Chapter Text
“Bijou! Bijou!” Gigi ran towards her sister.
The small child was only seven years old when she got her new sister. It was kind of weird at first, sure, but overall it was fun having a friend who lived with you. At least, that’s what Gigi thought. Bijou had other ideas.
“You got it?” Bijou asked.
Gigi presented a shovel, one she had gotten from her room. Bijou pointed at the side of their house at a small hole. The gremlin started digging while Bijou sat back and started to drink lemonade. Then a thunk sound was heard. Gigi struck it, the treasure Bijou said was right there.
The gremlin slammed the shovel into the ground, hitting something metal. It didn’t budge, so she hit it again. She kept hitting it over and over until it finally gave in, and the treasure came out. Brown water shot out of the pipe and knocked the gremlin to the ground, causing Bijou to run away towards their parents.
“Gigi!” Her father appeared behind her, Bijou right behind him.
“The- The treasure!” Gigi said while crying, “Bijou said th-there was treasure!”
“Gigi. What did you do?” He exclaimed.
“I dug for treasure!” Gigi tried to explain. She pointed and looked at Bijou, who was holding back laughter. It didn’t make sense to the little gremlin, why would she be laughing?
“No, you broke our water pipe! This is going to cost a fortune-. Just go to your room.” He commanded.
This was the first moment Gigi remembered feeling frustrated. Despite being tricked into being sprayed with dirty water, she was the one punished. It didn’t matter how many times she tried to explain it to her parents. They always had the same response to her pleas.
“You should have known better.”
“Why did you listen to Bijou?”
“You’re older. You have to teach her.”
That last one always stuck with her. Gigi was only older by a few months, she wasn’t even a big sister for long before it was decided that she had to lead Bijou. This responsibility was a lot, and it’s not like she could back out. Bijou was her sister now.
Though Gigi would be lying if she didn’t say it was frustrating seeing how they responded to Bijou’s involvement with the pipe. Her parents had given her a popsicle and told her not to ‘let Gigi do that again.’ Even at her young age, Gigi felt a burning rage at the lack of punishment.
This was only a glimpse into Gigi’s new life with Bijou and her step mother. That day would not be an isolated event. Just a taste for what was to come in Gigi’s life. A harsh reminder that she would constantly dream of. The first event where she started to understand an ugly truth.
Her parents had a favorite…and they weren’t shy to show it.
BEEP BEEP BEEP
Gigi’s eyes shot awake. Her annoying alarm would always harshly end her dream, but that was usually for the best. It was the only alarm that would be able to wake her up anyways.
She had once again dreamed about that day. It was only a few weeks after her dad got remarried, that event was the first major prank Bijou had pulled on her. The smell of water and the sound of metal would always bring her back to that day. Not only that, but Bijou loved that story. It was her favorite story to tell.
“Another day, huh?” Gigi asked no one.
The gremlin picked up her backpack and filled it with what she needed for school. She took a quick shower and ran downstairs for breakfast, which was currently being served. At least she thought it was.
Bijou and her step mom, Cassy, were eating already. Gigi’s dad, Jay, was making pancakes. Bijou’s favorite food and Gigi’s least favorite breakfast food. They just didn’t fill her the way other foods did.
“Morning! You guys already started eating?” Gigi asked.
“Early bird gets the worm.” Cassy replied.
“Yeah. We’re not gonna wait for you. If we did, we’d be late!” Bijou chimed in.
Gigi awkwardly laughed, but the joke didn’t make sense. She was always great with setting alarms and making it places on time, so Gigi didn’t really understand what Bijou’s jab was in reference to. That didn’t stop her from going into the kitchen and cracking a few eggs onto a pan.
“Making your own breakfast again? We made enough pancakes for you too! Meanie.” Cassy looked at Gigi.
“Thanks but I’m good. I just want eggs.” Gigi shrugged.
“Okay weirdo. As long as you still eat the lunch I make you.” Jay patted his daughter on the shoulder.
Soon enough Gigi and Bijou would leave their house and take the train, eventually arriving at their high school. Goldcrest High. A generic public school, but one that was in a good funding area. Especially with all the sports alumni donating money, this school was more advanced than many others around it.
As soon as the girls entered the gates, Bijou would run away from her sister to greet her friends. That’s when Gigi would be left alone. She had no clique, no close friends, and nothing too special compared to the other students. Gigi would often spend her time reading or writing and kept to herself quite often.
On the other hand, Bijou is quite the popular girl. She always has a friend or two by her side, and is pretty much liked by everyone. Mostly because she’s funny, but also because she is everywhere. Bijou is the student council president and the ace player of their baseball team. She’s even on top of her grades, consistently scoring number one on the school’s tests.
That morning the pancakes were made with chocolate chips to celebrate her achieving number one ranking on their mid terms. It was not a new sight for Gigi. Bijou was celebrated practically every week, she did a lot of things to be celebrated for. But there was one nagging feeling. Something that felt wrong to feel, but she did anyway. Bijou was her sister, and yet she still held so much resentment for her. Sometimes the gremlin just wanted to say…
“I hate Bijou! Why doesn’t she drop a few points, ever?”
Gigi whipped her head to the side. Someone had spoken her thoughts out loud, something so taboo she didn’t even like to think it. Now her desk neighbor had said it. It didn’t seem like her desk neighbor wanted to be heard, as she turned quite red once she realized Gigi was staring at her.
The gremlin looked away. It’s not like she could just strike up a conversation with her. Gigi barely talked to her teachers, much less other students. Another reason why she spent lunch in the library reading yaoi. Though it could be worse, she could have been bullied. Being the popular girl’s sister had its perks sometimes.
Soon enough the moment completely passed, Gigi wouldn’t be able to ask her about that comment. It was too awkward. Even more awkward when the bell rang and class started. Gigi just looked down at her book and tried not to think about it.
She was beautiful though. Gigi didn’t know the girl’s name, but she was very recognizable by her green eyes and streaks in her short white hair. The bow on her head was also a clear giveaway, it almost looked like the wind up key for a doll of some kind. Much like dolls, her skin usually glowed like it was made of porcelain. She was truly a beauty, known for always coming in second, despite her very vocal frustrations. Gigi never expected those frustrations to result in her disliking Bijou though.
“Gigi! Gigi Koseki!” Her English teacher yelled at her, snapping her out of her thoughts and returning them back to the classroom.
“Um. It’s actually Gigi Murin.” Gigi corrected her teacher.
Unlike her father, she decided to keep her old family name when he got remarried. It was due to it being her mother’s last name and her father not caring whether she took the new name or not. Being a kid, Gigi chose to keep it simply because she liked how Murin sounded better, but now as a sophomore in high school, her reasons have changed.
“Can you please read page 46 for us?” Her teacher asked.
“Oh! Yeah, yeah I can.” Gigi cleared her throat while the rest of her class chuckled.
“Ugh.” Gigi stood in front of the library, which was closed.
“Oh, Gigi!” Raora appeared behind Gigi.
Raora was known as ‘goddess eyes’ with her ability to read through a book at lightning speed. It was almost like a goddess reading the book for her. She was also the student put in charge of the library, and Gigi’s only friend. Yet they had different lunch times since Raora was a grade higher than her, which would make things very limiting if Gigi ever decided to pursue a stronger friendship between the two.
“Raora, what’s going on? It was closed during lunch too!” Gigi complained.
“They’re closing it down for renovations. It won’t open back up until late December.” Raora explained.
“What? No!” Gigi exclaimed, “Late December? That’s basically next year! What am I going to do after school now?”
Gigi practically growled at the door. She was forced to wait at school for Bijou to finish with her Baseball and Student Council activities, which was every day. Her parents would scold her if she left school without her sister, but also they weren’t home and Gigi didn’t have a key. Only Bijou had a key because she was deemed too ‘irresponsible’.
“Why don’t you go home?” Raora asked.
“Can’t.” Gigi replied.
“Maybe you can join a club?” Raora suggested.
Join a club? No way! Gigi would definitely die from embarrassment if she joined a club this late into the year. Everyone was already close with each other to a major degree. Joining now would just end up with her awkwardly doing things in the corner of the room.
“No way! It’s way too late!” Gigi suddenly said. Raora raised an eyebrow, noticing that Gigi had taken a second to reply.
“If it’s too late to join a club, why not make one?” Raora asked, “It could be a reading club!”
“Do you wanna make a reading club with me?” Gigi’s eyes seemed to sparkle. Raora looked away from the gremlin.
“Yeahhhh, I was just making a suggestion.” Raora put her hand behind her head, “I don’t think I could actually be in a club.”
Gigi was a bit hurt, but she accepted Raora’s reason. At least the pink girl had given her an idea, but it’s not like she had any other plans. So Gigi got to work and tried to start a reading club. She filled out the paperwork, made fliers and walked all the way to the Student Council room to turn everything in.
“Gigi. We can’t accept this.” Bijou narrowed her eyes, “There’s already a book club. You didn’t know?”
“No! This is a reading club! Instead of reading the same book, we all bring our own and share what we like about that one!” Gigi proudly proclaimed.
“No… We can’t give you a room for this.” Bijou shook her head, “Sorry but it’s denied. Just join the book club.”
Gigi wanted to refuse her sister’s denial, but Bijou was quickly swept away by her vice president, Shiori. The VP glared at Gigi, clearly wanting her to leave. She may not understand many social cues, but that one was loud and clear. So Gigi dejectedly turned to leave the Student Council room, but was stopped by their secretary, Fuwawa.
“You’re looking for a club to read your book in, right?” Fuwawa asked.
“Yeah. I don’t wanna read some other book I don’t care about.” Gigi replied.
“I might have a club that would love to have you!” Fuwawa suddenly stood up, “Biboo, Shiori! I wanna show Gigi a club, can I go?”
“Yeah. That’s fine” Shiori gave a thumbs up and Bijou nodded along.
Fuwawa led Gigi out of the Student Council room and towards a small unused room. Inside of that room was a table, a few chairs, a bookshelf that was mostly empty and one single girl. A pretty girl, sitting at the table and looking down at a big book. This green girl was doing her homework and seemed surprised to see Gigi enter.
“Oh. I see Fuwawa brought you to me. So, what can I help you with?” The green girl closed the book.
“She’s not here for that! Gigi’s here because she’s interested in joining!” Fuwawa explained.
“Wha- Ah- Joining?” Gigi stuttered, “I didn’t agree to that! I don’t even know what this club is!”
“Hmm?” The green girl raised an eyebrow. She looked at Gigi’s messy pigtails and her orange and black jacket. The jacket even had a decal on the back of it like a fake tail had been implanted into it. She seemed so juvenile. “Rejected.”
“Huh? What?” Gigi blinked a few times.
“Come on! You barely do anything anyways! Just give her a chance!” Fuwawa pleaded.
“Wait- Did you just reject me? What the heck!” Gigi slammed her fists onto the table, “That’s pretty rude, you know?”
“You don’t even know what we do! Why do you want to join?” The girl frowned.
“Well… I was told… That I could spend my time here after school reading.” Gigi looked at the ground.
“See? It’s perfect! All you do is study anyway!” Fuwawa smiled.
“Rejected.” She repeated her previous word.
“Whatever this club is, I’m sure I can do it!” Gigi proclaimed, “Just give me a chance!”
“It’s not that simple. We’d need someone to-” The green girl was interrupted when a small girl opened the door. She was in a shark hoodie and looked like a freshman.
The small girl seemed a bit panicked and a bit shocked to see so many people in this club room. She was also panting, clearly out of breath from running. Fuwawa tilted her head and looked at the one member of the club.
“Damn it. Fine! Gigi, you can do a trial run today.” The green girl nodded, she turned to the small one who just entered the room, “So, what’s the problem?”
“I need help! The art club’s model had to go home suddenly! Can you please be our model!” The small girl asked.
“Sure, I’d be glad to help.” The green girl turned to Gigi and smiled, “Come on, let’s go.”
“I’m in the Helpful Club. Whenever other students need help with small problems, club activities, or tasks that can’t be done by any teachers or student council members, we help. It can be something small or big, but that’s what we do.” The green girl explained.
“I see.” Gigi nodded, “That’s why you study all the time, right? Because people don’t really need help that much?”
“Yup. But even when they do, I take my club duties very seriously. So don’t mess this up, Murin.” The green girl narrowed her eyes.
“Oh! I’m Gura!” Gura suddenly introduced herself. She had forgotten to in her panicked state. “Nice to meet you two- Uhhhh.”
“Gigi Murin.”
“Cecilia Immergreen.”
Gigi was relieved that someone else prompted Cecilia to say her name. She was way too awkward to ask herself, especially since they were desk neighbors. Since Cecilia seemingly knew her name and didn’t bother to introduce herself, Gigi understood something. Cecilia definitely thought Gigi already knew her name.
“Dodged a bullet.” Gigi thought.
They arrived at the art club, filled with many students at canvases surrounding a podium with no muse. Everyone turned to see Cecilia and Gigi arrive with Gura, happy to see them arrive. Many of the art club members started getting their supplies ready.
“I’m so glad you agreed to do this! Cecilia, you’re really pretty! I’ll make sure to draw you even better!” Gura thanked Ceci.
“What?” Cecilia tilted her head, “Oh! No, I’m not gonna pose for an hour. That’s annoying.” Cecilia shook her head.
“Why did we come here?” Gigi asked.
“Good question, muse.” Cecilia smugly replied.
“Damn it.” Gigi clenched her fists.
Before she knew it, the gremlin was sitting in a stool holding the same position. She couldn’t even hold her book, since they wanted to get as pure of a human body as they could get. Gura even suggested Gigi take off her clothes, but Gigi refused to do that for very obvious reasons. As a compromise she did take off her jacket, which might have been Gura’s actual goal from the start.
Was this the club she really wanted to join? She would have a place to read, but without Raora there she could just read in the classroom or outside. If she joined this club she would have to do annoying things like this every once in a while. Was it worth it?
Gigi remembered what happened in the morning. Cecilia talking about Bijou. Not even Raora disliked Bijou, or at least talked about it. It seemed like the green girl was always destined for second place, which was something Gigi could relate to. Maybe if she stayed in this club, she would be able to have someone who understood her. Not just a friend, but someone in her life that she could actually have a deep emotional connection to.
Maybe that was something she really wanted? Gigi kept thinking about it, becoming more sure in her decision. Even if annoying things happened, it would be worth it. Even if it was just a tiny chance, even if she was just having a bad day when she said it. Cecilia was still the only one she knew who might just understand her a little.
“Ok! That’s time! Thank you Gigi!” Gura announced, snapping Gigi out of her thoughts.
“Oh? I can move again?” Gigi asked.
“No. It’s just time for them to eat a snack. You still gotta stay there.” Cecilia replied with a smile.
“Dang it.” Gigi replied, clearly annoyed but she held her pose.
“No! We’re done! We’re done! You can move now Gigi.” Gura said.
Gigi looked at Cecilia who was laughing at her little joke. It wasn’t very amusing to Gigi, but she didn’t mind it. The joke was way less cruel than what she went through at home.
“I guess you’re not terrible to have around. Fine, you can join.” Cecilia offered.
“Thanks. I hope it isn’t weird that I’m joining so late.” Gigi chuckled.
“It’s weird for anyone to join. Don’t worry about it.” Ceci shrugged.
The after school bell rang, letting students know that they had only twenty minutes to end club activities and head home. Bijou texted Gigi at that moment letting her know that she was waiting. Gigi replied that she would be on her way.
“All that art made me hungry. I want ice cream, do you want ice cream?” Cecilia asked.
“Oh… Now? Is the cafeteria still open?” Gigi put her finger on her chin.
“No. On our way home! Or do you take the bus?” Cecilia asked.
“I take the train, but I can’t.” Gigi said, “I have to take Bijou home. She’s waiting for me right now.”
“Lame. I guess we can do it another day.” Cecilia shrugged. Suddenly the green girl walked towards Gigi and got close to her face, “It’s a date!”
“WHa- Huh?” Gigi’s face turned red as she stumbled over her words. Cecilia instantly started laughing.
“Just kidding! Oh my god you should see your face!” Cecilia laughed.
“Ah- Hahaha!” Gigi didn’t know how to reply, so she just kinda laughed. All she knew was that her heart had spiked and her face was burning up. Even after she walked away, it was definitely still visible because Bijou noticed it too.
“What’s got you in a good mood?” Bijou asked.
“Ah- Nothing. Let’s go.” Gigi shook her head. Her sister seemed annoyed at the gremlin, but walked home with her anyway.
They both sat down in silence. Bijou would always be on her phone, more interested in it than her sister. Gigi was ok with this usually, but today she actually wanted to talk to the small gem.
“Bijou.” Gigi suddenly said, causing her sister to whip her head towards Gigi. She seemed very confused, Gigi hadn’t talked to Bijou on the train in a while. It was silently agreed to be a quiet rest point before they got home.
“What?” Bijou seemed annoyed.
“How would you feel if we walked home separately?” Gigi asked.
Bijou didn’t seem to like that question. She was visibly angry and Gigi didn’t know how she would respond. The tiny gem turned towards Gigi but instead of being angry she suddenly smiled.
“Sure. You just have to be the one to talk to mom and dad, ok?” Bijou told her.
Talk to mom and dad… Yeah, that would be a tall order for this gremlin. Her parents were so busy with work they hardly had the time to talk with her. Gigi would end up usually just spending her days after school in her room, on her laptop or doing homework.
Dinner was also out of the question, as her parents would usually work well past the point of it being reasonable to wait for them. She was insanely nervous, but was lucky enough to catch them in the hallway before bed. Gigi wasted no time and ran towards her mother and father.
“Dad!” Gigi greeted her father.
“Gigi. We’re both really tired, can you talk to us in the morning?” He asked her.
“But this will be really quick! I promise!” Gigi pleaded.
“Ugh. Fine ok.” Jay allowed her to speak.
“I think me and Bijou should walk home separately. I really think it would be best for us.” Gigi quickly said. Her father was clearly upset at this.
“What?” He bellowed, “Do you really wanna abandon your sister? How dare you even suggest that!”
“Your father’s right. It’s just not smart for two young girls to go home by themselves!” Cassy nodded.
Gigi knew what was happening. She had to do this for Bijou, even if Cecilia wanted to walk home with her she couldn’t just do that. The gremlin was the older sister, she had to take care of Bijou. Though, there was one way she knew she could get them to agree, even if Gigi had to swallow her pride. It hurt to say this, but she opened her mouth and said it anyway.
“I don’t think Bijou’s friends like me. I want her to be able to walk home with them.” Gigi felt herself get angry before her parents even responded. She knew this would work, and she hated that they would definitely only care if it benefited Bijou.
“Oh! Well if that’s the case…” Jay put his hand on his chin and contemplated something, “I guess that’s fine. She’ll be with her friends right?”
“I hope you’re saying this for her sake, and not just shoving your big sister responsibility onto her friends.” Cassy frowned, “But I agree with your father. If Bijou wants to walk home with her friends then so be it.”
Both of her parents turned away, seemingly done with the conversation.
“Wait! I’ll need a key!” Gigi exclaimed.
“Oh. Right.” Jay laughed, “It was so obvious I forgot.”
He pulled out a key from a drawer and gave it to Gigi, then her parents went to their room for the night. Gigi just stared at the key. She hated how they didn’t even ask if she would be walking home with anyone. All they wanted was for someone to protect Bijou, but didn’t care if Gigi was left alone.
“Ugh.” Gigi sighed. She walked back into her room and laid down onto her bed. Hopefully she would have a better dream that night.
BEEP BEEP BEEP
Gigi’s eyes shot awake. The gremlin’s harsh alarm clock forced her awake once again, though it wasn’t from a nightmare or bad memory. Her dream last night was actually really pleasant, although there was one thing that was strange to her.
“Why the hell was I doing that with Cecilia?” Gigi whispered to herself.
She dreamt about being the most popular girl in school, having all the friends and even Bijou doing whatever she wanted. Her parents were attending every event she had, it was wonderful. But right at the end Cecilia had suddenly grabbed her hand and pulled her in for a kiss. One that was interrupted by her alarm clock.
“I seriously can’t be this lame.” Gigi thought. There was no way she had a crush on Cecilia after one kind of decent day. Not to mention, she didn’t even know if she liked girls. That wasn’t a thing that had been on her mind at all.
Gigi shook her head in defiance. One small little tease! That was all they had that could even remotely come close to flirting! Was Gigi so easy? No! It had to be something else, and Gigi would get to the bottom of it.
She was determined to prove that she wasn’t actually crushing on Cecilia. No matter what.