CHAPTER 2
The taxi dropped them off in front of the entrance to the ER and Angel got out first, getting between Maureen and Mark. Maureen got out slowly, still frowning, her thoughts obviously still on the fact her face might have a scar. Mark was cupping his hand under his nose, mourning his camera and hoping his nose didn't have a bump in it. And Joanne was cold. Maureen, too wrapped up in her own thoughts, didn't really notice this, or anything else, she just wrapped Joanne's coat around herself, putting her arms through the arm holes. Really how much blood had she lost? She was starting to feel dizzy.
Or was this just the drama queen in her?
She was walking behind Mark and Angel because she wasn't really in the mood for another fight at the moment. The four of them got into the waiting room and were informed that because they had minor injuries they'd have to wait a couple of hours to be seen, since there had been some sort of big shoot-out and the ER was busy.
"Great, just what I want, to be stuck in this waiting room for hours!" Maureen exclaimed dramatically. Several people were eyeing Angel funnily because she was dressed in drag. Mark just mumbled about having to be stuck in the waiting room with Joanne and took the seat all the way at the end of the last row. Angel sat down beside him, then Joanne and then Maureen.
"I'm huuuungry!" whined Maureen an hour later, "Because of camera boy I never got to eat my food." she pouted, looking at Angel. Angel sighed then stood up, "Okay chica, I'll get you some food, just don't start anything while I'm gone." Then she skipped off to go find a vending machine.
"Fag," someone said after Angel had left the room. Maureen, who was feeling pretty sleepy around this time from all the boredom had been just about to doze off, but her eyes snapped open.
"What did you say!" she asked angrily, standing up and glaring at the fat guy who had spoken.
"You heard me lady," he said with a grin, he was clearly drunk, and then he checked Maureen out. Gross, she thought to herself.
Joanne, meanwhile, noticed the fat guy checking her girlfriend-ex girlfriend out. Yeah he was ugly but that didn't mean she had to like it.
"Look fat guy, don't talk about my friend alright," Maureen said, crossing her arms. The fat guy stood up and took several steps toward her, asking, "Who are you calling fat?"
"The obese guy behind you, who the fuck do you think?" said Maureen with a smirk, glad she had struck a nerve.
Joanne saw this as a nice time to intervene. Grabbing Maureen's hand she tugged her back down to her seat, telling her to cool it and not start anymore fights tonight.
"Who's that your girlfriend? No wonder, you're a dyke." The guy was half slurring his words now from all the talking he was doing. "You'd rather be with that black bitch than me?" he tacked on and well, that was it, Maureen and Joanne were both pissed now, but of course, Maureen being Maureen meant she had to do something about it.
She gave the guy a right hook to the face.
She had to give him credit, when she was flexing her now very sore knuckles, he wobbled but he didn't fall down. Must have been all of his fat, she figured. "Weebles wobbles but they don't-"
That was all she got out because the guy punched her back and well, she hit the floor out cold.
Joanne was not pleased with how this night was going. First Angel had called her and told her they were all having dinner together, and yes, tonight that meant Maureen was finally coming along too. She wasn't sure how she felt about that. Maureen and her had been broken up for two weeks, and she missed her every day. Every time she hung out with the boho's since then she was both glad she hadn't been there and disappointed. Glad because it meant she didn't have to see her, because seeing her would hurt. And disappointed because at the same time she just had to see her beautiful Maureen.
Well, not so much hers anymore.
But she had gone along, changing from her work clothes and as soon as they got there it had been a disaster. Maureen had taken a seat on Mark, and declared to a shocked table while talking to him that they were together again. Joanne couldn't hide her face at first, but luckily no one but Mimi had noticed the shock, disappointment and sadness that had flashed across her face before she tried to look indifferent.
Then Maureen had gotten mad at the fact that she wasn't getting any attention. She had taken Mark's camera and started walking backwards on the table and fallen off the end. Joanne had to say that she had been scared for a second when she saw all the blood, but after realizing it was from her arm she relaxed. During Mark and Maureen's fight she kind of wanted to kick Mark, but she had stayed out of it.
Now, though, she was pissed.
First this obese white guy starts on Angel. Then her. Maureen, naturally, had punched him.
Joanne, however, had not expected him to punch her back.
Neither, apparently, had Maureen, because she didn't even try to duck.
She landed on the floor before Joanne could catch her, apparently knocked out. Joanne started towards the guy-Maureen was better at the fighting thing, but then again she was out cold, and nobody punched her girlfriend, - ex-girlfriend, and got away with it. Luckily for her, because she probably would have been the next one knocked out, the security guard got their first and pulled the fat guy away.
Joanne knelt down beside Maureen, rolling her eyes at Mark, who was smirking. "Honeybear are you alright?" she asked, but nope, the diva was still out. She pulled her up and walked her unconscious self to the chairs, laying her out so that now Maureen's body took up three chairs. Then she sat down and pulled her head on her lap.
She shouldn't be doing this. Getting so close, giving her the coat, all of this. They weren't together anymore and it was just going to make those feelings harder to squash and forget.
But she couldn't help herself. She still loved Maureen, and she couldn't just not do nothing. She liked to think, if the roles were reversed, Maureen would do the same for her.
Speaking of the drama queen, her eyes fluttered, already one was a light shade of green-blue. "Pookie?" she asked, using the nickname out of habit as she blinked with confusion and looked up.
"How do you feel baby?" asked Joanne, running her hand through Maureen's long curls, "He hit you pretty hard." she commented, scowling, and just as Angel walked back in.
"My eye hurts. Fix it!" whined Maureen with her signature pout. "I can't honeybear but we can put ice on it later," Joanne told her as she stroked her hair, as Angel took a seat beside Mark and looked from Mark to Maureen laying on the chairs, her head in Joanne's lap and a bruise beginning to form on her eye.
"Mark! I told you no fighting while I was gone!" she said, putting down the chips she had gotten Maureen.
"It wasn't me, some homophobic, racist, fat guy knocked her out." Mark told her, fighting a grin.
"Well why didn't you do anything?" Angel scolded, but Mark never got to reply as the nurse came out then and told them they would now be seen.
And hour and forty minutes later the four of them were once again in a cab, this time headed towards the loft. Maureen's arm had been stitched up, her scratch disinfected (she had screamed a lot during this part) and she had a spectacular black eye forming, and swelling up for that matter. The diva was now asleep, leaning against Joanne and still wrapped up in her coat.
Mark, as it turned out, did not have a broken nose, it was only a fracture. After a few x-rays (which had taken most of the time) his nose had been deemed fine and he was out of the hospital with a prescription for painkillers and instructions to be careful and gentle around his nose. And a slight bump. Oh, not to mention it was really, really, swollen.
When they got to the loft, Mark stormed up ahead of the group while Joanne woke a sleeping Maureen and paid for the cab. Maureen didn't want to get out it seemed.
"Pookie just leave me here," she mumbled, leaning her head against the seat.
"No, come on, I'm freezing out here," Joanne told her, taking her hand and pulling her out. Maureen wobbled unsteadily and didn't open her eyes, just leaned against Joanne, her face against her shoulder. With a small smile, Joanne began walking her upstairs. They were just entering the loft when Mark stormed out of Maureen's room, carrying a bag and a box, a surprised Collins being told about the night's events by Angel. Roger was nowhere to be seen, because he was downstairs with Mimi.
"So some fat guy also punched her?" Collins was asking, as Mark dumped the box and bag at Joanne and Maureen's feet.
"What's this?" asked Joanne, looking down at the stuff, then up at Mark.
"Her stuff. She can get the hell out. I don't know why the hell I let her move in here to begin with, she's lazy and does nothing but complain and…" someone was clearly still steamed about his nose and camera.
"Mark, you can't kick me out!" whined Maureen sleepily, still leaning against Joanne, although she had woken up enough to realize she was being kicked out.
"Yes I can. Now take your stuff before I throw it out a window."
"But Maaark, were am I supposed to stay?"
"Not my problem. Since you seem so close to Joanne again, stay with her."
"But Mark she dumped me."
Joanne knew there was no point in pointing out the fact that a:
She was still standing right here, or b:
The break-up had been mutual.
"Come on Maureen, you can stay with me tonight." What was she going to do, leave her here so Mark could kick her out and she'd have to sleep in the hallway or something. She could go to Mimi's, but what if Mimi and Roger were out? Nope, she'd take her home for tonight.
One more taxi cab later, and one trip upstairs with Maureen's stuff, Joanne was once again trying to get a sleepy Maureen out of the taxi. "Come on baby we're here and you can go to sleep now for good." she told her and finally the diva got out of the cab. One very slow trip up the stairs later and Maureen was sitting on the couch looking like she had passed out.
Joanne wondered if they had given her anything for the pain because she had never seen Maureen so out of it.
It took her twenty minutes to get the drama queen out of her clothes, she even got her arm slapped once because as Maureen had said 'I'm not in the mood for kinky now baby.' Finally though she was in one of her old shirts and laying in her bed. Just like old times.
Joanne was surprised to find herself close to tears. She shouldn't of brought her here. Mimi probably had been home.
She was just being stupid and hopeful and trying to cling onto tonight for as long as she could. Because tonight she had Maureen with her.
She thought about sleeping on the couch, or in the other room. But what the hell, she had dug herself in this deep, she might as well bury herself completely.
Joanne lay down in the bed next to Maureen, who rolled over and snuggled into her, sleepily muttering something about a scar.
Joanne couldn't help but smile as she wrapped an arm around Maureen and fell asleep.
A/N: woah two chapters in one day! damn this song is really working for me! lol. anyway yeah. i hope you like it! (: let me know, feedback and reviews are awesome.
-Ainslee.
