Mel & Paige | Helping Hand
Dec. 23rd, 2024 02:53 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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xp_logsbackdated Paige helps Mel fix the roof of the family barn.
The roof of the barn was leaking, and Mel had taken it upon herself to try and fix it again. It wouldn’t be right to leave it to the next storm. Lord knew Mama already had enough to worry about.
She pushed her bangs out of the way for the hundredth time as she tried to figure out which shingle was out of place. The rest of her hair was pulled back in a braid. Mel needed a haircut, really.
It was all a lot easier when she could fly. Some Hank song was hummed under her breath as she hovered slightly.
“Mel?” Paige had been trying to get a moment alone and take a walk when she saw her little sister up on the barn roof. “Whatcha doin’ up there alone?” Sure, Mel could fly. Didn’t stop Paige from worrying about her.
“Oh, hiya Paige,” Mel said, testing one of the pieces to see if it was loose. “Jus’ tryna get this squared up. Mama said it was leakin’ again and I figured I should help out some.” It felt comfortable falling back into her old chores. And with Mama’s back it wouldn’t be good to have her up here.
“Looking for an excuse to be alone, or do you want some help?” She wasn’t judging, after all Paige had done the same thing when she slipped out of the house.
“Sure, if yer offerin’.” Mel wondered why Paige wasn’t with Jono, but wasn’t complaining. One of the shingles moved slightly. Even if it wasn’t the leak it would still need tacking back down.
She gestured to the hammer near Paige’s feet. “Mind passin’ that up?”
Paige grabbed the hammer and started climbing. “Jay and Jono started talkin’ bout guitars again. Don’t understand how they can talk about it for so long, but…” she shrugged.
She hauled herself up onto the roof and handed over the hammer. “How are you doin’? Feel like we’ve both been too busy to talk lately.”
Grabbing a few nails from her pocket, Mel accepted the tool. “S’nice they have somethin’ to talk about, jus’ hope they don’t go on like that on the drive back.” Worst case scenario she could always turn up the music.
“I’m… alright. I guess. A lot goin’ on with work and, stuff.” Stuff being the woes of her love life, but Paige didn’t wanna hear all that. One hand shifted the shingle back into place while the other prepared the nail. “How’s yer schoolin’ been? Do alright with all yer exams?”
“Oh, y’know. Was fine.” She had gotten a B+ in one of her classes. A B+. It was enough to keep her scholarships but I still felt like she was slipping. She’d spent so much time studying, how could she not get an A? What kind of psychologist would that make her? “How’s work? Treatin’ you well, I hope.”
“It’s been real busy, what with the holidays, but alright.” There was a couple of big functions she was missing and Mel knew her boss wasn’t happy, but family came first.
The nail got tacked into place as she asked, “Y’all’ve been in here, right? Notice where the leak might be comin’ from?” It hadn’t rained but there could still be signs.
“Yeah, it’s over this way.” After the first night and an argument with her mother, Paige and Jono started sleeping in the barn. It wasn’t as comfortable as a real bed in the house, but a pile of old blankets on top of the hat made for a decent enough bed. And the leak wasn’t near their corner, so it was fine.
Mel followed to where Paige was pointing and tested some of the roofing for a piece that might be loose or damaged. “Thanks. It ain’t too cold sleepin’ out here?”
“Nah, I took all the extra blankets from the house and Jono’s basically a space heater.” Was Paige admitting too much with that? She knew her sister would make a big deal if she knew they were cuddling pretty much all night. For warmth, no other reason, though Mel and Sam might think differently.
Her sister shot her a knowing look, but otherwise kept her mouth shut. Paige was getting enough shit this week as it was.
A few of the shingles where Paige had directed her were out of place, one even cracked near in half. Mel muttered under her breath as she floated still so she could try and get them back into place. Hopefully the one wouldn’t need replacing.
“When we get back, we should do a movie night or somethin’. Hang out more.” Paige sat down on the roof out of Mel’s way. The view was nice up here. Peaceful, if you could forget everything that happened on the ground.
“That’d be nice. It’s been a while.” They’d both been pretty busy the last few months. “There’s lots of events an’ stuff in the city as well. Festivals and what not. We oughta check out a few of those.” This suggestion was accompanied by the bang of the hammer.
“I’d like that,“ Paige smiled at her. “Guess I’ll let you get on with it. Holler if you need anything.” With that, she got up and headed for the ladder to leave Mel in peace.
The roof of the barn was leaking, and Mel had taken it upon herself to try and fix it again. It wouldn’t be right to leave it to the next storm. Lord knew Mama already had enough to worry about.
She pushed her bangs out of the way for the hundredth time as she tried to figure out which shingle was out of place. The rest of her hair was pulled back in a braid. Mel needed a haircut, really.
It was all a lot easier when she could fly. Some Hank song was hummed under her breath as she hovered slightly.
“Mel?” Paige had been trying to get a moment alone and take a walk when she saw her little sister up on the barn roof. “Whatcha doin’ up there alone?” Sure, Mel could fly. Didn’t stop Paige from worrying about her.
“Oh, hiya Paige,” Mel said, testing one of the pieces to see if it was loose. “Jus’ tryna get this squared up. Mama said it was leakin’ again and I figured I should help out some.” It felt comfortable falling back into her old chores. And with Mama’s back it wouldn’t be good to have her up here.
“Looking for an excuse to be alone, or do you want some help?” She wasn’t judging, after all Paige had done the same thing when she slipped out of the house.
“Sure, if yer offerin’.” Mel wondered why Paige wasn’t with Jono, but wasn’t complaining. One of the shingles moved slightly. Even if it wasn’t the leak it would still need tacking back down.
She gestured to the hammer near Paige’s feet. “Mind passin’ that up?”
Paige grabbed the hammer and started climbing. “Jay and Jono started talkin’ bout guitars again. Don’t understand how they can talk about it for so long, but…” she shrugged.
She hauled herself up onto the roof and handed over the hammer. “How are you doin’? Feel like we’ve both been too busy to talk lately.”
Grabbing a few nails from her pocket, Mel accepted the tool. “S’nice they have somethin’ to talk about, jus’ hope they don’t go on like that on the drive back.” Worst case scenario she could always turn up the music.
“I’m… alright. I guess. A lot goin’ on with work and, stuff.” Stuff being the woes of her love life, but Paige didn’t wanna hear all that. One hand shifted the shingle back into place while the other prepared the nail. “How’s yer schoolin’ been? Do alright with all yer exams?”
“Oh, y’know. Was fine.” She had gotten a B+ in one of her classes. A B+. It was enough to keep her scholarships but I still felt like she was slipping. She’d spent so much time studying, how could she not get an A? What kind of psychologist would that make her? “How’s work? Treatin’ you well, I hope.”
“It’s been real busy, what with the holidays, but alright.” There was a couple of big functions she was missing and Mel knew her boss wasn’t happy, but family came first.
The nail got tacked into place as she asked, “Y’all’ve been in here, right? Notice where the leak might be comin’ from?” It hadn’t rained but there could still be signs.
“Yeah, it’s over this way.” After the first night and an argument with her mother, Paige and Jono started sleeping in the barn. It wasn’t as comfortable as a real bed in the house, but a pile of old blankets on top of the hat made for a decent enough bed. And the leak wasn’t near their corner, so it was fine.
Mel followed to where Paige was pointing and tested some of the roofing for a piece that might be loose or damaged. “Thanks. It ain’t too cold sleepin’ out here?”
“Nah, I took all the extra blankets from the house and Jono’s basically a space heater.” Was Paige admitting too much with that? She knew her sister would make a big deal if she knew they were cuddling pretty much all night. For warmth, no other reason, though Mel and Sam might think differently.
Her sister shot her a knowing look, but otherwise kept her mouth shut. Paige was getting enough shit this week as it was.
A few of the shingles where Paige had directed her were out of place, one even cracked near in half. Mel muttered under her breath as she floated still so she could try and get them back into place. Hopefully the one wouldn’t need replacing.
“When we get back, we should do a movie night or somethin’. Hang out more.” Paige sat down on the roof out of Mel’s way. The view was nice up here. Peaceful, if you could forget everything that happened on the ground.
“That’d be nice. It’s been a while.” They’d both been pretty busy the last few months. “There’s lots of events an’ stuff in the city as well. Festivals and what not. We oughta check out a few of those.” This suggestion was accompanied by the bang of the hammer.
“I’d like that,“ Paige smiled at her. “Guess I’ll let you get on with it. Holler if you need anything.” With that, she got up and headed for the ladder to leave Mel in peace.
