Disclaimer:
Digimon belongs to higher powers then little ole me…Author's Note:
Okay, let's see…Jun, Mimi, and Matt are 16, Daisuke's 12. That takes care of the important ages. Er, the title and the lyrics at the end are from JoDee Messina's song "Angelene". And the stuff that's happening in this fic, is all part of the same universe as "The Ugly Koromon". (*-* Hopefully that makes more sense when you peeps read it than when I wrote it…) I think that's it…* scratches head * Oh yeah! If you aren't a fan of Jun, this fic probably isn't for you since it revolves around her character. (And yes, I do like her character…I'm really not trying to bash her with this fic! * sweatdrop* ) And yes, all this crazy stuff does come out of my head. Scary, ain't it? ^-^Angelene
By Rachel Lynn
She could feel the grit--the pebbles and the broken chunks of concrete--as they dug into her skin. They were probably the only thing reminding her that she was still in the real world and not in the one her mind seemed fond of producing for her. The tears were making her mascara run too, and the sticky black stuff was stinging her already poorly abused eyes something fierce. Idly, she noted that she ought to find a tissue or something to at least wipe her face--she had to look like a mess--but it was hard to work up the energy to care.
Besides, wasn't that the precise reason she'd picked this alleyway in the first place? No one was likely to see her here, sobbing uncontrollably. And even if they did see her, they weren't likely to know her or bother with her. After all, who cared about scrawny little Jun Motomiya?
She gave a derisive snort as she tried to catch her breath again. No one cared. She couldn't elicit a feeling of kindness out of any soul she came across. It wasn't one or two traits that she had that she could pinpoint either. It was her. Who she was. What was in her soul.
Where had she gone so wrong? When had things gotten so out of control and screwed up? But quick on the heels of those two questions was when had things ever been right? She should be used to this life. After all, wasn't this all she knew? Bad times and heartache and loneliness? When had they not been her constant companions? She watched bitterly as the tears slid off the end of her nose and plopped noiselessly on the grimy ground by her feet.
"Jun? Jun Motomiya?!" The shrill voice echoed down the alleyway in astonishment, and Jun flinched at the sound of her own name. "Are you alright? Are you hurt?"
"Mimi. Mimi Tachikawa." She managed not to shrink completely away from the friendly arm on her shoulder as the strawberry blonde sat down beside her on the gravelly ground. "We went to grade school together, didn't we? I thought you moved to America." She was proud that her voice came out as steady as it did. On the inside though, she was cringing. It was only a matter of moments before Mimi realized a few things about her old friend.
"I just moved back last week. Here, stand up and let me get a look at you. Are you sure you aren't hurt?" Mimi practically pulled her to her feet, and as Jun stood, she instinctively threw her arms around her bare belly. "What on Earth are you wearing?" Leave it to Mimi to notice her fashion right off and comment on it. Jun avoided the other girl's eyes as she tugged a little at the indecently short skirt. But even then, tugging at the skirt didn't do anything for the excuse of a halter-top she was wearing.
"They're just clothes." Jun muttered as Mimi shrugged out of her jacket and threw it around the brown haired girl's bare shoulders.
"Well, it's too chilly outside for you to be running around like that, you're gonna catch a cold." The taller girl scolded mildly. Again Jun waited for the outburst, the look of disgust that she knew should be crossing Mimi's face. She knew guys liked the way she looked. That's why she wore the tight shirts and the short skirts. When she had them on, they talked to her. They focused on her and her alone, giving her all their attention and admiration. But wearing clothes like these never garnered her any female friends. They looked down on her with contempt. They were disgusted by her, and she knew it.
"Listen," Jun took the coat gently off her shoulders as she handed it back to the beautiful girl in front of her, "I'm fine. Really." Jun turned her head away as she sat back down and stared towards the other end on the alleyway. Maybe Mimi was just incredibly dense, she decided, because all the other girls could pinpoint in a heartbeat what and who she was. They had a couple choice names that they liked to throw at her too. And they were always names that made her feel like this alleyway. Dirty. Forgotten. Unloved.
"Well, you don't look fine." Jun started slightly as the coat fell onto her shoulders once more. Wildly, she looked over to see Mimi sitting gingerly beside her. "And I'm staying here as long as you do, so you might as well tell me what's wrong." Jun blinked in confusion as she looked into the hazel eyes beside her. Mimi's sincere face stared right back at her.
"Why would you even care?" Jun couldn't help but ask as she averted her eyes. "Girls like you just don't hang around or talk to girls like me. Are you trying to ruin your reputation?"
"Oh please, I don't care what other people think. You used to be my best friend, Jun." The strawberry blonde smiled as she gently bumped Jun's shoulder. "Now tell me what's wrong. Please?" Jun slid a look at the girl and sighed.
"You should care about you reputation. Once you lose it, you can't get it back." The brunette let the solemn words fall between them. She took a deep breath then and continued. After all, Mimi had asked for it. "Well, there's this guy that I like. He's different from all the other guys I've ever tried to date. He's a real gentleman, you know. He never tried to make a pass at me or tried to get me in bed. I just felt like he respected me. That here was a guy I could finally be with and love, and he would love me in return for who I was." Jun felt tears sneaking traitorously into her eyes.
"What happened?" Mimi asked quietly beside her.
"I figured he was such a great guy you know. I've already slept with so many others, and I figured maybe if I slept with him I could finally stop sleeping with everyone else, cause he'd be the one, you know. Matt Ishida, he doesn't date tramps. He wouldn't have a slut as a girlfriend. And I was right, he wouldn't." Jun tried to block out the image of Matt's face when she'd asked him if he wanted to get in bed with her. The disgust and distaste couldn't have been any more apparent.
"Matt? Matt Ishida?" Jun could vaguely hear Mimi ask. Numbly she nodded. Great, Mimi and Matt. Now they could both go back and laugh about poor pathetic, ugly Jun. And how it was so funny that she threw herself at every guy she saw.
"Jun, Matt's gay."
The brown haired girl's head flew up at that and she looked wide-eyed at Mimi. "He's what? Are you sure? How do you know?" Jun couldn't help but ask suspiciously as Mimi shrugged slightly embarrassed.
"If I tell you, you promise not to tell anyone else?" The strawberry blonde asked uncomfortably. Jun raised an eyebrow.
"Would you honestly trust my word? I mean, I promise not to tell, but most people don't think my word's worth much. You really can't trust a slut like me, right?" The sentences spilled out of her mouth before she could stop them, but even as they did she meant every defensive word.
"You are not a slut, don't call yourself that." Mimi returned sternly as Jun stared at her in confusion. "And of course I trust you, you were always the best out of all my friends at keeping secrets."
"People change."
"Not you, not about things like that." Mimi shot back and then hesitated for a moment before continuing. "Matt's been one of my best friends for the last four years. I talked to him and my other friend Tai a lot when I was over in America. Well, when I came back to Japan, I figured I'd surprise them both. And they ended up surprising me, I accidentally walked in on them locked in a rather passionate embrace." Mimi's cheeks flushed slightly, but she was grinning at the same time.
"Oh." Jun returned and then looked back down the alleyway, more confused inside then she had been before. Matt Ishida was gay? Did that change anything?
"I missed you, Jun."
"You did?" She couldn't help but return flatly. It didn't make any sense. Mimi, the most popular girl in school. The little princess who had everything at her fingertips and who no one could ever seemed to bring themselves to dislike. She missed a scraggly little nobody like her? Not likely.
"Of course I did. I worried about you too." Mimi quietly turned towards her and Jun quickly turned her head away. She could recognize pity when she saw it, and right now, she didn't want to see it.
"Well, sorry you worried like that. You didn't have to, I mean I'm fine. I hardly missed you when you left." Jun lied through her gritted teeth as she stared at the back of the alleyway. The last thing she wanted was for little Miss Perfect to know exactly how much she'd missed her friendship. In fact, she managed a humorless smile, she was sure that if Mimi had known how much their growing apart had hurt, the strawberry blonde would've died of laughter.
But truth was, Mimi had been her one and only friend before the summer they'd turned twelve. In a world where even her own parents didn't care about her, Mimi had been the one person who had made her feel like she was worth anything. And then she'd gone away to summer camp.
Jun could feel gritty tears gather up in her eyes again. More than anything, she had wanted to go to camp that summer. But she hadn't been able to raise the money herself to go, and her "parents" would no more have given her the cash than fly to the moon. So she spent the summer babysitting her little brother for free for her "parents" who had never seemed to care what happened to either one of them.
And Mimi? Mimi had gone off to summer camp and made new, closer, better friends. Her strawberry blonde friend had come back a changed person. Mimi didn't need someone to admire her or tell her she was beautiful anymore. The proverbial spoiled little rich girl came back a less self absorbed person with broader interests than clothes and shopping. There wasn't any room for a little tag along like Jun Motomiya anymore, and Jun had known it. With friends like Matt, Tai, and Sora, what need did Mimi have for a friend like her? A little nobody that no one noticed?
"What happened to us? We used to be so close." Mimi's wistful voice penetrated through her thoughts, and it was all she could do to bite back the angry words that wanted to come. Angry words couldn't change the past, they never did anything for the present, and generally they spelled disaster for the future. Besides, she told herself, what was the use? Mimi was probably just talking to hear herself talk. No one honestly ever cared about what someone like Jun thought. Being an angel and getting good grades while taking care of Daisuke all the time hadn't gained her "parents" admiration, it hadn't even gained their attention. But flunking and sleeping around and hanging with the wrong crowds hadn't gotten her anything either. "Jun?"
"There wasn't room for me anymore." She heard herself blurt out. Wincing almost immediately after she heard the words pop out, Jun hunched over, laying her head on her knees as she looked away from the girl beside her.
"Don't be silly, of course there was." Jun lifted her head and looked over at the other girl's hazel eyes. Mimi sounded so perplexed, like she actually believed what she'd just said. Managing a weak glare at the strawberry blonde, Jun then quickly turned her head before Mimi could see the tears coming down again.
"Mimi," she said slowly and softly, "for once in your life, step into the real world with me. You had Matt and his little brother, Tai and his little sister, Sora, Izzy, even Joe. You were as tight as glue with them, and you'd shared something with them that I never had a prayer of being a part of. I know that now, because Daisuke's sharing it with his new friends. There wasn't anywhere for me to fit in with you. You didn't need me to be your friend."
"Because I made a couple of new friends that meant that we had to stop being friends?" Mimi returned in exasperation. "I thought you hated me. You refused to talk to me, you wouldn't return my phone calls. When I said hello to you at school, you wouldn't even look at me."
"God," Jun shoved abruptly to her feet, "you certainly didn't make it easy. You couldn't just let it die. I could see the writing on the wall. There was no way in hell I was ever going to be able to fit in with your new group of friends. And you did everything with them after that summer. I mean Tai Kamiya, Matt Ishida, Sora Takenouchi, Koushiro Izumi, and even Joe Kido hanging out with someone like me? Yeah right. Reality check, Mimi. No one wanted to be around me back then. You were the only person who ever gave me the time of day in middle school."
"But you always acted so stuck up, like you were somehow above everyone. You were the one who wouldn't give anyone the time of day." Mimi shot back angrily as she lurched to her feet. Jun stared blankly at the girl in front of her for a moment, and then the tears started to pool in her eyes again.
"I didn't know how to talk to anyone." She heard herself confessing softly. "I always got tongue tied and then they'd start laughing or walk away. But you, you always did all the talking. And how could I possibly be stuck up when I always felt so insignificant? My parents..." She clamped down on the thought. She refused to discuss those two people with anyone, even Mimi.
"Jun, I mean this in the nicest way possible, but your parents are assholes." The brunette started as she felt an arm wrap around her shoulder. She looked up bleary eyed, to see Mimi sitting down beside her again. Why was she bothering? Didn't she have better things to do then sit here and listen to poor ugly Jun Motomiya cry about her pathetic life? Did it amuse Mimi to see her at her lowest?
"What could you possibly know about them?" Jun heard herself snap back. Mimi. She was the pampered princess who never in her life had had to go without. She was the girl who had both of her parents wrapped around her proverbial little finger. What could Mimi possibly know about what it was like to live with parents like the Motomiyas?
"Hey, I know it wasn't a lot, but I did spend a couple of nights over at your place when we were younger. It was like you and Daisuke didn't even exist. They'd just sit there and watch television all night long. And even if we got really loud, they'd just leave the room. I can remember that at the time, I thought it was cool how your parents didn't get mad or anything. But when you cut yourself making dinner, and they didn't even come when Daisuke started screaming..." Mimi shook her head. And slowly--in the ugly glow of the distant street light-- Jun turned over the hand she'd cut all those years ago, and stared at the pale scar. "You should have gotten stitches for that. I mean, you cut it clear to the bone on one side. What parent doesn't get worried over something like that? What parent wouldn't take their own daughter to the hospital for something like that?"
"They're not really our parents." Jun said quietly, as if she were telling some dirty, dark secret. In a way though, it was that exactly, a shameful secret. "They're really our Aunt and Uncle, and Daisuke's my half brother. My father was some loser without any prospects and Daisuke's is some political figure that stuck around long enough to get my mother knocked up before leaving her and the baby behind. She slept around a lot. And me and Daisuke were her mistakes. Finally, I guess she decided she'd had enough of her mistakes and she left us on her sister's doorstep. Great mom, huh? It just gives me warm fuzzies to think about it. My mother the slut. Guess I kinda take after her."
"Jun, I...I didn't know.' The brunette turned to Mimi with a perplexed frown.
"I know. I don't tell anyone this. I mean, would you? I've got dead beat parents, I live with an Aunt and Uncle who would probably rejoice in the streets if something happened to me or Daisuke. My uncle even gets drunk occasionally and takes swipes at us. I'm pretty sure they hate us both, but they'll do their family duty. And me and Daisuke? We'll be grateful for it." She gave a sarcastic laugh. "Well, at least I know I've got some people that love me."
"I agree. But I don't think we're talking about the same people, Jun. Those boys, the ones that you sleep around with? They don't love you, and they're using you."
"Yeah! So what?! What do you know about it anyway?" Jun whirled on the girl beside her. What the hell did Mimi know anyway? She was a pampered bit of fluff. She never had to doubt in any point in her life that someone loved her. Her parents thought she walked on water and she had friends all over the place. Even Matt. Matt Ishida, who couldn't even stand to be in the same room with her, loved hanging out with this strawberry blonde beside her. "They say they love me, and they hold me close to them like they mean it. To them, I'm important. When I'm with one of them, I feel like someone."
"And just how long does that last, Jun?!" Mimi snapped back. "Till they roll over and say 'it was great knowing you, have a nice life'? To them, you're just some little rag they can use and then toss away when they're done. You are better than that, Jun." The strawberry blonde opened her purse and pulled out a handkerchief as Jun watched.
"Am I? Am I really?" The brunette asked doubtfully as Mimi grabbed her chin and started methodically wiping off the streaked mascara and excessive make-up. "Cause as far as I can tell, that's the only kind of love someone like me is ever going to get. It's like my own private curse. I was the result of a one-night stand, and the only love that was shared when I was conceived was the physical kind. Maybe that's all I'm allowed to have then for myself is that kind of love. I certainly didn't get any from my mother or my father. My Aunt and my Uncle don't care what happens to me as long as I stay out of their hair."
"What about Daisuke? He loves you." Mimi added quietly, as she wiped off the last traces of make-up and tears from Jun's face.
"He's just a kid, besides, he has his new friends now. I doubt he even gives me a passing thought." The brunette returned honestly.
"From the way he hauled back and punched Matt, I doubt you're just a passing thought to him." Mimi pulled the handkerchief back as she shot Jun a lopsided grin.
"What?" Jun sat rooted to the spot, her eye wide open in shock as she looked back at Mimi's hazel eyes.
"Oops." Mimi smacked a hand over her mouth guiltily as she realized what she'd just given away.
***
"DemiVeemon? D'you know where my piece of cake went?" Daisuke asked as he searched through the picnic basket that Tai and Kari had brought with them for this picnic. They were celebrating Mimi's return from America, and she'd brought a huge cake with her to share with everyone. And now, Daisuke couldn't find his piece no matter how hard he looked.
"Sure!" DemiVeemon chirped as he waddled over the picnic basket and peaked in. "It went into my stomach."
"You ate it?!" Daisuke cried before laughing and then giving chase to his cake-stealing partner. In the background, he could hear Mimi giggling and Tai yelling as the rest of the in-training digimon seemed to follow DemiVeemon's lead. "Gotcha!" And with a single leap, Daisuke crashed to the ground with a thud as his hands caught DemiVeemon in mid-bounce.
"Say, Daisuke…"
The red haired boy blinked as he looked over to see Matt's feet standing right in front of him. Not wanting to look like some gauche kid, Daisuke immediately scrambled to his feet, letting go of DemiVeemon. He was of in awe of these older kids, the older digidestined. Not that they would ever know it from the way he acted, he couldn't help but think with a grin. Sometimes, he amazed even himself with the lengths he went to. It was one thing to have a group of kids that were your idols. It was another thing entirely if those same kids realized you idolized them. "What's up Matt? Did DemiVeemon eat your cake too?"
"No, no that's not it Daisuke." Matt shifted uncomfortably on his feet and Daisuke frowned. This wasn't like Matt at all, so patiently he kept his mouth shut for once and let Matt continue. "Listen, I want to talk to you about your sister."
"Jun? Oh yeah, sorry she keeps after you like that. I've tried talking to her, but she just doesn't get it, you know." Daisuke shrugged. Although he didn't think Matt knew that he understood exactly what it was that Jun wasn't getting. As it was though, when her heart was set on something, Jun wasn't one to give up without a fight. And for a moment, Daisuke felt a flash of sympathy for Matt.
"Well, that's kinda what I want to talk to you about," Matt hedged, looking more uncomfortable now than he had before. "How much do you know about your sister?" The blonde asked and Daisuke frowned. That was a stupid question. Jun was the only family he had. He knew everything about her.
"Lots of stuff, why?"
"Then maybe you can explain this to me, because I'm not understanding at all." Matt bit out a sigh as he ran his hand through his hair in frustration. "She came over to my place yesterday while my Dad was out, and she was, well, she was wearing these really skimpy clothes. And you know, I thought that wasn't much like her because she usually doesn't wear that sort of thing, at least, not around me. And then, after she let herself in, she kept pestering me and asking me where the bedroom was." Matt's face was flushed, and Daisuke could feel his temper rising. He didn't like where this conversation was going.
"Jun doesn't even own skimpy clothes." Daisuke said softly, wanting to hear the rest, but at the same time not wanting to hear another word.
"Daisuke, she asked me to sleep with her." Matt finally told him, an apologetic look on his face. "I did some asking around too, and I'm worried. According to a couple of the guys in my band, your sister doesn't exactly have the greatest reputation. I may not like your sister the way she wants me to, but I don't want to see anything bad happen to her either." And Daisuke saw red.
"You're lying!" The red haired boy yelled as he lunged at the older boy, fists flying. Jun just wouldn't ever do something like that. His sister may be a pain in the ass and as dense as a post sometimes, but she would never try to do the things Matt was suggesting.
"Daisuke, it's the truth!" Matt returned as he tried to grab a hold of the squirming boy's flying fists. "I'm sorry! But I figured you would know where she went. I need to at least apologize to her for the way I reacted."
"Take it back! Take it all back!" Daisuke snarled as he felt his fist connect with Matt's face. The change in Matt was abrupt, and before he knew it, Daisuke was laying on the ground again, this time with two hands over the eye Matt had managed to punch. And everyone, the new digidestined as well as the old, were gathered in a circle around the two of them.
"Matt? Daisuke? What's going on?" He heard Mimi ask incredulously. And suddenly, it was too much to take. Scrambling to his feet, Daisuke brushed past Tai and Sora at a dead run. He could hear Matt starting an explanation, and he could feel the anger rising in his chest all over again as the tears flooded his eyes. What did they know anyway?
"Daisuke! Come back!" He heard Tai holler, but even that wasn't enough to get him to turn around. Daisuke ran as fast as his legs could carry him. He wasn't going to stick around and listen to a bunch of kids badmouth his sister. He knew they weren't particularly fond of Jun, but that was no excuse to make up stories like that about her. All those digidestined who lived in their golden families with their golden friends, they just didn't understand.
Face it Dai, we're messed up in the head sometimes.
She had told him once, and as he sank down breathlessly onto the grass beside the riverbed, he guessed he finally agreed with her.***
"Mimi, I'm not sure if this is such a good idea." Jun muttered nervously as she and the strawberry blonde beside her made her way towards the group of kids sitting under one of the bigger trees in the park. "Why don't you just tell Matt that I said I'm sorry, and I'll just go home and never bug you guys again."
"Don't be silly, Jun." Mimi told her, and looking over at the other girl out of the corner of her eye. Jun couldn't help but stare, perplexed. Don't be silly?! It didn't sound particularly silly to her! Matt had already made it perfectly clear to her that he'd be delighted if he never had to set eyes on her again. And then there was just the way she was dressed at the moment, Mimi's jacket aside. These kids were golden kids. Not once in their little idealistic worlds had they ever been truly exposed to the nastier sides of life. They wouldn't understand. They couldn't. Each one of them was just simply way too naïve.
But Mimi had a vise like grip on her wrist and the strawberry blonde seemed intent on taking to the other kids whether she wanted to go or not. Giving a resigned sigh, Jun tried not to shrink completely inside herself as the group of kids turned to gape at her.
"Daisuke?!" The words flew out of her mouth as soon as she got a good look at her brother's face. Taichi Kamiya had an arm wrapped around Daisuke's neck and the red haired boy was trying to wiggle out of the hold for all he was worth. That didn't upset her as much as what her brother's face looked like though. His left eye was all but swollen shut, and she knew he'd have one hell of a shiner tomorrow. "Who hit you?" She bit out angrily as she stormed over to him and grabbed his chin, taking a good look at the eye. Yup, he was going to have one heck of a black eye.
"Matt did." He answered her sullenly. "What are you wearing?"
For a moment, Jun was torn between her anger and her shame. In the end though, her anger won out, and she stormed over to the older blonde, ignoring her brother's question. His face was slightly swollen as well around his right eye, but that didn't really seem to register in her mind. "Did you hit my brother?" She managed to bite out. Vaguely she could hear Mimi try to tell her something, but she was past hearing.
"Yes, but…"
Jun didn't give him the chance to finish. She pulled back her fist and rammed it into Ishida's stomach. "Don't you ever hit Daisuke again, you got me?! You need to hit someone smaller and younger than you, then you come to me, but don't you ever, ever hit him again, understand?" She hollered and she could feel hot angry tears streaming down her face. Matt was doubled over clutching his stomach, so she didn't expect much of a response from him. She did hear a rather loud yelp from behind her though, and swinging around, she saw Daisuke taking off at a dead run while Tai hopped up and down, clutching his shin.
"You know, your brother isn't exactly helpless, Jun." Mimi said quietly as she came up beside the brunette. "I was trying to tell you that Daisuke threw the first couple of punches. Matt was just trying to defend himself."
"Oh."
"Listen, I'm sorry I hit him, Jun." Matt wheezed slightly as Joe helped him sit down on the grass. "You're right, he's younger and he's smaller than me. I wasn't thinking." An uncomfortable silence descended then as everyone looked at everyone else nervously.
"Daisuke can be pretty hotheaded sometimes." Jun finally said, feeling distinctly out of place. "What set him off?"
"I was trying to find you to apologize for the way I reacted yesterday. I thought he knew…" Matt trailed off, as he avoided her gaze.
"Oh." She replied, not knowing what else to say. She took a quick glance around the remaining group of kids. And as she met each of their gazes, her skin turned cold. "Oh." They all knew exactly what happened yesterday, she could see it written all over their faces. And as she tugged Mimi's jacket closer around her, she couldn't help but think that this had to be the single most humiliating experience of her life.
"Listen, Jun, I'm sorry I reacted the way I did. I didn't know what to do. No one's ever asked me those type of questions before. And well, I don't know if Mimi told you or not, but you and I would never work out. And it has nothing to do with you. I'm gay." Matt tried explaining to her, and Jun could feel her eyes filling with tears all over again. She could've handled it if he'd been mean about it. That would've been a snap. She could've gotten angry in return and told herself that he was just a jerk and that he didn't understand her at all. And while she doubted that any of them truly understood anything about her, he was being nice about the whole thing. Even after she'd punched him first and asked questions later.
"I gotta go," she mumbled, almost choking on her tears as they stared streaming down her face. She tore off the jacket as if it was burning her, tossed it at Mimi, and then, turning on her heel she started walking. She didn't know exactly where she was going to walk to, but it would be as far from them as possible.
"Jun! Wait…" She heard Matt start.
"Don't worry, I'll go talk to her." She heard Mimi tell him, and her tears started falling harder. She was going to ignore the strawberry blonde, she decided. Nothing Mimi did was going to make her tell the girl a word. The jacket fell back on her shoulders, and blindly whipping her head to the side, she turned to see Mimi looking at her with sympathetic hazel eyes.
And that was all it took.
Mimi's arms went around her shoulders at about the same moment Jun's hands went around her waist. And as Mimi gently patted her back, Jun cried her heart out on the strawberry blonde's shoulder. "Why don't you stay over at my place tonight, Jun. We can talk it all out there." Mimi told her softly. The words just made her cry harder.
***
"Thought I might find you here." Daisuke's head snapped up at the sound of his sister's voice. DemiVeemon looked up curiously from the side of the riverbank as well as the brunette made her way towards them.
"You didn't come home last night." He told her, as he tossed a stone into the water.
"I was at Mimi's."
"I know." He returned. He hesitated though as she sat down beside him. Jun was wearing her usual yellow button up shirt and pink shorts today. And Daisuke was grateful. There wasn't anything about her that looked like the incredibly short skirt and the too revealing top she'd been wearing yesterday. "Was it true?" The words seemed to jump out of his mouth before he could stop them, and he felt his heart fall a little bit as his sister winced at them. "Nevermind." He added quickly.
"No, you've got a right to ask, Daisuke." Jun said softly as she picked up a rock beside him and tossed it out into the water. "It's true."
"Why?" The question sounded pitiful, even to his own ears. But he couldn't help it. He knew he and Jun didn't always get along as well as they should, and yeah, she might be just his half sister, but she'd always been there for him. Why had she done those things? And how was it that she could be sleeping around with lots of guys without his knowing about it?
"Daisuke," she dropped an arm around his neck and lightly bumped her head against his as she pulled him closer, "I'm sorry. I know what I'm doing isn't right. I know that. But everything's just all messed up inside my head, you know?"
"I'm sorry too." Daisuke blurted out. "If I'd been a better brother…"
"Stop right there." She ordered as she ruffled his hair. He glanced up at her, confused. "This is not your fault, okay. Things are just a little messed up for both of us. And I do the things I'm doing because I don't know what else to do. I'm trying to figure out who I am, and what I'm worth. Given the way our lives have gone so far, I'm having a hard time believing that I'm worth a heck of a lot." Daisuke opened his mouth to protest, but her chuckle caught him off guard. "I know, I know. Mimi's been telling me I'm wrong. But like I said, I'm messed up in the head. I've always been scrawny little insignificant Jun Motomiya. Who could possibly love me unless I gave them something first?"
"I love you, Oneechan." Daisuke blurted out, his brow furrowed. His sister was the one person other than Veemon that he trusted entirely.
"I love you, too." She added softly. "Just be patient with me, 'kay? I'll figure it out one of these days."
He stared up at her for a moment and then nodded decisively. He'd help her figure it out…once he figured it out himself, he vowed. Until then, he'd just be there for her, like she was for him.
***
Angelene, she's such a pretty thing
All dolled up in her hip-huggin' jeans
Mama's heels and her ruby red rouge
Sneakin' out while her Daddy's passed out
Hangin' out with the wrong crowd
She's got all the right moves
And she's given away little pieces of her innocence
She don't know what she's lookin' for
She just knows something's missin'
Oh, Angelene, can't you see
What you need ain't what you're getting'
Oh, Angelene, you're bein' used
Save some of that love for you, Angelene
Angelene is sure that he's the cure
He's got a kind of reckless allure
Like a fast ride on the wild side
So she turns her cheek
When he's havin' a mean streak
And if you ask her real sweet
She won't look you in the eye
And she's callin' it love, ah
But there is no resemblance
It's a drive down a dead end street
On the past of most resistance
Yeah, she's givin' away little pieces of her innocence
She don't know what she's lookin' for
She just knows something's missin'