A/N: So back in "I'll be Your Castle," Angel said that owing Joanne a favor is nothing like owing Maureen. How she knows this, some have asked. Well, here is the elaborate (albeit not epic) tale of how Angel owed Maureen a favor! Enjoy.
Disclaimer: I finally own my plot line! Man it's been forever since I've said that. But Jonathan still owns RENT and all that is in reference to it.
"Maureen, I need a favor," Angel had asked when she was stuck in Manhattan after falling asleep on the bus. "Can you come pick me up? I'd call Collins but he's in class, and the next bus doesn't get here for another two hours."
"Angel, how the hell did you end up that far away? Why don't you take the subway?" Maureen asked, a little angry she was woken from her nap.
"The subway is really weird if I don't have someone with. I've had some bad experiences on them," she said.
"Fine, but if I do, then you owe me, okay? That's how I work," she explained. After Angel agreed to the terms, Maureen added, "Just give me about half an hour to get there."
"Thank you so much, honey! I definitely will pay you back somehow!" she gushed.
However, later that week, Angel regretted her words of promise.
"Angel!" Maureen yelled into the phone.
"Maureen? What the heck are you calling so late?" she said hoarsely into the phone. "Or early, I guess."
"You remember how you said you'd pay me back for picking you up in Manhattan last week? Well, I'm calling that in now," she explained.
Angel could hear a crazy loud noise in the background. "Where are you?"
"That's not important," she dismissed. "Listen, I need you to pick up a bottle of purple nail polish, a scarf like Mark's, it has to be warm, and you should wear your warmer pajamas. Oh, and a blanket and a pair of yellow slippers and bring them to CBGBs. I'll pay you back when you get there."
"And why do you need them at CBGBs no less?" she asked, still not quite sure what was going on.
"Like I said, not important. Just be here in twenty minutes," Maureen insisted before hanging up.
Angel stared at the phone like it was her friend, then hung it up and went to the bedroom to put on something other than her shorter-than-socially-acceptable shorts and wife beater. After she was dressed in her pink rubber duck flannel pajamas and red jacket, she gave Collins a quick kiss on the forehead.
"Where are you going?" he mumbled, still mostly asleep.
"Maureen needs me to get her some things. I'll be back soon, okay? Love you," she whispered.
"Did you say Maureen?" he asked sitting up, more awake.
"Yeah, why?"
"Just be really careful, okay? She tends to get a little crazy at night," Collins said, remembering a few of the times she had called him at all insane hours of the night. "Just promise you'll be careful."
Now Angel was nervous. "I promise. Now get back to sleep. You have an early class." She kissed him again. Throwing the blanket from the couch into her pickle tub, she left.
On the bus, Angel watched as the city flew by and as she collected the items Maureen needed, she realized that she should have set up some limitations on the deal. After she got the nail polish, scarf, and slippers, she headed to the night club where Maureen was nowhere in sight.
A minute or two passed when someone asked the drag queen, "Are you Angel Schunard?"
Angel turned to see the manager was the one to ask. She put on her Spanish Harlem, badass look. "Who's asking?"
"I have a message from Maureen Johnson," he said. "She said that she had to leave and to meet her at Grand Central Station as soon as possible."
"Are you freaking kidding me?" Angel yelled over the bass-y music after letting a few curses fly. "Did she say anything else?"
"Nope," he yelled back. "I'm sorry I can't be more help."
"It's not your fault," she assured. "Thanks."
Back on the street, Angel continued to curse Maureen as she walked to the nearest bus stop. She boarded the bus and sat as far forward as she could, mildly freaked out by the man with a briefcase in the back. Sure she probably didn't look to normal herself, a very femme boy, or a manly girl, in her pajamas with a pickle tub on the bus at three AM, but it still scared her a little.
As soon as it pulled up to the building, Angel darted off, not wanting to miss Maureen again, and into the building. Maureen was nowhere to be found again.
"Was there a woman here with curly brown hair, a wild look in her eye?" Angel asked a clerk. "She was probably in pajamas."
"Yes," he sighed, obviously angry he was on the graveyard shift. "She left a minute ago. She left a note saying for an Angel Schunard to meet her at the top of the Empire State building."
A few bits of colorful Spanish came out of Angel's mouth. She apologized and thanked the man. She walked the few blocks to the building and walked in to no Maureen.
"Is the roof still open?" she asked.
The guard continued to snore, so she just shrugged and went to the elevator, riding it to the top.
"Maureen?" she called out on the roof. "Maureen?"
"Angel!" The Latina turned around to see her friend jumping towards her. She hugged her. "You made it!"
"Maureen, what the hell are you doing calling me this early?" Angel demanded.
"Just follow me!" Maureen cried, pulling Angel by the hand to the other side of the roof. There sat a blanket with what looked to be a bag of gummi worms and a six pack of Pepsi. "We're having a sleepover!"
Angel started to laugh. Not a ha-ha laugh, but a hysterical laugh. "Are you kidding me?"
Maureen looked hurt. "I just thought it would be fun because we don't really do things together. But if you really want to go home you can."
That sobered her up. "I'm sorry Maureen. I would love to have a sleepover." Angel unpacked her pickle tub of the items, realizing that it was really cold so the scarf, slippers, and heavy blanket would come in handy.
"Yay!" she cheered. "Now come on. We don't have much longer before sunrise."
After painting each other's nails, the two laid back and stared at the stars.
"I have to ask, Maureen," Angel started, "why the Empire State roof?"
She just pointed up. "You can't see the stars anywhere else in the city."
"Good point," she sighed. "You know, even if you sent me on a wild goose chase, it was worth it. This is really fun."
"I know," Maureen said, not the least bit humble. "If we go to the other side we can see the sunrise over the lake. It's really pretty."
"Okay," she said. They packed up their space into Angel's bucket and moved to the east side of the building. "Have you done this before?"
"A couple times with Joanne, and before her, Mark, and now you," she counted out. "Joanne does it mostly to make me happy, and Mark always complained how cold it was."
They sat on the edge on the inside of the fence with their slippered feet hanging off the edge. "Well, if you ever need a person, I'm here. Just a little more notice would be nice," Angel requested.
"I'll keep that in mind," she giggled. She looked up and pointed to the eastern horizon. "Ooh! Look!"
The city soon exploded into a vast sea of pinks and reds. The trees of Central Park gave off a golden glow and the usually tan buildings looked like large yellow towers, straight out a fairy tale.
Angel gasped at the beautiful scenery. "Oh wow. Maureen, I'm so glad you dragged me out to this."
"Isn't it magical?" she asked, rhetorically. After the sky turned to the almost normal blue, she stood up and said "We have to go before—"
"Hey!" the guard yelled. "What are you doing up here!"
"That!" Maureen cried. "Grab your bucket and run!"
Angel did just so and she and Maureen ran around the roof, fooling the guard and getting on the nearest elevator. They emerged from the building laughing harder than ever before.
"I can't believe he didn't catch us!" Angel gasped between laughs.
"Angel, he wouldn't be fast enough to catch a turtle!" Maureen's comment didn't help them catch their breath.
"Okay, we need to do this more often," Angel decided as they walked to the subway, headed for home.
"Yeah," Maureen agreed, throwing her arm around her friend, "yeah, we do."
A/N: Maybe owing Maureen a favor would be fun! Haha yeah, that turned out a lot different than I had originally planned, but I enjoy it nonetheless. :) Reviews are magic!