The New Neighbor

Chapter 15: New Growth

When Mellie's alarm clock went off, Jax rushed across the street to grab a shower before school. He returned for breakfast, and they drove in together. In homeroom, Jake smiled at Mellie as usual, and she smiled back. He didn't approach her table at lunch. On Wednesday, Mellie got to homeroom a few minutes early. Jake walked in and headed for her. He squatted by her desk and said, "Hey, Mellie."

She gave him a little smile and said, "Hi, Jake."

"Is everything okay?"

"Sure. Why wouldn't it be?"

He shrugged a bit. "After what happened Monday, I was concerned you and Jax might get in a fight."

Mellie immediately translated that in her head: he hoped they had gotten into a fight. She smiled and said, "Oh. No. Everything is great."

That seemed to puzzle him. "You sure?"

"Uh huh." She nodded.

He smiled and said, "Well, good. That's great." She smiled back. He stood up and walked over to his usual desk just seconds before Ryan and Marissa walked into the room holding hands.

That night, Frank asked Mellie, "What do you want to do for your birthday, Petunia Blossom?"

Mellie shrugged. "Have Jax to dinner?"

Frank shook his head. "Come on. This is a big one. You're turning eighteen. What about a party?"

Mellie looked at him with skepticism and confusion. "I'm turning eighteen. I'm not turning into another person."

He chuckled. "Smart ass. You used to love the birthday parties your mom threw."

"That was before I had an aversion to crowds and noise."

"But you haven't had a headache in thirteen weeks, Mellie. That's over three months. We're counting in months now."

Mellie smiled. "That's true, and I am immensely grateful. If I had known Jax was the cure, I would have pulled him into my room the day we moved in." Frank chuckled. "I hardly think my birthday is the day to experiment and throw me into a big loud crowd."

Frank nodded. "Maybe you should go listen to the band practice for a lengthy period of time. If your head starts to hurt at all, get the heck out. If not, try going to one of Jax's gigs. We've got almost two weeks before your birthday."

"Don't you need at least that much time to plan a party and invite people?"

"Not necessarily. We can tell people we're tentatively planning something and send out mass text messages the day before."

"What about food and stuff?"

"You let me worry about all that, Mellie. Go over to Jax's right after you get home tomorrow and stay until dinner, which we'll move to nine. That way you can stay until the end if you feel good. Let me know what happens. Doesn't Jax have something going this Saturday?"

"Yeah, but it's a private party."

"Ask him if he can get you in."

She thought about it for a moment and nodded. "Okay. I'll ask."

When Mellie told Jax about the tests that night, he was thrilled. He said he could definitely get her into the party. They would bring Marissa as well, so she could drive Mellie home if a headache started and made her unable to drive. She went to the band practice and thoroughly enjoyed herself without any ill effects.

The party made her uncomfortable, but it didn't cause a headache. Jax had Mellie and Marissa stand behind the band, which was playing out in a large backyard. It wasn't as loud in that spot because the speakers were pointed the other way. The amount of strangers in the place was getting to Mellie. She was all right until they became clearly intoxicated. A few guys tried to talk to the girls. Marissa shielded Mellie from them pretty well, but eventually Mellie asked to go home. They waited for the current song to end, and Mellie told Jax what was going on, assuring him she hadn't gotten a headache. He smiled, nodded, and said he would see her later that night.