Well, here's my newest fic. It's basically a little monster that's been in my brain since I saw RENT because... well... I'm a rock chick. I like musicals... like Rocky Horror and Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas. I barely know anything about Broadway. So I decided to take RENT and put it in my own element. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: I don't own RENT, Myspace, David Bowie, Green Day, Interscope or anything mentioned in here for the most part.

Rock n' Roll Life

By Donna

Chapter One: Changes (David Bowie)

Hey! Wanna be in a band!

If you are a drummer between the age of eighteen to twenty-five, we are looking for you! Our band, Subatomic Treehuggers, is signed to Interscope Records and we are need of a new drummer.

Please come to W High School this Saturday and show your stuff 1:30-3:00. May the best drummer win.

Please call Mark Cohen or Roger Davis at XXX-XXX-XXXX or YYY-YYY-YYYY

Roger slammed his combat boots on the top of the chair in front of him. He groaned. "Can you believe this, Collins!"

Collins sighed. "I know... I know... you get signed to a major record company and your drummer leaves. Life sucks. Have a cookie."

Roger leaned back and screamed, "Will the next person go on the stage!" He was at the last person and he could only hope for the best.

A young man walked onto the stage. He whispered, "Uhm... hello."

Roger couldn't decide if he wanted to laugh or cry. This kid looked twelve and he wore nothing out of the ordinary. No piercings aside from the hoops in his ears. No real... style at all. He was boring, to say the least.

"Name?" Collins asked.

"Ang--"

"Hey! Sorry! I hadda piss!" Mark yelled, swinging next to Roger. He pushed his blonde bangs from his face. "Hey, kid!"

"What's your name again?" Roger asked, rubbing his temples. His eyes darted at Mark, snarling, "Dear God, please tell me you cleaned your hands."

Mark grinned and turned to the drummer-in-waiting. The young man said, "My name's Angel Dumott-Schunard."

"Okay. Go to the drums and show us your stuff," Collins instructed.

Angel sat at the drumset and took a deep breath. He grabbed the worn drumsticks and began to play a very fast, sharp rock beat. He slammed the cymbals and banged the snares flawlessly.

"He's really good!" Collins exclaimed, rubbing Roger's elbow.

"I like him!" Mark added, "He's so... corruptable."

Angel stopped, looking up at them nervously.

Roger stood up, clapping. "Well done, Angie."

"Thank you," Angel murmured, giving a little bow.

Roger walked out of the seats in the school auditorium and toward the stage. "How old are you?"

"I'm eighteen. I just graduated high school."

"Okay. What did you plan on doing?"

"...I dunno... community college?"

"Okay. Can you handle the rock star life?"

"If you mean, get drunk off your ass during the day and play rock godd– god by night, I can do it. I'll do anything to be in this band. I just want to play."

"I like this kid," Mark said.

"Take him," Collins demanded.

"Angel, we took a vote. Three outta three. Welcome to the band!"

Angel smiled. He jumped up the stage and hugged them. "You won't be sorry!"

Mark laughed. "Let's get the girls and go out! I'll pay!"

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Angel watched nervously. He knew all about the Subatomic Treehuggers. They came from New York and he even saw them preform once or twice. He thought they were amazing. East Coast's call to Green Day, or any of that California punk. They were a trio to be feared and loved all the same. First was Roger Davis, pretty boy frontman. He had long blonde locks and dressed in his trusty leather jacket, jeans, and boots constantly. His only loves were his guitar and his girlfriend, both of which named April. Then there was his bassist, the emotional part of the band, Mark Cohen. To most kids, Mark was just another emo/mod/indie kid. He wore his hair floppy, his glasses black and thick, and his scarf blue and white. He also took care of a lot of messages on the official message board. Angel's heart skipped a beat a few times when Mark replied to his messages. They did have a drummer... but who cared about the drummer now!

The drummer was him!

"You know our music?" Roger asked, passing a beer to Angel.

Angel looked at the beer menacingly. He didn't drink much, but just enough to have a fake ID. "Yeah! I'm a huge fan! I added you to my Myspace, I bought an old copy of Jilly's Lil EP, F-A-K-E, and Starstuck on Moonshine."

"Wow! That's determination!" Roger exclaimed.

"Yeah!" Angel said, nodding, "I didn't want you guys to fall apart, so I decided to go for it and try out!"

Collins laughed. "I like you, Ang."

Angel grinned. Tom Collins, the manager, site maintainer, merch king. He was a genius, plain and simple. All Angel could said was, "Thank you."

"You look familiar," Collins added.

"You probably saw me on Myspace," Angel said. He paled.

"I think I did," was all Collins could say to him. He leaned over to Roger and said, "We need to talk about something."

Roger nodded. "Sure, sure. Now, Ang! What's your favorite tune?"

"We're here!" yelled a tall woman with a darker woman in tow.

"Oh! Angel! Meet Maureen and Joanne!" Mark introduced.

Collins yanked Roger to the men's room. "Roger," he said, "Lil' Angie's hidin' something."
"What?" Roger asked, "Is he really fifteen? That's okay."

"Not that!" Collins argued, "He's a... well... the picture's worth a thousand words."

He sat on the ground, pulling his laptop from his bag. Roger groaned, sitting next to him on the extremely dirty floor.

"Yes! Wifi hotspot," Colins cheered as he opened up the laptop. "Let's go onto Myspace."

"Myspace!" Roger gasped.

"Yes." Collins went to Subatomic Treehugger's page and went through their friends page. He clicked on someone named "Angie D." The page opened, David Bowie's voice splashing into their ears. A pretty girl graced the front of the page. Roger smiled. She looked cute, her head tilted back, a spider pin caught in her bobbed black hair. She wore a black nurse-from-hell dress with zebra tights and heels. After he studied the picture more, he realized she was familiar and a guy.

"Userpictures," Collins said, "She switched it."

He clicked around and found more of her userpictures. One of which, Roger noticed, was with a pretty brunette he assumed was named "Meems." The last one was most certainly their new drummer, Angel, with Aladdin Sane-inspired make-up.

Roger stretched. Definitly the same person on the front of the page. "So... Angel's a queen?"

"Yep," Collins said, "I mean, I'm cool with it. But it's your call."

Roger smirked. "This is so cool. Don't you see? Angel's so determined to be in the band he'd sacrifice his lifestyle for it! He's prefect!"

"And... will you... ask him about the whole dress-up thing?" Collins asked.

"I'm not. I'm not smart in the whole 'gay' department," he put up air quotes for emphasis, "but I think once he's comfortable with us and everything, he'll tell us. For now, let's just be happy, Tommy-boy! We're gonna be the best band ever! Now go back to Angie's homepage! You know how much I love 'Changes!'"

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Aaaaand... that's all I got.