Melody's Muse ✓

33. Growing up

Cole

Well that's one way to leave a guy hanging.

I wonder what the girl is up to. She's been full of surprises lately. I slowly walk through the halls to kill the next five minutes, taking mental snapshots of the place. Despite the constant jokes I'd make about the ridiculousness of the penthouse, I'm going to miss it.

The abundance of chandeliers, weird abstract paintings and sculptures on display, long halls that echo so much you'd think we were in a cave, and Melody's mismatched décor all over the place. She's told me about her home back in LA, it somehow sounds even more extravagant than this place.

I'm already dreading having to be apart for god knows how long after she flies back to LA. With all of this week's chaos, we still haven't had time to figure out how we're going to do things.

As Melody would say, uncertainty is scary.

I nearly choke on my next sip of champagne when someone comes up and enthusiastically pats me on the back.

"Cole, there you are! We're so happy for you two!" Ophelia gushes. I turn to see her friends approaching from around the corner.

"T-thanks Ophelia," I manage to sputter through my coughs.

Mei makes her way past Ophelia and steps uncomfortably close to me. She's so small she practically has to look straight up at me from that angle. She crosses her arms, making all of her bracelets clank loudly against each other and narrows her eyes at me. "But if you hurt Melody..."

I raise my hands innocently. Why is everyone so protective of Melody? I feel like no one realizes how strong she really is underneath her outer sweet and gentle demeanor.

Not that I'd ever do anything to hurt her.

I take a cautious step backwards. "You don't need to worry about that, Mei. I care about Melody, so much. Anyone who wants to hurt her will have to go through me first."

The corner of Mei's lips twitches as she tries not to smile and break her stern glare.

We suddenly hear some microphone feedback and muffled speaking. Everyone in the area looks at each other curiously and heads towards the noise.

We shuffle through the crowd in the living room. Despite how massive the penthouse is, there definitely isn't enough space for everyone to comfortably cram into one room. Everyone is gathered by the piano, or watching from behind the glass railings up on the second floor. The lights have been dimmed, except for the chandelier that hangs above the piano.

I barely notice all of that though.

Have you ever met someone that was sunshine in human form?

Melody is standing in front of the piano, and I'm finding it difficult to take my eyes off of her.  Through my eyes, it's as if she's glowing. She's changed into a fancy looking dress. It looks just like the one she was wearing on the first night we met, except this one is glittery with extra jewels. There's also much more fabric at the bottom, making it look longer and more dramatic. It's like she's a butterfly who has finally gone through its transformation.

Ophelia and I manage to find an empty space by the wall near the living room's entrance. Luckily, we're both tall enough to see over the heads of Melody's relatives standing in front of us.

"Any idea what's happening?" Ophelia leans over and whispers.

"No clue."

Melody lightly taps the microphone she's holding and the quiet chatter in the room dies down. I can't believe the same girl who used me as a human shield is about to willingly speak in front of all these people.