The Start of Something More: A Philip and Mimi Story
Philip and Mimi are the main characters in this story. Other characters may have lesser parts.
Disclaimer: The characters in this story are the property of Days of our lives and Ken Corday. I am not making money off this story. It is just for fun.
Note: Some characters are my own creations. In addition, I started writing this story before the outcome of the island story was shown on TV. Hence, my take on the island story has significant differences that will be explored throughout.
Rating: I'm not much for ratings, but I suppose it's about PG13 to R. There's very little language, some violence, some adventure, but mostly friendship and romance. Let me know what you think. I love getting feedback!
Now, onto the story.
The Start of Something More
Chapter 1: Mimi
.
Mimi Lockhart walked out of the school feeling worn out. She had just survived another day of cleaning the locker rooms and now all she wanted to do was go home and get some rest. She pulled her jacket closer around her as she felt a slight chill in the air. Already, Salem was starting to see the first signs of fall. The cool breezes from the waterfront could be felt throughout the town. Mimi was used to it though, having lived in Salem all her life, which wasn't too long since she was still just a teenager in her senior year at Salem High School. And right now, all she wanted to do was get away from that school and the noisy messy locker rooms she had to clean every day. All because one of the dumbest mistakes she had ever made.
Mimi knew she probably had no right to feel sorry for herself. She had done something horrible and now she was paying the price for it. She still wondered why she had agreed to go along with Jan's plan to expose Chloe Lane on the Internet and at The Last Blast Dance. Actually, she partly knew why she did it. She was jealous. Chloe had come to town and started out as an outcast, but then she had turned into practically the Queen of Salem High. She became best friends with Belle and Shawn and the King of Salem High, Philip Kiriakis, fell in love with her. It had hurt Mimi so much to feel like she was losing her best friends. She wanted to hurt Chloe, but she never thought of the repercussions. Now she was dealing with them and slowly learning to move ahead.
Mimi looked up at the sky as the night began to approach. Yes, fall was definitely coming and with it longer nights and shorter days. No more long hot days of summer. She thought of the past summer and how crazy it had been, at times wonderful and at other times dreadful. She had joined Belle, Shawn, Philip, Jason and Jan on a summer ecology trip to a distant island. She thought it would be uneventful, but it had turned out to be the complete opposite. Shawn had been looking for his grandmother's lost ruby and this had led Philip, Shawn and Belle on a dangerous adventure against a scary adversary. Fortunately, they were found and rescued by Brady Black, Victor Kiriakis, Nicole Walker, Chloe Lane and even Mimi herself. They had all joined to find their loved ones and friends. Mimi and Chloe even learned to put their differences behind them and had reached a slightly shaky truce. And even though Shawn, Belle, and Philip had not escaped their adventures unscathed they were now safe and sound living their normal lives again and Mrs. Horton, Shawn's grandmother, had her beloved ruby back. Paul Walker, the scary adversary, was believed to be dead though his body was never found.
Mimi shivered and put away that scary thought in the far recesses of her mind. There were happier thoughts, like Kevin, or maybe not. Mimi and Kevin had started a hot love affair; no, they hadn't slept together, but they had come close, very close, but once they had come back to Salem, things had changed. They had gone out on a couple of awkward dates that never seemed to feel quite right. Not only that, but just today Kevin had told Mimi that they should just be friends, that they had so little in common. Later Mimi saw Kevin asking Susan out on a date. So much for her hot summer love affair. At least she was good friends with Shawn and Belle again as well as Philip.
Philip. Mimi thought of how much he had changed on the island. After what Mimi had done to Chloe she had thought there was no way Philip would ever want to be friends with her, but he had forgiven her and she had actually started to feel a little...dare she say...closer to him. She still remembered the tenderness he held her with the day she had thought Shawn had died (which was actually just a silly joke on Shawn's part). Philip had been so kind to her and at first she thought she had only imagined the gentle touch of his lips against her forehead. She had felt so warm, safe and...
Whoa! Where were all these feelings coming from? He had probably just felt sorry for her. Well, it didn't matter because the Mimi of old was gone. She had changed on that island also and she was done having others thinking "Poor Mimi." She was starting a new life, though right now all she cared about was getting home.
The wind moaned as the darkness continued to creep up on her. Mimi jumped as she heard a sound in the trees.
"Who's there?" she asked nervously. A shadowed image came out into view.
"Philip!" she exclaimed. "You scared me half to death!"
The Start of Something More: Chapter 2
Chapter 2: Philip
Philip Kiriakis stepped out the front doors of Salem High School and immediately felt the cool air. He zipped up his jacket and started his walk home. One word to describe him right now was: exhausted. He had just finished a long, seemingly endless afternoon of football practice and he was now feeling the effects from it. Actually, this was an entirely new feeling for him since usually he came from his practices feeling somewhat tired, but at the same time energized. Certain circumstances though had kept him from football practice for a while.
Certain circumstances. Right. Practically everyone in Salem knew those circumstances now, including most of Salem High. It all had to do with his best friend Shawn and his grandmother's lost ruby. It had led Shawn, Belle and himself on a wild escapade being chased by a true villain, in every sense of the word, and being left for dead. Philip, Shawn and Belle had been left in a cavernous pit fending for their lives against snakes, tarantulas and rising water. When the three friends finally found a way out they were faced by the rising tides of the ocean and treacherous rocks. Swimming for their lives, hoping to find land and safety, they struggled to survive. Before Philip knew what was happening he found himself separated from his friends. He fought against the tides for as long as he could trying to avoid the rocks and somehow made it to the shore and soon blacked out. When he came to, he was on a deserted island too weak to move. He remembered tiny bits of being on the island, but the next time he truly awoke, he was lying in a hospital bed with Chloe at his side.
Chloe Lane. She was the love of his life. Or was she? Philip had thought he and Chloe would be together forever, but once again circumstances had changed things. Philip now sometimes truly wondered how well he knew Chloe and if he had mistaken his feelings. She had always been a mystery to him and at first, it had been exciting to try to figure out the mystery, but lately Philip had felt it had all become too hard to figure out. Most importantly, he wasn't even sure he wanted to figure it out anymore. To complicate matters there was Brady Black.
Brady Black was Philip's nephew, though he was older than he was. He and Chloe had seemed to click from the moment they met each other. Philip became jealous, though he tried to keep that jealousy inside because he knew how much it bothered Chloe. Unfortunately The Last Blast Dance came and Philip royally screwed up. Believing in a cruel plan set up by Jan Spears and Mimi Lockhart, Philip lashed out at Chloe and inadvertently set up the beginning of her friendship with Brady.
Philip hoped for reconciliation with Chloe while on the island trip and found it hard not to think about her. It wasn't until Philip nearly lost his life that he really started to look hard at the relationship and understand the flaws in it.
An autumn gust of wind pulled at his jacket and he zipped it even further as he thought about that day that he had woken up in the hospital. He had been surprised to see Chloe there with tears in her eyes, relieved that he was finally awake and was going to be all right. He was even more surprised to find out that Brady was the one that found him. He rejoiced in the news that Shawn and Belle had been found and that they were recovering from their ordeal nicely. Chloe had told him all of this and then stayed with him for a while, but Philip knew that things would most likely never be the same for them again. He could tell that she and Brady had grown even closer still on the island. He knew now that there was no denying it. There was something between them.
When Philip had been released from the hospital, he and Chloe had talked. She wanted them to be friends for now, but she wasn't sure if they could ever be more again. Philip knew the reason. Even after everything that had happened she still never told him she loved him. He wondered how long if would be until he would hear the news that Brady and Chloe were dating. He didn't think it would take too long.
Enough of these rambling musings he thought as he looked up at the sky darkening little by little as each minute passed by. He was starting his life anew. He was alive and grateful for it. It was the beginning of his senior year of high school and he was going to make the most of it. He had already started out by taking his schoolwork seriously and looking at various colleges that he hoped to attend. He was working hard to get back into shape after the time he had spent recovering from his island injuries. He had fantastic friends that he had started spending more time with, though he tried to give Shawn and Belle their space since they were now a hot couple. He made his peace with Brady and they could now at least tolerate each other. As for Chloe, they weren't as close as they used to be, but he hoped that one day...
That was something he didn't want to think about now. The past was the past and the future would just have to wait. One thing he had decided was that he wasn't going to blame others for his mistakes and he wasn't going to dwell on his own either. He would learn from them and then move on. He thought of another one of his friends that was also learning from her own mistakes: Mimi.
Philip thought of Mimi with fondness. If anyone had told him that he would get closer to Mimi on the island, he would have said that the person was crazy, but that was exactly what had happened. At first he had been angry with her for what she had done to Chloe, but she had let him have it by informing him that he had done worse to Chloe by believing the Internet lie. Later she apologized to him, but Philip had taken her words to heart and had been surprised that she had stood up to him. When he had been in the hospital, she had come into his room crying, glad that he was safe, and he had comforted her. Actually, holding her in his arms felt good and he had been surprised at the feelings he had felt beginning to well up inside him. Of course she was pretty and funny and outspoken and...
Okay! He had no idea where all that had come from. They were just friends, right? Old friends.
Philip heard a sound and wondered where it came from. He couldn't see that clearly because the sky was getting darker. Then he heard someone ask, "Who's there?" He came out from the trees shocked by who he saw.
"Philip!" Mimi exclaimed. "You scared me half to death!"
"Mimi?" Philip asked.
Chapter 3: Deal?
Mimi stared at Philip in bewilderment. "What do you think you're doing sneaking up on me like that?!" She stood there with her hands on her hips waiting for an answer.
Philip just stared at her and slowly responded. "I wasn't trying to sneak-" But he was swiftly cut off.
"I know, I know...whatever you can do to scare Poor Little Mimi, right? Well this is just not funny, Philip and if you think you can come out and scare me and get away with it, well you-you can just forget it!"
"Hey, cut it out!" Philip responded when Mimi started poking him in the chest with her finger, obviously trying to make her point, whatever that was. Philip was tired, but now he was becoming downright irritable. He moved back, crossing his arms in front of himself, annoyed.
"Well, what do you have to say for yourself?"
"Nothing."
"What do you mean nothing?"
"I'm waiting till you're finished", Philip said sounding utterly calm. Actually, he was ready to start laughing any minute. And before he knew it, he was. He was laughing so hard that he was shaking and his eyes were starting to fill with tears.
Mimi looked at him with indignation. "What are you laughing at?!"
"You!" Philip was trying desperately to get the words out, but he was having a hard time because he couldn't stop laughing. "You-you-should see yourself and-and-how you look right now, standing there with your-your- hands on your waist and that-that-big frown, your eyes all big..." Philip finally stopped laughing. He looked at Mimi quizzically. "Oh yeah, and with your nose all scrunched up, you look so...so...adorable." Wait a minute; did he just say that she looked adorable? Nah, he didn't say that...did he?
Mimi forgot all about her anger and became flustered. "Adorable, you think I'm adorable?" she asked tentatively.
"No, I didn't say that...I...I just meant that you look...you look funny." From the look on her face, that remark did not make her happy. Philip wasn't sure if he should apologize or start yelling at her in frustration. The irritableness that he was feeling was getting worse and he was having a hard time trying to figure out how this conversation or maybe he should say argument, even got started.
"Boy Phil, aren't you the charmer? You just know all the right things to say to the girls." Mimi replied in a voice dripping with sarcasm. "But you still haven't told me what you're doing here."
"I was waiting for you to give me a chance to."
"You're the one that snuck up on me."
"Oh, let's not start all that again."
"Well...!"
"Well, what?"
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?"
"WALKING HOME FROM FOOTBALL PRACTICE!"
His answer caught Mimi totally by surprise. "Oh. Well, don't you have a chauffer (you know the one who takes you to the school dances) to pick you up from places and drive you around?"
"He's not my chauffer. He my dad's and I can't just order him around to take me anywhere. Besides, I need the exercise after the island and everything..."
"It's not like you're out of shape." Mimi said noticing that he looked a little tired, but other than that, his usual self.
"Actually I am. I've been away from football practice for weeks because of...well you know...the island. Anyways, I wasn't trying to sneak up on you. I was just walking home, it was kind of dark, I heard a voice, it was yours, and I was really surprised to see you. I know Shawn and I like to tease you and Belle sometimes, but I wouldn't sneak up on you in the dark. I wouldn't scare you like that Meems", Philip said in all seriousness, looking down at her.
"Hey what about that 'creature from the black lagoon thing'?" Philip started to protest, but Mimi cut him off with a wave of her hand and a twinkle in her eye. "It's okay Phil, I was just kidding. Look I'm sorry for jumping all over you. I just got scared...but I'm glad it was you." And she was glad. When she heard the noise, she had been afraid that someone was following her, but now it was such a relief to know that it was just one of her friends. One she had been thinking about a lot lately. Okay, she mused, let's just keep that thought to yourself.
"You mean instead of the creature from the black lagoon?" Philip laughed softly unable to resist. He liked to joke with Mimi because she could take his jokes and throw her own back at him.
"Ha, ha. Very funny", Mimi said, but she laughed too and smiled up at Philip.
He smiled back at her, but the smile faded with Philip's next words. "Now I have a question for you. What are YOU doing out here all by yourself Mimi when it's practically dark?"
"What do you think Philip? I'm walking home from school too."
"This late?" Philip asked, shocked.
"Remember Philip my 'carefree high school days are over'?" To Philip's blank response, Mimi answered "The locker rooms, Philip. I was cleaning out the locker rooms. Fun. Fun. Fun. I know, I have no right to complain and believe me, I'm very thankful right now for not being in prison. Anyway, you asked and there's your answer."
Philip gave her a half smile. "Look, you made a mistake and now you're dealing with it. That's what matters. Still Meems, you shouldn't be out here by yourself...Hey, where's Jan? Isn't she supposed to be helping you clean too?"
"Well, Jan stays late on Mondays and Wednesdays and I have to stay late on Tuesdays and Thursdays. We both have to stay late on Fridays, so much for TGIF, huh, and then we walk home together as painful as that is. Let's just say I either have to listen to Jan complain or we don't talk at all."
"Ooh. Ouch! Not very pleasant, huh? Listen. I have an idea. Since you have to work late on Tuesdays and Thursdays and I have to stay late because of football practice, why don't we just walk together?"
"Philip, my house is practically in another direction. Are you sure? Though, I wouldn't mind the company and I'm not crazy about walking home in the dark. But if it's too much of a bother..."
"Don't worry about it Mimi. Like I said, I need the exercise and it is only two days a week. Besides, I'll feel better knowing you're safe."
"Oooooh! You going to protect me Phil?"
"You better believe it, Baby!" And with that both of them started laughing and smiled at each other.
Philip held out his hand to shake it with Mimi's. "Deal?"
Mimi stared at him for a minute and then brought out her own hand, feeling him take it in his. "Deal."
The Start of Something More: Chapter 4
Chapter 4: Take My Hand
The sun was shining on a bright day. It was the start of summer and Mimi was in high spirits. She was enjoying a fun filled day at Salem Park with her three best friends: Shawn, Belle and Philip. They had come over to her house earlier in the morning and the four of them practically skipped all the way to the park.
Once they got there, they played Frisbee, tag, climbed on the jungle gym and pushed each other on the tire swing, laughing endlessly as it spun around and around making them dizzier and dizzier. Before they finally sat down for some afternoon snacks, they played train, going down the slide, one right after the other, waiting at the bottom for the train to build until finally they fell down onto the ground in a heap of squeals.
This was the best, Mimi thought. She loved spending summers at the park. Philip and Belle usually ended up going on long family vacations, frequently just leaving Shawn and herself in Salem, but they hadn't left with their respective families yet. Mimi was happy that she still had a couple of more weeks left with them.
First grade was fun, but second grade was going to even be better. For now, though, school was the last thing on her mind. Summer was here and it was time to have fun, fun, fun.
Mimi was sitting down on a swing next to Philip. Shawn was up to his usual teasing self and had chased Belle away with a rubber spider. He chased her all the way to the other side of the park, leaving a laughing Philip and frowning Mimi. Boys! Mimi thought before she saw a dangling spider right in her face. She nearly screeched, but took one look at Philip's smirking face and batted the dumb rubber thing away. "You boys can be so dumb!"
"You boys can be so dumb!" Philip said in his best high-pitched voice. Mimi stuck out her tongue at Philip's mocking. He stuck his own tongue out at her in return and started to bump his swing against hers. He continued to hit her swing and Mimi started to hit him back with her own. Before Mimi knew it, they were playing a full-fledged game of bumper swings, giggling and laughing.
After some more goofing off, she looked over at him, noticing how even after a day at the park, Philip managed to stay clean and mostly neat in appearance, wearing casual, but designer clothing. Both he and Belle were similar in that way. Meanwhile, Mimi and Shawn were the ones who usually had a smudge somewhere and their clothes were not bad at all, but not designer clothes either.
Mimi nearly jumped from the swing as she felt it start to turn around and around, the chains winding together repeatedly. She should have known Philip was up to something when he had looked at her, given her a sly grin, jumped off his swing and started to twist hers. Now he had wound it tight and given her a playful look before he let it go. Mimi felt herself turn faster and faster, the swing jumping as the chains came undone. Philip watched her, laughing his head off.
"Wow, you looked so goofy, your pony tails in your hair swinging everywhere and boy, were you ever scared!" Ha, ha ha! Philip continued to laugh.
"Was not!"
"Was too!"
"Ooooohh, you're going to get it Philip Kiriakis!" Mimi got off the swing and started to run, but Philip was faster than she was and was halfway to the other side of the park when Mimi tripped and fell down hard on the cement. She looked down at her knee and saw that she had skinned it and tried to be brave. It hurt so much. But no way was she going to let dumb old Philip see her cry. A sob came out and she tried hard to stop it when she sensed someone near her. Then she heard a voice. Just minutes ago that voice with its teasing had made her so angry. Now it sounded a little sad and pleading.
"Don't cry Meems. It'll be OK. We'll put a Band-Aid on it and make it feel better." Mimi kept holding her knee close to her body and even though she was still mad at Philip, since it was all his fault she was hurt, she was glad that he was there with her. It was better than being all alone. Through her pain, she only heard half of what he was saying as he continued to talk trying to make her feel better.
"...okay, Meems? We can even go over to the ice cream stand and get some ice cream. All right, Meems?"
Mimi looked at the hand being offered to help her up. With a choked sob, Mimi took it, finally looking up at a solemn faced Philip.
***
Mimi looked up at Philip feeling his hand shaking hers as she wondered about the vivid childhood memory that had just crept into her mind. They had been friends for as long as she could remember, but she had never thought about what their friendship meant until recently. Maybe it was because of the closeness they had shared on the island or maybe it had to do with the fact that for one horrible night Mimi had thought she might lose her childhood friend forever. She didn't know why. All she knew was that things had changed between them and that had made her think more about many things.
Philip ended the handshake and looked at Mimi wonderingly. She seemed to be a thousand miles away. He thought about a little girl who he had fun playing with and teasing. A little girl often with a slight smudge on her face from days spent at the park. A little girl with two pony tails who at times could make him feel aggravated and at other times make him laugh so hard that he nearly fell over. A girl that...
Philip was once again amazed at where his thoughts were taking him tonight. He was just going to walk her home so why was he thinking about Mimi when she was a child. He had never spent this much time thinking about her. He started to walk, aware of her falling into step beside him.
"So Phil how was football practice?" Mimi asked him starting up a conversation for the walk home.
Philip smiled ironically remembering the long practice that had tired him out. It hadn't been any different from any other practice. It was just that with the time he had spent away from football he felt out of it. "It was okay, I guess. It was my first time back since...everything that happened on the island. Usually my first day of practice feels so great, but this time I felt, I don't know, so out of it. Even Shawn was playing better than me and we know that never happens-"
"That's what I love about you Philip, your modesty." She shot him a wry grin.
Philip chuckled. "Yeah well, I know how it sounds, but...I just...I want to play the way that I did last year. At this rate, I don't know if I'll even be scoring any touchdowns. What if the coach decides to give me a lesser position on the team? I guess, I'm just kind of worried Meems."
"You're just tired Philip. You went through a lot on the island and you're still healing. Give it time." Mimi tried her best to comfort her friend. She could hear the frustration in his voice and words. "It's going to take time and before you know it, you'll be scoring all those touchdowns and I can get on your case about being a big show-off. Besides, you can focus on other things too. Football isn't everything."
"I know that. In fact, this year I decided to take my schoolwork a lot more seriously and I've been doing pretty good with that so far. Oh, and thanks for the things you said Meems."
"Sure. Though none of it really helped, did it?" Mimi gave Philip a sidelong glance as they walked.
"No, it did Mimi. Thanks." Philip gave Mimi a small smile. "Anyway, how was your afternoon?"
"Don't ask."
"Oh, no. You're not getting away from the question that easily. I told you about football. Now you tell me about cleaning out the locker rooms."
"Why do you even want to know about it?"
"I just do. Now tell me about it." Philip answered in a voice that left little room for argument.
Mimi sighed. "Well, the good part was that it wasn't Friday. Friday's the worst, because, like I said, Jan and I have to spend a lot of time together. Sometimes I'd rather just do it all on my own. I hate the work, but it's better than being in a cell and I know I have to pay the price for what I did...Look, it's not that bad. And I know it could be a lot worse. It's just tiring and messy, but at least it's not as messy when Jan's not there." Mimi laughed feeling it was the only thing she could do. She had to laugh because then she didn't feel as bad about everything she was missing out on...
"You know that's one thing that I've always liked about you Mimi. How you can laugh at things. Even when it means laughing at your own expense. It's a good trait to have." Philip gave Mimi an encouraging smile.
"Why?"
"Because it makes you strong."
"Yeah, right." Mimi answered in a completely sarcastic tone.
"You are strong Meems. I wish you could just see it and stop listening to all the dumb things Jan says."
"I don't listen to anything Jan says anymore."
"Good." Philip smiled at his friend again and then both of them lapsed into silence. Only, it didn't feel uncomfortable or awkward. Secretly even, both felt themselves looking forward to Thursday afternoon.
Philip and Mimi are the main characters in this story. Other characters may have lesser parts.
Disclaimer: The characters in this story are the property of Days of our lives and Ken Corday. I am not making money off this story. It is just for fun.
Note: Some characters are my own creations. In addition, I started writing this story before the outcome of the island story was shown on TV. Hence, my take on the island story has significant differences that will be explored throughout.
Rating: I'm not much for ratings, but I suppose it's about PG13 to R. There's very little language, some violence, some adventure, but mostly friendship and romance. Let me know what you think. I love getting feedback!
Now, onto the story.
The Start of Something More
Chapter 1: Mimi
.
Mimi Lockhart walked out of the school feeling worn out. She had just survived another day of cleaning the locker rooms and now all she wanted to do was go home and get some rest. She pulled her jacket closer around her as she felt a slight chill in the air. Already, Salem was starting to see the first signs of fall. The cool breezes from the waterfront could be felt throughout the town. Mimi was used to it though, having lived in Salem all her life, which wasn't too long since she was still just a teenager in her senior year at Salem High School. And right now, all she wanted to do was get away from that school and the noisy messy locker rooms she had to clean every day. All because one of the dumbest mistakes she had ever made.
Mimi knew she probably had no right to feel sorry for herself. She had done something horrible and now she was paying the price for it. She still wondered why she had agreed to go along with Jan's plan to expose Chloe Lane on the Internet and at The Last Blast Dance. Actually, she partly knew why she did it. She was jealous. Chloe had come to town and started out as an outcast, but then she had turned into practically the Queen of Salem High. She became best friends with Belle and Shawn and the King of Salem High, Philip Kiriakis, fell in love with her. It had hurt Mimi so much to feel like she was losing her best friends. She wanted to hurt Chloe, but she never thought of the repercussions. Now she was dealing with them and slowly learning to move ahead.
Mimi looked up at the sky as the night began to approach. Yes, fall was definitely coming and with it longer nights and shorter days. No more long hot days of summer. She thought of the past summer and how crazy it had been, at times wonderful and at other times dreadful. She had joined Belle, Shawn, Philip, Jason and Jan on a summer ecology trip to a distant island. She thought it would be uneventful, but it had turned out to be the complete opposite. Shawn had been looking for his grandmother's lost ruby and this had led Philip, Shawn and Belle on a dangerous adventure against a scary adversary. Fortunately, they were found and rescued by Brady Black, Victor Kiriakis, Nicole Walker, Chloe Lane and even Mimi herself. They had all joined to find their loved ones and friends. Mimi and Chloe even learned to put their differences behind them and had reached a slightly shaky truce. And even though Shawn, Belle, and Philip had not escaped their adventures unscathed they were now safe and sound living their normal lives again and Mrs. Horton, Shawn's grandmother, had her beloved ruby back. Paul Walker, the scary adversary, was believed to be dead though his body was never found.
Mimi shivered and put away that scary thought in the far recesses of her mind. There were happier thoughts, like Kevin, or maybe not. Mimi and Kevin had started a hot love affair; no, they hadn't slept together, but they had come close, very close, but once they had come back to Salem, things had changed. They had gone out on a couple of awkward dates that never seemed to feel quite right. Not only that, but just today Kevin had told Mimi that they should just be friends, that they had so little in common. Later Mimi saw Kevin asking Susan out on a date. So much for her hot summer love affair. At least she was good friends with Shawn and Belle again as well as Philip.
Philip. Mimi thought of how much he had changed on the island. After what Mimi had done to Chloe she had thought there was no way Philip would ever want to be friends with her, but he had forgiven her and she had actually started to feel a little...dare she say...closer to him. She still remembered the tenderness he held her with the day she had thought Shawn had died (which was actually just a silly joke on Shawn's part). Philip had been so kind to her and at first she thought she had only imagined the gentle touch of his lips against her forehead. She had felt so warm, safe and...
Whoa! Where were all these feelings coming from? He had probably just felt sorry for her. Well, it didn't matter because the Mimi of old was gone. She had changed on that island also and she was done having others thinking "Poor Mimi." She was starting a new life, though right now all she cared about was getting home.
The wind moaned as the darkness continued to creep up on her. Mimi jumped as she heard a sound in the trees.
"Who's there?" she asked nervously. A shadowed image came out into view.
"Philip!" she exclaimed. "You scared me half to death!"
The Start of Something More: Chapter 2
Chapter 2: Philip
Philip Kiriakis stepped out the front doors of Salem High School and immediately felt the cool air. He zipped up his jacket and started his walk home. One word to describe him right now was: exhausted. He had just finished a long, seemingly endless afternoon of football practice and he was now feeling the effects from it. Actually, this was an entirely new feeling for him since usually he came from his practices feeling somewhat tired, but at the same time energized. Certain circumstances though had kept him from football practice for a while.
Certain circumstances. Right. Practically everyone in Salem knew those circumstances now, including most of Salem High. It all had to do with his best friend Shawn and his grandmother's lost ruby. It had led Shawn, Belle and himself on a wild escapade being chased by a true villain, in every sense of the word, and being left for dead. Philip, Shawn and Belle had been left in a cavernous pit fending for their lives against snakes, tarantulas and rising water. When the three friends finally found a way out they were faced by the rising tides of the ocean and treacherous rocks. Swimming for their lives, hoping to find land and safety, they struggled to survive. Before Philip knew what was happening he found himself separated from his friends. He fought against the tides for as long as he could trying to avoid the rocks and somehow made it to the shore and soon blacked out. When he came to, he was on a deserted island too weak to move. He remembered tiny bits of being on the island, but the next time he truly awoke, he was lying in a hospital bed with Chloe at his side.
Chloe Lane. She was the love of his life. Or was she? Philip had thought he and Chloe would be together forever, but once again circumstances had changed things. Philip now sometimes truly wondered how well he knew Chloe and if he had mistaken his feelings. She had always been a mystery to him and at first, it had been exciting to try to figure out the mystery, but lately Philip had felt it had all become too hard to figure out. Most importantly, he wasn't even sure he wanted to figure it out anymore. To complicate matters there was Brady Black.
Brady Black was Philip's nephew, though he was older than he was. He and Chloe had seemed to click from the moment they met each other. Philip became jealous, though he tried to keep that jealousy inside because he knew how much it bothered Chloe. Unfortunately The Last Blast Dance came and Philip royally screwed up. Believing in a cruel plan set up by Jan Spears and Mimi Lockhart, Philip lashed out at Chloe and inadvertently set up the beginning of her friendship with Brady.
Philip hoped for reconciliation with Chloe while on the island trip and found it hard not to think about her. It wasn't until Philip nearly lost his life that he really started to look hard at the relationship and understand the flaws in it.
An autumn gust of wind pulled at his jacket and he zipped it even further as he thought about that day that he had woken up in the hospital. He had been surprised to see Chloe there with tears in her eyes, relieved that he was finally awake and was going to be all right. He was even more surprised to find out that Brady was the one that found him. He rejoiced in the news that Shawn and Belle had been found and that they were recovering from their ordeal nicely. Chloe had told him all of this and then stayed with him for a while, but Philip knew that things would most likely never be the same for them again. He could tell that she and Brady had grown even closer still on the island. He knew now that there was no denying it. There was something between them.
When Philip had been released from the hospital, he and Chloe had talked. She wanted them to be friends for now, but she wasn't sure if they could ever be more again. Philip knew the reason. Even after everything that had happened she still never told him she loved him. He wondered how long if would be until he would hear the news that Brady and Chloe were dating. He didn't think it would take too long.
Enough of these rambling musings he thought as he looked up at the sky darkening little by little as each minute passed by. He was starting his life anew. He was alive and grateful for it. It was the beginning of his senior year of high school and he was going to make the most of it. He had already started out by taking his schoolwork seriously and looking at various colleges that he hoped to attend. He was working hard to get back into shape after the time he had spent recovering from his island injuries. He had fantastic friends that he had started spending more time with, though he tried to give Shawn and Belle their space since they were now a hot couple. He made his peace with Brady and they could now at least tolerate each other. As for Chloe, they weren't as close as they used to be, but he hoped that one day...
That was something he didn't want to think about now. The past was the past and the future would just have to wait. One thing he had decided was that he wasn't going to blame others for his mistakes and he wasn't going to dwell on his own either. He would learn from them and then move on. He thought of another one of his friends that was also learning from her own mistakes: Mimi.
Philip thought of Mimi with fondness. If anyone had told him that he would get closer to Mimi on the island, he would have said that the person was crazy, but that was exactly what had happened. At first he had been angry with her for what she had done to Chloe, but she had let him have it by informing him that he had done worse to Chloe by believing the Internet lie. Later she apologized to him, but Philip had taken her words to heart and had been surprised that she had stood up to him. When he had been in the hospital, she had come into his room crying, glad that he was safe, and he had comforted her. Actually, holding her in his arms felt good and he had been surprised at the feelings he had felt beginning to well up inside him. Of course she was pretty and funny and outspoken and...
Okay! He had no idea where all that had come from. They were just friends, right? Old friends.
Philip heard a sound and wondered where it came from. He couldn't see that clearly because the sky was getting darker. Then he heard someone ask, "Who's there?" He came out from the trees shocked by who he saw.
"Philip!" Mimi exclaimed. "You scared me half to death!"
"Mimi?" Philip asked.
Chapter 3: Deal?
Mimi stared at Philip in bewilderment. "What do you think you're doing sneaking up on me like that?!" She stood there with her hands on her hips waiting for an answer.
Philip just stared at her and slowly responded. "I wasn't trying to sneak-" But he was swiftly cut off.
"I know, I know...whatever you can do to scare Poor Little Mimi, right? Well this is just not funny, Philip and if you think you can come out and scare me and get away with it, well you-you can just forget it!"
"Hey, cut it out!" Philip responded when Mimi started poking him in the chest with her finger, obviously trying to make her point, whatever that was. Philip was tired, but now he was becoming downright irritable. He moved back, crossing his arms in front of himself, annoyed.
"Well, what do you have to say for yourself?"
"Nothing."
"What do you mean nothing?"
"I'm waiting till you're finished", Philip said sounding utterly calm. Actually, he was ready to start laughing any minute. And before he knew it, he was. He was laughing so hard that he was shaking and his eyes were starting to fill with tears.
Mimi looked at him with indignation. "What are you laughing at?!"
"You!" Philip was trying desperately to get the words out, but he was having a hard time because he couldn't stop laughing. "You-you-should see yourself and-and-how you look right now, standing there with your-your- hands on your waist and that-that-big frown, your eyes all big..." Philip finally stopped laughing. He looked at Mimi quizzically. "Oh yeah, and with your nose all scrunched up, you look so...so...adorable." Wait a minute; did he just say that she looked adorable? Nah, he didn't say that...did he?
Mimi forgot all about her anger and became flustered. "Adorable, you think I'm adorable?" she asked tentatively.
"No, I didn't say that...I...I just meant that you look...you look funny." From the look on her face, that remark did not make her happy. Philip wasn't sure if he should apologize or start yelling at her in frustration. The irritableness that he was feeling was getting worse and he was having a hard time trying to figure out how this conversation or maybe he should say argument, even got started.
"Boy Phil, aren't you the charmer? You just know all the right things to say to the girls." Mimi replied in a voice dripping with sarcasm. "But you still haven't told me what you're doing here."
"I was waiting for you to give me a chance to."
"You're the one that snuck up on me."
"Oh, let's not start all that again."
"Well...!"
"Well, what?"
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?"
"WALKING HOME FROM FOOTBALL PRACTICE!"
His answer caught Mimi totally by surprise. "Oh. Well, don't you have a chauffer (you know the one who takes you to the school dances) to pick you up from places and drive you around?"
"He's not my chauffer. He my dad's and I can't just order him around to take me anywhere. Besides, I need the exercise after the island and everything..."
"It's not like you're out of shape." Mimi said noticing that he looked a little tired, but other than that, his usual self.
"Actually I am. I've been away from football practice for weeks because of...well you know...the island. Anyways, I wasn't trying to sneak up on you. I was just walking home, it was kind of dark, I heard a voice, it was yours, and I was really surprised to see you. I know Shawn and I like to tease you and Belle sometimes, but I wouldn't sneak up on you in the dark. I wouldn't scare you like that Meems", Philip said in all seriousness, looking down at her.
"Hey what about that 'creature from the black lagoon thing'?" Philip started to protest, but Mimi cut him off with a wave of her hand and a twinkle in her eye. "It's okay Phil, I was just kidding. Look I'm sorry for jumping all over you. I just got scared...but I'm glad it was you." And she was glad. When she heard the noise, she had been afraid that someone was following her, but now it was such a relief to know that it was just one of her friends. One she had been thinking about a lot lately. Okay, she mused, let's just keep that thought to yourself.
"You mean instead of the creature from the black lagoon?" Philip laughed softly unable to resist. He liked to joke with Mimi because she could take his jokes and throw her own back at him.
"Ha, ha. Very funny", Mimi said, but she laughed too and smiled up at Philip.
He smiled back at her, but the smile faded with Philip's next words. "Now I have a question for you. What are YOU doing out here all by yourself Mimi when it's practically dark?"
"What do you think Philip? I'm walking home from school too."
"This late?" Philip asked, shocked.
"Remember Philip my 'carefree high school days are over'?" To Philip's blank response, Mimi answered "The locker rooms, Philip. I was cleaning out the locker rooms. Fun. Fun. Fun. I know, I have no right to complain and believe me, I'm very thankful right now for not being in prison. Anyway, you asked and there's your answer."
Philip gave her a half smile. "Look, you made a mistake and now you're dealing with it. That's what matters. Still Meems, you shouldn't be out here by yourself...Hey, where's Jan? Isn't she supposed to be helping you clean too?"
"Well, Jan stays late on Mondays and Wednesdays and I have to stay late on Tuesdays and Thursdays. We both have to stay late on Fridays, so much for TGIF, huh, and then we walk home together as painful as that is. Let's just say I either have to listen to Jan complain or we don't talk at all."
"Ooh. Ouch! Not very pleasant, huh? Listen. I have an idea. Since you have to work late on Tuesdays and Thursdays and I have to stay late because of football practice, why don't we just walk together?"
"Philip, my house is practically in another direction. Are you sure? Though, I wouldn't mind the company and I'm not crazy about walking home in the dark. But if it's too much of a bother..."
"Don't worry about it Mimi. Like I said, I need the exercise and it is only two days a week. Besides, I'll feel better knowing you're safe."
"Oooooh! You going to protect me Phil?"
"You better believe it, Baby!" And with that both of them started laughing and smiled at each other.
Philip held out his hand to shake it with Mimi's. "Deal?"
Mimi stared at him for a minute and then brought out her own hand, feeling him take it in his. "Deal."
The Start of Something More: Chapter 4
Chapter 4: Take My Hand
The sun was shining on a bright day. It was the start of summer and Mimi was in high spirits. She was enjoying a fun filled day at Salem Park with her three best friends: Shawn, Belle and Philip. They had come over to her house earlier in the morning and the four of them practically skipped all the way to the park.
Once they got there, they played Frisbee, tag, climbed on the jungle gym and pushed each other on the tire swing, laughing endlessly as it spun around and around making them dizzier and dizzier. Before they finally sat down for some afternoon snacks, they played train, going down the slide, one right after the other, waiting at the bottom for the train to build until finally they fell down onto the ground in a heap of squeals.
This was the best, Mimi thought. She loved spending summers at the park. Philip and Belle usually ended up going on long family vacations, frequently just leaving Shawn and herself in Salem, but they hadn't left with their respective families yet. Mimi was happy that she still had a couple of more weeks left with them.
First grade was fun, but second grade was going to even be better. For now, though, school was the last thing on her mind. Summer was here and it was time to have fun, fun, fun.
Mimi was sitting down on a swing next to Philip. Shawn was up to his usual teasing self and had chased Belle away with a rubber spider. He chased her all the way to the other side of the park, leaving a laughing Philip and frowning Mimi. Boys! Mimi thought before she saw a dangling spider right in her face. She nearly screeched, but took one look at Philip's smirking face and batted the dumb rubber thing away. "You boys can be so dumb!"
"You boys can be so dumb!" Philip said in his best high-pitched voice. Mimi stuck out her tongue at Philip's mocking. He stuck his own tongue out at her in return and started to bump his swing against hers. He continued to hit her swing and Mimi started to hit him back with her own. Before Mimi knew it, they were playing a full-fledged game of bumper swings, giggling and laughing.
After some more goofing off, she looked over at him, noticing how even after a day at the park, Philip managed to stay clean and mostly neat in appearance, wearing casual, but designer clothing. Both he and Belle were similar in that way. Meanwhile, Mimi and Shawn were the ones who usually had a smudge somewhere and their clothes were not bad at all, but not designer clothes either.
Mimi nearly jumped from the swing as she felt it start to turn around and around, the chains winding together repeatedly. She should have known Philip was up to something when he had looked at her, given her a sly grin, jumped off his swing and started to twist hers. Now he had wound it tight and given her a playful look before he let it go. Mimi felt herself turn faster and faster, the swing jumping as the chains came undone. Philip watched her, laughing his head off.
"Wow, you looked so goofy, your pony tails in your hair swinging everywhere and boy, were you ever scared!" Ha, ha ha! Philip continued to laugh.
"Was not!"
"Was too!"
"Ooooohh, you're going to get it Philip Kiriakis!" Mimi got off the swing and started to run, but Philip was faster than she was and was halfway to the other side of the park when Mimi tripped and fell down hard on the cement. She looked down at her knee and saw that she had skinned it and tried to be brave. It hurt so much. But no way was she going to let dumb old Philip see her cry. A sob came out and she tried hard to stop it when she sensed someone near her. Then she heard a voice. Just minutes ago that voice with its teasing had made her so angry. Now it sounded a little sad and pleading.
"Don't cry Meems. It'll be OK. We'll put a Band-Aid on it and make it feel better." Mimi kept holding her knee close to her body and even though she was still mad at Philip, since it was all his fault she was hurt, she was glad that he was there with her. It was better than being all alone. Through her pain, she only heard half of what he was saying as he continued to talk trying to make her feel better.
"...okay, Meems? We can even go over to the ice cream stand and get some ice cream. All right, Meems?"
Mimi looked at the hand being offered to help her up. With a choked sob, Mimi took it, finally looking up at a solemn faced Philip.
***
Mimi looked up at Philip feeling his hand shaking hers as she wondered about the vivid childhood memory that had just crept into her mind. They had been friends for as long as she could remember, but she had never thought about what their friendship meant until recently. Maybe it was because of the closeness they had shared on the island or maybe it had to do with the fact that for one horrible night Mimi had thought she might lose her childhood friend forever. She didn't know why. All she knew was that things had changed between them and that had made her think more about many things.
Philip ended the handshake and looked at Mimi wonderingly. She seemed to be a thousand miles away. He thought about a little girl who he had fun playing with and teasing. A little girl often with a slight smudge on her face from days spent at the park. A little girl with two pony tails who at times could make him feel aggravated and at other times make him laugh so hard that he nearly fell over. A girl that...
Philip was once again amazed at where his thoughts were taking him tonight. He was just going to walk her home so why was he thinking about Mimi when she was a child. He had never spent this much time thinking about her. He started to walk, aware of her falling into step beside him.
"So Phil how was football practice?" Mimi asked him starting up a conversation for the walk home.
Philip smiled ironically remembering the long practice that had tired him out. It hadn't been any different from any other practice. It was just that with the time he had spent away from football he felt out of it. "It was okay, I guess. It was my first time back since...everything that happened on the island. Usually my first day of practice feels so great, but this time I felt, I don't know, so out of it. Even Shawn was playing better than me and we know that never happens-"
"That's what I love about you Philip, your modesty." She shot him a wry grin.
Philip chuckled. "Yeah well, I know how it sounds, but...I just...I want to play the way that I did last year. At this rate, I don't know if I'll even be scoring any touchdowns. What if the coach decides to give me a lesser position on the team? I guess, I'm just kind of worried Meems."
"You're just tired Philip. You went through a lot on the island and you're still healing. Give it time." Mimi tried her best to comfort her friend. She could hear the frustration in his voice and words. "It's going to take time and before you know it, you'll be scoring all those touchdowns and I can get on your case about being a big show-off. Besides, you can focus on other things too. Football isn't everything."
"I know that. In fact, this year I decided to take my schoolwork a lot more seriously and I've been doing pretty good with that so far. Oh, and thanks for the things you said Meems."
"Sure. Though none of it really helped, did it?" Mimi gave Philip a sidelong glance as they walked.
"No, it did Mimi. Thanks." Philip gave Mimi a small smile. "Anyway, how was your afternoon?"
"Don't ask."
"Oh, no. You're not getting away from the question that easily. I told you about football. Now you tell me about cleaning out the locker rooms."
"Why do you even want to know about it?"
"I just do. Now tell me about it." Philip answered in a voice that left little room for argument.
Mimi sighed. "Well, the good part was that it wasn't Friday. Friday's the worst, because, like I said, Jan and I have to spend a lot of time together. Sometimes I'd rather just do it all on my own. I hate the work, but it's better than being in a cell and I know I have to pay the price for what I did...Look, it's not that bad. And I know it could be a lot worse. It's just tiring and messy, but at least it's not as messy when Jan's not there." Mimi laughed feeling it was the only thing she could do. She had to laugh because then she didn't feel as bad about everything she was missing out on...
"You know that's one thing that I've always liked about you Mimi. How you can laugh at things. Even when it means laughing at your own expense. It's a good trait to have." Philip gave Mimi an encouraging smile.
"Why?"
"Because it makes you strong."
"Yeah, right." Mimi answered in a completely sarcastic tone.
"You are strong Meems. I wish you could just see it and stop listening to all the dumb things Jan says."
"I don't listen to anything Jan says anymore."
"Good." Philip smiled at his friend again and then both of them lapsed into silence. Only, it didn't feel uncomfortable or awkward. Secretly even, both felt themselves looking forward to Thursday afternoon.