Friday Barnes one shots

Bash the pumpkin

I wanted to write a sweet Melanie and Ian one because they're best friends too and there aren't enough times where they have little moments together.
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Melanie sat silently in the back of the wardrobe.

Light cracked in through the gap between the wooden doors giving her just enough light to see the stains on her blouse.

Stains from her tears.

She heard someone walking towards her, and she tried to push herself further back into the corner.

The left door opened and Melanie saw a pair of pants.

The person bent down.

"Hey Melly Pelly." Ian said gently, cocking his head to the side slightly. "Not holding up to well?"

Melanie shook her head, and let Ian pull her out of the wardrobe.

"It's ok. He's a jack ass, and he made a mistake giving up like that." Ian said.

He took the glass from her night stand and wandered into the bathroom to fill it with water from the tap.

He came back out and handed the glass to her.

She sipped from it slowly, trying to stop hiccuping.

Ian crouched down. "Mel, sweetheart, is there anything I can get you? Anything you think will make you feel better?"

She shook her head.

What she really wanted was Friday, but the busy body brunette was in a small town that was over an hours drive away, helping Uncle Bernie with some stuff.

All she had was Ian.

No. That was mean.

Ian had done nothing but help her. It wasn't his fault she had been dumped.

Ian stood up after their silence stretched on for longer than a minute. "I'll be back in a sec."

He ran from the room.

Melanie's heart somehow sank even more.

She had been cold to Ian. Now even he didn't want to be around her.

Melanie put the glass on the night stand and fell back, her head hitting the pillow.

She wanted to fall asleep, but the more she wanted to, the harder the task seemed to become.

She had spent a full 20 minutes lying on the bed when someone walked in.

"Mel."

Melanie sat up and watched Ian grab her coat and shoes.

"Come on. I have something for you." He said, tossing the coat to her.

She pulled it on. "What is it."

Ian went back over to the door, "a surprise. Come, and I'll show you."

Melanie pulled on her shoes and went after him.

They made their way down to a large patch of grass.

Ian shut the door behind her.

"Here." He said, handing her a baseball bat.

Melanie frowned. "I seriously hope your solution isn't playing baseball."

Ian laughed. "No."

He put his arm over her shoulders and turned her slightly.

"You see that pumpkin?" He pointed to a lonely pumpkin on the lawn very close to them. "Smash it."

Melanie looked at him.

"Because violence heals a broken heart." She said sceptically.

"No, but it's good fun." He responded, rocking on his toes, hands in his pockets.

When she didn't move he pulled her over. "Come on Mel. You may as well try. It's therapeutic."

"Do this often do you?" She said.

Ian nodded. "All. The. Time."

Melanie rolled her eyes.

"What is it with boys and smashing things?" She muttered, lifting the the baseball bat and smashing it down on the pumpkin.

It cracked down the middle with a satisfying thud.

"Oh, that's quite enjoyable." She said, smacking the pumpkin again.

She hit it over and over until it was nothing more than mush.

"Feel better?" Ian asked after a moment.

He had stepped well out of the way after she got the hang of it, and was only now deciding it was safe for him to come over.

Melanie nodded. "Yeah. You got any more of these?"

Ian laughed. "No, sorry. That was the last one."

She handed him the bat and he rested it against the wall.

"Ready to go back?" He said.

Melanie nodded.

They began to make their way back across the lawn.

"Where did you get a pumpkin?" She asked after a moment.

Ian chuckled to himself, a large smirk falling into place.

"Mum's veggie patch."