Mellisa slammed the apartment door close behind her. With her last bit of strength she dropped all the grocery bags onto the sofa, and they fell with a little bounce. Mellisa wiped her sweaty forehead and decided to take some rest on the sofa as well.


She threw herself onto the soft thing and leaned her head back. After a long sigh she closed her eyes and started to drift to sleep. Until Kylie crept from behind her, of course. She was holding her make-up brush and that naughty girl tickled her friend's neck with it.


"Wha-where's the fire?" Mellisa blinked several times then got up. She sighed again, "Oh, a false alarm." Kylie burst out laughing, "Hey, you seem so exhausted."


"I am," Mellisa groaned, "Rachel left me in the middle of nowhere and I had to walk home carrying these," She pointed at the crumpled bags. "Aww, you poor little thing," Kylie teased, then she got serious, "Rach is no better off than you. She's been sulking ever since she got home."


"She's here?" Mellisa almost jumped, "Why didn't you say so! I'm gonna give her some piece of my mind!" she said, hands on hips. "She's upstairs in her room." Kylie shrugged, then held Mellisa back as she started to rush upstairs. "What?" Mellisa asked, confused.


"She was in a real bad mood, I've never seen her so angry before." Kylie looked at Mellisa questioningly. Mellisa sighed, "She ought to be, I guess." "And why is that?" Kylie asked in a slightly patronizing tone. Kylie was childish sometimes, but she could be too mature at other times.


"She-" Mellisa paused. "It's a long story." "Oh, I have all the time in the world," Kylie shrugged, gesturing her to sit down. "But I don't." Mellisa grinned, "He invites me to a dinner at his apartment!"


Kylie raised her eyebrows, "You're seeing Josh again?" Mellisa laughed, "No!" "Then who?!" Kylie was as curious as ever. "It's a long story," Mellisa smiled slyly. "Girl you gotta tell me all!!!" Kylie cried to her.


"Okay, okay," Mellisa sighed, "They're all kinda connected, by the way." "Yes?" Kylie made herself comfortable in the sofa. "We were in the grocery, right?" "Uh-huh?" Kylie lifted one of her eyebrows.


"Well, we kinda meet with two cute guys. No, not meet-" Mellisa paused, "We're lookin' for low-fat milk, and there's only one carton left. And this one guy, his name's Bryan... am I talking too fast?" "No, continue," Kylie looked around the grocery bags and picked up a bag of chips. She popped it open and took some.


"You're really making yourself comfortable. I wanna have some!" Mellisa laughed. "Sure," Kylie gave her the chips. "So this Bryan want the milk too. So he and Rachel kinda fight. And Bryan was with his friend, Shane. Got it?" "Yup."


"But it isn't over yet. We crashed again with the two of them, like, literally. Rachel was kinda mad and Bryan made her even more, well, angry." Mellisa paused for breath. "Is that all?"


"No, unfortunately," Mellisa sighed, "Rachel and I went to this ice cream place first, and when we got out poof! There's Bryan. He mistook Rach for his girlfriend... I think. Someone called Phoebe. Well, anyway, he mistook her and he-" Mellisa paused for a dramatic effect.


"He?" Kylie was really curious now. "He..." Mellisa looked at her friend teasingly. "C'mon Mel! I'm dyin'!!!" Kylie threw some chips at her. Mellisa ducked and laughed. "Okay. He kinda... kissed her," Mellisa finished.


Kylie gaped, "What a nerve!" "Yup. That's what made Rach so mad. 'N then this Shane cutie invite us all to like, dinner for like, some sort of apology kinda thing." Mellisa breathed. "You mean like, Rach did nothing to this Bryan guy?" Kylie asked incredulously.


"Well," Mellisa grimaced, "She did slap him." Kylie cracked up, "Wa-hooey! That's our Rach." "So can Deanna come along?" Mellisa asked. "Come where?" suddenly Deanna's head popped out of her bedroom.


"Hi, Ann! I was talking about a dinner invitation," Mellisa explained. "Oh, is it Italian?" Deanna asked, a bit bored. She had dined in lotsa expensive restaurants with her father. Her mom was dead and she was the only child, so her father spoilt her a bit. What's more, he was some kind of a millionaire, which made Deanna a lucky girl. But I don't have my mom, Deanna sighed. She didn't have what most other girls have, and that made her kind of sad.


"No, don't worry," Mellisa laughed. "I'm invited to some guy's apartment," "Is he cute? Does he have any single friends?" Deanna asked eagerly. "Annie... Sometimes I don't believe you!" Kylie rolled her eyes, laughing. "Don't call me that!" Deanna pouted. "You just have to wait and see," Mellisa smiled mysteriously.


"But how about Rachel? We're not gonna leave her alone, right?" Deanna asked worriedly. "Actually, the dinner is for her." Mellisa shrugged, "I'm going to talk to her. No, scratch that. I'm going to convince her to go." She grinned.

***

"Rachel?" Mellisa knocked her friend's bedroom door softly. "Rachel are you there?" "Go away Mel, I'm trying to sleep." Mellisa could hear Rachel grumbled. "No you're not. Please forget what Bryan did?" Mellisa pleaded. "Now you remind me of that pig again!" Rachel muttered.


"Hey open the door. It'll feel better if you talk to someone and spill it all out than if ya keep it inside to rot," Mellisa said matter-of-factly. "So I'm going to rot." Rachel snorted. "Hey... I know you feel bad but you're gonna miss an event of the year if you're like that," Mellisa smiled.


"What event of the year?" Rachel asked, starting to get curious. "I knew you'd be interested. Open the door and I'll tell you everything." "You li'l cunning fox! If you think I'm gonna let you in becos of that..." Rachel unlocked her door, "...then you're right." She opened the door, and Mellisa saw Rachel smiling weakly.


"Hey, it's not that bad, right?" Mellisa tapped her friend's shoulders to calm her down. "Nah, it's not that bad," Rachel shrugged, "It's worse." "He just kissed you, so what? It's all a mistake." Mellisa shrugged then settled on one edge of Rachel's bed. "But he doesn't respect girls! I mean, even if it's really his girlfriend, it's still as if he thinks he could snog her anywhere, anytime, in front of everyone!" Rachel sighed.


"So what is it to you? You're not his girlfriend, you don't have anything to do with him. Forget it! And you know, when you think about it again, it seems funny." Mellisa tried to console her.


"You won't feel too funny if you're the one being kissed," Rachel mumbled, "Oh, shucks! I'm not going to talk about it again," Rachel groaned. "Is he such a bad kisser?" Mellisa asked out of curiosity.


Rachel gave Mellisa a weird look, then smiled amusedly, "Do you always think about that kind of thing?" "Is he?" Mellisa asked again. Rachel tried to hide her smile, but could not, "Listen, let's talk about something else, okay? Anyways, I let you come in 'cos you promise to tell me something great, right?" "Yeah," Mellisa shrugged. "Well?" Rachel asked impatiently.


"You know Shane, right? Mr You-Know-Who's friend," Mellisa was careful not to mention the name 'Bryan'. "Uh-huh, what about him? Did he kiss you by mistake too?" Rachel asked, a bit unenthusiastically. "Not even close!" Mellisa laughed, "He invites us all to a dinner in his apartment as some sort of apology."


"For what?" Rachel was not getting it. "For that mistake Bryan made kissing you like that, silly!" Mellisa gave a little laugh. "So what's so big about it?" Rachel grimaced.


"Hello?" Mellisa looked at her friend unbelievingly, "Shane's just the sexiest guy in the whole world with the sexiest smile in the whole world and the sexiest voice in the whole world and the sexiest hairstyle in the-" "Okay, enough!" Rachel laughed, cutting her friend before she could say anything else.


"So you're coming, right?" Mellisa smiled anticipatingly. "No." Rachel smiled back at her friend. Mellisa frowned, "But why not?" " 'Cos I bet he shared that apartment with Mr. You-Know-Who! And I'm not going to see him again. Ever!" Rachel declared stubbornly.


"But Rach? Won't you do it for me?" she gave Rachel a puppy dog look. "You've used that same face for a thousandth time now, Mel. Try something else," Rachel rolled her eyes. "Please?" "No." Rachel maintained her cold smile.


"You'd be left alone in this lonely apartment, so lonesome without any friends?" Mellisa batted her eyelashes. "No." Rachel kept smiling. "But it will be so boring! And I bet we'll be out for an awfully looooooooong time," Mellisa reasoned. "I'd rather be bored reading some gothic romance than meeting Mr. You-Know-Who and Co."


"Rach, Bryan would be disappointed if you're not there!" Mellisa tried to argue her case. Rachel snorted, "I bet he will!" "Please? It will be weird if I come without you, 'cos you're the reason Shane invites me?" Mellisa asked pleadingly. "Oh, he won't notice at all if he's really crazy about you," Rachel predicted.


"But if he's not and I had to make him do so? You'd be needed!" Mellisa was now on her knees. "You needed me, you needed me," Rachel started humming to a Boyzone song. "How could you do this to me?" Mellisa wailed. "How could you do this to me." Rachel sighed, "Sorry Mel, but there's no way I'm going to that pig sty."


"But you haven't even seen the place yet!" Mellisa whined. "Okay, so it's not a pig sty. It's a dog kennel," Rachel gave her friend an innocent smile. "Rach! Please?" Mellisa took Rachel's hands. "Hey you're freakin' me out!" Rachel laughed, snatching her hands back.


"Please, please, pretty please?" Mellisa begged and begged and begged. "No, no, and no." Rachel shook her head firmly. "Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaassssee?" Mellisa cried. "Nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnno." Rachel answered just as long.


"Aww... spoilsport! You're acting just like Bryan when he refused to give you the milk!" Mellisa pouted. "I ask you: did he give it to me then?" "Well, no, but-" "So I'd say no as well!" Rachel laughed victoriously, "Ho-ho-ho, I can be as mean as Mr It's-All-Mine!" "I thought he's Mr. You-Know-Who," Mellisa said. "Whatever," Rachel rolled her eyes.


"Rachel, don't be so mean, please?" Mellisa whined. Rachel sighed, "Well..." Mellisa's eyes brightened, "Yes?" "...No." Rachel finished, smiling slyly and crushing all the hopes Mellisa had just a few seconds ago.