Melanie was sprawled out on the couch, one arm draped over her face, trying to block out the chaos that had become her normal. After a long shift at Wong's, all she wanted was to enjoy a few moments of peace, but of course, peace and the Thundermans didn't mix.

Max stood in the center of the room, a smug grin on his face. "Who wants to see something awesome?"

Nora's eyes lit up. "I love awesome things!"

Billy practically bounced in excitement. "I love them more!"

Melanie groaned, adjusting her position without opening her eyes. "Unless 'awesome' involves a five-hour nap and someone bringing me snacks, I don't care."

Phoebe stepped forward, holding up a small potted plant with an air of importance. "It's a very rare and exotic plant."

Max scoffed. "Phoebe doesn't know what 'awesome' means."

Phoebe ignored him, her tone all business. "It's a Limpopo fly trap. My science teacher chose me to take care of it for the weekend. It's a huge honor."

Billy tilted his head. "Why do they call it a fly trap?"

A fly buzzed around the room, and as if on cue, the plant snapped its jaws around it.

Nora gasped. "Cool!"

Billy clapped. "I bet it could eat anything!"

Max smirked. "Yeah, it's like the plant version of Dad."

Melanie cracked open one eye. "You guys are way too entertained by a salad with teeth."

Phoebe shot Max a warning look. "Don't even think about it. It's on a special diet of flies and rationed water, and it's my responsibility. If anything happens to it, I'll be—" Her voice trailed off as she suddenly realized the pot was empty. "Hey! Where's the plant?"

The room fell silent. Billy and Nora exchanged guilty glances, while Max looked completely unbothered.

"Whoa!" Billy finally blurted out.

Max put an arm around Phoebe's shoulders. "Come on, Phoebe, it's been my lifelong dream to see a plant eat weird stuff."

Phoebe raised an eyebrow. "Since when?"

"Since I found out there was a plant that could eat weird stuff."

Phoebe folded her arms. "No one is touching this plant except me... and a few unsuspecting flies."

Max turned to Nora and Billy, lowering his voice. "So... you guys wanna see the plant eat stuff?"

Nora narrowed her eyes. "No way. Phoebe said we can't touch it."

Max smirked. "Alright, she can't hear you. What's your real answer?"

Nora grinned. "I wanna see it chow down on Billy!"

Billy gasped. "Yeah—wait. Hey!"

Melanie sighed dramatically from the couch. "You guys are actually the worst. Wake me up when you don't have a death wish." She pulled a pillow over her head as the chaos continued.

Melanie stretched as she sat up from the couch, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. The house was still in its usual state of chaos—Phoebe lecturing Max, Billy and Nora probably scheming their next disaster—but she had no time to deal with it. She had a shift to get to.

She stood up, adjusting her uniform—a black T-shirt with "Wong's Pizza Palace" written across the front and a matching apron tied around her waist. Grabbing her bag from the side table, she headed toward the door, but of course, Max had to get in her way.

"Going somewhere, Mel?" he asked, leaning against the doorway with that signature smirk of his.

Melanie rolled her eyes. "Yes, Max, I have this thing called a job. Maybe you've heard of it?"

Max put a hand over his heart mockingly. "Ouch. You wound me."

"Not yet, but if I'm late because of you, I might." She pushed past him, only for Max to follow her outside.

"You know, you don't have to go. You could just call in sick and spend time with your totally awesome boyfriend."

Melanie snorted. "Oh? You're my totally awesome boyfriend now?"

Max's smirk faltered for just a second, but he quickly recovered. "I mean, I never said that out loud, but if the title fits..."

Melanie shook her head, amused. "Tempting, really, but I actually like this job. Plus, I make good tips."

Max frowned. "Yeah, I noticed. That guy the other day was way too happy to tip you."

Melanie grinned. "Oh? Is Max Thunderman jealous?"

"Of course not." He scoffed, then crossed his arms. "I just think it's suspicious that some random guy wants to throw money at you just for bringing him iced tea."

Melanie patted his cheek with mock sympathy. "Welcome to the wonderful world of food service, Max."

Max rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Just don't let any of those guys get too comfortable. You know, because I technically—" He stopped himself, looking away.

Melanie raised an eyebrow. "You technically what?"

Max grumbled under his breath before sighing. "You're technically my girlfriend, okay? And I don't like guys checking you out."

Melanie smirked. "Aww, that almost sounded like you actually care."

Max huffed. "Don't make it weird."

Melanie laughed, leaning up to kiss his cheek. "I'll see you later, Max."

Before he could respond, she was already heading down the driveway. Max watched her go, running a hand through his hair with a sigh.

"Yeah... later."

☆

The front door burst open, and Melanie practically dragged herself inside. Her uniform was slightly wrinkled, her hair was hastily thrown into a bun with stray strands sticking out, and her apron was stained with what looked like a mix of marinara sauce and exhaustion. She kicked off her shoes without caring where they landed, let out a deep groan, and collapsed onto the nearest couch face-first.

"I hate everything," she muttered into the cushion.

Phoebe, who had been sitting nearby reading a book, raised an eyebrow. "Rough shift?"

Melanie turned her head just enough to glare. "Phoebe. I had a table of six toddlers who all demanded different pizzas, then threw their slices at each other like it was a food fight arena. A guy tried to haggle with me over the price of iced tea, and to top it all off? Some dude spilled an entire pitcher of lemonade down my back."

Max, who had just walked into the room, smirked. "Did you at least make bank?"

Melanie groaned, rolling onto her side. "I did. But at what cost?"

Max plopped down onto the couch next to her, stretching his arms over the back. "Well, think of it this way—you survived, you're rolling in cash, and now you get to spend the rest of the night hanging out with your favorite person."

Melanie cracked an eye open. "Oh, did Phoebe decide to stay up?"

Max scoffed, holding a hand to his chest. "You wound me."

Before she could throw another snarky remark, Nora and Billy stormed into the room, clearly in the middle of an argument.

"I was this close to lasering an apple off Billy's head before Phoebe ruined it!" Nora huffed, crossing her arms.

Billy, looking almost disappointed, shrugged. "I kinda wanted to see if I could catch it mid-air."

Phoebe sighed, closing her book. "For the last time, no lasering your brother!"

At that moment, Hank and Barb entered, dressed in formal wear. Hank was adjusting his tie, while Barb was fixing an earring.

Max raised an eyebrow. "Whoa, Dad's fancy black suit. Who died?"

Hank sighed. "Your mother's old uncle, Wilfred."

Phoebe winced. "Awkward."

Barb, clearly trying to hold back excitement, cleared her throat. "We're heading to Metroburg for his will reading. He left me his 'greatest treasure,' and we have to see what it is."

Hank grinned. "I mean, not that it matters. No amount of money could replace him."

Then he immediately whispered to Barb, "Unless it's his ginormous yacht."

Barb smacked his arm. "Hank! That's insensitive. We want the ginormous mansion!"

Phoebe rolled her eyes. "And which stage of grief is this?"

Hank ignored her. "We'll only be gone one night, so don't miss us too much."

Barb rushed in, pulling all four kids into a suffocating hug.

"Mom... can't... breathe..." Billy wheezed.

Hank clapped a hand on Max's shoulder. "Remember, no fighting."

Max grinned. "Of course not. We're superheroes. We look out for each other."

Nora, smirking, looked at Billy. "Try it, and I'll kabob you."

Billy paled slightly. "Okay, maybe not looking out for me."

Hank narrowed his eyes. "We'll be checking in, and if I hear you guys aren't getting along, I will fly back here and drop some thunder on you."

Barb clapped excitedly. "Okay, one last hug!"

She pulled them into another bone-crushing embrace before finally grabbing her purse. "Bye, sweeties! Be good!"

As the door shut behind them, Melanie—who had been completely silent during the chaos—let out a long, exhausted sigh.

Max glanced down at her, nudging her shoulder. "You still alive down there?"

Melanie, barely lifting her head, muttered, "I will be when I sleep for a week."

Phoebe chuckled, standing up. "Alright, I'm calling it a night before Billy actually lets Nora test her laser skills." She shot them both a knowing look. "Try not to destroy the house."

Max smirked. "No promises."

As Phoebe headed upstairs, Max turned back to Melanie, who was half-asleep already. He nudged her again, softer this time.

"C'mon, Mel. You should at least go to bed instead of crashing on the couch."

Melanie let out a sleepy hum. "Too tired to move. Couch is good."

Max sighed, shaking his head. "You're impossible." But instead of arguing, he simply reached over, pulling the blanket from the back of the couch and draping it over her.

Just as he leaned back, Melanie's voice was barely above a whisper. "Thanks, Max."

Max smirked. "Yeah, yeah."

Then, making sure no one else was looking, he pressed a small kiss to her forehead before settling in beside her.

"Definitely still not admitting that out loud."

The house was finally quiet. No arguing, no laser threats, no chaos—just the soft hum of the TV playing some late-night rerun that neither Max nor Melanie was actually paying attention to.

Max had gone to his room after everyone else went to bed, but something kept nagging at him. Melanie hadn't moved from the couch. She'd been exhausted when she got home, but still—she hadn't even changed, hadn't gotten up for water, nothing.

With a sigh, he got up and padded back to the living room.

Melanie was still there, curled up in the exact same spot. The blanket he'd thrown over her had slipped down a little, and her face was barely visible, tucked into the couch cushion.

Max frowned, stepping closer. "Mel?" He nudged her shoulder gently, but she didn't react.

His stomach twisted. She was breathing, obviously, but still. Max had never seen her this wiped out before. She hadn't even stirred.

He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Alright, Sleeping Beauty, you gotta at least roll over or something. I'm starting to think you actually died."

At the sound of his voice, Melanie let out a sleepy groan, shifting slightly. Slowly, she stretched out and without warning adjusted herself—her head now resting right on his lap.

Max froze.

Melanie didn't even seem to realize what she'd done. She just let out a quiet, content sigh, snuggling a little closer.

Max swallowed. His brain immediately started yelling at him to move, to say something sarcastic, to not sit here like some loser boyfriend that cared too much—but his body refused to listen. Instead, he just sat there, staring at her, one arm resting along the back of the couch, the other hovering awkwardly like he wasn't sure whether to move the blanket or just accept his fate.

Finally, after a long pause, he rolled his eyes at himself.

"This is ridiculous," he muttered under his breath, but still... he adjusted the blanket over her, making sure she was warm.

The TV flickered, casting a soft glow over the room, and Max let his head fall back against the couch.

"You owe me for this, Mel."

Melanie, still half-asleep, mumbled something in response—something completely incoherent.

Max smirked. "Yeah, didn't think so."

And with that, he let himself relax, one hand resting lightly on Melanie's arm as the night carried on.

☆

Melanie barely registered the conversation happening around her. She was sprawled on the couch, face buried in a pillow, her body aching from her shift at Wong's. She had never been this exhausted before. Her entire day had been a blur of taking orders, balancing trays, dodging Max's terrible ideas, and dealing with Mrs. Wong's high standards.

And now? She was here, listening to this nonsense.

Phoebe, Max, Billy, and Nora were crowded around the kitchen table, bickering over a plant, of all things.

Melanie let out a groggy sigh. "You guys are seriously fighting over a plant?"

Phoebe crossed her arms. "Not just any plant. A Limpopo fly trap—and these lunatics want to feed it things that are not flies."

Max smirked, tossing an apple in the air. "Relax, Phoebe. We're just helping Fernando reach his full potential."

"His name is Trevor," Phoebe snapped.

Billy grinned. "I still like Paul."

Nora waved her hand. "I'm sticking with Fernando."

Phoebe groaned, rubbing her temples. "Whatever his name is, you cannot feed him random stuff. He's on a strict diet."

Max raised an eyebrow. "Oh, come on. You expect us to just ignore the fact that we have a carnivorous plant sitting in our house? Where's the fun in that?"

Melanie lifted her head slightly, her voice muffled by the pillow. "Maybe the fun is in not getting grounded when your mom finds out you mutated her houseplant into a monster."

Max turned to her with a smirk. "Oh, hey, Sleeping Beauty lives."

Melanie rolled onto her back, giving him a look. "Barely."

She yawned, stretching her sore arms before settling back down. She didn't have the energy to argue. If Max wanted to turn Trevor/Fernando/Paul into a science experiment, that was his problem.

Billy suddenly gasped. "Ooooh! What if we feed it super food? Like... chili cheese fries?"

Nora grinned. "Or a cookie! Cookies make me feel unstoppable!"

Phoebe's eyes widened in horror. "You are not feeding it a cookie—"

Max, of course, was already tossing a piece of crust toward the plant.

Melanie groaned, draping an arm over her face. "You guys are gonna get eaten."

The plant snapped its jaws around the food.

Silence.

Then—a deep, satisfied gurgle.

Everyone froze.

Melanie cracked an eye open. "Okay... was that normal?"

Phoebe's face paled. "Nope."

Max's smirk faltered. "...Cool."

Trevor/Fernando/Paul twitched.

And that's when everything started going downhill.

Melanie sighed, pushing herself up from the couch with a tired groan. She rubbed her eyes, barely able to process the chaos unfolding in front of her.

"Okay," she said, her voice groggy but serious. "This is a terrible idea."

Max turned to her, looking insulted. "You say that about all my ideas."

Melanie raised an eyebrow. "That's because all your ideas are terrible."

Phoebe crossed her arms. "For once, I agree with Melanie. Max, we have no idea what's actually going to happen if you keep feeding it random stuff!"

The plant twitched again, its green tendrils shivering like it was digesting something.

Nora's eyes lit up. "What if it gets bigger? Like huge? That would be so cool!"

Billy clapped his hands together. "We could ride it!"

Melanie let out a sharp laugh, shaking her head. "Oh yeah, great idea. Let's just train the mutant man-eating plant and take it for walks in the park!"

Max smirked. "See? That's the kind of outside-the-box thinking I like."

Melanie shot him a glare. "That was sarcasm."

Phoebe groaned, rubbing her temples. "Max, seriously, stop messing with it. You have no idea how dangerous this thing could get."

Max rolled his eyes, stepping toward the plant. "Oh, come on, it's just a little plant. What's the worst that can—"

The plant suddenly lunged, snapping its jaws violently at Max's fingers.

He yelped, stumbling backward. "Okay, rude!"

Melanie threw her hands up. "Oh yeah, totally harmless."

Nora and Billy burst into laughter, clearly way too entertained by this.

"Feed it more!" Billy cheered.

Phoebe grabbed the plant's pot and yanked it away from Max. "No one is feeding it anything else! We are done with this!"

Melanie crossed her arms. "Finally, the voice of reason."

Max scoffed. "Oh, please. You're just mad you didn't get to watch it grow into a super cool monster."

Melanie shot him a deadpan look. "Max. We work at Wong's. I already deal with one terrifying boss. I do not need a killer plant trying to eat my face when I get home."

The plant twitched again. A low, eerie gurgle rumbled from its stem.

Melanie's stomach dropped. "...That's not normal, is it?"

The plant twitched again—only this time, it grew.

Just a little.

But it was enough.

Everyone froze.

Billy's eyes widened. "Uh... did anyone else see that?"

Nora gasped. "Fernando just leveled up!"

Phoebe turned to Max, her voice sharp. "What did you do?"

Max gulped. "...Okay. Maybe you guys were onto something."

Melanie groaned, burying her face in her hands. "Oh my gosh, I told you this was a bad idea."

☆

Melanie lay sprawled on the couch, her head resting on a throw pillow, her limbs feeling like they weighed a hundred pounds each. She had barely walked through the door from her shift before collapsing, but the sheer chaos in the room kept her from slipping into the nap she so desperately needed.

"You guys are so loud," she groaned, rubbing her temples. "What even is happening?"

Max smirked. "Just a little science experiment."

Melanie cracked an eye open, noticing Phoebe's death glare directed at her brother, while Billy and Nora hovered over a suspicious-looking plant with wide, excited grins.

"...I already hate this," Melanie muttered.

Phoebe crossed her arms. "Max dragged Billy and Nora into one of his schemes—again."

Max feigned innocence. "'Dragged' is a strong word."

Nora raised a hand. "He bribed us with snacks."

Billy nodded. "It totally worked."

Melanie sighed, sitting up and rubbing her tired eyes. "Look, I don't know what exactly is happening, but if Max is involved, it's probably a bad idea."

Max scoffed. "Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence."

Before anyone could argue further, the alarm sounded, signaling an incoming call.

"Alert. Alert. Parental transmission."

Phoebe's eyes widened. "Oh, no—mom and dad!"

Max bolted to the communicator. "Act natural! Everyone, look responsible!"

Billy and Nora immediately stood at attention, straightening their clothes. Melanie groaned but sat up, at least trying to look presentable.

The screen flickered on, revealing Hank and Barb smiling at them.

"Hi, kids!" Barb greeted.

"Hey, Mom! Hey, Dad!" the kids said in unison, all of them way too enthusiastic.

Hank narrowed his eyes. "We're just checking in. How's