Said She Said
by Trish


"What are you doing?"
"What are *yoooou* doing?"
-Those preppies from the Budweiser commercials, ^_^

Urk. This took a long time to get out. o_O I'm sure only two of you noticed. Well I was having creativity problems. When I first started writing this chapter, I had something waaay different planned. But I decided to just start from scratch, 'cause that other junk didn't seem to fit well with the previous chapter. So, um, yeah.

This chapter ("He Said This...") is dedicated to Danielle (Jaded Angel)!! Hi Danielle!! Hee, hee. I'd also like to give a shout out (LULZ) to Asuka, Deni, and K-chan (I'm interested in your contest!)!

So sorry minna-san for the long, long delay of this, and if you want to see the next part out soon, I can be bribed with reviews.


vii. He Said This...

"Guys are jerks."

"Yeah, I hear you on that, sister."

The setting was Mimi's bedroom (which, by the way, looked like it was single handedly keeping the Sanrio company in business). Mimi, Sora, and I were shoving spoonfuls of icecream down our throats and having a traditional guy-bashing session.

I'd gone over to the Tachikawa Mansion right after school, so I was still in my God-awful green uniform. Sora was in her tennis gear, because she had a game at five. But until then, she'd spend every moment she could with her BFF (best friend forever, duh).

"Oh man, I'm gonna have stomach pains later," Sora realized, staring disdainfully at her bucket of Chunky Monkey. After about a second or two, she shrugged and continued shoveling more of it in her mouth.

"This is all Matt's fault," I said, waving my spoon in the air for added effect. Of course I didn't believe that, but it's customary in guy-bashing sessions to not have anything positive to say about the opposing gender.

"It *is*," Sora agreed, and even though she had no clue what the hell was going on (not that anyone else did, Mimi and Matt included), she instinctively took her bestfriend's side first.

The host of our bitter-party shook her pink head, "Oh, who *cares*?" she was going through candy bars and pints of icecream at a phenomenal rate, "*I* don't care! I'm so over that tired, little Matt-saga. That was so... So five minutes ago."

"Oh yeah?" the tomboy arched an eyebrow, "Then why were you absent from school today?"

"I was sick," she insisted.

She did look sick. Before Sora and I had crammed her full of sugar, she'd been staggering around the house in her Badtz Maru PJ's (apparently the moody black penguin reflected her disposition) and a bathrobe. An entire box of tissues were stuffed in the pocket of her bathrobe (don't ask me how she was able to get it to fit) and her eyes were puffy and bloodshot.

"Mimi, if you wanna talk about..." I suggested.

"What's there to talk about?" She snapped, defensively, "Matt humiliated me in front of thousands of people," she rushed on with her rant before I could inform her that instead of 'thousands of people', there were really only six or seven, "I cried over it for a little while, and now I'm perfectly fine!" To emphasize her point, she stuck another spoonful of 'Caramel-Fudge-Almond-Whatever' in her mouth and chewed on it angrily.

"... Okay," Sora edged away, discreetly. She'd, apparently, seen Mimi when she was angry before, and it wasn't a good thing.

"But I agree with you on that guys are inhumane, evil bastards who should be vaporized by the dozen," Mimi said.

"That's not quite what I said..."

"Oh no," the so-called 'convalescent' shook her head, "Don't try to sugar coat it. Guys are scum, plain and simple. I think I'm gonna become a lesbian or something. Where do I sign up for that?"

"Oh, I dunno," I rolled my eyes. That girl could be such a drama queen, "I'll go find you a pamphlet or something."

"Mimi, you know you're only saying these things because you're sad," Sora put a comforting arm around her best friend's shoulder, "Deep down you know you love Matt and you know you're not attracted to other females in a sexual way."

Mimi glared at her, "I don't love Matt and that lesbian thing was a joke."

"Oh right!" Sora laughed, embarrassed, "I knew that."

Even though I had only known Sora for about an hour and a half, there was something very likable about her. She always looked out for other people, and it wasn't out of obligation. She *liked* comforting her friends, and she *liked* that people knew they could depend on her. She could be a worthy addition to my evil schemes... That is, if I continued them.

I was surprised that Mimi wasn't angry for what I had done. It was my fault Matt had humiliated her the other day. Oh, sure, he could have been a little nicer about the entire thing, but he'd been taken by surprise.

"Hey Mims," Sora began, "We're best friends. How come you didn't tell me anything about you and him?" the tone of her voice was clearly hurt. Hell, I knew more than she did, and I'd *just* met Mimi.

"I was embarrassed," Mimi turned the color of her hair, "I mean... Me and Matt? No way that'd ever happen. He's too serious and mature for me. He doesn't even wanna be my friend, much less my boyfriend. I just thought that if I didn't tell anyone, then it would go away."

"I know how you feel," the athletic girl smiled, sadly, "I used to have a crush on Matt too."

"Really?" Gentle, tea-colored eyes widened.

"Yeah," she laughed, "I thought what I felt was love, but then later I realized the only reason I was drawn to him was because he was so fatherly to Takeru, and I had subconsciously thought maybe he could make up for my own father's absence."

I felt sort of excluded as Mimi and Sora had this 'Oprah-worthy-revelation'. They were best friends, after all, and they had a history. They knew each other's secrets. I was just... Some girl sitting there holding a pint of slowly-melting icecream, not knowing what to say.

After they did the hugging and the crying thing they broke away and looked at me, slightly embarrased.

"Well, I'm not gonna say that I ever had a thing for Matt, so you can just forget it," I joked, trying to pretend like my feelings hadn't been hurt. But I understood that they needed some bestfriend time.

After that emotional Lifetime-esque moment, we decided we needed to get love and all that mushy stuff out of our minds. Sora and I started making fun of Mimi's room and she made rude comments about other people's clothing and social life.

"... I swear, she's the biggest ho under the sun," Mimi said with a perfectly straight face. It almost amused me how casually she could make remarks like those.

"Jesus, how much did it cost for you to decorate this room?" I asked. Aside from the dozens and dozens of stuffed animals, and stationary, and posters, she also had a Sanrio curling iron, a Sanrio vacuum (which she probably never used), a Sanrio keyboard cleaning kit, and a... Sanrio waffle maker?

"Careful with the Sanrio upholstery solution!" she warned, "I think the top is coming loose!"

Oh, God... *This* was how girls stayed virgins. They brought boy a up to their room, and he'd be too nervous to perform in front of an audience of Hello Kitty, Spotty Dottie, and Keroppi.

"Hey, what's this?" a framed newspaper scrap caught my eye. It was hidden somewhere in her bookshelf (all the books were in pristine condition and collecting dust, while the mangas were worn and torn and looked like they'd been read over a million times).

The newspaper article had a picture of a little girl wearing an adorable cowboy ensemble. "'Tachikawa Mimi wins the Miss Odaiba Talent Competition'," I read the headline.

"Oh my God!" Mimi suddenly shrieked, then ran over to grab the frame from my hands, "Don't look at that!"

Sora burst out laughing, "God, you still have that, Mimi?"

"What?" I asked, confused.

"Mimi's mom made her compete in this beauty contest-"

"*Talent competition*!" Mimi corrected, obviously wanting to be celebrated more as a talented girl, than a beautiful girl.

"Whatever," the tomboy rolled her eyes, "Anyways, Mimi won and her mom was so proud she had the newspaper clipping announcing her victory laminated and framed. She used to hang it in the living room above the fireplace and show it to everyone who came over."

"Sora, shut up!"

"Hey Mims, what was your talent?" I asked, hoping it wasn't the ability to
balance a book on her head or something equally stupid. I mean, how *sad*
would that make the other contestants if they lost to *that*?

"Singing," the pink haired girl said, proudly.

Singing?! Gah, Mimi was nice and all, but her speaking voice was not always as pleasant as she was. I couldn't fathom her belting out tunes in front of a large audience and them actually enjoying it.

"Yeah, I was surprised too," Sora said, sensing my disbelief, "But she *can* really sing."

"Aww, thanks, Sora!"

"I wish I could hear you sing," I said. If it was as good as Sora was boasting, then I was more than happy to hear it, "We should go sing karaoke one of these days."

"Nuh uh, no way," Mimi shook her head, "I haven't sung a single note in years. I'm all out of practice."

Sora was about to argue with her, when a 'beep' sounded from her watch.

"Yikes," she made a face, "I'm gonna be late for my tennis game. Sorry I gotta bail on you so quick, Mims."

"Nah, it's no problem," she waved it off, "I'm just glad that you came over today to cheer me up. And I'm glad we got to talk. It's been a while since we've had a bestfriend convo."

"I know what you mean." They shared their 'we'll be friends until we're old, old ladies' look, before Sora hefted her gym bag over one shoulder, "Let's do this again, sometime. The three of us. It was cool meeting you, Jun!" After picking up her jean jacket from the floor of Mimi's pink carpeted room, she bounded out the door, still yelling goodbyes over her shoulder.

We sat there for two full minutes before Mimi said anything.

"You want something to eat?"

I looked down at my now-melted chocolate icecream. Just looking at it was making my stomach churn in disgust, "No... I'm okay. I'm kinda thirsty, though."

"How about a chocolate shake!" Mimi suggested, her disposition brightening, "I'm really good at making deserts and stuff. I started learning in America last year."

"Mimi, I don't think I'll have anything remotely chocolate for at least another month," I said, flopping down on my back, "How about just a water?"

"Water? Okay, I'll be right back!" Mimi bounced off of her bed and out of the room and down the stairs to wherever her kitchen happened to be in that gigantic house.

Mimi's good at singing, huh? Matt can sing. I should hope so, at least. He's the lead singer of his band. That would be cute if they sang a duet... Gah, where did *that* thought come from? But, c'mon. It *would* be cute. The stage lights would be shining on them and they would be looking into each other's eyes as melodies of love came out of their mouths (and most importantly, their hearts)...

... Was this the beginning of a plan?

"Okay, okay, here's your water!" Mimi entered the room again with a tall glass of water, dressed with a lemon slice on the mouth rim and an umbrella.

"Wow... You really went all out, huh?" I commented.

She shrugged her shoulders, "I like being a host."

Since I was an oh-so smart highschool senior and Mimi was a Freshman, she asked me if I could help her with her Algebra. Algebra. God, do you know how much I *hate* Algebra? If there were ever a more disgusting subject, I for one haven't encountered it. I guess Geometry's pretty bad... All those proofs. Yuck...

I am awful at Math, but I was too proud to admit that to her. I might have understood it three years ago, but that was then and this is now.

"So tell me about trinomials," Mimi requested.

Oh God... I was stuck... "Why don't you tell me what you know about them first?" How long was I gonna try to avoid the subject and how long was it gonna work?

"Nothing. Absolutely nothing!" she groaned in despair and pushed her Algebra binder off her bed. Papers scattered everywhere.

Paper...

A memory triggered in my head. Paper. Letters. Matt's letter to Mimi. Oh right! I had forgotten about that. The letter was the reason for all this. It was the reason Mimi had lost her sparkle and Matt had gone anti-smiling. It was the reason I spent so much time focusing on the love lives of two fourteen year olds and the reason why Sora was going to get a stomach ache from playing tennis after eating two pints of ice cream.

The letter.

Apparently Matt had written her this long, mushy, emotional letter, and she hadn't responded positively. Scratch that, she hadn't responded at all. She didn't meet him where he asked, she didn't call to tell him she couldn't show up, and she didn't write him a letter telling him he didn't feel the same way.

It was a cruel thing to do, to leave him hanging, and I didn't believe for a second that that was what sunshine-y Mimi Tachikawa had done. No, she was too nice for that. Too sweet. She cared a lot about other people's feelings. And besides, she'd been pretty hot on him too.

So what the hell happened? How could the perfect opportunity to fall in love have gotten so messed up?

"Hey Mimi?"

She looked up from the pillow she had buried her face into, "Hmm?"

"I've got a question."

"Well I've got an answer. Let's see if they match up."

I gave her a weird look, "What?"

She shrugged her still-pajama-clad shoulders, "I dunno. Don't ask. I got that from a movie."

"Right. Anyways," I continued, "I got this love letter from this guy, and I totally don't feel the same way about him. He's asking me to meet him somewhere. You think I should go, or should I call him and tell him that this is unrequited?"

"You got a love letter!" she squealed in excitement, "Ooh, let me see!"

Mimi could be a huge airhead, but there's no way she could have missed how familiar this scenario sounded... Unless it wasn't familiar, because she had never known it had happened.

"Um... I don't have it with me. I left it in my locker," I lied.

"Oh..." her face looked crestfallen, "Well... Um... I think you should definitely meet the guy wherever he asked you. Even if you are just going to let him down, it shows him you care about him platonically if you at least make the effort to go all the way there."

"Is that what you would do?" I asked, studying her expression carefully.

"Of course!"

I knew she wasn't lying. I'd only known her for a little while, but I was sure of it. She didn't seem to be the type that lied.

"Do you love Matt?" I asked suddenly.

She looked shocked. How could we have gotten from my love letter to her feelings about the perma-depressed one?

"Jun I don't see what-"

"Do you love him?" I interrupted.

Silence. She looked confused. She didn't know why I was asking her. Maybe she didn't know what to say. She just stared at me for a long moment before finally nodding her head, "Yes I do."

And like before, I knew she was telling the truth.

"Well don't ask me to tell you how I know, but he loves you too. Just... Don't give up on him, okay? And take every opportunity you can to be with him."

"Jun..." She said my name, her eyes filled with question.

"Trust me?" I pleaded.

She nodded, and I smiled. I knew everything was going to be okay.


NOTES:
*Um... That was not an ending. I just didn't know what else to include. So I just cut it off right there. I messed up the title of this chapter/the series. Originally Jun was gonna tell Mimi all these lies about how Matt was dying without her love, blah, blah. But I couldn't swing it. o_O Next chapter, I'll try to make right with the "she said" part. Or not. I don't know.
*The 'biggest ho under the sun' is a quote from my childhood bestfriend, Teri. Oh, how I miss her vulgarity. ^^
*I dunno if they sell a Sanrio vacuum or upholstery solution, but they DO sell a Hello Kitty waffle maker. I bought one for a friend, and they make the cutest little waffles ever.
*Hello Kitty, Spotty Dottie, Badtz Maru, and Keroppi are all characters from Sanrio.
*I'm pretty sure the 'question/answer' thing is from James Bond.
*Chunky Monkey is TM Ben & Jerry's. Holla!