Minnie was daydreaming again. She'd finished the test with plenty of time to spare and had been idly doodling in her notebook for the past half-hour, at least to the casual observer. She appeared relaxed and nonchalant, but it was a mask, covering her growing turmoil. In truth, her attention was focused 100% on the boy sitting in front of her, who had just set down his pencil and leaned back, stretching. As she watched, he turned slightly to catch her eye with a smile and a wink that set off the butterflies that had recently started acting up whenever he was around.

Which was completely ridiculous.

Minnie had known Mickey her entire life. They'd been born on the same day, to parents who happened to be best friends. She'd grown up right next to him; he was immensely protective of her and had seen her through the hardest moments in her life, as she had done for him. That she should suddenly feel so unsure of herself, so awkward and off-balance around him was unthinkable.

It was Daisy who had first put the idea into her head. "I think someone's got a little crush on her best friend," she'd teased when Minnie had confessed these things to her. The idea of liking Mickey as more than just a friend had been enough to turn the girl white. "Oh, come on," Daisy had continued. "Everybody thinks you'd make a great couple. You act enough like one already."

This was true, but only on stage. The two of them had gotten into theater very early on, and especially since starting high school there had rarely been a production in which the two of them didn't star opposite each other. She'd held Mickey's hand, stolen kisses, even told him she loved him countless times, but only ever on stage, where it meant nothing.

And that was the problem. Normally, Minnie was not a timid girl. She had never been hesitant when it came to going after things she wanted, but her sudden surge of feelings for Mickey made her pause. Was she really, truly feeling these things or were they simply a gut reaction to the way they often acted towards each other on stage? When it came to Mickey, she had to be sure, because there was no way she would risk the relationship they already shared—the most important one in her life—on something that wasn't real.

The ringing of the bell broke Minnie out of her daydreams in time to see one of her female classmates saunter up to Mickey's desk and strike up a conversation. She packed up slowly, watching as the girl touched his hand, laughing at something he'd said. Mickey responded with a laugh of his own and the girl leaned in closer, her voice so low that the words were lost, but the implications clear. Minnie knew the girl and even liked her well enough, but that didn't stop the unpleasant twisting in her stomach—am I jealous?—or the sudden ringing in her ears as Daisy's latest words of advice came back to her mind:

"You'd better act fast, or someone's going to beat you to him."

Mickey stood and headed for the door, accompanied by this girl and at long last Minnie understood what she was feeling. Just once she had been obliged to watch Mickey star opposite another girl. Just once, and she had sworn it would never happen again. She'd known it was fake, just as it was fake when she herself was his love interest, but she'd hated it all the same. And if it was hard to watch him pretend to love someone else, it would be agony to have to watch the real thing.

And so she was out of her seat before she knew it, catching up to the two of them and looping her arm through his, giving it an affectionate squeeze. "Hey."

Mickey looked over at her, startled, but not unhappy. "Hiya, Minnie."

"Yes, hi, Minnie," Rose said brightly, though it seemed a trifle forced.

"Rose," Minnie nodded once in greeting before turning her attention back to Mickey. "That wasn't nearly as bad as everyone made it sound. The last question was a beast, but other than that it was a cinch. How do you think you did?"

Mickey shrugged, rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand and glancing over at Rose who, to Minnie's immense satisfaction, looked none too pleased at the sudden interruption. "Well enough. Wasn't the worst test I've ever taken."

"Thanks for studying with me. All those hours really paid off." She beamed up at him.

"C'mon, Min," Mickey called her out, albeit fondly. "You know you don't need me to get those grades."

"Oh, I don't know about that," she replied cheekily. "Maybe I wouldn't study so much if I didn't know you'd be willing to do it with me. I'm a lucky girl to have a friend like you, Mickey."

She could tell from his expression that he knew something was up-they studied together more often than not, after all. What was so different about this time? Minnie suddenly felt transparent and a little ashamed of herself. Could it be any more obvious that she was trying to distract him, to keep his attention on her rather than on the admittedly pretty girl that was currently smirking at her?

The offending smirk quickly fell from her face, because whatever his suspicions were, Mickey decided to ignore them for the time being and just be his wonderful, cheerful, genuine self. "I'm glad you did well, I knew you were worried." His free hand reached over to cover hers briefly and Minnie found herself at a loss for words. In that moment, looking up into his warm eyes, she knew, she knew, that she had been right to follow him, right to make this move. How had she not seen it before? His smile faded slightly, but the intensity of the moment remained; Minnie wondered if he could feel it too, that slight shift in the cosmos, the sudden realization that things were never going to be the same again.

"Ahem." Minnie blinked, her gaze shifting from Mickey's face to Rose's, which was now glaring daggers at her. "Shouldn't you be heading back that way?" she asked pointedly, jerking her thumb in the direction of Minnie's next class, which happened to be back the way they had come.

Class. Right. Minnie didn't miss a beat as she flashed her most genuine smile at the girl. "It's so sweet of you to remind me! I just wanted to talk for a bit before I go to Calc, and I guess I got carried away." A little more aware of the time, Minnie turned once again to Mickey, whose brow was now furrowed in confusion as he watched her. "You're still coming over tonight, right? Mandie's got an NHS fund raiser and my parents said we could have the basement to ourselves." The plan had been to do homework and run lines, maybe watch a movie if there was time, but Minnie had absolutely no qualms about letting Rose think that they had other, more romantic, plans for the evening. "I'm really looking forward to it."

It took Mickey a minute to respond and with the way he was looking at her-scrutinizing her, actually-Minnie started to wonder if she'd perhaps laid it on too thick. "Definitely still planning on being there."

"Perfect!" Gripping his arm just a little tighter, Minnie leaned in and brushed a feather-soft kiss on his cheek. It was the the first time that she'd kissed him outside of the theater since they'd started high school and she wasn't prepared for the fierce blush she was suddenly wearing or the sudden surge of butterflies in her stomach. And she was the least prepared for the feeling, the tingly, warm, utterly frightening feeling that was engulfing her. When she finally found her voice, it was much quieter. "Thanks, Mickey. See you in Lit."

And then she was gone, heading towards her Calc class and so preoccupied with her sudden, intense emotions that she failed to notice how Mickey stood rooted to the spot, staring after her with one hand touching his cheek.

After a feeble attempt to get Mickey's attention, Rose found herself being ushered away by Daisy Duck whose amusement was betrayed by the smirk on her face. "Girl, you never had a chance."

A/N: I just spent a year working at Walt Disney World, so you'll forgive me for indulging in this little guilty pleasure of mine. I've spent a lot of time thinking about these two and how their relationship could have started. This is just one of my theories. And Minnie Mouse does in fact have a sister named Mandie. Where do you think her nieces came from? :)

It occurs to me that Minnie could come across as a little too much of a jerk towards this poor other girl, which is not what I intended. Thoughts?