Tonight I Just Want To Dance

By: Tracy Cook

Disclaimer: I do not own anything; these characters belong to the creators of Hot In Cleveland.

Pairing: Melanie/Joy

Rating: M

Chapter 2

Unbearable Tension

Joy knew that she had been acting strangely since her encounter on the dance floor with Melanie, and she also knew that Melanie was aware that she was acting this way, because she was doing what she always did when she thought that someone was upset with her. Apologizing endlessly and trying to make it up to her. The funny thing was that Joy did not understand what in the world Melanie had to apologize for.

"She wasn't the one manhandling me on the dance floor… bloody hell I practically molested her out there…" She groaned out loudly into her pillow.

She knew that eventually she was going to have to return to reality. No matter how many times that she prayed for the apocalypse to come and take them all, no matter how many times that she willed the clock to stop ticking, she knew that time was still moving forward and that the world would not be sent into damnation any time in the near future.

So, sadly, today was the day she would be forced back into the real world.

Joy forced herself out of bed, groaning out in both pain and frustration as she stretched out her limbs and walked toward the full-body mirror in her room. "Why do I insist upon having this mirror in here? It is quite depressing to wake up every morning and witness every single flaw on my body…" She stated in a matter-of-fact tone of voice as she allowed her eyes to wander over her body.

Her nightgown was a mess, ruffled up and showing off most of her long legs. Which happened to be her favorite feature. She had gotten many compliments on her legs over the years so she enjoyed showing them off to the public.

Other than her legs though, Joy looked a mess.

Her hair was sticking up in every direction, her makeup was smeared across her face, her posture was off, and she looked as if she were dead tired despite having slept for the past three days. She knew the signs and she knew the signs well.

She was depressed.

Letting out a loud sigh she walked past the bathroom and out the door to her bedroom, heading down the stairs like a zombie. Dead and lifeless, with no cause but to eat. She was starving. She had not eaten for days, which was extremely unusual for her.

Joy stumbled a little at the bottom of the stairs and then headed in the direction of the kitchen. When she witnessed Melanie and Victoria already sitting at the table and sipping on their coffee as they ate breakfast, she knew that she was probably overreacting. 'It doesn't even look as if this is bothering Melanie… Why am I so depressed about this? It was just a dance…' It nearly depressed her further when Melanie flashed her a smile, it upset her that she was handling this so well.

'Handling this so well. What the hell is THIS? I shouldn't be upset that she isn't upset I should be relieved… what is going on with me…?'

"Good morning Joy!" Melanie exclaimed. She was extremely happy to see that the other woman was up and walking around again. She had been worried for the last few days that she had not only scared her friend off by getting too close to her for comfort, but that she had also pushed her into depression. Joy was irrational and did not take care of herself when she was depressed and it was not healthy.

"Good morning." She muttered out in her accented voice as she poured herself a cup of coffee.

"Darling, I hate to say it, but you look horrible today." Victoria said as she looked her friend over. "I mean, you've lost some weight which is always a good thing, but a shower wouldn't hurt."

"Thanks." Joy deadpanned, grabbing a quick snack and taking a seat across from her friends.

"Oh, you know that I am only kidding."

Melanie nodded her head and smiled reaching over and placing a reassuring hand over Joy's hoping to comfort her. It was obvious that something was bothering the other woman and she wanted to help. She just hoped that it wasn't her fault. 'It sure feels like it is…' It nearly confirmed her suspicions when Joy pulled her hand away at her touch.

Joy watched as a hurt expression covered Melanie's face as she flinched away. She hated that she was hurting her. The feelings were just so confusing. She did not understand why she had reacted in such a way on the dance floor, nor could she understand why she missed contact with her so much.

"But, seriously you look like hell."

Melanie turned to look at Victoria with wide brown eyes and an expression that said to stop pushing it, but she knew that the actress wouldn't. It wasn't in her nature to catch on to how her words affected other people.

"Oh, don't give me that look, it's just the truth." She said with a wave of her hands as she took a sip of her coffee and shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly. She didn't understand why her words were so harsh. Joy had hair sticking up in every direction and makeup smeared all over her face, it should be natural to take a shower when you were such a mess.

Melanie laughed at Victoria's insistence and then turned her attention back to Joy. Once again she reached out to cover her hand with her own, only to have the beautiful woman pull her hand back. This time it really hurt her feelings. She had always been close to Joy, they had been friends for so many years, and she always was there to hold her hand and comfort her after each and every bad encounter with a man, or her family, so why wouldn't she allow her to be there for her now?

"I'm fine, Melanie." Joy insisted, standing to her feet and heading to the sink to rinse out her cup. When she turned back around her eyes came into contact with Melanie's worried eyes and she sighed. "Truly, I am fine. I just think that Victoria is correct, I think that I need to take a shower."

"See." Victoria said with a smile and a nod of her head.

"Are you sure you don't want to talk about anything—" Melanie attempted, but Joy told her no and rushed out of the room before she had a chance to delve deeper into what was bothering her. Joy often ran away from her problems and on occasion she would keep things from both of her friends, but usually she would open up more than this.

Melanie knew that it was because whatever was bothering Joy had to do with her, and as she watched her friend walk away and head up to take a shower, she decided that she would approach her about this at a later time. There was no way that she could live like this, with Joy distancing herself from her.

She missed her.

O

Authors Note:

I apologize for the short chapter, but I do hope that y'all enjoyed reading it! :) I promise that it is only because the next chapter is going to be much longer and this was sort of a filler chapter. Still, I would love it if y'all tell me what you think of the chapter! If I get enough encouragement I will even add the next chapter tonight! :)

Thank you all for reading!

-Tracy Cook