"I'm so late." Lettuce said as she ran down the alleyways of her hometown. She had forgotten to set her alarm for school and had awoken an hour late. She was trying her best to get to school on time because she had a big test coming up and she didn't want to miss anything she would need to pass it.
I bet that I missed everything that I need. I bet the teacher won't let me make it up either.> Lettuce thought to herself.
As she ran she bumped into someone causing everything to go flying. She fell to the floor and scuffed her knee a bit.
"I'm sorry!" She said sadly. "I wasn't looking were I was going!"
"You bet you weren't." A voice from the person she ran into said. He was tall, and had a tight black shirt on which reveled his muscular build. His face was rough and unshaven and he was wearing a black beanie.
"I'll just be going now sir." Lettuce said as she reached for her belongings.
The man stepped on her small wrist with his black boots. "No way sweet heart. You ain't goin' no where." He placed his face next to hers.
"Please just leave me alone! I don't want any trouble!" Lettuce begged as she moved her arm, trying to get it from under his foot. He just pressed down harder. "Please!" Lettuce yelled.
"I'm gonna make you scream baby."
Lettuce was scared to death. Could he really do what she thought he was going to do? She was only 13 there had to be some law ageist this, something that would stop him from doing this to her. She was too weak and small to stop him. He was big and strong and willing to do whatever he could to get to her.
"Hey!" A female voice yelled from the front of the alleyway.
Both of them looked to see a woman with long dark blue hair, all of it pushed behind her shoulders, deep green eyes, a black jacket around her and black jeans. She looked infuriated as she walked up to the two.
"Back the hell off of her you fucking sicko. Go stick you dick some other place." She hissed.
"Ohh.." He said nervously. "Midori..Is this young lady a friend of yours?"
"Yeah so back off." She walked over to Lettuce. "Don't let me catch you mess'n with her again." Midori raised her fist and punched the guy in the face. "You hear me?"
"Yeah I hear ya." He turned away quickly and walked away full of anger.
"You okay?" She asked turning to Lettuce, her voice now kinder.
"Oh." Lettuce stood up. "Fine thank you."
"Here." Midori reached down and picked up Lettuce's school bag. "You dropped this."
Lettuce blushed and took it. "Thank you."
"No prob. By the way my name's Midori."
"Mine's Lettuce."
"Well take care Lettuce. If ya ever need help just ask around for me. Show them this." Midori handed Lettuce a small card. "See ya." Midori turned and began to walk away.
"Wait! How can I repay you?" Lettuce yelled. She had to give her something. She had saved her life in her own opinion.
"Your name was enough." Midori said as she turned around and smiled. "Take care."
Lettuce walked out of the alleyway with a blush on her face. Her life had just been saved by someone that she didn't even know. She had to repay her somehow. But would Lettuce ever even see her again?
"So then what happened?" Ichigo asked as she lend forward.
"She came and saved me." Lettuce said.
They were in Café Mew Mew taking their hard earned break when Lettuce told Ichigo what had happened that morning. Ichigo was amazed and yet scared that something like that could happen to one of her closest friends.
"Who?"
"Midori." Lettuce blushed. "She came and saved me from him."
"Midori?" Ryo said popping up from behind Ichigo.
Ichigo meowed as she turned to him. "Don't do that!" Her kitten ears popped up and her tail also as she tried to hide them.
"Midori is the queen of the gangs. You met her?" Ryo asked in amassment.
"Yeah." Lettuce said shyly.
"Wow." Ryo said as stuck a pastry in his mouth.
"Are you okay?" Ichigo asked sincerely.
"Yeah." Lettuce smiled. Her friends concern for her made her happy. It made a strange feeling come up inside of her to have someone worry about her the way the Ichigo did. But Lettuce liked it.
"Speak of the devil." Ryo said as he finished off his pastry.
"What?" Ichigo looked up at him.
"There's Midori." Ryo nogged his head towards the counter where Mint was working. Mint was serving Midori.
"Wow is that really her?" Ichigo said in surprise.
"Yeah." Lettuce said quietly as a blush came over her.
"Just a box of cakes." Midori said to Mint as she sighed.
"Just a minute." Mint said as she walked into the back.
Midori looked around the small café only to notice that Lettuce was looking back at her. Midori blinked a few times and walked over to her.
"She's comin' over here." Ryo said in a surprised voice.
"Really?!" Lettuce blushed as she turned around so as not to face Midori.
"Excuse me?" Midori said as she tired to look at Lettuce. Lettuce kept moving so as not to show her face, but Midori kept trying to look. They went through this little dance until Midori fell right into Lettuce's chest.
Ryo's pastry fell out of his mouth, Ichigo's mouth flew open, and Lettuce blushed and looked away. Midori stood up and brushed herself off.
"Sorry 'bout that." She laughed gently.
Her laugh. It sent shivers up Lettuce's spine and she had no idea why. Her heart skipped a beat as Midori continued to laugh and tired to make Lettuce laugh so that it was less embarrassing for the both of them.
"Can I make it up to you?" Midori asked.
"No it's okay." Lettuce looked up at her with a gentle smile.
"Hey.." Midori said blinking. "You're that kid that I saved earlier today."
"Oh yeah." Lettuce looked away.
"I guess we're even now!" Midori said happily. "You work here?"
"Yeah." Lettuce blushed. How come when she's around me all I can say is "yeah"? Lettuce thought to herself. Come on Lettuce you can do better then just "yeah".
"How old are you anyway?" Midori asked as Lettuce noticed that she was looking at her body.
"13. Now." Lettuce blushed even harder as she looked into Midori's eyes. "You?"
"Me? I'm 16." Midori said with a gentle smile.
"16?" Ichigo asked. "You look so much older."
"Is that good or bad?" Midori laughed. "Are you one of Lettuce's friends?"
"Yep!" Ichigo smiled. "My name's Ichigo!"
"You look like a little kitten." Midori said as she studied Ichigo's face.
Ryo laughed to himself a bit as Ichigo tired to laugh off the truth. "I get that a lot." She said as she scratched the back of her head.
"Oh by the way, Lettuce, how's your wrist?" Midori asked.
"Fine." Lettuce said as she looked at her wrist, which was a bit swollen.
"You'd better put ice on it."
"Number 71!" Mint yelled as she held out a box.
"Oh that's mine." Midori turned to Mint. "I'll see you guys later." She looked down at Lettuce. "Bye Lettuce. By the way you look cute when you smile. You should do it more often." Midori walked over to Mint.
Blush came all over Lettuce as she looked away from Midori. "Bye."
The three watched as Midori walked over to the counter, took the pastries and left. She walked out of café mew mew with a smile on her face.
"Wow you really do know Midori." Ryo said in amazement. The watch he was wearing went off. He looked at it and quickly turned it off. "Back to work Ichigo."
Ichigo sighed. "Okay. Come on Lettuce."
"Sure." Lettuce stood up as Ryo looked at her.
"You don't have to work Lettuce. You've been through enough today, go on home."
Lettuce blushed. "No I'm okay."
"No." Ryo walked over to her, picked up her wrist, and smiled at her. "Go home and make sure your wrist gets better."
"Yes..Ryo. If you insist."
Lettuce changed back into her normal clothes and began to walk home. The night sky was above Lettuce's head as she walked, and thought to herself. Midori made her feel so weird. It was the same feeling that she got when she first met Ryo. She used to like Ryo but the crush wore off for some reason. But now the feeling was back, but for Midori? Could Lettuce really like another woman? She was open to everything, but was all this true? She barely knew Midori and yet she had all these feelings for her. Was this right?
"I'm home!" Lettuce said as she walked into her house.
"Okay honey! Dinner will be ready in a few minutes!" Her Mom yelled.
"Mom?" Lettuce walked into her kitchen to she her Mother over a hot stove. "Can you look at my wrist?"
"Sure honey." Her Mother tore away from the stove and looked at her daughter's wrist. "We should get ice on this." She turned to the freezer and took out a bag of ice. "Here, go lay down. I'll bring dinner to you."
"No thanks. I'm not really that hungry. I ate at the café." Lettuce lied.
"Okay. Take this and go to bed." Her Mother said as she gave her the ice bag. "Get some sleep."
"Yes Mom." Lettuce took the ice bag and ran upstairs.
When she got into her bedroom, she closed the door and fell ageist it. She hated to lie to her Mother, even over little things, but she hated it. She walked over to her bed and laid down in it. She took off her glasses and buried her face in it, and began to cry.
She had almost gotten raped today. How could she have been so stupid? She never went down that alleyway, but today had been different, she was late so she wasn't thinking. Everyone around her had always told her that she was smart so why had she made such a stupid move?
"Lettuce!" Her Mother yelled from down stairs.
Lettuce looked up and wiped the tears from her eyes quickly. She stiffed her voice so her Mother wouldn't be able to tell that she had been crying. "Yes?"
"Come here for a second!"
Lettuce stood up and walked down the stairs to smell her Mother's cooking fill the air. "Yes Mom?"
"Can you go down to the store and buy milk? We're all out and your Father's too sick to go." Her Mother asked as she chopped away at something.
"Yes Ma'm." Lettuce grabbed money off of the nearby counter and walked out of the house.
Summer was right around the corner so Lettuce had no reason to take a coat. Even though it was dark, it was warm out. Lettuce quickly ran down to the store. She felt like a little child, afraid of the dark. She just wanted to buy the milk and get home before anything happened again.
Lettuce walked into a store that her family always went to, found the milk and brought it up to the counter were she paid for it.
"Come again!" The clerk said as Lettuce ran out of the store.
"Hey!" A voice yelled.
Lettuce turned around to see Midori with a big smile on her face. Lettuce looked around to make sure that no one else was with Midori as she ran over to her with a bag in her arms.
"Hey Lettuce!" Midori said happily.
"Hi."
"What are you doing out here this late?"
"Oh I just came here to buy milk for my Mom that's all." Lettuce said as she looked around.
"Weird. I came here to buy milk too." Midori said as she noticed Lettuce looking around. "What's up?"
"Oh nothing..I'm just.."
"Nervous about being outside? I don't blame you." Midori placed her hand on Lettuce's shoulder. "You want me to walk you home?"
Lettuce perked up a bit. "Okay thanks."
As the two began to walk, Midori turned to Lettuce. "You know I heard this saying once. If you meet a person and then see them three more times during that day, it's not coincidence but density. You think?"
"Maybe." Lettuce blushed. That weird feeling was coming back to her.
"Hey have you heard of the Tokyo Mew Mews?"
"Yeah." Lettuce twitched. "What about them?"
"They're so cool. Super hero's man..that's cool. They just like swoop in and save the day. And they never get thanked for it."
"Oh yeah.." Lettuce said realizing that they never did.
"I wanna meet one. Especially the green one! She's so cool! Not to mention cute!" Midori laughed.
Lettuce blushed harder. She was talking about her. But it wasn't really her. Just her transformed self. Not just plain old Lettuce.
"Hey Midori?" Lettuce asked gathering all of her courage.
"Yeah?"
"Are you..uh..attracted to women?"
"Well I'm not really sure. I think I'm a bit too young to make such a big life choice but I do have a rule for myself. Never put any limits on anyone. You fall in love with someone for their personality. Not for what sex they are. Get it? It's weird. Sometimes you fall in love with someone, no matter what gender they are. Man or woman..it's how they treat you as a lover that matters."
Lettuce took that all in. Was what Midori said all true? Could it be alright for Lettuce to have a crush on a woman? Lettuce thought about it. It was okay. Okay.
"You think?" Midori asked breaking through all of Lettuce's thoughts.
"Oh yeah."
They walked up to Lettuce's house. Lettuce turned and looked at Midori. "Well thank you." She said bowing down.
"No prob. Be safe okay Lettuce." Midori said with a smile on her face. "Have a nice night."
"You two." Lettuce walked into her house and closed the door.
Thanks for reading! That's the end of chapter one! Please R&R! No flames! Please keep reading!