Hey, you! FIRST OF ALL: If you have a plot/fanfic idea that is a beautiful wish living inside your heart and that can become a lovely story, and you feel that I am the right person to make this dream come true via my writing: SEND ME AN ASK!
The only reason why I never posted anything about my requests being open is because I don’t feel like people would be into it.
I appreciate requests regardless of knowing the character or shipp you love and I promise to try my best if I have the time to, but if I don't feel able to write such a story I will let you know as kindly as possible.
But, back to the main part, this is my Masterlist and I will be updating it every time I post something new.
If you are interested in my works published on other sites those are my accounts on ao3 and wattpad (this one with stories published in Brazilian Portuguese, my mother language).
Sarah Paulson’s characters:
oneshots:
You rush into my life, stay a little while (I know that we can have it all) — pairing: Billie Dean Howard x fem!Reader x Sally Mckenna
all your tears and your troubles can wait (and we don’t need to let them win) — pairing: Cordelia Goode x fem!Reader x Wilhemina Venable
multi chapter stories:
(a very unprofessional) game changer — pairing: Audrey Tidall x fem!Reader x Diane Sherman
Two hearts can fix everything — pairing: Wilhemina Venable x fem!Reader
Lisa Ann Walter’s Characters:
multi chapter stories:
all of it (all of you) — pairing: Melissa Schemmenti x hairdresser!fem Reader
a rind and the (Super Bowl’s) ring — pairing: Restaurant!AU Melissa Schemmenti x fem!Reader
So.. I got a fanfic request in my ask this weekend (which as you know, is open!) but I'm having a bit of trouble coming up with a personality for the reader.
The request was for a oneshot full of angst w/ happy ending between the reader and Melissa. The scenario (without being to evident about the plot) is that they're both teachers and reader is particularly a badass one hahaha.
But the request didn't have any other information about what this person wants the reader to be like, in terms of personality, nationality… and I really believe that because it was a request that mentioned the idea of something more sad, I can really use that to my advantage
So I guess what I'm trying to ask is if anyone who reads or just likes my stories with Melissa would be willing to send me (even if anonymously, I don't really care!) something they miss reading in Melissa fanfics with reader right now, so I can use it.
Anyway, thank you very much (not only to those who will answer this question but also to those who simply read and like my fics)
I forgot to reply to this post but… Thank you all very much for all the answers I received to my ask through this post in the past 2 days.
Unfortunately, among the 8 ideas I received, 5 will not make sense when put together with the original idea that was sent to me and so they will be left out of this one shot in particular.
But I will try to use some of my free time this weekend to draft small scenes for these kind people with the readers that they imagined. And I intend to post them as soon as possible (and I will take the opportunity to challenge my own writing, because one of the ideas I received is from a reader that I never imagined writing but now I NEED to)
So.. I got a fanfic request in my ask this weekend (which as you know, is open!) but I'm having a bit of trouble coming up with a personality for the reader.
The request was for a oneshot full of angst w/ happy ending between the reader and Melissa. The scenario (without being to evident about the plot) is that they're both teachers and reader is particularly a badass one hahaha.
But the request didn't have any other information about what this person wants the reader to be like, in terms of personality, nationality… and I really believe that because it was a request that mentioned the idea of something more sad, I can really use that to my advantage
So I guess what I'm trying to ask is if anyone who reads or just likes my stories with Melissa would be willing to send me (even if anonymously, I don't really care!) something they miss reading in Melissa fanfics with reader right now, so I can use it.
Anyway, thank you very much (not only to those who will answer this question but also to those who simply read and like my fics)
Pairing: Melissa Schemmenti x hairdresser!fem Reader
Synopsis of the story + Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 7, Chapter 8, Chapter 9, Chapter 10
Link on AO3
Chapter 6
Tag list: @janeyseymour @italianaidiota @chloeelou02x (and if you want to be tagged too just let me know.)
Warning: no, in my clean era once again. But wait... HOLY SHIT IS THAT A MOTHERFUCKING JOGO DO BICHO REFERENCE? yes, it is!
Words: 4k
I'm really sorry for the wait in this past month but I'M BACK! Once again, thank you all very much for embracing my work with such affection.
Enjoy!
If you ask Melissa Schemmenti, she can tell you for sure that at first, everything is quite hesitant between her and Y/N.
It starts with lingering glances. Sometimes there are a few subtle touches when Melissa arrives at the salon and meets the hairdresser, but nothing more than that, except when they exchange a smile that remains for a little too long in their faces before the teacher leaves Riverfront Roots Salon after her appointment.
But this lasts so little. Because of course, it does.
The stylist's compliments to the redhead start out so subtle, where Y/N watches with curious eyes the redhead's reaction to the simplest "You look pretty today", but Melissa quickly turns tables and uses this to her advantage in the situation.
Because, even tho Y/N is restrained and indescribably professional, Melissa is passionate about testing limits.
The redhead loves to know how close she can get to a flame without getting burned, and Y/N is a flame that the teacher is more than eager to watch turn to ashes in front of her.
Melissa remembers exactly the hairdresser's reaction the first time Y/N was complimented by her. Such a pretty girl, blushing and all nervous, but still with quick answers to all her questions.
And Melissa wants to see her break so much.
The day the Brazilian hairdresser finally breaks is four months after the first compliment Y/N said to Melissa. The Brazilian woman was cutting the teacher's hair, focused, while she felt the redhead's gaze fixed on her reflection in the mirror.
"Do you always work so close to your clients? Like this? I can almost smell your breath… And your perfume…", Melissa's voice sounded so dangerous in the middle of the previous silence they were sharing that her voice and gaze alone made Y/N blush, adjusting the comb and breathing nervously before answering.
"Oh, it's… part of the job.... Sorry."
Simple and respectful.
But with the Brazilian woman's words, Melissa had decided that she simply needed to stretch her neck slightly, moving just enough to expose a bit more of her own skin and forcing Y/N to comb her hair again to align it, with her face flushed and embarrassed.
When the Brazilian woman finally managed to clear her mind of particularly indecent ideas, she focused her gaze on the redhead's face, searching for the discomfort that made her move in the first place, only to see a smile too mischievous that she just had to anticipate an especially clever response from the redhead.
"A good part I must add. At least from a client's point of view.", Melissa verbalized in just a whisper, knowing that due to the proximity of the two, there was no possibility of Y/N not hearing her.
Y/N's cheeks heat up even more than they already were as she chooses to remain silent and shrugs as she combs Melissa's hair back into place before cutting it again, actively avoiding the green eyes that burn her through the reflection of the mirror.
Just for the peace. Her peace.
Melissa, however, is having too much fun to suddenly want peace. And that's her mistake.
"You're good with your hands, ya know? Must make a lot of people feel good," the words slip from the redhead's lips as soon as Y/N finishes cutting her hair.
And then silence.
The Brazilian woman, who was stroking the teacher's wet hair to see how it fell, widened her eyes in shock before looking at Melissa's face, catching the exact moment she gently bit her inner lip as if she had won a bet that Y/N didn't even know she was participating in.
And maybe that's what makes the hairdresser break.
The redhead's uninhibited and remorseless flirting has slowly built a subtle and dangerous idea in the hairdresser's mind over those long months. This flirtation only threatened to shine like a precious treasure in Y/N's soul, but now those words awakened something in the Brazilian woman that made her hesitate for just a fraction of a second before answering:
"That's the goal, isn't it? For people to leave... satisfied?", her voice is subtle, using all her self-control to sound serious and without a hint of shame as she makes sure to look directly into the redhead's eyes with each word she says.
The surprise on Melissa's face is explicit and almost makes Y/N burst out laughing, but she remains neutral, watching as the words she just said make sense in the redhead's mind.
And Melissa? Melissa sees the crack in the hairdresser's responsible and professional face, and surprisingly finds it even more interesting than when she remained stoic and unchanged.
"Satisfied... what an interesting word.", is what she chooses to answer, even though she knows that the most interesting part is how much the teacher really likes the idea of someone as willing as she is to speak her mind and consequently... play a little.
"Don't you like it?", is the question Y/N asks, her eyes focused on those green ones that burn the hairdresser's mind with a goal that she is beginning to understand.
A mutual chill in both women's stomachs, suddenly too anxious to be sure if they understood each other correctly, takes over the atmosphere.
To disguise a little the anticipation for the redhead's answer, Y/N runs her fingers a little harder on the teacher's scalp. Whether it is on purpose or not, the hairdresser is not sure, but the fact that Melissa closes her eyes softly, as if she was savoring the touch, before looking directly into the Brazilian woman's eyes again is like the icing on the cake.
"Oh don't get me wrong, hon... I like it a lot."
And it is honestly so comforting when they both laugh at the same time, for both of them. The sound echoes a little too loudly but neither of them cares enough and, as if to make sure that none of this was created in the hairdresser's mind, she softly walks until she is in front of the teacher and approaches her.
Y/N gets very, very close.
With just a few movements, the Brazilian woman who was previously next to the redheaded woman is now in front of her, with one of her knees between the teacher's legs and gently lowering herself until she gets close enough to her face.
"You're playing with fire, and you know it, don't you?", the words are murmured directly against the older woman's ear, even if with a slight touch of confusion.
"What? You don't like to play?", is the redhead's response as she scratches the hairdresser's jeans pants with the tip of her index fingernail.
And just like that, a different kind of friendship begins to exist between them. An exotic friendship, full of unprofessional compliments, touches that leave both of their skins with goosebumps, and a not-so-innocent smile on their faces.
But still a friendship. Even though they never exactly called it that out loud.
A friendship in which Y/N can see in Melissa's eyes how much the redhead loves to make her dizzy with her words and how positively vain she becomes with her compliments. A friendship in which Melissa finds herself enchanted as she witnesses Y/N becoming more and more comfortable with her responses, letting her Brazilian charm take over every syllable directed at her.
A friendship. A flirting and so painfully natural friendship.
But it's still just friendship. Because as Melissa herself said, it's just a little fun. They are just playing.
But this fun slowly starts to make room for them to do things that are just theirs, like gambling.
Working at Riverfront Roots Salon, just like working in any place that offers any service to the general public, requires a lot of patience, energy, and clear communication. After all, none of the professionals there want to disappoint their clients with work that doesn't meet the salon's standards.
The problem is that this leaves everyone exhausted at the end of the work week, and this showed everyone there that they needed a moment of relaxation. Whether it's a professional thing or no.
What will be the next cut or color that the bravest client in the salon will get? Will the most stoic client ask for the same hairstyle as always or will she try something new?
How many times will the teenage client check her phone for a message from her boyfriend? Will the client who lives on the other side of town be late again?
She started with the nail artists, noticing that the clients who used to get their nails done with the letters of their boyfriends' first names in it had stopped, causing them to create a timeline comparing which of them had remained single the longest. But eventually, real gambles began between everyone who worked at the salon. And Y/N would never turn down the possibility of earning a little extra at the end of the month.
The hairdresser blames her grandmother, actually. The blame for this is the older woman and her illegal gambling with those cute little animals to choose from while Y/N was a child and still wanted to visit the zoo every weekend. And Melissa Schemmenti... It's honestly surprising that she doesn't have her own gambling platform by now.
The teacher grew up surrounded by poker tables, harsh game scores, and family members who were quite confident in their own opinions, which proves that she really had no choice. As a teenager, everything had become a competition between her siblings and that didn't stop when she finally became an adult woman. So it's obvious that the redhead, upon hearing some hairdressers talking in the corner of the salon, would find a way to participate in it.
What she doesn't expect is that, in the middle of her coloring with Y/N, while the color of her hair is processing, the Brazilian hairdresser puts the same twenty-dollar bill that the teacher used to gamble back into Melissa's lap.
“What...?”, the redhead's voice sounds confused and then questioning when Melissa realizes what is happening, “Why?”
“We don't play with clients' money... And yes, I've already talked to whoever talked to you.”, is Y/N's honest answer as she leans against the counter that holds the mirror in front of Melissa, blocking the redhead from seeing her own reflection.
“Oh... So ya're the boss here?”, the redhead asks with a growing smile on her lips.
“You're my client. So I'm the boss when it comes to you.”, the Brazilian woman says in a low voice that makes the skin on the back of the teacher's neck crawl for all the wrong reasons, “I'm not going to let your money just wander around.”
“You’re no fun.”, Melissa says quietly and a little awkwardly as she puts the money inside her own purse before continuing to mumble, “And that Miss Goldilocks over there is absolutely anxious... Of course she’s going to do something different from the usual.”
With a quick glance towards the people who formed a small line at the salon’s reception, Y/N could see what Melissa was talking about. Little Amelia, who had just been accepted into an out-of-state college, was bouncing her legs so nervously that her blonde hair was almost jumping off her head. Uneasy, for sure.
With a long sigh and a wave of her hand, Y/N called Martha, the older blonde woman at the salon, an expert in realistic nail designs and responsible for all the salon’s gambles, to come over to them.
“I get it, Y/N. I promise I won’t involve your precious clients in our games.”, the older woman starts to mumble with a roll of her blue eyes as she gets close to the hairdresser and Melissa.
While she listens to her coworker's complaint in silence, the Brazilian woman opens a small door hidden behind the mirror on her workbench and takes out a brown purse.
It's big and bulky as if it were full of little things that together make Y/N's daily work easier, made of a material that Melissa could swear was leather because it shined exactly like her own jackets do.
After rummaging through its contents a bit, the Brazilian woman finds her own wallet, takes out two twenty-dollar bills and offers them to the grumbling woman in front of her.
"There! Twenty in my name and twenty in hers", the hairdresser tells Martha with a certainty that leaves no room for questioning.
"Who do you think you are? My mother?" Melissa is quick to ask, even with a smile on her face as Martha walks away again, with the money from both bets in her hands.
The following month, when the teacher returns for her touch-up, a wide smile spreads across the teacher's face as she receives sixty dollars from Martha's hands as soon as she sits in the chair in front of Y/N.
“How generous, but I thought going to a hair salon worked the other way around.”, the redhead says to Y/N in confusion when Martha walks away, but still smiling looking at the money.
“You're funny. But these are your winnings from our last month's little game, everyone has already received their share so all that's left is yours.”
“But hun... You paid...”, Melissa's green eyes looked at the hairdresser's face as if she had some serious memory problem.
“Yes, I did... but I put twenty in my name and twenty in yours.”, Y/N finally answers as if it were obvious before smiling with flushed cheeks and shrugging, “That's your share.”
The smiles on both of their faces fade a little when Melissa decides that her winnings should belong to the Brazilian woman, vehemently saying that it is the fairest thing to do even when Y/N rejects it. But the teacher doesn't give up so easily and, before leaving the salon after her appointment, she calmly walks over to the hairdresser's tip box and leaves the same sixty dollars there.
"A gift. For a job well done and for looking so cute with your hair in a braid," the redhead murmurs towards the Brazilian woman before turning her back on her, completely missing the way the hairdresser strokes affectionately her own braid while uselessly trying to reprimand a smile that just takes over her face.
And since that day, Melissa has never stopped participating in the salon's gambles. Always with the money materializing from Y/N's wallet, and eventually returning back there thanks to the teacher's immaculate luck in gambling correctly.
But things start to change when those little bets leave the salon.
It’s a day like any other in the teachers’ break room at Abbott Elementary. Lunch is surprisingly quiet, even with Janine asking too many questions about a new government project that hasn’t even been approved for public schools yet. But then Melissa’s cell phone rings loudly.
Once, twice, and then a third time.
No one but the redhead herself and her deskmate and friend, Barbara Howerd, pay close attention. Everyone in the room is so used to watching the teacher completely ignore every single text message she receives out of mere boredom and disinterest that this just seemed like any other day. Usually, Melissa looks at the name of the person who sent her a message and locks her phone again, acting as if nothing particularly important had happened.
Because it never is.
“If it's really important, then it's a phone call,” is what the redhead usually says to anyone who questions her, and that’s why when she looks at her phone and unlocks it, ready to read the messages, Jacob starts watching her more closely.
Automatically, the conversation Melissa has with Y/N opens.
The past conversation between the two women is not very stimulating. Most of the messages are just the older woman saying that she will arrive a little later at the salon for her scheduled appointment or just a request for a fitting when Melissa feels she needs a haircut a little earlier than expected, always being answered with subtle messages indicating that the Brazilian woman was fine and would prepare whatever was necessary for her.
But that message, initiated for the first time by the hairdresser, is different from all the others.
The first one is a photo of a woman's back. This stranger's hair has alot of different colors, all quite saturated, and appears on the redhead's cell phone with a simple caption.
"She wants to go platinum. She said I can go
as far as I want with the bleach and if it starts
to fall out I should shave it all off and give her
an androgynous cut."
But what really grabs the teacher's attention in the conversation are the next two messages. Just two sentences, but they open a door of possibilities that are impossible to calculate.
"Want to play?"
"Just the two of us."
The redhead's heart beats a little faster there, so it takes a while for her to think of something to respond to the Brazilian woman.
"I like the sound of that."
It's the first thing Melissa types and sends, having given up months ago on the idea of ignoring her attraction to the younger woman. After all, nothing can go wrong if that's all it is.
Attraction. Some fair gambles. An innocent flirtation between... Friends.
Friends?
The teacher isn't sure, but she still likes the idea of being something more than just a client. And it's with this thought that she types another message, actively joining in Y/N's game.
"You're going to bleach her hair twice,
but she's going to give up and keep her
hair colored anyway. Just a lot lighter."
It's an honest bet from the teacher. The hair in the photo has many different shades that are difficult to remove, and the redhead only knows this because of a box of green dye and a phase of teenage rebellion of her younger sister that she tries to forget to this day.
At the same time that the hilarious image of a younger Toni Schemmenti, crying with her hair half green, appears in her memory, two other messages from Y/N appear on her cell phone.
“I think I can get a caramel blonde
and make her agree to it.”
“You know, with my persuasion
and everything?”
A small laugh escapes the redhead’s lips as she types on her cell phone screen.
“Good luck with that, hun.”
“Back to you Melissa.”
The smile on the teacher’s face doesn’t even have time to fade after reading Y/N’s last message, indicating a small farewell, because a curious voice interrupts her, startling her for just a moment.
“Who is it, Schemmenti? A new thing?” Ava asks, suddenly behind her and trying to read what is written on her phone, like a suicidal woman, next to Jacob and Barbara who also look at her as if she is someone they do not recognize.
“Jus my business.”, Melissa says before putting away her phone and taking a bite of the sandwich she brought for herself.
Silently, the teacher hopes not only that her answer will be enough for both Jacob and the friend next to her, the ones who look at her most curiously in the room, to drop the subject, but also that it will not be exactly visible over her daily makeup how much her cheeks must have blushed.
A new thing.
It takes much more than just a few hours for Y/N to send her a new photo.
Melissa is in her own car this time, ready to leave when she receives the message notification. So, still in the parking lot of the school where she works, with the car doors locked and oblivious to the curious glances of Janine and Gregory in the distance, the redhead looks at her cell phone.
In the photo is the same woman, but now with very light blond hair. It's blonde, for sure, but the ends have a touch of a very strong purple color in them, and the caption of the image explains it all.
"She changed her mind in the
middle of the appointment, and
so I think in some way we both win."
"Good job, hun."
It's a simple answer, but one that Melissa embodies with a small heart emoji when reacting directly to the photo that was sent to her. The teacher anticipated having time to think about writing something else, but new messages from the hairdresser quickly appear in the conversation.
“Cute, right?
“But since I’m real nice, tell me what’s
your favorite restaurant around here.”
“Why?”
It’s a reasonable question in the teacher’s mind. But the anxiety of being answered, so new and unknown to Melissa, is crushed when she notices that her coworkers are at a distance, looking at her with too much curiosity not to ask all types of questions the next day.
And she definitely doesn’t like that.
So, the redhead quickly types the answer that the Brazilian woman had asked her a few minutes ago and leaves her cell phone on the passenger seat, starting her car and longing for the privacy of her own home.
“Capt'n Chucky's Crab Cakes in Ocean City.”
Ten minutes later, when the redhead is already on her way home, she receives another beep on her cell phone and what awaits her in the conversation is not exactly a message, but a gift card worth thirty dollars for Capt’n Chucky’s Crab Cakes.
And the gambles continue as time goes by. Month after month and week after week, little messages appear on the older woman’s cell phone. Silly little games that Melissa not only never rejects, but also looks forward to.
Will the lawyer-client share some gossip about her latest case or will it still be a secret until the judge's verdict? Will the client who just celebrated her daughter's 5th birthday mention her work or her family first?
Will the client who just found out she's pregnant complain about the traffic or the weather first? Which chocolates in the vending machine will run out first that week?
It is always initiated by the hairdresser, but that changes when Melissa sees the first poster advertising that year’s Read-A-Thon in Abbott. The redhead knows that this is the perfect opportunity to involve Y/N in one of the only legal matches she participates in, making the game between them more... reciprocal. So, without thinking twice, the redhead takes her cell phone and takes a picture of the poster, sending it without any caption to Y/N, fully wrapped in the certainty that the hairdresser would understand the message.
And she does.
“I think your and your students'
charm will have this without a
shadow of a doubt.”
“I feel like I should add that my students
and I are the current winners of Read-A-Thon,
so you can’t expect me to bet against myself,
right?”
Melissa texts back to Y/N with a smug smile. She knows she’s actively using her winning belt to get the stylist’s attention and thus boost her confidence in the redhead, but that’s not such a bad thing, right?
Maybe she can take a picture of it too, just because…
“Oh, I should have guessed… So, Miss Winner,
I think you and your class will win by a margin
of forty books over the sad second place.”
It's funny to Melissa when, at the end of that Read-a-Toon, she wins with exactly forty-eight books ahead of Janine. But when the teacher goes to write the final file in the annual competition document for the pizzeria that will give her little eagles the best lunch of the year, the redhead leaves out eight books on purpose with a smile on her face.
And this definitely has nothing to do with the photo she takes right after, ready to send it to Y/N.
The smile Melissa receives, along with the kiss on her left cheek for her victory when she goes to color her hair the following month, is worth the lie.
Omg u went to the gaga concert ???? Oh I've never been more jealous of someone, it looked so so fun😭but I can't imagine how bad it was coming home from it tho oh wow
I WAS THERE AND IT WAS SOOOO AMAZING!!
I've been following Lady Gaga's career assiduously since 2012, so being there for the biggest show of her career was really important and rewarding as someone who loves and admires her work so much and for so long. I was able to not only watch her but also stay at an Airbnb with other Little Monsters that I've known since my teens, so it was like a dream come true!
And about going back home, I think that, because of Brazil's history of cultural celebrations in open spaces (like Carnaval), we're particularly used to protecting ourselves and respecting other people's space at events like these. So, I found it particularly easy to get back to my Airbnb (which was located in the neighborhood next to Copacabana, where the concert took place).
And it's also important to keep in mind that I had already been to Rio de Janeiro the year before, to see my mother Madonna in her concert at Copacabana (which was as exciting, perhaps even more than this year's)… So that also made me feel particularly calm on the way back.
But yes, it was amazing! And here's another video (also recorded by me but this time she was rehearsing the day before the concert, and I was lucky and privileged enough to also be on the beach when she did it) hahaha!
(And I'm sorry for the delay in answering you, my dear! I really only saw your ask today… Believe me, I could spend the whole day talking about this experience and everything that happened in that week, and I definitely wouldn't leave you waiting for a month.
Pairing: Melissa Schemmenti x hairdresser!fem Reader
Synopsis of the story + Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 7, Chapter 8, Chapter 9, Chapter 10
Link on AO3
Chapter 5
Tag list: @janeyseymour @italianaidiota @chloeelou02x (and if you want to be tagged too just let me know.)
Warning: no, in my clean era once again.
I'm really sorry for the wait, but this past week I ended up losing all the writing files I created for this story on my computer (ideas for future chapters and also dialogues that I really wanted to incorporate into this story). So I spent the last two weeks trying to remember everything and rewrite what I could to save it and make future updates easier.
But anyway: here it is and once again, thank you all very much for embracing my work with such affection.
Enjoy!
The next few months are peaceful for Y/N and Melissa.
Very peaceful.
The hairdresser always finds a way to make the conversations they shares while she dyes Melissa's hair revolve around the teacher's routine at Abbott Elementary, where she works. It's a good topic, which the Brazilian woman takes advantage of because it's particularly simple to stay on the redhead's good side thanks to how fun children are regardless of their ages.
If Melissa told her that she preferred a quiet appointment, Y/N would honestly be fine with accommodating her request. But the fact that the redhead had never verbalized or even hinted at this was what she wanted, along with the way Melissa felt guilty when she was late for her hair coloring months ago, hammered at the hairdresser's mind in a way that made her feel safe to chat animatedly with the teacher whenever she had to see her at the salon.
In the midst of these conversations, Y/N makes a point of telling stories about some of her child clients back to the redhead, just enough so that Melissa knows she is not talking to herself, but always letting the redhead do most of the talking, in addition to laughing and telling the teacher things she has heard from them while keeping Melissa's haircut perfect, renovating it every three months.
In Melissa's seventh month as a Y/N's client and after many cheerful conversations about children, Janice, a regular client of Angelina, has decided that in addition to her nails, she wants to wash and dry her hair once a week.
The first thing Y/N notices about Janice is that her hair is thin and completely white, worthy of the elderly lady that she is. Since Janice is not at all demanding about the result, she is just tired of washing it at home due to her age and thinks it would be convenient to take care of her nails and hair in the same place, the suggestion of adding her to the Brazilian hairdresser's list of regular clients starts to sound more and more attractive to Y/N.
After an honest conversation with the sweet older lady, the Brazilian woman offers her a $10 discount on her hairdressing service in an attempt to get her as a client as soon as possible. It makes sense for Y/N to base her decision on how her frequency as a client would make up for the lower weekly fee, and when she accepts, they both share a tight, joyful hug.
And even though that's great for the hairdresser, Melissa isn't sure if she shares her enthusiasm.
The trouble starts the following week, when Janice has her first appointment as a Y/N's client. Melissa had already noticed, ever since she was late for her appointment with Y/N almost half a year ago, that the time slot she was scheduled to see the hairdresser on Saturdays was significantly empty for the Brazilian woman, with no clients either before or after her appointment.
It was good. The teacher couldn't deny it even if she tried. The lie would be seen from miles away.
Sometimes she would show up early for her appointment, and find Y/N smilingly looking at her cell phone, watching videos of animals doing particularly adorable things (videos that Melissa told herself were the reason her heart beat faster, not Y/N's proximity when she offered to show them to the redhead). Other times, when the teacher took longer to pay due to the lack of connection on her cell phone, Melissa would notice how Y/N's chair remained empty for at least half an hour.
The first time Melissa arrived early on a Saturday, which should have been like any other and saw that she had to wait to be seen, according to the time that was marked under her name with the receptionist, she found it peculiar.
It was, to say the least, eccentric to watch from a certain distance and among unknown women, who were also waiting for their turn with their respective hairdressers, an unknown face sitting in the chair that only remained empty, as if it were always waiting for her.
But that wasn't exactly the problem.
After all, the teacher knew that Y/N was a wonderful hairdresser and definitely wanted all the clients she could get her hands on. The problem was what Melissa noticed when Janice's presence as her hairdresser's client extended from a single week to every single week that Y/N saw the teacher.
Melissa noticed, since her first appointment, how the Brazilian woman always had a very private conversation with Melissa, prioritizing keeping her voice low so that no other hairdresser or client in the salon would hear what they both talked about so much. And the teacher liked it, found it personal and respectful that Y/N didn't let her matters be heard or commented on by strangers, even though they never talked about anything really private.
But now, seeing how Y/N was with her other clients, she didn't like it as much as before.
After all, the women of the Schimmenti family have always had many adjectives to describe them, but inattentive was never one of them, and that was the key to discovering that Y/N always shamelessly compliments all the women and men in the salon for everyone to hear.
But not her.
Sometimes, they are absurd and caricatured compliments, not exactly sensual, even though Melissa saw Y/N wink at one or two clients before bursting out laughing. Compliments come naturally from her lips, always encouraging others around her to agree with her words. The Brazilian's compliments are also never disrespectful or sexual, just indescribably genuine words that are almost always responded to by her clients with the same enthusiasm.
And she only finally believes what she is seeing after the fourth month of watching Y/N compliment Janice's nails. Over and over again.
But the conversation between Melissa and the hairdresser remains the same. Children. Over and over and over again.
It's not the redhead's intention, but she can't help but get irritated, month after month. And she hates even more the fact that Y/N notices her bad mood like a sailor notices an oil slick in the sea, in a clear and worrying way.
The Brazilian woman is even nicer to her, making even more superficial conversations and offering her tea or coffee while showing her little drawings she received from her clients just to make Melissa smile. Y/N’s favorite is one with a car full of blow dryers and brushes, made by a little shy boy who apparently adores the Brazilian woman, and Melissa can’t help but smile between her lips when Y/N looks so proud.
The teacher feels unstable and absolutely ridiculous. Sitting in the hairdresser’s chair with a frown on her face, month after month, then smiling softly at Y/N’s worried look until someone in the salon compliments some other person around her, reminding Melissa why she’s feeling this way.
Is it stupid to want something like... a friendship? Something bigger than the superficial shell of what Y/N is offering her month after month?
Until she finally understands, when a client in the chair next to her asks Melissa which of the two shades of red would look best on her own hair and sees how the Brazilian woman interrupts the question, albeit politely, saving Melissa from interacting with the other client in the salon.
The realization shines in the teacher's mind as if she were a cartoon character.
Y/N believes that maybe this is how their relationship should be. Professional. Distant.
The Brazilian woman must believe that this is how Melissa wants her to be, and that's why she maintains this pattern of behavior month after month.
The problem, bigger than all others, is that Melissa is not good at asking for things.
She is good at bartering. Being born into such a large family and having so many siblings was a great help.
Her mother always loved to sew, and her father worshiped baseball. So, after her teenage self sneaked out the window on Saturday night to meet up with whoever she was interested in at the time, Melissa would sew with her mother every Sunday after they got back from church until lunchtime, and then watch the game with her father in the late afternoon, cheering for them the same way she cheered for the Eagles, all for a few extra minutes away from home the following week.
Her sister, Kristin Marie, has always been passionate about nail polish. Colors, designs, sparkles, and little gems, all of them fascinated Melissa's sister, and so it was easy for the teacher to simply barter the household chores that needed to be completed between the two of them when Melissa had something to offer in return.
As she grew older, the targets became different, but the way of offering always had the same basis, making Melissa triumph brilliantly in bartering as if she were in the Middle Ages.
Now, asking without having something to offer in return?
Please, Y/N, talk to me like you talk to others around you. And if it’s not too much, compliment me like you do to them.
It was definitely off the teacher’s list of skills.
But fortunately, she doesn’t need to ask for anything. And she only doesn’t need to because a look from her, on a Saturday like any other, is seen by Angelina.
And what kind of friend would she be that wouldn’t open the Brazilian’s eyes?
“Your redhead is mad at you.”, the Greek woman says with a smile, watching her face contort in confusion.
“My redhead?”, Y/N asks, completely lost until she sees Angie tilt her head toward the salon door, where Melissa can still be seen, walking slowly toward her own car, “You mean Melissa? Mad at me?”
“She looks at the other clients as if they personally offended her every time you compliment them.”, the Greek manicurist explains as she helps her friend clean the counter for the next appointment, who will be there for a haircut in forty minutes.
“You are being ridiculous.”, the hairdresser’s response is said with a smiling but suspicious tone, as she continues to gather her belongings.
“Just pay attention. It’s not jealousy, but discomfort.”
And so Y/N does, only to see as clear as the light of a sunny day how right her friend was.
Melissa looks at her for too long, as if she is studying her, before glancing at the other people in the salon. The redhead looks at her reflection in the mirror seriously before bouncing her foot nervously, absorbing Y/N’s every move like a hawk, but it only takes one sentence to dismantle all her bravado.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?”, Y/N says softly as she points to the hair of a client next to them, but makes a point of touching the redhead’s hair at the same time, watching the teacher’s face attentively.
The face of the woman of Italian descent turns as red as her hair, even after realizing that the compliment wasn't meant for her, and that's what turns on all the emergency lights inside Y/N's brain.
"Yeah... beautiful.", she says with little enthusiasm, but still with a small smile on her face, and the Brazilian woman feels so guilty about it that, before Melissa leaves the salon, Y/N hands her a lollipop and justifies the gesture by saying that it's to sweeten the rest of the redhead's weekend.
Even knowing that her own weekend is ruined.
Y/N sleeps little in the following weeks, caught up in thoughts and possibilities.
The Brazilian woman has been attracted to clients before, and she always compliments them shamelessly the moment she notices that they are open to receiving her words. Sometimes, some of them even turn into something bigger and more intense as comfort has settled between them.
But Y/N had been reading Melissa wrong all along, and thinking about how to compliment a client like her was eating her brain day after day.
Because Melissa wasn't like the other clients. The teacher had not only had an awkward moment with her when they first met, but she had also been a dear client of Andrea's, and Y/N deeply believed that she needed to walk on eggshells around the redhead.
Melissa was important. Too important for small talk and silly compliments.
So she thought.
How would Y/N justify, more to herself than anyone else, if Melissa took her behavior back to that first day at the salon because of her words?
Y/N knows she's not one to mince words. The hairdresser knows she's kind and even considers herself more charismatic than most people, but the way her brain works has always gotten her into trouble. If something bothers the Brazilian woman, her reaction in response is automatic, no matter the consequences. Wherever or with whomever, the Brazilian woman receives the information spoken, her mind suddenly processes those words and then creates her response, which escapes between her lips without any warning. Over time, with the maturity of becoming an adult and working with people every day, Y/N managed to tame this side of her soul. But if something went too far, Y/N would quickly act accordingly.
What would she do if her words offended Melissa?
But the teacher's gaze was too obvious.
Expectant, even anxious, even in the midst of discomfort.
And it is thanks to this impulse, in the middle of a calm night watching bad television after an exhausting day of work, that the Brazilian woman realizes that perhaps being honest is the best thing to do.
After all, Melissa is pretty. Very pretty.
The redhead is attractive like those women who change the entire trajectory of someone's life with just a wink. With her leather jacket, sunglasses, and high-heeled boots, it's absolutely impossible not to notice her the second Melissa walks into the salon. So why not take advantage of that to complement her?
Something natural and quick, as if it were an impulse from her own mind or as if she were taking off a bandage. But something that could also be said to any other client without making it awkward, because the last thing Y/N wants is to embarrass herself in front of the redhead.
"It could work.", the murmur leaves Y/N's lips softly towards the television, as if the characters from Survival had the ability to answer her, "What woman doesn't like to be complimented? Especially in a hair salon, right? What's the worst that can happen?"
And wrapped in this wave of courage is how Y/N is the next time Melissa shows up at the salon.
“Have you noticed any difference in the color fading this month?”, she says as she takes the cape that will protect the redhead’s clothes from the dye and gently spreads it over Melissa, touching and moving the teacher’s hair away so she wont accidentally catch it when closing the cape before turning her attention back to her reflection in the mirror.
“No, I didn’t notice anything... Your work made me look like a million dollars in twenties just like the last few times.”, the teacher answers her as she does every time the Brazilian woman asks her this question, with a soft and unpretentious shrug, giving Y/N the cue she needed.
What could go wrong? It’s just a compliment.
Y/N holds a lock of Melissa’s hair, sliding her fingers carefully, as if she were evaluating her previous work, and then holds her gaze in the reflection in the mirror. The Brazilian woman's lips curve into a shy smile at the redhead who watches her through her reflection, before plucking up the courage to answer her, knowing full well that it will be enough to slip through her lips what lives in her mind as naturally as breathing:
"I appreciate it, but I dare say that this is only because of your pretty face, the work I do is just a bonus.", and as Y/N's words are spoken, she misses the button that should close the protective cover around Melissa's neck and, when trying to fix it, ends up gently scratching the pale skin of the teacher's neck.
As an automatic reflex, the hairdresser's fingers caress the slightly scratched spot with loving pressure, but only until she realizes the weight of the silence there.
Melissa has a single eyebrow arched, mouth open in surprise, and watching the hairdresser and her every move like a fucking eagle, but she doesn't pull herself away from her touch. A slight blush rises to her cheeks, and Y/N notices the surprised sigh that escapes the teacher's lips as she feels the skin on the redhead's neck visibly shiver beneath her touch.
With a quick movement, she attaches the cape in Melissa's body with trembling fingers before stepping back.
What Melissa doesn't pay attention to, thanks to how shocked she is watching her own blushing reflection in the mirror after recovering from the light scratching of Y/N's nails on her neck and her warm touch, in addition to her gentle praise, is the speed at which Y/N runs towards the salon's stockroom.
Inside the stockroom and with no idea what to take back as an alibi for having so brutally walked away from Melissa right at the beginning of her appointment with the redhead, Y/N gently leans against the closed door with her right hand precisely on her own chest. With her mind dizzy from a feeling that takes over her, Y/N can feel not only her breathing affected but also her heart, beating hard enough for the Brazilian to believe that it is fully capable of escaping from her chest and running straight to the lap of the teacher who is waiting for her outside.
Tomorrow I'll update this fanfic, so if you want to stay tuned or just recall this story, be my guest!
For now, here's a little sneak peak of Chapter 6 (also available on on AO3):
" (...)
Because, even tho Y/N is restrained and indescribably professional, Melissa is passionate about testing limits.
The redhead loves to know how close she can get to a flame without getting burned, and Y/N is a flame that the teacher is more than eager to watch turn to ashes in front of her.
Melissa remembers exactly the hairdresser's reaction the first time Y/N was complimented by her. Such a pretty girl, blushing and all nervous, but still with quick answers to all her questions.
And Melissa wants to see her break so much.
The day the Brazilian hairdresser finally breaks is four months after the first compliment Y/N said to Melissa. The Brazilian woman was cutting the teacher's hair, focused, while she felt the redhead's gaze fixed on her reflection in the mirror.
"Do you always work so close to your clients? Like this? I can almost smell your breath… And your perfume…", Melissa's voice sounded so dangerous in the middle of the previous silence they were sharing that her voice and gaze alone made Y/N blush, adjusting the comb and breathing nervously before answering.
If you can’t see how diminishing a black woman’s accomplishments and calling her a bitch is demeaning and racist because she doesn’t have as many as you do so you think she doesn’t have the “right” to call herself a Vet, is racist, then I’m just going to assume you’re a dumb white bitch who just thinks racism is calling someone a slur and that’s that
