Hollow (Chapter 9)
Title: Hollow
Pairings: Ian/Anthony -- one sided, Anthony/Kalel.
Ratings/Warnings: PG-13; Angst, slash, language.
A/N: So...Ian and Melanie broke up. For real. And she is definitely in this story, but luckily, they're not a couple. I'd feel terrible
posting about them being together and then breaking up when they did for real.
Previous chapters: Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8
Anthony, to this day, did not know what possessed him to go to Melanie’s house after his visit with Ian.
After he’d left the rehab center, his mind fully wrapped around Ian’s situation, his sadness. He missed Melanie, that had to be it. He’d never fully understood why he and Melanie had broken up, but whatever it was, it had really gotten to him. Anthony had long ago decided that Melanie must have dumped Ian, because Ian really loved Melanie too much to break up with her.
As he drove to her house, Anthony felt a pang in his chest at the thought of Ian loving Melanie. He frowned. What the hell? was his only thought. But then he thought about today, about hugging Ian so tightly and about his eyes. Those crystal blue
eyes that had stared at him so intently, so sadly.
And that was when his heart started to pound.
He swallowed hard, turning down Melanie’s street. His eyes darted around for her house and he began to record the colors of the cars he past. Red, green, white, beige, white, gray, gray, beige, blue.
You also kissed his forehead, Anthony told himself, who does that?
Anthony shook his head and he turned his car, moving up Melanie’s driveway. Shrugging off the uneasy feeling, he turned the key, shutting the car off.
He climbed the steps to the house and rang the doorbell, shifting from one foot to the other, anxious to speak with Melanie.
She opened the door after a few seconds, dressed in a coral-colored sundress. Her blond hair was curled and as always, she looked gorgeous.
“Anthony?” she asked, “what are you doing here?”
Anthony pushed his way into the house, surprising her. “I need to have a chat with you.”
She frowned and crossed her arms across her chest. “Well, Mark’s coming over soon with Mari and Matt, so-”
He shook his head. “Why didn’t you tell me Ian was suicidal?”
Melanie’s eyes widened. “I thought we talked about...?”
“No,” Anthony spat, “you told me that Ian tried to kill himself by overdosing. But it took me ten hours to get that out of you!”
She frowned at him. “Where is all of this coming from?”
“Ian finally talked,” Anthony stated, “and I know why he’s so upset.”
Melanie’s mouth dropped open and Anthony saw a complete change in her demeanor. “Y-you do?” she asked softly.
“Yeah!” he shouted, “it’s because of you!”
The blond’s eyes widened and she gave Anthony a hard look. “Really now?”
He nodded, his anger rising. “And honestly, I can understand why. You dumped him right when all of his friends were getting
into serious relationships. That was awful, Mel. And whenever he OD’d, you never bothered to call me! I would’ve flown home
to Hawaii right on the spot if he needed me to, but you never even gave me the chance!” Anthony exploded. He was breathing
hard now, having released all of his angry thoughts at once.
Melanie stood, arms folded and with a huge frown on her face. “Are you done?”
Anthony thought for a moment before nodding. “Yes. I just want an explanation.”
Melanie began nodding and walking toward him, a furious sneer becoming clear on her pretty face. “First of all, Anthony, everything I did was for Ian, okay? He begged me not to tell you that he’d OD’d, let alone that he was in rehab.”
Anthony was, needless to say, stunned. For the fifteen years that they’d been friends, they’d never kept secrets from one another. Or, at least, Anthony had never kept anything from Ian. The real question was why Ian would want to keep Anthony away from this.
“And also, Ian broke up with me,” she continued, “I loved Ian, Anthony. So much. But he didn’t love me anymore, so we
stopped dating. It killed me, but I moved on because I knew that there was no point in pining after someone whose heart belonged to someone else.”
Anthony frowned. “Wait. So...Ian broke up with you?”
She nodded. “That’s right.”
He bit his lip, relaying her words in his head. I knew that there was no point in pining after someone whose heart belonged to someone else.
“He’s in love with someone else,” Anthony said softly.
“He is,” Melanie replied, “but that’s not the point here.” She eyed Anthony one more time before delivering the rest of her explanation. “And lastly, Anthony, you have no right to come barging into my house and start blaming shit on me, especially when all I did was help Ian. Hell, I even went to you and Kalel’s wedding when he knows that I can’t stand her. And honestly, sometimes I really hate you, too.”
Anthony furrowed his brows in confusion. “What have I done to you?”
Melanie chuckled. “Besides barging in here and yelling at me? Not much. But before you go blaming other people for things
that they haven’t done, you need to take a hard look at what’s in front of you.”
Anthony clenched his fists. “What do you mean?”
Melanie scowled, looking Anthony up and down. Finally, she sighed and gave him her answer. “You should talk to Kalel.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” he asked, shaking his head.
“Figure it out,” Melanie snapped, “now get the hell out of my house. I don’t want to look at you.”
With a deep breath, Anthony walked out of Melanie’s house, no clear plan in mind.
Pairings: Ian/Anthony -- one sided, Anthony/Kalel.
Ratings/Warnings: PG-13; Angst, slash, language.
A/N: So...Ian and Melanie broke up. For real. And she is definitely in this story, but luckily, they're not a couple. I'd feel terrible
posting about them being together and then breaking up when they did for real.
Previous chapters: Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8
Anthony, to this day, did not know what possessed him to go to Melanie’s house after his visit with Ian.
After he’d left the rehab center, his mind fully wrapped around Ian’s situation, his sadness. He missed Melanie, that had to be it. He’d never fully understood why he and Melanie had broken up, but whatever it was, it had really gotten to him. Anthony had long ago decided that Melanie must have dumped Ian, because Ian really loved Melanie too much to break up with her.
As he drove to her house, Anthony felt a pang in his chest at the thought of Ian loving Melanie. He frowned. What the hell? was his only thought. But then he thought about today, about hugging Ian so tightly and about his eyes. Those crystal blue
eyes that had stared at him so intently, so sadly.
And that was when his heart started to pound.
He swallowed hard, turning down Melanie’s street. His eyes darted around for her house and he began to record the colors of the cars he past. Red, green, white, beige, white, gray, gray, beige, blue.
You also kissed his forehead, Anthony told himself, who does that?
Anthony shook his head and he turned his car, moving up Melanie’s driveway. Shrugging off the uneasy feeling, he turned the key, shutting the car off.
He climbed the steps to the house and rang the doorbell, shifting from one foot to the other, anxious to speak with Melanie.
She opened the door after a few seconds, dressed in a coral-colored sundress. Her blond hair was curled and as always, she looked gorgeous.
“Anthony?” she asked, “what are you doing here?”
Anthony pushed his way into the house, surprising her. “I need to have a chat with you.”
She frowned and crossed her arms across her chest. “Well, Mark’s coming over soon with Mari and Matt, so-”
He shook his head. “Why didn’t you tell me Ian was suicidal?”
Melanie’s eyes widened. “I thought we talked about...?”
“No,” Anthony spat, “you told me that Ian tried to kill himself by overdosing. But it took me ten hours to get that out of you!”
She frowned at him. “Where is all of this coming from?”
“Ian finally talked,” Anthony stated, “and I know why he’s so upset.”
Melanie’s mouth dropped open and Anthony saw a complete change in her demeanor. “Y-you do?” she asked softly.
“Yeah!” he shouted, “it’s because of you!”
The blond’s eyes widened and she gave Anthony a hard look. “Really now?”
He nodded, his anger rising. “And honestly, I can understand why. You dumped him right when all of his friends were getting
into serious relationships. That was awful, Mel. And whenever he OD’d, you never bothered to call me! I would’ve flown home
to Hawaii right on the spot if he needed me to, but you never even gave me the chance!” Anthony exploded. He was breathing
hard now, having released all of his angry thoughts at once.
Melanie stood, arms folded and with a huge frown on her face. “Are you done?”
Anthony thought for a moment before nodding. “Yes. I just want an explanation.”
Melanie began nodding and walking toward him, a furious sneer becoming clear on her pretty face. “First of all, Anthony, everything I did was for Ian, okay? He begged me not to tell you that he’d OD’d, let alone that he was in rehab.”
Anthony was, needless to say, stunned. For the fifteen years that they’d been friends, they’d never kept secrets from one another. Or, at least, Anthony had never kept anything from Ian. The real question was why Ian would want to keep Anthony away from this.
“And also, Ian broke up with me,” she continued, “I loved Ian, Anthony. So much. But he didn’t love me anymore, so we
stopped dating. It killed me, but I moved on because I knew that there was no point in pining after someone whose heart belonged to someone else.”
Anthony frowned. “Wait. So...Ian broke up with you?”
She nodded. “That’s right.”
He bit his lip, relaying her words in his head. I knew that there was no point in pining after someone whose heart belonged to someone else.
“He’s in love with someone else,” Anthony said softly.
“He is,” Melanie replied, “but that’s not the point here.” She eyed Anthony one more time before delivering the rest of her explanation. “And lastly, Anthony, you have no right to come barging into my house and start blaming shit on me, especially when all I did was help Ian. Hell, I even went to you and Kalel’s wedding when he knows that I can’t stand her. And honestly, sometimes I really hate you, too.”
Anthony furrowed his brows in confusion. “What have I done to you?”
Melanie chuckled. “Besides barging in here and yelling at me? Not much. But before you go blaming other people for things
that they haven’t done, you need to take a hard look at what’s in front of you.”
Anthony clenched his fists. “What do you mean?”
Melanie scowled, looking Anthony up and down. Finally, she sighed and gave him her answer. “You should talk to Kalel.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” he asked, shaking his head.
“Figure it out,” Melanie snapped, “now get the hell out of my house. I don’t want to look at you.”
With a deep breath, Anthony walked out of Melanie’s house, no clear plan in mind.