A few people took notice of Simon as he stood at the door of the ladies' toilets, but majority of the people in the room were watching as the Disney First Aid staff attended to an elderly woman on a bench across from the sinks. The woman had collapsed, suffering from exposure to the heat outside. Melanie was a few feet away with a toddler in her arms and a young child clutching her leg as they watched the First Aid crew attend to their grandmother. When the woman had collapsed, Melanie had stepped in and offered to mind the children so their mother could attend to the grandmother. The children were both crying and Melanie was gently assuring them that everything was fine.
Melanie glanced back at Simon and looked at him with shock, confused as to why he was in the ladies' toilets. He looked at her sheepishly and slowly approached her and the children.
"Simon, I don't think you're supposed to be in here," Melanie whispered, clutching the toddler tightly as it sobbed into her shoulder.
"Sorry," he replied awkwardly, looking over at the grandmother who was trying to assure the First Aid crew and her daughter that she was fine as they worried over her. He looked back at Melanie to find her looking at him with exasperation.
"I told you I was fine," she said, sounding slightly irritated. "You don't have to keep worrying about me."
Simon apologized again, not knowing what else to say. He watched as Melanie tended to the children, clutching the toddler tightly and kneeling down to the level of the other child to assure them their grandmother was going to be all right. The little girl wrapped her arms tightly around Melanie, still keeping a close eye on her mum and grandmother.
Feeling increasingly more awkward the longer he stood in the ladies' toilets, Simon casually made his way back outside to wait for Melanie. He avoided making eye contact with the women entering the toilets and he went back to the bench he had been sitting on earlier.
He watched as the grandmother was taken out of the washroom in a wheelchair, followed close behind by her daughter and Melanie with the children. The woman turned and thanked Melanie profusely for helping with the children as she took the toddler from her. The little girl let go of Melanie's hand and hugged her tightly around the waist before following her mother and grandmother to the First Aid building at the entrance of the park.
Melanie walked back toward Simon and crossed her arms, looking at him smugly. He shrugged as he got to his feet, apologizing once again for being overprotective.
"What happened?" he asked as the two of them walked toward New Orleans Square where Andy had let Simon know the group would wait for them.
"That lady was really dizzy and was having a hard time standing up," Melanie replied. "They think it was maybe heat stroke or something." Simon nodded and waved at Andy, catching sight of him over at the Haunted Mansion.
"We should get you something to drink," Simon stated, seeing a snack vendor across from the ride. "And get you out of the sun for a bit."
"Simon!" Melanie groaned irritably. "I am a grown up, you know. I don't need you babying me all the time."
Simon smiled sheepishly and shrugged, apologizing once again. Melanie rolled her eyes and joined Brian, AJ, and Emma, assuring them she was fine as they observed the bandages around her elbows.
Vern looked at Simon with amusement and shrugged.
"What was that all about?" he asked.
"Apparently, I need to start treating her more like a grown up," Simon replied with amusement as he rolled his eyes. "She was basically a child just a few weeks ago. I can't help it."
"They grow up so fast," Vern humoured sarcastically. Simon snorted and walked back toward the group with Vern.
The Disney Guide took the group ahead of the line and into the Haunted Mansion, getting them onto the ride as a private group. Once the musicians were safely on the ride, Simon, Andy, and Vern were guided around to the exit to wait for them. Simon stood next to the photo booth, watching the two photos show up on the screen, one with Melanie and Emma and one with AJ and Brian, both photographed with a luminescent ghost sat between them. He purchased the photos and followed as the musicians followed the guide to the Pirates of the Caribbean ride.
The Spice Girls, Backstreet Boys, and their crew remained at the park until the early evening, then traveled back to their hotel to dress up for a Halloween party they had been invited to at Madonna's Hollywood home. The two makeup ladies were working in full force to get everyone done up for the party. The boys were all dressed as superheroes and comic book characters; AJ was the Riddler, Howie was Zorro, Nick was a Ninja Turtle, Brian was Batman, and Kevin was dressed as Superman. The girls were in various costumes; Geri was dressed like Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's, Mel was a tiger, Emma was Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, Victoria was Cleopatra, and David had joined her for the weekend, dressing as an Egyptian king. Having no knowledge of pop culture, the girls had helped pick Melanie's costume, dressing her up as Wednesday Addams.
Once they were dressed and ready, a limo transported the lot of them to Madonna's house where dozens of A-list celebrities, all in costume, were already mingling around the back garden and the lower level of the house. Everyone was escorted into the home by Madonna's staff and served drinks by wait staff walking around with trays of beverages.
There were tables set up in all the social areas with candy, baked treats, and little gifts for the guests to take home. Music was being played throughout the house and out in the back garden, encouraging the guests to dance and socialize with one another.
The Spice Girls and the Backstreet Boys split up to mingle around the house with the various celebrities that they knew or had been wanting to meet in person. Brian, AJ, Emma, and Victoria stayed with Melanie, taking her into the kitchen where celebrities like Debi Mazer, Gwyneth Paltrow, Brad Pitt, Jennifer Aniston, Ben Affleck, and Helen Hunt were mingling with drinks in hand. Spotting the group entering the room, Madonna immediately excused herself from the conversation with Debi and Gwyneth to greet the newcomers.
"I'm so glad you could make it," Madonna greeted, greeting all of them with a kiss on the cheek. She was in a fully sequinned genie outfit with her hair and extensions pulled back in a tight topknot. Emma and Victoria began gushing over Madonna's outfit and complimenting her on her home.
"Sorry, darling," Victoria giggled, looking back at Melanie who looked completely lost. "This is Madonna. You used to be a really big fan of hers."
"Used to?" Madonna asked, feigning insult.
"She probably still is," Emma stated quickly. "We'll have to play some of your music on the way back to the hotel later."
Madonna looked at the girls questioningly. They'd met a few times before and had had long enough conversations for them to be more than just acquaintances.
"You're a singer?" Melanie asked curiously, looking at Madonna with absolutely no recognition.
Emma's face fell. Melanie was standing in front of the woman she'd idolized since childhood, and she had no clue who she was. The old Melanie would have been ecstatic to have attended a party in Madonna's home, but the novelty was now completely lost to her.
"Oh!" Madonna gasped, suddenly realizing what was going on. "I'm sorry, I completely forgot. I saw the whole thing on the news. How are you feeling? You really don't remember anything?" Colour rose to Melanie's cheeks and she shook her head, dropping her gaze to the floor. "Well, you look fantastic," Madonna commented, realizing she'd made Melanie feel awkward. "Let's get all of you set up with drinks." She waved to one of the waiters she'd hired, who was walking around with a tray of drinks. He hurried over and offered the tray to the group, shifting his grip as they lifted drinks from the platter.
Melanie moved to take a drink, but AJ quickly put his hand on her shoulder to stop her. She looked back at him curiously as he smiled at her.
"Do you have anything non-alcoholic?" he asked the waiter quietly.
The waiter nodded and rambled off a few of the options they had before signalling to one of the other waiters to bring around the non-alcoholic beverages for Melanie. She took a sparkling water and thanked the waiter before looking back at AJ.
"Be careful what you drink tonight," AJ instructed. "Nothing with alcohol until you've got the ok from your doctor." She nodded and listened as her friends chatted some more with Madonna until she excused herself, moving to greet another group of guests that had just arrived.
As the night wore on and the alcohol flowed, the party guests became increasingly more inebriated and rowdy. Many had moved out to the back garden where the DJ was set up, pieces of costumes were scattered in random places, either discarded or lost by their wearers, there was a group in the kitchen playing drinking games and doing body shots, while others gathered in the sitting room, visiting where it was slightly quieter.
Majority of the Spice Girls and Backstreet Boys were in the back garden dancing. Melanie and Brian were in the den, visiting with a few of the other guests. Brian's eyes were drooping, the effects of the alcohol he'd consumed, the late hour, and the busy schedule of the day making him increasingly more tired. Melanie grinned and ran her hand along his arm, making him start and look at her with surprise.
"You're falling asleep," she giggled.
"No, I'm not," Brian slurred, grinning and wrapping his arm over her shoulder. "I'm just resting my eyes for a second." He leaned against her, his eyes sliding closed once more. Melanie looked up to find Jennifer Aniston smiling at her with amusement.
"Are you two together?" she asked quietly, not wanting to wake Brian.
"No," Melanie replied, gently pushing Brian over until he was leaning against the arm of the couch. "Just friends." She carefully slid out from under Brian's arm and set it on his lap, watching as he sighed and curled up to get comfortable.
"I'm going to run to the toilet," Melanie explained softly. "If he wakes up, can you let him know I'll be back?"
Jennifer nodded and leaned back against Brad Pitt, whom she'd been dating for the previous few months. Melanie thanked her and slipped off the couch, making her way into the hallway to the toilet.
Rather than going back to the den, she wandered into the kitchen, wanting to see what the noise was about. People were in fits of laughter as they attempted to play a game, most of them too drunk to understand what they were doing anymore.
Melanie didn't recognize any of the people in the room. Most of them were groupies and friends of Madonna's celebrity friends. Two of the girls at the table had their tops off and one of the guys was completely naked, having lost their clothes in one of the games they were playing.
Melanie stayed near the entryway, not brave enough to venture too far into the room. The people were far too rowdy than she was comfortable with, but she was intrigued by what they were doing.
"Wow, things have escalated," said a masculine voice behind her. She flinched and turned around, looking at the man with shock. He quickly apologized for scaring her and introduced himself.
"I'm Tod," he said, taking her hand and kissing it while bowing. Melanie looked at him curiously, having never been greeted in such a manner, as far as she knew. She introduced herself, not sure if she should repeat the gesture. She opted to just smile at him and casually pulled her hand away.
"You're one of the Spice Girls, right?" Tod asked. "Sporty?"
Melanie nodded and bit her lip, not comfortable interacting with the stranger on her own. She turned back to watch the frivolity going on in the kitchen, while Tod casually made small talk with her. As an argument broke out amongst a few of the drunken game players, Melanie quickly ducked away from the kitchen entryway and around the corner to not be seen.
"Ignore them," Tod chuckled. "They're just a bunch of idiots." He looked around at what was going on around the main floor and nodded toward the staircase. "Have you been here before?" he asked.
"I don't know," Melanie replied honestly.
"This place looks massive," Tod enthused. "I'm dying to check out the rest of the place. Wanna come explore with me?" Melanie looked at him apprehensively, then up at the staircase. She did like to explore and the lower level of the house alone was really impressive. She could only imagine what the upper level look like.
"Are we allowed?" she whispered. Tod shrugged and took Melanie by the hand.
"I won't tell if you don't," he said with a grin.
Melanie looked over her shoulder to make sure no one was looking before nodding excitedly and allowing Tod to pull her up the staircase. They wandered around the upper floor, taking in the impressive offices, library, and Madonna's personal gym space.
Melanie was clearly more interested in exploring the rooms than Tod, but she hadn't noticed that he wasn't really looking around. Instead he followed her from room to room, staying somewhat close to her and looking back to make sure no one else had made their way upstairs.
The two of them made their way back into the hall and Melanie opened another door, leading to one of the luxuriously decorated bedrooms.
"I don't think we should go in here," she stated softly, pulling the door closed guiltily.
"I don't think it's Madge's room. It's just a guest room," said Tod. "It's all right." He pushed the door open and stepped inside, turning on the light and inviting Melanie in. She took a few apprehensive steps inside, watching nervously as Tod closed the door behind them.
"Just in case we're not supposed to be in here and someone comes upstairs," he explained, smiling at her and making his way over to the window that stretched from floor to ceiling. Melanie looked back at the door worriedly before following Tod over to the window to look at the expansive view of the city lights below them.
"So, how long have you been in America?" Tod asked, leaving his spot at the window and sitting on the edge of the bed. He patted the spot next to him, inviting Melanie to join him.
"I don't know," she replied. "A while, I think."
She sat on the bed, her body rigid as he slid his arm around her and pulled her close. He complimented her, pulling her hair behind her shoulder and setting his hand on her knee. She stared at his hand, her heart pounding in her chest. She'd grown to like being close with her friends. They were a very affection group of people, but she felt uncomfortable with Tod. The way he was touching her wasn't friendly or affectionate, it was kind of creepy. Everything inside of her was telling her what was happening was wrong, but she was too scared to stop him
"Just relax," Tod whispered, releasing her knee and pulling her face toward him. "Let's have a little fun. It's not every day you get to do it in Madonna's house."
"Do what?" Melanie squeaked, she gripped the comforter tightly, her knuckles turning white. Tod was staring directly into her eyes and he smiled.
"Wait," he chuckled. "Are you a virgin?"
Melanie looked at him with confusion and shook her head.
"I don't think so," she replied shakily.
"You don't know?" Tod snorted. "Or your past guys just weren't that memorable?"
"I don't know," Melanie replied.
"Well, let's make this time something to remember," he breathed, running his thumb along her bottom lip and pulling her face close. She could feel his free hand gripping the zipper at the back of her dress and pulling it down, exposing her back. Panicking, she pushed him away and quickly stood up to run for the door, but he grabbed her by the hand and pulled her back.
"Hey, come on," said Tod, still grinning seductively. "You can't just tease a guy, then leave."
"I didn't," Melanie whimpered, pressing against his chest as he pulled her close and gripped her bum with both hands. "Let me go."
"Don't rush off," Tod purred as he pulled Melanie toward the bed and forced her to sit down. "You can go once we're done." He pushed her back against the bed and held her shoulders down as he straddled her. Melanie thrust her knee into his groin, causing him to gasp for breath and grip his manhood and she punched him in the face. No longer crushed beneath his weight, she quickly slipped away from him and raced out of the room. She could hear him calling to her and moving slowly toward the door to catch her, but she was able to run down the staircase before he could stop her.
AJ had just come in from the back garden to use the toilet and saw Melanie running down the stairs. Catching sight of AJ, Melanie immediately ran to him and wrapped her arms around him. She was sobbing and shaking and AJ quickly hugged her back.
"What happened?" Kevin asked as he and Geri approached the two of them. They had come inside to grab a few sweets from the table of treats Madonna's caterers had set out.
"What were you doing upstairs?" AJ grunted as Melanie squeezed him tightly, cutting off his air supply. He looked up as Tod limped toward the staircase, a bruise already beginning to form beneath his eye. Tod looked at AJ with horror and quickly ducked back upstairs to hide.
"I'm gonna kill him," AJ growled, pulling Melanie away from himself and passing her over to Geri before making his way to the stairs.
"AJ, don't," Melanie sobbed. "It was my fault."
Kevin quickly grabbed AJ by the arm and pulled him back, struggling to keep AJ calm as he was overcome with rage.
"AJ, calm down," Kevin demanded.
"No fucking way!" AJ shouted, shoving Kevin out of the way and attempting to make his way up the stairs. Kevin quickly grabbed AJ once more and pulled him back, gripping his arms to keep him from pushing him away again.
"We've just convince her that people aren't fucking abusive shitheads!" AJ spat. "If he fucking touched her... Tell him to get his ass down here!"
"AJ, calm down!" Kevin growled.
"Get out of the way, Kev," AJ snapped. "I'm going to kill him!"
"We'll deal with him civilly," Kevin argued. "You are not going up there." AJ continued to fight against Kevin and shouted threats up at Tod. A few people had stopped what they were doing, hearing AJ ranting and fighting with Kevin.
"AJ, you're making a scene," Kevin hissed. "He isn't Otis." AJ stopped fighting for a moment and looked intensely at Kevin. Having witnessed AJ's outburst, Mel and David entered the den from the back garden and quickly stepped in to help Kevin force AJ out the front door to talk some sense into him.
"Did he touch you?" Geri asked with concern, pulling the zipper of Melanie's dress closed once more. "Tell me exactly what happened."
"I didn't know," Melanie sobbed. "I thought we were just going to check things out, but I made him think..."
"You didn't do anything wrong," Geri assured her, pulling her to a quieter part of the house. "Unless you actually told him you wanted to have sex, then it was his fault for assuming. Are you ok?"
Melanie nodded, and glanced back at the busy area of the house where people were still mingling and laughing loudly.
"I want to go," she whimpered. Geri nodded and gently wiped the tears and streaked makeup from Melanie's cheeks.
"We'll go," said Geri. "But I need to know if he did anything to you."
"Not really," Melanie replied softly, ducking her head shamefully. "I decked him."
"Good girl," said Geri approvingly, pulling Melanie close. "You did exactly what you were supposed to do."
She arranged for their car to pick them up and she took Melanie outside where Mel, Kevin, David, and AJ were standing. Kevin was still holding AJ back, trying to get him to calm down, and Mel immediately approached the girls, wrapping her arms around Melanie.
"She made sure nothing happened," Geri assured her as Mel looked at her worriedly.
"I was so stupid," Melanie groaned tearfully.
"No, you weren't," said Mel, pulling back to look Melanie in the eye. "Some guys are cunts like that. We should have had a chat and warned you about these things. We forget there's some things you don't know."
"But you handled it brilliantly," Geri encouraged approvingly. "We obviously don't have to worry about you. You're a tough chick."
"Not that we ever needed to worry," Mel chuckled. "We've seen you fight people off before. You're fucking hard, you are."
Melanie looked at the girls, digesting what they had said. She nodded, suddenly feeling quite proud of herself.
A car pulled up in the front drive and the driver got out, pulling the door open to let everyone in.
"You lot can stay," said Melanie as Geri and Mel walked toward the car. "Don't leave because of me."
"The party is starting to wrap up anyway," said Geri. "We'll grab some drinks and finish the night back at the hotel."
Victoria went back inside to wrangle the rest of their crew and she thanked Madonna for having them before joining everyone in their car. Geri rung up the hotel to make sure they had liquor and snacks when they arrived, then quietly let Victoria and Emma know what had happened back at the party.
It was just after midnight when they arrived back at the hotel and they all gathered in their suite where there was a table full of snacks and liquor awaiting them. They turned on some music and continued to party, resuming as if nothing had happened.
Around 2am, the musicians started to lose steam. Emma, Geri, AJ, and Nick retired to the balcony to quietly finish their drinks and smoke while Kevin and Howie packed the food into the fridge that needed to be chilled. Victoria and David were in a quiet corner of the room making out on a chair and Melanie, Mel, and Brian were watching a standup comedian on the telly. Melanie looked back at Victoria and David, watching them curiously.
"Have I ever done that?" she asked softly, looking at Mel.
"You've snogged me," Mel replied, laughing raucously when Melanie looked at her with shock. "All of you lot did," she snorted. "You've snogged plenty of blokes, too." Melanie looked back at Victoria and David for a moment more before focusing back on the telly.
"You want to know what it's like?" Mel asked with a devious grin.
"That's ok," Melanie replied sheepishly.
"Not with me!" Mel cackled. She nodded toward Brian, who was focused on the telly.
"That'd be weird," Melanie confessed softly.
"No, it's not," said Mel. "Look. Brian!" Brian looked at her, his eyes half shut from the booze. "Give us a kiss," she demanded, getting up and leaning over Melanie to pull Brian's face close. She pressed her lips against his and he reciprocated. He'd been around the girls long enough that nothing they did phased him.
"What was that for?" Brian asked curiously as Mel sat back down.
"Melanie wants to know what it's like to snog a guy," Mel replied. "Go on, Melanie."
"It's fine," Melanie responded, her cheeks flushing pink.
"After what happened tonight, we shouldn't be pressuring her into shit like that," Brian warned, looking at Mel with one eyebrow raised. "You do what you want to do, Melanie."
"You don't have to do it with tongues or anything," Mel laughed. "Do whatever feels right."
Melanie looked from Mel to Brian uneasily and dropped her gaze.
"I don't know how," she confessed sheepishly.
"Perfect time to give it a try then!" said Mel enthusiastically. "The only one watching is me and Brian's drunk as fuck, so he won't care if you're shite. Go on, I can give you pointers." She sat up on her knees and rested her chin on Melanie's shoulder, wiggling her eyebrows enticingly at Brian.
"Do you want to try it?" Brian asked cheerfully, looking at Melanie and swaying slightly. She met his eye and thought for a moment.
"Ok," she whispered.
He gently took her chin in his hand and pulled her face towards his.
"If you want to stop, we stop," he said seriously. Melanie swallowed and nodded her head slightly. Her heart was pounding rapidly in her chest as he leaned in closer, his eyes closed, and he pressed his lips against hers. She closed her eyes and parted her lips, trying to match his movements as he pulled her bottom lip between both of his. Her hand slowly came up to meet his and he gently slipped his tongue into her mouth. She didn't pull away, instead tentatively touching hers to his, encouraging him to keep going.
They parted and she licked her lips, her cheeks flushed as she looked at him.
"See," Brian said with a dopey grin. "Nothing to it."
"Oy!" Mel growled playfully. "I want a do over! Get back here!" She leaned over Melanie once more and gripped Brian's face in both hands, pulling him close and pressing her lips to his again. Melanie leaned forward, crushed beneath Mel's weight.
"That's it," said Geri as she and Emma walked back into the suite from the balcony. "You lot are cut off."
Mel pulled back, holding herself up with her hands on Melanie's shoulders and she grinned at Geri.
"Come and have a go, Ginge," she laughed, sitting back down so Melanie could sit upright.
"With you or with Brian?" Geri humoured. "Come on, we're sending you lot to bed now. You can't be trusted on your own."
"I understand the tongue stud now," Brian chuckled, getting up off the couch and offering his hand to Melanie.
"Well, that's one thing it's good for," Mel laughed suggestively, sticking out her tongue and biting it to make the stud protrude. "You wanna give it a go, Melanie?"
"Maybe another time," Melanie declined politely.
"Come on, babes," said Emma, walking around the couch and taking Melanie by the hand. "Let's get you ready for bed."
As Emma and Melanie left the room, Mel grabbed the tail she'd been wearing for her costume and threw it at Victoria and David, hitting Victoria in the back of the head.
"All right, lovebirds," she snorted. "Off to bed."
Victoria smiled and kissed David once more before pulling him from the chair and leading him to their hotel room. Geri escorted Brian and Mel to each of their rooms, ensuring they went their separate ways for the night before knocking on Emma's door. Emma let her in and the two popped their heads into Melanie's adjoining room.
Melanie had washed off her makeup, taken her out of the plaits, and was dressed in shorts and a tank top for pyjamas. She smiled at the girls and made her way over to her bed.
"Are you gonna be ok tonight?" Geri asked, cuddling in next to Melanie.
"I'm fine," Melanie replied. "Really. I kinda just want to forget it happened." Geri nodded and squeezed Melanie tightly.
"Do you want us to stay with you?" Emma asked, kneeling next to the bed and placing her hand on Melanie's. Melanie shook her head, assuring the girls she would be fine.
The two girls kept their eye on her, looking for any indication that they should stay. She smiled and rolled her eyes.
"Honest, I'm fine," she laughed. "I kinda want to sleep by myself. Geri likes to spoon and Emma snores."
"I do not!" Emma protested, pretending to be insulted as she stamped her foot on the ground. Geri laughed and rolled off of the bed to let Melanie be alone.
"You only do it when you're overly tired," Geri chuckled. "Or drunk, or napping, or when you fall asleep in the car."
"Geri!" Emma laughed.
Melanie smiled as she watched the girls disappear back into Emma's room and she rolled onto her back. She stared at the ceiling and sighed before pulling the blankets tight and squeezing her eyes shut, trying to fight off the headache that had started when they'd arrived back at the hotel.