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Mel is really, really regretting letting her suitemates talk her into going out tonight.
It’s a relatively calm part of the spring semester of her freshman year. She’s just come off of three midterms and the lab report from hell, so Mel was uncharacteristically willing to put up with Trinity and Samira’s wishes to go to Alpha Delta Phi instead of indulging in her usual Friday night ritual of dining hall mac n’ cheese and watching a movie (usually Elf) with her sister over FaceTime.
Mel keeps telling herself that she needs to enjoy this, that she needs to cross this off of her bucket list of Typical College Experiences that every student should have at least once. But it’s hard for Mel to appreciate the ubiquitous frat party when her shoes are sticking to the floor of the frat basement and the music the “DJ” (who she’s pretty sure is just a pledge who also happens to be in her 8am orgo lecture) is playing are definitely not her taste. There hasn’t been a single Cardi B song in the two hours she’s been here, and the only song she’s actually enjoyed was Mr Brightside.
She’s not quite sure where either of them went. Nor is she supposed to be in this hallway; Mel had passed a hastily scrawled BROTHERS ONLY sign when she'd fled the basement. But it’s the first place she could find where there aren’t any couples making out five feet from her, so she’s content to stay put.
One of the doors opens, and Mel gets a whiff of marijuana. She keeps her eyes trained to the floor and tries to breathe through her mouth. “Hey, you’re not supposed to be up her— wait, Melissa?”
Mel’s head snaps up and she locks eyes with Frank Langdon, otherwise known as the cute senior TA half the girls (and guys) in her chem lab have a crush on. She’s only talked to him in the context of class, but Mel can still picture the grin he’d given her when she was the first to get his corny chemistry joke during syllabus week. He’s wearing a faded tee shirt and gray joggers, clearly not planning on participating in the party downstairs.
“Hi, Frank,” she murmurs. Breathe in, breathe out. Why did Trinity and Samira have to insist on coming to Alpha Delt of all the frats? Mel had no interest in Greek Life, but even she couldn’t ignore the scores of men and women proudly wearing their letters all around campus. Frank tends to wear a worn sweatshirt with stitched letters under his lab coat when it’s a particularly chilly morning. Mel doesn’t find him nearly as obnoxious as the other frat bros she knows.
He squats down in front of her, and when Mel looks up again, she’s face to face with him. His brown hair has fallen forward, and Mel has to resist the urge to push it back into place. The stench of marijuana is stronger now, and Mel wrinkles her nose.
“I don’t smell that bad, do I?” Frank’s tone is deadpan as usual, but Mel has a hard time grasping someone’s tone on a good day. “I’m joking. Sorry. I know it stinks up here. I wasn’t really expecting any visitors.”
“I’m the one who should be apologizing,” Mel says. “I know I shouldn’t be up here.” But before she can stop herself, she blurts out: “But you shouldn’t be smoking marijuana, either. Even if it is legal now.”
“And you shouldn’t be holding a red solo cup full of jungle juice, Dr. King. Aren’t you only nineteen? Besides, it’s medicinal.” She gets a funny feeling in her stomach when he calls her that.
“Eighteen,” she says. She’d celebrated her birthday with Becca just last week when she was home for spring break. Mel takes a sip of whatever liquid Samira had poured in her cup, if only to give herself something to do other than look at Frank Langdon. It tastes just as awful as it did when Samira first pressed it into her hands. “And just because it’s medicinal doesn’t mean you can smoke it in university housing.” She remembers her RA stressing that during orientation week, but that didn’t stop someone from setting off the fire alarm just an hour later.
“Mhm.” It’s said in his usual dry tone, but Frank doesn’t sound annoyed, but rather amused. Mel doesn’t know what’s so funny.
“I should go—“ “You’re welcome to come to my room if you need a break—“
Mel looks Frank in the eyes. “Uh, are you sure? Because I know I’m not supposed to be up here, and I can just text my friends and tell them I’m leaving—“
“It’s no problem, Mel. Why don’t you come to my room? I can crack a window open, get the stench of weed out. And I can go grab Santos and Mohan if you want.” She’d totally forgotten that Trinity and Samira are in the same lab as her, and therefore know Frank as well. Trinity hates his guts, while Samira seems ambivalent towards him. “Please, Mel.”
“Well, only because you asked so nicely.” That causes him to laugh, and it makes Mel smile too. His laugh somehow drowns out the sights and sounds that have been overwhelming her all evening. “But I don’t want to bother Trinity and Samira. I’m sure they’re having a good time.” He nods, and she allows him to help her up and lead her to his room.
It’s a lot tidier than she’d expect from a twenty-something frat boy. The floor is blessedly free of clothes, and the books on his desk are stacked neatly. Frank has the overhead light turned off but the lamp on his bedside table is on, casting the room in a warm amber glow. The sheets on the bed are the classic navy blue that every man at this university seems to own, but at least Frank actually has a pillowcase on his pillow. His laptop lies open to some Youtube video.
Shutting the door quietly, Frank puts his hands in his pockets and looks around his bedroom like he’s really seeing it for the first time. Mel doesn’t know what to do. Sure, hiding out in his room is a far better alternative than camping out in the hallway or (God forbid) going back into the basement. But what now?
“We, uh, could watch a show if you want?” Does he sound nervous?
“Sure! Yeah, sure,” Mel replies. She gives him what she hopes comes across as a relaxed smile and becomes all too aware of the fact that her hair, normally pulled back into a neat plait, is sticking to the back of her neck. She has to resist the urge to rub her eyes, lest she ruin the eyeliner Trinity swore would make her eyes “pop.” Her skin is crawling, but she finds that she doesn’t want to leave quite yet.
“Great!” Frank’s smile only grows. He gestures for her to get on his bed and waits until she’s settled to join her. Mel tries to ignore the fact that his thighs are touching hers. His bed is only a twin XL, she tells herself.
“Um, what do you want to watch?”
“I don’t care.” She really doesn’t. Mel’s not sure she can focus on anything when Frank’s sitting so close to her.
Frank clears his throat and searches for something on his laptop without saying another word, only leaning back (and even closer to Mel) when he’s found something he’s happy with. She instantly recognizes the theme from The Good Place and feels herself relax.
“Your bed is surprisingly comfy,” she says halfway through the episode. The show is a comfort watch of hers, and she doesn’t need to pay much attention.
Frank laughs. “I’m glad to hear that,” he says. Is she imagining things, or is he still getting closer to her? How is that even possible? Mel tries her best not to move. “You know,” he continues, voice lower, “I’m surprised you’re even here.”
Mel bristles despite being 75% sure he didn’t mean it to sound so judgemental. “I’ve had a long week,” she says.
“Do you…wanna talk about it?”
She turns her head to look at him. He's looking down at her lips. Oh. Does she want to go through with this? This wouldn’t be her first kiss, but it’d be the first time someone else has initiated it. She wonders if Frank can tell that she has a million thoughts running through her head.
If he does, he doesn’t seem to mind. Frank takes her silence as permission and leans in, his lips chastly meeting hers. Mel leans forward to deepen the kiss, finding that she’s actually enjoying herself for once.
Frank pulls back after a minute and gives her a sheepish smile. “I swear that that wasn’t my only intention when I asked if you wanted to hang in my room.”
He’s about to continue when someone knocks at the door. “Langdon,” a man says, “Abby’s looking for you. She says she wants to talk.” Mel’s stomach sours. Does he have a girlfriend? Did he just cheat on this woman with her? “Do you want me to tell her to fuck off?” Well, that sounds somewhat better. Mel slowly starts to grow more aware of the bass emanating from the basement. The stench of Frank’s marijuana floods her nostrils.
Frank groans. “No, no, that’ll just make things worse. I’ll be right there.” He looks at Mel apologetically. “Stay right here. I’ll be back in a sec, I promise.”
She nods, and Frank looks satisfied. He grabs a hoodie from his closet and leaves the room, the door open just a crack.
Should she really stay? Mel imagines what Trinity, Samira, or even her third suitemate, Victoria, would say. Trinity would call him a fuckboy who’s just looking to get into her pants. Samira and Victoria, on the other hand, would probably tell her to enjoy herself, but to be careful with him.
A minute passes, then ten. The Good Place continues playing on Frank’s laptop, now on the second episode. How much longer will he be? Should she really sit and wait here while he could be making out with his actual girlfriend? Maybe this was just a prank, a bet of some sort. It wouldn’t be the first time Mel was the butt of some horrible, horrible joke.
Before the second episode ends, Mel makes a decision. She needs to leave, and now. She makes a beeline for the staircase. She manages to make it out of the Alpha Delt house without running into Frank or any of his “brothers.” Pulling out her phone, Mel sends a quick text to her suitemate group chat letting them know that she’s left the party and is headed back to their dorm. Victoria instantly “hearts” the message and tells her she’s welcome to debrief in her room.
Mel doesn’t tell the others what really happened. Frank doesn’t try to reach out to her, and when she shows up for her lab on Wednesday morning, he just greets her with a polite smile and hurries away to another lab bench. Her lab partner doesn’t show up, and while Frank usually steps in if someone’s missing a partner, he doesn’t seem to notice that Mel’s doing all of the work by herself. It’s incredibly awkward, the way they dance around each other without acknowledging the other’s presence, and Mel finds herself wishing she’d stayed and waited for Frank to return.
After the lab finally ends, Mel tells herself she’s never letting Samira or Trinity talk her into another frat party ever again. She grabs her stuff and hurries out of the room before Frank, who’s been eyeing her the entire time, can end his conversation with the other TA and hurry over to her.
Mel pretends she doesn’t hear him calling after her, either.