.
"She's seven, John, it's not abnormal for her to sleep with a comfort object still. Besides, Chris gave it to her; it's special to her."
"Yeah, is he the one you were making that slashing motion to?"
"What?"
"I know your friendship with Chris too well. He stop by?"
"He was going to, but he didn't want to intrude on us."
"So, can I bet he's just driving around the block now, waiting for me to leave?"
"It's likely." Melanie states.
Sadie then walks down the stairs with a backpack on her shoulders and smiles, "Hi, Daddy!"
John smiles and hugs Sadie, "Hi, sugar plum." He says before kissing her cheek, "I've missed you so much."
"I've missed you too, Daddy."
John stands, "Well, we should get going. It appears your mother has some other business to tend to."
"You make it sound like my friend coming over is something out of the ordinary."
John just sighs, "C'mon, Sadie."
Sadie nods, then hugs Melanie, "Bye, Mommy."
"Bye, sweetie. Be good, okay? I love you."
"Love you too." Sadie says before going over to Fred, who was triple her size, and hugging him too, "Bye, Fred."
Sadie then walks back over to John. He and Melanie simply nod to each other, then John and Sadie walk out of the house.
Once the door shuts, Melanie sighs. She goes over to the couch, grabs one of the pillows and puts one of them over her face before flopping backwards down onto the couch with a long and exhausted groan. Fred notices Melanie's distress. He slowly climbs up onto the couch and lays on top of Melanie in attempt to comfort her. Melanie snorts and removes the pillow from her face and stares at the large dog, whose face was two inches in front of hers.
"Thanks, Fred." Melanie states.
Chris then walks in without knocking, "Hey, bitch."
Fred leaps off of Melanie at the sight of Chris and rushes over to him. Melanie sits up and manages a smile as Chris pets Fred.
"'Sup, asshole?" She asks.
"I figured you wouldn't be in the best mood tonight, so I brought you wine and chocolate."
"How great are you?"
"I try."
Fred then starts barking again as John walks back inside.
"Melanie, I almost forgot to give you the - " John then cuts himself off at the sight of Chris.
Chris and John stare at each other for a few seconds.
"Child support check." John finishes, "Hello, Chris."
Chris just nods, "Hey."
Chris and John actually used to be great friends before the whole divorce ordeal. John and Melanie met in high school and Chris and Melanie had been good friends long before then, so Chris was good friends with the boyfriend of his best female friend. John got the big picture of what Chris and Melanie's friendship was like right of the bat. He was completely okay with how close they were and how sometimes Melanie just needed to be with Chris, and Chris understood how sometimes she just needed to be with John. John was often invited to whatever "guys' night" that Motionless and friends of theirs had and John and Chris had a good friendship for a while. In fact, when first wanting to propose to Melanie, John asked Chris' "blessing".
They were pretty young - which, in hind sight, should have been an omen from the beginning. It was actually Melanie's 19th birthday. John and Melanie went over to Chris' apartment at the time because Chris wanted to see Melanie on her birthday. They all hung out and played video games for a while, and the first half of the day was normal.
Melanie and Chris stared at the television screen intently before Melanie leaped up and cheered, "Woo hoo! Beat your ass again, Cerulli!"
"I let you win." Chris said.
"Uh huh, sure."
Chris opened his mouth to speak, but got cut off by the sound of Melanie's cellphone ringing. That cellphone was actually the flip phone that Sadie would eventually end up inheriting when she was seven.
Melanie answers it, "Hello?" She asked before looking to the boys, "It's my mom, this might take a while." She said before walking off to the other room.
Chris looked to John, "So, what are the two of you doing tonight?"
John smiled, "I'm actually glad you asked that. You see...I was actually kind of thinking of proposing to Melanie tonight."
Chris' eyes widened, "Oh my God, are you serious?"
"Yeah, so tonight's kind of a big deal. You think it's a good idea? I wouldn't wanna ask a girl to marry me without her best friend's approval first."
"Of course I think it's a good idea!"
John chuckled, "Great, then. I just hope you know, you'll probably end up being a bridesmaid."
Chris laughed, "Deal."
Melanie obviously said "yes" to John and since she and Chris had been friends for so long, Melanie did want Chris to stand with her bridesmaids at the wedding. However, Chris was also Melanie's "maid" of honor, despite how much he tried to change the name for himself. This also meant that whenever possible, solely for the purpose of teasing him, Melanie dragged Chris along to any other "bridesmaid" activities that were going on.
As much as he wasn't looking forward to it, Chris promised Melanie he'd be there for her when she had her mom and bridal party come with her when she was trying on dresses for the first time. Melanie already had the girls' dresses and Chris' tux picked out, but had yet to pick out her own dress. Chris walked into the store and raised his sunglasses so they were on top of his head, already feeling out of place having just walked in.
Melanie spotted Chris immediately - although he really wasn't all that hard to find - and she rushed over to him.
"Chris!"
Chris just sighed, "Do I really need to be here for this?"
"Um, yes! You're my maid of honor!"
"Can we please change that title? Who says you and John can't both have a best man?"
"Chris, I don't care how much you try to butch this up, you are now and always will be my maid of honor, so suck it up, dick bag. Now, c'mon."
Melanie grabbed Chris by the wrist and dragged him over to where the rest of her bridesmaids - all of whom were women - were sitting. Melanie's mother was there was well. Melanie's father would have been there - or so he claimed - but he was away on business.
So in other words, Chris was the only guy.
"Ladies, Chris is here!" Melanie cheered.
All six of Melanie's other bridesmaids and Melanie's mother turned to see Chris and gasped and smiled before they all leaped up to hug him. Every one of Melanie's other friends and her mother loved Chris dearly, and they all always got excited to see him.
"Okay, now you sit your butt down while I go try on some dresses. Please do not be afraid to tell me what you think." Melanie said before leaning down to Chris, "Especially you because you know how my mother is." She whispered.
Melanie patted Chris' shoulder twice, then walked off with an employee of the shop who'd be helping Melanie.
Chris just sort of sat there awkwardly a minute until the girls started asking him about the band and some of the tours they were starting to go on. By the time Melanie walked back out with a dress, Chris was in full-blown girl mode with the other bridesmaids.
"And these are the flowers Melanie picked out."
Chris gasped, "OhmyGod those are so pretty!"
Melanie laughed, "I see you cracked him."
"It wasn't hard."
They then all did a double take and look over at Melanie. She was in a gorgeous, white mermaid dress. It made her figure look amazing, and it flowed out once it got just past knee length. Melanie looked beautiful in it. Everyone began to shower Melanie with compliments about how amazing she looked.
Everyone except Melanie's mother, Sandrine.
"What do you think, Mom?" Melanie asked.
Sandrine sighed, "I mean, it's pretty, but...I just don't think a mermaid dress is quite what's right for you."
Melanie looked at herself in the mirror again, then sighed, "Yeah, you're right. I'll go try on a different one."
After a few more dresses, a few more disapprovals from Sandrine, and a few more girly outbursts from Chris, Melanie walked out in a dress that gave her a huge smile.
"I think this one might be it." She says, looking at herself in the mirror. The employee puts a veil on Melanie. Melanie was never much of a crier, but if she had been, she would have been crying right now.
Almost everyone else was tearing up though, all seven bridesmaids in particular.
"Chris, are you crying too?" One of them asks.
Chris shook his head, then turns away and wiped a tear before anyone could see. He then regained his composure and smiles to Melanie.
"You look amazing, Mel."
Melanie looked to Sandrine, "Mom?"
Sandrine looked a bit more apprehensive, "It's nice...I'm just not sure if it's good for you."
Melanie's smile faltered, as did everyone else's.
"Oh." Melanie says, "Um...O-Okay...I'll go find another one." She said before beginning to walk off.
Chris then stood, "Wait." He said, going up to her, "What are you doing?"
"Getting another dress."
"But you like this one."
"I can find another one."
"But this is the one you want."
"But my mom - "
"Who cares? It's not her wedding. This is your day. Look, I may not quite understand everything with weddings and flowers and decorations and dresses and everyone crying - "
"You were crying too, mister, don't think I didn't see that."
"And I very much don't understand why I was, believe me. My point is, while I may not understand everything else very much, I do understand you. I know you, Mel, and I know that that is your dress and if you want it, then you shouldn't listen to what your mom is saying because you're a grown up now and her opinion doesn't have to matter anymore."
"So, what are you saying?"
"I'm saying if you want this dress, then you get it."
Melanie stared at Chris a moment, then walked back out and looked at herself in the mirror again.
Melanie exhaled, "No, you know what? This is it. This is the one I want." Melanie stated, her smile returning to her face.
Everyone else smiled as well. Sandrine smiled too; it looked fake and plastered, but also like she was okay with accepting defeat and letting Melanie do what she wanted.
Melanie hugged Chris, "Thanks, loser."
"No problem, Mel."
The band was starting to tour more and more here and there, so Chris was getting busier and busier. Melanie and John were both also busy with college, so they were both stressed. Once the big day got closer though, everyone was actually pretty happy.
For her "baccalaureate party" Melanie simply had all of her female bridesmaids and Chris over for dinner and a movie. The girls had wine and Chris had soda. Chris stood and smiled.
"Alright, I'm gonna be corny; I'd like to raise a toast."
Everyone smiled and raises their glasses.
"Mel, you've been my best friend for as long as I remember; it seems like just yesterday I was kicking dirt into your face on the playground."
Everyone laughed.
"I'm so happy for you and John and I'm honored that I'm one of the people that gets to be here on your last night as a single woman. To Melanie."
Everyone tapped their glasses together.
"However - and I mean this in the nicest way possible - this is the most sinfully boring baccalaureate party in history, so I've done you a little bit of a favor in attempt to spice things up a little. I felt it was my duty as your best man - "
"Maid of honor!"
"Shush." Chris deadpanned, "I felt it was my duty to make sure this was the best night of your life. Unfortunately though, it will include excluding me."
"What? Why?" Melanie asked.
There was a sudden knock on the door.
Chris started to laugh, but held it back, "Well, as much as I'm sure my band's followers on MySpace would love to see a video of me receiving a lap dance from another man, I fear I must depart."
Melanie gasped, "YOU DID NOT."
"Oh, but I did." Chris said with a smirk before opening the door to reveal two attractive and well-built men in police uniforms, "Step inside, gentlemen, they're all in here. I'll see you ladies tomorrow. Mel, text me."
Chris winked to Melanie, then walked out of the house.
Once the party extravaganzas were over, Melanie began to think about how much her life was about to change in such a short amount of time. She was about to be married; she was about to be a wife. That thought process began to scare her a little bit.
So, as she usually would in these kinds of circumstances, Melanie went to Chris.
Melanie walked into Chris' apartment without knocking around midnight. Chris walked out of the other room.
"I wondered how long it would take for you to get here."
"I never told you I was coming."
"Yeah, but I knew you would." Chris said, "Not getting cold feet, are we?"
"No, just...pre-wedding jitters."
"Window?"
"Window."
They went into Chris' bedroom. Chris sat on the bed. Melanie went over to the window, opened it and sat in the window sill like she usually did in times of distress or simply when she needed to think.
"Look, Mel, for as long as I've known you, it's been easy to see that this kind of thing is what you're meant to do. You were meant to be a wife, you were meant to be a doctor, and you were meant to be a mother. You're gonna marry John, you're gonna finish school, you're gonna have lots of babies and you're gonna live happily ever after."
"You really think so?"
"Of course I do."
"I'm just so...scared. I love John and I can't wait to marry him, but there's just so many things that could go wrong. I mean, look at my parents."
"Your parents are still married."
"Yeah, but their marriage is so full of lies and...hollowness. Your parents at least had the decency to get a divorce. What if that happens to us?"
"You can't look at it that way, Mel. You just kind of have to believe that, someway, somehow, everything will end up working out."
"And what if they don't?"
"You know where to find me."
Melanie managed a smile.
"Who are you staying with tonight since you and John are supposed to be separated?"
"Erin."
"You should probably get back."
"Yeah, I guess I should."
"See you tomorrow, Mrs. Armanski."
"Doctor Armanski."
"You're not a doctor yet."
"No, but I will be."
Chris smiled, "Shut my window on your way out."
Melanie's smile grew. She stood shut the window, then walked out.
The next day was the big day. Chris stood in a mirror, adjusting his suit and tie.
John walked by and smiled, "Hey."
Chris smiled in return, "Hey. You nervous?"
"A little, but I'm probably the happiest man on Earth right now."
"Glad to hear it. But uh, you know...just take care of her, man. She's my best friend and I love her more than anything and I expect you to make her happy."
"Ah, I figured I'd be getting the best friend speech some time soon. Look, Chris, I love Melanie more than anything too; in a different way, but I do...I'd never do anything to hurt her."
"Good. I wish you two all the luck in the world. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got some last minute best man things to do."
"Maid of honor."
"You guys just love to rub that in my face, don't you?"
"It is pretty funny."
Chris rolled his eyes and smiled, "See you out there."
Chris then walked up to the area known as the bridal suite where Melanie and her female bridesmaids were getting dressed and ready. He knocked.
"Who is it?"
"Your only bridesmaid with a penis...that I know of."
There was a laugh, then Melanie opened the door and smiled.
Chris' eyes widened, "Wow." He stated. Melanie looked absolutely radiant.
Melanie again laughed, "You think so?"
"Yeah, you...you look beautiful."
Melanie smiled, "Thanks, Chris." She said before hugging him for a long time.
When they come apart, Chris gave a content sigh.
"How do you feel?"
"Excited." Melanie said, practically bouncing.
"I can't believe you're actually getting married."
"I know, it's so crazy."
Chris smiled again, "Look, before all of the craziness starts, since I have you here...I just want you to know that you're my best friend, and I love you, and I'm so, so happy for you."
Melanie's smile grew, "I love you too." She said before hugging him again, "Thanks so much for dealing with all of my shit for the past two decades."
"God, has it really been that long?"
"Meh, sixteen years, but close enough." Melanie stated, "Is my dad here?"
"He is, actually."
"Wow, my dad is actually going to be able to walk me down the isle at my wedding. I honestly wasn't sure if that would happen."
"Well, he's here now. You should probably get going soon. Your groom awaits."
Obviously, Melanie and John's wedding was a happy occasion and for the first few years, their marriage was happy as well. Chris and John remained friends and Chris kept his closeness with Melanie, even as the band grew and as Melanie and John began a family.
So of course, since Chris and Melanie remained so close, John knew that Chris knew the details of the divorce, and when the divorce was first filed, a very desperate John sought Chris out.
There was a knock on Chris' door. Chris had just moved into his new house a week prior and was stressed out as it was with moving in and Melanie informing him that she'd filed for divorce three days prior.
Chris answered the door to reveal a distressed John.
"John?"
"What do you know? I know she told you."
"What does it matter?"
"I know you know what she thinks I did wrong. Just tell me what that is so I can fix my marriage." John said before letting himself inside.
Chris sighed, shut the door, then continued, "For starters, lying about your disgusting line of work that goes against something that Melanie and I very strongly believe in was the first issue."
"So she told you." John said.
Chris just shook his head, "Conversion therapy." He stated, bitterly, "How do you look at yourself in the mirror? How do you go to sleep at night? I mean, it's one thing that you do this terrible thing, but it's another thing when you're not even willing to change it. Not to mention you've said some absolutely horrific things to Melanie during your fights with her. You've tried to manipulate her and get her to think that she's the bad guy. And don't try to act like you haven't because I've heard you yelling at her through the phone whenever she's called me to watch your daughter for you because the two of you were fighting so badly that it scared her."
There was a pause.
"So what are you saying?" John asked.
Chris sighed, "I'm saying...even if you were the most innocent person in this situation, even if you'd done nothing wrong...Melanie's one of my best friends, and she's been my friend much longer than you have. From that alone..."
Chris opened the door to John.
"You know who I stand with." Chris said, "Just consider yourself lucky that Melanie won't go with my suggestion of fighting for full custody of Sadie. Now, get out of my house."
John stared at Chris, coldly. With a face and heart filled with anger, John walked out of the house.
That was the last time that John and Chris ever spoke to each other. They each made a legitimate effort to stay away from each other...until now.
So obviously, together in Melanie's living room now, their stares to each other alone were filled with hostility.
John just sighs, then gives Melanie the child support check, "Here."
"Thank you."
"Have a good night."
"You too."
John walks out without as much as glancing at Chris.
Chris shakes his head, "I still don't understand why you let Sadie be with him on weekends. Especially with Sadie's new developments."
"Chris, I hardly ever got to see my dad growing up because he was away so much. Even now, I barely know him. It's horrible. I'm not gonna do that to Sadie."
Chris just sighs, deciding not to argue with Melanie about a kid that wasn't his and a situation that he wasn't involved in.
"Anyway, as I was saying, I brought you chocolate and wine. I'll get you a glass."
Chris walks off to the kitchen. Melanie stands from the couch and brushes the dog fur from Fred off of her. She then follows Chris into the kitchen as Chris grabs a glass. Melanie leans her elbows on the counter and puts her face in her hands.
"Oh my God...Oh my God, I'm divorced. I'm actually divorced. I'm not even thirty and I'm divorced!"
"Well, actually, you will be thirty in - "
Melanie shoots daggers at him.
"Sorry." Chris says, getting a cork opener, "But look at all of the amazing things you've accomplished!"
Chris removes the cork from the bottle and continues, "You had a marriage, you bought a house, you started a family, and you juggled all of that around college, med-school and a full-time career. I think that says a lot about you." He says, pouring a glass for Melanie.
"Yeah, it says I'm a conventional workaholic that's never done anything fun or interesting." Melanie says before taking the wine bottle and drinking directly from it.
"Uh...I actually poured you a glass." Chris says.
"You can have that."
"You know I don't drink."
"Well, then I'll just take both." Melanie says before taking the glass. She takes three large gulps from it, then sets the empty wine glass down.
Chris blinks, "I'm gonna be holding your hair while you puke tomorrow morning, aren't I?"
"Won't be the first time you've done it. You're such a good friend."
Melanie pats Chris' shoulder twice, then walks back into the living room with the wine bottle.
"Can you maybe put some more food in Fred's dish?" She asks.
"Yeah. C'mere, Fred." Chris says.
Melanie sits on the couch and continues drinking. Chris walks out a minute later with a glass of water.
"At least take a few sips of this in between."
Melanie rolls her eyes. She takes the glass of water, takes a few sips, then she sets the glass down and goes back to the wine.
"What am I supposed to do now?" Melanie asks, "I'll be thirty in December; in ten years, my life will be half over and I'll have nothing to show for it!"
"What are you talking about? You've got your whole life to live! Not to mention the fact that you and Sadie are practically famous because of me. Though, that's kind of Sadie's fault since she's the one that's always posting shit on my social media."
"Hey, you didn't have to give her the password to your phone."
Chris chuckles, "My point is, there are so many people in the world now who know who you are, there's gotta be someone out there who will help you do something fun and exciting."
"Well, what if all I want is my best friend?"
Chris smiles, "Then your best friend is what you'll get. And as your best friend, I am going to do everything I can to help you get through this. Starting by getting you a vibrator."
Melanie nearly chokes on her wine, "What?!"
"Oh, come on. How long has it been?"
"Since what?"
"You know what. How long?"
Melanie awkwardly shrugs, "Eight months."
"Even that isn't as bad as I thought it would be."
"Hey!"
"What? Eight months would have been after you filed for divorce; I figured it would have been before that."
"Damn it, I was hoping you wouldn't figure that out."
"Oh. So then...it's been a year?"
Melanie doesn't answer.
"Well, what are you doing getting drunk here with me when you could be out there getting drunk pre-sex?!"
"Chris, be real."
"I am! What's so wrong with going out and being nineteen again for one night? I do it every time I go on stage!"
"When I was nineteen, I was in college and planning to wedding."
"But I'm sure you went to, like, frat parties and stuff, right?"
"Have I ever struck you as a party girl? Or have I just been talking to a brick wall for the last twenty-five years?"
"Right, I keep forgetting you're such a goodie-goodie."
"Oh, like you're so bad?"
"I'm the front man for a goth metal band. I reached my bad boy status a long time ago."
"Yeah, all those pictures on Google of you with little kids and puppies really make you look dangerous."
"Shush." Chris laughs.
There's a pause.
"Remember the first time we did this?" Chris asks.
"Did what?"
"Stayed up all night and just talked."
"All night? Chris, it's 5:30."
"Like I'm not gonna be here in the morning?"
"Fair enough. When was the first time we did this?"
"1997."
"How do you remember that?"
"Because my grandfather had just died and I didn't want to be around the stress that was going around my family, so I crawled out my window and snuck off to your house two blocks away. I crawled into your room through the window and we just...talked. It was probably about Power Rangers and ice cream, but it still made me feel better." Chris says, "Then Tori walked in and we thought we were finished."
Melanie's eyes widen, "That I remember! She must have been fifteen or sixteen."
"Yeah. We thought she'd tell on us, but once we explained, she just hugged us and promised not to tell...even though everyone already knew."
They laugh.
Melanie smiles, but then it falters as she thinks of Tori, "Do you miss her as much as I do?"
Chris nods, "Of course I do."
"I remember talking on the phone with her that morning, and then...she was gone."
"I still remember you screaming after we watched it happen at school."
There's a pause as they remember.
They shake it off.
"You gonna be okay?" Chris asks.
"I kinda have to be."
"You'll find the right guy for you someday."
Melanie snorts, "Well, someday is gonna have to be for a while now. I'm not gonna be ready to get back out there for quite some time now."
"And that's okay, I'm just saying that you deserve so much better than him."
Melanie smiles, "Thanks, Chris." She says before resuming to chug her wine.
x
Monday.
Melanie actually managed to pick Sadie up on time for once.
"Hi, sweetie. How was it?"
Melanie looks through her rear view mirror at Sadie, who for the first time had dressed stereotypically "boy-ish" today.
"It was good! I had a really great day." Sadie says, enthusiastically.
"That's good, sweetie...I'm glad you're happy." Melanie says, truthfully.
A/N: IMPORTANT! Okay, so with Sadie wanting to be a boy sometimes, there IS a reason as to why I still use words like "she" and "her" to refer to Sadie even though she isn't ENTIRELY a girl, you've just gotta wait because the explanation is within a further chapter.
So we've met John...thoughts? He's a conversion therapist, Sadie is questioning her gender, John doesn't know this...put the pieces together.
We've also gotten a bit of information on Melanie's mother and sister...Thoughts?
Let me know!
Also, rest in peace, Casper. I was so sad when I heard he passed. He was the sweetest puppy either. I hope Ryan Ashley and Balz are doing okay.
So, I'm a stubborn little shit and will almost never turn down a dare. So a friend of mine dared me to read Dan and Phil fanfiction which I have been refusing to do because I have knew for a fact that I would get sucked into the vast vortex that is the phanfiction void and ruin my life. But I'm stubborn, so I read one.
And another.
And another.
And official reached the point of no return.
I am RUINED.
xoxo, Scissorhands