A/N: Maybe this take upon the story will be better. The updates may take a while, because I have Color Guard 4 nights a week, plus all day on Saturdays. Also, midterms are in two weeks, which just adds more stress to my life! I'll try to update as soon as I can, but goodness knows how long that may take. I'm sure I will finish this story, absolutely positive! So here we go…

Disclaimer: Rent is a sexy piece of meat…and I don't eat meat…so I don't own Rent… (Does that make any sense whatsoever?) …I just don't own Rent, okay?

Chapter 1: Life Support is great for Introductions.

She stood outside the school and looked into the hallways that lead to the auditorium. There was a sign leading to the meeting, yet she was hesitant to follow. A homeless man said that this was a great place to relieve stress for AIDS patients, this…Life Support. She was nervous to go into the meeting, yet curious as to what would happen. The homeless guy had fallen asleep before she could ask what happened in the meetings.

Each time she had tried to walk in, something held her back. She wanted to go in, not only because it was absolutely freezing outside, but because she felt like she needed support. For 17 years she's had AIDS, and support was usually very nice to have.

When she was younger, she didn't understand what AIDS was, but as she got older, she understood exactly why she had to take those pills, why she was always very sick, why the adults always looked at her strangely, afraid that if their child went near her, they would get infected just by breathing on them. That's why she was fortunate to have grown up in an orphanage, because the kids had no parents to tell them that she was a pesticide not to be messed with.

As she continued to stare at the building deep in thought, she didn't notice a tall, black man stand beside her. He noticed her staring at the building, and wondered if she was going to the meeting.

"Plan on going in any time soon?" the man asked.

She broke out of her daze and gazed (A/N: That rhymes!) at the tall man beside her. "…What?" she asked.

"Are you planning on going into the school, or do you just intend to stare at it all day?" he asked with a smile.

"How'd you know I was going in the school?" she asked with awe, as if this man was a mind reader.

"You just told me," he said with an even bigger smile. "Are ya going to the life support meeting?"

"Is it that obvious?" she asked with a nervous laugh. The man just smiled at her and nodded. "I'm too nervous…I should just go," she said, yet as she turned away to walk to find a shelter, she felt the hand of the man on her shoulder. She hesitated, and then turned around to face him.

"C'mon, it's really not that bad. It's actually nice to be able to tell someone your problems without being judged. I'll show ya in, and I'll sit beside you the whole time…if that will make you feel any better," Said the man.

She looked into the man's eyes, and saw a genuine friendship. He really wanted to help her. And whoever this guys was, she was sure she could trust him. Something in her mind told her that she could trust this guy, that he was one of the good guys.

"…Okay…I'll go…"she responded hesitantly. She turned towards the school, and took a deep breath. She turned toward the man again. She stuck out her hand in his direction. "You are…?" she asked.

He laughed gently. "I'm Tom, but my friends call me Collins. And you?" he asked, as he reached out and shook her hand.

"I'm Jayden, but everyone just calls me JD," she replied with a smile. Collins and JD dropped hands and walked into the building, side by side.

A/N: Okay…that was kind of short. But it's just an introductory chapter. The updates will be longer than this, I promise! Next chapter should be up by…maybe Friday night. But I'm not making any promises. Chocolate cake to all who review!

Next Chapter: JD goes to Life Support and tells her story.