What if...?

By Thunderboom

Story 1:

“AN ORDINARY WEEK”

Chapter 1

“A Friendly Conversation”

Jonathan Clark, a 15-year-old boy, was walking home from school one day. Walking beside him was his best friend, classmate, and twin sister, Melissa. The two teenagers were students at Saffron High School in the average-sized city of Saffron, Kansas.

Jonathan was an ordinary boy, rather tall and thin, with a very pale complexion, and messy, dark brown hair that looked closer to black than brown. He also had several large bags (eye circles) under his heterochromatic (bluish-grey and greenish-grey) eyes.

Melissa, on the other hand, had long, brown hair that fell about a foot below her neck, save for two small, shorter sections, which came to the front of her shoulders, curling upwards towards her face. She had clear, emerald green eyes that glittered like gems.

As expected, the two students were wearing their school uniforms. Jonathan’s consisted of black pants and a white shirt, and Melissa’s uniform was a black skirt and a white shirt. They were also wearing the last part of their uniforms, a black jacket, but only Jonathan’s was fastened. Melissa left hers undone, because she “wasn’t that cold”.

“Jonathan,” Melissa started, “I had a really weird dream last night.”

“Oh?” Jonathan replied.

“Yeah,” Melissa said, “We were all stuck in Digimon! We were Digidestined, and everything!”

“Interesting. How long did this dream last?”

“It seemed to go on forever!”

“Was there anything especially weird about it?”

“Yeah, there was. We weren’t siblings. And, we were... we were...”

“Yes?”

“Dating!!”

Jonathan recoiled from shock.

“Wouldn’t that be incest?”

“Well, we weren’t related in the dream.”

“Still disturbing.”

Yeah, very.”

“So who all was in this dream? Just you and me?”

“Well, no, there was also Alistair and Aurelia Lee; Amity, Tobias, and Loretta Moore; two kids named Lucian and Lucilla DuBois; Oh, and Denise Hill. I almost forgot her!”

“Speaking of whom, didn’t she invite us to see something she was going to be in?” Jonathan asked, trying to recall.

“Yeah,” Melissa replied, “A figure skating competition.”

“Melissa, remind me: what’s figure skating, again?”

Melissa burst out laughing in her unusual, half-giggling way.

“You get out of your room more often than that, Jonathan!” Melissa said, laughing.

“Yeah, but only because you make me.” Jonathan teased.

Ahead, they saw two of their classmates, Takumi Kaminari and Kaori Satō, saying ‘goodbye’ to each other before they parted ways.

Melissa was overcome with emotion.

“Aw...” she said, “That was so sweet...”

“It just looked like two old friends saying ‘goodbye’, to me.” Jonathan said.

“That’s because you’re not a romantic.” Melissa said, “That’s one of the few differences between you and me.”

Takumi, seeing his classmates approaching him, felt obliged to say ‘hello’. When they reached him, he bowed and said, “Hello, Jonathan-kun and Melissa-chan.”

Jonathan and Melissa, who were used to this, bowed and said, “Hello, Takumi-kun.”

Since the three teenagers all lived on the same street, they occasionally walked home together, but Takumi, being very shy, usually went by himself. Unless, of course, he was with his sister, Aiko, in which case they would hurry as fast as they could, due to Aiko’s dislike of her classmates.

“Where’s your sister, Takumi-kun?” Melissa inquired.

“Aiko is at cheerleading practice, and she said that she could walk home by herself today.” Takumi replied.

“I watched one of her practices with you one time.” Melissa commented, “She’s better than any of the others.”

“Yes,” Takumi said, “Especially considering that she’s a year younger than them!”

Aiko, being rather smart, was in the 10th grade, while her twin brother, Takumi, was left in the 9th grade. As it turned out, although she enjoyed her advancement, she seemed to feel very uncomfortable to be surrounded by kids older than herself, which is probably why she always ran home from school, and usually ignored everyone in her class.

As they were talking, a gust of wind blew past them, knocking Takumi’s papers from his arms. He reached down to pick them up.

Oddly, as it blew past, the wind spoke to them. It said, “Kónnichi wa, Takumi!”

“‘Hello’ to you, too, sis!” Takumi called after the gust.

“Hello, Aiko-senpai!” Melissa called.

On hearing Melissa’s voice, Aiko skidded to a halt.

Oh no. Please let that not be Melissa... she desperately thought to herself, and she slowly turned around to face the group.

AND Jonathan?? This is not my lucky day... she continued.

She was very nervous, and was blushing.

All in all, she looked mortified to see these two friends of her brother’s.

“I’m going home now.” she whispered shyly, and she raced away.

“Does your sister always act that way, or just around us?” Jonathan asked, recalling previous encounters with Aiko, which had all had similar results.

“Well, she acts that way a lot,” Takumi said, “But usually just when she’s around someone new. She can usually get control over herself quickly enough, though.”

And so, the three friends returned to their separate homes on 35th Street. Melissa, as she was looking around, thought she saw, for only a moment, Aiko watching them through a window.

Chapter 2

“A Chilling Competition”

Date: April 5, 2008

Time: 2:45 PM

“Well, Jonathan,” Melissa said, “We’re here.”

“Yep,” Jonathan replied, looking up at the large building in front of them, “The Saffron Skating Rink.”

They stepped through the large doors, and found their seats. They then chatted with each other while waiting for the competition to begin.

“I’ve never seen a figure skating competition before.” Jonathan commented, “I’m rather excited.”

“Yeah, me too.” Melissa said, “I always wonder why they don’t fall own more often.”

“I guess because they’re really good at it.” Jonathan replied.

“I guess so.” Melissa said, “Oh, look! They’re starting!”

Jonathan and Melissa watched the first few competitors, awed by their impressive feats.

“They certainly have, um, interesting outfits.” Jonathan commented.

“Yes,” Melissa agreed, “They are, well, odd.”

Denise was the seventh competitor, and she came out eventually.

“Are you sure that’s Denise?” Jonathan asked.

“Yep.” Melissa replied, “That’s Denise wearing that outfit.”

“I knew she had a feminine side.” Jonathan said.

Melissa laughed.

“Yes,” she said, “I suppose she isn’t usually very girly.”

“Unlike you.” Jonathan said, pointing out Melissa’s outfit.

She was wearing a long-sleeved, pink shirt with a matching pink, pleated skirt.

“What?” Melissa asked, “I like pink. It’s my favorite color.”

“Yeah, but what is it with you and pleated skirts?” Jonathan asked, “That seems to be all you ever wear, 24/7.”

“Yeah,” Melissa said, “I guess I do have somewhat of a fetish about them.”

“Um, Melissa?” Jonathan asked, staring at the rink, “Are you seeing this?”

Melissa joined Jonathan in gaping at Denise as she performed stunts that they would have considered impossible, such as leaps and spins.

“What’s she doing?” Jonathan asked.

“I think it’s called a ‘layback spin.’” Melissa replied.

“I didn’t think you could actually do that.” Jonathan said.

“Well, obviously she’s doing it.”

Denise continued in this way until her time was up, at which point she took a bow, and got off the rink.

Denise didn’t win the competition, but she did get 2nd place, which pleased her all the same.

Melissa and Jonathan went to congratulate her. When they met up with her, she had already changed into normal clothes. Today, she was wearing a white t-shirt and white shorts. Her metallic, bronze hair was set in an odd pseudo-pigtail, with her hair clipped at the back of her head, so two small triangles of hair poked out from behind her, perpendicular to the back of her head.

“Hi, Melissa. Hi, Jonathan.” she greeted them.

“Denise!” Melissa exclaimed, “You were INCREDIBLE!! I’ve never seen anything like it!”

“Is that sarcasm?” Denise asked, “I never can tell with you.”

Melissa winked.

“You’ll just have to figure that out for yourself!” she told her 12-year-old friend.

Just then, a 14-year-old boy walked up to them. Before he could say anything, however, Denise greeted him.

“Thomas, what are you doing here?” she asked, clearly annoyed, “I thought I already dumped you this week.”

“I just wanted to congratulate you Denise!” Thomas replied, innocently.

“Thomas,” Denise said, “Do you remember my favorite song?”

“No.” Thomas answered, “What is it?”

“Wannabe, by the Spice Girls.” Denise told him, “And, as the song goes, ‘if you really bug me, then I’ll say goodbye’. Goodbye, Thomas.”

“I don’t even get a chance to make up for it?” Thomas asked her.

“‘Get your act together, we could be just fine.’” Denise told him, and she walked off, soon followed by Melissa and Jonathan.

As they were walking, Melissa asked her friend, “How many times have you two broken up, now?”

“Oh, about 50.” Denise told her.

“Why do keep bothering with him?” Jonathan asked.

“I don’t honestly know.” Denise replied, “Every other boy I’ve gone out with is always a jerk.”

“I thought you said that Thomas was a jerk, too.” Melissa said.

“Well, yeah,” Denise said, shrugging, “But he’s not as bad as the others. He may tease me to no end, but at least he does it lightheartedly.”

“You like him, don’t you?” Melissa asked.

“I didn’t say that.” Denise replied, blushing.

Chapter 3

“A Day to Remember”

As they were walking, Melissa suddenly remembered something. She stopped Jonathan to tell him.

“Oh, Jonathan,” she said, pulling a piece of paper out of her pocket, “Here’s that document you asked for. Don’t show anyone else.”

Handing it to him, she winked.

“Huh?” Jonathan asked, confused, “I didn’t ask for anything...”

Melissa just smiled.

“Twenty-two points, plus triple-word-score, plus fifty points for using all my letters.” she replied cryptically, “Game’s over. I’m outta here.”

And she left.

Jonathan looked at the paper she handed him. It read:

Dear Jonathan: If you can figure out what that meant, please tell me through an e-mail!

Jonathan finally figured out what it meant (the next day), so he sent Melissa an e-mail, confirming with her about it.

SUBJECT: Important Message from Jonathan

BODY: Very funny, Melissa. It took me FOREVER to figure out what you meant. Like I’m supposed to know about an obscure virus named “Melissa”? Anyway, I hope you don’t do something like this again. .

Soon afterwards, Melissa replied to his e-mail.

SUBJECT: RE: Important Message from Jonathan

BODY: Well, I’m glad you figured it out, at least. You had me worried there. :p

Jonathan turned his computer off and poked his head into his sister’s room.

“Um, Melissa, we have school tomorrow, you know.” he informed her.

“Oh, okay...” Melissa replied, “Good night!”

At school the next day (it was late at night when Jonathan figured it out), Melissa described to Jonathan all about her first-hand experience with the “Melissa virus”.

“I never opened the document, but I remembered the message.” she told him during lunch, “I only just recently found out it was named ‘Melissa.’”

“Why don’t we ever have normal conversations, like normal kids?” Jonathan wondered aloud.

“Hey, Jonathan,” Melissa asked, “How tall are you now? I’m five feet, ten and seventh-eighths inches, and I weigh 115 pounds.”

“Oh, um,” Jonathan replied, not expecting this, “I’m, um, five feet, eleven inches, and 110 pounds. Why?”

“Cool! So we’re still about the same height!” Melissa exclaimed joyfully.

“Why are you so happy about that?” Jonathan asked, confused.

“I can’t let you get too much taller than me, now can I?” Melissa asked, smiling.

“Oi!” Alistair told them to get their attention.

Alistair and Aurelia Lee, another set of twins, as well as two of their closest friends, had been sitting next to them.

“What is it, Alistair?” Melissa asked.

“Look over there.” Alistair told them, nodding his head towards a corner.

Amity Moore, one of their classmates and friends, was crying silently. A boy was walking away from her, chuckling to himself.

Aurelia stood up, cracking her knuckles.

“No, Aurelia.” Alistair told his sister.

“Aw, little brother, can’t I pleeeeease kick his pìgu?” Aurelia pleaded.

“You’re only 6 minutes older than me, Aurelia, and no, you can’t. It’s still lunchtime.”

“Can I after school?”

“Sure.”

“Yes!”

Alistair looked around.

“Huh?” he asked, “Where’d Jonathan and Melissa go?”

Jonathan and Melissa sat down on either side of Amity in an attempt to comfort her.

“What’s wrong, Amity?” Melissa asked her.

“Nothing, Melissa.” she replied between sobs, “I’m alright.”

“You are not ‘alright.’” Melissa scolded her, “Now what’s really wrong?”

“Oh, it’s just the usual bully behavior.” Amity told her, “You know, insults, threats... That sort of thing.”

“Well, I’m sure the bully will be taken care of.” Jonathan reassured her.

Just then, they heard a loud crash.

They looked up to see the bully flat on his face, with Aurelia standing over him, smiling satisfactorily. She then said, “Oh, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to trip you. It was an accident. Honest!”

She reached down to help the bully up, obviously trying to crush his hand in the process. The bully noticeably winced when Aurelia grabbed his hand and pulled him to his feet.

“Never mind.” Jonathan said, “I spoke too soon.”

“It doesn’t mater...” Amity said, staring at her untouched sandwich, “What he said was still true...”

“What did he say?” Melissa asked.

“Oh, just that I was pathetic and I might as well be dead.” Amity said, “And he’s right.”

At that moment, someone tapped her on the shoulder.

Amity looked up to see Alistair glaring down at her.

“Did you just say that you ‘might as well be dead?’” he asked her.

“Yes, why?”

Alistair smacked her across the cheek.

Amity (as well as Melissa and Jonathan) was shocked.

“What’d you do that for?!” Melissa demanded.

“Amity has been too suicidal lately.” Alistair replied, “I needed to knock some sense into her.”

“You... you did this for me?” Amity asked him, touched.

“Yeah, so?” Alistair replied, blushing.

“My hero!” Amity exclaimed, throwing her arms around him.

“Congratulations, Alistair.” Melissa said, shocked, “You’ve driven Amity loopy.”

“No, no, Jonathan...” Amity told him, “I just finally realized that I have friends! I have real friends! My friends are real now, not imaginary!”

“Yep.” Jonathan agreed, “She’s totally cracked.”

“Oh, by the way,” Alistair told them, “Aurelia just broke that guy's hand. He's on his way to the nurse's office.”

“Let me guess:” Melissa said, “She didn't get in trouble, right?”

“Would any self-respecting ‘tough guy’ admit that he got hurt by a girl?” Alistair asked them.

“No.” Amity replied, having cheered up very quickly.

Later that day, after school, as it was a Monday, Jonathan and Melissa were taking their usual walk around the neighborhood park

Melissa sighed.

“It’s so nice to have someone to watch out for me.” she said, dreamily.

“Hey, Melissa,” Jonathan said, snapping his fingers in front of her, “Stop daydreaming. You won’t be able to see where you’re going.”

Melissa smiled slyly at him.

“Oh, shoot...” Jonathan muttered, smacking his forehead, “I completely walked into that one, didn’t I?”

“Hook, line, and sinker, bro.” Melissa told him.

As they were walking, a 16-year-old girl ran up to them. She had long, straight, jet black hair that blew everywhere, due to the wind. She was wearing a floral-printed sundress, and she looked “happy as a clam at high tide”. She also had a small gold cross hanging around her neck.

“Hello, you two!” she told them, giggling.

“NFW.” Melissa said, shocked.

“What?” her brother asked.

“No. Freaking. Way” she clarified.

“What is it, Melissa?” Jonathan asked.

“Jonathan, this is Amity.”

“No way.” Jonathan said, shaking his head, “This girl is nothing like Amity.”

“Sheesh!” the stranger exclaimed, “A girl changes her style, starts being optimistic, and everyone wonders who she is!”

“Now that sounds like the Amity we all know and-” Jonathan started.

Melissa glared at him.

“Um, like.” Jonathan finished.

“Yep!” Amity replied, “It’s me!”

“What’s wrong with you?” Melissa asked, “Are you stoned, or something?”

“No, I am NOT!” Amity replied, “I’m just feeling all ‘floaty’ is all!”

“‘Floaty?!’” Melissa asked.

“Remember CCS, Melissa?” Jonathan asked.

“Oh, yeah.”

They suddenly heard a loud THUMP!! sound behind them. They turned around to see Aiko Kaminari sprawled out below a tree, blushing profusely.

“Aiko?” Melissa asked, “What were you doing in that tree?”

“I-I-I-I was, um... b-birdwatching!” Aiko stammered.

“Um, okay.” Melissa told her, “Do you want to join us?”

Aiko quickly shook her head and raced off.

“That was weird.” Amity commented.

Chapter 4

“Sibling Rivalry”

“Hey, I just realized something.” Jonathan stated.

“Yeah, what?” Melissa asked him.

“Well, you and me are twins, Alistair and Aurelia are twins, and Takumi and Aiko are twins.”

Melissa just stared at him for a few seconds.

“You’re kidding, right?” she asked.

“Why would I be kidding?”

“You mean you’re just now realizing that Saffron has a lot of twins and triplets?”

“Huh? No, I was just meaning us six.” Jonathan said, “I didn’t know the town had a history of them.

“Well it does.” Melissa told him, “32 percent of all Saffron citizens have a sibling that’s the same age as them.”

“Really?” Amity asked, surprised.

“Yeah, there’s something about this place that makes them more frequent.”

“Well, there is a nuclear power plant in the city. Maybe that’s why.”

“Good theory, Amity.”

“Thanks, Melissa!”

“This is just too weird.” Jonathan commented, “This can’t be true...”

Melissa burst out laughing.

“It’s not, you silly!” she told her brother, “I was making it up! Amity just went along with it!”

Jonathan glared at his sister.

“It’s just a coincidence that we’re twins and we know two other sets of twins! Besides, I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone else who had a twin, except us six!” Melissa told him, laughing.

“You’re a very cruel little sister.”

“Ain’t I just?”

Meanwhile, Aiko had just made it home, having run for the two miles the park was from her house.

“Oh. You’re home.” Takumi commented, “You’re out of breath and panting. What have you been doing, running a marathon?”

“Damare!” Aiko told him.

“Fine, fine... I’ll just go do something else.” Takumi told her, and he walked off.

“Baka...” Aiko muttered to herself.

She walked over to a shelf and grabbed a book off it. Some reading would calm her nerves.

She had picked a book a random, so she looked to see what she had chosen.

Cardcaptor Sakura.

Aiko sighed.

“I don’t need Sakura-chan, I need something a little better.” she muttered, putting the book back in its place.

She picked another manga at random.

“Ah!” she said, “X. This will do just fine.”

She sat down and began to read.

Takumi poked his head over her shoulder.

“Takumi, go away.”

“Why are you reading that? You only read that when you’re in a bad mood.”

“So obviously I’m in a bad mood! Now shoo!”

“What if I don’t?” Takumi asked, smiling.

Aiko grabbed his neck.

“Then I’ll make you leave.” she said threateningly.

Their mother, Ai, poked her head into the room.

“Aiko, try not to kill your brother.” she told her.

“I won’t, mother!”

“Okay.” Ai replied, and she left.

Aiko let go of her brother.

Takumi gasped.

“Domo.” he sarcastically told her.

“Gomen nasai.” Aiko replied, equally sarcastic.

“Thanks for the help, sis.”

“W-what??”

“For my Dōjinshi!” Takumi told her, “Now I have firsthand experience in knowing what rage looks like!”

“And if you don’t leave in the next 10 seconds, I’ll give you another demonstration.” Aiko told him, counting down the seconds on her fingers.

“Ichi...” she said, holding up one finger.

“Ni...”

“San...”

“Shi...”

“Go...”

“Roku...”

“Shichi...”

“Hachi...”

“Kyū...”

Aiko only had one more digit to go.

“Bai!” Takumi said, and he left as quickly as possible.

“Jū.” Aiko finished, and she continued reading.

Chapter 5

“Pleasant Surprises”

A week later, Amity came up to Jonathan and Melissa with an important announcement.

“I’ve got a boyfriend!” she exclaimed.

“Um... congratulations?” Jonathan suggested.

Melissa stomped on his foot.

“Ow!”

“So who is he?” Melissa asked.

“Ah!” Amity replied, “That’s where the surprise is.”

Melissa tapped her foot impatiently.

“Well? We’re waiting.” Melissa said.

“...It’s Alistair!” Amity told them.

“A-A-Alistair?” Melissa asked, confused.

“Yeah, Alistair Lee! Why?”

Melissa fainted.

“She doesn’t seem to think you two are a good match.” Jonathan commented, catching her.

“Well, who cares what she thinks?”

“That’s what I always say.”

THE END

Sneak Peek at Next Time!

“Jonathan?” Melissa asked.

“Yeah?”

“I think we’re lost.”

“Melissa, we’re wandering around in a dark forest in the middle of the night, with no way of knowing what way we’re going, and dead batteries in our flashlights, and you ‘think we’re lost?’”

Jonathan stopped to look around, and Melissa crashed into him. They were apparently at the top of a hill, and they went rolling down the side, and into a clearing.

“Ow...” Jonathan commented.

“That’s funny.” Melissa said, “I feel fine.”

“W-who’s there?” someone asked, and they shone a flashlight on them.

Jonathan was sprawled on the ground, numerous cuts and bruises all over him, and Melissa was sitting on top of him.

Jonathan looked up at his sister.

“Well,” he said, “This is certainly awkward.”

Stay Tuned for What if...? – Story 2: Jonathan and Melissa’s Frightening Adventure

(By the way, you will never see Denise Hill again.)

(Hey, she WAS only there to tie "Digimon Advanced" and "What if...?" together!)