At Home

Author's Note: The encounter with the Bowers Gang was supposed to happen in the last chapter, but I felt the chapter was getting too long, so I decided to put the scene in this chapter. Also, I changed Melanie's faceclaim to Riele Downs.

P.S.: Yes, I know it's been a long time since I've updated this story. Life got in the way.

Racism Trigger Warning: The n-word is used.


The Bowers Gang began approaching Melanie and Mike. "Mike," Melanie called to her cousin.

He looked up from his book. "Yeah," he asked.

Before she could respond, Henry had only reached them. "What's up, niggers," Henry taunted.

Mike gulped. "What do you want, Henry," he said in a quivering voice.

"A better question is why are you two sitting at the counter?"

"Because we wanted to."

"You know, when my dad was a kid you people weren't allowed to sit here."

"Well, we can now," said Melanie under her breath.

Unfortunately, Henry heard her; he grabbed her arm. "What did you say," he demanded.

"Nuh-nothing," she stammered.

He gripped her arm tighter. "You said something."

"Let her go," Mike said. He grabbed Henry's arm and attempted to pry it from Melanie's. Patrick and Belch pushed him back, however.

Henry ignored Mike and maintained his attention on Melanie. "If you're going to be rude, maybe I should…"

"What the hell do you think you're doing," a female voice interrupted. It was her aunt.

The appearance of Jessica Hanlon caused Henry to loosen his grip on Melanie. She immediately took the opportunity to pull her arm away.

"None of your business," Henry snapped at Jessica.

"She's my niece. It's entirely my business," said Jessica, crossing her arms.

"Is there a problem here," Sarah questioned. She had noticed what was going on and came over.

"I don't know." Jessica gave Henry a stern look. "Is there, young man?"

Henry looked between the two women. Eventually, he rolled his eyes and said, "Whatever." He turned to his friends. "Let's go."

Henry walked away and his friends followed behind. Melanie watched them leave. Patrick looked back and gave her a salacious wink; she shivered.

Jessica put her hand on Melanie's shoulder. "Are you okay, honey?"

Melanie nodded. "I'm fine." She wasn't, but she didn't want to admit it.

Luckily, her aunt didn't call her on it. Instead, she looked at Mike. "What about you, sweetie?"

"I'm okay," Mike replied. Melanie was sure he wasn't being honest either.

"I'll go check on your order," said Sarah. "You want anything, Jess?"

"Yeah, I'll have a diet Coke," she responded.

"Alright." Sarah left and went into the kitchen.

Jessica took a seat next to Mike. She made small talk with her son and niece. Every so often she would cast a glance at them. Melanie figured she was making sure they were okay. Bowers had always been a thorn in their family's side.

Sarah eventually returned with their drinks. A short time later, she brought their tater tots. Other than occasionally answering Jessica's questions, Melanie and Mike ate in silence. The encounter with Bowers had soured their moods.

-TFS-

Melanie, Mike, and Jessica entered their house. They all carried a paper grocery bag. "Will baby, we're home," Jessica shouted to her husband.

"I'm in the kitchen," he shouted back.

"Good, you can help us put away groceries!"

"Yes, ma'am!"

The trio entered the kitchen. Will Hanlon was drying his hands. Melanie noticed a bowl of strawberries by the sink. He had probably been washing them.

Jessica placed her bag on the counter while Mike and Melanie placed theirs on the table. They began putting away the groceries. Will walked over to his wife and kissed her on the lips. "Eww," said Mike and Melanie.

"Oh, hush," Jessica said, rolling her eyes.

The two of them giggled. They began to silently put away groceries. While doing so, Melanie noticed her aunt and uncle were whispering to each other. She couldn't help but wonder if they were talking about her. She had overheard them talking about her a few times before. It was always the same thing. Was she okay? Should they talk to her about it?

If they were talking about her, she knew it was probably because of the incident with Bowers. He had always been a thorn in their side.

"Ow," exclaimed Melanie. She had been so lost in her thoughts, she had hit her foot against something. She also dropped the loaf of bread she had been holding.

Mike turned towards her. "You okay," he asked.

"I'm fine."

Melanie's exclamation had also gotten Will and Jessica's attention. "You sure, honey," Jessica asked.

"Yeah," assured Melanie. She bent down to pick up the bread.

After about four minutes, they finished with the groceries. Mike went to his room while Melanie decided to call Beverly. She dialed Bev's number; she picked it up after two rings.

"Hello," Bev answered.

"It's Melanie," she said.

"I'm sorry, you have the wrong number." Melanie frowned. That meant Mr. Marsh was home and awake. He shared the same opinion of her family that the Bowers did.

"Okay, call me back when you can," Melanie said.

"It's no problem," said Beverly.

Melanie hung up the phone. She went upstairs to her room to grab her camera. She then headed outside. It was warm outside; she wished that the weather would stay exactly like this all summer.

She started to snap pictures around the farm. She took pictures of the crops, the animals, and several other things. After a while, she just decided to walk around. Melanie enjoyed the sounds of the farm; it was relaxing for her.

She made a face. The normal sounds she heard were interrupted by music. At first, she thought it was coming from the house, but she soon realized it was coming from the woods. The song sounded familiar; she began walking towards it. Melanie stopped right where the woods and farm met.

She finally recognized the song. It was My Girl by The Temptations. It had been a while since she had heard it. Her father would sing it to her and her mother; they would dance around the living room as he did. She smiled at the memory.

Her happiness quickly gave way to confusion. Why was the song playing in the woods? The only radio her aunt and uncle had was in the living room. Was someone with a radio hanging out in the woods? It wasn't uncommon in Derry.

"Hello," she called out. No response. "Is someone out there?" Still no response.

She was about to walk into the woods when she heard uncle yell, "Melanie!"

Melanie jumped back from the forest. She hoped her uncle hadn't seen her. He didn't like her and Mike going into the woods without him or Aunt Jessica. She turned around to look. She let out a breath of relief; he hadn't seen her. She turned back to the woods. The song had stopped playing. She figured whoever was in there had her uncle and turned off the radio.

"Melanie," Uncle Will called out again.

"Coming," she yelled back. She jogged back to the house.

There, Uncle Will stood on the porch waiting for her. "You have fun sightseeing," he teased.

"Yeah, I saw a mountain lion."

"Ooh, I hope you took lots of photos."

"Yep."

Uncle Will chuckled. "Well, you can tell Bev all about it. She's on the phone for you." He ruffled her hair.

"Thanks." Melanie walked inside. She picked up the phone and put it to her ear. "Hey, Bev."

"Hey, Mel," her friend greeted back. "Sorry, I couldn't talk before."

"It's fine. Where did you disappear to?"

"I went to smoke."

"Ah."

"I also ran into Greta."

That couldn't be good. "What happened?"

"She threw garbage on me," Beverly grumbled.

Melanie made a face. "Gross."

"Yeah, but I don't want to talk about that. How'd it go with Bill science?" Bev's voice turned singsongy. She was well aware of Melanie's crush.

Melanie smiled. "He invited me to sit with his friends."

"Tell me everything."

"Well, Richie is definitely high energy."