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A Chapter by wordupbro

Mel gets dragged to the mall to shop for sexy new clothes for Kelly, but ends up finding salvation in new acquaintance.

When Melanie woke up the next morning, she felt as if a huge bolder had been dropped on her head. She’d barely drunk anything last night, yet she felt extremely hung-over. She sat up with a low grunt and swung her legs over the side of Kelly’s bed.

“You’re awake? Finally. I’ve been laying here for two hours staring at the ceiling and wondering if you were dead.” Kelly shot up off of her side of the bed and stood up completely.

“If you really thought I was dead, poking me probably would’ve been a good idea,” Mel retorted. She wanted to smile, but was way too tired for that.

“Well, last night was certainly…interesting. The party just fell to pieces when Alaina left.” Kelly yawned.

“I’m sorry,” Mel replied, trying to sound sincere. “Your other friends seemed nice enough. Sucks that they didn’t want to stick around for much longer after I finally joined you guys.” She ran her hand through her hair, totally lying through her teeth. Truth was, she wasn’t really a fan of any of Kelly’s friends.

“Pfft, right. You were ready to go to sleep the second you came down the stairs. You know it and I know it.” Kelly handed Mel one of her hair ties from her dresser, realizing she wanted one. “You were in my bathroom for a really long time, though. What were you even doing?” She laughed.

Oh, right. She doesn’t even know that I was in Marshall’s car. “I looked all splotchy, so I kind of just…re-did my makeup.” Mel tied her hair into a messy bun on the top of her head and looked into Kelly’s dresser mirror. She looked like a haggard mess.

“Remind me to never ask you to do my makeup if it takes that long,” Kelly joked and went over to her closet. “Oh, by the way, your phone vibrated about an hour ago. I think you got a text.” Kelly picked Mel’s phone up off the floor near her feet and threw it to her.

“At 10 AM? That’s weird. Who in their right mind would--” Mel raised her eyebrows once she saw what number the text came from. It was from the same number that called her last night. Marshall’s number.

She quickly opened it. The message just read: Mel?

Mel didn’t even hesitate before hitting the REPLY button. Marshall? She responded. Now he would definitely know that she’d given him her cell phone number last night.

“Who was it? Your mom?” Kelly pulled on a t-shirt and brushed her messy hair off of her face.

“…Yeah, just my mom.” Mel smiled and clutched the cell phone tightly in her hand. “She just wanted to check in.”

Kelly nodded in understanding. “Hey, how about some breakfast? I bought pancake mix. Pancakes are still your favorite, right?” Kelly smiled back and threw her plush bathrobe at Mel. “You can get dressed later, sleepyhead. I’m starving!”

Mel laughed and lazily pulled the bathrobe on. “Of course they are! And that makes two of us,” she agreed and put her phone in the large pocket.

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“So, what do you wanna do today?” Kelly asked Mel with her mouth full of pancake. Mel decided at the last minute that she wanted some chocolate chips in hers. Luckily Kelly had some; she figured some chocolate would do her good right about now.

“I don’t know. Whatever you wanna do is absolutely fine with me. I’ve never been to Detroit before, so I don’t even know what there is to do,” Mel replied honestly and downed the last of her orange juice.

“We could…go to the mall. Or to the zoo. Or both. We could go also downtown. There’s some pretty cool things down there if you know where to go.” Kelly stabbed another pancake with her fork. She’d already had three.

“Damn, you must be hungry, Kel,” Mel observed with a laugh. “And I’m up for anything.” She debated eating another pancake, but decided against it. She wasn’t really feeling all that great.

“Sweet! It’s gonna be a busy day. Hurry and put on some real clothes. Bathrobes don’t double as acceptable attire last time I checked Vogue,” Kelly smiled and stood up from the table to begin clearing off dishes.

As soon as Mel put on an acceptable outfit back in Kelly’s room, she went back down to the foyer. Kelly was already standing near the front door. She had her digital camera in one hand and her other hand behind her back.

“I need to document this momentous occasion: Your first real day in my hometown. Here, I got you this!” Kelly slapped a black Detroit Tigers baseball hat on Mel’s head. “Smile!” She quickly napped a picture before Mel could even register what had happened.

Mel smiled as she reached up to appreciatively touch her new hat. “I love it. Thank you." She gave Kelly a hug. "You’ll probably want to delete that picture, though. I’m sure I look half-crazed.“ She laughed and opened the front door.

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They drove in silence for a while with the radio turned down low. Kelly looked over at Mel who seemed to be daydreaming while staring out the window. “I bet you never in a million years you thought you’d meet Eminem, did you? And you met him on your first night in Detroit."

Hearing the word ‘Eminem’ snapped Mel out of it. She turned to face Kelly. “No! I still can’t believe it. Sometimes I think I just dreamed the whole thing up.” She tried to play up her fangirl excitement, even though talking to him last night made her see him in a brand new light. He wasn’t just ‘the rapper Eminem’ to her anymore.

“I could tell you were thinking about him just now. I wish I could figure out a way to take you over to his house, but I don’t think Alaina will talk to me, let alone see me, for quite a while now,” Kelly laughed again and turned the radio up a bit louder.

“Oh, that’s okay. Meeting him last night was good enough for me,” Mel replied nonchalantly. She didn’t know why, but she had a strange feeling in her gut that she’d see his house by the time this trip was over anyway.

“Well, I’m happy for you, Mel. It’s not every day you get to meet your favorite musician. If I ever met Lady Gaga, I’m sure I’d be acting the same as you right about now.” Kelly stopped at a red light. “Oh! The mall we’re going to is coming up on the next block. I’m sure you’ll never want to leave. It’s honestly the best mall on the planet.” You could practically see dollar signs appear in her eyeballs.

“I definitely believe you,” Mel replied with a laugh. She knew just how bad of a shopping fanatic Kelly was. If she said it’s an amazing mall, it’s an amazing mall. Mel wasn't a huge shopping fan herself, but she figured she'd humor her friend. What else were they going to do?

Kelly sat in silence obviously pondering something for a minute before excitedly speaking up again. “You know what, Mel? Screw the zoo. We’re not 12. I’ve decided to take you to a club downtown tonight, so we’ve got to find me something sexy to wear.” She dramatically checked her lip-gloss in the mirror and sped down the block as the light turned green again.

“What, do you want me to show up looking like a farmer’s daughter?” Mel joked and picked her purse off of the floorboard of Kelly’s car.

“Of course not, but you don’t need sexy clothes to be sexy, though. You could come inside wearing a burlap sack and guys would still want to dance with you.” Kelly pulled into the mall’s parking garage.

“That’s probably not true, but…thank you?” Mel didn’t know how to take that compliment. “I’ll help you find something, though. Don’t worry. I guarantee you will look better than me,” She assured Kelly.

“I better,” Kelly replied. Mel wasn’t sure if she was serious or joking, but didn’t really have time to think about it before Kelly finally pulled into a parking spot.

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“How many things did you pick out to try on?! Jesus,” Mel stood outside Kelly’s dressing room in Forever 21. She decided to lean against the wall since there was nowhere in sight to sit down and her feet were beginning to hurt from waiting so long.

“I only have 3 more shirts to try on!” Kelly’s muffled voice came from the other side of the curtain. “Can you come in here and see if this shirt is straight up skank or actually sort of cute?”

Mel sighed and quickly stepped into Kelly’s dressing room. Her eyes practically popped out. Kelly was wearing a stretchy, bright red mesh-topped shirt. Her cleavage was extremely prominent. She’d never seen Kelly wear anything like it before. “You look like…Britney Spears or something,” Mel sputtered out.

“Perfect! I’ll take it,” Kelly started stripping it off, so Mel took her cue and walked back out to her waiting spot.

Mel had just picked out a new black mini skirt and a plain purple V-neck t-shirt. She didn’t want to outshine Kelly tonight. She’d promised not to. Her outfit didn’t exactly scream ‘Come grind on me, strange men!’ but she didn’t exactly want it to, either. Others always found Mel more attractive than she considered herself to be for some reason.

She was about to exit the dressing room to browse the store one more time when her phone vibrated in her pocket. Her heart seemed to do a somersault as she pulled the phone out to read her new message.

You gave me your cell # last night? Little forward 4 an Amish girl don’t U think?

Mel snorted and tried to think of the perfect witty retort. She ended up typing: You’re texting a 19-year-old? A little forward for a 38-year-old man, don’t you think? Mel knew that wouldn’t even offend him. It took a lot to offend Marshall; she’d learned that from his music.

She decided to take that last look around the store when she felt Kelly tugging on her shirt. “Are you ready to go?” She glanced down at the clothes in Mel’s arms. “That’s seriously all you’re buying?” Kelly asked, confused.

“Yeah, I’m just gonna keep it simple tonight. You’ll look really hot in that shirt, though,” Mel replied with a smile and they began walking to the cashier together.

Mel’s phone vibrated again. She casually pulled it out as she stood next to Kelly in line. HAH. Really funny. What R U doing? She laughed quietly to herself as she imagined him typing on his old flip-phone.

“Is it your mom again?” Kelly asked. It was her turn to pay next.

“No, it’s…my friend Sam from back home,” Mel lied. “He wanted to see how I like Detroit. He was born there." Only the last part of her sentence was true.

Mel looked back down at the text and started to type out a reply. Shopping for new clothes. Well, Kelly is. We’re going to a club tonight. She didn’t know why she felt the need to tell him where she was going later, but before she could change her mind she’d already pushed SEND.

“So, how do you like Detroit?” Kelly’s voice almost scared Mel. It was like she’d completely zoned out for a second.

“Oh, I love it,” Mel turned to look at her and smiled bigger than she'd intended.

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“You honestly need to buy a new bra for tonight?” Mel couldn’t help but laugh as they walked over to Victoria’s Secret on Kelly’s request.

“I want a push-up one. I don’t own any,” Kelly replied with a shrug. “That red shirt I just got kind of requires a push-up bra.”

Mel thought her b***s looked plenty big in it already, but she wasn't going to argue. They walked into the store and Kelly pretty much made a beeline for the display of their brand new push-up bras. Mel decided to go explore the make-up and perfume section of the store. Maybe she’d treat herself and buy a yummy smelling body mist. She had about 5 at home, but what was one more?

There went her phone again. Really? What club? She read on the screen.

Mel couldn’t be bothered to go find Kelly and ask her in order to give him a correct answer. I have no idea. Something downtown. I’m waiting for her to finish looking at push-up bras. Kill me.

The response she got came less than 30 seconds later. Aren’t girls supposed to have fun shopping? Go buy something.

Mel scratched her head and smiled when she thought of what to respond with. Are you subliminally trying to tell me to buy a push-up bra, or…? She picked up a bottle of Love Spell Body Mist and started walking over to the actual bra part of the store to try and find Kelly.

After a bit of searching, she finally saw her in the distance holding up and admiring a bright pink and tan zebra print bra. Mel realized she’d probably be there for a while, so she decided to go look at some lingerie herself. It’s not like she’d buy any, but it was kind of fun to look at.

Mel’s ringtone suddenly started going off in her pocket. She didn’t even bother looking at the caller before quickly answering it. “Hello?”

“I f*****g suck at typing on this thing,” Marshall’s voice flooded through her ear. She almost dropped the body mist out of her other hand in shock. She'd figured it was her mom calling.

Mel laughed. “Well, you know, the rest of us have keyboards on our phones now. Time to get with the times, buddy.”

“We’re buddies now? Oh, okay then.” He replied, amused. “Are you still in Bra World or whatever?”

“Bra World? Oh my God.” She couldn't help but laugh again. “No, I’m in Victoria’s Secret. Seriously, Bra World? Who are you?” A bright blue, shiny bra suddenly caught her eye across from where she stood. It had rhinestones on it. Mel loved anything bedazzled and probably always would.

“Oh, whatever. Same difference. I’ve never been in that store, but I've heard of it.” Marshall admitted with a sigh.

“I don’t see why you would’ve been in here. This kind of stuff isn’t exactly…your thing.” Mel began searching in the drawers under the display for one in her size. She didn’t know why she was about to blow 40 dollars on a bra, but for some reason she wanted to.

“Now, that’s not exactly true,” Marshall joked. “Are you honestly that bored in there? There’s gotta be something you want.”

“I actually just picked something out to buy.” Mel admitted. She pulled the correct bra out of the drawer and smiled down at it.

“See, I knew you could do it. I’m sure whatever you picked out is…nice," He replied and quickly cleared his throat awkwardly.

“Nice? Oh, no. It’s way better than just nice,” Mel replied in a surprisingly flirty tone. “You should only be so lucky.” Why did I just say that?

“Whoa there. Don’t tease me like that,” He casually answered, playing along. There was a moment where neither of them new what to say next.

“So…what are you even up to over there?” Mel randomly asked, trying to diffuse the tension.

“I’m talking to you, obviously.” What a smartass. “I’m honestly sitting on my couch in front of the TV, but I’m too lazy to turn it on.”

“There's a little button for that. I think it's on this thing called a remote? I'm not sure, though. Don't quote me on that or anything. Don’t you have anything to do today?” Mel wandered over to a different display. Kelly was probably wondering where the hell she was. Again.

“Kind of, but I don’t really want to. There’s no one home other than me, so I’m just--"

“Bored and lonely?” She finished for him.

“Yeah, I guess you could say that,” He replied quietly.

“Well, buddy, I’d come over and keep you company, but Kelly’s holding me hostage. She’ll probably make me shop for hooker heels with her next.” Mel rolled her eyes. “I’m so ready to get out of here.”

Marshall laughed out loud. “Wow. What’s her deal? Has she never been to a club before? Guys don’t really care what kind of bra you have on or what shoes you wear. They have other things on their minds."

“Speaking from experience, are we?” Mel raised one of her eyebrows and started walking around the store aimlessly, hoping she wouldn’t run into Kelly.

“Actually, yeah. I used to go to clubs a lot before I--well, I just don’t go anymore.” He paused and changed the subject. “Yo, Mel. I have a proposition for you.”

“Alright. What is it?" She saw Kelly starting to walk towards her, so she turned on her heel to go the opposite direction.

“How about I come get you from wherever you're at and we go do something else? I mean, we're both bored, right?" At first Mel thought he was kidding, but he sounded dead serious.

"Um..." Mel wanted to agree to the plan and done with it, but then she thought of Kelly and what she'd do or think about it. "That sounds good, but what am I supposed to tell Kelly? She doesn't even know I've been talking to you."

"I'm sure she'll understand. I'll bring you back, I promise. You'll be gone for an hour, tops." He sounded so self-assured that Mel couldn't help but not care about the consequences.

She turned around and saw Kelly innocently checking out the body mist display, and then looked down at expensive bra in her hand before speaking again. "Well...okay. I'm at GM Renaissance Center." F**k it. When am I going to ever get another chance like this?

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