Melody

On Friday morning, I noticed that Margot and my dad had already left the house. They wouldn't be back until Sunday, which was Christmas Eve, but that was fine by me. I had barely said more than two words to Margot since the banquet and didn't feel the need to find a reason to. I wished my dad was around, but at this point I would be naïve to think that they weren't pretty much a package deal.

I smoothed down my high-waisted, grey, plaid skirt and straightened out my cropped, baggy sweater before heading out my room. Mia stopped me at the stairs and raised an eyebrow.

"Are you going to be home tonight?" Mia asked. I shrugged.

"Let me guess... you're throwing your annual Christmas party?" I sighed.

"If Carson comes, you have to come too right?" Mia asked flatly.

"Don't look so excited," I mumbled sarcastically.

"I just need to know... we can't let people know we're stepsisters!" Mia said.

"Don't worry, I won't show up to your lame excuse for people to get drunk and dress like Santa's ho, ho, hos," I replied going down the stairs.

Carson was already waiting outside, so I quickly slipped on my jacket and thigh high boots, leaving Mia in the empty house. I slammed the door behind me and stomped down the porch steps.

My foot slipped as it touched a piece of ice, and I managed to bang my left arm on the railing as I caught myself. I rolled my eyes and walked to the car, more carefully.

"You okay?" Carson asked as I sat down.

"Mia is having a party tonight... You're invited," I said, glaring out the window.

"Oh right. You're not allowed to go?" Carson asked.

"Why do you think you haven't seen me before this year?" I asked quietly.

"You're never allowed to go," Carson replied, squeezing my hand softly. He put the car into drive and turned the wheel. "Let's do something tonight. We'll drop by after school, you can grab warm leggings and we'll go skating, and then watch a movie at my house."

"Okay," I said, giving him a small smile.

***

Carson kissed me on the forehead before going to his locker when we stepped into the school's main hallway. As I walked to mine, I noticed Alani, Noah, and Emma standing by it.

"Melody!" Emma greeted with a big smile. She threw her arms around me, and though I hugged her back, I was uncomfortable. All I could think about was whether or not she could feel the fat on my body that I saw when I looked in the mirror. She let go of me and I felt relieve enter my body.

"Where were you yesterday?" Alani asked. "I didn't see you in math!"

"Yeah! I missed you in art!" Emma said. I smiled at that.

"I had a shoot."

"As in a photoshoot?" Emma questioned. I nodded.

"Yes girl!" Alani said.

"Sick!" Noah added.

"That's so exciting!" Emma said.

"Well, I want to hear all about it," Noah begged.

"Yeah! Come to the cafeteria at lunch!" Alani said.

"I don't know about that..." I said, opening up my locker and taking my jacket off. "I mean, I'll tell you about it. But I don't know if the cafeteria is a good idea."

"Please?" Emma said.

"I'll think about it," I said, sticking my jacket inside my locker.

"Holy crap, your arm!" Noah said pointing to where my left sleeve rolled up. Sure enough, there was a bright red mark on my forearm. It was sure to be a bruise. I fixed my sleeved and grabbed my books out of my locker.

"I slipped this morning. My porch steps were icy," I explained, zipping up my backpack. They all nodded, but I didn't miss an unreadable expression that crossed Emma's face. I slipped my bag onto my shoulders. "I've got to head to class."

"Alright. We hope to see you at lunch," Alani said. I shot them all a smile and began walking down the hallway.

As I moved towards my classroom, I passed by the popular crowd and saw Cora, clad in fancy clothes like the rest of the group. Their eyes followed me as I walked, and I wondered for long they had been staring at me. Rose rolled her eyes as we made eye contact, and I looked away.

It wasn't a great feeling to know that I irritated someone just by existing. My walking by was an unpleasant experience for her. The look of disgust on her face showed that. I sighed and wondered how she'd feel if I showed up in the cafeteria today.

When I got inside my classroom, Carson was already seated. I sat next to him and rested my chin in one of my hands. For the second time that morning he asked if everything was okay.

"I think I'm going to the cafeteria for lunch today," I said.

"You don't seem too convinced about that," Carson replied, a smile playing on his lips.

"Well, any time I step foot in that room, it's like a neon sign that says, 'direct insults here' appears over my head," I said. "But Alani, Emma, and Noah want to see me. Emma actually said she missed me yesterday... that doesn't happen."

"Well, first off all, I missed you too– anytime you're not here..." Carson said, making me feel warm inside. I looked away from his brown eyes, hoping to regain control of my breath. "And secondly, I say, go enjoy your friends. Everyone knows everything at this point so there's nothing to talk about. Besides, we'll be there."

"Okay, I guess, I'll go to the cafeteria," I smiled softly.

***

Carson met me outside of my history class and we slowly made our way to the cafeteria. He took one of my hands and squeezed it gently as we approached the doors.

"It'll be okay," he said. I nodded and he opened one of the doors, revealing the business of students moving, talking, eating and laughing. I made sure to keep my facial expressions in check, a neutral look, though my chest was rattled by my fast beating heart. My eyes landed on my friends, sitting at their table, and I watched as they noticed me.

A wide grin spread across Emma's lips, and Alani waved excitedly. Noah wasn't at the table yet, but I was sure he'd be there any moment. I sat down next to Emma, and Carson slid in next to me.

"Yay!" Emma cheered.

"We weren't sure if you'd come," Alani said.

"But we're glad you did!" Emma added.

Before I could respond, Harvey's voice boomed from behind us.

"Finally!" he yelled. "Carson man, it's been forever since you've graced us with your presence."

"But surprisingly, he didn't go back to Barbie over there," Alani said, with a smirk. Harvey sat down next to Emma.

"What can I say? It's less blonde over here," Harvey shrugged.

"Or it's more red over here," Carson mumbled.

"What's that?" Harvey asked.

"Nothing," Carson and Emma said at the same time, making Alani and I laugh.

"I'm here! I'm here! Don't start without me!" Noah said setting his pizza down and squishing between Alani and Harvey.

"Start what?" Harvey and Carson asked.

"She's telling us about yesterday!" Emma said, with a grin.

"Okay! Spill the tea!" Alani said folding her hands on the table.

"The tea?" Carson whispered to Harvey.

"I think it means gossip," Harvey whispered back.

"Aw, he's been spending enough time with us, to know it," Emma cooed with a teasing smile. Harvey's face seemed to turn a little pink, but he quickly turned to take his lunch out of his backpack.

The banter was refreshing, though it didn't keep the nerves at bay. I could feel Rose and Cora's eyes burning holes into my back, though they were across the room from me. I launched into my story of yesterday nonetheless and hoped that it would be enough. Enough to keep listening. Enough to think I was cool and worthy to keep around. And enough to distract them while they ate and not worry about whether I did or not. 

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Author's Note: FIRST OF ALL... 70,000 reads! You are all so freaking amazing! I can't begin to explain how excited I am! Thank you so much to each and every one of you, from the bottom of my heart!

Special shout outs the chapter go to: nessaaaa3737 , x_Dalia  and Lelasddd  for voting! And to escalades and eph0210 for commenting and voting as well!

Melody's outfit this chapter:

I hope you liked this chapter! It was fun to write and a bit more dialogue, so hopefully you enjoyed the little snippets of personality coming through! I have a couple assignments and tests this week so I hope I can still do some writing, but if the next chapter comes a bit later, don't hate me ;)

Let me know what you think might happen next!

Keep reading, commenting and voting! I'm so thankful for each and every one of you!