Adult-FanFiction.org : Television / Streaming

Stubborn Love- A Modern/AU Walking Dead Story	By : ImagineLayla131 Category: S through Z > The Walking Dead Views: 2960 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN NOR HAVE ANY AFFILIATIONS WITH TWD FRANCHISE NO MONEY/PROFIT IS BEING MADE!

Chapter List
- 45
- 46
Hi everybody! I am so so so sorry that I haven't updated in almost three months! It's been very busy with sickness, the holidays, dating, writer's block and some family drama! Also, the first half of this season wasn't great, that kind of killed the inspiration for me, but now that it's picked up and kicking ass again, I'm pumped! Thank you so much to my lovely fans for your patience, follows, favorites and reviews!

I promised the Monroes would appear and here they are! I'll be posting the FF Pinterest board soon, the dresses are fab! Also, Katie is in TWD universe and we all know Gregory by now! Haha.

Thanks again to 6980085LMFAO, JoshuatheTerminian, pen123, Prettyprincess45 and SilverSun09, you guys are the best! :)

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NOR HAVE ANY AFFILIATIONS WITH DO YOU LOVE ME. ALL PROPERTIES OWNED BY THE CONTOURS, RESPECTIVELY. I ONLY OWN MY OWN ORIGINAL IDEAS AND CHARACTERS

Chapter Forty Six: Twist Up The Ballroom

Saturday January 9th, Gotham Hall, New York

MELODY

"I'm nervous. Penny and Meghan are used to this kind of thing, I'm not. What if I trip? I'll be the laughing stock of the city and my father will be furious, he'll further distance himself from me." I sighed heavily, looking down on my freshly manicured hands resting in my lap and holding onto my Ellia Wang pink layered clutch.

Gareth and I were in New York City, on our way in a luxurious stretch limousine to the Red Cross Ball, being held at Gotham Hall. This was truly an A-list event with heavy hitters from the entertainment, political, and business world. The latter was the reason why Rick, Shane and Morgan were attending, managing Woodbury's West and East Coast offices, respectively. Even if I wasn't bringing Gareth as my date, he had already been invited.

The Forbes magazine cover was a hit, doing a re-imagining of Steve Jobs' last photo, which was the cover of his biography, with the two pictures side by side and the caption reading "The Wolf of Woodbury: Steve Jobs of the Millenials is on the rise". Luckily, it was all business with a very brief mention of me.

"Hey," Gareth grabbed my hand. "Melody, there's nothing to worry about. You'll dazzle them all, I know it."

The limo came to a halt, I could already hear the chattering amongst the press and paparazzi, shouting out questions to whomever walked by, the shuttering of camera lenses snapping photos. My heart was in my stomach, knowing that Rick and Lori were just ahead of us, then it would be our turn. Delilah was used to things like this and she said it was a cakewalk. She and Billy had already arrived and were now inside, not to mention she looked stunning in a black and white V-neckline thigh high slit gown, I had seen a picture of the dress earlier.

The chauffeur opened the door and Gareth stepped out, extending his hand to me.

"It's your time to shine, beautiful."

With a deep breath I took his hand and exited the limo, watching Rick and Lori pose for some final pictures before going inside. She looked gorgeous in a grey A-line chiffon gown with a high beaded neck and her hair up, Rick was wearing a black Valentino tux, just like Gareth.

Once they were inside I walked forward onto the red carpet, photographers snapping away and calling my name.

"Melody! Melody!"

"Is it true you and your father are estranged?"

"Who are you wearing tonight?"

"California's Princess, you look stunning!"

"Applause" by Lady Gaga began playing in my head. I'll admit, I looked pretty damn good. I was wearing a slinky lace and sequined floor length turquoise gown that had wide straps and a sweetheart neckline, silver and chained Manolo Blahniks, a moonstone and diamond necklace, a topaz ring, and a Fancy Vivid pink and Fancy Vivid blue Bulgari diamond earrings, my hair in an up-do with red lips and smokey eyes. My father would be pleased, that's for sure.

"Strike a pose, Melody!"

"Smile!"

I laughed, doing all the poses that I had seen on the red carpet over the years. Hand on hip, over the shoulder, show the back, one leg forward. I felt like such a star, what I've always wanted. I looked over and saw Gareth watching me, I stuck my hand out with a smile, nodding my head to the side. After hesitating for a few seconds, he walked over and joined me, I could tell he was nervous since he wasn't used to this kind of attention.

"Melody, who's your date?"

I smiled, entwining my fingers with Gareth's as his free hand was on my back. "My wonderful boyfriend, Gareth Mandel. That's one L, not two. He was just on the cover of Forbes magazine." I put my hand on his cheek and leaned in, giving him a kiss that looked innocent enough but was plenty sexy, earning quite a few "Awws" from the crowd. When I pulled away, Gareth was blushing with that sappy look on his face that I thought was the cutest thing I had ever seen.

"Gareth, what's it like dating California's Princess?"

"Amazing, that's what it's like." He said with a huge grin on his face.

"Come on, let's go."

Still holding his hand, I led the way inside, past security and into the ballroom through it's massive brass doors. It was oval shaped with a gilded leaf/honeycombed design and 3,000 square foot stained glass ceiling, Corinthian columns and an inlaid marble floor. White sheets were billowing all around, purple and blue light reflecting off of them and the dance floor, round tables scattered all over and a DJ in the corner. It certainly was regal looking, as were the guests.

"Oh, look, I see my dad and sisters. Dad!"

My dad turned around from the person he was talking to and waved me over with a smile.

"Hi, Daddy."

I walked up to him with a huge smile on my face. Regardless of how crazy our relationship gets, there are moments where I do love my father. Hopefully, he has those for me as well.

"Melody! Darling, you look beautiful." Dad took my hands in his, giving me a kiss on each cheek. He looked over at Gareth and smiled. "Gareth, we meet again."

"Hello, Philip." Gareth nodded, politely shaking hands.

"Melody! Gareth!"

Penny and Meghan ran up, wearing pink and purple floor length pageant gowns, respectively. With their hair curled and pulled back and makeup on, they looked older, it was a bit jarring.

"Hello, my little angels!" I hugged my sisters tightly. While I had just seen them not too long ago, it hadn't been soon enough. I really didn't know what to do to get my father to change his mind about that...

"Gareth, how lovely to see you! Melody, you look stunning." Lilly sauntered up in a navy blue cap sleeved Zac Posen mermaid gown, giving us air kisses. "You looked so handsome on that magazine cover."

"Thank you, Lilly. I couldn't have done it without Melody though. It was her idea to have me channel Steve Jobs for the picture."

My dad nodded his head. "That's nice, son. Excuse us, I see Caesar and Miranda. Enjoy the night, you two. We'll be seeing you later. Come on, girls."

Dad motioned to my sisters and Lilly, who followed them over to his right hand, Lieutenant Governor Caesar Martinez, Caesar's wife Miranda and their kids Eliza and Louis. Every time I saw him, I couldn't help but think of Rosita. I, like the rest of America, immediately dove into her New York Times bestseller tell-all about the sordid affair. It made me wonder why Miranda stayed with him, I don't think I could ever do that, no matter how much I love Gareth. Life is too short to be with somebody that isn't entirely sure of their own feelings.

"Wow, my dad is so typical. He couldn't even congratulate you on the cover." I rolled my eyes at Gareth.

"Honestly? I don't mind. The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, it's kind of refreshing to see somebody not caring." He cupped my cheek. "Don't worry yourself, buttercup. I'm going to go get us some champagne, alright?"

I nodded. "Alright, that sounds great."

Gareth had a point, but my father still should have said something. After all, he was going to be his future son-in-law. I want to think that maybe a part of him is jealous of the success Gareth accumulated at a young age, whereas Dad didn't make the cover of Forbes until he won California Governor.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't little Melody Blake."

I turned around to see a couple in their early sixties, the man with white hair and glasses while the woman had shoulder length brown hair, dressed in a silver dress and balero jacket. I smiled, recognizing them right away.

"Oh, my gosh! Reg! Deanna! How are you?!" I laughingly smiled, giving them both a hug. Deanna Monroe and my father had known each other almost longer than I had been alive, but it was my mother that she was closer to. She was a political rival and good family friend while Reg had been part of designing the houses we lived in back in Bel-Air.

"My dear, you look exceptionally lovely this evening." Reg said. "I can still see glimpses of the little girl running around my backyard in pigtails chasing Aiden and Spencer."

"Thank you, I still remember those days myself. How are the boys?" I smiled politely, even though my heart was leaping out of my chest at Aiden's name.

It's a name, you'll be hearing it again, they're not all your Aiden.

"Busy as ever. Aiden just graduated from Harvard and is working for his new father-in-law, hoping to fill his shoes one day, and Spencer transferred to a new hospital."

"Wow, how impressive!"

This change in Aiden was recent, last I heard he was still goofing off and trying to be the next Mark Zuckerberg without actually doing any work. My mom, Lori and Carl had gone to his wedding in April, Rick was on a business trip and I was too distraught following the events of the Tony Robbins retreat. He married Katie Xander, socialite daughter of lawyer and New York Senator Gregory Xander, who had big dreams of becoming the next mayor. With Aiden working for him being a lazy ass, that campaign would probably be run into the ground.

"We've heard quite a lot about you through your father. He's so proud of you." Deanna said.

I blinked in confusion, wanting to laugh. "I'm sorry, you must be joking. Are we talking about the same Philip Blake?"

There's no way my dad would talk about me, unless to say what a horrible disappointment I was. As far as he's concerned, he only has two daughters. To my surprise, Deanna nodded.

"No, we are. He sends everybody your dance videos and makeup pictures all the time, he's always talking about how proud he is of you, especially the successful, dashing young man you're dating."

I was absolutely floored by this newfound information. Why was my father bragging about me? There had to have been some ulterior motive, this was Philip Blake she was talking about.

"Was that Deanna Monroe?" Gareth asked me once Deanna and Reg left, to which I nodded.

"Yes, it was. She just told me the most bizarre thing, that my dad shows off my dance videos and makeup, that he's actually proud of me and that I'm dating you."

Gareth smiled. "See? I told you your dad cares about you. He just has an odd way of showing it."

I shrugged. "Maybe, who knows? The whole thing is totally odd. Then again, I might be overthinking it, except nobody would be that nasty to their child if they cared."

"Melody?"

GARETH

We looked over to see a man around my age approaching us. He was tall with brown hair and eyes and the strangest ears I had ever seen. As soon as Melody saw him, her smile disappeared and she let go of my hand, turning around fully to face him.

"Spencer?"

The man now identified as Spencer walked up, a warm smile on his face. "Wow, I can hardly believe it. I almost didn't recognize you, it's been, what-"

"Three and a half years. Wow, hi!" She let out a nervous giggle, giving him a friendly hug, which he let linger too long. I could feel my face heating up, he was clearly enamored by my girlfriend.

"It's so good to see you, Spence."

"I'm surprised you're here, I figured you weren't coming since you didn't reply to my Facebook message. Then again, it seems like you've been having a very busy few months. Happy Birthday again. I saw Lori earlier, she's glowing. How's your mother?"

This was the first I was hearing of Spencer getting into contact with Melody, but I shouldn't feel too threatened, he's known her since she was born.

"Thank you, yes she is and my mom is fantastic. I have been a busy bee, graduating from school, working on the sets and pretty soon I'll be moving into a brand new house! I saw that you're working at the Lenox Hill E.R.. Wow, what's that like?"

"It's something else, that's for sure. Seriously though, you look incredible. You've turned into quite the young lady."

"Thank you."

She must have felt my gaze because she grabbed my hand and pulled me forward.

"This is my Gareth boyfriend- Uh, I mean, this is my boyfriend, Gareth."

He glanced at me with a smile and a handshake. "Hello, nice to meet you. I recognized you from the cover of Forbes. You're doing great things for the advertising world."

"Thanks. I recognized you from the video Glenn made for Melody's birthday." I really had no idea what to say to this guy, his presence was a bit intimidating.

Spencer's hand dropped from mine and cupped Melody's cheek, who didn't even flinch. Immediately, sirens went off in my head, but I was more confused than infuriated. What the hell was he doing?

"You've never looked better, kid."

As I opened my mouth to speak, I was cut off.

"Hold it, hold it, hold it! I've died and gone to heaven over a vision."

Shane walked up with Andrea, who was wearing a long green dress with a beaded chest.

"Hello, Shane." I said.

"Steve Jobs, Jr." He nodded his head at me before refocusing his attention on Melody and Spencer. "You two are something else."

They looked at one another before pointing at their respective selves. "Us?"

"Yep. How would you like to be in a multi-million dollar commercial for a well known perfume?"

It took me half a second to realize that he was referring to the Calvin Klein Obsession commercial. "What are you talking about, Shane? We just confirmed John Legend and Chrissy Tiegen for that spot last week."

"Oh, nobody told you? They canceled. I can see it clearly." Shane held out his hands in a picture frame style. "The beach, the party, her in a flowing dress, him with a look of lust in his eyes. It's perfect."

"I totally agree with him, you two are such a good looking couple." Andrea said, sipping her champagne.

"Wait, what do you mean they canceled?"

Shane brushed me off. "She got a gig on some show Fallon is producing for Spike TV. Anyways, we shoot on Thursday in Malibu. You in?"

"Uh, I don't know. I'm a doctor, not an actor or model." Spencer said.

"I'm not so sure being in a commercial is the best thing. I'm already kind of dreading the Audi commercial."

Right before Melody's birthday, I had her and her friends appear in the Audi commercial, shooting it on Pacific Coast Highway and cutting time costs for auditioning actors. Except the Calvin Klein commercial would be more intimate, more salacious, I'd worry that it would further piss Philip off.

"Don't worry about that. It's very simple, you're in and out, less than a day's work. I'll even comp your ticket out here, Spencer. Take my card and let me know by Tuesday. It'll air during the Super Bowl, you'll be getting national recognition." Shane handed him his card before walking away.

"Excuse me, I'll be right back."

I zipped over to Shane and whirled him around to face me. "Shane, what the hell was that for?"

He turned to Andrea. "Andrea, babe, grab me another scotch, will ya?"

"Sure." She grabbed his glass and walked off, leaving us alone, Shane giving me a smirk.

"Ahhh, what's the matter? Can't handle not being the center of attention for a few minutes?"

Ignorant son of a bitch.

I shook my head. "You know that's not it. This is my deal, Rick already gave me the OK."

All Shane did was shrug. "What can I say? He liked my idea better and it's what we're going with." He leaned in closer. "You do as I say or your sweet little princess finds out about the deal you made with Rick." He grinned wickedly before walking over to meet Andrea at the bar.

I stood there, baffled. All my hard work and success, only to be undermined and blackmailed, having to be forced to see my girlfriend with another man.

"Gareth, are you ok? You've been so quiet."

"Huh?" I shook myself out of my thoughts. "Yes, I'm fine."

It was true, I had been quiet through dinner, the various speeches and now on the dance floor as we swayed back and forth.

"Don't lie to me, I can tell when you're holding back. Is this about that offer Shane made me and Spencer?"

"Eh, kind of. I don't think you should take it. Your father would not be happy and have another reason to hate me."

She nodded. "I know, I thought of that also, but I think it would be really fun and interesting. You know that I've always wanted to break into modeling and acting, this might be a good start. Is it the deal you're having an issue with or that it's Spencer? I'm sorry I didn't introduce you right away, I was kind of in shock."

"I understand, and if it means that much to you, than go for it. You know I'll always support you, Melody. About Spencer though..."

"Yes?"

I hesitated, swallowing the lump in my throat, not wanting to ask the question that was pushing itself out of my mouth.

"I think you two were more than just friends, huh?"

She sighed before nodding. "Yes, we were."

"How far did it go?"

"I don't think you want to know." Her voice was squeaky, cheeks flushed red, she couldn't even look at me.

"Melody, come on. You know all about the girls I've been with."

Except Christine, that one you can never know about.

She swallowed before speaking. "Ok, remember what you told me about your summer fling with Lacey Cohan? It's pretty much that in a nutshell but it was more for my benefit than his."

I groaned and looked away. "Urgh, babe..."

"What?! You wanted to know!"

"That was it? I mean, look at him."

Melody looked away, her face crimson. "He was too big, I was worried I'd split in half."

"Melody!"

Some people looked over at us, which was when I pulled her in closer to me to distract them.

"Again, you wanted to know." She whispered.

"How am I supposed to ever look at that guy again knowing he spent a good amount of time with his head buried between your legs? Not to mention that he has a foot long?"

"In all fairness, it wasn't entirely like that. He wanted more than that but I wasn't ready to sit around in California and do the long distance relationship, it never works. I wasn't ready to leave my family behind and move to New York, he didn't want to transfer to UCLA. It wasn't meant to be."

What if this was the beginning of the end for us? Would she realize that she wanted to be with Spencer instead of me? I didn't want to believe it could happen, but reminders of Theresa were screaming in my head.

"Why? Spencer is a catch, Melody. He's a doctor, well mannered, dapper, comes from a really good family, not to mention he's a foot taller than you. If your dad was going to fix you up with anybody, it should have been Spencer, not Ben."

To me, Melody was perfect, and I hated that as of now it seemed I would always have that insecurity looming in the back of my head that I wasn't good enough.

Melody looked at me with sad eyes. "Do you really think any of that matters to me? I already have a dapper, well mannered, tall creative director that comes from a really good family." She moved her hands up to my face. "Gareth, that part of my life is over. There's nothing to worry about. I love you, not Spencer or Ben, you. You're my future. I'll prove it to you."

She sauntered off and over to the DJ. I had no idea what she was going to do, but I worried it would somehow get one of us in trouble. I watched her turn around as a single vibrating guitar cord played and she began to lip sync to the words.

"You broke my heart

'Cause I couldn't dance

You didn't even want me around

And now I'm back

To let you know

I can really shake 'em down"

Melody undid her hair and shook it out before she started singing along to "Do You Love Me?" by The Contours. I couldn't help but laugh as everybody stared at her. We had just watched Dirty Dancing recently, which is where she had gotten the idea.

"Melody, what are you doing?" I asked as she finally approached me.

"I'm dancing, and you're going to join me. Sometimes, you gotta make an ass out of yourself to show people who you really are, and who I really am is a crazy in love girl that wants to dance with her man."

She leaned up, grabbing my face and kissing me passionately. Here I was with a girl that had the whole country judging her, and she was willing to throw it all to satisfy my comfort and security. It was probably a bit selfish of me to have this thought, but it only made me love her more. With a smile, I twirled her outwards before we both started doing the Twist.

RICK

"God damnit, what the hell is she doing?!" Philip grumbled, slamming his fist down on the table as we watched Melody and Gareth dancing. "Mel-o-dy! Get off that dance floor, right now!"

"I wanna dance!" Meghan shouted and got up.

"Yeah, me too!" Penny joined her sister, ignoring Philip's calls.

"Girls, get back here!" He groaned heavily and looked at Lori as Meghan and Penny danced with their sister. "Lori, sweetheart, is there any chance you could talk some sense into that crazy sister of yours?"

"Oh, Philip." Lori threw her head back and sarcastically laughed before straightening up and glaring at him with a scoff. "Put a sock in it. Unlike you, I embrace my sister for the unique, outside the box individual that she is, we all do. You're the only one that hasn't. Times have changed, you need to breakaway of your judgments and let Melody live her life instead of scrutinizing her for every misstep she makes. Come on, Rick." She stood up and grabbed my hand. "I wanna dance."

"You got it, babe."

We joined them on the dance floor, rocking and jiving straight out of Dirty Dancing, which was quite funny to see. Soon enough, others were joining us and only Philip sat back with a scowl.

As always, my wife was right. Melody was wacky and eccentric and loving, it made her the fantastic person she is today. Even if she didn't have anybody, she had us, her family, and she had Gareth. There was no denying that.

THE NEXT MORNING

LORI

"Wow, this is seriously the best egg white omelet I've ever had. Can you believe all this food? Between here and Hawaii, I've never eaten better." I smiled, admiring the lavish layout in front of us.

"There's nothing better than room service." Rick said with a smile, pouring himself some more coffee.

"That was the best massage I've ever had in ages."

We looked over to see Melody and Gareth walk in, holding hands and wrapped up in their Plaza Hotel fluffy white bathrobes.

"Yeah, but nothing beats your hands, babe."

"Awww, baby."

Melody put her hands on Gareth's face and kissed him, giggling when his arms snaked around her waist. It's crazy how much I think of Rick and me whenever I see them.

"Good morning, you two."

They looked over and smiled.

"Good morning indeed!" Melody said with a smile. "Oh, my gosh! Food! I am star-ving!" She raced over and grabbed a plate, loading it with eggs, fruit, and pancakes.

"Sorry we weren't here earlier, we were getting a couples massage."

"Hmmm, that sounds relaxing." Rick said, grabbing my hand. "We should do that."

"Count me in." I leaned over and kissed his cheek.

"I highly recommend. Alright, coffee!" Gareth joined us at the table, preparing himself a cup of java. "Did we miss anything while we were gone?"

I nodded, grabbing the New York Post and placing it in front of my sister. "Yes, you did. Turn to Page Six."

Melody opened the paper and gasped, laughing at the article. "Oh, my gosh! I made Page Six! Look!"

She turned it around to show us. There was a picture of Melody in front of Gotham Hall, one of her with her dad and sisters, and one of her dancing with Gareth.

"California Princess Twists Up Red Cross Ball." Ha! This is too funny! Gareth, look at us." Melody said with a giggle. "I can only imagine what my dad will say."

I shrugged. "Who cares? You look amazing and that's all that matters."

"I think I sense the country's new power couple." Rick said with a laugh.

"I'll drink to that." Gareth toasted us.

Afterwards, we continued to enjoy the rest of our New York Sunday before we hopped on a plane tomorrow to California and the real world.
- 45
- 46
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Stubborn Love- A Modern/AU Walking Dead Story