A/N: Hope you guys like it! This chapter is more of a bonding chapter between Mel, Ray, and Timmy and Mel, Morgan, and Ashley.
The next school day went by uneventfully. No random people showed up in the middle of study hall and nothing was out of the ordinary. All day, Melissa, Morgan, and Ashley chatted excitedly about their girls' afternoon out that would occur soon after school.
During science, Melissa felt like she was in a dream because while Ashley talked to another girl about clingy habits that made girls unattractive, she, Ray, and Timmy talked all about sports. The science teacher had taken the day off, so they had a pretty much free period.
"Really?" Melissa said. "I think Allen is way past his prime," she continued, referring to the Boston Celtics guard. "Now, Kobe, on the other hand, is a different story," she finished, speaking of the Los Angeles Lakers' future Hall of Fame point guard. You could clearly tell who bled green and who bled purple and gold.
"You guys are both wrong!" Timmy jumped in. "Derrick Rose is way better than both of them combined," he said proudly. Derrick Rose was the young guard on the Chicago Bulls.
"You just think so because they made it to the semi-finals this year. In case you haven't noticed, the Celtics have won the most championship rings," Ray shot back.
"And the Lakers have won the past three titles," Melissa added, the debate starting to heat up as the rest of the class turned to watch and listen. Well, most of the girls didn't know what it meant, but they still watched.
"Which means they both are past their prime and the Bulls are about to jump into the spotlight by winning the next four championships!" Timmy said.
"Oh yeah?" Melissa asked, exchanging glances with Ray. They knew they had him nailed with the next statement because they already knew the answer.
"Yeah!" Timmy yelled.
"Then who won last night and by how much?" Ray asked. The Miami Heat and the Bulls had played last night, but it was late when the game had started.
"One moment," Timmy said haughtily as he took out his phone. Melissa and Ray watched his triumphant face drop as he read. "Okay, let's not count this game because it's a four-out-of-seven series," he said as he looked back up into laughing faces.
"How about those Mets?" Ray asked, changing the subject to baseball.
"Don't even tell me you like the Mets!" Melissa spoke up at the same time Timmy did.
"Really? The Mets?" Timmy had said. Most of the class went by like that and the rest of the class was very amused when Timmy tried to prove his point by using a chair as a tennis racket and taking himself out, along with some of the window. They also got a nice laugh when Melissa and Ray reenacted Kemba Walker's twisting lay-up against Arizona during the Elite Eight.
So now, back to the present, Ray and Timmy had just dropped Melissa off at the room she and Brandon shared. Yes, both of them walked with her because they were still continuing the debate.
Melissa laughed to herself as she heard Ray and Timmy's arguing voices fading. Sports was one of the things that could make her happy by just mentioning them and she was genuinely happy for the first time in a while, besides when Brandon kissed her last night, of course. She was doubly excited for tomorrow because Ray and Timmy had invited her to play a pick-up game of two-on-two with them in the gym. And Timmy had insisted that Brandon be on his team because he was the tallest and Timmy was the shortest. She couldn't wait! But, right now she had to get ready to go. Ashley had said to meet her and Morgan in ten minutes. She walked into her room and grabbed her cell phone off of her dresser along with the credit card the academy provided her with. She grabbed Brandon's jacket, which he had given her free reign over, off her closet door. She grabbed a banana from the refrigerator and munched on it while she watched the closing minutes of her favorite television show. She threw the peel away, into the garbage, and headed out the door to meet up with her friends.
"Hey, are you girls ready to go?" Melissa asked with a smile as she approached Ashley and Morgan, who were waiting for her near the end of the hall, just outside Timmy's room.
"Are you kidding?" Ashley asked teasingly.
"Obviously!" Morgan grinned as she held up her own credit card and phone. Melissa followed her friends down the hallway and noticed that they, too, were wearing jackets. She smiled to herself. Ray and Timmy really did have hearts of gold, just like Brandon.
About three hours of 'Oh, try this on!' 'How does this look on me?' "This doesn't have a pocket for my phone!' later, the three girls were sitting together in the food court, munching on slices of pizza and chatting. Melissa began to blush as the subject changed to the three boys.
"So, it's obvious you and Ray don't want to have an actual relationship, but you guys seem pretty friendly with each other. What's going on?" Ashley asked as she looked at Morgan.
"I told you guys! I'm being one hundred percent honest when I say that we both agree we don't want to have a relationship any farther than friends. And that is final!" Morgan ended her rant as she banged her fist on the table. "But we did it last night," she added in a barely audible voice.
"I knew it!" Ashley said triumphantly.
"But there are no feelings! He didn't want me to get hurt even more and I didn't want him to get in trouble. I'm sure Timmy told you about what happens if you don't-"
"Stop!" Ashley cut her off, not wanting to hear the details again. "Alright, I give, but you have to admit, he is still hot."
"Fine, I will agree to that," Morgan smiled.
"What about you and Timmy, Ash?" Melissa asked, jumping into the conversation.
"Um, well, you see, we did it the first night because after Timmy explained everything to me, I was terrified and wanted to make sure it didn't happen," Ashley responded with a small smile. Melissa nodded before noticing Morgan's eyes on her.
"What?" she asked the dark-haired girl curiously, although a part of her wanted no part of what was about to come out of Morgan's mouth.
"You and Brandon. Obviously, you are more than friends…wow, we use the word obviously a lot, but back to the topic at hand… you guys are more than friends. What's been happening with you guys?" Morgan asked.
"Well, last night, we…we kissed a few times and it was the most amazing first kiss ever. But we haven't gone any farther than that. I think he's afraid he is going to scare me off, which is possible, but I trust him, I really do," Melissa told her friends.
"I see. Well, I wouldn't be worried. There is no way he would let you get hurt and there is no way Ray and Timmy would let him let you get hurt," Morgan assured her as the girls grabbed their shopping bags and started walking back through the mall towards the exit.
However, they failed to notice the lurking figure watching their every move as the figure's eyes watched their disappearing bodies.
"So, what's been going on with you guys?" Ray asked as he took a shot at the basket. He went to grab his rebound as he listened.
"Not much. Ashley and I did it the first day because she was so freaked out after I explained everything to her. But it was better for her to know, right?" Timmy looked over at Ray and Brandon after his basketball left his hands and he heard it swish through the hoop.
"Yeah, dude. It was better that she knew," Brandon assured him. "I guess I need to let Melissa know that it has to be tonight because we just had our first kiss last night," Brandon continued.
"Oh, that's rough dude. She's a great girl," Ray replied. "Last night Morgan and I both agreed we didn't want each other to get in trouble, so it's done for a few days."
"She is a great girl," Brandon repeated. "Ray, you've been hanging out with Mel a lot the past few days, haven't you?" Timmy let out a low whistle as the atmosphere began getting tense.
"Yeah, why wouldn't I? She's my friend too, you know," Ray shot back as he turned to look at Brandon, dribbling the ball with one hand.
"Yeah, but it kind of seems like you guys are getting too friendly," Brandon replied.
"Are you nuts?" Ray snapped .
"So how about those Knicks?" Timmy shouted, shutting the two up and getting smiles out of them. Leave it to him to restore the peace.
"Sorry, man. I'm just nervous. She's so shy and… I don't know," Brandon rubbed the back of his neck.
"I understand. I'm sorry, too. We're all on edge lately. Something is going to happen. We just don't when it will or what it is," Ray responded as three basketballs flew through the air, each swishing one after the other.
A/N: So, this ended up being longer than I intended it to be, but I hope it make sup for the long wait. Please review!