Ninjutsu and Older Brothers

"Oh Melanie Melanie Melanie," Heaven sighs sadly, jumping over the back of the couch and settling next to her friend, "What am I going to do with you?"

"Shut up," Melanie waved a hand to shush her, "Sasuke is about to come on."

"It is invariably sad that you know when his character is going to pop up on screen," Heaven comments with a grin, picking dirt from under a finger nail.

"I seem to remember that time we went to the Yugi-Oh movie and you quoted the whole thing," Melanie says evenly.

"Dude, I can quote just about anything, you know this."

"It was opening day, and you hadn't seen it yet!" Melanie throws her hands up in exasperation, since a commercial is on. Besides, Heaven is tenacious, there's really no ignoring her.

"I saw the Jap bootleg, though," Heaven says sagely. Melanie nods, because that is almost just as good. Usually the translations are pretty exact.

"Did you come alone?" Melanie looks over the back of the couch and her friend gives a snort.

"Ryan dropped me off, so you can stop staring at the living room like he's found and invisibility cloak."

"Ryan with an invisibility cloak would be hot," Melanie says wistfully.

"Whatever," Heaven says wrinkling her nose at the thought of her older brother. "He'd totally abuse the priviledge."

"I know something he could--" Melanie starts with a wretched little grin. Heaven smacks her in the face with a decorative pillow lying on the couch.

"Finish that sentance and I will unplug your cable box. You know that shit takes an hour to recalibrate," Heaven says smugly. Melanie wisely stops talking, because Sasuke.

"You're mean," she pouts instead and pushes Heaven off the couch. The joke is really on her, though, since Heaven knocks her funny bone against the edge of the table and then bitches about it loudly for the next twenty minutes.

"You're the worst cartoon watching buddy ever," Melanie huffs indignantly when the credits are rolling.

"Dude," Heaven says, "You just can't appreciate how awesome I am."

"Whatever," she says, sticking her tongue out and rolling her eyes.

[X]

The thing about Ryan is that he's totally and completely adorable. But in an asshole kind of way. And Melanie knows that its a bad idea to like him, because he hangs out with Pete Wentz. And everyone who hangs out with Pete Wentz is bound to be just a little bit of a douche. (Except for Patrick, but that's a whole seperate matter, that involves Heaven and alot of drooling in sixth grade. It was ridiculous.)

Ryan is also, sadly, two years older than her and her best friend's older brother. The universe is obviously against her and Ryan dating, right, since he still ruffles her hair and calls her kid. Melanie is not a kid. She's turning sixteen in two weeks and it will be awesome. (She totally keeps imagining herself in a John Hughes movie. It's epic in her head.)

"Hey," Ryan says in that damn adorable monotone, walking into the kitchen. They're at Heaven's house today and Melanie refrains herself from choking on her sip of Sierra Mist. Over Ryan's shoulder Heaven is making caterpiller eyebrows and humping motions. Melanie's face is heating up and Ryan has his head cocked to the side, staring at her. She coughs for something to do.

"Hi," she squeaks back, waves and coughs again. Ryan ruffles her hair fondly and side steps her get to the fridge. Heaven snorts and busies herself in the pantry when Ryan shoots her a look.

"I'll make mac n cheese if you tell Brendon to stop hiding behind the house and come in," Heaven says with an eyeroll.

"Alright," Ryan allows in his voice, "Spencer's out there too."

"Of course he is," Heaven mutters, "Tell them if they come in smelling of pot and talking about Jon Walker I will kill them both."

Ryan makes a face and marches into the living room. He comes back a minute later and walks out the back door with a can of Frebreeze. Melanie and she crowd at the window in the door just in time to see Ryan spray Brendon down. Brendon flails and little and shouts "what the hell man!". Spencer takes it in stride because he's Spencer Smith and he's known Ryan since he was five. And that really just explains everything.

Heaven sets the water on to boil while Melanie pulls out a bag of cookies and sets them on the counter. When Heaven and Ryan's mom aren't home they always concregate around the kitchen cabinets and eat in there. Their mom is rarely home. When the three finally come through the door they smell like the had a run in with fabric cleaner, but its better than the skunk smell Heaven swears pot smells like.

"Hey Melanie," Spencer greets her. They fist bump, because they're lame like that. They've all been friends for far too long. Well, except for Brendon. Brendon is a new addition to the group. He's seventeen, and sweet and his parents kicked him out for leaving the church. He's been living out of his car.

"Sup guys," Melanie asks, and Ryan makes a face at her.

"Dude, no one says SUP anymore," Ryan monotones.

"Dude," Melanie mocks, "No one says dude anymore."

They're going to get in one of their famous, ridiculous arguements where the come backs keep getting stupider. Heaven can tell.

"You're both real hip," Heaven says with an emphasis on real. She hip checks Ryan out of the way and pours the noodles into the water. Stirring it to make sure it doesn't stick she turns and waves her wet spoon at them.

"Take the stupidity to the living room where I don't have to hear it."

"Fine," Melanie says, "Come on Ryan, the living room appreciates our stupidity."

"It totally does," Ryan agrees, "That's why we get to pick the movie."

"Not Moulin Rouge!" Heaven shouts after them, "Or anything with subtitles!"

Ryan starts flicking through their movies. Finally he pulls out a case and waves it. It's The Audition, a totally gory movie in Japanese. Melanie nods her consent because Heaven is completely squeamish and she owes her for the fake spider in her locker. Spencer watches them both cooly from the couch, arms folded.

"She's going to murder you both," he says. "And probably spit in your macaroni."

"Shut up," Melanie says, "She's got more class than that."

"She's a Ross," Spencer says with an eyebrow cocked.

Melanie pauses to think about it for a second, and then nods, "Yeah, that's totally true."

"Hey!" Ryan protests but there's no inflection in his voice so they both burst out laughing at him.

In the kitchen Melanie can hear Heaven whispering to Brendon and she looks at the door briefly before settling her gaze on Ryan. He's a little crazy when it comes to guys talking to his sister, and Brendon is new enough in the group that she worries about how Ryan will take it. Ryan's face is carrying this thunderous frown, but he shakes if off after Spencer flashes his bitch face.

When Brendon and Heaven bring out bowls for each of them he studies them both curiously for a minute. Heaven gives this shake of her head that states clearly "don't fuck with me" and Ryan leaves it alone. Melanie watches him for a minute, before turning back to the tv. She really doesn't want to get caught staring. She can't help but watch his reflection in the tv screen, anyway.

[X]

Melanie is halfway home when the sky opens and rain starts pouring. She mutters under her breath and pulls her hood up, digging her hands deep into her pockets in the hopes of protecting her iPod. A car pulls up beside her in the silence that taking out headphones always causes. She startles before bending down to look in the passenger window.

"Get in!" Ryan shouts over the pounding of the rain and she doesn't have to be told twice.

She's soaked and shivering already and wonders where the nasty weather came from. It had been nice not even half an hour ago.

"What are you doing out walking?" Ryan asks, cranking the heat up and turning on the defroster.

"Heaven stayed after," Melanie shrugs, not bothering to add the 'with Brendon'. She's not in that arguement.

"You could have taken the bus," Ryan says stoically.

"The bus can suck my ninjutsu," Melanie says, folding her arms unhappily. The bus smells funny and they driver checks her chest out in his rearview mirror.

Ryan just laughs.

"You hungry?" He asks as they near a Taco Bell, and she's not really, but she nods anyway because she's alone with Ryan. And he's offering to buy her food.

He pulls in and they climb out and run for the doors. Melanie screams for the hell of it and Ryan runs after her laughing. They try to shake most of the rain off in the first part of the entry way, before stepping through the second and into the line. It's colder in the restraunt that it is outside and Melanie shivers in the cold air.

Ryan wraps an arm around her shoulder and pulls her into his side, "So, what do you want?"

"Umm, a triple layer nacho," she says decisively and then nods because yeah, that sounds kind of really good now that she thinks about it.

"Okay," Ryan says and they step forward and he orders for them both. They fold into a booth and Melanie looks on in wonder as Ryan starts eating.

"Four tacos and a nacho, really Ryan?" Melanie says with a grin.

"I'm a growing boy," Ryan says with a shrug and she snorts.

"Dude, the only growing you do is vertically."

"Whatever," Ryan says taking a huge bite out of a taco. He chews loudly with an annoying look on his face. Melanie laughs, popping the top off her nacho and taking a bite of a chip.

They're joking about starting a Fight Club when Pete Wentz slides into their booth. Joe, Travis, Ashlee, and Brittney slide in as well and all of a sudden she's pressed on the edge of her seat to make room for these kids that she doesn't know very well, or doesn't like. She gets up to dump her trash and they've spread out and there's no room for her.

"Ryan," she says, trying to talk over the others, but he's not paying her any attention, "Ryan? I'll see you later." He doesn't acknowledge that she's leaving, too busy talking to Brittney. She stalks out of Taco Bell and pulls her bag out of his car, grateful that it's stopped raining. She kicks the passenger side door closed and then kicks it again because she's that angry and starts to walk home.

She pulls her cell phone out of her pocket and calls Heaven. Heaven answers on the second ring. "Your brother is an asshole," Melanie says, and since Heaven's house is closer she turns and heads that way.

"What has he done now?" Heaven asks with a sigh.

"Your stupid brother took me to Taco Bell and then ditched me!" Melanie complains, storming into Heaven's living room.

Heaven is curled around Brendon on the couch and they jump apart guiltily, her face blushing. "Uh, hi?" Heaven says, clicking her phone shut and ending the call. "I'm really sorry Ryan ditched you," Heaven says, "But maybe that's for the best? I mean, I love Ryan, he's my favorite brother--"

"He's your only brother," Melanie says wryly.

Heaven waves the statement away, "But he's a kind of a jerk. He cares too much about what other people think and not enough about what he wants."

"Yeah, I saw that," Melanie says, thinking back to the way Ryan was smiling at Brittney. He always changes when Pete brings his crowd around. "So, you and Brendon, huh?"

Heaven shades darker and her and Brendon share a look. "Kind of?" she says while Brendon says, "Yes?"

"You don't sound very sure," Melanie teases and they both look down before grinning at each other.

"It's a new thing," Heaven says and Brendon grins wide at her. "Just, don't tell Ryan, okay? You know how he gets."

Yeah, Melanie knows exactly how Ryan gets.