One hiccup and a sneeze later, the school year has finally come to a close, leaving swarming teens rushing out of the building like rats to light as soon as that final bell rang. Amongst the eager students were just Melody and Mateo, staying behind the pack, walking side by side. It was actually Mateo that stopped Melody, hoping that they could talk before summer break started.

“Hey,” Mateo said, smiling as they slowly made their way out of the school building. “ Looks like we made it out okay.”

“I know right,” Melody said beaming ear to ear. “ Mr. Frain said that once the grades finalize, my grades average out to a B+.”

“That’s great. I’m happy for you Mel.”

“You were a lot of help too, you know. Actually taking tutoring seriously.”

“You would have made it even if I wasn’t there, someone else would have taken my place that you could whip into shape.” Mateo said, holding open the front doors for Melody.

“Maybe,” Melody passed by him and the doors and waited for him to join her once more. “But I enjoyed being around you. You’re a good friend.”

“You're a good friend too,” Mateo said, pausing, “What classes are you taking next semester?”

“The basic requirements mostly, I did add Art and a Financial Literacy course. How about you?”

“Boring stuff, probably going to drop out anyway.” Mateo said, smirking.

“Don’t joke like that,” Melody said, giving him a playful shove.

“Anyway…” Mateo sighed. “What are you going to do with your free time now? Take more time at the coffee shop?”

“Yeah, probably. I need to start looking at taking college tours as well. I know that the school has field trips to some local ones, but none of those interests me.”

“Hey, you never know. They might be good for you. Anyway…” Mateo said, rubbing the back of his neck as they walked down the stairs. “We can hang out whenever you’re free. I doubt you’ll be busy all summer.”

“I don’t know yet,” Melody said, her smile fading, as she looked away.

“What? Am I too much for you?”

“No. I don't think that,” Melody said, shaking her head.

“Then come on,” Mateo said, smirking. “Let's go.”

“Go where?” Melody said, confused.

“Don’t worry about it,” Mateo said, racing down the stairs, leaving Melody to catch up. “Learn to be spontaneous.”

“I can't just-”

“Don’t worry, Mel. I’ll take you home when we’re done,” Mateo interrupted. “But don't worry about it, just go.”

Melody catched up to Mateo as he raced to his car. Melody watched cautiously as Mateo hopped in the car and started it up. She opened the passenger door and plopped herself into the car, placing her backpack in between her legs. Before she could even buckle up, Mateo sped out of the parking lot and onto the road, causing Melody’s head to whip back from the intensity. She rushed to buckle herself then stared daggers into Mateo, who looked like he didn’t even know what he did.

“Mat…” Melody said in a low growl. “Where are we going?”

“Don’t worry about it,” Mateo snapped back, giving Melody the evil eye. As though she was the one ruining his fun. “You’ll like it, I promise.”

It didn't take Melody long to realize where they were going. As soon as he pulled up to the bakery’s parking lot she was beaming from ear to ear. Mateo glared at her excitement and couldn't help but to smile as well. 

“I heard they make the best donuts. I wanted to try them out.” Mateo said, turning the engine off. 

“Do they really?” Melody said, unbuckling her seatbelt.

Both of them got out of the car and went into the bakery. It was when the bakery doors opened, that ring of the bell telling that new patrons were present. There were a couple of people being serviced by one worker behind the baked goods, so it gave the two plenty of time to decide what they wanted. Melody loved the smell of baked breads and caramelized sugars as she strolled along, glaring at the pastries behind the glass. They had pretty much anything that the two would want. They had various kinds of cookies on display, individual cheesecake slices and pies packed in plastic containers. They had various forms of donuts from large cake-like donuts to various filled ones. Melody’s mouth watered just at the sight of it all.

“They have apple-filled donuts,” Melody said, with joy in her voice. “And honey glazed.”

“Get whatever you want. It's on me.” Mateo said, walking off to another section of the store.

“What? I have some money though, I can get what I want myself.” Melody said, low enough not to bring attention to herself.

“It’s to say congrats for surviving the school year.” He said, smiling at her. “It’s a gift Mel. You deserve it.”

Melody hesitated for a moment, but then smiled. She looked on at exactly what she wanted, focusing on the apple filled donuts. And when it was finally their turn to be served, she got her donut, and although Mateo tried to persuade her to get more if she wanted, that was all she got. They had sat in the corner of the bakery with Melody smiling so much it hurted her cheeks as she bit into her donut. Mateo happily watched on as he bit into his cookie.

“It’s so good,” Melody said, glaring at her donut like it was her precious baby then at him. “Thank you.”

“No problem,” He said, popping a piece of cookie into his mouth. “I’m glad you enjoyed it.”

“How’s your cookie?” Melody said, munching away at her donut.

“It’s pretty good, next time I come here I’ll have to try one of their donuts. You can get another one to go if you want.”

“No, I’m good,” Melody said, taking the time to swallow what she had in her mouth before continuing. “Thank you for the offer though.”

“Have you seen the cakes that they have on display?” Mateo said, pointing at a display of cakes on the other side of the bakery. The display case had several cakes alternating one another, from simple white cakes to extravagant cakes with vibrant colors and lace like piping. From one trier to three tier cakes, anyone could tell that they had a very skilled team working on those cakes.

“They’re pretty,” Melody nodded, holding the remainder of her donut carefully so as to not squish the filling onto the small napkin Melody had placed below it.

“Ever wanted one of those for your birthday? It’s June 2nd, right?”
“It’s July 2nd. And I don’t think I want that much cake.” Melody said, shaking her head.

“Then one of those personal slices then,” Mateo said, pointing at a section of display cakes across from them.

“Don’t you think that’s kinda expensive though. Those are like six dollars for a little skimpy slice,” Melody leaned in to whisper, looking at the workers to ensure that they didn't hear her. 

“Yeah, I guess that’s fair,” Mateo said, nodding along, leaning in his chair.

“Besides, I don’t really want anything for my birthday.”

“I’ll get you a box of those donuts for your birthday, then.”

“No,” Melody shakes her head, putting her hand out to stop him. “This is enough for me. I need to try to go back here with my niece and nephew though.”

“Just except my generosity Mel, it won’t bother me hanging out with you and doing stuff like this,” Mateo said, leaning forward. That however caused Melody to sink back in her chair.

“I don’t know. It feels weird,” Melody said, not wanting to cause a scene. “For one, it feels weird accepting stuff from guys. I know you don’t mean anything about it, but it makes me feel like I owe you something.”

“Like what? Sex?” he said, before he could stop himself from saying it out loud. He could only look on as Melody shrunk farther into her chair. “You know that I don’t want to do anything like that. I know how you act when you talk about being with your sister and her boyfriend, I just wanted to give you an out if you feel like you can’t go anywhere else. Everything is purely platonic between us.”

“I know that,” Melody said, looking down, thinking about the right things to say. “Also, the second thing is that I don’t want to end up like Lizzy Heather, being beat up by some girl the day before spring break for talking to someone’s boyfriend or something.”

“What do you mean by that,” Mateo said, with an inquisitive stare. 

“I know you have a girlfriend. I don't want her to see us together and think that there’s something else going on.”

“You shouldn't worry about that,” Mateo said, chuckling. “My girlfriend and I are allowed to have friends of the opposite sex. She can’t control who I hang out with. And she most certainly won’t put her hands on you.”
“I’m sorry for assuming,” Melody said, looking off to the side. “Sometimes thoughts like that bother me.”

“You’re fine, Mel. And like I said, if you want to talk or just get away for a bit, text me.”

“I’ll try.” She said, bringing her head up to look at him. “Thank you. For everything.”

“No problem.” he said, crumbling his napkin up into a ball, “I’m ready to go when you are.”

That was the last time Melody had met with Mateo following summer vacation. As expected the kids Aaron and Kimmi had since left for their grandparents for the summer, leaving Melody to deal with her irresponsible sister. At first she tried to deal with it by herself, focusing on spending more hours in the cafe, no matter how monotonous it was, at least it was away from a bunch of addicts. At night she would barricade inside her room, which was stocked with snacks and bottled water. In the event of needing to use the bathroom, she made that as quick of a process as possible. She even locked her bedroom door and kept a bobby pin with her, in case someone tried to steal from her. And if anyone had tried to speak to her as she stumbled out of the bathroom, she would just ignore them, sprinting herself back into her room before the horde came for a sober conscience. It didn't matter what time of day it was, there always seemed to be some stranger just hanging out in the house.

It was until one day that Melody had snapped at her sister when she found some half dazed guy looking through her things that she slammed her bedroom shut, got on her phone and poured her feelings to Mateo. At least to Melody, he was the few people who would listen to her problems. Her heart raced as she sent her text, hoping that he would have some sort of answer to her problems. They could go to the park, or to the movies and watch something. Anything felt better than to be there in that apartment. She sunk down into her bed as the seconds turned to minutes without a reply. He most likely was at work. His phone is off and away somewhere. He was busy. Melody sighed then picked her phone off the bed, and scrolled through her contacts to Emilio. She didn't want to bother him with her problems, most of her texts to him were mostly catching up on anime and talking about that. But she needed someone to talk to. And besides Mateo, Emilio was the only other person she didn't talk about school with in her small group of friends. So, she had sent the same text she had sent to Mateo to Emilio. He only took seconds to respond back. They would start a conversation, one that she could only do through Mateo. They had talked about her life and her sister and the apartment, not as in depth as the talks she had with Mateo, but enough for Emilio to know her situation. And Emilio always responded at a reasonable time. Melody felt heard.

After much talking, they had finally figured that she could get out of the apartment for a bit, breathe some fresh air and to get away from her sister. Melody got up and went to the park that was by the apartment. She would meet up with Emilio there, and talk. Maybe walk around a little bit. Anything to take Melody away from her mind for a bit. It was a bit windy and a little rainy outside, but that didn't stop Melody from just wearing a hoodie while she went her way out the door. When she first arrived she sat on the park bench, glaring at her phone every now and then, waiting for Emilio to come. She had given him the bus route number she usually takes on her way home, and hoped he got on the right one. Eventually though, after some time and confirmation on both of their part, he had finally made it. As Melody saw him making his way towards her, she couldn’t help but to smile. She wasn’t alone now.