A New Melody

## **AUTHOR'S NOTE**

Hey, guys! It's me, Miles, and this is my 'attempt' at an accidental writing challenge I call the "Five for Three". Basically, I wrote five parts/chapters in one day for three days, and I optionally added a prologue and epilogue. If you guys are bored, I suggest doing this! It was *really* fun to do.

Anyways, just a little **MATURE CONTENT WARNING**, as there's mild profanity and suggestive moments. There also, unfortunately, won't be a sequel, despite me saying it earlier, because the end is more up to interpretation! I will say, that yes, Melody/Molly and Sammy are in the cycle along with everyone else. But I won't say anything else, ight? Have fun reading and stay fresh!

*Miles <3*

## **PROLOGUE**

*“Melody,” her father said, tucking the eight-year-old into bed, “you do know that I love you with all my heart, right?”*

*“Yeah, papa! Of course I do!” The young girl smiled, sitting up in bed.*

*“I-I’m sorry.” He said, tears silently running down his face.*

*The girl didn’t notice in the dark of the night, “why?”*

*“No-nothing, dearest.” He kissed her forehead, standing up to leave her room.*

*“Alrighty, papa! Night!”*

*“Goodbye dear,” he said, trying not to cry, “and remember…”*

*Before shutting the door and saying goodbye to his daughter forever, he whispered, “you have your mother’s eyes.”*

It had been three years since Melody’s father had committed suicide, and it had been almost eight since her mother had left him. With no aunts or uncles on her father’s side, and both sets of grandparents having passed a long time ago, she was left to her uncle Henry.

Henry’s older sister, Mary, was Melody’s mother, but since she was nowhere to be found, the 19-year-old Henry was left to take care of his niece. It wasn’t too bad, though, since the person she dubbed “Uncle Joey” came around often to help out.

And since Melody was 11, it was easier to take care of her, too. And soon after she turned 14, she found her talent in music. In fact, because of her talent, uncle Henry and uncle Joey found themselves paying for fancy piano and singing lessons, making the young girl *very* happy.

She met a young man with the most beautiful eyes and the silkiest hair, and soon she found herself having a short crush on him, before uncle Joey gave her some ‘wonderful’ news. “Would you like to help me and uncle Henry make music?”

The young and naive Melody agreed to this, unknowing that this would take her out of piano *and* singing lessons, tearing her apart from something that made her happy. It also added so, *so* much stress to the now 18-year-old, causing her mental health to slowly deteriorate.

Not too long after her diagnosis of manic depression, she turned 20, finding out that uncle Joey had started a company, a business of sorts, called Joey Drew Studios, a cartoon animation studio.

Joey requested that his adoptive niece helped for the business, so she reluctantly agreed, especially since uncle Henry was in said business, too.

And oh boy, would Melody wish that she hadn’t sold her soul to the cartoon devil.

## **PART ONE**

“Mr. Lawrence,” Joey smiled, opening the door to the music department director’s office. “I need to speak with you!”

Sammy frowned, looking down at the page with three music notes scribbled on it. “Joey, why? You’ve given me at least twelve pieces to write by the end of the *month,*” he hissed, “and now you want me to get distracted? I’ve only gotten three *concepts* done!”

“Samuel, it’s a serious matter.” Joey said, grabbing the grumpy composer’s wrist.

“Let go of me!” Sammy said, jerking back. “Don’t you *ever* touch me.” He hissed, emphasizing on the word “ever”.

“Alright, fine, Samuel, but it’s about the music department.” Joey said, knowing that saying something about the music department would convince Sammy to follow.

Sammy quickly rubbed the bridge of his nose, and in a harsh voice said, “Alright, Joey, what is it?”

“Follow me, Samuel!” Joey said, smiling. “It’s quite the surprise, if you ask me.”

*Oh, come on,* Sammy thought to himself, quietly standing in the elevator with Joey. “So,” He muttered, looking at the floor. “What exactly is the surprise, Joey?”

“Well, look, we’re already here!” Joey exclaimed, “If you’ll step inside of my office, your surprise will be revealed.” Sammy snickered, opening the door to Joey’s office.

And instead of something expected, a young girl, around 20 or so stood in the middle of the office. “He-hello!” She stuttered, smiling. Her stunning green eyes, light coffee brown hair, and pale skin complementing her thin, short build.

*That face… she looks so familiar. Who is she? I…* Sammy thought, shaking his hand. He was snapped back to reality by the young girl.

She offered out her hand for a handshake, Sammy taking it without realizing it. Small, delicate hands sat in Sammy’s large, rough, and calloused hands. “My name is Molly, Molly Anderson. Niece of Henry Stein and daughter of Mary Stein and Kevin Anderson. I’ve taken the job as assistant music director!”

*That name sounds familiar. And she’s quite the talker… but she does have a really nice voice. Definitely don’t mind hearing it...* Sammy thought, putting his hand back in his pocket. “Samuel. Samuel Lawrence, head of the music de-department...” He murmured, looking at his shoes. “You can call me Sammy, m-ma’am.”

## **PART TWO**

Later that afternoon, while deep in thought, Sammy was interrupted by a soft knock on the door. “Go away, Wally,” He hissed, not looking up. But another small knock came, so Sammy stood up, rolling his eyes. “Wally, will you please-” He started to say as he opened the door, greeted by the young girl.

“Oh, gosh, I’m sorry if I interrupted you, Mr. Lawrence, but Miss Campbell would like to speak to you.” Molly said, her voice soft and angelic- at least, it was to Sammy’s ears.

“It’s Sammy, please. And would you mind telling Susie that I’m in the middle of writing music at the moment?” Sammy said, his tone softer and less harsh.

“miss. Campbell says that it’s an emergency, though,” Molly said, holding her notebook of music she had written. “An-and I was wondering if I could speak with you about this.” She pulled out a small sheet of paper, doodles of flowers and leaves in the margins.

“Hm?” Sammy said, staring at the paper. “Lots of flowers…” he muttered to himself, just barely audible to miss. Anderson.

“What did you say, dear?” She said, bending down so she could look into Sammy’s piercing, icy blue eyes. “I couldn’t hear you, you were speaking very quietly.”

“Nothing, nothing. Where is Miss Campbell?” He said, his voice getting sharper. He couldn’t let his guard down. He *really* couldn’t let it down, not right now.

“In the recording room, Mr. Lawrence.” Molly said, smiling. *Stay happy. Just like momma said. Keep on wearing that smile and soon everyone else will be smiling, too.* She thought, watching Sammy walk down the hall, into the recording room.

Before walking away, a small smile tugged at Sammy’s mouth. “It’s Sammy, miss. Anderson. Call me Sammy.”

Molly nodded, following behind the composer. “Alright then, Sammy.”

“And hey,” Sammy said, looking back at her, “we were both in the best piano class in New York City. No wonder you’re so familiar to me.”

## **PART THREE**

A few weeks later, things were going smoothly. Molly was helping manage things and to some extent, write songs. “Did ya hear, Wally?” Susie said, grinning. “There’s been rumor goin’ ‘round that Henry made a new character- a female one!”

“You’ve gotta be kidding me,” Wally said, leaning on his mop. “There’re so many of ‘em already! Why can’t we just stick with those ones?”

“Hm? A new character?” Molly said, her voice strained from staying up late singing. “That’s a-” she coughed, “-surprise! Do we know anything about her? Come on, Susie, what’s up?”

“No, except for you’re one of the few voices that Joey’s listenin’ to for talent,” Wally smirked, looking at Susie. “Joey seems to favor you out of all the ladies. I mean, you are a good lookin’ gal- not to sound creepy or anything.”

“Wally!” Susie said, her jaws looking as if they were unhinged. She grinned, gently punching the janitor. “You don’t just say things like that to a lady!”

Molly chuckled, “Well, tell-” she winced, her throat dry, “-tell Joey that I’m a bit busy with the music department.”

Susie sighed, putting a hand on her shoulder. “Well, darlin’, Joey knows how to get his way with things. It *is* a big honor to voice a character, though, so… suit yourself, dearie.”

*Is that really true? Is it that big of an honor? I mean, considering there* is *only one voice actor, maybe it is.* Molly thought, walking back to her office, just to find a surprise. Her sheet music was gone, but where it was a note sat, reading:

*“Dear Miss Anderson,*

 *Please come to the recording room 5 minutes before clock-out time. I have something to show you.*

*With warm regards,*

 *Sammy”*

“A note from… Sammy?” Molly said, putting it in her pocket. “That’s odd,” she muttered, very confused.

## **PART FOUR**

5 minutes before everyone clocked out, Molly slipped into the recording studio, hoping nobody saw her there. “Erm, Mr. Lawrence? You left a note. I also can’t find my music,” she said, looking around.

“Ah, you’ve arrived. And what have I said? It’s *Sammy*, not Mr. Lawrence, not Samuel.” Sammy said in a bored tone, leaning on the rail of the balcony.

“Oh my!” Molly took a deep breath in, her hand over her heart, totally startled by Sammy. “I’m sorry. If I stop calling you Mr. Lawrence, will you call me by my real name?”

Sammy blinked a few times, slowly nodding. “Alright, fine then. *Molly,*” he said, the name slipping out of his mouth like a waterfall. It just sounded *right*.

Unfortunately for him, Molly took the sound of her name in the wrong way. “Oh goodness, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you, sir!” She squeaked, burying her face in her hands.

“No, you didn’t-” Sammy sighed, “I grabbed the sheet music and I must say, it sounds gorgeous on the piano. A violin accompaniment would be lovely, too.”

“Really? I-I don’t know what to say!” Molly smiled, holding her hands behind her back.

“A thank you would be lovely,” Sammy said, his face slowly fading from a devilish grin to an unimpressed frown. “On another note, Joey asked me to speak with you about the position you currently have.”

“Uhm, alright?” Molly said, extremely confused. “What does Mr. Drew want me to know about the position?”

“Well, uh…” Sammy said, biting his lip. “He said that you might have to change positions. He said something about admiring your voice,” *It’s so soft and melodic…* he thought to himself, shaking his head, hoping that would deter the thought.

“Oh. So… were Wally and Susie right?” She tilted her head. “I can only assume Norman was the one that told them,”

Sammy clenched his fists. “Did Norman tell either of them anything else?” He gritted his teeth, his knuckles turning white and red from the pressure.

“Uhm, not that I was told,” she said, kicking her feet at the ground. “Is there anything that I was supposed to be aware of?”

“No. Not at all.” Sammy said, his expression relieved. “Anyways, Joey said that he’s thinking about making you a voice actor for the new character that Henry made.”

“Are you serious?” Molly said, guilt, rage, and sadness consuming her. “I don’t want to voice a silly character! I want to write music with y-” she stopped, covering her mouth. *Wha- what did I just say?!* She thought, frantically trying to piece together the fragments of her mind.

Sammy blushed undetectably, putting his right hand on his left shoulder. “I appreciate the wanting to write music thing, but I think that Joey *really* wants you to voice this character.”

“Wel-well, I’m going to go tell Mr. Drew that I don’t want to voice the character! Even if it’s ‘such a big honor’, I don’t want to stop writing music!” She said, huffing. “Have a nice night, Sammy. I’m going to go talk with Mr. Drew.”

## **PART FIVE**

It had been a few months since Molly rejected the position, and the studio seemed to be like it always was. Sammy found himself talking more and more with Molly, helping her write music.

“So, sorry Sus, about the whole putting you and Sammy in a false relationship thing, but…” Wally said, grinning. “Looking at Molly and Sammy, I think there’s magic there. And I mean *real* magic.”

“Ex-cuse me,” Sammy said, looming over the janitor. “What in the *world* did you just say?”

“N-nothing, Sam!” Wally said, obviously flustered. “Just talking to Susie…” Sammy rolled his eyes, forcing a frown to appear on his face as he walked to Molly’s office. His heart, on the other hand, was filled with an overwhelmingly large amount of joy.

“Knock-knock,” Sammy said, leaning on the doorframe of the assistant composer’s office. “It’s time for that recording session.”

It took a minute for Molly to realize that he was talking to her, causing her to be startled when he picked up the music she was working on.

“Sammy!” She squeaked, surprised by the music director. “Wh-why’re you here?”

“Hm… mhm…” He said, ignoring her as he read the music. “It sounds nice, but more variation would be good. Sharps or higher notes would be nice. Maybe some eighth notes and quarter rests, too.”

“Yes, sir!” She said, grabbing the music. She grabbed a new sheet of paper, ready to add more variety to the song, with the end in mind to be adding a few sharps and rests, taking away the lower notes and replacing them with higher notes, and-

“Anyways, Molly, it’s time for the recording session.” Sammy said, slightly frustrated at the dazed composer, but slightly happy he could help her with the composition.

“Oh gosh, that was today?!” She said, scrambling to get out of her seat. “I’m so sorry!” Sammy chuckled under his breath. *She looks kinda silly when she gets confused...*he thought, leaning on the desk. *And she looks pretty cute when she’s upset- WAIT, what am I thinking?!* He softly blushed, looking away.

“Uh, yeah. It’s fine. Remember the lyrics? I do have the sheet if you need it, though. But, I mean, you are *really* good at remembering lyrics, so…” He trailed off, realizing how sparkly her green eyes were. It was a small detail, but it was one that was important to him nonetheless.

“Yeah, I remember the lyrics.” She smiled, accidentally brushing her shoulder against his arm. “Oops! Sorry,”

“So cute...” He said under his breath, in a soft, dreamy tone. Soon, after seeing that Molly was very flustered- meaning she had heard his barely audible voice, he gasped, realizing what he had just said. “Ahem, we should go, shouldn’t we?”

## **PART SIX**

After finishing the recording of “Jelly Jumble” (“It’s a particularly odd name,” Sammy had tried to argue with her, but she refused to change the name), there was barely over an hour until it was time to check out.

But due to her odd, spontaneous-burst-of-energy personality, Molly was hard at work, supposedly trying to compose songs for the upcoming project- a long Bendy cartoon, lasting *twenty* minutes. *TWENTY!*

Walking down the hall to leave, Sammy noticed that Molly was still in her office. “Molly, it’s time to go home.” He said, poking his head in the room.

“I’m working… Go spy on someone else, Norman...” she said, not fully realizing that it was Sammy speaking. Sammy sighed, tapping his chin with one of his fingers.

*Aha!* He thought, the curious part of his mind chirped, *we should ask if she wants to go out for coffee with us!* It was a good idea, but something that scared him. Did it seem to… gutsy to ask?

Sammy scoffed, shaking his head. “Suit yourself, Mol. I *was* gonna ask if you wanted to come with me and Norman to the coffee shop down the street, but… you seem pretty *busy*.” He walked to the desk, leaning over the young lady. “Pretty busy writing… poems?”

Quickly, Molly scrambled to hide the poems, her face a dark shade of maroon. “Sammy! Stop scaring me like that!”

“Molly, what are those poems? Can I read them?” He inquired, trying to move her arm.

“NO!” She shouted.

“Why not?”

“Because! T-they aren’t ready!”

“What do you mean they aren’t ready, Molly?”

“BECAUSE I HAVEN’T FINISHED THEM!” She yelled, hunched over the desk, fuming. “Go away, Sammy!”

*I thought* I *was the mean one…* He thought, his heart seeming to sink. “You know what. I’ll see you later. I don’t need your snappy attitude.” He hissed, and just as he walked into the hallway, he said, “Sometimes I wish you had taken that job as the voice actress so I wouldn’t have to be around you!”

It was a lie- he loved being around her. But the tension was too much for him, making him act so aggressive. Feeling sorry for being rude to Molly, Sammy rushed back home, just before 6 o’clock.

*I’m sorry, Molly.*

## **PART SEVEN**

About a week later, Norman, Wally, Buddy, Allison, and Susie walked into Sammy’s office, Wally holding a small wrapped box- which was actually a recording device. “Hey, Sammy! Do ya know where Miss Anderson is?”

“I have no clue where Molly is, and frankly, I don’t care.” He said in a low growl, scribbling notes on the paper.

“Oh, come on, dear.” Susie said, pursing her lip. “Where’s your girlfriend?”

“She isn’t my girlfriend, Susie. You know she doesn’t like me like I like her.” He said, staring into Susie’s face with his cold, blue eyes.

“HAH! You admitted it!” Wally said while Norman chuckled. “I knew it, I knew it, I KNEW IT!”

“It’s not a surprise to anyone in this room. Well... Mainly Art Department and Franks, but whatever.” Sammy said, setting the pen down on the paper, leaning back in his chair. “I don’t wanna talk about it, alright?”

From the present, a click came, which was Wally shutting off the recording. “Wait a second-” Sammy noticed the recorder, making him scramble out of his seat to lunge at the Projectionist.

“Haha, now we can show ‘er!” Buddy laughed, snatching the box. “Come on, I saw her in the recording room, playing the piano!”

“NO! GET BACK HERE!” Sammy yelled, skidding to a stop as he reached the entrance to the recording room.

“Bada-bum-bum,” Molly softly sang, smiling as she pressed each key. “Love is like a flower waiting to bloom. Sammy, I just gotta tell you, but not too soon…” She whispered the line from her poetry.

In shock, Sammy stood there, the group of “mischief makers” standing behind Sammy. “M-Molly…” He said, walking over to her. “You really-”

“MOLLY LOOK AT THIS! LISTEN!! HE SAID THAT HE *LOVES* YOU!!” Buddy taunted, turning the recording on.

“Art Department, don’t you dare-” Sammy started to say, but was interrupted by Molly.

“W-what’s going on! You weren’t supposed to hea-” however, Molly was cut off by the recorder.

In a choppy mimic of Sammy’s voice, the record spat out, “*S-She isn’t my-”* followed by brief static, *“-she doesn’t like me-*” more static, and then, “-*I like her.”*

“I SWEAR IF I HAD MORE EMPLOYEES I WOULD FIRE YOU ALL!” Sammy shouted, turning around to see a red-in-the-face Henry.

“Well, Mr. Lawrence. I wanted to see what the commotion was and… uh.” Henry blushed, rubbing the back of his head. “I can’t say that this is what I wanted to see. And I can’t say it’s what I expected, either.”

## **PART EIGHT**

After a long talk with Henry, Sammy was extremely tired and embarrassed. “I *really* don’t want to talk about it, Henry.” Sammy said, trying to go.

“Well, to be fair, you’re the one with the giant crush on my twenty-year-old niece.” Henry said, putting a hand on Sammy’s shoulder. “I mean, I won’t get too mad at you, you’re one of my best friends *and* you only just turned twenty-two, so…”

Sammy blushed, his icy blue eyes turning a softer shade of blue. “Henry, please, for the love of my sanity, *stop talking.* You’re making me look redder than a tomato.”

“Is there anything wrong with that?” A soft, feminine voice came from behind.

“Molly, thank you for coming like I asked.” Henry said, smiling at his niece.

“S-Sammy, I didn’t want you to hear t-that. At least, not yet.” Molly said, sheepishly hiding her face. “I do-don’t know why- I- I just-”

“Henry, do you mind, uh…” Sammy stuttered. “Giving us a little time to talk, I suppose?”

“Yeah, sure.” Henry said, smirking. “Don’t have too much fun.”

“UNCLE HENRY!” Molly blushed, covering her face even more. “I-I’m sorry about that. B-but…”

“I like you too, Molly. Like, a lot. I know it’s weird to have a crush on your coworker, but you’re just so charming, you’re so sweet, I-” Sammy stopped for a moment, thinking about her and her emerald-like eyes. “I don’t know why. I guess after I finally got to know you, I finally got to love you.”

“Sa-Sammy…” Molly whispered, scooching a bit closer to him. She laid a hand on his. “I guess I just thought that you thought of me as a friend…”

“Gah, this is *so* awkward.” Sammy mumbled, his face now a softer, duller shade of pink. “Who woulda thought… the two composers of the studio falling in love with each other…”

“Maybe it’ll be easier to work together if we spend more time with each other,” Molly said, her voice still soft, sweet, and shy. “Just think about it. If we go on dates, we could work on music, or-or you could come over to my house, an-”

“I don’t think that I want you to have a boy in the house!” Henry said in a joking tone, poking his head back inside.

“Wait a sec-” Sammy said, putting the pieces together. “Oh! That’s why- okay. That makes more sense.”

“That’s why we come to work together, dingbat!” Henry said, smacking Sammy in the back of the head.

“Did- don’t slap him!” Molly exclaimed, hugging Sammy’s arm. “He didn’t deserve to be smacked! How would you like it if I smacked you?”

Henry and Sammy chuckled, leaving Molly to wonder if the slap was an inside joke. “It’s fine, Molly. My head doesn’t hurt that bad.”

## **PART NINE**

Arriving to work the next morning was very frustrating for Sammy and Molly. “Look at them! Aren’t they so cute?” People would remark, making tiny details of what they heard into something larger and more drastic.

Molly was half asleep, since Henry kept on questioning her about her crush on Sammy, and Sammy was very tired from another nightmare-filled night, *and* he was also extremely frustrated because no one needed to know anything about the two’s new relationship.

“I have… have…” Molly started to say, barely able to keep her eyes open. A thud startled her awake, however. “Sammy?” She squeaked, quickly running to his office. “Are you okay, Sammy?”

“I’m fine.” He said, obviously not fine.

“That’s a… th-that’s a...l-lie.”

“You’re half asleep.”

“Tha-that is…n-not tr-true.”

“You’re about to pass out.”

“No I’m n-” Molly was about to say, a wave of tiredness consuming her. “You- you gotta be kidding me…”

Sammy rolled his eyes, standing up and walking over to Molly. “Sleep is important. I don’t know why, but if you’re gonna work for me, you’ve gotta sleep.” Sammy held her in his arms, gently keeping her from toppling over.

“I couldn’t sleep last night. Uncle Henry was tormenting me with q-que…” Molly said, about to fall asleep. “Que-questions…” she managed to spit out, just before her eyes closed and her head went limp.

*Hooray, Molly has officially passed out.* Sammy thought to himself, gently picking up his girlfriend. Quietly, he took her to her office, setting her down in the little nest of blanket that she had made. “You know, if *I* were the one bringing a blanket to work, I’d probably, I dunno, fold it?” He murmured, making sure she was comfortable.

“Mm-buh…” Molly muttered, curling up in the blanket. “S-mamy…”

Sammy chuckled, gently rubbing the top of Molly’s head. “Don’t worry, my little sheep,” he said, wrapping her up in the white wool blanket. *She does look kind of like a sheep… hey, th-that’d be a cute nickname, right?*

Sitting down next to her, he gently held the side of her face. “Sheep sheep sheep, it’s time to sleep. Rest your head, it’s time for bed.” Sammy softly sang as Molly curled up closer to him. “In the night, the sun goes down, but in the morn, it rises again.”

Molly was now sound asleep, but was on top of Sammy, immobilizing him. “Great,” he muttered, a small smile creeping onto his face. Soon, the tired composer fell asleep, curled around Molly.

## **PART TEN**

Norman and Susie were the ones to abruptly wake up the sleeping couple. “Oh no, they’re dead,” he said, his voice dead-serious.

“Holy sh-” Susie yelled, running into the room. “Oh my god, Norman!” She not-so-gently punched Norman, making him flinch a bit.

“I’m kidding,” Norman said, chuckling. “They’re just snugglin’. I think. I hope.”

“You have a horrible sense of humor,” she remarked, her gaze on Sammy and Molly. “WAKE UP LOVEBUGS!” Susie yelled, startling the both of them.

“Bah!” Sammy yelped, rubbing his eyes. “Wh-what time is it?”

“Almost time to clock out, loser.” Susie responded, sticking her tongue out at Sammy.

Molly woke up, her head against Sammy’s chest. “Urgh… did-did I p-pass out?” She stuttered, trying to stop the disoriented feeling in her head.

“Yeah, you did,” Sammy said, noticing that they were holding hands. He softly blushed, scratching the back of his head. He turned his attention back to Norman and Susie, “What the heck was that for?!”

“We don’t want you two to stay here overnight,” Susie said, hands behind her back. “Plus, we wanted to invite you to hang out at the park with me, Norman, and Wally. But considering Molly rejected your coffee date, I highly doubt she’ll want to come along.”

“H-hey! I didn’t reject it! I was j-just bu-busy!” Molly said, shoving the blanket in her face.

Sammy stood up, holding out his other hand to help Molly stand up. She took it, feeling a tad dizzy from her tiredness. “Well, we aren’t coming with you guys, but we’re gonna go home.” Sammy said, gently holding Molly by the wrist. “Come on, Molly.”

“But Sammy, we didn’t get any of our work done today!” Molly protested, trying to get out of the composer’s grasp. “Joey’ll get *really* pissed if he finds out we didn’t do it!”

“Molly, does it matter? He’s so wrapped up with trying to boss everyone around that he won’t even know!” Sammy exclaimed, his voice a jumble of compassion, guilt, and bitterness. Staring into her green eyes, Sammy eventually gave in. “Fine. But I’m not staying more than two hours here.”

“Thank you! I promise, we’ll get the work done.” Molly smiled, taking Sammy’s hand. “See you two later!” She blew Susie a kiss- an inside joke between the two girls-, watching them as they walked out of the room and down the hall.

“So, what are you doing? Well, let me rephrase that- what are you trying to work on?” Sammy said, kneeling next to the desk.

“This!” She piped up, holding a sheet of music. “It’s for Tombstone Picnic, since you haven’t finished the second soundtrack for it yet.”

Sammy turned a soft shade of red, remembering what he was trying to do when Molly had interrupted him. Trying to make something for Halloween wasn’t easy, especially considering it was only September. Nothing was in the spirit for Halloween!

“M-Molly, that’s what I was trying to work on, actually. I-” He sighed, not wanting to upset her too much. “I guess we could… uh… work on the song together?” Sammy slightly choked at the thought. It was almost impossible for him to work on a song with someone else.

“Hehe,” Molly giggled at the sight of the tired composer. “Alrighty then. Maybe you write the base and I’ll help from there?”

“Maybe you’ll write the base and I’ll help from there,” Sammy replied, standing up. “I am *fairly* certain that I have more experience than you.”

“Alrighty, then. If you know so much, why don’t you just do it yourself?” Molly looked up, her voice with a hint of both flirtiness and sarcasm.

In a soft, endearing voice, Sammy said, “Oh, shut up. Do you want me to help you or not?”

## **PART ELEVEN**

A few more weeks passed by, a new voice actor (a young lass named Allison Pendle) to share Alice with Susie, more band members, and the best part? Molly had moved out from Henry’s and moved in with Sammy. This news, of course, created some questionable thoughts between coworkers. It was a week before Halloween, too, so everyone was *finally* in the spooky mood.

“Boo!” Molly said, coming up behind Sammy. She placed her cool hands on his shoulders, looking down at his work. “Whatcha workin’ on, sweets?”

“Your hands are cold. I guess you weren’t doing much?” He responded, placing his left hand on his left shoulder, holding Molly’s hand.

“You, sir, didn’t answer my question.” Molly said, her voice bubbly and energetic like always.

“I’m working on the music for the project,” he said, staring at the sheet of paper. “What’re you doing, doll?”

“I was helping Susie and Allison work on their vocal similarities. Since Allison is doing the singing, we decided that it’s important that they both have *really* similar voices.” She sighed, sitting on the stool next to Sammy’s desk. “But alas, sharing a part isn’t easy for the two. They act a *lot* like school children.”

“Heh,” he chuckled, scribbling a few more notes and then whistling the tune. “That’s the truth, ain’t it.”

*Knock-knock*. “Hey, Samuel, can I speak with ya for a minute?” It was Henry. Molly chuckled, realizing that Henry was going to ask something about her.

“Yeah, Henry?” Sammy said, motioning for Molly to hide behind the door. Molly did, standing out of sight, listening close to the conversation.

“So, uh… I just wanted to ask a couple questions about stuff,” Henry said, “But, the main question is… are you taking good care of Molly for me?”

“Yes, of course,” Sammy nodded, his face stern, very unlike the soft smile he wore with Molly. “You said you had another question, Henry?”

“Yeah, yeah, uhm…” Henry said, sighing, “well… I just wanted to ask if anything has happened yet…” Detecting the redness of Henry’s face, Sammy immediately knew what he was asking.

“Oh, god no!” Sammy backed up a bit, scratching the back of his head. “I hadn’t- we didn’t even- gah! Henry, we’re adults, stop making this awkward!” Molly stifled a giggle, notifying Henry of her presence.

“Molly!” Henry said, feeling a bit embarrassed. “I-”

“Hey, it’s almost clock-out time!” Molly said, pointing to the clock. “Thank god,”

“Yeah, yeah, le-let’s head out early.” Sammy stuttered, holding Molly’s hand.

“Hey, Sammy, one last question-” Henry said, “does Joey know that you two are in a relationship…?”

“Uh,” Sammy stared into the void, realizing that Joey had no clue about the fact that he and Molly were dating. “N-no?”

“Oh, great,” Henry said, rubbing the bridge of his nose, “that’ll be fun to explain to him.”

“Uncle Henry, what’s wrong?” Molly said, grabbing Henry’s wrist. “Why is that going to be fun explaining?”

“First off, Molly, it’s sarcasm,” Henry paused, “and Joey is convinced that you two hate each other, so that’s why he’s trying to get Molly to be a voice actress.”

“Joey is *still* trying to get his hands on my little sheep’s voice, eh?” Sammy growled, his hatred for Mr. Drew growing every single second. “I swear, I am going to *snap* that man’s neck.”

“Okay, okay, relax, Samuel,” Henry said, thoughts swarming around his mind.

“Wait a second! We announced it to Susie, and considering she has such a big mouth, I wouldn’t be surprised if she had told Joey!” Molly added, “so… what if…”

“What do you mean, what if?” Sammy said, looking at Molly.

Molly looked up at Sammy, her eyes like big emeralds as tears formed at the corners of her eyes. “What if Joey’s trying to get us apart from each other?”

## **PART TWELVE**

“You know what, it might as well be true.” Sammy said as the two walked into their house. “I swear, Joey’s just trying to ruin everything we ever cared about.”

“I- Sammy,” Molly sighed, sitting on the sofa next to him. “I understand that Joey is frustrating, it’s just that…”

“What, Molly? What is your optimistic self saying?” Sammy said, tired of the fact that Molly was always looking on the bright side, never facing reality.

Silence was amongst the two, Sammy’s bitter words lingering in the air. Soon, however, Molly broke the silence.

“My name isn’t Molly.”

Sammy shook his head, “what do you mean your name isn’t Molly?”

“I mean, people call me Molly, but…”

“Okay, but what’s your real name?”

Molly hesitated. “It’s Melody.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, and I hate it.” Molly sighed, playing with her hair.

“Why? It’s gorgeous.” Sammy shifted closer to Molly.

“I just feel like… My mom knew my destiny. I resent her and what she did to my father, and I just wish that my destiny didn’t have to share my name.”

“Wait,” wrapping Molly in a hug, Sammy kissed the top of her head. “What did your mother do to your father?”

“Yo-you really don’t know, do you?” Molly gently bit her lip, staring at her lap. “My mother did some stupid stuff, and she left my dad as soon as I could walk. And soon, my dad…”

Tears rolled down her cheeks as she snuggled up against Sammy. “My dad was sent to a mental institute, but soon after he was released, he… he…” She sniffled, “he committed suicide. I remember the last thing he said was- was- was that I-I had my m-mother’s eye-eyes…”

Sammy frowned, staring into her eyes. “Henry said that he thought you have your mother’s eyes.” Looking into her eyes, Sammy put his hand under her chin, tilting her head upward. Quickly, he leaned down for a kiss, closing his eyes.

Molly was filled with bliss and compassion, wrapping her arms around Sammy. As he pulled away, Molly winced, rubbing her wrist. “Ah,” she muttered, her wrist red and inflamed. “That hurts…”

“Molly, you- you didn’t… *you know*,” Sammy said, looking for any evidence of cuts or scars.

“No, heavens, no! I just twisted my wrist while I was behind the door.” She responded, not letting Sammy look at her wrist. “I swear, I didn’t do that!”

Sammy sighed, standing up. Quickly, he went into the washroom, grabbing a cloth and running cold water over it. “Here, wrap this around your wrist. It should help it to some extent.” Sammy’s heart felt heavy, knowing full well that Molly was hiding something.

## **PART THIRTEEN**

It was early in the afternoon, meaning that it was time for lunch break. Molly and Sammy quickly finished up their food, seeing as either of them weren’t very hungry, meaning that they had a good chunk of time to do whatever they wanted.

Molly voted for working on vocals, but Sammy voted for something… different.

“S-Sammy?” Molly squeaked, her face red as she noticed the smirk on her significant other’s face.

Sammy didn’t talk, he just walked closer to Molly, the smirk on his face even bigger than before. Molly backed up against the wall, Sammy still getting closer. “Sa-Sammy! What are y-”

Sammy kissed Molly, but instead of the short kiss they shared last night, it was longer, a lot more intimate and passionate one. Molly kissed him back, and Sammy accidentally fell backwards. “Oops,” he said, his voice light and seductive.

The two were now laying on the ground, but Sammy didn’t care though, and neither did Molly, so the two went back to kissing.

“Hey, Sammy, I need to speak to ya,” Norman said, opening the door, not seeing what was going on. “Oh sh- crap, why d’ya guys have to do this now?” He blushed, quickly covering his eyes.

“Oh crap,” Sammy said, pulling his lips away from Molly’s. “You saw nothing!”

“I swear, I didn’t. I don’t think so. Can I uh, can I open my eyes now?”

Molly sat on Sammy, her face warm and numb at the same time. “Y-yeah,” she stuttered, getting off of him. “Yo-you can open your eyes now.”

“Ergh,” Norman’s face turned back to normal, the red fading away. “I was gonna mention something that happened between Susie and Allison, but uh…”

“Oh gosh, what happened?’ Sammy said, slowly shaking his head, “did they get into an argument again?”

“Worse.” Norman said, “they got into fistfight.”

“Oh, you’ve gotta be kidding. Where?” Sammy asked.

“The recording room.” Norman responded

“OH HELL NO!” Sammy yelled, running out of the room. “If something happens to that piano I am firing the both of them!”

“Did you forget that you can’t do that?” Molly inquired.

“No. But I’ll sure as hell talk to Joey about it.” Sammy snapped, the composer running in the hall.

Throwing open the door, Susie was on top of Allison, holding her neck to the ground. “Su-Susie! Wha-what the hell- ha-has gotten in-into you?” Allison choked out.

“I heard you talking with Joey! You two were gonna fire me!” Susie yelled, sweat dripping down her face as she choked the blonde-haired girl.

“Hey! Get off her, Susie! *I’ll* fire you!” Sammy yelled, startling Susie.

“He-help…”  Allison coughed, Molly rushing over to help her. Molly shoved Susie off her, immediately helping Allison get back to steady breathing. “Thank you, Molly,” she gasped, smiling at the assistant composer.

“No problem, Al-” Molly was interrupted by Sammy and Susie yelling at each other. “Oh no.”

“I’M NOT GOING TO GET FIRED!” Susie shrieked, pushing Sammy’s chest.

“WELL ONCE I TELL JOEY, YES YOU ARE!” He yelled back as he stood his ground.

“Susie! Stop it!” Allison grabbed Susie’s torso, pulling her back. “You’re not going to get fired! Joey and I were talking about *last resorts*!”

“W-well then why did I hear ‘Susie’s gonna get fired’?!” Susie protested, letting herself relax to some extent.

“Joey was making a joke! He said ‘if she keeps on acting like that, Susie’s gonna get fired’! He doesn’t want to fire you!” Allison cried, half-hugging, half-restraining Susie.

Molly jumped in front of Sammy, wrapping her arms around him, softly whispering, “please, stop! Sammy, please!”

Sammy just stood there, stopping his yelling, afraid of hurting Molly.

“Where’s my happy boy, Sammy? Where’d he go?” She said, putting a hand on his right cheek. “Sammy, please. Just *stop*.”

## **PART FOURTEEN**

“I walked into the studio that morning, expecting to see you and Sammy waiting for me so we could start our vocal warm ups before any voice recordings would happen. But instead of seeing you two eagerly wait for me, I saw you guys talking with *her*,” Susie said, sitting on the stool. “You guys greeted me like normal, and Sammy motioned for me to sit next to Allison. I could just see the perfection in that girl, a-and I got *so* envious and jealous of her.

“I remember that she was so friendly, saying that she was excited to meet me. I just said “thanks” in a horribly rude tone, feeling like I was about to snap.  I guess, from what I remember, work was *really* rough that day, mainly for me. Every corner I turned, Allison was there. Allison, Allison, Allison. The more I said or heard her name, the more *done* I was with her.

“At the end of the day, going home was my saving grace. But at the same time, it was what broke me. I started crying, having an absolute meltdown. Feeling worthless, I went to sleep, hoping tomorrow would get better.” Susie turned towards Sammy and Molly, a pang of guilt in her chest as she saw them holding hands, remembering the painfully embarrassing one-sided flirting that she did with Sammy.

“But such a shocker,” she said sarcastically, “the next day was worse. Every day got worse. Sammy, you… your heart got stolen by the perfect girl.” Susie stuttered as she motioned towards Molly, “Allison was the new star, Joey just… *forgot* about me… And honestly? I was just done with everything”

“Well that sucks,” Wally said, walking in, totally missing the conversation. “Uh,” he stared at the now-in-tears Susie, feeling a bit bad. “Uhm, what did I miss?”

“Go away, Wally, you’re not in this,” the projectionist said, shooting a dirty look at the janitor.

“Sorry…” Wally said, looking back at Susie. Before leaving, however, his emotions got the better of him, causing him to hug Susie. “I dunno what happened, toots, but it’ll be okay.” Quickly, he let go, his walk slowly going into a run as he fled down the hall.

“It’s okay,” Susie muttered, rubbing her arms, “we’ve probably used two days worth of break time. Sorry…”

“Let’s go back to *working*,” Norman put up air quotes when he said ‘working’, smirking at Molly and Sammy.

“For gosh sake, Norman! I’m gonna fire *you*!” Sammy said, turning strawberry pink. "But seriously, we should. I don't want to fire you guys, but..."

Molly chuckled, nudging Sammy's elbow. "You wouldn't fire us. Let's go back to working, guys, before he changes his mind."

## **PART FIFTEEN**

About a week went on, lots of things happened.

Susie quit, feeling horrible about her actions towards Allison. And to everyone’s surprise, it turned out that Susie’s envy had turned into *love* for Allison. “Allison, I just wanna tell you that I love you, and I trust that you’ll be a better Alice- and a better person- than I was.” Susie said, before taking all of her stuff and bidding farewell to everyone.

Sammy had proposed to Molly, and of course, Molly said yes. Things between the two got… more interesting, to say the least. Lots of teasing from Norman and Wally, but a lot of respect from everyone, too, so that was a plus.

And, the most surprising, Henry decided that he needed to have a break. “You’ve gotta be kidding me, leaving for a *month*?” Joey said, trying to convince him to stay. But no, Henry left, which was *exactly* what Joey wanted to happen.

Another week elapsed, and Joey was about to reveal his grand project- the Ink Machine, a huge machine to make…

“Making cartoons into real characters? Joey, this is a *positively silly thought*,” Sammy said, mocking him.

Joey shrugged, ignoring the words of the composer. “Well, Mr. Lawrence, I’d assume you’d like to try your chances?”

“No! I don’t want to be sacrificed to be some cartoon character!” Sammy growled, staring at the man. Joey was a couple inches taller than Sammy, but that didn’t scare the music director.

“Well, how about Miss Anderson?” Joey said, his voice silky and smooth, making Molly face a hard decision.

“Uhm,” she looked back up at Sammy, not wanting to leave her fiance’s side. “N-no. I’m sorry, Mr. Drew, but I’m passing.”

“Oh, well that’s just too bad. Alice, if you would,” Joey nodded to the dark, feminine figure in the back of the room.

A twisted, mutated version of Alice Angel stepped out, holding a heavy steel rod. “Yes, Mr. Drew.” She said, raising the rod over their head. “Like you say, Sammy… sheep, sheep, sheep, it’s time for sleep.*..*”

*And the last thing that the two heard before blacking out was, "it's all going to be for the greater good, isn't it?"*

## **EPILOGUE**

In the shadows, the Ink Demon stalks. Looking for revenge on his ‘creator’, looking for ‘justification’ for Joey’s wrongdoings. It's only right that he gets mad at you, too. You didn't bother stopping Joey, did you? *Did you?*

Your niece, the most beautiful girl on the planet, wanders here, frightened and touched by the ink, looking for me, a ‘lost’ loved one. Those melodies, Henry, those melodies we both hear? She sings them in hopes that I, her love, will hear. Hoping that I can come back to love her.

And I... I, Sammy Lawrence, worship the Demon, and I pray to free me and all the poor souls, and over all, my beloved Melody. My own mind and the ink battle, the light slowly being consumed by the dark as I try to grasp what's left of my sanity.

You see the Demon, hear her songs, and witness my slow descent into insanity.

Henry...

*Why didn’t you save us?*