Author's Note: I've wanted to write a RENT in high school fic for a while now, and this would be my attempt at it. Since the only school system I know really well is my own, everything like breaks and schedules will be done the way my school does them (which will be explained throughout the story). Also, where I live high school starts in grade ten as opposed to grade nine. I'm keeping it that way in this story because I can't imagine how I'd act in high school at fourteen, and it might not be realistic.

Also, the title is a Cyndi Lauper song that I think could be about love or friendship, and it just seemed to work with the overall feel of this story.

Disclaimer: I don't own RENT or the song True Colors by Cyndi Lauper

Chapter One

"You know they're not going to let you bring that thing to school."

"I don't think I can say goodbye..."

"For six hours? Come on Mark, you don't need that to entertain you. You have me."

Mark Cohen looked up from his camera and at his girlfriend Maureen Johnson, who was grinning wickedly. Mark gave her a quick kiss but immediately went back to his camera, causing Maureen to groan loudly.

There was a knock at the door and Maureen jumped up excitedly. "Collins is here!" Maureen ran to get the door while Mark stayed where he was, fiddling with his camera.

He'd gotten the camera last year as a birthday present. At first, it was just a hobby. He'd wrote a script and got his friends to act it out, while he filmed. Sure, it was fun, but Mark had to admit the film turned out to be shit. When he watched it, he felt no real compassion towards the characters. They weren't real to him, and he didn't feel like he could connect. That's when Mark decided to just film real life, and his hobby turned into an obsession. He started to notice that it was much easier to watch Maureen and Collins live life through a camera lens rather than live it himself. It was an escape. It was a form of a therapy. It had become his life.

"Look what I brought!" Collins said as he headed downstairs to where Mark was with Maureen, holding a beer bottle and glasses in his hand.

"Thank God too, it's just what I need tonight," Maureen said. "The thought of going to school tomorrow makes me want to be eaten by a cow."

Mark and Collins just stared at her.

"What?" Maureen asked. "It's better than being eaten by a bear."

Mark and Collins stared again. "Anyways," Mark said, breaking the awkward moment, which happened often with his friends, "Do you guys really think we should go on our first day hung over?"

"We won't get hung over," Maureen said, rolling her eyes. "We'll all just take a drink, to make ourselves feel better about the hell we'll be entering tomorrow."

"I really don't think it'll be that bad..." Mark said.

"Oh no, it'll be hell," Collins said. "Worst three years of our life."

"And for what?" Maureen asked. "Like I'm going to university. Don't you guys think I'd make a good starving artist?"

"What kind of artist?" Collins asked.

Maureen shrugged. "I don't know. I just want to perform. Singing, acting, dancing...whatever. Maybe I'll do all three. I dream about living in a loft in a bad area of New York, no money for rent, and just performing every night on the same old dirty stage to drunks."

"As does every other teenage girl," Mark joked.

Maureen shrugged and opened the beer. "Fame's over-rated." Maureen poured the beer into the three glasses and handed one to each of her friends. "I think we should toast."

"To what?" Collins asked.

"To friends?" Mark suggested.

Maureen shook her head. "Too cheesy. How about...to our first day in hell? Hasn't happened yet, but you know, never hurts to be early."

Mark and Collins nodded and all three friends raised their glasses. "To our first day in hell!"

In Roger Davis' opinion, school was over-rated. In Roger Davis' opinion, he was also always right. So, school was over-rated.

Not the education part. Roger knew that was important, and he actually did enjoy learning. People were always surprised to find out he was actually smart. What Roger didn't like was the environment he had to learn in. He'd admit that he hated a lot of things, but there was nothing he hated more than people. And school was full of people.

Almost everyone acted fake just to fit into some group. Roger had been in school for ten years now, and had only met one person who he considered "real", his girlfriend, April Ericsson.

And, she was the only person who he talked to on a regular basis. He was called anti-social a lot, but he really didn't give a shit. He was anti-social. He just didn't like people, it was as simple as that.

The idea that he was entering high school the next day didn't scare him. If anything, it just annoyed him that he still had three years to go. He never understood why people were scared of high school, it was just like junior high. The only real difference was that there were more annoying people.

Roger cringed at the thought.

Roger began to quietly strum his guitar, not wanting to wake up his parents. Music was one of the very few things he actually liked. Though, saying he only liked it would be an understatement. He lived for music, he had a real passion for it. And, in his opinion, he was pretty damn good at guitar and vocals.

And of course, his opinion was always right.

Roger kept hitting sour notes, and eventually stopped playing out of frustration. He put his guitar down and decided to try and get some sleep. It was one am, after all. And, it was a school night, he reminded himself bitterly.