A/N from me: Hey, I'm known as EponineGiry or Eppy, and I run a lovely little RP site that's had a RENT RP going on for awhile now. Because my RPers are so wonderful, I decided to turn the fruit of their labor into a chapterfic. There's no one character with a PoV but it shifts back and forth for some minor confusion but lots of enjoyment (it gets less confusing later on). Come check us out if you want to see the story in its full glory.
Disclaimer: I don'town emotion -- I rent. I also don't own RENT or any of its characters, and nor do any of the RPers who play them. They are the creations of Jonathan Larson. I also don't own much of this content; I've shuffled it around with permission and am posting it on my account. Mark Cohen and Goddess of Ivy here are Mark and Maureen; Roger, Mimi and Collins are also not mine. (I did write Alexi's voicemail later!)
Enjoy and please review; we'd all love for you to talk about us. Feel free to come check us out, and I'll be adding more as events warrant. What's been written already will be put up soon. The first chapter is quite long but others might be shorter.

The Corner of 11th and B

Maureen stalked down Avenue B, a suitcase in her hand and fury evident in her face. The nerve of that woman! Selfish, she had called her before telling her that she thought they should spend some time apart. Maureen Johnson had been dumped and she was not happy about it. She finally arrived at her destination and stomped up the few flights of stairs to the loft. Maureen put her suitcase down next to her and began to pound incessantly on the door.

Roger was sitting up in the loft. The apartment he shared with his roommate, Mark, in the building on the corner of 11th and B.
A mixture of notes and chords filled the loft as he tried to tune his Fender guitar yet again. "Damn thing never tunes..." he muttered to himself.
It had been two years since Mimi had first stepped foot in the loft asking him to light a candle for her and a year after nearly losing her. Yet, he hadn't had an inspiration for a song since. He jumped slightly at the pounding. "The door..." he muttered with a frustrated sigh as the person on the other side continued incessantly.
"I'm coming!" he shouted, carefully setting down his guitar before walking over.
Upon opening it, he was surprised to see Maureen, though maybe he really shouldn't have been. She pushed past him into the loft. "Is Marky here?"

"Uh...no," Roger replied, moving quickly out of her way.
"He's gone out to do some more filming...Don't think he came back yet. I would of seen him."
It was then Roger's eyes landed on Maureen's suitcase. Ah, so she and Joanne had had a fight again.

Maureen sighed dramatically, flinging herself onto the worn couch. "He's always filming when I need him!"

Roger raised a brow at that.
"You let him go two years ago, Maureen. He's a free man now."
Now if only Mark came to that conclusion, Roger thought shutting the door as he shook his head slightly.

Maureen pouted. "Well, I guess I'll just have to wait here with you until he comes back."

"Fine. Suit yourself," Roger replied, picking up his guitar again.
After tuning a moment more, Roger ran through the chorus of Musetta'sWaltz to test it. Cringing slightly at a somewhat sour note, he went back to tuning.

Benny started up the stairs to his former friends' loft. His walk had an arrogance all its own, and his head was held high. And why wouldn't it be? He had some good news... and hey, maybe this time one of his many crazy ex-roommates wouldn't protest his idea. As he climbed the last few steps, his cell phone rang. He looked at the number on the screen and it was that of his wife, Allison. He looked at it for a few seconds and then put it back in his pocket. Allison could wait. She only complained anyway, and Benny wasn't in the mood. He finally made it to the door outside of Roger and Mark's loft, and turned the knob to open the it. It WAS his building, after all.
Roger looked up from his guitar as the door opened, half expecting either Mimi or Mark. One thing was for certain, he wasn't expecting Benny. "Don't you know how to knock?" were the first words out of Roger's mouth. "You may own the place and may be an ex-roommate, but that doesn't mean you have a right to just barge in!" Roger was still miffed about the fact that Benny had messed around with Mimi.
"Hey, hey, hey," Benny said as he walked in. He saw Roger sitting, trying to play that damn song he can never get right and Maureen pouting on the couch, a suitcase at her feet. The two didn't look too pleased to see him, but he walked in anyway. "Man, do I have good news for you two. Well, maybe not you." Benny said eyeing up Maureen before pulling a chair from beside the kitchen table, turning it around backwards and taking a seat. He pointed at Roger. "Cyberland is being born my man. I found an even better spot than that crappy lot over there. Prime position, really. It's going to be uptown, up by all the other studios. Except for the fact that this one'll be better than anything they got around there now."
Benny pulled a folded up piece of paper from the pocket inside his jacket and held it out to Roger. "Take a look man. This could be your future."
Roger raised a brow and glanced at the paper in Benny's hand. However, he didn't take it. 'My future?' he thought sarcastically rolling his eyes. Right...
Benny figured maybe the nice approach would win him some points. Truth is, he hated that his friends didn't like him solely because he married someone rich. I guess it didn't matter that he had screwed around with an S&M dancer who also happens to be Roger's current girlfriend... or they just chose to ignore that fact. Benny was doing what he could to try to get back in the good graces of his real friends. Hanging out with the Grays wasn't exactly Benny's cup of tea anymore... He looked at Roger, still holding out the paper stubbornly.
"Look at yourself Roger," Benny said in a semi-compassionate tone. "You think just sitting around in your apartment all day is going to get you somewhere in life? Because it's not. You can't depend on living in a place where you don't have to pay rent all your life. What happens if someone buys the building from me? Then you'll be SCREWED. You need some back-up, man. And this is just the thing. You got a couplea songs... one of 'em may be the 'big one.'" Benny looked at Roger firmly. He always got his way... it was always just a matter of how long it took for it to happen. Once Roger realized that Benny was right, Benny would have one of his first projects to work on.

Maureen rolled her eyes. While she and Roger rarely ever saw eye to eye, she much preferred his company over the arrogant landlord. "Why don't you just back off, Benny? Roger's doing find without your help. We all are."

Benny glanced over at her. "Last time I checked, you weren't in this conversation, so how about you stay over there."

Benny wasn't a big Maureen fan... after the protest and the fact that she cheated on Mark, a lot, while they were good friends, so she didn't have too many positive points in Benny's book.

Maureen narrowed her eyes at Benny. "Well maybe I could if you weren't so goddamn loud all the time." Even so, she retreated towards the kitchen to get a glass of water.

A soft knock was heard, and the door of the loft opened a crack. Mimi poked her head inside. "It sounds like the party's in here..." she said with a smirk, but trailed off when her eyes landed on Benny.
"Then again, maybe not," she added, her tone colder. She stepped inside and closed the door, folding her arms. She looked torn for a moment, but quickly crossed the room and settled herself on Roger's lap, glancing at Benny defiantly. The landlord's eyes followed her; he hated it when she acted noble. Roger leaned forward and kissed her neck.

Behind her, a thrilled Mark burst into the room, zooming his camera around the room. "Rog, some guy just pissed all over Benny's c..."
Instantly seeing the large gathering in the loft. including a very disheveled Maureen and irritated Benny, Mark stopped talking and brought his camera up to the group where he could feel Mimi's anger through the lens.
"Oh. Sorry...awkward."

"WHAT!" shouted Benny. He ran over to the window to see someone they recognized... one of the tent city inhabitants from the previous protest. Roger choked back a laugh.
"Aw, man! C'mon now! You can get back at me better than pissin' all over my ride!"
The guy down by his car only laughed as he flipped Benny the bird and walked off with a happy stride.
"Goddamnit..." Benny mumbled under his breath. He turned around to notice Mark smirking behind his camera, then looked down at his hand and the paper he held in it. "Mark, maybe you'd have some interest in this. Cyberland is a reality... it's being built as we speak. I want you and Roger to be a part of it, but seeing as how your roommate is being just short of difficult, maybe you could help to persuade him because I think it's obvious that you're the smarter of the two of you and you're not one to pass up a good offer." Roger, still laughing at Benny's reaction to the defacement of his car, changed his expression to a glare. Again, Benny held out the paper in his hand, this time toward Mark, who took the paper and read it over. It was a great opportunity. They had always talked about it but he had never thought it would actually happen, for all Benny's talk.

"If we do you one small favor right?" He gave the paper back to Benny. "What makes you think you can just come in here and offer us...this and we would immediately forget what an ass you've been? Forget it."

Now Joanne came into the loft. She looked aggravated and upset at the same time.
"Well, it looks like the party's here." she said, more sharply than Mimi. Her eyes softened a little when she looked at Maureen. She then looked at the paper in Benny's hand. "What are you doing? Evicting them?" she asked, arms crossed. While she was still pissed off at her SELFISH (ex) girlfriend, she could at least keep her friendship with the boys (and Mimi) by being their legal consent.

Benny rolled his eyes and let his hands drop to his sides. "No. I'm not evicting them. Look, I don't want anything in return; I just want to see something get done. I'm spending all this money on this studio and I want to start it off with a bang. I want to get some artists in there who know what they're doing, and you two know what you're doing and are GOOD at what you're doing. I know I've been an asshole before, and no, I don't expect everything to be forgotten, that's not what I'm asking. I don't want anything in return. For once in my life, I've come to a realization that you guys are the only lifelines I have to my past, my good past. And I'm sorry for what I did. But now I want to try to make it up to you. This is my favor to YOU."

"Let me see it," Joanne said, reaching for the note. She scanned over it with her eyes.

"You're paying them THAT much? Where are you going to get that kind of money?"

"By doing what I've been doing since I got married: take the money from Allison's parents and pay 'em back when I can. It's in midtown so it's not going to be cheap."

"I have an office over there," came the reply. Joanne read through the document again, this time looking for hidden ropes. She didn't find any.
"Are you planing on throwing in free rent too?" she asked, still holding on to the note.

"There's no place to stay at Cyberland." Benny walked over and flipped a couple pages where a floorplan was drawn.
"That's how it's gonna be. The studio, production and editing room, lounge. It's just a floor of a building," Benny said, pointing to different parts of the drawing before looking up and holding out his arm to the others in the room. "If they're staying here, then yes, it's free rent. But they can't move midtown 'cause there's no place to stay unless they buy their own place."

"Hm," Joanne said, watching him. She thought it was actually a good idea. "You'll have to get something signed," she said. "And witnessed."

"For them to stay free? Fine. You write up a contract and I'll sign it if you deem it necessary. I'm just trying to help get some money in their pockets right now."

"Free rent is always good. I'll tell you what, I'll write up a contract, pass it by the guys, and if they like it, I'll let you know what we come up with." She looked at Mark and Roger. "Boys, we'll have to talk," she said simply. She then looked at Maureen. "Honey-bear, what a surprise to find you here," she said it as if she was genuinely shocked, even though she knew this is where she would run to. Maureen always seemed to have a soft-spot for Mark. If anything ever went wrong, he was where she went to. Like when Joanne needed to fix the equipment. She could have done it, but Maureen had to call Mark, and send him over to do it.

Maureen crossed her arms over her chest, a scowl on her face. Joanne knew where she was most likely to go. Why had she followed? The small glimmer of hope that Joanne may have reconsidered her early words was quickly squashed by Maureen's pride and anger. "Pookie, I didn't know you'd be coming here. If I did, I would have left. But we all know how selfish I am," she said coldly.

"Just send me along a copy of what you figure out.," Benny said quickly. He looked at Roger and Mark. "And think about it. Seriously." He looked at everyone in the room, leaving a slight lingering glare on Mimi before walking out the door.
He went down the stairs and outside to his car, which reaked of urine. He sighed with an aggrivated manner before getting in. He sat in the car for a few moments, considering everything that had just happened. Not that he regretted saying anything and not that anything he had said was a lie, but he just didn't know what to make of his old friends anymore. He felt like a dick. He had been a dick, but things were changing. He was bored with his "rich" life and taking advantage of those who couldn't defend themselves. So he hoped that everything would turn out like he had planned. Benny started the car and drove in the direction of a carwash.

"Thanks Joanne." Mark gave her a weak smile. He wanted to like her. Really, he did. But how could somebody like the woman that stole the girl they love...er, loved. Mark ran his hand through his hair and looked back down at his camera that on this rare occasion was off. "What do you think, Rog?"

Roger looked back to Joanne. He still didn't trust Benny and all of them in the loft knew he had a perfectly good reason. Mark, Mimi, (and even Maureen) had they're reasons for not trusting him as well so Roger felt there was no need to explain his reasons. "I still don't know about this Joanne. I mean, sure, it seems like a great opportunity and it is what we've dreamed about but..." He faded off.

"It's okay, Roger." She said. "I understand. That's why I want you to help me write up the contract. This way it's on your terms, not his."

Roger gave a nod. "It's good to have someone on our side who knows the legal stuff. "I'm actually interested in the opportunity." Roger would never admit that to Benny personally of course. "And if Mark's interested I say we take it."

Mark had put his camera away. "Me? If I'm interested?" he asked, pointing to himself. "I'm all gung-ho, you know, depending on what we write up and stuff."
Joanne nodded. "This sound great," she said. "Just let me know when you boys want to write up the contract." She looked again to Maureen, who was trying to hide the fact she was upset that she wasn't the center of attention, and stayed silent.

Maureen tried to look bored, examining her carefully painted nails for any chips. She didn't need to be the center of attention. Really, she didn't. She was perfectly capable of being on the sidelines...Which was why it was such a surprise to her when she found her mouth opening and sound coming out. "Why are you guys even bothering? You know that Benny will find some way to screw you over. He always does."

"He was a nice guy 800 years ago, believe it or not," Mark said. "When we were in college...hell, he wasn't THAT bad when he was living there. Money got to the head." He shrugged.

Joanne looked at Mimi. "What do you think, honey?"

Mimi's gaze remained on Joanne for a moment after she spoke. "I just don't trust him." She said, every bit of wariness there in her voice for everyone to hear. Her eyes dropped to her lap. "Old habits are hard to break, I guess." She raised her eyes to find Mark, squeezing Roger's hand as she continued. "But if it really is a great opportunity... don't listen to me. Just make sure someone is watching out for you. Like Joanne." Mark shot her a smile.

"This really is a great opportunity," Joanne said to Mark and Roger. "You boys outline a contract."

Maureen was floored. She couldn't believe they were actually considering this! It was Benny for Christ's sake! Was she the only one who remembered how slimey and conniving Benny could be when he wanted something? Not that it made her hate him any less, but one did have to admire his ability to find a loophole in anything. "Do what you guys want, but I reserve all 'I told you so' rights when Benny inevitably messes everything up."

Joanne shot her a glance. "He may, but that doesn't mean they have to be screwed," She said somewhat tartly. "This is the first time that Benny can be the puppet on the string, not the other way around." She turned her attention back to us. "Let me know what you decide."

Mark was watching everything unfold. A chance to film, and actually get PAID for it! He looked at Roger and shrugged again.

Roger was swirling the whole idea around in his head. Like Mark, he'd finally be able to do what he liked to do and get paid for it. After all, Benny had been right. Roger had a few songs from when he had been in his band. There might just be a hit there somewhere, who knew?

A slight sparkle shown in his eyes. If one didn't completely know Roger, they would miss it entirly because he wasn't one to show emotion too often.
He looked to Mark and then to Mimi. Mark noticed, but he didn't draw attention to it. The look on his face told him that Roger didn't want anyone to know he was seriously considering this, at least not yet.
"So...any ideas for food tonight?" Mark said, changing the subject. He noticed Joanne and Maureen staring at each other. Women.

Maureen shot Joanne a dirty look before moving towards Mark. "Well, Marky, we could always go to the Life..." She lightly brushed her hand over Mark's shoulder, looking right at Joanne.

Mark pretended she hadn't touched him. "Sounds good, unless anyone has any objections?"

Joanne watched Maureen carefully. She had no doubt that the woman would come back shortly. This was just to aggravate her and damn it, it's working. Joanne didn't let this show, however. "No, the Life sounds great."

Roger gave a nod. "If it's the Life, I'm game" he agreed as he looked back to Mimi.

"Well, I'm going to be heading down now..." Mark said. No one doing anything was driving him nuts. "You guys can come with if you want. Or not," he added as an afterthought.

Joanne gave Maureen one last look. "I'll go with you," She said. In one sense she needed to get out of the loft and get some fresh air. In the other sense, she was baiting Maureen: her ex and---well, both her ex's at the moment were going out. Would she take the bait and come with?

Maureen watched as Joanne and Mark walked towards the loft door. "Wait! I'm coming to. I'm starving!" Well, that was a bit of an exaggeration but Joanne and Mark had been awfully chummy lately and Maureen did not like that at all. At least if she came along, she could attempt to keep their attention on HER.

"Great," Mark said. He held the door open for both of them. After Joanne and Maureen had walked in, he poked his head back in the front room toward Roger. "You two can come with, if you want." he said. Who knows if they would come?

Maureen flounced towards the door, flipping her curly brown hair over her shoulder as she brushed past Joanne. Joanne smiled slightly to herself as the three of them began to walk toward the Life Cafe.