Story: Friend of a Friend (chapter 1)

Authors: Rhianwen

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Chapter 1

[Author's notes: Disclaimer: I don't own them, blah blah blah, they don't like me, blah, blah, blah, sing a little song, do a little dance. :)]

Nenene knows that Yomiko wants them to be good friends.

They’re both part of her life, and going to stay there, so it only makes sense.

(The fact that they’re all part of each other’s life after what happened with the British Library notwithstanding.)

Michelle told her once, very seriously, that it might make things less awkward if she and Nancy became good pals, too.

Maggie doesn’t seem to want to talk much about it, and always finds somewhere else to be when her Big Sis tries to hash over the subject again.

Anita just sort of grimaces and says that they’re all practically Junior’s mom anyway, so what’s the difference? Just traumatize the poor guy a little more.

But when it comes down to it, it doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks, because Nenene hasn’t come this far by taking advice.

If she didn’t know for herself that it was the best thing to do, she wouldn’t be doing this, wouldn’t be watching closely as the tallish, curvy figure clad in something flimsy and baby-blue and lacy paced restlessly back and forth, giving her hair one last check every time she passed the mirror and jumping a foot in the air at every tiny noise from outside.

“Hey,” Nenene greets laconically from the bottom of the stairs. “You look great, but the park might close before you get there.”

“But Yomiko’s not back yet!” Nancy protests, almost a wail. “She said she would be back in plenty of time…”

“Want me to call the old man?”

“You don’t have to,” Nancy assures her forlornly.

“Nah, it’s fine. Believe me, I’ve had to phone around for her before,” Nenene calls with a dry smile, unclipping a slip of paper bearing a list of phone numbers from the fridge.

Nancy watches, blinking in confusion, as Nenene punches in the first number.

“Hey. Yeah, it’s Nenene Sumiregawa…She’s there? Great. Thanks.” A pause. “No, no, don’t send her home.” Here, the brunette pauses and sends Nancy a fiendish grin. “We’ll come get her. Okay, thanks. See you soon. Bye.”

She hangs up the phone and turns to Nancy.

“Now we just have to go pick her up. Don’t worry,” she adds quickly as Nancy’s forehead wrinkles into a slight frown. “I’ll take off when we find her – I know you two have been planning this.”

“Actually,” Nancy begins slowly, “I think maybe we should go.”

“All of us? You have an extra ticket into the park?”

“No, you and me.”

Nenene laughs, a little startled.

“Thanks, but I’m not crazy about theme parks.”

“Then we can do something else. Please?”

Nenene, on the verge of refusing as politely as she knows how in favour of an evening of quality time with her computer, sighs heavily. She thinks grumpily that this really isn’t fair; first she can’t refuse Yomiko anything, and now she’s the same with Yomiko’s friend.

“Okay, fine,” she grumbles after a long moment with a helpless gesture and a distinctly sour expression. “Just let me call the old man and tell him we’re not coming by after all.”

“I don’t think you need to do that,” Nancy says very firmly, snatching the phone away and hanging it up.

Nenene regards the dark-haired girl curiously from behind her glasses.

“But he might’ve already told Yomiko we were coming for her. She’ll be waiting.”

Nancy flashes Nenene the sort of smile that might double as a light source in a dark room, and does a happy little spin.

“I think Yomiko can wait a while.”

Nenene smirks, crossing her arms.

“Remind me never to stand you up for a date.”

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