A/N: I've really been wanting to do a Roger/Mark friendship high school fic, and this idea's been in my head for a while. It's also got smads (yes I just made that up) of Maureen/Mark, particularly in the ensuing chapters. Enjoy! Reviews would be fantoosh.

Disclaimer: I do not own RENT, its characters, etc. All copyrights due to their respective owners n such.

Double Date

Chapter 1

Scarsdale High School, 1984

Plop.

That was the sound Mark hated most. It signified the plopping-down of that shitty cafeteria glop he felt forced to eat by the burly, mannish (and probably mustached) lunch lady, and with the pressure came the eating; with the eating came the horrible, horrible aftertaste and eventual indigestion. Mark sighed. Why hadn't he thought to bring his lunch today?

As he walked over to the table he and Roger shared, he noticed his friend seemed even more relaxed than usual, with a smug grin on his lips and his feet (clad in his favorite beat-up black Converse) kicked up on the table. "Hey Cohen," his wide grin got even wider. "'Sup?" "Not much…why are you grinning like that?" Mark asked as he slid uneasily into his seat. The last time Roger looked like this, the ensuing idea that went with it ended up getting them both suspended for three days. "Oh, no reason," Roger half-mumbled as he picked at his teeth with a toothpick. "I just got us a double date is all…"

Mark nearly choked on his milk. "Y-you what?" Roger grinned again. "You heard me. C'mon man, cut me some slack here. I managed to finally get that Johnson chick to agree with going out with you. And, since I'm your best friend n' all, I'm going with you. No need to worry about the whole 'three's a crowd' thing either - Maureen was kind enough to bring someone for yours truly, so it won't be awkward. But that's not important – tonight's about you." "T-tonight? But R-Roger--" Roger cut off Mark's feeble protests and pushed his long blond hair back. "Relax, will you? It's Friday. We never get homework on Fridays. Just…just come to my house at 6:30, okay?" His tone wasn't aggressive or pushy; rather, it was reassuring and calm. Mark sneezed (something he often did when he was nervous) and sighed. After minutes of deliberation, he muttered, "Fine…I'll be there." "Great! This is gonna be an awesome evening," Roger smiled to himself as he flicked away his toothpick.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"ROGER! You have a visitor!" Mr. Davis yelled as Mark nervously shuffled into the small brownstone. Upon hearing his father's voice Roger immediately appeared at the top of the staircase, seemingly out of nowhere, his hair looking much different than it had just a few hours before – instead of his usual long, straight dirty-blond locks, he had a bright (and nearly platinum-blond) Caesar 'do. "C'mon up, Mark!" he called. As Mark walked up the stairs, he asked his friend, "What's with the new hair?"

"Oh, this?" Roger's eyebrows went up. "I wanted to try somethin' different. Besides, what else was I gonna do? Put it up in a ponytail?" he gave his trademark half-smile, chuckled and rolled his eyes. "Oh! I have something for you to wear." His mouth spread into a grin as he led Mark into his room and sat him on the messy bed. "Now, as any self-respecting Scarsdale man-about-town knows, you can't possibly expect to get seated at the one of the most chi-chi restaurants in uptown without wearing one of…these babies." He pulled out two sleek black suits, complete with belts, bowties, flowers in the lapels and a silvery-looking trim on the cuffs. Mark's eyes looked like coffee cups from beneath his glasses. "Wow, Rog! Where'd you get these?" "That haberdashery place down the street. Pretty sweet deal too – it only cost me 25 bucks for both of 'em. Now get dressed – we've got a date with some angels."

A/N: That was fun, wasn't it? Chapter Two coming soon!