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IV.

A House with a Surprise within

As Josh drives, humming still softly to himself, up the hills, and reached the front gates to his property, about twenty minutes later. He pulled up the emergency break, but let the engine running. While he gets out of the car, to punch in the security code into the padlock next to the left stone pillar of the gates. Then gets back in the driver's seat, as he watched the gates swung open. Josh drove up the bended road up the hills, to his house, next. While waiting for a reaction from Melanie, sitting next to him, playing absentmindedly with her thumbs only. When he stopped behind a car, that he knew could only belong to his parents, he looked at the girl next to him. And saw her frown out the front window just, then.

"Everything alright, with you? You're not writing anymore?" he just asked her, genuinely interested.

Melanie looked slowly at JC, holding her lips closed tightly, but nodding her head in response.

"Yeah." she said softly, with a slight laughing sound. "Er... No! I think I got all my after-thoughts from last night in here now. Why? You thought I'd write about you, then?"

"Haha. Okay. Maybe, a little. Wanna come inside, then?" JC asked, already opening the door by his side. Melanie just looked confused after him, as he let Max out of the back now. Which just was running loose, around the house, then.

"Come on. This will take awhile, as I have to feet and water Max, and see the people who the car belongs to are just fine, also." Josh said, before closing the back door next.

She can not fathom to believe the day she had so far with JC and his dog, Max, and on top of it he wants her to see his home as well? She just sits in the car, still thinking when she will wake up from her dream. And lying back at home in her own bed again, even. Then, the passenger's door is being opened from the outside this minute. With Josh bending slightly down to look at her.

"Come!" he only said, and holds one hand, palm out toward her, to take it just. Melanie just looked at his hand, unbelievingly though. But Josh grabbed hers at the moment, and pulled her out of the seat. And pushed her gently around the hub of the car and toward the front doors then. She frowns slightly back at the man, leading her by her shoulder toward.

"I don't mind waiting in the car, you know!" Mel said, trying to push against his leading hands, and get away from them.

"Stop it, will you!" Josh said, opening the front doors, and leading her inside. While Melanie walked through the great double doors, she felt JC following her close by. And tries to be not too noisy about being in here. Hell! She was in the house of freaking JC Chasez! How the heck, was she not just dreaming this up, at all?

As Mel stood just in the middle of the foyer, with two openings to each side of her. One entrance looked like its leading into a nice and cozy living room, while the other one is looking like a high modern built-in kitchen, next. And a door ahead, was indicating it would lead into the basement maybe. But had a little light box attached to the top of its door frame.

"Mom? Dad?" she heard JC asking, while passing by her, through the right entrance, into the kitchen just. Melanie saw JC pick up a bowl from the floor, around the corner and fill it with water from the faucet, next. When Mel felt someone standing near her back this moment, and felt the chills running down her spine because of it.

"Hey, Dad!" she saw JC standing before her again, but speaking to somebody right behind her. "Since when are you both in town, then?" And he walks right up to the man, his dad behind the girl that stood like a wood still in his entrance hall just. While Josh hugged his father in greeting next.

"Happy Birthday, again, son! A couple of hours, maybe. Why?" the man said, and when Melanie turned around to look she saw Josh gesturing toward her just.

"Dad! Melanie! Melly, this is Roy Chasez!" JC introduces the two now. "Mum's outside, then again, isn't she?"

Roy nodded in reply, to his son's question just, and shakes the girl's hand next.

"And you are now?" Mr. Chasez senior asked the young woman, who just looked from him to JC, unsure about this and what to tell JC's dad exactly of who she was, then. JC noticed her shy glance toward him, and replies toward his dad instead.

"She's a freelance journalist from Germany! And here on behave of an interview with some artist, or something from her paper at home. And she also did stole Maxi's heart at the beach, yesterday!"

As Mel hears him mention the reason why he invited her at all, she was in shock for the moment.

Verdammt!

She thought. She totally felt ashamed about her being a journalist, he just introduced her as. That she just remembers she still has a lot of writing to do for, and began searching for her backpack actually. Before she remembered that it was still in JC's trunk of the car.

"JC? I need my backpack back. Please!" she told him, in earnest and holding her lips very tight together, as well. He just looked at her confused, and inspecting her clearly.

"Why? You're not thinking of leaving, are you?" he asked just back. Mel just frowns back slightly.

"I don't know. But even if I'd want to, I wouldn't really know which way to go back from here, would I?!" she said, but looked still determined at JC, to get her backpack back, too. Now! Josh just throws his hands up over his head, and sighs.

"Fine!" he said. "I'll get it. But when I come back I want to hear the real reason why you do wanna leave, out of sudden, understand?" And Josh throws open the front door, that it rattles slightly in its hinges. And marches off towards the parked Cadillac in the driveway. While Roy and Melanie stood side by side in the foyer, avoiding each others looks, too. Or so Mel does avoid his! Until she hears Roy clear his throat in a coughing matter slightly,

"Come sit!" And his hand is back on one of her shoulder to guide her into the living room.

"So, you're a journalist, then?" she heard Mr. Chasez asking, as he sat in one corner of a couch. And gestured her with his right hand, that the seat to his right is for her now. Melanie only made a slight grimace at his remark about her being a writer. But takes the seat, he pointed out to her, a little down to the other corner of the couch, next to him.

"What's with the face?" JC's Dad asked, genuine interested in her now.

"Nothing!" Mel told, and feels her teeth actually holding onto her lower lip, from the inside just. "Well, I wouldn't say I am a real journalist. I mean I love the writing that comes with it, and I've got to write a few things online only so far. But I'd never introduce myself as a writer. Or journalist. I'm more a student who tries to get through her educational degree..." She let her sentence trail away, in the end slightly when Mel heard a door click shut, in the next moment. And then JC calling out towards her,

"Melly? Your backpack is by the door! I'll be right back!" And a small moaning was to be heard from the foyer towards the living room, and couch where Mel and Roy were sitting still. Roy turned his head slightly towards the foyer, to see where his son went to. And just saw Josh waving a hand at him while turning his back and walk into the kitchen and dinning room. Mel was in the meanwhile up from the couch, and walking around it again. She gathered her backpack by the side of the living room door frame, as JC had told her it would be there. And kneels over it, and begins rummaging in it then. In search for her laptop and notebook with information of the production film company she received by her editor, back in Germany. And which contains her already taken notes from last night about the event, too. When she felt somebody standing right behind her, suddenly. She stands and whirls around, to face the person who had just startled her, too.

"Scheiße! Verdammt, JC!" she calls out, with a hand at her chest, near her heart. And the other one outstretched towards his chest, in an attempt to push him slightly away from her just.

"What?" he said, looking just totally baffled at her. And raising his eyebrows up high, in wonder as well. "Are you swearing to me in German, now?"

Mel glared slightly towards him, only. Thinking what she was doing here, for one.

Was zum Teufel mache ich hier eigentlich? In freaking JC Chasez's Haus?

She felt her lips holding tightly together by her teeth, then. And looked down at the notes in her hands, she did find in her backpack before JC was interrupting her so rudely just. She skimmed them over quickly. Until she could fathom what it said even, clearly. And tried to think how much time to write her article it actually would take her, when she kept hanging around JC's place, even.

"What time is it anyway now?" she just asked him slowly, not looking up from the note once. And felt the hands of Joshua gently touching her shoulders and guiding her back into the living room.

"It's only two thirty, why?" Joshua said, with a frowning look on his face. "You have some place better to go, then?"

"Oy! You're such a tease, JC!" Melanie said back only. "But I am here on behave of my job! This is just a bonus for my trip here!" she said, sticking him her tongue out and gesturing at the word this to her surroundings and him.

"You're some fan, then?" she heard his father saying, and saw his astonished looked on his face just. She shrugs her shoulders and sits on the armchair of a chair right next to her, next. While JC starts walking, pacing through the room, in front of the entertainment center just. He can't deny that she got under his skin so quickly already. She had some spunk that one!

"When is your interview due then?" Joshua asked her. And watched her closely, while Melanie sat on the armchair looking at her own hands in her lap.

"It will be on Tuesday, my time. But I still got to write the interview, I took with Micheal last evening, into the article. Which is an awful lot of writing I still have to do... I just don't quite know yet, how long I'm going to have to work on that, even!", she told, and glanced shortly at him, next. It was in this second when someone took the notebook from her hands. And Melanie looked into Mr. Chasez senior's face next. She saw him looking at the notes, thinking.

"Mel? I might not know anything about that job you do. But I'm sure Josh would let you set up your laptop and let you work on that article, for a while in his study, don't you Josh?" Roy said, looking at his son. As he comes around the coffee table, looking at his Dad, frowning slightly, himself.

"Hm." he said, slowly. "Sure. Why not."

"Joshua Scott Chasez!" he heard his mother's voice from behind him, just in time to cut him off. "Since when don't you come out and greet your Mum yourself, boy?"

She snickered slightly at the woman telling on JC, who turned to look at his Mum, walking through the patio doors, with Max on her heels, too. Which just walked straight past his master, and toward Mel. She pats the dog's head and ears, gently. As he pushed his nose gently against her thigh, then. JC just raised an arm up and puts his right hand into his neck, to rub it embarrassed and caught of guard, as far as Mel could tell from this gesture.

"Hi, Mum! Sorry! I thought you heard me earlier..." JC just said, and walked towards her to give her a proper huge greeting hug. And the woman also would say, Happy Birthday, next to Josh's ear. After Josh had introduced Mel with his mother, she was watching his profile while he was still greeting his mother. Until JC said suddenly, that he knows exactly where she could plug in her computer and work on her article, then.