I hear a gentle yet concerned voice say, "Zak?"

I look up with teary eyes at my sister, who is standing in the doorway of my room. Her eyes widen at the state that I'm in, curled up on the floor against the side of my bed. She hurries over to me and kneels down next to me. She says, "Zak- what happened? What's wrong?"

I myself am surprised just like her right now, but not because of my state, but because she is awake. I for sure thought she would've been asleep by now. To deflect her question, I ask tearfully, "W-why are you here? I thought you were sleeping?"

"I woke up to the sound of a big thud. It sounded like it was beside my room, which is yours. So I came here quickly to check. But that doesn't matter, what's wrong, brother?"

"I... don't worry, I just fell. That's what you heard when you woke up."

Melody raises an eyebrow at me and says, "You wouldn't cry this hard over falling, even if you fell on your face. There's something else, isn't there?"

"...I'm a horrible person."

Melody widens her eyes and says, "What? No, you're not! Why would you say that?"

In that moment, I break down with more tears spilling down my face as I confess to Melody, my feelings for Bad, how I'm jealous, and why this situation is truly frustrating for me. I finish with choked sobs. Melody stares at me in silence for a moment and then moves position so that she is sitting right next to me. She wraps an arm around me, pulling me in sideways so that my head rests on her shoulder. She caresses my head with her hand from the arm that she has wrapped around me. She softly says, "Just because you have feelings for Darryl and you wish that he would date you instead of Alex, doesn't mean that you are a horrible person, brother. It's fine if you're jealous."

"R-really...? You're not disappointed, or mad for having these sort of selfish wishes, or even disgusted at me? I've never told you I'm bi..."

Melody chuckles softly. She says, "No, of course I'm not disgusted by you. I'm no homophobic, Zak. And even if I was, I wouldn't go off telling people who they should or shouldn't love, whether I believe it is right or wrong. Because at the end of the day, we all should have the freedom to love who we want. Nobody can exactly stop our hearts from loving. If anyone has fallen in love with someone from the same gender and that makes them happy, then that should be enough. We all only have one life, and we came to be happy. So it's fine with me if you like boys, Zak."

A small smile lingers on my face from that. At least I have my sister's approval now. She continues, "Also, why should I be mad or disappointed at you for just being jealous? For wishing that you were someone else? We're all human, Zak. Having the ability to experience both positive and negative feelings is a part of what makes us human. One's feelings are always valid because they are a part of who you are. It shows what you value and what you care about. So it's okay to have these feelings. But these feelings don't define you or your morals. Your actions do. So what can be dangerous about these negative feelings is what they can compel you to do. Actions that we make, driven by negative feelings like jealousy, are what define us. So, while it's okay to experience these feelings, you must be careful with what you do with these feelings. You say that you're selfish just for being jealous? Well, that's not true. You aren't selfish. But it could be true depending on the actions that you make with these feelings."

I slowly nod as I take in that information. I mumble out, "That... makes sense."

After a moment, I turn my head so that my face is buried in Melody's shoulder. I let my tears fall on her shoulder, wetting her shirt. She doesn't mind. She never has. I've done this before growing up. Melody knows just what to do to comfort me. She runs her hand through my hair soothingly, calming me down. After a moment for me to calm down, Melody wipes some tears from my face. She cautiously says, "Zak... I don't like to see you in so much pain, and we both know that this isn't very pleasant for you, either. So, I would advise you to try and... move on from Darryl. That may be something hard to do, but you must accept now that Darryl has found someone else to love. He is taken. It's quite harmless for you to love him when he isn't dating anyone, but now that you know for sure that the feeling is one-sided, it's going to cause you pain inside. The best thing to do is peacefully move on so that this aching in your heart can one day hopefully disappear. Find someone else to love, and maybe then your feelings will be reciprocated."

I stay silent for a moment. I let out a shuddery sigh and say, "I don't... think I'll be able to do that. I appreciate the advice, and though it may be the best choice... I don't really want to move on. I've loved him for many years now. It'll probably hurt me more if I attempt to get rid of these feelings. Even though this hurts so much now... I know that at some point, I'll get used to it. It just... feels amazing to love him. I've loved others, but never this way. I may be living a life of denial, but I don't care. I want to continue loving him like this. Even if it may hurt me, because all I want is to see him happy, and if he really is happy with Quackity, then so be it... This pain will be worth it if he's happy."

I can feel Melody's stare on me for a moment. She then bursts out into giggles and says, "Is it hereditary, or is it just by coincidence a thing for us and our parents to love too hard to the point where we're okay with being hurt by loved ones and we believe in them, even when they're in the wrong?"

I think about it for a moment, looking back on past family conflicts, dramas, and family friend conflicts as well. I then giggle as well, realizing that it's true. After a moment, Melody says, "If you're okay with that... then I'll support you."

"Thanks, sis."

We just stay there, silent for a few comfortable moments. Then Melody says, "Well, it's late. We should go back to sleep. If you want, we can continue to talk about this tomorrow."

"Mm, I'm not sleepy. No matter how hard I try, I can't sleep for some reason."

Melody lets out a thoughtful hum while thinking. She then says softly, "...Do you want me to sing you a lullaby?"

"...I'm not a kid anymore."

"I know, but one can never be too old to sing or be sung to a lullaby. A simple song can put anyone to sleep, after all."

I stay quiet, thinking, still unsure. She then says, "I'll sing your favorite lullaby. It always put you to sleep when you were being too rowdy."

There's a hint of smugness in her voice. This is because she already knows the answer well. Both of us know very well that I have missed her singing. I finally say, "...Fine."

We get up from the floor, and I lay down on my bed under the duvet covers. Meanwhile, Melody gently sits down on a corner of the bed in order to not disturb me. She makes sure that I get comfortable in bed before she starts singing. She takes a breath and starts singing, "You are my sunshine, my only sunshine..." (Yes, this song has been sung by Bad and Skeppy. But the one that I'm thinking of for Melody to sing is an actual lullaby version of the song. You can search it on YouTube 'You are my sunshine lullaby version' by The Hound + The Fox.)

Either Melody's singing has an enchanting effect, I actually was sleepy, or I missed her singing more than I thought I did, because I immediately felt my eyes get droopy and my body just wanted to shut down and sleep as soon as she started singing. But this time, I tried my best to stay up just so that I could hear her finish the song. I really do love her singing. It's her favorite hobby. It was either luck or fate that my Mom chose that name for her because the name Melody suits her so well. I'm surprised she didn't decide to become a singer, but instead, she decided that she wanted to work in the medical field. I guess that's fine as well, because she is caring and likes to help others.

As soon as she ended her song, I let my body win the battle over sleep. I let myself fall into slumber, but before I fell asleep, I managed to hear her say, "Goodnight, baby brother. Don't worry, it will all turn out fine in the end."