Fallout
Chapter Five
Shawn's mother had always
told him to "Seize the moment, because it might not come again."
He knew this was the perfect moment for it, and he moved his hands up to
lift Belle's face up and look her in eyes.
He stared at her face, and took her beauty in for a moment before moving
towards her. Closer and closer,
until he could feel her warm breath on his face.
Shawn drew in a deep breath, only moments away from knowing what her lips
would feel like on his . . .
"BELLE!
SHAWN! ARE YOU GUYS OUT
HERE?!?!"
Belle and Shawn jerked away
from each other with a start. Their
'first kiss' would have to wait, apparently.
Shawn grabbed Belle's hand as they turned the corner to see Mimi standing
outside the pub looking around nervously. Mimi
noticed them turning the corner, and they all came face to face.
They stood silent for a few awkward moments, until Belle spoke up.
"Mimi.
What are you doing here?"
"Well…I was…uhm.
Your dad told me you were here, and so I came.
And, now I'm here. So, uhm…..
Belle, we really need to talk now. Shawn
too."
"You're right, Meems.
We definitely need to talk. Shawn
and I have been wondering something."
Mimi's eyes shifted nervously
between her two friends. "Yeah,
I figured. That's why I came here.
I wanted to tell you myself, before you had a chance to accuse me."
"Go ahead, talk.
We're all ears, Mimi." Shawn
interjected.
"Uhm.
Alright. Okay.
You guys just have to listen for a minute, don't interrupt me until I'm
finished. I just want it all out
now."
Shawn and Belle nodded their
agreement and motioned for her to continue.
"Okay.
Here's the thing. I don't know why it all started.
I guess, I've just hated Chloe from the beginning.
I don't know why. I was . . . I was jealous.
I hate saying that out loud, but I guess it's true.
Chloe has everything that I couldn't have.
She was beautiful and smart and talented.
She was dating the most popular guy in school, and more than that, I feel
like she stole you guys away from me. You
two were the ONLY true friends I've ever had, and Chloe took you from me. I screwed up. I
listened to Jan. She pretended like
she had my best interests at heart, and I was stupid enough to believe that.
I should know better, Jan doesn't care about anything but herself.
She told me that I had to get revenge against Chloe for taking everything
from me. I shouldn't have done it.
I even tried to stop it, but it was too late.
I can't even tell you how sorry I am.
I ruined everything for everyone. So,
yeah, that's it. I was half of the
team behind what happened tonight. But,
I didn't want to go through with it. I
really didn't. I'm so sorry."
Mimi broke off her sentences,
and buried her face in her hands and began softly crying.
Belle stood there, bit her lip and tried to comprehend all that her
friend had just told her.
"Mimi," she began,
"You're wrong about something there. Chloe didn't take us away from you. YOU did. You
hated Chloe so much, that you couldn't bear to give a little and share us with
her. You know, Mimi, it is possible
for us to be friends with Chloe and you at the same time.
I just . . . I can't believe this Mimi.
You're not the same person that I grew up with.
I knew it was you as soon as I saw that slide, but part of me was holding
out hope that I was wrong. I wish I
was."
Shawn nodded in agreement,
"She's right, Mimi. I don't
know what happened to you. You were
homeless and some people gave you flack for that, but Belle and I – we've
never treated you differently. Ever.
I can't understand why you, of all people, can't be more accepting of
people who are different. And besides, Mimi, it's not really us who you owe an apology.
It's Chloe. You've
humiliated her. You've destroyed
her life, and she's never going to be the same because of it.
Glue in your hair, rat in the locker – that's completely different than
putting illegal naked pictures of somebody on the internet."
Mimi's sobs deepened as she
listened to Belle and Shawn. Shawn's
words also made a new realization spread over her tear-stained face.
"Oh God.
I'm going to go to jail for kiddie porn too . . . I didn't even think of
that. Belle, Shawn, I know you
don't believe me but I wish I could take it all back.
I wish all of this would go away. I've
never liked Chloe, but now I know that nobody deserves this."
Belle grabbed Mimi's hand and
spoke again, "No, Mimi. I do
believe you. I know that no matter
what you've done, deep down somewhere inside there is the Mimi that I know and
love. The Mimi who is kind, caring,
funny, happy and would NEVER cause someone this kind of pain."
Mimi squeezed Belle's hand
briefly, then let go of it. "I
don't know Belle. I wish I could
tell you that she is, but I don't even know what it feels like to be that Mimi
anymore. I really lost control.
I lost myself. I know that
you guys can never forgive me for what I've done, and I don't expect you to
either. I just want to hold on to some kind of hope that maybe we can
be friends again someday. It
probably won't happen, but no matter what, I still love the both of you, and I
will always be grateful for having you as my friends for 16 years."
Shawn replied, "Mimi,
don't say that. I'm not saying it's
going to be easy, or that things will ever be the way they were.
But, if you find the old Mimi again, let us know."
Belle continued, "But
for now, you need to start making amends. You need to forgive yourself, and you need to make it up to
Chloe and Philip and everyone else that has been hurt by you and Jan.
Things aren't going to be easy, Meems, but Mr. Woods is right.
We need to stop the hate. You
can't hate people who are different, and you can't hate yourself either."
Mimi nodded in agreement.
"I know. You guys are
right. I just don't know how I'm
going to do it. But, I'll do
anything to fix this. Anything.
I can't lose the only friends I have ever had.
It's too important to me to have you guys in my life."
Belle gave Mimi a quick smile
and impulsively hugged her. "Don't
get me wrong, I'm angry with you. Really really angry.
And, I can't forgive you or forget about this yet.
But, no matter what, you are my Meems and you're special to me always.
I'm always here for you Mimi, so if you need me, just call. But, you need to fix this on your own. No interference."
Belle let go of Mimi, and
Shawn reached one arm around Mimi's shoulder and squeezed her tight.
"Same here, Mimi. I'm
always here, and I'll always care what happens to you.
Okay?"
Mimi smiled at both of them,
"Thanks guys. I really needed
to hear that now. Now I just have
to fix things. I screwed them up,
so I gotta be the one to fix it. Thanks
for everything. And, by the way,
I'm sorry for ruining your date."
Shawn grinned at her, "Nahhh,
it's not ruined. It's
just…on hold."
"Alright, I gotta go
home or my mom will freak out. Besides,
I need sleep so I can wake up fresh and fix this hole I've gotten into."
"'Night Mimi…take
care." Belle spoke back, as
she and Shawn waved Mimi off.
Shawn and Belle turned
around, clasped hands again and walked back into the pub.
Once inside, Shawn turned around to face Belle and looked into her eyes.
"So, hmm, what about
that on hold date? Think we'll ever
finish it."
Belle just smirked back at
him, "I don't know, Shawn. I mean, nobody got to be King & Queen this year.
The dance ended early. I'd
say we'd have to try this again sometime, because it's incomplete."
"Oh yeah?
You thought you were going to be Queen or something?
My, my, my, aren't we getting all high and mighty in our little gold
pants. You should be ashamed of
that ego, Belle Black. I thought
your parents taught you to be more humble than that."
"Very funny, Shawn
Brady. Now, go get me a milkshake
while we wait for my Dad to pick me up."
"Egotistical AND bossy.
Somebody remind me why I took you to the dance."
Belle just grinned and raised
one eyebrow at him, "Hey. Don't get funny with me… Besides, you can have a milkshake
too."
Shawn gasped in mock
amazement, "Oh, thank you, your Highness! I am in awe of your glory, Queen B. Let me go retrieve your royal milkshake now."
Shawn did a mock bow, and reached for her hand to give it a little kiss
before jetting off for two of those famous Brady Pub milkshakes.
Belle watched him go before sitting down in their booth. Smiling at him behind his back, she recalled those moments before Mimi showed up. < I wonder if he'll ever get the nerve to kiss me again. We were so close that time. I guess it will have to wait for another night though. The moment has passed. Hopefully, it won't wait for too long. >