The third chapter of Bohemia - Angel and Mimi! Dedicated to pissiMissi, who is the Mimi to my Angel!

Just so you guys know- I'm going to skip around. This about EVERYBODY meeting(yeah, I'm really laying it on myself, aren't I?), so it's going to be crazy. So just bear with me. I promise you that sooner or later the groups will start forming, but I have to get everyone before I start those kind of things. I hope you still love me! Much love, chickies!

Mimi Marquez sat on the subway, sandwiched between a guy in a business suit and someone with headphones. She could see the business guy on her left looking at her, his eyes traveling her body up and down. She couldn't wait to give him a good smack, show him that ogling underage girls wouldn't be put up with. She was tired of this shit, men looking her up and down like she was a piece of meat. If you had told her that in a few months she'd be making a living off of it, she would have scoffed and told you to fuck off. But Mimi, more than anything, was ready for the world. She was ready to make her own living, away from her parents. Away from her overprotective mother, her suffocating father. Mama, Papa, I love you, but it's time for this girl to go.

The guy kept trying to undress her with his eyes. She was about to smack him when something caught her eye. It caught everyone's eye.

A skinhead had pushed a girl roughly, almost making her fall. Instead, she saved herself by grabbing hold of a pole in the subway car. She brushed her short, black hair out of her eyes and glared at the man. "May I asked what that was for?" A light voice. Musical, almost. It had a pleasant sound to Mimi's eyes.

The guy just gave her a dirty look. "I don't like you people."

"You people?" the girl said, an unbelievable tone to her voice. It was then that the man snatched her hair from her head. Mimi's eyes widened. A transvestite? Damn, he was good.

"You people, dressing like this!" he yelled, about to throw the wig on the floor, but she snatched it back, and placed it on her head.

"Why do you care what I dress like?" she said, fixing the wig in place. "At least I'm not hating on your lack of style, honey." The skinhead looked as if he was going to hit her, and Mimi tensed.

"I hate you gays." For a second, she looked a little hurt, but the look quickly disappeared to one of amusement.

"Honey, I'm more of a man than you'll ever be, and more of a woman than you'll ever get." Silence fell in the car. Mimi looked around, and then, making her voice a little lower, "Damn, boy, she just whored you."

The whole car burst into laughter. The cross dresser smiled, and put her hands on her hips. She knew she had won. The skinhead looked as if he might say something, maybe even throw a punch, but as the subway car came to a halt, he left quickly. Mimi looked to the guy next to her. Still looking! She gave him a quick smack on the cheek. "Stop eyeing me, you perv." He looked at her, blushing and ashamed. She got up, and gently tapped the drag queen's shoulder. "That was great," she said, beaming.

The other let out a small sigh and laughed. "For a second there, I thought I was going to have to teach him a thing or two," she replied, and they both giggled.

"You would win," Mimi said, smiling.

"Oh, there's no question about that, honey," she said, winking. "It's just a question of which stop to throw him out at."

Mimi grinned. "I'm Mimi," she said, holding out her hand. Mimi knew that this wouldn't be a mistake. She hadn't really made friends with anybody in New York yet...and this black-haired, pretty tranny seemed like just the person to befriend in this big city.

"I'm Angel," she replied, smiling and taking Mimi's hand, shaking it lightly. "What brings you here, Mimi-chica?" she asked, and instantly Mimi loved the pet name Angel would use for her time and time again. "You look like too sweet a girl to be living here too long."

"I just moved here," Mimi said, and a little reluctantly added, "I ran away from home." She was afraid Angel might look down on her for that (for some odd reason), but just the opposite occurred; Angel's face brightened.

"Really? I am too!" Angel said, bouncing a little. "My dad kicked me out."

"Me too!" Mimi said, and laughed. "I never thought I'd bond with somebody over being kicked out of my house!" Their laughter rang in the car, and soon it came to a stop. People came in, people rushed out. Angel and Mimi sat down in two now-empty seats. "Where are you heading?"

"Wanna know the truth?" Mimi nodded. Angel leaned in. "I really don't know," she said, smiling widely. "I guess I'm getting off wherever I feel like it. What about you?"

"I don't either," Mimi answered. "I mean, I just got here. It's...it's awkward."

"Don't worry, sweetie!" Angel said, bringing Mimi into a tight embrace. "I'll take care of you!" Mimi felt like crying. It had been a long time since someone showed so much affection to her, showered her with love so openly and gladly. Mimi would love Angel for this, her ability to openly love almost everyone she met. She would be almost jealous of how well she fit in with their little bohemian group later, how everyone just loved her. I loved her first, she would think to herself when she was feeling down. I loved her first.

Mimi returned the hug. "Thanks, Angel."

"No problem, honey. You've been the first friend I've found in this city for a long time, you know?" She beamed at the young Latina. "To be honest, you remind me of me when I was young. Well...if I had been a girl." They giggled.

"How old are you, Angel?"

"Oh, only about seventeen or so. But I'm talking like I'm older already, aren't I?" Another playful wink. "How old are you?"

"Fifteen."

"My Mimi-chica's only fifteen?" Angel repeated, cocking her head slightly. Mimi blushed, a little embarrassed at her age. "Oh, sweetie! You should come live with me!"

"Huh?" Although she adored Angel already, Mimi thought this was a little fast. "Live with you?"

"Well...yeah," Angel said, smiling. "Do you have any other place to go?" she asked, biting her lip.

Mimi shook her head. "No, no, I don't have any other place to go."

"Then why don't you come stay with me? It's not much, honey, but it's filled with love," she added, holding Mimi's hand lightly. "You could live with me until you find a job, a place of your own. What do you say?"

"Why not?" Hell, she didn't have many options anyway. Plus, Angel was nice, and certainly knew her way around this city better than she did. "I would love to live with you, Angel." A sparkling smile, and Angel's eyes started to tear up. "What is it?"

"Just that...it's been a long time since someone's come to live with me," she said, smiling. "And it's been a long time since I've made a good friend."

"But...we've only just met, Angel!" Mimi said, laughing. She looked to the drag queen, and her smile disappeared a little. The look on her face was so intense, so true.

"Yes, we've only met. But I know we're going to be friends a long time, Mimi-chica." It was in her eyes. "I just know it." And Mimi believed her.

For both of them, real friends had been scarce. Whenever her friends learned that she was gay or liked to dress in girl's clothes, they would usually abandon Angel, call her evil names that she had never heard before. When Mimi would tell her friends secrets, they would go around telling the whole school and everyone would laugh at her, call her evil names she had never heard before.

They were so alike, but so different. They would both change each other, and they would become new people. They would never be the same. And they dove headfirst into this opportunity, to leave what they were and convert into something so different, so special. It was going to be hard for them. Mimi's drug addiction. Angel's boyfriends. Money, withdrawal, jobs. But all of this would come later.

"We are going to be good friends," Mimi repeated, squeezing Angel's hand lightly. "We'll be the best friends we never had."

"Exactly, honey," Angel replied, smiling from ear to ear. "These are the best years of our lives. We should spend them with someone wonderful, shouldn't we?" Oh, wasn't she right? Angel would always say the right things. She was an expert in the art of speech.

"What do you do anyway, Angel?" Mimi asked, truly interested in her new-found companion.

"Well, right now I'm drumming on the streets," she said, and poked Mimi's cheeks lightly when she frowned. "Oh, don't worry about me, sweetie! I do odd jobs here and there, and sometimes I get a drumming job here or there. I'm happy with my life, and that's all that matters. What do you want to do with your life, chica?"

Mimi blushed. "Oh, I don't know. Never thought about it, really."

"What are you good at?"

"...Dancing." Angel grinned.

"There are plenty of jobs for good dancers around here! Of course, not all of them are the kinds of jobs you'd tell mom and dad about..." she added, biting her lip slightly.

Mimi shook her head. "So? I ran away to get away from them. What should it matter now what they think?" She gave Angel a smooth smile, something that the men would give her money for later in life, something that would make them wish she'd look their way every night, something that would make her big in small clubs later on. "Bring it on, baby. I'm ready."

"Shall we go get something to eat?" Angel said, grinning. "I might have pickpocketed that skinhead who tried to beat me down just a few moments ago." She held up a wallet in triumph.

Mimi laughed. "You stole his wallet?"

"My sister taught me how," Angel replied. "Besides, he was acting like an asshole anyway. I only do it sometimes," she added, winking. "So how about it? Hungry?"

"Angel, we're going to make beautiful music together," Mimi said as the car stopped and the pair rose from their seats.

"We already are, Mimi-chica," she answered as the walked out of the subway car door and into the station, up the stairs and into the bright afternoon sunlight.

affectueux et domestique

Time to say goodbye.

Next chapter will have Maureen for sure in it. Question is, who's she gonna meet?