Melissa and Doug - Before the Fall

Word had spread quickly about the breakup between Melissa and Doug. According to rumors, Mel had cheated on him, and who she supposedly had this tryst with varied daily from Carter, to Conner, to Dante, to other random various guys she had been seen talking with, on at least one occasion.

The rumors weren't so bad but cheerleading practice had become practically unbearable. It wasn't the majority of the cheerleaders, most of the rich cheerleaders had opted to ignore her, because there was a low tolerance from the coach about bullying on the team. Doug's group however had seemed to buy into whatever narrative Doug fed them so, in the locker room, Doug's group would target her.

The scholarship students had enough of their own problems and Melissa tried to not involve them in her drama. The saving grace for her, on the team was Kaylee. Small but mighty. The girl didn't think twice about telling off the snobs and being Kaylee was dating Conner, and sister to Matt, Doug's friends would just let the matter go for the moment but when there was no one around who would or could do that, Mel was shoved into a very hostile environment.

Then there was Doug himself, the boy had taken to, spreading the rumors. He would sometimes just stare at Mel. This morning though, the morning of the dance, Doug had Taylor, a cheerleader, one of his group, hanging all over him.

Despite all of that, Mel had decided to just have a good time tonight with her friends. So, she arrived at the dance, spotted the table where her friends were gathering and sat down. She ended up sitting near Jason who asked her to dance. Agreeing, the two got on the dance floor.

—--

Doug couldn't understand why his plan to make Mel jealous with Taylor wasn't working.
Watching Mel and Jason dance together, the two looked good together and it began to eat away at Doug.

He grabbed Taylor's hand, "Dance with me."

It wasn't a question, it was an order. Taylor looked surprised at the forcefulness of Doug but she simply agreed.

The two danced, an uncomfortable dance, as Doug's undercurrent of anger started to rise and he couldn't keep his eyes off of Melissa.