Heehee FINALLY inspiration for a RENT fic. Don't own Rent (I'm major bummed about that.) Don't own Some Kind of Wonderful. Don't own nada. There will be another chapter...at least one...because I want to know what happens when Collins has to tell Ariel that Angel has..."expired," as Jesse (Martin) so delicately put it. (RENT Press Junket!) Okay, so read, review, NO FLAMES they make me cry, first RENT fic, don't own Rent, already covered that...THANK YOU JONATHON LARSON. NOW we can continue:
"Meeeeeeeemi!" The young Latina would-be dancer spun around at the call of the banshee. She saw a fiery-haired pixie in the doorway of the auditorium she had rehearsed in. For a minute, the confusion was apparent in her feminine features. Then recognition brightened her face.
"Ariel!" she cried, catapulting herself off the stage. The two girls embraced wildly, creating a blur of petite bodies and excited color. "Chiquita mía, you look HOT! What've you been DOING?"
"Teaching a step-aerobics class at the local gym is apparently marvelous for the bod. You look great, too. What have you been up to? La angel said you met someone?"
"Uh…yeah…Roger is great. He treats me right, and he pulled me out of my depression—and my addiction. He's a great guy."
"AND she said that SHE found a guy. What's he like? Still around? She's hell on guys, you know."
"I…I know. Collins is great, too. He has AIDS, too, and he really loved—LOVES—her."
"That's great! And how are YOU? Still alive, of course. That's good."
"Yeah, well… How're you?"
"Good…when Craig kicked me out, I got this whole new way of thinking. I mean, the sickness sucks, and I hate being alone, but like that chick in Some Kind of Wonderful—what was her name?—like she said, I'd rather be alone for the right reasons than with someone for the wrong ones."
Mimi hugged the girl who had always been her best friend, through good times, bad times, hard times, and fun times, and prayed silently that they could make it through one of the hardest times of all.
"ROGER! Where are you?"
"In here. Jesus, Meems, you'd think I was in YOUR apartment with all the shouting. Do you just really want some, o—oh, holy crap. HI. How are—who are—why are—okay, hi," a sheepish Roger fumbled to correct his crude first impression upon seeing more women than he expected to see in his entryway.
"Hi," an amused Ariel responded.
"Roger!" Mimi squealed, pelting herself into his waiting arms. He buried a very red face into her mass of curls. When she pulled away slightly, he set her down, obviously waiting for an explanation.
"Roger, Ariel. Ari, Roger. Introductions made."
"YOU'RE Roger? I expected more of an…angsty, self-pitying rocker. I mean, that's what you are, right?"
"ARI!" a scandalized Mimi cried, while also trying to gauge her boyfriend's reaction. To her immense relief, the scowl that crossed his face quickly turned to a smirk, a bitter laugh. "I guess so. Sorry I didn't order your good, bad, and ugly." Ariel and Mimi laughed before he continued, "But…a little background?"
Before she could answer Mimi jumped in. "Ariel IS Angel's little sister. We grew up together."
"She IS?" Roger clarified.
"Yup. She should meet Collins, don't you think? He can tell her what's new."
"I agree. And he's in the kitchen right now, coincidentally."
"Get your butt in there and introduce yourself, girl!" Mimi told her old friend, who wandered in the direction given to her.
As soon as she left, Roger took his small girlfriend by the hand and gently pulled her into the bedroom. "Explain?" he asked softly, looking down at her with a worried expression. He could see, and wondered why this supposed childhood best friend couldn't see, that she was worried. Scared, even. And that she had been since she had come home, if not longer.
She sighed, sat down on the bed, wrung her hands. Roger could tell Mimi was getting ready to tell a story, and a long one at that.
"Angel, Ariel, and I have been friends since Ariel beat the crap out of me at dodgeball in first grade. We were playing and she knocked me to the ground because she thought I was kindergartener. Afterwards, she invited me home for cookies. I said yes, and so after school, we went to the third grade class to wait for Ariel's big brother. When Angel came out of the classroom, he immediately said to us, 'I'm gonna be a girl.'
"Well, we went to their house, and their mom had made cookies, and we played for a little, till Angel walked me home. My mom loved her, my dad not so much.
"For the next nine years, we went through thick and thin together. Ari and I went through our first loves together and our first heartbreaks. And one day we were fed up with the retards in that town mocking us for Angel's choices and my dad was a jackass, so we packed all our stuff in two bags and hopped a Greyhound. We went…not that far from here, actually. Anyways, she met this…guy. Craig.
"Craig was…different. He was controlling and rude. He hurt her. Everyone could see it, but she kept going back. And he let me stay at his apartment with them…and one night…" Mimi drew a deep breath, and Roger sat next to her. She looked him straight in the eye for the first time since starting the story, and he saw deep levels of hurt there.
After another deep breath, she continued. "One night, Craig came out to the living room where I was staying and he…he…well, the next day I told Ari, but she didn't believe me. She called me a jealous liar and to leave then, and that was the nicest thing she said. So I left.
"A week later, I got a job and a place to live, and Angel and I started letter-writing. Well, a couple weeks after that, I got a letter from Angel saying that Ariel had tried to come home and gotten kicked out after telling the story about Craig…and how he was HIV positive, as was she, and he had kicked her out.
"Angel brought her to Alphabet City and they got a place. I got myself tested for HIV, just in case. Ha. Guess what the results were. Anyways, Angel got in contact with me and I told her to bring Ari by my place. She did, and Ari and I re-bonded. Ari met a good guy, and went to live with him. I stayed here and did what I did. And then Angel met Collins, I met you, and until today, I didn't hear from Ari again. And Angel emailed her every once in a while, but I guess nobody told Ari about the…death," Mimi finished quietly with tears threatening to spill over.
"Meems…," Roger said quietly, right before she did burst into tears. And he held her and let her cry.
I hope you liked it. If you did, press the little button thingy that's there. If you do, I'll give you Mark ('cause you can't have Roger. He's MINEMINEMINE. Oh, plus Mimi's.) Also, I'll post a pic on my profile of what I think Ariel looks like.