AN: Don't own a damn thing about RENT. This Mimi I'm mostly basing on Daphne Rubin-Vega's Mimi. Oh and remember she IS a stripper. So this is a pretty heavy chapter, so be warned. Hope you guys like the story.

Tonight you can feel the beats of a drum shake the walls. The lights shines on the stage and a guitar enters from somewhere off the sound system in the club. Oh I am feeling this tonight, Mimi thought to herself has she stopped kicking the air and started to grind with the pole she was holding onto. Looking onto the crowd she saw the place was pack. Filled for the 7th week in a row. About time this place was filled constantly. I've been here for 3 years and I always work better with an audience. Time to really step it up; Mimi thought smiling to herself while pulling on the belt of her robe releasing it off her shoulders. Throwing it to the ground she causally walked down the stairs while dancing here and there. She smiled has the crowd had gone wild with screaming. She'd always known how to make them go crazy.

Running to the next pole she twirled down it and grabbed some of the bills men where shoving in her face and pushed it halfway down her panties so it was still half visible. Running up the few steps that brought her back up to the main stage she joined her friends Becky and Leann who had been keeping everyone else excited, so to speak that is. Grabbing the pole near the edge of the front of the stage she jumped on it and held herself up by her legs criss-crossing tightly against the metal pole.

Facing the people she waved her arms and moved her stomach in rhythm to each other. Still making these motions she remove the top button and strap on her back on her bra like top and let it flow to the ground. The crowd had gotten somehow louder now. Mimi looked back to the crowd, who is still upside down and smiled. She smiled because she knew her dance was almost over with and what that meant.

She grabbed the bar with her hands and released her legs slowly so the boys got a good look at her legs, like they couldn't already. Getting down on the ground she lowered herself slowly letting the men throw all kinds of bills at her. When she reached the ground she raised her arms above her head. She knew this was when breast looked their best and she knew she needed to end this dance with something good. She sat up and crawled over to the other side of the stage. She lied back and brought her legs up to the air. She brought them down and sat up and smiled. The final drum beats where flowing through the club and Mimi brought her leg back up to the air and smiled has the lights disappeared.

As I got up I couldn't help but to smile at the clapping and screaming coming from the crowd. I ran into the back and got my robe by my area in the back. Putting on my robe I went to my locker and pulled out a needle, spoon, and a piece of rubber. Sitting down in front of my mirror I rolled up my sleeve of my robe and tied the rubber around it. Lifting my leg up I pulled a little bag out of my boot. And threw it onto the dresser. Grabbing the spoon I carefully opened the bag and pour some of the powder into the spoon. Pouring a tiny bit of water into it I grabbed the lighter next to me and started to heat it up.

It would still be a little while. I hate this part. The wait puts you on your nerves. The fact that you know that you'll be able to breathe easily in a few moments makes you restless. It wasn't always like this for me. I didn't always rely on this thing. There was a time where I didn't even think I'd touch any of this. Look at me now. I'm sure my mother would be proud. Watching her oldest daughter shooting up in the back of a strip club. How things change.

Looking at the mirror she thought back to her first day here.

Walking off that bus I remember feeling at home. Unlike the 'home' I had just left. Leaving that place had been coming for a while. Everyone saw it, everyone that is but my papá. I still cringe at his reaction and at what he is probably doing to my mamá. She had wanted to get out of there. She had wanted me out of there. She would never admit it but she didn't want any of her babies in that house.

About two nights before I left things had gotten out of hand. My papá had been drinking all day and had now gotten into a pretty bad fight with my mamá. It was these times my sisters and me would stay together. This night I had been reading a story to the girls when the door to our room had been pushed open and our papá had walked in.

From the hall we heard mamá scream, "No, Al don't you dare touch those girls!" In response to hearing this papá turned and shut the door in her face and locked it.

"What do you want?" I said standing up knowing his routine by now. With this he just took his hand and slap me across my cheek sending me to the floor by his side. With me out of his way he turned his attention to the two girls. Outside you could hear mamá screaming to let her in and not to touch any of us. If only she'd just stop talking and accept the fact that she can't do a damn thing about this man.

I looked up to him and watched him raise his hand to strike one of my sisters. They didn't deserve to get hurt- they didn't do a damn thing to this fucker. I got up quickly and pushed him down while saying under my breath, "They didn't do a fucking thing- leave them alone you piece of shit."

"Who the fuck do you think you are?" Al said back to me while pushing me to the ground. "Huh? Who the fuck do you think you are?"

"I'm a fucking person who hates her father, that's who," I said spitting in his face. To this he pushed me down to the fall underneath him despite my tries at staying on top of him to keep him down. In between mumbling things he started to push down the pants I had been wearing. I started to kick and scream at him to stop but soon he just started to violently thrust into me. I had stopped screaming and had taken to biting my bottom lip. After a while I turned to my sister's who were now facing the walls hiding underneath blankets. I can still hear them crying.

Later that night mamá came quietly into my room, careful not to wake anyone up. She knew I'd be up after everything.

"Mimi miel," she whispered in the dark.

"Mamá I'm out of here, tonight is the last night," I said back to her angry.

"I know sweetie, but where are you going to go?"

"Away, I don't care where, New York City, Maryland anywhere but here," Mimi said to her seriously.

"I'll get you a ticket to NYC tomorrow Mimi."