My brother
Melina knew that this was all Joey wanted and she was looking at Chad. She was torn between the guy who seemed interested and the guy who wanted her. She sat at the lunch table feeling weird as joey hugged as now they were dating he was acting more weirder than usual. He wanted to hold her hands in between classes and Melina didn't know how to handle public scene of affection. Right now she felt like all he had done for her she owed him a chance instead of rejecting him outright . They had too much history for her to not try his idea. Melina looked around and kept catching Chad looking at her. She didn't understand what he was doing they weren't really friends, he was one of the three gods and she was well not in a group. She wasn't a jock, nerd, or a video kid. She had a reputation but nothing really other than being a witch and a Mcnally. Other than that she didn't socially fit anywhere. For about three days Melina wasn't her normal best friend self with Joey. To her she didn't know if it was her intimacy issues or she just couldn't see him as anything but a good friend even a brother she never had. She would zone out when he would share his day like she wasn't there the entire time with him. Joey leaned against the locker as Melina looked at her feet . " Mel is something wrong ? I mean with us?" He said noticing Melina's reclusiveness . " Not really. We are great!" Melina said too perky as her tone squeaked. " Great. Mel you don't ever say great. Who are you and what have you done with my best friend." He said as the consciousness of the student body passing by got louder . " That's just it. We are more friends that what ever we are trying to do?" Explained Melina as she didn't want to fight with Joey he was all she had. " Did you really even try, Mel? Be honest did you once during the past three days even try to let me in at all?" He said as Melina could see the hurt building in his eyes. She knew her answer could make his day or break it. " Let's try something and I'll answer your question honestly." Melina suggested as she knew she was pretty numb to guys but she had to find out something. Melina leaned up and please a kiss on his lips not rough but gentle. Joey stood there eyes wide as he realized what happened as he shook his head and laughed. " What's so funny ? I wasn't that bad at kissing?" Complained Melina . " No. Haha no. It's not you. That felt like I was kissing my sister. Or my mother." He remarked. " Oh well what you do on your own time is none of my business but umm hmm gross." Melina said as joey held up his hands. " You know what I meant . It was like we were related not dating . There was nothing there. I think we might just be that friends or siblings if you'll accept that." He said as he messed up her hair playfully. " Stop that ! That was uncalled for . Really. " Screamed Melina as she pushed him back. " Ouch you hit hard for a girl. Come on little sister let's get to class." Said Joey as he grabbed my arm and we left down the hallway. " So are you ready for cheer camp this week yay go indians. Mel being all pretty and perky . Ra ra go team! " Teased Joey as Melina in blanks tryouts camp was all this week. " It you don't shut up!" Screamed Melina. Later on that week Melina stood in the gym as the girls snickered at her actually showing up . The cheer week was for ninth grade tryouts for the squad . But in eighth grade you tried out and when you graduated you would be a ninth grader. Melina felt awkward as a few of the high school cheerleaders recognized Melina. They came all over there with a sparkly spirit stick that was decked out in red with gold sequences. " Your like Paula Mcnally's little sister. Oh my god she is so cute. " Said a girl with long brown hair and super shirt shorts. Melina nodded in response. Then the girl started to clap her hands in the air to merit the rooms attention. The room quiet down. " Cheerleaders, and future cheerleaders. We had a spirit week tradition . This here is a spirit stick and every day this week someone will be nominated to carry the spirit with them. Now you can't lose it or leave it in your locker. When we approach you you have to present it to us. If you fail to do this you will have to do what ever we say during that time." Said the perky girl as Melina held her ears at the annoyed peppy tone of high school girls. " So who wants the spirit stick first?" Yelled the cheerleader in an obnoxious tone. Melina rolled her eyes as scream erupted all around her as she covered her ears from all the noise. " Oh my god so many. So eager all of you. But I nominate Melina Mcnally to be the first spirit stick holder." Said the cheerleader as she looked at Melina who wasn't even screaming for it at all. Like what the fuck what the unholy fuck was this? Thought Melina as she stood frozen as she was jerked in front . The other girls snickered and whispers erupted. She watched each girl made smirks and laugh at her being singled out. " I seriously doubt you want a McNally to hold the spirit stick. She might give it a disease." Chucked Brittany as Melina glared out her . " That was harsh. Brittany take a lap." Ordered the older cheerleader as Brittany sighed and started running. " We don't make fun of team members. Melina in order to get the honor you have to do a jump, a toe touch or a herkie or a spreading eagle. Show us your team spirit." Said the girl as Melina stood there as she looked at the gym door and was going to be like fuck this shit but then she remembered her challenge to Brittany and she would never live it down in gym class if she left now. Melina smiled and excuted a perfect toe touch as she landed with a bounce and a plastered rehearsed smile she learned from seeing her sister doing it at their last school. The room went silent in astonishingment as Brittany ran into the side of the bleachers as she was hoping I would fall or couldn't do anything. The cheerleader handed me the spirit stick as I waved it and put it in my book bag. Melina had no idea what presidents she would set with spirit week getting the first spirit stick. Melina went through cheer week learning dances and routines and two cheers required for the tryouts along with flipping as a back hand spring a cartwheel and a split was required to make the team. She didn't think that far ahead on what she was going to do if she made the team. She was just trying to prove to Brittany she could keep her bet. No one said she had to make the team at all. At the end of the week there was going to be an mock tryouts . Melina thought it be a pre tryouts before the real tryouts. Melina was prepared or so she thought. She underestimated the meaning of mick tryouts. The entire school filed in one by one like a pep rally and they did their tryouts in front of the entire school. The dances were done first then the jumps and splits . Melina passed that with ease. She was so nervous in front of the entire student body she did a back flip instead of a back hand spring but they pushed her through. It was when the individual cheer section was when disaster hit. There was so many people watching her as the sounds began to go deaf and she stood there as the cheerleader prompt her for the second time to start. " I'm so sorry I forgot the words." Melina said as the crowd busted out laughing at her embarrassed gesture. All the eyes were on her and she was in front of all the people who teased her and she could hear all their thoughts like a raging river in her head . It was overwhelming with so many people in the gym. She wanted it to all stop. She felt panic rise inside of her as she looked around for help or an escape as she felt like crying how bad all the thoughts hurt her head. Then she just ran out of the gym unable to bare it anymore all the words fluttering her. Melina didn't feel like going to the real tryouts after what happened today.
Melina had to leave the gym because the pressure of all the thoughts in her head was too much. It was like the migraines she was suffering before. She stopped in silence of her thoughts. Before she had killed Larue . She had wished Larue was here to give her some relief or answers to her dilemma . She had to go somewhere to hide until the feelings and words stopped throbbing in her head. She used to be able to block them out if there was only a few or a small crowd but the entire student body was judging her. Laughed at her and doubted her and in the pain of her freezing up she heard everything . Every insecurity, insult , envious judgement words around her. She paced as she needed to take her mind off the pressure as she looked around her as she for anything as she found a rock with a sharp edge and she didn't know why she did it she felt the need to cut the inside of her thigh. She closed her eye as the pain was present and blood trickled down her leg as the pain she was focusing on made the voice simmer and fade . She sat there prepared to make another cut convinced this was the solution to her distraction when she heard someone come behind her as she all of a sudden dropped the rock realizing the blood on her hands . She felt embarrassed standing there with blood on her hands. " Melina , honey what happened? You ran out of the tryouts is everything okay?" Asked the long hair cheerleader that knew her sister and had taken a shine to Melina came to see why Melina left. " I . I'm. Ummm. I don't know?" Said Melina feeling a certain way of how she was interrupt from her private moment as the girl faced her. " Oh my god honey did you get your cycle mid tryouts? Oh sweetie it will be okay do you have anything to put on or a change of clothes?" She said generally with a sympathetic tone. Melina felt embarrassed at the circumstances of how she looked to this girl as she shook her head in response. She felt ashamed she looked like this now. " It's okay we will get you cleaned up and I'll explain to the panel and get you settled. Don't cry Melina it happens to all of us. You didn't know it would come." She said as Melina didn't realize she was crying as the girl pointed it out. Melina went to the restroom as she borrowed some shorts and had a tampon given to her as Melina didn't know what to do with a tampon as she rolled up toilet paper and put it in her panties as she actually did start her cycle when she looked and it wasn't a lie after all.