—

It didn't take long for the sound of footsteps to appear behind Mel, echoing throughout the nearly empty hall. And by the pace at which they were moving, slow and calculated, she knew it was Montgomery.

Though she didn't want to, she stopped to face him.

"Is he okay?"

He got straight to the point.

Monty didn't even bother to complain about what the student honor board decided for him. Based on how bad the fight was, Melanie could only assume that he had gotten suspended and Alex got let off with a warning.

Completely unfair given who actually started the fight. At least Melanie thought so. It's not like she was surprised, though; this school wasn't popularly known for being fair.

"He looks a lot better than he did yesterday." She stated simply. Which was true. After spending the day cleaning up all the blood, Melanie and Mattias quickly came to the realization that his father hadn't bruised his face nearly as much as they thought.

He had a cut in the center of his nose, which was sure to scar, a large bruise on his jaw, and a black eye. Melanie thought it couldn't get any worse than that, but Matti assured her that he had gotten lucky, not bothering to mention that the bruising on his stomach had started to form.

Melanie nearly called the police, hesitating the second Matti asked her not to. Truthfully, if he hadn't mentioned how Estela would never forgive him for "causing more problems," Melanie would've shoved him into a chair and told him to shut up.

Unfortunately, though, she realized that she would only be causing more problems for them, as the police had previously been an option for the De La Cruz siblings, at least until they realized that they didn't actually care.

Monty nodded, jaw clenching as he hesitated to say his next words, "Will you tell him Estela's okay and misses him?

Mattias hadn't been using his phone much since that night.

She gave a slow nod, "Of course."

"Tell him I'm fine too?"

"Sure."

Monty would've asked her to not mention how he had gotten suspended for fighting, knowing this would stress his little brother out, but he figured she'd mention it if he asked.

"Cool." He went to walk away, her voice stopping him.

"Do you want me to tell him that you miss him too?"

Monty hesitated, glancing around the hall to assure no one was near before he nodded towards the girl. She gave a closed-lip smile back, watching as he went to leave, only to stop short. Again.

"Don't make it seem like I'm obsessed with him, or some shit."

Mel blinked, raising an unimpressed brow. "Got it."

"I don't actually care. Just don't want to look like an asshole if word gets out that I don't miss my brother."

Melanie didn't know if Monty was dense—actually she knew he wasn't too bright, but one would assume that beating people up for your sibling showed that you cared about them in some way.

She wasn't too sure why he pretended his younger siblings weren't, essentially, his whole world. It's not like he had a girlfriend or good parents to care about. She wouldn't question him on the lack of affection he showed towards Mattias, only assuming it had something to do with their upbringing.

She had heard enough about their father to gather that he was the reason Monty wouldn't outwardly show he loved his little brother.

But if Melanie Dempsey was one thing, it was observant. And the look Monty held in his eyes was enough for her to know how he truly felt.

•••

Mattias' huff had been the only thing he'd heard for the last two hours, aside from the occasional chirping of a bird or a car passing by the house. And to say he was going crazy would be an understatement. The guy was losing his mind.

Contrary to how he presented himself, calm and quiet, Mattias was used to a chaotic lifestyle. Whether it be the constant sound of his family's vvoicesr the chattering of his peers, he was used to everything around him being loud and moving.

So, as he sat in Melanie's bedroom, door closed and TTVoff, he was convinced he was nearing death.

Sure, he could've turneded the television on so he wasn'sittingitting in complete silence, but even that he wasn't used to. The oTVsTVs in his house were in his parent's bedroom and in the living room. And he wouldn't be caught dead in either of those rooms while his father was home. Which was literally eevery day.

Matti never understood how the man still had a job if he never went.

His eyes flickered over to the desk that sat in front of the window. As he stood, he noticed how clean it was, aside from the large book and papers lying haphazardly on it.

As he grew closer, he realized it wasn't just messily stacked papers.

Face down were photos of Melanie and Scott throughout their relationship.

With the kiss the two shared being fresh on his mind, his heart couldn't help but clench at the sight of what he remembered as the happiest couple at Liberty High.

A part of him wanted to respect Melanie's privacy, but the other part was far too curious for his own good. He wasn't naturally like this, invadingpeople's's space, but the large scrapbook stared him in the face.

Seconds after opening it, he wished he didn't.

The first page was a clear photo of Melanie, HannahBaker,r, and Jessica Davis. All threegirls ares are smiling brightly at the camera, Jessica having just a speck of whatassumessumes was hot chocolate on her top lip.

—

The sound of giggles filled the usually calm atmosphere known as Monet's Café.

Many people sendcurious looks over to the table in the middle of the room, others being annoyed that their peace was being ruined. But Mel, Hannah, and Jessica didn't care; they were having far too juicy of a gossip session to be bothered by anyone else.

"I mean, I personally couldn't see myself sleeping with someone like Bryce Walker, but to each their own, I guess." Jessica chuckled at the end of her sentence.

Hannah raised a brow, her tone suddenly turning serious. "Really?"

Mel frowned."Why do you sound so serious?"

"I don't know." She shrugged, avoiding the gaze of her friends as she stared down at the drink in front of her, "He's cute, don't you think?"

Melanie snorted before she could stop herself, "Mattias De La Cruz is cute. Hell, Clay Jensen is cute. But Bryce?"

"Nothing's really cute about him." Jessica added on, "Unless you find being a senior two years in a row attractive."

She and Melanie laughed in unison, Hannah not being able to hold back the laugh that escaped her lips.

"Wait." She suddenly lifted a hand, looking towards the Dempsey teen, "I thought you had a boyfriend?"

Melanie gave a limp shrug. "Scott and I are on the rocks."

"Oh, I'm sorry." Jessica rubbed her shoulder.

"It's whatever." She brushed the thought off, reaching into her bag and pulling out her digital camera. "Hey, let's take a picture."

"Oh, my God. Yes!" Hannah perked up.

Jessica hummed loudly, moving her cup from her face, quickly swallowing the hot chocolate before smiling into the camera.

The trio waited a few seconds for the photo to develop.

While Hannah and Melanie admired the picture, Jessica couldn't help but gasp, her finger smacking onto the flimsy sheet to point out the hot chocolate on her top lip.

"You could've warned me!"

—
A/N: it's been a while...
so sorry for the lack of posts. i haven't been motivated 😭,😭 but i think i'mback!!