[fanfic] Digimon Adventure 02: Afterschool Chat

[higuchimon]

Title: Afterschool Chat
Characters: Mimi, Michael, OC
Romance: Mimi x Michael
Word Count: 2,318||Status: One-shot
Genre: Humor, Romance||Rated: PG-13
Summary: Mimi's love life is challenged by someone at school who doesn't understand a thing.

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"Mimi! Mimi!" The clear, bright voice of her partner cut through the mild school fog that always descended on the seventeen year old once she entered the building. Mimi's eyes lit up as she realized completely that yet another week of school was over with and she had two glorious days until she had to even think about this kind of thing again.

"Palmon!" Five years of having her partner waiting for her patiently after school hadn't dimmed the joy of seeing her there in the slightest. The few other Chosen Children at school were also being reunited with their partners, and she caught a glimpse of Betamon putting the fountain in the outer courtyard to good use, splashing his partner. Micheal was laughing and splashing right back, of course. Seeing them like that tugged her thoughts towards the beach, and how good it would be to go there this weekend. It would be a total blast!

She didn't think about it too much right now, though. She had something else on her mind: hugging her partner. "Ready for the weekend, Palmon?"

"I always am!" Vine-like arms wrapped around her, and Mimi found herself once again grateful for the fact her partner wasn't in any huge hurry to evolve permanently to Togemon. She was just the perfect size as she was right now.

"I just don't see what the big deal about Digimon being all over the place these days is." Mimi straightened up at the unfamiliar voice and turned to see one of the few people in school she just couldn't stand. "They're just animals. Not even animals. Disgusting little things. They shouldn't be allowed where decent people are."

It was no problem to figure out what, or who, she was talking about. Gina Witmark had made absolutely no secret that she considered Digimon to be something not even worth scraping off of her shoe. Needless to say, she wasn't yet one of those who had one for her own partner. Mimi had heard rumors there was a betting pool on just how much she'd throw up if such a thing actually happened. Gina didn't look as if she were actually talking to someone, but she never did. She simply made statements as if she expected everyone to listen to her just because she'd opened her mouth.

"Mimi, who is this?" Palmon looked confused, and Mimi couldn't blame her. Gina had never come out to where the Chosen and their partners met before, always making it a point to leave by a different route so she could soar off in her high-class car with her nose stuck in the air. Mimi had no idea of why she was changing that routine today.

"She's just someone I go to school with. Come on, we've got some things to get ready for." Mimi glanced over at Micheal, wanting to get his attention so they could head on home, but a certain nasal voice spoke up before she could.

"You know, I've been watching that imported anime stuff about you and your little friends when you were kids." Gina strutted over to stand in front of Mimi. She was pretty enough, though nowhere near the most beautiful girl in school, despite what she thought about herself. Mimi supposed she was popular enough as well, though she had never really thought about it herself. Popularity wasn't what it was cracked up to be. That was something she did know that Gina had yet to learn. "Not that I really want to, but my little brother likes fantasy."

Mimi could almost feel the eyes of the half dozen others out there on them. Micheal was even starting to look interested in what was going on. She had a feeling that no matter how this little confrontation came out, it was going to be all over school in no time. "Is this going somewhere, Gina, or did you just want to come out here and be annoying? Because if that's all you want, I can schedule you in sometime next week. Right now, I've got some things I need to do."

"Oh, no, I had something else I wanted to talk to you about. That show, you see. I guess they couldn't find someone willing to pretend they had the same kind of bad fashion sense you had then to play you and that's why they had to animate it, right?" Gina's sneer made her look a lot like a Raremon, Mimi decided. At least she smelled halfway decent. If you could call that perfume she was wearing decent. Mimi wasn't all that certain that was the right word for it.

"Actually, I think it was because they wanted to be certain the evolution sequences looked as real as possible, and they're still working on getting that technology to that kind of level," Steve piped in from where he was sharing a quick ice cream cone with his current girlfriend. "There were people lining up to play the Chosen as children, as I understand it."

Gina's cold eyes landed briefly on the dark-skinned teen, then she returned her gaze to Mimi. "At any rate, I've been wondering something. Why did you spend all your time hanging out with that dweeby 'Joe' or whatever his name is when you had a hot hunk like Yamato around." Of course she mispronounced his name, and it was more than likely on purpose. Mimi sighed to herself. It was going to be one of those days.

"Are you serious or are you just trying to be silly?" Mimi had fielded questions like this before. Each time it frayed more and more on her nerves. Where did these people get this kind of idea? She'd watched the anime version of their adventure several times, and still, she couldn't figure it out. Did they somehow see something she didn't? She regretted Takeru had even managed to write it all up and sell it to that animation company. It had caused more trouble than it was worth, in her opinion.

"Oh, you don't have to answer it," Gina waved a hand casually, smirking at the same time. "You probably just didn't think you were good enough for him. But that's not even my real question."

"Can we get on with it then?" Patience had never exactly been Mimi's strong suite, and that was one thing that hadn't changed with age. She wanted out of here. She had things to do and places to go, and one of those was the beach. Gina was interfering in her sunbathing time, and that was just unforgivable.

The smirk got wider. Mimi didn't like it any more than she had when it had first shown up. "I've got a dare for you, Tachikawa." Once again, she mispronounced it, and Mimi knew that was on purpose. She'd been going to school here since she was twelve, and Gina had been there the whole time. Gina was also the only person who went out of her way to say her name wrong, just to get her riled up.

"If it's how drunk we can both get, I'd rather not." Mimi held herself back from saying she knew how much more experience in that matter Gina had. The parties the other girl held were legendary, and not because of how awesome they were. Their fame had been achieved by just how many cops had been called this time, as well as how much the liquor bill was for, and how much damage had been done.

"I'm not surprised." There was so much condescending in that tone that it could've been spread on toast like butter. "But no, that's not it. Not to mention I'd win. What I'm daring you is this. I dare you to make that blond god Yamato fall in love with you inside of a month."

"What?"

Gina smirked even more, the kind of expression one has when one knows they have someone over a barrel and there's no way to escape. "I said it right the first time. All of your little friends are coming to visit when school lets out in Japan, right?" Mimi nodded; they'd been planning this for months now. "I bet that once they get here, you can't make Yamato fall head over heels in love with you."

Mimi decided to get her ears checked as soon as she could. She had to have heard this wrong. "Why would I want to do something like that?" Bad dream? No, she was awake. She wouldn't have a rock digging into one heel underneath her shoe if she was asleep, nor would she be thinking about grabbing a soda on the way home. She was awake, but Gina had obviously lost her mind.

"It's easy. You had a crush on him when you were a kid, and now you've finally got your chance. You two haven't really spent any time around each other since then, you know." Gina waved a hand again, her grin widening. "It shouldn't be that hard. You know what musicians are like, after all. A girl in every town, that kind of thing. He should jump for the chance."

Mimi looked down at Palmon, who looked back up with every hint of confusion she herself felt multiplied, then over to where the others were. As far as she could tell, they didn't understand this any more than she did. "Excuse me? What makes you think any of that? Where did you pull me having a crush on him from?" She was quite certain if she explained this to Daisuke and asked him that, he'd have an answer, and it wasn't precisely a polite way to say 'thin air'.

"You don't have to hide it, it was so very obvious you two both liked each other." Gina leaned forward with a conspiratorial air. "I bet you just hated it when you found out he was dating that one girl. Whatever her name was."

"Sora."

"Yes, that's her." Gina inched closer, her eyes gleaming with something unhealthy and unholy. Mimi wished she were staring at Vamdemon or Piemon. Or even Etemon. She would've felt a lot safer, not to mention a lot more comfortable. They at least hadn't tried to claim they knew anything about her love life, or anyone else's. "She stole the one you wanted since you first met him. She can't really love him, you know, not the way you do. You're going to have to do something about it."

This was going too far. It had been kind of weird at first, but now Gina was acting like some kind of stalker, or worse! "Gina, I don't know what you've been eating, drinking, smoking, or taking, but I don't have a crush on Yamato, I never have, and I never will. As far as I know, he's never had one on me either. He and Sora love each other, and I'm glad for them. I want them to be happy. Not to mention Sora's my best friend, so if you insult her one more time, I'm going to have to knock you over the horizon." It had worked with Sukamon and Chuumon, after all. "And I don't think I could put up with him for any kind of bet, if you really want to know." The mere thought of spending more than a few minutes alone with Yamato's attitude sent cold shivers down her spine. "And just so you know, even if he were single,I'm not!"

Gina blinked a few times, then shook her head. "You're just trying to cover up. You guys are perfect for each other!"

"Michael," Mimi appealed to her boyfriend. This had just entered the ultimate Zone of Weirdness, and it was time to get out of here before anything worse happened, like yet another version of Etemon popping up out of nothingness. "Let's get out of here. I think Gina's lost it."

"I could've told you that," the blond took her hand, squeezing it lightly, and the four of them headed away from the school. "I think she's just watched that anime a little too much, myself." He grinned slightly at her. "I don't know about you, but I much prefer the real thing."

Mimi laughed, forgetting all about what had just happened. There were things much more interesting to think about, such as spending as much time with Micheal, Palmon, and Betamon as she could, and getting ready for the others when they came. "I think you're right. Come on, I'll race you to my place! Last one there has to pay for all the food for our Digimon for a week!"

"Hey, no fair! You know my dad cut off my allowance from the last time I had to pay for them!"

"Then you'd better beat me, right?" Mimi darted ahead as fast as she could, with Palmon right behind her. Micheal shook his head and laughed before he headed out after her, determined to get there before she did.

Gina stared after them, forgotten, as she was simply not used to being. Then she grinned slowly. Maybe it wasn't so bad if Mimi kept on denying how she felt. That meant the visiting Japanese blond would be more vulnerable to her when he showed up. She hummed to herself happily as she headed on her way home, ignoring the looks from the New York Chosen as she passed them all. They didn't matter to the world half as much as she did, and they'd know that one day. She'd have to talk to Mimi about what Yamato liked in a woman. Then whatever she said, Gina would simply do the opposite, since the foreigner couldn't possibly know what he really wanted. She'd have him eating out of her hand in no time. She always got what she wanted, after all. Always. This time would be no different.

The End