History
Disclaimer- Roger Davis, Mark Cohen, and whatever other characters I use from Rent are the property of the Larson estate. This not meant for any form of financial gain. Thank you and please don't sue.
Author Note-It's a oneshot. December 8th has come and gone again, and I must admit this muse came and whacked me upside the head at my job. Don't worry, I still have chapters to post on Muse, so you'll see it, but if you guys could read and review, I would appreciate it.
For Adam Pascal, whose appreciation of the man gave me this idea.
Roger Davis woke up from sleep and looked up at the ceiling. Mimi, his long standing girlfriend had gone off to work, leaving him a note on her pillow that simply said, 'Surprise in the kitchen, I know you'll want it today.'
He smiled and slowly stretched. What the hell was today anyway? The band had played late, he was late home because of it, the constant vibration of his pager on the beside table reminding him that he was late with his morning round of AZT. He reached over to turn it off and squinted at the date.
December 8, 1990
Roger stopped. The eighth of December. The silence in the loft was deafening.
He remembered 10 years ago instantly. He and Mark had been in the loft with Benny and Collins for about six months. He had come home to Mark listening to the radio, working on yet another screenplay, his own plans to work on a song all night then go down to the local bar to catch the tail end of the football game when the news break came on.
John Lennon dead, gunned down in front of the Dakota…
Roger had stopped instantly, looked at Mark as both of them tried to decipher the rest of the newscast. They had grabbed their jackets and raced to the Dakota, knowing that it wasn't real until they saw it. Mark had grabbed his camera, knowing that this would be something to shoot, maybe use later, maybe never use at all, but still, they needed to see it for themselves.
The scene was surreal. The cops were still investigating the scene, fans had gathered, and the wailing of them was something that still haunted Roger to this day. John Lennon had been a huge hero in his life, the main reason that he had picked up a guitar and learned to play "She loves me" as a child. He had learned other Beatles tunes along the way, always learning what he could of the Fab Four, letting them be an inspiration to them. but to hear that his hero was gone was shattering.
After John's death, Roger had gone to a deep, dark place within him, not able to find his hero's inspiration and started using, leading him to the path he found himself on today. While he and John had both been through hell, they had wound up with happier lives.
Mark watched the scene as well. The Beatles had been part of his soundtrack in Scarsdale. His parents had played their songs at Fourth of July gatherings and parties. John's voice was something he knew as home. This was heartbreaking.
Roger got up and dressed quickly. Mark might have already left, then again, he had been so busy with Buzzline, he might have forgotten as well. 10 years had passed. It still seemed like yesterday.
The music started playing in his head as he walked into the loft's kitchen. He remembered the tributes afterward; he remembered the songs from the last album he recorded. It still broke his heart to think of Sean, five years old not knowing what had happened until Yoko told him his father was gone to an assassin's bullet.
The box of Captain Crunch on the counter said millions about Mimi. She wasn't a Beatles fan, but she knew how Roger felt and also the need for comfort food when you were blue. She knew how he felt about the music, and the look he would get in his eyes when he talked about that night at the Dakota.
Mark had developed the film of that night, but looking at it, he admitted, made him so sad and desolate, that he didn't like looking at it. He didn't even edit it. He kept it in a very dark corner of the closet he called the film vault, knowing that he would one day show it to his kids and explain the reasons behind it. Everyone should know about the music, that was the important thing.
Roger poured his cereal and looked at the clock. It was 11 am and time for him to get a move on. The trip to Strawberry Fields wouldn't take that long, but he needed to see it today. It would be filled with familiar faces, friends and like minded people who all missed the man. For a moment, it would be home.
"Mark?" Roger called out, finished his cereal and washing out his bowl, "You still here?"
Mark came out of his room, wrapping his scarf around his neck as he stuffed his camera into a bag.
"Yeah, ready to go?"
"Yeah, let's go."
And we all shine on…….