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This chap was written by Alex and me. Thanks, Mama!


"Uncle Howie!" Melicia yelled as she threw her bag on the floor in the entranceway and ran towards the living room. "Uncle Howie!"

"Whoa, slow down, Mella!" Howie chuckled, meeting Melicia halfway between the living-room and the kitchen. He was currently in the process of stuffing into his mouth the last bite of whatever he had been previously eating. "Where's the fire?"

"No fire!" she squealed, clapping her friends."Today was-- well, besides crazy, but all turned out great! And now you don't have to worry about giving me a ride to school anymore."

"I'm not letting you drive my vette, if that's what you have in mind-"

"No, not the Vette. A Hummer!"

"Oh, that's good-- a HUMMER? How is that possible?"

"Ana offered to give me a ride!"

"Ana? Ana who?"

Melicia bit her lip, trying to remember what her AP teacher said during attendance. "Ana... Ana Lord."

"You made a friend then?" Howie answered with a smile as Melicia followed him back into the kitchen. He quickly tossed her a can of soda as he retrieved one for himself from the fridge.

"Yeah, and on the first day. That's never happened to me before. She's so cool, Uncle Howie, you would love her. And..." she looked down at her drink for a second. "she lost her mom during 9/11, too."

Howie paused, halfway through raising his drink to his lips. He studied Melicia carefully, noticing the emotions storming inside his niece. "She did?" he finally forced out, his voice more so on the quiet side as Melicia refused to make eye contact for a moment.

"Yeah," she whispered. "Her mom was on one of the planes that hit the Towers."

"That's terrible," Howie answered, afraid of saying one wrong word, because he knew Melicia could snap emotionally at any given moment. It was one thing he had to watch lately. Melicia was just as emotionally unstable as he was, if not more, and the littlest things seemed to set her into a spell of sadness.

"It is... but Ana says her mom was fighting until the end," Melicia looked up at Howie, her piercing blue eyes filled with emotion. "Do you think Mama was doing the same? Trying to get out of the Tower before it fell?"

Howie nodded. "Of course she was."

"I really wish she was able to get out of that damn tower...I do every night," Melicia sighed, drinking the rest of her pop. "Oh, before I forget. Ana is coming over here later around 7, is that okay?"

Howie felt relieved as his niece quickly changed the subject. "Yeah, I think that will be fine. Just hanging out?"

"Yeah, getting to know each other better, maybe go swimming or something. Do you got anything planned today?"

"A few errands. Then I have to head down with Kevin to management to discuss a few things," Howie answered. Melicia had already taken a seat upon one the bar stools at the counter, leaning her head against her hand with exhaustion. "The fellas may be coming over later. Mella, are you feeling alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, Uncle Howie... just really drained from school, that's all. First day nerves are finally settling down and my foot isn't feeling too great right now."

"There's an ice pack in the freezer," Howie suggested.

Melicia shrugged, getting up from the bar stool. "Ice isn't necessary, either way it'll hurt for awhile. When do you leave for your errands and the meeting with management?"

"In a few. I was waiting for you to get home to make sure you got in alright. You want me to pick anything up for you while I'm out?"

"Nah, I'm alright," she kissed his cheek. "I gotta go start my homework. I'll see you later tonight?"

"Yeah, I won't be too late. Just a few hours at the most."

"Okay. Have fun, Uncle Howie," she went to get her backback and limped up to her room.

*****

Melicia sighed in frustration as she flipped back and forth between several pages in her text book for her Anatomy and Physiology class. Only having completed her first day at school and already she was slammed with a load of homework. Most of which failed to strike her interest and succeeded at drowning her in boredom. Her head pounded right along with her aching foot and she wanted nothing more then to snap the pen in half that she was writing with and call it quits for the day. However, that would probably not be a good idea since the good size assignment she was working was due the next day and she could all too well remember her uncle's words about slacking off. "Damnit! Where the Hell is the defenition?!" she gritted her teeth and finally chucked the pen from her grasp and sent it spiraling in the direction of her doorway, just as the door was being pushed open.

"Ouch! Thanks for the welcome, Babe," AJ came walking into the room, rubbing his forehead where her pen hit him.

"Alex, I'm sorry!" Melicia blushed, trying to not laugh at the pitiful look on his face. "I didn't hear the door opening."

"Next time I'll remember to knock," AJ groaned, rolling his eyes.

"Oh, stop complaining," she got up and kissed the red mark. "See? All better."

AJ shrunk away from Melicia's touch for a moment. Seeing her questioning stare, he shrugged and offered her an impish smile. "Yeah, all better," he answered.

"You're nervous around me, aren't you?"

"Nah, girl! I never get nervous..." AJ answered quickly.

"Alex," she slightly scolded, taking her hand into his and bringing him over to her large bed. "You know you can tell me. I mean, that kiss we had... it was--"

"It...shouldn't have happened. Melicia, I mean...you...I...your uncle..."

"Forget about my uncle. What does your heart tell you?" she placed both their hands over his chest. "Because mine says to go for it."

AJ gently pushed her hands away. "It's not right...us...Mella, you're only 18..."

"That's right, I'm 18. A legal adult and capable of making my own decisions. Are you trying to tell me you don't feel anything for me? Nothing at all?"

"That's not what I'm saying," AJ attempted to explain, shaking his head as he broke their stare. "It's just...Mella, I don't think it's right..."

"Alex," Melicia made him look into her eyes. "I'm not asking you to be my husband or something. Why can't we just see how it all goes? If you still feel it's not right, we can stop."

"I don't want to take advantage of you, Mella," AJ whispered.

"You won't. Whatever happens with this relationhip will be consensual," Melicia leaned in and kissed him softly.

"Mella..." AJ mumbled as Melicia broke the soft kiss and leaned back. He silently cursed the thoughts that were tearing him in two directions. He wanted so much to see what could come between the two of them, but at the same time he couldn't help but feel that it seemed wrong in a way. He had never looked at Melicia in this sort of way, had never even thought about it. She was always a 'kid' to him when she visited her uncle. Howie. His name sent off a red 'stop' in AJ's mind. But the kiss...

Melicia sighed, falling onto her back in frustration. "You know, if it feels right when you kiss someone, you shouldn't think it's wrong."

"I..." AJ began to say, but no other words were produced. Melicia's words struck him.

"How does it feel when we kiss, AJ?" She asked, not calling him Alex.

AJ sighed. "Melicia, if you're uncle ever found out-"

"I know, we would be dead," she turned her head towards him. "But if we're careful, he won't find out."

"How do you know you really want this?"

"I just know. Will you trust me on that?"

"I wish I knew when you grew up so much," AJ mumbled, letting out a loose breath. He glanced down at Melicia where she lay on her back, staring at the ceiling again. He felt himself slowly leaning towards her.

"What did you say, AJ--"

AJ never allowed her to finish as he leaned further down, placing one hand on the bed to her side. The next thing he knew, his lips were pressing warmly against Melicia's and he felt himself drift for a moment. His eyes closed as he deepend the kiss.

Melicia moaned softly into his mouth, returning the kiss. She reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck, her nails running along the smooth skin, feeling him shiver.

AJ felt Melicia manuever herself all of the way onto the bed and pull him closer to her. His skin tingled at the touch of her fingers along the back of his neck. "Mella..."

"Shh," she kissed him this time, bringing his body down on top of her's.

"We can't rush things," AJ murmured, almost in protest, but he felt himself giving in to Melicia's persistent kissing.

"It's not rushing," Melicia whispered as they kissed again. When they let go, she felt AJ's lips on her neck right by her earlobe, causing her to whimper in delight.

"Nothing more then just this right now, alright?" AJ spoke between the seconds his lips came in contact with Melicia's soft skin. He was praying to God at that very moment that Howie wouldn't arrive home right then and walk into Melicia's room. Saying it would be a disaster would be an understatement.

"Mm-hmm," was all she could muster before regaining some compure and turning the tables so that she was straddling AJ's hips. Her dark curls were astray and face flustered, but she looked more beautiful to AJ now more than ever.

"Just ki-" AJ's sentence was cut short as Melicia's mouth pressed tightly to his and he felt her attempt to slip her tongue into his mouth. He brought his arms up and wrapped them around her waste, holding her close.

When they let go for a bit of air, Melicia rested her chin on his chest, panting slightly. "What were you going to say, Sweetie?"

AJ caressed Melicia's cheek, feeling his heart flutter. "Nothing..."

She gave a smile before kissing him one last time. "What do you say now about giving us a chance?"

"As long as your unc-"

"Melicia, I'm home!"

"Shit!" They got off each other quicker than lightning. Melicia ran into her bathroom as AJ smoothed out his clothes and made sure he had no lipstick marks on his face.

"Mella! Where ya at?" Howie called as he jogged up the stairs. AJ felt his blood rush as he hurried over to Melicia's desk, grabbed her text book she had been reading, grabbed a pen and attempted to look deep in thought as Howie entered Melicia's bedroom. Howie froze upon seeing AJ in his niece's bedroom, but Melicia was nowhere in sight. "Aje?" he called wearily.

AJ jumped in mock surprise. "Hey, D!"

"What are you doing here?"

AJ had to resist biting down on his bottom lip. "I came over, but you weren't here. So now I'm attempting to help Melicia with her homework. But uh...Anatomy and Physiology was never my strong subject."

"You never took it it high school, maybe that was the problem," Howie shook his head, chuckling as Melicia came out of her bathroom.

"Oh, Uncle Howie! You're home!"

"Yeah, just got here," Howie answered. "Having trouble with your homework?"

"Just a little..." Melicia trailed.

"And I bet Aje isn't much of a help with the subject?"

"No, not at all..." Melicia felt her cheeks begin to turn crimson in color.

"Well, that's something Ana's coming over for, right? Maybe you two can finish it together or something."

"Yeah, I think that was our plan anyways. Are the rest of the guys coming over later?"

"Kev is downstairs and I'm not complete positive about Brian and Nick."

"Well, I think AJ and I deserve a study break. Can you make your famoso quesadillas, tío Howie?" Melicia asked, adding a little bit of Spanish.

"Yeah, sure thing, hon," Howie smiled with a small wink. He still held an unsure gleam in his eyes, glancing between AJ and Melicia before leaving the room to head downstairs.

"Gracias!" she called over him as she peeked out the door to make sure he had left and closed it tightly, hand over her rapidly beating heart. "Close call."

AJ raised an eye brow. "Too close."

"Next time, we'll--"

AJ offered her one last kiss, holding it for a moment.

A silly smile was on her face as they let go. "We'll... damn it, I forgot what I was going to say. Do you have that affect on all women, AJ?"

"So I've been told," AJ grinned in a sly manner before he, too, made his exit from Melicia's bedroom, leaving her behind in her dream world.