Original Version: 5-9-06

Updated: 9- 4 -06

.o.o.o.

R.O.D. the TV: "Paper Girls"

Part 1

Maggie sat silently on the couch. The tall girl was dressed in a pair of shorts and a white t-shirt. It was mid day and light shined in through the balcony sliding doors. Maggie ran a hand through her dark shaggy hair and glanced over at her older sister Michelle.

The curvy blond was looking at her, her light brown eyes staring intently at Maggie, as if expecting something to happen. It was unnerving to the taller girl to have Michelle stare at her silently. It was normal to have her look at you and ramble on incessantly about something…

But the blond was now sitting there quietly... it was horrifying. Michelle perked up suddenly, as if to say something.

"Maggie dear," she began, many of her conversations with her started like this. "What are you and Nenene going to do for your date?" She asked innocently with a disarming smile that only she could give.

Maggie, for her part, was mortified by the remark and blushed a familiar shade of deep red across her face. "Uh Michelle, it' not really a date... um we..." She fidgeted uneasily as the words refused to come out right.

"Because you two are such a cute couple, and I want to know about your plans with Miss Sumiregawa." Michelle chimed in, her usual perky tone proving to be more than formidable.

Maggie scooted back- trying to put some distance between her and her older sister. She looked away, blushing more than ever. "Um, Michelle... It's not like that." She tried to say to her older sister.

Just then, Anita appeared at the foot of the stairs, holding- not surprisingly- a bottle of milk. "Aw Maggie, you don't have to be embarrassed about any of this."

Maggie felt like she would die of embarrassment.

"Besides, Nenene seems like a good match for someone like you." The pink-haired girl offered.

Michelle nodded in agreement. "Yes, she doesn't really seem all that interested in boys," She remarked, scratching her head. "And you're so nice that it would be hard to find anyone better for her." She added with a fetchingly cute smile.

Anita spoke up again, in a very professional tone. "We're all modern girl with open-minded views on relationships." She added. "Society's views on these things are pointless, if you like 'big sister' then go for it." Anita added sagely, though it was a little difficult to take her seriously with John Woo resting on her head.

"What do you know about relationships, twerp?" The voice, and the question, shattering the current atmosphere around them.

Anita jerked around and spotted Nenene's taller form standing behind her, glaring down at her with a dangerous smile. She was wearing a pair of old jeans and a t-shirt. "You're what- thirteen years old? Come back when you have a boyfriend of your own in a few years."

Anita's eyes narrowed at her antagonistic benefactor. "Don't call me that." The word 'twerp' echoing through her mind.

Michelle gave a thoughtful expression and clapped her hands together as she was struck by a revelation. "Oh wait, I thought you had a boyfriend- Junior, right?"

This time, it was Anita's turn to become embarrassed. Her face turned red as she held up her hands defensively. "Junior is just a friend!" She blurted out.

Michelle smiled and Nenene laughed softly. Maggie seized the moment to slip out of the living room. (Her escape could be likened to that of a ninja- a book ninja at least.)

"Well, aren't you an early bloomer then?" Nenene asked, patting Anita on the head. "I guess it makes sense- you have been spending a lot of time with him." Nenene added.

"Oh yes, he's so cute that he could be a little girl." Michelle added.

Nenene smiled. "Oh, so that's how it is? I didn't even think about that…" Nenene replied, crossing her arms and looking up, as if some great bit of information had just come to her. "

I didn't know you liked that kind of thing." She remarked chidingly to the young girl, whose face was now beet-red.

"I'm going upstairs to take a shower." Nenene announced. She then looked over her shoulder at the compartment under the staircase. "Oh, Maggie, you can use it when I'm done, or..." She paused, smiling evilly as a she thought of something. "Or you can join me if you like?" She added jokingly.

Behind the door, the sound of books falling over could be heard.

.o.o.o.

Later that afternoon, once Michelle and Anita had been shooed out of Nenene's apartment and back to their own on the same level, things became quieter.

The sound of running water had been replaced by the sound of rustling material. Nenene emerged from her room, dressed in a green strapless dress and matching jacket.

She looked over at Maggie, who was dressed simply in a pair of navy blue slacks and a thin white turtleneck sweater. Nenene shook her head and smiled. "I guess I won't see you in a dress ever?" She asked, sitting down next to the taller girl. "Still, your clothes suit you- you wear it well." She added.

Maggie blushed cutely, red streaking across pale skin. "Thank you." She replied timidly.

Maggie was another issue all together. It confused and somewhat annoyed Nenene when she tried to figure out how they "got together". It was just sort of an accident, a happy accident though.

Maggie would come by and return a book to her, and Nenene would ask her to stay for a while, often under the pretense of looking over a draft she had come up with. Eventually, Maggie would come by to visit her and Nenene would type silently at her computer while the tall girl sat in her office reading on the floor as if this was all perfectly natural.

Eventually, Nenene became tired of beating around the bush about things and turned around one day and asked Maggie if she wanted to go out with her. Maggie had of course gone red in the face and stuttered with her reply.

Nenene explained that it was just the rational thing to do at this point, saying that they spent so much time together that they might as well do something together like this. After a few moments, Maggie had blushed and smiled slightly while nodding in agreement.

Nenene told her she could stay a little while longer that evening and after that- one thing lead to another and a silent kiss was exchanged between them.

For Nenene, ages of tension were off her shoulder after that, and Maggie seemed slightly less shy around her. Though she still would blush from time to time when Nenene became bold and flirted with her subtly or kissed her when no one was around.

Nenene stood up, recalling the fond memories in her mind and smiled.

"You're lucky, you can be pretty without any fuss or make-up or anything." She remarked. "Somehow it's not 'butch' on you." She added, considering things.

Maggie blushed and stood up with a nod. Even in high-heels, Nenene was still not even close to being eye-level with her. But she didn't mind, it was part of what made Maggie special… 'her Maggie'.

"Um Nenene," The tall Paper Master began. "You look... pretty." She added nervously, struggling to find the right words as she spoke.

The shorter blushed slightly and took her hand. "Thank, you look nice too, Maggie." She said in reply.

The two seemingly mismatched women left the apartment for their 'outing'. Nenene picked up her purse on the way out and locked the door after them.

(- End of Part 1-)

.o.o.o.

I became a quick fan of the series and my favorite character was Maggie, and I liked the idea of her and Nenene together... it just seemed to work so well. Then I found "Kiss Me, I'm Drunk" by Rhaiwen and I was inspired to write something of my own. I hope you enjoy this.

( Okay, I fixed the irritating spelling problems I noticed, I tightened up the continuity and tweeked the dialogue to make it work better. The story takes place some time after the end of the series. I'll start working on the next part soon. )

-Bojack727