Enter the Room

You stop and press your ear to the door for a second to try and find out what is going on when you remember that this is your goddamn room and you don't need to snoop around. You grab the handle and open the door. Two heads turn to look at you as you do. One was the expected redhead who sent you out on your ice cream quest in the first place, now dressed in a pair of grey cotton shorts and a long tattered t-shirt from an indie band concert, and the other was a pretty raven-haired girl in a pair of pajama bottoms and a powder-blue camisole. You recognize the newcomer immediately; it's Meghan from your math class. You brain stalls trying to think of why she is here.

"About time!" Melody says with a smile. "I was about to send out a search party, man! Did you get the ice cream?" She looks down at your hands. You come to your senses and quickly toss your flowers and card to the side of the door before either one notices.

"Yeah, yeah. It's right here." You hold up the bag with the ice cream as you walk into the room and close the door. "I guess I'm glad I got enough for three?" You look over at Meghan, who is staring back at you, slightly dumbfounded.

"Oh, yeah!" Melody slaps her forehead. "Sorry, Jack. This is Meghan; we are taking World History together this semester." She looks back and forth between you two. "...Am I missing something?"

"Meghan and I take math together." You fill her in.

"What, really?" The redhead says. "Whoa. Small world. Or small campus, anyway."

"You're not kidding." Meghan says finally, her voice light and airy. "Wow, I never put two and two together." She shakes her head, causing her ponytail to swing side to side. Then she grins at you mischievously; kind of like a shark might grin at a particularly tasty fish. "So...you're the famous Jack..."

"Famous?" You glance over at your roommate. Suddenly some mysterious realization occurs to her and her face goes scarlet. She turns and shoots a glare at Meghan. You look back over at her as well. "What has she been telling you?"

"Oh, just some stories." She waves her hand noncommittally. "Nothing too embarrassing, promise."

"You didn't tell me you knew Jack." Melody says between clenched teeth.

"I didn't realize." She tilts her head to the side. "To think, Melody... unbeknownst to either of us, your Jack and my Jack were one in the same." She gives Melody the same mischievous grin she gave you earlier. "You never told me he was such a cutie." Your face flushes a bit at the sudden compliment; you have been quite friendly with Meghan in class, even tutoring her on occasion, but there was never any flirting. You didn't know she thought of you in any terms besides study-buddy. Melody looks at you, sees your reaction, and gets noticeably annoyed.

"Jack? Cute? Psssh." She rolls her eyes. "Maybe if you find nerdy and awkward guys attractive."

"Oh, I do." Meghan winks at you, reinforcing your blush. Melody puts a finger in her open mouth and makes a gagging noise.

"No accounting for taste, I guess." Melody says in a huff. She glances over at you out of the corner of her eye. "Uh, no offense, dude."

"Yeah, thanks." You flip her the finger. "I bought you ice cream, you heartless bitch."

"Oh right!" Melody says, remembering suddenly. "Give it up!" You walk over and hand her the bag. She greedily digs out the ice cream container. You notice three spoons sitting on the end table before she grabs one and hands it to Meghan, then gets one for herself. She looks up at you. "You going to get in on this?" She asks.

"In a moment." You say. "I'm still trying to figure out why Meghan is here."

"I called her over after you left." Melody explains as she pops the top of the container. "She's been cheering me up." You feel a pang of jealousy for a second that someone else managed to snap her out of her funk. That had always been your job for as long as you knew her. It's a silly thing to feel envious of, but you can't help it. "I guess it must have seemed weird that I wasn't crying, huh?" The redhead asks before shoveling some of the dessert in her mouth.

"A little." You reply.

"Fee mafe me ealife..." Melody swallows her mouthful. "Sorry. She made me realize that I shouldn't feel bad about Keith and put things into perspective." She holds her spoon aloft as Meghan digs in. "We are no longer mourning my relationship, we are celebrating my newfound freedom!"

"Amen, sister!" Meghan says before taking a bite.

"Well, sounds like you have things covered then." You say, trying not to sound petty. "Should I make myself scarce for the evening? Sounds like you have a girl's night going..."

"Oh, no!" Melody says quickly. "Don't go, man. There's three spoons, aren't there? I'm not about to kick you out after you traveled through the pouring rain just to get me ice cream."

"Yeah, stay." Meghan encourages you. "There's enough room at this taco party for a sausage."

"Eloquent." Melody rolls her eyes again as she eats another spoonful.

"Are you sure?" You ask. "I can go crash with Scott and Dirk, they owe me one. Or ten."

"It's cool." Meghan insists. "I was unsure at first about having a sleepover with a male roommate around. But if it's you, I'm more than cool with it."

"Oh my God, Meghan!" Melody groans. "Could you possibly flirt with my roommate any harder? Why don't you just blow him and get it over with?"

"I am leaving that option on the table." Meghan grins. You **** a bit on your own breath. Melody snorts in derision.

"Keep it up and one of you IS leaving." She mutters, eating some more ice cream.

"Sorry, sorry." Meghan apologizes.

"Why are you flirting with me so much?" You ask as you pick up the third spoon. "This is so unlike how you act in class."

"That's class. This isn't." Meghan shrugs. She looks over your body for a second. "I could go into more detail, but I think Melody would kill me. And you too, to be safe."

"Yes, so how about a change in the fucking conversation?" The redhead growls. "I am still the dumped person you are both supposed to be comforting, remember? If you could possibly stop eye-fucking each other for a second and pay attention to me, that would be tops."

"Right." You say, putting a mental bookmark on that very interesting conversation for now. "So what were you two planning to do at this sleepover? Besides gorge on sweets."

"Do each other's nails, gossip about boys, have a pillowfight...stuff like that." Meghan says.

"Oh." You say simply, all other mental power suddenly diverted to a daydream about the two girls in skimpy lingerie having a pillow fight."

"Yeah, right!" Melody says, punching your arm. "Mario Kart, bitch! Nothing is going to cheer me up like humiliating you both in an awe-inspiring display of racing prowess."

"Oh, man." You groan. "You always win at Mario Kart."

"That's the point, doofus." She laughs. "Unless you have a better idea."