This is my first Fan Fiction. Hurray! Just to let you know I LOVE RENT. I know every lyric to every song. I loved it way before the movie! So yeah, I am a major RENT Head. Leave Comments, because I love them. Hope you enjoy it!

The NYC Addiction

Mimi Marquez got off the subway. She took a deep breath. The New York air felt so good against her face. New York was like a drug to her. She loved it. She needed it. She hadn't been to New York since last New Year's. It was the hardest "goodbye" of her life. She had to leave her friends, her home, and her love, Roger. Mimi leaned against the wall, thinking about last year.

"Mimi," Roger said. It was 2:00 a.m. everyone was still partying. It was the New Year! Mimi looked at Roger's deep, concerned eyes.

"What babe?" she asked.

"You need to get help. We all talked it over. You need to go to a rehab," he said hoarsely. The party died down slightly. They were all curious to see Mimi's reaction.

"What?" asked Mimi, shocked. She looked at everyone around her. She pulled away from Roger's hug.

"Mimi," Maureen cooed. "You will be leaving tomorrow. It is the right thing to do."

"No!" Mimi screamed. "NO! I can change. Please no." She began to sob. Roger went to hold her. She pulled away and ran down the stairs to her room.

Roger ran after her.

"Please Roger," she pleaded. "Please! Give me another chance. I can change. I won't do it again. I promise. I promise Roger. I promise."

Roger smiled. He was hoping she would say this. He now could go back to his best friend Mark and tell him that rehab wouldn't be necessary.

Roger held Mimi. She sobbed uncontrollably.

"Don't make me go," she cried. "I am scared. I wanna stay with you."

Roger slowly rocked back and forth, holding her. Eventually Mimi fell asleep. Roger laid her down on her bed. He made his way back upstairs to the party. His friend Tom Collins met him at the door.

"Is she going?" he asked.

"No," Roger said. "She promised she would change."

Collins gave him a disbelieving look. Maureen and her girlfriend Joanne came up behind him.

"Let me guess," said Mark with a disapproving look. "She's changed. She promised she would stop."

"Mimi is-"

Mark cut off Roger. "Mimi is different and I believe her this time," he mocked.

Roger's eyes clouded over. He shoved Mark backwards and stormed out of the room. He slammed the door. Then he leaned against the wall and breathed heavily. Roger could hear his friends talking about him through the wall.

"When is he going to let her go?" Mark asked.

"He thinks he is helping her, but he is really holding her back and it is destroying this family," Joanne said.

"Did you ever think about how he feels?" Collins asked. "It hurts to lose someone. I should know." He said, referring to his dead boyfriend, Angel.

Roger stood up and walked downstairs. He didn't want Mimi to wake up and be alone.

Mimi followed through with her promise and began to go through withdrawal. In the beginning it was all good, but then, she began to crave her beloved drugs again.

Roger came home from the grocery store. He was holding a brown paper bag.

"I'm home," he called out. Mimi's usual response did not come back to him.

"Mimi?" he called out. He heard a faint cry from the bathroom. He dropped the bag and ran to find his girlfriend.

Mimi was laying in the bathtub, shivering and sweating. Roger went over and laid a hand on her forehead.

"Are you cold or hot?" he asked.

"Cold," she murmured.

Roger gently scooped her up. He thought her small body was going to break under the hold of his strong arms. He brought her to the futon and sat her down. She began to cry louder.

"It hurts all over," she cried. He wrapped the quilt from her bed around her. He then held her close to him.

"Withdrawal does that to you," he said. "When I went through withdrawal I was very abusive I used to push Mark around and yell at people."

"You still do that," she whispered.

He smiled and kissed her tear-stained cheek. "Withdrawal is a good thing. You are quitting. I am so proud of you."

Mimi smiled and went to sit up. She shivered even more. Roger pushed her back down.

"Lay down," he said forcefully. "It is okay."

"I can't do this," she cried.

"Yes you can," Roger said back.

"It is getting hot," Mimi suddenly cried. Roger knew that feeling, where you are so cold and then your body changes and you are beginning to heat up. He stood up and ran to the bathtub. He ran the cold water and then went back to get Mimi. He gently placed her in the bathtub, with her clothes still on. Roger sat down next to her. He suddenly dozed off.

"Roger," cried out Mimi, trying to wake him up. Roger woke up and saw Mimi, dripping wet and shivering in front of him. He stood up and scooped her into his arms. He carried her over to the window and sat on the ledge. He held her in his arms as hard as he could. The harder she shivered, the tighter he held her. Mimi pushed herself further towards him, trying to get lost in his hold. He stared out at the sun, which was beginning to set.

Roger woke up slumped on the window ledge. He rubbed his temples. That afternoon of carrying Mimi back and forth, drained all his energy.

"Mimi?" he thought. He went to her bedroom. He saw a lump in the covers and walked over to it. He pulled the covers back. The only thing there was a couple of pillows.

He went over to the door. Mimi's shoes weren't there. His watch read 10:30 p.m. He grabbed his coat and ran up the stairs. He pushed open the door. Mark was sitting at the table, bending over his camera.

"How's Mimi," he said, the minute Roger opened the door.

"I wouldn't know, I can't find her," he said, kicking the wall.

"What do you mean?" Mark asked.

"She was like freaking out and going through withdrawal. I was like holding her and I feel asleep," Roger said angrily

"She was going through withdrawal?" Mark asked. "I don't mean to scare you, but when you went through withdrawal, the only thing you wanted was-"

"Shit!" said Roger cutting him off and running out the door.

He ran into the snow and stumbled on the steps. He ran down the street and made a turn at the alley. He made it to the end and cursed.

He slowly pulled himself up the wall and when he got to the top he jumped down into a pile of soft snow. He turned left at the end of that alley and stopped.

He was standing in "The Man's" alley. He knew this alley so well. The smells gave him the urge to run up and buy some smack. His thoughts turned to Mimi, when he saw her standing next to a tall man dressed in a dark green coat.

"What the hell are you doing?" he yelled. "The Man" turned and ran. Mimi just stood there, holding a bag of crack.

"Roger!" she cried. "It is not what it looks like." Mark, Maureen, Joanne, and Collins all showed up behind Roger. They were out of breath, when they stopped short behind the two.

Roger stepped forward and yanked the powder out of her hands. "You lied to me," he said. He threw the powder back at her. He pushed her backwards, yelling, "YOU LIED TO ME!"

"You don't understand," she said, crying. Roger advanced forward.

"Are you serious? I don't understand? I've been there and done that! Don't give me that bullshit Mimi," Roger yelled.

Mimi pushed Roger away from her. He stumbled backwards. He then went to push her back. Mark had come forward and grabbed Roger's arm.

"Why Mimi? Why would you do this? You promised," Roger whispered.

"I hate you," Mimi cried. "I hate you!" Maureen came forward and took Mimi's arm.

"Come on Mimi," she said. Mimi and Roger held each other's stare for a minute. Then Mimi turned around and walked away.

That night, Roger was lying in Mimi's apartment. Mimi finally came in around midnight. She walked right past him and went to her room. She began throwing her belongings in a bag.

Roger came up behind her. She was sniffling back tears, he could tell.

"Mimi," he whispered. "I am sorry. I overreacted. It's just……I just don't want you to leave me. I wanted to protect you from drugs and I failed."

"Roger, I am leaving for a rehab in Montana tomorrow," she said turning around, suddenly hugging him. "And there is nothing you can do to stop me. I have to go and you know it."

Roger was so taken aback by her mature ness. He smiled and returned her hug.

"I should tell you," he whispered.

Mimi put a finger up to his mouth. She pulled him into the moonlight.

"You know," he said. "A little girl barged into my room once and told me that she wanted to go out tonight."

"I don't care where we go," she said, "as long as I am with you."

They danced in the moonlight, holding each other as tight as they could.

Mimi opened her eyes. She was still leaning against the wall. She pulled her coat closer to her. Her bag was slung over her shoulder and she made her way up the stairs of the subway, into the bright sun of New York. The plane ride had made her nauseous, so the air felt so good to breath, even though it was filled with fumes. The streets were filled with holiday shoppers and children pressing their faces against store windows. Mimi made her way down the street.

11 months! She could not believe she had been in rehab for 11 months. She felt good to be out. Most of all, she wanted to see Roger.