Oh no, I Already Know Chapter 1, a rent fanfic

AN: My first try at a RENT fanfic! I own nothing but Alex, Kurt, Sam, and gadget...and any names I make up along the way! And the title Isfelvic.

Isfelvic is a word I made up! And only I know it's meaning!

This is not a one-shot!

Knowing things was a good business.

Knowing all the gossipers and the gossiper's connections was even better business.

Alex Johnson knew several things about everyone in Alphabet City. You may think it's impossible but not for someone who has a steal trap of a memory. He remembered everything he ever heard. He had power of everyone he had dirt on…and people hated that about him. But they loved him unconditionally for the fact that he didn't believe in blackmail.

He did; however, love being the warm cell of life all the gossipers crowded around. He loved having the connections he did, that way he could get his rag-tag gang of friends into a better place…someday.

Alex Johnson knew several things about several people…and he knew his sister Maureen Johnson better than anyone in the whole world. Even Kurt…his best friend since the tender age of four. Kurt was his brother from another mother.

He and Maureen used to be mistaken for each other when Alex grew his hair over his eyes and her hair was shorter once upon a story. When she had a gangly longer body like an average teenage boy. They were mistaken as twins. The only way to tell back then was to keep his hair cut shorter, because his eyes were brother blue where hers were chocolate brown (as she so lovingly called it).

When he was three and she was six…their mother died. And their father was sad…but it made Alex feel better when he took his hand and squeezed it gave his sister a hug. Then it was just the three of them…and they learned to function.

Life goes on.

When Alex was twelve and Maureen was fifteen…their father died. After two heart attacks and a stroke. The doctor had told him to lay off the red meat…their father hadn't listened.

Kurt was there for the burial. Maureen had her arm slung around his shoulders in a tight one armed hug. Now they were all they had. And she'd be more protective than she already was, than she already had been. She led the way out once the last throw of dirt was packed down.

Kurt had taken his hand and smiled at him, walking beside him out of the cemetery.

And life went on.

Maureen got two jobs, one at a diner in the mornings and a bike messenger at night. Leaving her most of middle day to sleep and go to school with Alex.

Kurt gave her some money from his saved allowance when rent was tight on their new place. She kept offering to pay him back but he refused.

"You always help your family."

Alex had to pull her off of him because she was squeezing him in a hug so tight he was turning blue.

A year later he and Kurt met Sam and Gadget.

Now thirteen, they met them in a back alley. Going opposite ways. Kurt accidently bumped into Gadget, sending them both to the ground. And they both apologized quickly and several times.

Then they laughed about it and introductions went around.

Sam Brett, the powder blonde with a fluffy curling Mohawk and the rest of his head shaved bald. He was fifteen. And planning to get a set of curling tribal tattoos on both sides of his head and on his arms. He smirked and Alex thought he looked like a cool guy; he had baby blue eyes that always seemed to be half closed in a sleepy/lazy way.

Gadget (no last name), wasn't good with gadgets at all. He seemed quite clueless about how to work anything besides a TV and his video games. One thing that struck Alex and Kurt was his mismatched set of eyes. Which was rarely seen. His right eye was a deep blue with the left was a soft brown. He was quiet and very kind.

A year later when Alex was fourteen and Maureen was seventeen. She'd finally grown into her figure a year earlier. It was shocking to Alex. Like he'd blinked once and suddenly she went from looking just like him to having an hourglass figure with a jutting female chest. And she became a flirt.

And then suddenly Alex shot up to be Maureen's height and none of his old clothes fit. He remembered once when Kurt was spending the night, he pulled on a favorite night shirt of his… it was too tight around his arms and rested a good two inches above his waist. Kurt had laughed till he was crying. Red/bronze hair falling out of its carefully combed place as he leaned forward.

"You look like a midget on steroids!"

He'd hit puberty quickly and unexpected. His sister had to take him on an emergency shopping trip to buy things twice his size.

"It is surprising though isn't it?" She spoke quietly as she pulled out a nice blue shirt with a large 'Rock on' hand on the front in black. He looked at her funny. She smiled over at him, handing him the shirt to put in the basket.

"One day everything seems five times to bit and then the next it's like it's all two times to small." She explained.

He nodded. "I thought it was something that happened gradually."

"It does. But it happens faster than most think." She pulled out a pair of shorts.

He'd just nodded.

Kurt, Sam, Gadget, and himself sat around on the floor of the apartment weeks later. He and Kurt had been best friends with the blonde and brunette about two weeks after meeting the guys. Sam now had his tattoos.

Kurt and Alex were fifteen soon to be sixteen and Sam was seventeen and Gadget was fourteen. Gadget had grown into a sweet looking teen with an innocent smile and an even more innocent personality to follow. Making the girls swoon and leaving him clueless.

Sam would always laugh when girls would almost literally throw themselves at him and Gadget would be confused as all hell.

Kurt had come out of the closet recently. Some kids in school had tried to bully him but when Alex made a show of punching a tooth out of the first guy that tried…nobody did it again. Of course Alex had known since they were six.

Sam and Gadget had no problem with it. Sam was learning to play the guitar. Kept talking about starting a band.

"So your sister is dating all these guys?" The blonde asked to clarify as he tossed down a card for their game.

Alex shrugged. "I dunno man…she's doing a lot of things." It was a lie. His sister was supposed to be dating this guy named Nick, an actually pretty decent guy with big dreams and a good job. But she was also sightseeing a guy named Doug, another called Steve, and even a pretty strawberry blonde named Alice.

So he lied…as bad as he knew what his sister was doing was…he didn't want her to be seen in a bad light. She was his sister, she had her faults but also some soul redeeming features. Like fighting to the death for things she actually did believe in. Polygamy clearly not being one of them. But he told himself in time she'd get this phase out of her system and find just that one person. He had total faith in that.

But for now he had to see the face of one of her boyfriends and her girlfriend almost every day of the week. And what made him laugh was the fact that none of them knew about the others. He'd laughed out loud one when Steve showed up at the door not three hours after her date with Doug.

Maureen stared at him with an odd expression. He snickered and shook his head. Simply stating, "I hope it happens one of these days." She paled and looked slightly hurt. Doug simply looked on in confusion. But Maureen knew what he meant.

Alex honestly hoped they all found out. In his mind nobody deserved to be strung along that way.

It had reached a boiling point two weeks after Sam asked about her dating 'issues'. They were starting to show up with only an hour of another leaving. Alex was getting upset. And so was Nick, who was starting to suspect something.

He was waiting for Maureen with Alex in the living room. Talking about how much he cared about her…Alex felt guilty. Nick wanted what he thought he had to last with his sister.

"Nick," he cut the older teen off. "She's cheating on you. Two other dudes and a chick. The girl was here just an hour ago." He glanced at the sandy blonde.

He blinked, smirked with a hurt look in his eyes, and looked up at Alex. "You being honest with me?"

"You're cool. What would I get from telling you a lie about this?"

"I figured…," he stood. "Tell your sister we'd done." He stalked to the door. "It was cool getting to know you little dude, hope I see you around." He smiled, still looking hurt. He left.

When his sister came out and asked where he'd gone. Alex just shrugged. She'd huffed and left, he assumed to find the older teen.

The others had found out on their own. Doug had seen her in a club with Alice and Steve had seen her walking away with an angry Doug still shouting after her.

When she came home shouting that he'd jinxed her, he just raised a brow and shrugged. "Nobody told you to juggle three dudes and a chick with your bad time management skills." It was true, Maureen had the nasty habit of often biting off much more than she could chew.

When he was eighteen and she was twenty-one she started dating a film-maker that was Jewish and had never really even made a whole film. A geeky, nerdy blonde with glasses named Mark. He was nice but he had habits that annoyed even Alex.

And by this point Sam's idea had taken wing and the four were a band getting decent gigs here and there. Kurt took the songs they had for higher notes. Sam took low notes and lead guitar, Kurt had the bass, Gadget had drums. Alex often got the lead…but he was practiced in an extra hand. He and Gadget were usually put together for duets.

Their band name:

Isfelvic

For Maureen and Marks first official date…she'd taken him to their third gig of that month. She hadn't started cheating on him yet so Alex took that as a good thing. She smiled and giggled at his jokes and grinned when he was around…he figured maybe this guy was it.

Sam took front stage, his traditional fluffy blonde hawk combed strategically (by Kurt of course) more to the left so he could see clearer. His bright black tribal tattoos standing out brighter against his naturally tanned skin under the stage lights. "This one is for the fans that stuck with us this long." He grinned as cheers erupted.

Kurt held an acoustic guitar as the four band members took seats on their respective tools. He started the song.

"Dear you, and you, and you,
I want to tell you.
Something I just couldn't say
without a good melody.
I promise to tell the truth and the whole truth."

Kurt sang as he strummed an easy tune on his guitar. Sam took over, easily harmonizing his voice to match the slow, steady tone the red head had set for him to follow.

"But you'll probably be modest,
when I'm just being honest when I
Say yeah…that you are the only ones for me."

Alex next.

"Hope you noticed that, that was plural.
And that this song's not about a girl,
but I guess it could be,

He smiled and shrugged, gaining a rippling laugh from the crowd.

"If you want it to be.
This song is dedicated to you,
and this song was created for you.
It's not for anyone else it's all for you.
So believe me when I say yeah…
you are the only ones for me."

Gadget,

"And I've got one last thing to say.
And it's as easy as your ABCs, or 1,2,3s, or losing your keys,
it goes with please.
I've got one last thing to say.
And it's as easy as your ABCs, or 1,2,3s, or losing your keys,
it goes with please."

And then they sang it together.

"I want to say thank you, and that I love you.
And I want to make you as happy as you've
made me.
I want to say thank you…and that I love you,
and that I want to make you as happy as you've
made me."

Kurt,

"So believe me when I say yeah…
that you are the only ones for me."

Alex and Gadget made hand motions for the crowd to follow along and Sam joined in to clap. The crowd copied them.

"La-la-la-la-la…la-la-la-la,
la-la-la-la-la…la-la-la-la…
la-la-la-la-laaaa~"

They let the last note carry as Kurt played the last string and the crowd cheered and clapped as the band stood and took their bow.

Maureen had loved the show and so had Mark. But there was just something about the guy that irked him. And the fact that he of all people couldn't place it…annoyed him and made him angry. He started to dislike Mark…and the fact that he didn't know why…made him like Mark even less.

Mark was the typically sweet guy all the girls dream of. Always on the look-out in a conversation to say just the right things and overly sorry if he sounded offensive. It was annoying…and eventually Maureen thought so too.

A few months into their relationship and Alex knew she was cheating. And apparently so did Mark, he'd made a comment about it and when he looked over to the kitchen to see a very shocked Alex he just smiled sadly and nodded.

It clicked suddenly…why Alex didn't like Mark.

He was in love with Maureen…his big sister…his only blood relative he cared to think he knew. Not only were his natural instincts telling him in his 'brotherly' mind that this guy wasn't good enough (even though he was a very good guy), but the fact that he was being strung along, knew it, and was still in love and making no attempts to leave.

Helplessness.

Allowed helplessness.

It made Alex want to vomit. Right on that precious little camera Mark always carried around.

He wanted his sister to meet someone she could be with and have that person take care of her…not need to be taken care of like this guy did.

Someone flexible…leading when needed and following when abided. Mark was a sheep…Alex was not…Kurt was not…Sam was not…Gadget was not…and if they were the kings of nonconforming…Maureen was the Grand Empress.

But then…one night after an actual date with Mark…he has no idea when the date started or ended…but she's in by eleven. It's Friday…so Alex is up late watching adult cartoons (they only cuss and swear with mild adult situations). He watches with amusement as his big sister all but floats into the apartment and glides across the floor with a dreamy smile on her red stained lips.

"What drug is in your coffee?" He asks chuckling at her out of the odds behavior. And he knows without being told that whatever has made her this happy…wasn't Mark. He never had when they started dating and he was sure it wouldn't happen while she was cheating on him on the side.

She all but hops over to him and lands on the couch, facing him with a wide grin. "Guess what…,"

"You broke up with Mark?" It was the only thing he could guess at.

No really, it was.

"No, smart mouth, but I'm planning on it."

"When? When he asks you to marry him?" Alex scoffs and goes back to watching TV, blue eyes flickering with the images flashing by on the glass.

"He'd never do that."

"Why, cause he knows your cheating? Yeah he'd still ask you if you don't break up with him you know."

"How do you know that?"

"Kurt actually said that. Sam and Gadget agreed." He glances over. "It does sound like something he may pull though; even you have to admit that."

She chews her lip nervously.

Alex laughs and pats her knee in that older brother way she's been doing in that big sister way when he was down in the slums on his bad days.

"Mo-Mo…someday you're gunna meet somebody that you'll never think twice to cheat on. And it may almost happen, but it'll only go as far as a kiss before you pull away and feel disgusted with yourself. And when you ask yourself why your heart is going to tell you it's because you're in love. And you'll realize you've known that all along. Because you'll act crazier than you already and strive more for what they can give you and you'll fight and you'll make up…and you'll realize that that person is the only one you've had eyes for since you met them…it's just taken you longer to realize."

She blinks back tears at his essay of words.

He just smiles. "And I hope it happens soon. You're worth more than a cheater with a boyfriend who knows you cheat and is to in love and to scared of being lonely to say anything about it. Your better than being a cheater…or a major flirt…and someday you'll realize that too."

She gives him a kiss on his temple and goes to sleep surprisingly quiet.

And it's only a month or two later that she finally dumps Mark, and he and his friends are happy for her. He dumps her for a lawyer…one of a darker skin tone and the same gender. A lawyer named Joanne.

And Alex sees her for what he realizes is the second time. She came over once as a friend at the time and only stayed for a few minutes, maybe five.

Alex realizes he should have known it was hers, and he thinks maybe he did. Because when she looked at his sister with an expression he didn't know he saw how she lit up…how she glowed when she was being watched by her. He'd felt something start to click in that moment, but now it's finally settled as he meets her for the second time.

This woman was the reason his sister had seemed to float. And that look she gave Maureen…the one that made her smile and glow with life (even more than she had)…was a look telling Maureen she was more important to Joanne than the sun.

He and Kurt talk about it later, while they're out. And Kurt gets it. And they call Sam and Gadget…and they get it. They all get it.

Maureen always wants to be the center of attention, the warm cell of life people crowd around, like the gossipers had done with Alex. But it was different…she wanted just one person to make her feel important…to tell her that she was every day she woke up.

Nobody but Joanne ever did.

So it automatically simply clicked.

Alex was nineteen and starting in the slummy community college with Sam and Gadget, Kurt was taking classes but was also awaiting answers from better colleges in better states for next semester.

Sam was twenty-one and didn't look a day older than when he was seventeen. He grew no facial hair. And neither did Gadget. Now twenty.

Maureen was now twenty-two and Joanne was three months older.

Mark had been dumped quite publicly.

The four of them knew that because Collins had called, checking in on him (they'd stayed close even after he and his sister moved out), and that's when it happened. They'd snickered as the 'film-maker' was rudely dumped.

For her first date with Joanne she took her to a showing of Isfelvic. He met Joanne for the third time with longer conversations before the show. He smiled, watching from his peripheral vision as Maureen just stared at Joanne for a long period of time before glancing at him then back to her. She was happy they were getting along.

It was a rule for Maureen…if Alex didn't like her boyfriends of girlfriends…she ditched them. Because nobody knew more about anyone in this city than Alex Johnson. And he'd heard about Joanne Jefferson, one of the only honest lawyers that were actually good in New York City.

He, Sam, and Gadget remembered that day as finding out that Kurt and Joanne were related.

Kurt had walked over while he and she were talking to ask about the set-list.

Joanne was surprised to see him there. Kurt grinned. "Hey cousin." He greeted.

When he got funny looked from the Johnson siblings he laughed. "You honestly didn't know?"

They shook their heads.

"I'm surprised at you Alex. I thought you knew everything." Kurt laughed. Taking Joanne's hand in his, the one wrapped in his rainbow wristband and pulled her along.

Alex and Maureen blinked and compared their looks.

Their hair was an almost similar color, Kurt's just wavy and a brighter shade. And the underline tan Alex had only just noticed. They had the same eye shape and color. And the same ears Alex side-noted.

They all later found out that Kurt was Joanne's third cousin, his mother had died when he was three…leaving him with just his over caring dad.

Kurt was happy to know his cousin (who they found out was like a sister to him his whole life) liked their music. And specifically the song he'd gotten to sing that night.

"When I breezed in here
I could see the mist on your breath
Even though the thermals rise from the
Skin of a few hundred lovers on a summer night
I slide over
Shield my eyes from the scorching rays of the club light
Everybody's burning up but there's a
Cool air about your body and your attitude

We are just figures in the fire, the fire
Mercury is creeping higher and higher, and I feel
That one look from your
Icy blue eyes, Icy blue eyes
You'll see you want me too

Ooh, I'm burning up now
And I'm exceeding a thousand degrees
So, as you move closer
I can feel you melt into me

[ Lyrics from: .com/lyrics/d/dreamer/worlds_ ]
Your pale white face shines
As you light up a cigarette
You betray the faintest smile
And I shiver
It's a feeling long ago alien
Our lips meet
I supernova
Our worlds collide to make paradise
I can feel me spread through you
And I know you can feel it spreading through my body too

We are just figures in the fire, the fire
Mercury is creeping higher and higher, and I feel
That one look from your
Icy blue eyes, Icy blue eyes
You'll see you need me too

Ooh, I'm burning up now
And I'm exceeding a thousand degrees
So, as you move closer
I can feel you melt into me
Hey, there's nothing wrong now
We like a bit of danger in the games we play
This equilibrium
Does it suit you, 'cos it suits me

The crowd had gone into an uproar at the end of his song. And recently they'd been getting offers for a record label. They left it to Sam and Gadget to choose one as they knew the most about music.

It was months later, everyone is getting along great. Maureen moved in with Joanne and she forcibly pulled Alex along. He didn't want to be a burden and Kurt had offered him the spare room he had at his dad's house, but Maureen refused it. Saying he'd already done more than enough.

Alex was starting to notice his sister slipping back into her old ways; Joanne was the first any-friend he'd seen Maureen not cheat on. He confronted her once about it and only once, Joanne was still at work and Maureen came through the door at five.

"How's your cheating going?" He asked smartly from his perch on the couch. Maureen was surprised at first then shot him a glare, tugging off her fashionably ripped up jean jacket. "Shut up, we both know I'm not cheating on her."

"Does that scare you?" He asked, honestly curious.

She blinked at him.

"The fact that you're not cheating." He explained.

She huffed, walking over to sit beside him. "A little bit, honestly."

"It scares you because you don't want to."

She nods.

"You're in love."

She looks up at him, surprised, honestly.

He smiled happily. "Sis…look at where we are. This is the first time you've ever moved in with anyone of your currents. First time you've never cheated, first time you've slowed your flirting ways. But now you're going back to that flirting thing…that bugs her yunno…"

"I know."

"You're in love."

"…"

"Admit it. You love Joanne. And you're not flirting because you're just scared you're doing it because you want more of her attention than she already gives you. You want her to look at you and only you so you make her jealous to get it."

Maureen said nothing, just hung her head. Love was daunting.

"It feels like we've had this conversation…only you were with Mark when it happened. Just remember what I said. Don't hurt Joanne…you deserve each other…you make each other happy. Don't screw it up Mo-Mo." He left for band practice.

Oh yes…Alex Johnson knew everything about everyone in Alphabet City. And he knew his sister better than any of them.

Because knowing things was a good business. Even when it just started out as your sister you knew the most about.