Cornett Residence
This house has been sectioned off into two living spaces, separated by floor as opposed to wall throughout the middle. The first floor has been reserved for a renter while the second floor has been claimed by the owner of the duplex. The living space is large and spacious, perfect for a summer's day when the windows are open. Much the bachelor pad, it is sparsely decorated. All the basics that are required are there but rarely used and so the area is immaculate. A large living area and kitchen lead to a hallway which contains the doors for the bathroom, master bedroom and guest bedroom. The only difference between the two bedrooms is that the master room contains a computer desk and laptop.
Mellie does, indeed, have her own apartment just downstairs. But the thing is, her apartment does not, strictly speaking, have much in the way of food right now, and her ancient television is on the fritz again, which is why she's made her way upstairs to find something to eat in those hours before she has to report to Mary's for work. The door is opened without her bothering to knock, and she slips inside with the intentions of heading for the kitchen, first to find something to eat. Perhaps someone has seen to her Pop Tart needs…
Mellie is just waking up and getting ready to head to work. Hope is just returning from the flower shop. No classes this evening, and so she's just waltzing right into the Cornett residence with a bouquet of mismatched flowers from the shop. "Serenity? C'mere girl! Where are you?"
The beagle pup comes racing around the corner, pink leash in it's mouth. It gets a laugh from the Tyler twin, and then a shake of her head. "Goodness, in a minute. You were just out a little while ago when I was home for lunch." She did say 'home'. That might be news to the girl in the kitchen.
"Oh…" Clearing her throat, she smiles at Robert's sister and nods. "They're in the cupboard above the toaster."
Mellie is going to have to buy that dog a spiked collar to make it look a little more badass. This is the thought that occurs to her as the beagle pup goes racing off to meet Hope, the pink leash trailing. Clearly it did not occur to her to take the puppy out herself, nor to feel any sort of shame at being caught rifling through Bobby's cupboards. The choice of words isn't entirely lost on the teen, and she glances over her shoulder as Hope enters the room, an eyebrow arched just slightly, though she nods in greeting just the same. "Cool, thanks," she offers, moving over to the right cupboard to find the Pop Tarts.
It's awkward now, for Hope. She's not at all certain what Bobby told his little sister about everything that was going on. Rather than say anything, she scoops up Serenity, and gives her a little nuzzle and a scritch behind the ears. "I didn't know where you normally put them, but that seemed to be the most sound place when I was putting groceries away yesterday." Fidgeting, she fiddles with the ring on her left hand and bites her lip. "So… uhh…"
"Hey, as long as they end up in my stomach, they can start out wherever," Mellie decides with a shrug, as she pulls out the box and turns back to face hope, leaning back against the counter as she opens it and pulls out a foil-wrapped double-pack. Dinner of champions. The box is then tossed back onto the counter behind her, before she looks back to Hope, gaze lingering rather pointedly on the ring. "So you're putting groceries away now, huh?" It's actually somewhat polite for Mellie. She tears open the package with her teeth.
"Again. Putting groceries away again." It's not the first time Hope's stayed here, and with the wedding planning in full force, it's very likely she'll be doing the shopping and putting away of things more often. "Right… I'm not sure what you know, or what Bobby told you… but we're engaged. We're getting married in August… and uhh…" The puppy squirms wanting to get down to beg for PopTarts. Crouching, Hope lets her go, and then stands back up. Still fiddling with the ring. "Iwantyouintheweddingparty."
Mellie just gives a shrug to Hope's correction, seemingly more invested in getting at her Pop Tarts and plunking them into the toaster, though really, she is making some note of the answer that she gets. The plunger is pushed on the toaster, leaving Mellie's attention then back on Hope as the pastries heat up. Her eyebrows slowly hitch upwards as Hope goes on, and once again, Mellie's gaze drops to that ring. "I take it we're not talking about a, uh, 'hookers and coke' sort of party here…" Which begs the question: is Hope crazy?
"Most definitely not. It's going to be very classy, and upscale, but it would mean so much to your brother if you were a part of it, and hang on." With Serenity waiting for the PopTart crumbs, Hope's hands are free to dig something from her bag. Pulling out a black and pink binder, she sets it on the counter and begins flipping through the pages. "The dresses are actually really nice, and yours will be taken care of and everything. Shoes too."
"Yeah, yeah. You don't have to lay the guilt trip on me. I didn't say no," Mellie points out, rolling her eyes a bit. Though she's somewhat carefully avoided actually saying yes so far as well, at least until she can ascertain that Hope hasn't suffered some sort of head injury. Still, she can't quite hide her curiosity, ignoring the toaster as it pops up her Pop Tarts, in order to lean over and watch somewhat warily for the unveiling of this dress.
"See? Black dresses, small pink ribbons. The entire thing is going to be black and pink. Very classy." As much as Hope loves pink, too much pink in a wedding just makes everything look washed out. "If you want to, can you let me know before the end of the month? I need to order the dresses, so I'll need to get your sizing." She sounds so overjoyed. She may be crazy, but the fact that she's got a book full of plans and all probably means she's not.
"I don't really do pink," Mellie points out, perhaps somewhat unnecessarily, given her usual wardrobe. Still, at least there's more black than pink, which is why she's merely eyeing the image dubiously rather than outright refusing to ever let that near her person. "They're very blonde," she can't help but add, noting the models in the picture. Then glancing back at the toaster, she realizes her food is ready.
"Blonde pops," Hope says. She went through a blonde stint. She knows how it goes. "But I promise it will look just as good with the darker hair." She did try one of them on and it looked good on her. So that's something. "It's just a little pink. Actually, I very much thought of you when picking these out. I remember you saying you didn't like pink…" At least she'll be a thoughtful sister-in-law? Even though she'll likely try to convert Mellie further down the road.
"You- ah! -You thought of me?" Mellie asks, stupidly grabbing the hot Pop Tarts from the toaster with her bare hands, and then having to juggle them while she rushes to get a plate. Thus distracted, a bit more of her surprise shows through than she would normally allow. Even with people making special food runs just to make sure she has Pop Tarts to eat before work, she still tends to think of herself as constantly overlooked - and certainly wouldn't expect Hope to consider her when it comes to making wedding plans.
"Of course I did, Mellie! You're going to be my sister, and so I thought of what would work for us both. I know it's got a pink ribbon, but it's such a little amount of pink…" Hope gives her the puppy eyes, just as Serenity scoots right under the younger girl's feet to try and grab the juggled Pop Tart. "Just consider it, please? You'll look really beautiful, and you can bring a date. The wedding will be during the day, so it will have to be a human date, but… well…"
Mellie is delayed from immediately replying, as she finds herself juggling hot pastries and trying not to trip over the dog, as she manages to get herself to the cupboard to fetch down a plate and drop the Pop Tarts onto it with some relief. "Huh," she muses, as she blows on her scalded fingers, still a bit surprised at Hope's thoughtfulness - though not exactly rushing in to insist that the woman shouldn't put herself out either. "I'll, uh, I'll give it some thought, I guess," she agrees, still a bit reluctant on the idea of pink - and unable to keep from rolling her eyes a touch as Hope so delicately points out the need for a human date.
Hope would not be Hope if she didn't point out that one little issue. Though, she does reach forward and attempt to give Mellie a really quick hug. "That's all I can ask. Thanks for giving it some thought. We both really appreciate it." Pause. "No pressure. We won't be upset if you decline, but we really want to involve you. Your brother cares for you more than he lets on." It's why he doesn't press the issue of rent, even though he should. And why he keeps her in Pop Tarts and pizza pockets.
Mellie finds herself hugged, which causes her to stiffen up, standing there awkwardly with her plate of Pop Tarts still held in one hand. She doesn't really move to reciprocate the gesture at all, but at least she doesn't try to fight it off, which is about as much as one can ask for. "Oh yeah, no pressure at all," she replies, finding some dry humour in that - and also deflecting the slight bit of vulnerability this talk about people caring brings out. "I'll think about it. I've got 'til the end of the month, right?"
"I have to let Magnolia's know by the twenty-fourth. She needs four to six weeks to get the dresses in." Hope relinquishes her hold on the poor Pop Tart wielding girl, and settles back against the counter. "The music is already taken care of, so are the flowers. Now I just have to find the perfect cake and caterer." She doesn't sound stressed at all. Nosiree. Not one little bit. (Only, really quite a lot).
Mellie slowly relaxes as she's no longer being hugged, and then turns her attention to eating her Pop Tarts before they get cold, thus rendering the near-burning completely pointless. Still, she listens to Hope's explanation, her eyebrows arching a bit. Getting married sounds like a lot of trouble. "The twenty-fourth. Okay." She'll probably need reminding though, knowing her. "Well, uh. At least you've got your book?" she offers, trying to be supportive, at least a little, even though she clearly has no idea how.
The book, the wonderful book that Hope's been working on for the last ten years, is gently closed and held close to her body. "I do. It's a Godsend, really. So useful and helpful." She can slip all her receipts and deposits into it as well. "Like I said, if you decide to, I'll cover the cost of the dress. My gift to you, no strings attached." Pause. "After the wedding, you can always remove the pink ribbon and have a really nice black dress if you ever need it."
"It's also kinda pink," Mellie can't help but point out, in case this had escaped Hope's attention and not been done deliberately. She still can't entirely wrap her mind around the idea of someone choosing pink, but she's trying. Not with a great deal of effort, but trying nonetheless. Nibbling her Pop Tart, she considers this point, canting her head to one side. "Sure, yeah. Thanks." Even just something as simple a courtesy as a thank you can sound a bit awkward from her. "I do like black…"
"You're welcome." Hope tilts her head at Mellie, then goes to retrieve the leash from the floor. "Probably could get it shortened too. Nice little cocktail dress then. Perfect for an upscale party or soiree." She's not going to think about Mellie mingling with vampires, oh no. She's seeing her dancing at a lawyer's ball or something. "Serenity, come! We'll go for that walk now and burn off some of that energy…" The dog, still at Mellie's feet, just waiting for something to drop, whines and paws at the girl's leg. "Stop begging, it's not very becoming…"
"Yeah, I do need something for all those soirees I'm attending," Mellie can't help but crack dryly, if only because the idea of attending something so fancy-sounding as a 'soiree' strikes her as funny. Though they would probably serve booze, so she won't rule it out entirely. Cocktail is the first word in cocktail dress. Serenity's begging might not be becoming, but it does pay off. As Mellie finishes off the first Pop Tart, she saves the corner to carelessly toss off to the puppy.
"You never know, Mellie. After being seen in this dress? You might get a lot of invitations!" Hope is assuming that the younger girl is going to participate in the wedding, and it doesn't sound as if a 'no' is going to cut it. She opens her mouth to admonish Mellie for feeding the puppy scraps, but then closes it just as quickly. She gives Serenity just enough time to nom the food, before she hooks the leash up to the pink flowered collar. "If you're looking for the pizza pockets later, they're in the larger freezer. There was no room in the fridge one, since there's ice cream in there."
Mellie just chuckles wryly at the idea of getting so many invitations to these soirees. "Doubtful, but I guess we'll see." She hasn't come right out and noted that she hasn't actually agreed to this either, so that might be some indication of progress. She's oblivious to the admonishment-in-waiting, and just blithely goes back to eating the second Pop Tart. "Ooh, ice cream." She might just have to get dessert after her nutritious dinner.
"Chocolate, and mint chocolate swirl." That's what Hope picked up. No cookie dough. That's something she shares with her twin, and only her twin. But now, the puppy's demands are taking over her need for conversation. "Thanks, Mellie. I appreciate it! If I don't see you before the twenty-fourth, just toss a note on the fridge or tell Bobby what your decision is, okay?" She knows that the youngest Cornett probably doesn't really want to deal with her, so she's giving her other avenues to do so. "Serenity, rela —" The dog is already at the door, dragging Hope with her. "See you around, Mellie. Lock up when you leave for work. I have a key."
Mellie considers those options of ice cream and gives a little nod. "Rum and raisin is pretty good too," she hints not at all subtly, and of course she'd want the flavour with alcohol right there in the title. Still, that doesn't mean she isn't going to be snagging some of that mint chocolate swirl. "Yeah, okay," she agrees ambivalently, as to whom she'll tell of her decision, and what said decision will be. If she has more to say, she leaves it for now, since Hope is getting dragged away. "See you." She's already moving to go check out the big freezer and load up on ice cream.
"Rum and raisin?" Hope would never think to get something like that, but maybe she can get a sample taste down at the Ice Cream Shoppe if they let her back in. With that, she's out the door with the beagle puppy. Since the daylight is apt to linger for at least an hour or two, she's got a long walk ahead of her, but not one that she's concerned about. The more she walks, the better shape she'll be in when she gets fitted for her dress!
