This is my entry for the August writing contest on the URF (Ultimate Renthead Forum)- OC is based on my buddy Master of the Opera. I guess you could look at it as a Mark/OC romance or just a friendship. I dunno, take your pick. I just had them meet each other.

Mark tightened the scarf around his neck, shivering slightly. New York seemed especially cold today, even for a mid-December's evening. The filmmaker checked his watch. 8:32. It was later than he had thought, but there was still plenty of time to get some good filming in. Quickly Mark pulled his camera out of its case and looked around for something- anything- to doccument.

He was just raising the camera to begin filming a few shots of the graffiti on the side of a building when he heard a raised voice.

"Like hell you are! I'd bet you're not even real feds."

The voice was female, indignant and tinged with a Brtish accent. Mark quickly swing the focus around to find the source of the commotion.

"Yes we are! And you need to get your skinny ass off of our streets!"

"Listen, I don't have time for this," The female voice said, obviously very fustrated. Mark lowered the camera so that he could get a better look at what was going on. A young woman, about twenty-one or so, was bent over on the sidewalk, closing a large case while two burly-looking middle-aged men watched.

"See ya later, toots!" called one of the men as she picked up the case and started walking away.

The girl looked over her shoulder but didn't stop. "I certainly hope you two idiots can find yourselves a nice little hobby one of these days- like knitting or drawing pictures of cats. Then you won't be such wastes of air."

Mark, wondering exactly what was going on, crossed the street quickly and came up to her side.

"What was that about?" he asked curiously, his hinds shifting their position around his camera. He took the time to study the girl more closely- she had narrow green eyes (their edges enhanced by a thick coat of mascara) and messy black hair that reached down to her shoulderblades. Her skin was rather pale, but that was to be expected on such a cold night. She didn't even have a scarf.

"People are assholes," the girl said fustratedly in reply, not slowing her pace or even letting her eyes stray from the street directly in front of her. Mark wasn't sure if she was referring to him or the two men that had been harassing her.

"Well, erm, are you alright?" Mark tried, stumbling over his words a bit as he tried to keep up with her.

The girl stopped abruptly and looked at him. "I'm fine, thanks." She paused for a second before adding, "Uhh, no 'fence, but... who the hell are you?"

"Oh, I'm Mark. Mark Cohen. I'm a filmmaker." Mark held up his camera as if to prove that he was telling the truth.

"I see... So what are you doing out in the cold on a night like this?"

Mark took a moment to answer. He was a bit surprised by her straightforwardness- she didn't really seem to be making an effort to make him feel comfortable, but she certainly wasn't unfriendly- in fact she seemed genuinely interested in what he had to say.

"Oh, I'm just looking for things to film. I record most everything I see- you never really know what's going to be useful in your next doccumentary."

"Did you get any footage of that little episode back there?"

In all honestly Mark had no idea how to respond. Her tone gave nothing away- would she care if he had filmed her without her permission?

"Well, I- Uhm- If I did would you-?"

The girl made one of those 'okay, so you don't have an answer' faces, but replaced it with a gentle expression that came just short of a smile. "Its fine. I would be honored to be part of your documentary on whatever-the-hell-it-is. I'm Ruby, by the way. Ruby Hale."

Mark mentally let out a breath of relief. She had finally introduced herself. "So," he inquired slowly, "what's in the case?"

Ruby sighed, causing a curl of mist to briefly fill the air. "That? That's my saxophone. The only source of income I have since my boyfriend left me. And then those two forcing me off the street like that is probably one of the worst things that could happen to me right now. Fuckers." She rolled her eyes.

Mark looked at her for a moment. Somehow he felt drawn to Ruby- she was obviously in hard times, but she wasn't going to let it show anytime soon and she certainly wan't looking for any sympathy. And yet she was open to any question he asked...

"Would you like to come get a drink with me?"

Mark was a bit taken aback. He had heard the question, but it certainly hadn't come out of Ruby's mouth. As he replayed the words in his head he realized that it had been his voice saying them.

"Uhh, well- I don't wanna be a bother-" Ruby shuffled her feet a little and tightened her grip on her saxophone case.

"No, its fine. We can go to the Life Cafe and have hot chocolate or something. For once I've got some extra money with me."

Ruby stared at him for a few seconds. "Well, alright," she said, giving him a small smile and starting to move in the direction of the cafe. She knew what she was doing.

The two walked side by side in silence, each holding their livelihood at their side. Mark was sort of starting to wonder where all of this was going. She seemed really nice, after all, and she hadn't beaten him to a pulp for his awkward attempts at kindness(which she certainly appeared to be capable of doing)... He suddenly felt a burning desire to fight injustice- all the bad crap that happened to people like her...

"If I ever see those two again," he growled, "I swear I'll- Those goddamn-"

Suddenly Ruby burst into a fit of laughter. "Bloody hell, Mark!" she laughed as they turned a corner. "Ever heard of anger management?"

See, just a quick oneshot (I hope you liked it). Reviews make me smile!