A/N: This idea came to my head while I sat in my cultural anthropology class. My first reaction had been 'how cool would it be to mix my major with RENT?' so I did. The young woman in the story isn't a main character. She's there to view the world around her, just like an anthropologist does. She is important which will be discovered much later in the story. I didn't want the story to be based around her. The story follows Mark and Roger through the time line of RENT and after. Anyway, enough rambling... read and enjoy. Please let me know what you think.
A Secret Angel
Chapter One:
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In all my time of living in New York I never realized just how different and yet very similar everyone was within the city. I knew there was a difference between the upper class and the poor, homeless people on the street; I just didn't realize that their attitude toward everyone else was the same. When I became homeless on the street their attitude to someone who was just like them was the same as that of the upper class rich people who owned half of the city: they were mean. But I did learn that even then there were people out there willing to help one another. Those are the people I was lucky enough to meet.
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The Life Café was busy just like it normally was on Friday nights during the winter. Many people just wondered into the building to find a little bit of warmth before returning to the bone chilling cold that raged through New York City every winter. This particular night saw the bohemians enjoying their get together. Once a month they got together to talk about the things that had been occurring recently.
Angel and Collins spent time at MIT where Collins had returned for another teaching job. They were hoping he could hold this job this time. Maureen and Joanne were on their 'on again off again' kick once more. When they weren't together Joanne spent a lot of time at work while Maureen would take over the couch in the loft. Mimi still lived in the apartment below the loft, but spent a great deal of time in the loft. She still worked at the Cat Scratch Club but was looking for a different job. Mark had returned to Buzzline where he hated every moment of it, but it helped to pay the rent, not that he and Roger ever paid it. And Roger had, amazingly, found a job working at a bar. When he wasn't working he'd sit in the loft attempting to write songs. The group of friends was doing okay, but they didn't stay in touch nearly as much anymore. It was more difficult with Collins and Angel at MIT, but they did manage.
On this particular night, it was 'pick on Mark' day. Roger had it in his head that Mark didn't get out enough and severely needed to get laid. This led to many fights between the two roommates. Roger would say Mark needed to get out and Mark would retaliate by claiming he did not and would then lock himself in his room to void seeing Roger. Tonight, however, Roger had his other friends on his side. He was determined that Mark should have some fun.
"Seriously Mark, you need to get out." Roger said as he leaned back in his chair. His one arm wrapped around Mimi's shoulders while she cuddled into his side. She giggled at the death glare Mark sent Roger.
"Drop it Roger." Mark said. This was the twelfth time Roger had said some form of this statement since they had arrived at the Life and they had only just ordered their drinks.
"I think he's right. When was the last time you got laid? Before we broke up?" Maureen asked. She gave Roger a wink who smiled in return. Joanne smacked her arm and gave her a look that clearly said 'back off'. Maureen, of course, didn't listen.
"That is none of your business." Mark said trying to ignore them. It wasn't going to happen and he knew it. He also knew that they weren't going to let it die.
"They're just messing with you, boy." Collin said. He was extremely amused by the whole 'get Mark laid' scheme that Roger had apparently been working on.
"Mark, honey, you don't have to do anything you don't want to." Angel said hoping to be of some help. However as soon as the words left her mouth Roger cracked up laughing, which soon had the others joining in except Mark and Angel.
"Not helping, Angel." Mark muttered under his breath. Angel gave him a sympathetic look.
Just then their drinks arrived. Mark knew he was going to be in for a long night if he was the only one of the group not partaking in alcohol. He had to work rather early and turning up to work with a hangover was not something he needed to have happen.
"In all honestly Mark" Roger began after setting down his beer "you need to go out and do something. When was the last time you weren't the seventh wheel?"
"I'm not even going to ask what vehicle in your world has seven wheels." Mark replied not looking up at his friend.
"You're missing the point, Mark." Roger said with a smile on his face.
"I'm ignoring the point, Roger." Mark said before taking another drink from his tea. It was going to be a long night if it was going to all be based around trying to get him laid. It's not that he didn't appreciate his friends; it's just that he didn't appreciate them trying to control his sex life. There was a large difference between the two.
The night dragged on and once everyone was fully drunk it once again turned to the plan of getting Mark laid. He had finally had enough and left the table. He took his tea and head over to the bar. He didn't think his friends would miss him considering they were talking about him as though he wasn't there to begin with. He loved them, he really did, but he didn't need constant reminding that he was, indeed, alone.
Mark sat down at the bar, set his tea on the counter, and then ran his hands through his hair. He didn't want to put up with this anymore. They all needed to learn that he could live his life how he wanted and if he didn't want to go out and get laid then he wasn't going to. Besides, he had a definite fear of contracting HIV, not that he would ever tell his friends that.
"Excuse me, is this seat taken?" a voice asked from behind him. Turning around he came face to face with a woman no older than himself. She looked to be a bit shorter than him and she was defiantly thinner. She had short auburn length hair that was currently pulled into a half pony tail. She wore worn and semi dirty jeans, worn shoes, and a coat that looked like three of her could have fit within it. She carried a backpack over one shoulder and a messenger bag over the other.
"No, it's not." Mark said to her. She gave him a smile before sitting down beside him. Mark returned to the tea before him as well as the problem of his friends. He just knew that Maureen was going to try to set him up on a date. He would of course tell her no, but she'd set it up anyway. When he refused to show up the other person would get mad and use rather expressive vocabulary to show her displeasure, which Maureen would pass on to him word for word. He ended up groaning out loud just thinking about it.
"Are you alright?" a voice beside him asked. He turned his head in his hands to look at the woman who had sat down beside him a few minutes earlier.
"Yeah, just great." Mark said with no emotion but a lot of sarcasm.
"I'm sorry. I'm sure it will get better." She said obviously picking up on his sarcasm.
"Knowing my friends, I doubt it. When they are determined, they are determined." Mark replied. It was then that he noticed that she had a notebook out in front of her with a pen in one hand and a lot of random scribbles across the pages in front of her. "Are you a writer?" he asked looking at it.
She looked down at the notebook and then back to him. "I suppose so. I've been trying to write this for a few years now, but this is the first time I've actually sat down to do it." She said.
"Why in the Life?" Mark asked. Anything was better then returning to his thoughts and if that meant talking to complete random stranger, then so be it.
"I don't have anywhere else to go." She said looking back down at the notebook and writing down a few things.
"Are you homeless?" Mark asked. She looked up at him quickly. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you."
"No, it's fine. It's the first time someone has been nice to me since I got here. I guess you could call me homeless. I mean, I could always return home to my mother, but that would defeat the whole reason for coming here." she said looking at him.
"When did you arrive?" Mark asked. He was now curious about this woman sitting next to him.
"About two days ago. It's not easy living on the street in winter. I come in here to get warm. The wind and snow are too cold to stay out in it long." She said as she wrote down more into her notebook. Her writing was in such a way that Mark couldn't even begin to make any of it out. It actually looked foreign to him.
"Have you just been wondering the streets?" Mark asked. He was surprised that she wasn't frostbitten or dead because of the cold. Sure he and Roger were always freezing in the loft, but at least they were protected from the other elements outside the walls.
"Yes. It's hard to find even a place to stay for a few hours to get out of the snow." She said.
"Do you need a place to stay?" Mark asked. He remembered what it was like to wonder the streets for a few days before he had run into Roger and Collins. Granted when he had arrived in New York City it was summer.
"I don't have much money." She said quietly.
"And you think my roommate and I do? We've by passed paying rent for a few years now. It kind of helps that one of our old roommates owns the building we live in, but still. We're lucky if we have food to eat." Mark said. "You can stay with us for a few days. It's a place to stay. It's not warm, but it's warmer than being outside. We have a couch you can use until you can find another place."
"You're offering me a place to stay and you don't even know me. Aren't you afraid I could be a serial killer or something?" she asked looking at him.
"Not really. We've met our fair share of people in this city. We're pretty good at telling killers from people who need help. Besides, you look rather scared of this city." Mark said with a smile on his face.
"I can't lie. I am." She said quietly turning back to her notebook and writing down a bit more.
"See? I have faith that you won't kill us in our sleep. Besides, we don't have anything worth stealing. I'm Mark Cohen by the way." He told her.
"I'm Robyn, Robyn Martens. And I thank you, Mark. I think I'm going to have to take you up on your offer. I don't think I can survive another night on the street." She said.
"I'm surprised you survived this long. It's the coldest it's been in a while." He said. Mark then stood up. "Come on, let's get you introduced to my roommate and then head out of here. They are more than likely going to be here a few more hours deciding on how best to ruin my life." He said with a smile and a roll of his eyes.
Robyn returned the smile before standing up and repacking her things. She didn't have much but it was better than some had when they arrived in New York City. Mark led her over to the tables were his friends resided. They were rather drunk and laughing hysterically at something. Apparently it was the wrong time to walk into their conversation.
"Pookie!" Maureen yelled and jumped up to wrap her arms around his neck. Before she had the chance to kiss him he pushed her off at the same time that Joanne reached up to pull her off of him. This elicited more laughter from the group of friends.
"Where'd ya go?" Roger asked. His speech was starting to slur and Mark knew it was going to be fun dealing with him later.
"Away from you and your plan to get me laid." Mark said. More laughter broke out from around the table. A few of the people in the Life were giving them looks, but none of them cared.
"It's a good plan, Marky!" Roger exclaimed.
"We'll talk about it when you're not so drunk. Anyway, I want you guys to meet Robyn." Mark said introducing them to his companion. A round of greetings sprang up from the table. Robyn waved to them shyly. "She just arrived here and she needs a place to stay so I offered up the loft." They all just nodded their heads. They were completely wasted and he knew they wouldn't have that much remembrance of the night. He decided to leave it at that and just tell Roger that he had introduced Robyn to him last night but since he, Roger, was too drunk he probably didn't remember, which was true. Mark grabbed his jacket, scarf, and bag and then told Roger he would see him back at the loft. Maureen cried out asking why he was leaving so soon. Mark replied with 'work' and then left.
Together Robyn and Mark walked through the city until they arrived at the building. Mark unlocked the door and together the two headed up to the loft. Once again Mark unlocked the door and slid the door open to reveal the messy, but well lived in, loft.
"It's not much, but it's been home for the past six years." Mark said placing his bag down by the door. He then removed his scarf and jacket and tossed them onto the chair beside the couch. "Make yourself at home." He said walking into the kitchen to heat up some water since he knew Roger would need coffee as soon as he arrived home in a few hours. This was, of course, after he emptied his stomach contents into the toilet and complained about a headache. Mark was use to the drill by now and so just prepared for it.
"It's cozy." Robyn said as she placed her backpack and messenger bag on the floor beside Mark's. "It reminds me of my friend's house. Well lived in."
"It is very well lived in. People come in and out of this loft more than they should. Some of them just walk in as though they live here." Mark said. He made his way over to his bedroom and went to walk inside of it. He stood just inside the doorway and stopped. He knew Roger would be coming in late tonight. He also knew he had to get up and go to work early. Thinking on it he turned back around and headed back into the living area where Robyn stood. "I'm going to let you have my room tonight. I'm sorry it's not clean, but it's better than the couch."
"No, that's okay. I don't want to push you out of your room. I'll take the couch. It's fine." Robyn said. It was apparent that she didn't want to make him do more than he was already doing for her.
"I was going to give you the couch, but tonight that wouldn't work well. Roger's bound to come in at the most ridiculous hours of the morning. He's been drinking so we go through this whole routine to get him into bed. I have to get up early for work so I'd end up making noise in the morning, and when Roger gets up after a night out he sits in the loft most of the day playing guitar. You'd actually get some sleep if you slept in my room." Mark said explaining everything to her.
"I really don't want to force you out of your room. I'd be fine on the couch." Robyn said.
"Until a drunken Roger stumbles across you and flips out. He can be violent when he's not fully aware of himself. That's not to say that he's violent. It's just that… I mean—"
"I understand what you mean. I have a cousin who is violent when he's drunk. Trust me; I've been the receiving end of that. It's okay. I know how to deal with it." Robyn said. Mark just nodded his head. Why was it so hard to get across what he wanted to say recently? He blamed it on lack of sleep.
It wasn't much longer before Mark had made up a makeshift bed on the couch for himself and had gotten things semi cleaned up in his room for Robyn. He had fallen asleep working last night so there was paper and film scattered across his bed. How he had slept he had no idea. Once the bed was cleaned off and semi-made, he had grabbed the things he would need for work and left them by the couch. This way he wouldn't have to disturb her come morning.
After talking for a half hour or so Mark started that he needed to get some sleep considering he had to get up for work, not to mention deal with a drunk Roger in the earlier hours of the morning. The two said good-night and Robyn headed into Mark's room after telling him how much she really did appreciate what he was doing. Once she had closed the door Mark laid down on the couch to sleep.
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It was past 2:30am when Roger finally stumbled into the loft. The sound of the door opening woke Mark from his sleep and the sound of vomiting in the bathroom had him rising from the couch. Mark closed the door before heading into the kitchen to make coffee from the water which had been warming since he had arrived back.
Roger stumbled into the living area and flopped down on the couch. He leaned forward and rested his head in his hands. He groaned as he waited for his stomach to settle some and for some of the pounding in his head to stop. Neither of which was being very cooperative. Mark sat down next to his roommate and handed Roger the cup of coffee he had just made.
"It amazes me that after all these years you still do this." Roger said slowly drinking the black coffee. He knew it didn't really help, but it did make him feel a little better.
"It amazes me that after all these years you still get this fucking drunk." Mark said standing up. He headed into the bathroom to make sure Roger hadn't made a mess. Luckily he hadn't tonight, which made life on Mark much easier. Last month had been entire different story.
"What can I say? When you involve Collins and alcohol one is bound to get wasted off their ass." Roger said leaning back in the couch with the coffee still in his hands. "Where did you go, anyway?"
"I'm surprised you even have coherent speech." Mark said returning from the bathroom and ignoring Roger's question.
"I'm not that bad." Roger replied.
"Not tonight. You were last month though." Mark said heading into Roger's room to make sure there wasn't anything on the bed and Roger could just flop down onto it and sleep until late afternoon.
"Was not, Marky." Roger said starting to slur his words.
"You only call me 'Marky' when you're drunk because you know I won't beat your ass for it." Mark said taking the coffee from Roger and setting it on the table.
"You can't beat my ass. Mimi does that." Roger said as he started to lose his battle with coherent thought as well as consciousness.
"I don't need to know about your sex life, Rog." Mark said helping Roger to stand up. Roger started to mumble random things while Mark helped to take him into his bedroom. Roger continued to mumble as he lay on the bed while Mark removed his shoes. Once the shoes were gone Mark covered Roger in a few blankets so he didn't freeze while he slept through his drunken haze. Before Mark had even left the room Roger was snoring.
Mark dumped the remaining coffee in Roger's cup and rinsed it out. Roger would use it again when he woke. Mark then returned to the couch hoping to sleep for a few more hours before he had to get up for work. Before he fell asleep he made a mental note to write a note to Roger about Robyn. That was his last thought before he returned to sleep.
A/N: There you go. Chapter one. Let me know what you think. :)
