The New Neighbor

Chapter 10: Sunshine and Gray Skies

 Chapter 10: Sunshine and Gray Skies

The band was practicing on Sunday. When Mellie arrived for her visit, Rebecca, Marissa, and Claire were already there. Everyone looked so happy. The band took a break. Jax went to Mellie, wrapped her in a hug, and kissed her before telling her, "I missed you."

She grinned and said, "You just saw me last night, Jax."

"Yeah, and I've been missing you since we said good night." He smiled back. She let out a little laugh and hugged him close.

Everyone was smiling at them. Claire laughed and said, "You two are just too cute."

Mellie smiled and asked, "What did you all do yesterday? I think that must have been the first Saturday with no practice since..." She thought about it. "Well, the last time you cancelled it because of me."

Ryan smiled at her and said, "Yeah, we all took the opportunity to spend the day with our girls." He put his arm around Marissa who smiled at him.

As Mellie looked around, it definitely looked like all the couples had stayed together after their first date. She asked Marissa, "What did you two do?"

Smiling, Marissa said, "Ryan came over to my house, and we spent the day together. We went out to dinner last night too. It was great."

Ryan nodded in agreement.

Mellie looked to Rebecca.

Rebecca said, "I went over to Eric's and played video games. We went to dinner as well."

Eric grinned and said, "She kicked my ass on some of those games." He looked thrilled by that, and everyone laughed.

When Mellie looked at Claire, Claire said, "We spent the day making out and went to see a band last night."

Keyon grinned.

Everyone laughed softly, and Mellie asked, "You spent the entire day making out?"

Claire shrugged and said, "Mostly." Keyon grinned even more and put his arm around her shoulders. Claire playfully bumped him but didn't shake him off.

By the look on Keyon's face, Mellie guessed that a bit more than making out had gone on, but she didn't press for details. Instead, she asked, "So are you all going to keep dating then?" Looks were exchanged between the couples, followed by nods and smiles.

School was so much more exciting and fun for Mellie. Jax held her hand when they walked in the halls, hugged her, and even gave her little kisses. It felt really good and made Mellie look forward to each day, feeling almost giddy as she rushed to the classes she shared with Jax.

Ryan often tickled and hugged Marissa in school, making her giggle. She smiled, laughed, and generally looked really happy. It was a far cry from the Marissa Mellie had originally seen. One day when they were walking alone, Mellie asked Marissa, "Did you used to be this happy and bubbly all the time? You being a cheerleader makes more sense to me now."

Marissa laughed and shook her head. "I was never this happy when I was dating Jake. I pretended to be, but now I'm actually genuinely happy. I don't think I was as successful at pretending as I thought I was. Jake asked me the other day if I was on drugs." She laughed and shook her head. "I prefer it when he just gives me nasty looks. I don't like him talking to me."

Mellie frowned and asked, "Does he give you nasty looks often?"

Marissa nodded but smiled. "I don't care. I don't let it bother me. Come on." She had spotted the guys and skipped ahead to give Ryan a hug.