Okay, so I decided to make a fic about everyone coming together. Who-meets-who, that kind of stuff. I know people have done this time and time again, but I'd thought I'd give it a shot. Still unsure whether it's going to span all the way to the beginning of RENT. Who knows? Now, thisoperates on the belief that none of themknew each other in high school oranything, okay? Just so we know.

First chapter is Mark and Benny.Enjoy, chickies!

Disclaimer: Jonathan Larson blah blah totally owns all of RENT blah blah blah.

EDIT: Thank you, guys! I forgot to change this version when I put it up. No, Brown is in Rhode Island, not New York. Someone corrected me before, but I forgot to change the hard copy. Thank you!

College.

Mark Cohen looked at the door to his dorm room. It had been a long time coming; Mark had worked hard to get into Brown. Wait, no. His mother had worked hard to get him into Brown. She was the one who pushed for college, for a full education. Really, all Mark wanted to do was film. He didn't really mind not going to college. He was fine not going at all. When he explained this to his mother, he was surprised she didn't die on the spot.

"Marky!" she screamed, and Mark drew back, thinking she just might blow up or something by the look on her face. "You must go to college! There's no question about it, young man. You are going to college." And so, he went to college. Mark went to Rhode Island, chose Brown. With his grades, he could pick and choose any college or university he wanted.It seemed like the perfect place to go.

What Mark forgot was that Providence was afairly bigcity. Scarsdale was a tiny Jewish community, really. He had practically no real social skills. Well, no social skills to use in most situations, anyway. He was an awkward boy in a big city. And Mark was sure it showed. And now...his dorm room. Someone was in there. He could faintly hear music coming from inside. His new roommate. His first roommate ever, actually. The only question was he, Mark, awkward Jewish boy, going to get along with whoever was in that room?

Only one way to find out.

Mark opened the door to soft R&B playing on a small radio. His roommate was lying on his bed, quietly singing along. He looked to Mark, and grinned. "You must be my roomie, huh?" His voice was smooth, calm. A grin played on his face.

Mark smiled clumsily. "Yeah, I am. Mark Cohen."

"Benjamin Coffin the Third," the other guy replied, and laughed at the expression on Mark's face. "Yes, it is long. My friends just call me Benny." Mark smiled again. God, what was wrong? The smile was just messing up on his lips. Benny laughed at his new friend's expression. "Something wrong with your face? I mean that in the best possible way," he added as Mark went to sit on the bed.

"Eh, I'm nervous," the flim-maker-to-be admitted, sighing deeply. "You know, like...first-day jitters."

"I know how that feels," Benny replied, sitting up. "You like it here at Brown?"

Mark thought about it for a few seconds. "Yeah, it's okay," he said in a somewhat bored voice, making a slight face. Benny laughed, and Mark was suddenly hit with a wave of embarrassment. He basically just said, 'Eh, Brown's okay, but I don't really give a fuck.' He didn't mean to say it, but the sentence just kind of...came out. Sure, it was honest, but it wasn't good to say bad things about your college to your roommate, who looked like he'd been here a year or two before. "Well, I mean—"

"Nah, don't bother fixing the sentence," Benny said, laughing still. "I think you just summed up the basic idea of every college student here."

"I'm sure lots of people are excited to be here," Mark added, shrugging.

"Why aren't you excited to be here?" Benny asked, leaning forward. Mark blushed. No one had really paid that much attention to him before. His father was distant, his sister wasn't the kindest soul, and his mother only cared about his grades and his health. "I mean, you're a freshman, right?" Mark nodded. "Well, most freshman are giggles and glee when they come to college. I know I was when I was a freshman. So what's up?"

"To tell you the truth," Mark said, "I didn't really want to go to college. My parents wanted me to." Heh. The first honest thing Mark's said in years he says to a stranger. It almost makes you want to laugh.

Benny grinned. "Ah, parents, huh? Seems we come from different sides of the spectrum, then."

"Huh?" Mark didn't understand.

"My mother worked hard to get me in here," Benny said, the conversational tone still in his voice. "I don't come from the best background," he explained, shrugging lightly.

Mark felt like giving himself a kick in the ass. Great going, Cohen. "I'm sorry," he apologized, his face red from embarrassment.

"Don't be," Benny said, waving his hand. "It's just what life dealt me, you know? It just so happened I had a shitty childhood. Don't be embarrassed for something you can't control, Mark." He gave him a grin, and Mark smiled back, a little more natural, less awkward. Benny made him comfortable, and he was glad for it. "So why did your parents make you come to Brown?"

"Oh, I picked Brown to get far away from home," Mark explained. "I needed to escape my mother."

Benny laughed. "What's she like?"

"Your typical Jewish mother," Mark sighed, leaning back, "which means she wants to dominate every aspect of my life. My father didn't really care what the hell I did, as long as I got out of the house, and my sister is too preoccupied with her high school drama to give a shit about what I do." As soon as this rant left his mouth, Mark flushed. Jesus, Cohen, just give him your life story while your at it! "Sorry," he muttered. "I'm not usually this...er, open about my personal life."

"It's nice, you know," Benny said, his head propped up on his palm, resting his elbow on his knee. "To hear someone speak. Usually I feel like I'm the one doing all the talking. And, hell, we're bound to learn about each other anyway, being roommates."

"I haven't really been myself in a long time," Mark mused aloud, then laughed. "I don't think that made much sense."

"It made perfect sense," Benny said, grinning. "You can't be yourself around your family. So who can you be yourself around?"

Mark found Benny's grin to be almost infectious, beaming. "Exactly. My mother's so overbearing. I felt like a robot in my own house."

"Only there to make the grades, right?" Benny asked, and Mark nodded. "Yeah, same way. I love my mother, don't get me wrong, but it was hard making the grades to get in here. My dad passed away when I was ten," Benny explained, and Mark's eyes grew wide.

"That must have been tough."

"Not as tough as fucking calculus," Benny said, rolling his eyes. "My dad was a mean drunk, so it was almost a kind of relief when he passed away. Not that I could tell my mom that or anything, because she cried whenever his name was mentioned." Benny sighed, like a huge weight had been lifted off of him, and leaned back. "Besides, I'm ready to let loose. I'm tired of being weighed down. I want to have some fucking freedom!"

"You said it," Mark replied, leaning forward. "I mean, isn't that what we all want? Freedom from the things that tie us down?" He looked to his shoes, lost for a second in his own thoughts. Benny looked at Mark for a second, almost bewildered. If Mark hadn't been staring down at his sneakers, he might have been embarrassed at Benny's stare, amazed at the sudden insight his new roommate seemed to possess.

"What are you here for, anyway?" Benny asked, and Mark looked up. "What's your major?"

Mark glanced down at his shoes again. "Something with film. I want to be a film maker, a director. Something I can enjoy." A sheepish smile formed on his face. "I'm only really happy when I can capture what's around me...my parents never understood. Never will understand, really." Benny noticed the look of pure sorrow on Mark's face as he voiced this fact; Benny was more aware of people's emotions than he liked to admit. "They want me to become a doctor...or a lawyer. Something that pays good. But I don't really want that kind of money. Hell, as long as I can get by, I'm fine."

"And here's where we part," Benny said, a half-smile on his face. Mark looked up, a little taken aback. What did he mean? "See, I grew up with nothing. When I get out of here, I want to be rich. I want to be able to support myself and my mother. And maybe a wife, if I have one," Benny added as a second thought. "I mean, I don't have to be filthy rich," he said, laughing, "but it'd be nice, you know?"

"Yeah, I know," Mark said, smiling. "It would nice to have lots of money," he replied, "but if I'm going to spend my whole life doing something, I want to enjoy it. Being a doctor isn't on my top ten list of things to enjoy." Benny laughed. "What do you want to do?"

Benny shrugged. "Don't know, really. Was thinking about producing music." He grinned, motioning to the small radio on his bed. "I really like music, but I can't really sing. But I wanted to do something with it." Another shrug. "I'm majoring in business, so we'll see how that goes."

Mark decided to say, "I'm sure you'll do fine." Usually, he resisted saying those kinds of things. It created false hope, and if they didn't do fine...well, those words would come back to haunt you, wouldn't they? But, unknown to the young boy, he would one day be the one known for his unfailing optimism. If someone said that to Mark right now, he wouldn't believe them. Amazing how much people change from what they were to what they are. "I mean, you're passionate about it, and you want to succeed, so I'm sure it'll work."

"Thanks," Benny said, making Mark feel glad about saying what he did. Benny grinned. "But you know, one thing I'm never gonna do is sell out."

"Sell out?" Mark said, cocking his head slightly. Benny laughed.

"It basically means to work for someone else instead of yourself. To sell your soul to big corporations," he added, and the bespectacled boy nodded. "See, I may want money, but I'm not going to lose myself doing it," he said, and for a moment Mark could see that Benny was talking more to himself than his roomie. Benny looked up to Mark, and their eyes locked. "If I don't teach you anything else while you're my roommate, Mark, remember that," Benny said, his face serious and his voice somewhat still joking. "Never sell out. You lose your art that way, man."

"Never sell out," Mark repeated, and smiled. "Got it." Mark would later look back on the irony of it all, how he learned this from the one who would eventually get his dream to earn money but lose who he was by doing it. But for now, the two sat there, smiling and grinning and enjoying each other's company.

"Ah, this room's boring, isn't it?" Benny remarked, glancing around them. "C'mon," he said, pushing off the mattress and standing up. "Leave your stuff. I'll show you the campus."

"B-but I've already seen the campus," Mark said, standing up anyway.

The grin slipped back onto Benny's face. "Yeah. But you haven't seen the real campus. You got the pussy tour. You haven't seen the nitty gritty of Brown, and I will take the honor of showing you just that, Mark Cohen," he said, opening the door. "So, let's get on with the real tour. Hello, my name is Benjamin Coffin the Third, and I will be your tour guide this afternoon..." Benny said as he shut the door, Mark laughing, finally loosening up.

This was the beginning of something that would change their lives forever. This was the beginning of a whirlwind that would drastically change them both, even though they had no clue of it yet.

innocence et ambition.

Time to rock and roll.

Reviews are addictive, my muffins.