Note: This story was dynamically reformatted for online reading convenience. TITLE: Alex and Melody - A Love Story PART: 3 of 10 -- Serenade. AUTHOR: Big Al KEYWORDS: MF rom nosex SUMMARY: On Halloween, Melody sings a love song. No sex until the 8th chapter. ********** Melody bounded into the classroom a few minutes early, before any of her fellow students had arrived. "Hi Alex!" she chirped, her sweet accent undulating wonderfully around his name in a way that prickled the skin on the back of his neck. "Do you like my Halloween costume?" She twirled, and he took in the sight appreciatively. She wore a headband of black cat ears, wore a black shirt and jeans, with a tail stuck into the back of the jeans, and had whiskers painted on her face. "Gorgeous," Alex said, and meant it; she was utterly, beautifully adorable. She mewled kittenishly, and then noticed what he was wearing. "You're a chipmonk!" she squealed delightedly, dashing up to the desk in front of him. Her eyes were wide and alight with pleasure. Alex was wearing an oversized red T-shirt, with a white "A" painted on the front, and wore a red baseball cap sideways. He beamed at her, pleased with her reaction, and the teen girl smiled dazzlingly. "You're awesome, Alex!" He was briefly reminded of the first time she had called him Alex instead of Mister Croft. It had been that first game night on which he had taken her to play with his friends. He'd pulled up in front of her house and walked to the door, feeling almost as shy as he had on his first date back in middle school. Jeanne had answered - she'd insisted that he call her by her first name the first time they'd met, after she'd gotten back from the airport the week before - and called for her daughter. Melody had skipped out merrily, hurrying to the car and pulling enthusiastically on door. Alex and Jeanne had smiled simultaneously, and the girl's mother had said to him in her thick accent, "I'm glad you're taking an interest in her, Alex. She - my husband died when I was pregnant with her, and, well... she needs a man in her life." Alex smiled warmly. "Thank you for trusting me with her, Jeanne." She nodded, then gestured him to his car, where Melody was giving him an impish grin from the driver's seat, her hands on the steering wheel. He'd laughed, then gone to tickle her into submission. She'd been a hit with his friends at the game store. Carolyn had been glad to see another girl in their group, and her husband Frank had pulled a coin from her ear. Teenagers Cody and Kyle had stammered the whole night, developing instant crushes on her. As they were playing Carcassonne, Melody had noted that it seemed kinda weird calling her teacher "Mister Croft" when they were out gaming as friends. The others agreed, and Alex laughed amiably and told her to call him by his first name whenever they weren't in class with the other students. Melody had looked him straight in the eye, as though her huge sapphires were swallowing him whole, and said his name in her gloriously sweet voice, sending chills racing up his spine and warmth surging through his heart. He hadn't known it, but the girl had been just as affected, a little tingle shivering through her as she addressed her teacher, her friend, and her crush so familiarly. Alex's brief retrospective shattered as other kids - also wearing costumes - started coming into the room. Melody looked at them, then turned back around to favor him with one of her secret smiles. "I know you're gonna give us some candy, Mister Croft," she whispered, "but can I have some extra since I'm your favorite?" Not waiting for his reply, she winked and bounded off, striking up a conversation with her classmates. Alex chuckled, and shook his head in good humor. Once the classroom was full and 11 o'clock struck, he passed out candy, much to everyone's delight. As he passed some of the Hershey's miniatures to Melody, he "accidentally" dropped an extra piece or two on the floor beside her desk, and her eyes sparkled knowingly as he pretended not to notice his supposed fumble. As the teenagers tore into their candy - save Hannah, who divided up her candy into two piles and put one of the piles into her Hello Kitty purse for later - Alex asked, "Does anyone have something they want to give us a preview of, for the talent show later today?" Instantly, he was deluged with candy-garbled shouts of students wanting to show off their costumes. Surprisingly, Melody was as quiet as Hannah, and even blushing a little. Wondering, he called the first teen up to the front, who enthusiastically declaimed to everyone that he was Buzz Lightyear, to infinity and BEYOND! Once everyone else had shown off their costumes - save the few who were too shy and had to be coaxed into just standing up for a moment so others could see - Melody raised her hand. "I have something for the talent show," she said, practically stammering. Alex cocked his eyebrow, puzzled what was making her so shy. "Come on up then, little song," he smiled reassuringly at her, unthinkingly calling her by his nickname for her in front of the class. That seemed to perk her up, even though she blushed scarlet, and the young girl came to the front of the class with more of her usual pep. "I'm going to sing a song," she said, her smile small and sweet. Alex's ears perked; he'd never heard her sing before. "It's called La vie en rose." He'd never heard her speak French before either, and marveled at the way her voice flowed around the words. The class quieted, expectation filling the air, and in that hush, Melody began to sing. Des yeux qui font baisser les miens Un rire qui se perd sur sa bouche Voila le portrait sans retouche De l'homme auquel, j'appartiens She sang softly, and the quiet seemed to wrap around her a capella, as though shrouding a secret confession. Her voice was clear and beautiful, a girlish soprano that thrilled through Alex's ears straight into his heart. Quand il me prend dans ses bras Il me parle tout bas Je vois la vie en rose Melody's voice began to pick up, acquiring not only volume but emotion. She poured her heart out into the song, and the classroom was still, every eye fixed raptly on her. Her voice cracked just barely, but musically, as she surfed on a tide of rising feeling, and lifted the class along with her. Il me dit des mots d'amour Des mots de tous les jours Et a me fait quelque chose Il est entr dans mon coeur Une part de bonheur Dont je connais la cause For her part, Melody's focus was entirely on the song, and her world shrank to her voice and Alex, whose chocolate-brown eyes she stared into as she sang. Reaching to a crescendo, then pulling back a hair, reaching again and stopping short again, her wide eyes bared her naked soul to him as she climbed again, and did not stop till she topped out at the crest of the song. C'est lui pour moi Moi pour lui dans la vie Il me l'a dit, l'a jur pour la vie Et, ds que je l'apercois Alors je sens en moi Mon coeur qui bat Alex's heart caught in his throat as she finished, her voice quieting once more as she approached the end, before finally setting the last few words of the song adrift into the complete hush that replaced her voice. He and Melody were staring at each other, eyes wide and full, seeing nothing except each other. Hannah leapt to her feet and began clapping, and Alex finally remembered to breathe as he joined the rest of the class in heartfelt applause. Melody seemed to remember where she was, and blushed pink, murmuring thanks to the class. "But I didn't understand a word of it," Roger complained as the clapping eventually began to die down, and one of the other boys in the class punched his shoulder, shushing him. Breathlessly, Alex said, "That... was amazing, Melody. Thanks for sharing your wonderful talent - with us." He'd almost said 'with me'. Melody smiled, beaming. Her eyes twinkled as though she'd heard what he almost said. ********** COMMENTS: Like many authors, I love hearing positive feedback and suggestions! If you like, email me: big DOT al DOT author AT gmail DOT com NOTE: All characters are 18+