Disclaimer – I own nothing of the musical, Rent. It belongs to its respected owner. I do own my original characters and the plot. 'Nuff said.
Italics are song lyrics, thoughts and flashbacks.
A/N: After writing so many Les Miserables fics, I'm gonna write some more Rent stories – yay! I have now written 171 stories – how crazy is that? I will update my chapter stories by the end of the year – I promise! Just a quick note – Angel is a girl in this story and is Collins' girlfriend, NOT boyfriend.
Summary: AU: Takes place in 2013. Meet Sara Daniels – a shy, sweet, 22-year-old girl. When she meets 25-year-old rocker Roger Davis, she falls head over heels for him. He takes her under his wing and eventually, wins her heart. Rated M for future chapters.
Genre: Romance/Drama
Rating: M
CHAPTER ONE
Thirteen year old Sara Daniels rested against the pillows as she brought her daughter into the world. Her best friend, Rose, was at her front, guiding her through the difficult labor.
"I can't do this!" Sara cried.
"Yes, you can. Her head is almost out. Keep pushing!" Rose encouraged.
Two long hours later, Sara held her daughter for the first – and last – time. She wasn't keeping her daughter; she feared she would be an awful mother. Rose was actually adopting her daughter.
Sara spent the night with the little baby. She was asleep at the moment, but would wake up soon to nurse and be changed.
The following day, the little girl went with Rose and Sara went to live with her Aunt Tia. Sara's parents, twin sister and little brother had been killed in a car accident the day she went into labor. They were on their way to the hospital when Sara's dad went the wrong way on the highway. He hit a semi and everyone died instantly.
She felt as though she would never be whole.
Present day – nine years later
Twenty-two-year-old Sara Daniels pushed her glasses further up her nose as she entered her theater class. Her aunt Tia enrolled Sara in a theater class to help overcome her shyness.
She smiled and saw a few friends she knew. They asked about her summer and she told them about it while she waited for class to start.
Class started and Sara instantly took a seat toward the back of the class, slouching in her seat, praying she didn't get called on. Sara was extremely shy and didn't really like interacting with people. Her aunt Tia thought it would be a good idea. As she put it, "twenty-two-year-olds are NOT shy!"
After class, on the way back to Aunt Tia's place, she stopped at the bar between A and 8th Avenues. A blend of blues, folk and rock music poured out the open door.
She looked at the band and swayed to the music. The lead guitarist noticed her and smiled. Sara shied away and exited the bar, running all the way to Aunt Tia's apartment.
Tia greeted Sara, not looking up from the Telenova she was watching. Sara was half Greek and half Spanish, which she was proud of.
"Aunt Tia, I'm going out with friends, okay?" Sara told her aunt as they ate chicken tacos.
"Okay, sweetie. Have fun." Tia told Sara in Spanish. Tia and Sara had a trusting relationship, which Sara respected. Sara kissed her aunt's cheek and headed out the door, grabbing her bag and a banana on the way out.
Instead of going out with friends, Sara went back to the bar where she saw the handsome guy singing. She spread out her school work on a table near the back of the bar and took a bite of her banana.
Twenty-five-year-old Roger Davis was standing on the stage, singing into a microphone. He had sandy-blond hair that was fluffed out, green eyes and wore jeans with holes in the knees, work boots and a black T-shirt with a grinning skull on it etched in white. Around his right wrist, he wore a leather bracelet with two silver charms on it. One had the initials A.E. and the other had the initials M.M. He played a dark blue electric guitar with a white stripe on it.
He noticed Sara and turned to his band mates. She brought her script to her face and highlighted her lines. He jumped off the stage, sat across from her, grabbed the top of the script and smiled at Sara.
"Hey," Roger greeted her. Sara blinked, unsure as to what to say. "What's a pretty girl like you doing here?"
"M-my school work." Sara stuttered, taking a sip of her water with shaking hands.
"Whoa. It's all right. I'm not gonna hurt you," Roger soothed, looking into Sara's kind blue eyes. "Wow! You have beautiful eyes. I'm Roger."
"I'm S-Sara." She introduced herself. Roger smiled and sat next to her.
"You're really pretty." Roger complimented. Sara felt her cheeks turn pink.
"T-Thank you."
A big burly guy came over to Roger. Sara tensed up, fearing her past was catching up with her. She let out a sigh of relief when she realized it wasn't him and turned back to her school work. Roger noticed Sara's face pale a little, then return to its original coloring.
"Dude! Come on! We have rehearsal!" he barked.
"I'm coming, Adam. Can't a guy have a decent conversation with his new friend? Sheesh!" Roger told the guy. He then turned to Sara and winked at her. "Do you sing?"
She shook her head, making her shoulder-length brown curls bounce on her shoulders. She then pulled out her theater book and skimmed through it, every once in a while looking up and over at Roger. She could tell he was a nice, sweet person – not the hard, cold, cruel ones she was used to.
Roger and the band were finishing up just as Sara finished her school work. Roger waited to close the door until Sara emerged.
"I forgot my favorite pencil. I'll be right back." Sara told Roger. He entered the bar and watched Sara go to the stage. He leaned against the doorframe as she belted out Every Rose Has Its Thorn.
When she was done, she got off the stage and exited the bar. She ran back to her aunt's apartment, not once looking over her shoulder.
The following day, Sara went downtown to the record store. She was looking for a job and heard that they were hiring. It was actually her aunt Tia's idea – it would give Sara a chance to interact with people and not be so timido, or shy in Spanish.
The manager took Sara to a room in the back of the store and interviewed her. Sara answered the questions honestly. She never had a job before, so she didn't have a resume. She had babysat and watched a neighbor's dog, but other than that, she didn't have much job experience. The manager smiled, shook Sara's hand and removed the Help Wanted sign from the window.
Sara started that day, working the closing shift. The manager was around, just in case Sara had questions or needed help. The other girl that worked at the store, Mandy, was also there. Mandy had short blond hair, hazel eyes and stood six inches taller than Sara. Mandy was also really nice and helpful. She had been at the record store since she could remember – the manager was her dad.
Two hours before closing, Roger entered the shop and looked around. Sara was putting records away when she spotted him. She felt her heart race, in a good way. She caught his attention and he wandered over to her. She caught a glimpse at his leather bracelet, but didn't say anything.
"Hey." Roger greeted her.
"Hey." Sara echoed, more confidence in her voice.
"What are you doing here?" Roger asked, looking at a Guns N Roses cover.
"Working." Sara answered, shelving some records on the shelves. She had a customer and went to tend to them.
Roger leaned against a shelf and watched her interact with the customer. She smiled and handed the customer their change. She then told them to have a good day and went back to shelving the records.
"I just noticed something." Roger said. Sara was finished with work and Roger was walking Sara home.
"What?" Sara asked.
"You're not the shy girl I met the other day. What changed?"
"I think my theater class and working at the record store are really helping. I feel myself getting more confident every day," Sara told Roger, resting her head on his shoulder. She looked at his bracelet and traced the names with her finger. "What do the initials stand for?"
"My past loves. A.E. is for April Ericcson and M.M. is for Mimi Marquez. Both of them have passed on," Roger told her. He cleared his throat and shook his head, as if he was getting water out of his ears. "I know we just met, but would you like to come over for dinner tomorrow at 7:30?" Roger asked. Sara nodded and fished her key out of her pocket. "Tell me what you like and I'll fix it."
"I like gyros, lamb kabobs, tacos, nachos, pizza and spaghetti. I'll eat basically anything. My aunt says I'm like a human garbage disposal." Sara rambled, which happened to be a horrible habit of hers.
"I'll make spaghetti and we can have a salad with it." Roger said. Sara smiled and entered her apartment. Roger heard her speak in Spanish to a woman inside.
As Roger walked home, he thought about Sara and was glad that he met her.