Disclaimer: I do not own RENT. I want to, but I don't. I know, it's depressing.
Notes: It's an unusual pairing for me, so be gentle it was for the speedRENT fic exchange!
Where I Want To Be
She shifted her messenger bag from one shoulder to the next. Her spiked heel boots clicked ominously on the marble floor almost begging for more unwanted attention. Her long, curly hair fell into her eyes, but she had no mind to brush it away. It was always the same with these new schools, she wanted to get in, get out, and hopefully when she got home her mother would tell her they were moving again. They had moved so much recently, and with each new place came a new name: spick, Mexican, wetback, dyke, lezzie. She had heard them all. She could tell this new place wasn't going to be any better. It was suburban, and that wasn't the only thing it had going against it. She could tell from just walking down the hall that the kids were mostly white, straight, Republican WASPS. It wasn't where she belonged once again, and she was starting to think that nowhere was.
Mimi walked through the halls of Scarsdale High School and glanced at the small paper in her hand. Art Appreciation, room 212A. Great, fantastic, super. She had no idea where room 212A was, and she wasn't about to ask someone. She could already tell she would either be glared at or even worse, pointed in the wrong direction.
By some odd stroke of luck, Mimi looked up from her paper at the door in front of her. 212A. It must have been a miracle. She walked into the room where mostly all of her classmates were seated at canvas like desks and took the first available seat. Another miracle – it was next to the only other minority in the class, and she was cute. The girls short hair fell around her face. She was sitting in front of two boys: one looked like the poster child for hair metal and the other like he just stepped out of Suburbanites-R-Us. They were joking about something, and the short haired girl's laugh was angelic. She must have caught their attention – like spiked heeled boots and a long leopard coat wouldn't – and they smiled at her and waved her over. Some angel must have been looking down on her. She took her seat pulling her messenger bag over her shoulder, and smiled at the short haired girl next to her.
"Hi, I'm Mimi, I'm new here."
It sounded so cliché, so typical, but it was the only thing she could think to say. It was the first time she had ever found herself tongue tied.
"Hi, I'm Joanne. This is Mark." She pointed to the blonde boy with the glasses. "And this is Roger." The boy with the spiked blonde hair smiled at her and gave a halfhearted wave. If you looked past the smudged eyeliner and the grunge, you could see he was a friendly face.
"Welcome to Hell," Roger said, and extended his hand.
"Oh come on, babe. It's not that bad." Mark turned to Roger and swatted the back of his head. "Don't scare the new people."
Roger pulled Mark in for a deep kiss, which Mark happily returned. A few coughs and some faint "ewws" could be heard from the class.
"There, now we scared the old people, too."
"Ah yes. We forgot the most important part. This is Mark, you average suburban gay boy. This is Roger, the pseudo-rebellious gay rocker, and I'm Joanne, the resident black lesbian. You've officially stumbled upon the black sheep of Scarsdale High. Congrats!"
Mimi smiled at the girl and she laughed. She didn't mind this at all.
"Well I'm Mimi, the new "Mexican"," she pronounced the word Mexican with finger quotes, "bisexual in town. I think I've stumbled upon the right people." They laughed and Joanne gave her a pat on the back.
The rest of the day went without a hitch. Mimi floated from class to class, some of which he had with her newfound friends. At lunch she was even invited to spend some time with them after school over at Roger's, something that would have never happened before.
They sat in Roger's room, Mimi and Joanne on the floor, Mark on Roger on the bed.
"No no no.. You have got to be kidding me! How can you say that St. Elmo's Fire is better than The Breakfast Club!"
"I'm just saying, St. Elmo's Fire is more a movie for me. It's about what we have to look forward to. The Breakfast Club is so… juvenile."
"Joanne. You need to stop thinking about the future so much. Live in the now! There's a lot to experience here, and you can't just let that pass you by!"
"Well Roger my dear, before this turns into some philosophical conversation and you whip out some kitschy catch phrase like 'no day but today' or something like that, it's time for me to get home. Mimi, do you need a ride?"
Mimi smiled. "Sure, thanks!"
"Aww.. you always leave when it starts to get good!" Roger fake pouted at Joanne, who in turn threw a pillow at him.
"Aw c'mon Rog, let her go. I can show you how it can get better." Mark trailed a finger down Roger's torso and planted a kiss on the other boys jaw.
"Well! I'm sure you ladies know your way out. I'll be seeing you tomorrow then? Fabulous! Great. Bye!" Roger pushed them out the door, which abruptly closed in their faces.
Joanne chuckled. "Don't mind Roger. Sometimes I think he likes sex more than music, and that's saying a lot. We should go before they start-" A loud moan came from the other side of the door. "Moaning."
Mimi laughed as they made their way down the stairs. They got into Joanne's car and drove toward Mimi's house. They pulled into her driveway a few minutes later.
"Joanne?"
"Hm."
"Is something wrong?"
"What? No. Why?"
"You're really quiet. You've been quiet the whole ride."
"Oh. I'm sorry.. I was just thinking about.. stuff."
"Are you sure nothings wrong?"
"Hm? No. I mean. Well. Nah. It's just.. live in the now, right?"
"Wha-"
Before Mimi could respond, Joanne's lips were pressed firmly to hers. Her hand found the back of Joanne's head, and made it's way down her neck. They stayed like that for a while, lips pressed to one another's, hands roaming on the other's back.
They parted for air and Mimi smiled, her eyes still closed. She was breathless, as was Joanne. Their hands found their way to each others and they sat there in comfortable silence, neither one needing words.
"I.. that was.."
"Yeah."
"Mimi, will you go out with me this Friday?"
"Oh, so you usually kiss girls before you ask them out? Is that how you rope them in?"
"What? No! I.. I didn't.."
Mimi smiled. "It was a joke. I would love to go out with you this Friday."
They embraced. "So I'll be picking you up around.. 8?"
"8 sounds perfect. Just perfect. I really should get inside though, my mom probably wants to hear about my day. Mimi opened the door and before stepping out quickly pecked Joanne's cheek. "8.. sounds perfect."
Mimi practically danced to her door. She burst inside the house and ran to her mother, hugging her tightly, "Gracias mami. Thank you for moving us here!", and ran upstairs to her room.
Marcella Marquez couldn't have been more confused. Usually her daughter sulked into the house on her first day in a new place, scowled at her, and stomped to her room. In spite of her curiosity, she smiled. Mimi seemed happy.
Mimi threw her bag onto the floor and flopped down onto her bed. She smiled at the ceiling and sighed. She was going on a date. With Joanne, quite possibly the cutest girl in Scarsdale. Things were definitely okay.
Who would have thought the suburbs was where she finally belonged?