Unexpected Drop-By – Tyler, tag Melodee

[Tyler Durnham]

It was very late in the morning that Tyler managed to start with his plans for the day, after a quick detour home first. It wouldn’t do to start the day out while wearing clothes from the night before after all, and he was all about looking good. He really couldn’t complain with the late start, not with how the night ended, and the morning started.

He had been Aly Durrand’s first, news that had surprised him pleasantly when she had told him before their admittedly incredible night together. What guy wouldn’t enjoy knowing he was a woman’s first? He had that pleasure more than a few times now, and it didn’t diminish how much he enjoyed it. Especially not with Aly, if she hadn’t told him, he never would have guessed. The woman sure knew how to please, and with him certain that he more than returned the favour, he felt
confident it wouldn’t be the only night he shared with the blonde.

So he hadn’t been in any rush to leave her that morning, and when he eventually left that lovely little place on the beach she rented for them, it was with a promise to see her again very soon. One that he intended to keep. He knew he was onto a good thing with her, and he wasn’t opposed to making a fling a little long term, as long as they were both enjoying themselves, and the girl knew it would never turn into anything serious, something he didn’t have a problem with when it came to Aly.

A quick trip home, with a shower and change, and he was off to see Melodee Riker. They had been friends for quite a long time, and even shared a brief moment where they had been more than that, and he valued that friendship deeply. As much as he cared about Bree, and Sloane to some extent, the girl was the closest person to him he knew, and he thoroughly enjoyed her company. It been quite some time since they had hung out, not including the not so successful planting afternoon, so he figured it was ripe timing for a visit. Besides, besides his plans for spending the afternoon, and then hopefully evening with Sarissa, his morning was plan free.

He was well known in the Riker house, so the housekeeper thought little of letting the charming teenager in. He already knew his way to her room, where the woman told him he could find Melodee, so Tyler casually made his way there. And wasn’t expecting to walk in straight as she walked out of her private bathroom, obviously just having showered, with not a towel in sight. Being the gentleman he was, he quickly averted his eyes, though he had gotten a very good look at the sight of her before he did. It wasn’t the first time he had seen her naked, and the very obvious differences he noted troubled him. “Sorry, I should have announced myself Mel.” he quickly apologised.

[Melodee Riker]

She'd gained a pound? How had she, Melodee Riker, gained a pound after all the careful eating (picking at her food), exercise, and being careful? It had to have been the cupcake a few days ago. Had to have been.

No good deed goes, unpunished, the teen thought bitterly to herself. She'd tried to coax the deaf girl who's name escaped her at the moment, into eating one of the cupcakes by eating one herself, but that hadn't worked and this was payback for it.

As the water pounded a pattern on her flesh, pink from the heat, Melodee leaned her head against the wall. How could she fix this? Twice in the past two month's she'd fallen while running for no fathomable reason that she could see. NONE. There had been no cause for her to trip over her own two feet and stumble as hard as she had.

At least she'd been hit on by Sloane. That had been a welcome and familiar feeling.

Washing herself and turning the water off once it had run cold, Melodee stepped out and patted herself dry with the towel. Her robe was in her room hanging on the back of her vanity chair. Stepping through the threshold that separated her rather large rooms (bedroom, small parlor) and her bathroom, she paused slightly upon being greeted by Tyler.

They'd been friends for a good long while, and he'd had the pleasure of seeing her naked more than once, but his current visit came on a wave of her feeling quite fat and bloated. In spite of actually being unhealthily thin. Her collar bones jutted out from her shoulders and sloped down a chest where you could clearly count the ribs. Her pelvic and hip bones were far too angular for anyone with an even remotely healthy weight. Yet the teen didn't see any of that. She saw fat.

Retrieving her robe and wrapping it around herself, tieing the belt at the waist, Mel sat on the cushioned chair, legs crossed at the ankles and tucked beneath she sighed at Tyler.

"Good morning to you too."

[Tyler Durnham]

For a moment, Tyler was at a loss as to how to proceed here, something which was happening to him more and more lately, now that he was seemingly starting to develop something of a conscience and feel responsibility over his friends. He didn’t enjoy it in the slightest, feeling this way, he much preferred his old ways of being completely care free. And while those days weren’t behind him in the slightest, he was starting to find himself being a better friend to those close to him. It was both god and bad, he supposed, Bree’s efforts to make him more morally decent, he supposed. Helping people made people think better of him, and of course he enjoyed the ego boost. But it was also so much effort, effort and time that could be better used for his...leisure pursuits.

His better nature won out in the end, annoying so, as much as his more fun nature wanted to leave Melodee’s troubles to her and just enjoy her company, and other features, this morning. But he just couldn’t bring himself to. Not to mention, he enjoyed girls with curves, skin and bones just didn’t appeal to him, and while the girl had been thin during their brief ‘romance’, it was nothing compared to how she looked now.

Smiling, he sat down opposite her, keeping his eyes focussed on her face. “I realised that it’s been too long between visits Melodee.” he spoke softly. ”And it’s about time we rectified that. I’m sure I have a lot to catch up on, especially after that unfortunate...incident on Thursday. Why don’t we head down to the kitchen, a late breakfast is sounding really good. I’m starving.” he chuckled.

[Melodee Riker]

Pink bathrobe clung to the bony frame like a sheet over a tree branch. It just didn't look pretty, and while Mel would agree currently that she's unattractive (mentally, never would she say such aloud) it was for an entirely different reason. A Phantom Issue, as it might be called by some. Running splayed fingers through wet hair, to unclump and buy her time, the proverbial queen of her castle leaned back and studied her friend.

It was true that they hadn't spent much time together lately, but Mel had chalked that up to Tyler's standard running around and spending time with other girls. Trying to make as many of them fall head over heels for him as possible. He had already made conquests out of the majority of the girls at Gould, and quite a few of the Silver student's as well. For which she applauded him. Such connections, should he use them properly, would do him well in the future.

"It was an unfortunate event, Thursday, but more so that no one arrived for the weekly meeting of the Young Republican's Club yesterday afternoon." Her eyes cut into his face, a sharp reminder that it was a club he was also involved in and had abandoned. Though if the truth were to be told (certainly, it won't be told aloud) she had been grateful for the evening to herself. After her fall, her whole body had hurt, and though she'd dressed and been prepared for company, Melodee had been happy not to need the polite mask of interest.

"As for breakfast, didn't your buxom brunette fix you something this morning?" Even as she spoke, her tone was light enough to indicate teasing. The redhead didn't want to eat. Had absolutely no interest in the activity proposed, but if Tyler wanted something, she could demure and drink tea. One of the cleansing ones.

[Tyler Durnham]

The moment the words left Melodee’s mouth, a look of apology crossed Tyler’s face. He was annoyed at himself, more than anything, that he had forgotten the event, he would have thought that seeing how it was a standing date, it wouldn’t have slipped his mind so easily. But as he considered the drama of the brunch, as well as the rather enjoyable ‘networking’ he got up to, and his date with Aly, he really couldn’t blame himself for getting distracted and forgetting.

“I’m sorry Melodee, I’ve got no excuses. I’m surprised no one else showed up though. Well, maybe not in Lim’s case, I could see him wanting to keep a low profile. I promise, next Saturday I’ll be here first, and I’ll even stay the longest, you’ll be sick of me once the meeting’s over.” he laughed. Really, he should do better than that, miss his meeting with his old friend, his father taught him better than that. He had to keep the family name as highly respected as it was. And keep his friendships intact, especially that with Melodee Riker. She was one of the girls that his father still held hopes for, thought that she would be perfectly suited to marry his son. And Tyler agreed, not that he ever wanted to marry anyone, not for a long time, but someone like her would be perfect. So many options, not enough time.

He laughed again, shaking his head dismissively. “No, to both the buxom brunette and breakfast.” He wondered if she meant Maggy, he didn’t think she was otherwise well acquainted with his interests, and if she had meant the girl, it was a refreshing change from his other two female friends, to neither get mocked for his choice, or encouraged to ‘clean up his act’ for her.

“I spent the morning with Aly Durrand, I’m sure you know her. Breakfast was far from our minds.” He stretched out his legs in front of him, considering the girl opposite. “Which suits me just fine, I’d rather eat here with you.” He had no idea how to deal with eating disorders, it was obvious the girl had one, or at least serious body issues, the way she was so bared to him now. But he could see what she was doing, distracting him from the issue, not saying no outright to the suggestion. It was obvious she wouldn’t go for the idea, but he never was one to take no for an answer.

“Or if you prefer, we can make it brunch instead, it’s late enough to call it that.” Tyler grinned. His eyes remained friendly, but his voice took on a slightly sterner tone. “When was the last time you ate Mel? A full meal.”

[Melodee Riker]

Bristling at the indication that she hadn't been eating (never mind that she hadn't really been eating) Melodee sat a bit straighter and tilted her chin at just such an angle as to show she was irritated. She had gained a pound! A vital pound for fat or thin. For pretty or just... normal. Or worse, ugly!

Goose flesh prickled Mel's pale skin at the very thought of weighing even a portion of what "Mom" weighed. Though the black senior carried her weight well, Mel couldn't fathom weighing that, or carrying that sort of weight, around herself.

"I don't care for your tone, Durnham." The use of his last name rather than his first was, perhaps, a very British method of expressing one's distaste with the person in question, but it worked. As much as she wanted to, Melodee knew she couldn't remain upset with Tyler. They were too much alike in any number of ways, and as far as society went, they were a perfect pairing. She held no "true love" for him, but loved him just the same. As much as she could allow herself to at any rate.

He had been a dear friend, and a wonderful bed companion on a number of visits before she and her mother had returned to California full-time. She knew he liked slightly thicker girls than she was, but no way, no how was she going to sit down and take a "you need to eat more" speech for anyone.

If anything, Mel knew she needed to eat less. The whole weight gain thing was freaking her out more than she was going to let show.

"You said you were hungry, I don't happen to be at the moment, but I will join you downstairs in a moment. Mother was disappointed when no one came and ate any of the snacks she'd prepared for the club." That's right, turn it back around on him. "There are enough for a find breakfast, and more than enough for a hearty brunch."

[Tyler Durnham]

He wasn’t surprised that Melodee was annoyed at him, he would be too at first, if a friend was butting into his life, offering opinions on things Tyler felt was his own business. And it would certainly be easy to just drop the subject, get back to light and cheery, what he was used to. But, he also happened to be stubborn, and seeing how he already brought the subject up, he decided, he may as well persist. She really wasn’t well after all, he could tell that by one glance. And she was his friend, he cared for her. So he would just have to suffer with what it meant to be a good friend.

She was smart, he smiled to himself, realising what she was doing with mentioning yesterday’s missed meeting. “I’ll have to apologise to your mother then.” he said, not at all put off in the slightest. She certainly wasn’t going to make this easy for him, unfortunately. Not that he expected her to, of course.

“Sounds perfect.” Tyler agreed, intent on making her eat something. Or at least trying to. If she was as stubborn as him, which seemed likely, it would not be an easy task. “We’ll have brunch together then.” He emphasised the we’ll, and he was sure she got his point, from the look she gave him. “It’s been a while since we have, I remember it being quite a regular occurrence, when you come down to visit.” Laughing happily, he stood up, moving to his friend.

“I’ll be waiting downstairs for you then.” he told her, leaning down to brush his lips against her cheek. He remained like this, speaking softly into her ear. “I only want what’s best for you Mel, and you don’t look well. To be perfectly honest, you look as though you’ll collapse on me any moment.” He straightened, giving her another smile. “But don’t worry, I understand discretion, I’ll keep my worries to myself. I’ll be downstairs.”

[Melodee Riker]

It was such a familiar gesture between them. The brush of lips against cheeks... and other assorted body parts, the intimate gestures that both had found comfort and fun in. Neither party falling head over heels for the other. It was safe, fun, and just sex between friends.

"I will be down in a moment." Melodee's words weren't as curt as they had been previously, but she was still annoyed. A little surprised that Tyler only wanted the best for her. He did understand discretion, which was part of why they worked so well as friends and occasional bed partners, but there was nothing to be discrete about here. She was fine, a little fat, but fine.

Rising from her seated position as Tyler left to go downstairs and prep their HIS brunch, she would get dressed. Though her hair was still damp a few minutes with the hair dryer and styling brush would solve that problem.

There's no reason for him to worry so. The young woman frowned at her reflection in the mirror. It frowned back, and to her eyes looked pudgy. He thinks I'm going to collapse on him? Heart attack? Am I that fat?! The frown shifted to a look of fear as two hand came up to press on cheeks. Closing her eyes, Melodee exhaled and shook herself free of the fat-attack that was settling into her mind.

Deftly she applied cosmetics, lightly as it was morning, and got dressed. Heading down the stairs, Melodee met Tyler in the breakfast nook just off the kitchen and seated herself across from him. Ankles once again crossed and ducked beneath her under the chair.

"How was your play date last night?" Polite conversation, discussing conquests, sipping hot tea sweetened with honey. It was the familiar things that were going to brush aside the uncomfortable moment up in her room. Grey pencil skirt and blouse did some to cover her too-thin frame, but not enough. Still, the female half of the pair was determined, and just as stubborn and tenacious as the male.

[Tyler Durnham]

Tyler made full use of his time while Melodee was getting ready, getting a platter made up of some snacks from the forgotten meeting, as well as fruit, and including the tea he knew his friend was partial too. He even decided to forgo coffee to try some himself. He waited for it to be set up before taking his seat, sparing a quick glance at his watch while he waited.

He wasn’t unoccupied for long though, by the time Melodee made her way down to him, he was on his phone. The moment he spotted her though, he stood politely, waiting for her to sit down before taking his own seat once more. He quickly hung up, slipping his phone back into his pocket as the faint look of annoyance faded from his face.

“You’re looking beautiful Mel.” he smiled. “That was my father.” he explained. “Apparently my half-sister is going to be flying in today, around lunch time, and I’m to pick her up. He’s mentioned before that she may be coming soon, to live with us, but I would have appreciated a bit of warning. I haven’t seen her for quite some years, we’ve never grown up together. She’s my mother’s daughter. But it’s family, so the things we must do for family.” he eventually grinned, teasingly. “But don’t worry, you’ve still got me for some time yet.”

He leaned over to pour them both some tea, ignoring the food for now as he pushed the cup over to her. “It was very, very enjoyable.” he admitted cheerily, not at all bothered by sharing details. Melodee was one of his closest, most intimate friends after all, they’ve shared a lot more than just talk during the time they’ve known each other. “Aly decided to turn the tables around on me, she seduced me this time.” he chuckled. “She took me to this interesting jazz club, I’m sure it’s one you’ll enjoy. Then we made our way to the beach, she hired a little villa for the night for us. All in all, it was quite an enjoyable date. What about you Mel, have you been seeing anyone recently? That...is it Judd Nixon?”

He hadn’t forgotten his concerns for her though, it was impossible to, with the way her clothes were hanging off her. And so he filled both plates with various food and snacks, glancing over at her kindly as he deliberately pushed one plate towards her, before settling back with his own resting on his lap.

[Melodee Riker]

Nodding politely as Tyler explained about his half sister, Mel couldn't help but wonder what sort of girl she would turn out to be. Would she be another welcome companion to distract from the daily running of things, or someone else to brush politely aside. Being a Durnham automatically gave the girl some points in her favor, but it depended on her to live up to the name.

"The jazz club sounds nice. I will have to make reservations at some point and enjoy it myself." Mel sipped her tea and watched as Tyler filled two plates with more food than a small African Nation could eat. Well perhaps that wasn't being quite fair, but it was certainly more than she would eat.

If she'd had any appetite to begin with it would have been chased away by the very notion that she'd sleep with Judd Nixon. He was useful to her in that he needed direction and she'd given to him so he felt like he owed her. Which he did. She put him to different tasks about the studios and he'd completed them all. His grooming was coming along nicely, and he showed his appreciation for everything, by working that much harder.

But to sleep with him?

No.

"Why is it," asked she on a sigh, "that when I took the boy under my wing and began to show him how to cultivate his talents everyone assumed I was dating him? Tyler, you know me better than that. He's a useful tool and quite grateful for everything I've done. No. I haven't been seeing anyone lately." Pausing to sip more tea and gather her thoughts about how she was going to press on next, Melodee pointedly ignored the food in front of her.

She was not going to gain another pound today.

"Though you are the second person to mention him to me this week. The orange-haired boy - Bartholomew? - asked me about Judd as well. Then he proceeded to apologize to me about assuming I was heterosexual. He's quite convinced I'm a lesbian." Irritation colored her tone briefly again, but Mel kept it under control.

"I'm busy. I have yet to hear back from my eldest sister about her portion of father's publishing firm. I have the majority of it now, but I need hers to have full ownership. There's graduation coming up in a few months, and I still haven't heard back from all the colleges I applied to. I don't have time to date. There will be plenty of that later."