If It Makes You Happy

[Desmond Stark]

Good thing she'd held back too - getting Matt addicted to her bite just would not have been a good thing for the day. She'd have probably ended up whacking her head with something very hard. For a very long time. And then she'd have to try and help council him out of it or something, or maybe try biting him so that it hurt so that he'd have something to set against the memory....

Ugg, she just wouldn't have known what to do.

Still, no harm done. Hopefully. "Come on then, witch-boy," she laughed. "Let's go find you something to eat. I promise I won't let you fall on your face."

[Matthew Smoke]

"Witch boy?!" he exclaimed, giving her shoulder a playful shove. "I'll have you know this witch-boy is going to have a Good Citizenship award soon for all of the stuff I put up with." He stuck his nose up in the air but couldn't manage to clear his face of his usual grin, and continued walking again. Movement was making him feel a little better, a little more grounded.

When they'd reached the kitchen area, he poured a stupidly large glass of apple juice since he could find no orange, and that was just fine. Matt hated pulp, and even the non-pulp had it. He pulled down a box of little Ritz Bits and just sat down on the counter, stuffing his face for a few moments.

Juice and crackers made him feel twelve all over again. He smiled at Melanie with a bunch of the little round snacks lined up in his mouth. Maybe he really -was- twelve.

[Desmond Stark]

"Yes, Witch-Boy," Melanie teased. "Come on, we can't call it The Adventures of Matthew Smoke and Vampire-Girl. You have to have a nickname." She laughed at him, and then followed him into the kitchen. Watching him eat juice and crackers made her feel nostalgic - she missed the good old days when that's all that she needed. Not that blood was that bad or anything, it was just... a bit more violent.

...

Well, there was a profound thought. Blood required a bit more violence to get at then crackers. Duh, Melanie. Duh.

Still, that wasn't saying that the occasional little cracker sandwich wasn't nice. Melanie snagged a few of the Ritz Bits crackers and then smiled her own Ritz-y smile at Matt. If he could act like he was five, so could she.

After that it was a bit difficult to actually eat the crackers, given that she kept on giggling, but she managed it. Maybe the witch blood was still affecting her? Yea, that was it. Sure.

"Are you feeling better?" she asked him then, smiling. He seemed like it.

[Matthew Smoke]

"Oh, tons," he cheered, mouth full of cracker. He swilled down some juice and then grinned at Melanie with a normal smile. Suddenly he felt his ears get a little hot, and buried his face in the bottom of his cup until it stopped. She sure was pretty.

"Now what? Want to see who else is here? I could use a stretch of my legs now that I'm all full and stuff," he suggested. "Maybe we can find some evildoer to avert and we can get called "meddling kids" after we solve a mystery. And get our own TV show."

[Desmond Stark]

"Good," she grinned back at him, and then was briefly baffled as he abruptly tipped his cup up again, not looking at her. What the... huh? What?

Never mind, she wisely thought after a moment, and dismissed it. Honestly, Melanie could be dense when it came to guys sometimes.

"Oo, that would be fun. Yea, let's go make a TV show! Then you can brag to everyone you know how you're a star in The Adventures of Witch-Boy and Vampire-Girl." She grinned. "I like that name."

[Matthew Smoke]

"Listen, just so long as it's only you calling me Witch Boy I don't mind so much, but anyone else, and... well, I won't hit them, but I'll find someone who will," he said, the hollow humourous threat a sign he was feeling much better. He walked with Melanie out into the hall again, and they headed down for the sitting area.

"Sure is dead in here. Heh, no pun intended. Do you know anyone else from here that goes to that school with you?" he inquired as he straightened up some cushions on the couch. He watched Melanie as she moved around, wondering how it was some people, like Riese, couldn't acknowledge the fact that there will still some vampires who weren't hell bent on world domination.

[Desmond Stark]

"Deal," she said straight-faced, instantly. "And you can totally count on me to hit anyone else who calls you Witch Boy." She broke into a grin. "Not hard or anything, but I'll still totally hit them for you. Just point 'em out."

Melanie groaned and rolled her eyes at his pun, intended or not. She shoved him lightly on the shoulder. "That's bad, Matt. Really bad. And... uh, well, I recognize a few people. Occasionally." She blushed as she smiled, slightly embarrassed. "I'm afraid that most of them seem to know me a lot better then I know them. Hey, does that ever happen to you? Like, someone who you don't even recognize comes up and says hi, it's good to see you? It's sooooo awkward."

She pulled a pillow off a plush chair and then curled up in it, hugging the pillow and resting her chin on it. Had she known Matt's thoughts, of course, she would have agreed completely with him. It was choices that defined a person - not skin color or eye color or height or body type or parents. Or race. Calling someone evil just because they were a vampire was as stupid as saying someone was dumb just because they were black.

[Matthew Smoke]

"Look, in my line of work, it happens a lot. I'd love to sit here and say that I remember every single person I've helped or listened to or every family member, but... I usually end up saying, 'Hey...you!' I hate it. I know that if I just say I have no idea who they are, they'll get all bent out of shape about it. My brother, he can remember every name, every face... Me? Well. I think I sat too close to the TV as a kid or something."

He plunked himself down next to her and threw his feet up on the table, letting out a long sigh. "Man, days like today are so necessary in the week. Just a day to sit on your butt and do nothing but be lazy." He grinned at her.

[Desmond Stark]

"Well, glad to know that at least I'm not alone," she said with a smile. "Like, really glad. And the horrible thing is that vampires are supposed to have great memory, so everyone expects you to remember everything. Or, well - not everything, but you know." She flapped a hand dismissively and giggled, then sighed. "Anyway. I know what you're talking about." She paused and blinked. "Or maybe it's you who know what I'm talking about. Oh, whatever." She hugged her pillow and decided that - really - it didn't matter, so who cared?

"Yea," she smiled at him - it was nice. And now she really didn't have anything to worry about. Well, nothing really to worry about, like the fact that there were lots and lots of human hearts around her. It was... relaxing. "It's therapeutic. More people should try it."

[Matthew Smoke]

"So did you learn anything interesting in school this week?" he asked casually, sinking down into the soft fabric of the couch. He threw his arms up on the top of it, getting comfortable. "Any little factoids that you didn't know, current events?"

Matthew was glad to be out of school. He couldn't see how on earth Melanie even stood it. He was a pretty easygoing guy, but he absolutely couldn't stand sitting still in class like that and being told what to do. He had chronic ADD, that was all.

[Desmond Stark]

"Er... nothing that I didn't know before," she said with an almost apologetic air. "It happens. No new factoids, no."

She paused for a moment. "Actually, that's not true. Mr. Carshen was showing us how to draw eyes today and I picked up a few new things. I mean, I suck at art and all, but at least now I know more of the theory behind it, should I ever suddenly and miraculously develop talent in that area." She made a little, joking sort of face. Art wasn't exactly her thing. She played the piano fairly well, at least.

[Matthew Smoke]

"You're the only vampire I think I've met who doesn't have some really disgusting good artistic talent. I mean, it's like a status quo that if you're a vampire, you have to be young, beautiful or handsome, and know how to like, paint the Sistine Chapel in a micro-version on the underside of a bottle cap or something before you're inducted. Or at least, that's how some of them act." He let go of his little miniature rant, and huffed.

"I draw about as well as I can fish. And the last time I went fishing, I hitched myself with the fly and ripped my shirt." He looked at her flatly. "But then again, in a few hundred years, you'll be able to draw like the Dickens if you practice. I mean, all you have is time, right?" he asked brightly. Some people said stuff like that to be malicious, but with Matt, you knew he was all complement and support.

"Maybe you can paint my portrait or something."

[Desmond Stark]

"Sure," Melanie laughed, "I'll do it now. One stick figure coming right up. Where's my paper?" She smiled over at him. "Thanks though, Matty. I dunno, on the off chance that I ever do develop some kind of disgustingly good artistic talent, I will paint you. That'd be pretty cool, actually."

She looked at him sidelong. "And don't worry about the fishing - the one time I tried going fishing I hooked the thing in my uncles head. That wasn't fun, let me tell you. Shortest fishing trip I've ever heard of."

[Matthew Smoke]

"Hey, have you even seen the Matrix stick-figure thing they have on the internet? I have it saved on my work computer, which I probably shouldn't, but it's so awesome I had to. It's pretty cool, I'll have to send it to you. I don't even know how I found it. There's another one, StickFigureDeath dot com, I think. It's not really as gross as it sounds, it's kind of funny."

He laughed at her fishing expedition, noting how similar their experiences had been. "Yeah. My brother can fish, though. He does everything well - well, all the.. typical manly stuff. Him and my dad are like two peas in a pod. My mom used to say Riese and I were more like distant cousins. I don't think you've ever met him... you'd probably think he was cute."

Riese was very attractive, or so girls at their school had gushed to the less-attractive, shy Matt in homeroom. It wasn't even that Matt was unattractive, either! He was very good looking, but Riese played football and hockey and Matt... Matt played Magic: The Gathering.

[Desmond Stark]

Melanie giggled a little guiltily when he mentioned a stick figure thing that they had on the net. "No, I don't web surf much. Erm... yea. Maybe I'll have to check it out, though. And yea. Show me the stick figure guy. You've made me curious." Stick figure matrix... it sounded interesting, certainly.

She laughed when he described his brother. "If he looks anything much like you, I probably would think he was cute," the vampire said with a smile. She found Matthew sweet, but then she was predisposed to like anyone who helped out at Single Earth, and Matt was fun to hang out with, when she had the time. It was really crazy, you'd assume that someone who was immortal would practically be made of time in which to hang out and goof off. Not so! Then again, she could hardly say anything about that as it kind of had been her choice. She didn't have to go to school. Again.

Whatever.

"But don't worry about all the sports and whatnot, if you do. I prefer chess to most of them, actually. Shh. Don't tell anyone."