CHAPTER 3
Author's note: I've decided to continue this fic. I know some scenes I want to include, and I know how I want the story to end, but I need to work on getting it there. I don't know that anything in the story will resolve itself exactly, but these are some situations that Maureen might find herself in, that are related to (or made difficult by) her past with Roger.
Dislaimer- Jonathon Larson owns all the characters and the plot of RENT.
"A stripper?" Snorted Maureen. She was seated with Mark, Collins, and Joanne around the low coffee table. Joanne was sitting with her on the couch, arm around her waist. She looked sharply at Maureen, but turned back to Mark when he continued talking.
"Not- not a stripper exactly. She's a dancer." He defended, though he seemed a bit skeptical himself.
"A stripper." Repeated Maureen. "Let me clarify this- Roger's been seeing a stripper?"
"Not a stripper." Mark said again, looking a bit irritated. "She's a dancer. This job requires some skill, not just the body."
"She's a slut!" Maureen laughed- cackled, really. Roger was dating a stripper? Wow, he'd gone from raping his girls to hiring them!
"Easy, Maureen!" Collins looked a little startled by her animosity. "You haven't even met her yet."
"Have you?" She asked pointedly.
"Nah, but I heard a lot about her, right Mark?" He playfully nudged the blonde, who just shook his head.
"I just think it's good for him to be seeing someone. She seems like a nice girl-"
"For someone who sells herself."
"Maureen!" Joanne's arm tightened around her threateningly, and her girlfriend shot her a dirty look.
"What? I'm just saying…"
"I can hear you, you know!" Roger called out from the other room. He had been strumming his guitar in his room and didn't want to be bothered, or so Mark said when Maureen inquired after noticing his absence.
"I think you're making progress Roger." She called back. "From druggie to stripper- quite an improvement!"
"Shut up." Was his only response, and his door clicked shut again. Maureen glared at the closed door for a moment. "What an asshole," she muttered, before glancing around at the faces of her friends seated around her. Mark was frowning at Maureen.
"What?" Maureen snapped.
"I just- what's your problem?"
"What do you mean?" She felt suddenly aware of how they were all looking at her.
"Is there something wrong? You just seem to be-" Mark searched for the right word. "Upset. Edgy. Irritable."
"I'm fine." She replied snippily.
"Maureen, maybe we should go." Joanne spoke in a warning tone of voice.
"Why? Pookie, we just got here!" Maureen tried to get a smile from her girlfriend, but Joanne was looking serious.
"I think it's time for us to go home." She said firmly.
"Go home then. No one's making you stay." Snapped Maureen, agitated and really not in the mood for her girlfriend's bossiness.
"You know what I mean!"
"Go home Joanne, you're making a scene." She was dismissive now.
"No, you're the one turning it into something else. I don't know what's wrong but could you cool down just a little? You're being rude and I don't like it."
"You're overreacting." Maureen replied coolly. "If you had a bad day at work, don't take it out on me. I'm fine."
"Don't put this on me Maureen. Work was fine. You're the one who is acting all edgy. Even Mark noticed!" Joanne said severely, neither of them noticing the uncomfortable looks Collins and Mark were exchanging. "Would you stop disregarding my question? I'm asking you- what's wrong?"
"No, you're not! You're not asking me anything. You're trying to boss me around and force me to go home when I don't want to! You know what? I don't have to take this from you. You think you're better than me? Just because you went to college, and you're some big fancy lawyer, and you have money? You think you can tell me what to do but you can't!"
Maureen stood, flushed with anger that wasn't really directed at her girlfriend. She was spitting out the words, all the while acutely aware of Roger's presence in the other room. Joanne stood too.
"Maureen if you would listen, if you would calm down and hear what I am saying, things wouldn't escalate like this. I was not trying to boss you around. I was trying to avoid this kind of scene while we were visiting your friends, but apparently you had your heart set on this sort of display!"
"What do you mean, 'your friends'? I thought we were all friends, but are you too good for us Miss Ivy League?" Maureen mocked.
"All right, I have had enough. I'm going home." Joanne said shortly, grabbing her purse from the table. "Bye Mark, Collins."
"Bye." Echoed Mark, giving her a look of sympathy. Collins just nodded his goodbye to Joanne, who was quickly out the door.
Maureen leaned back in her seat, wondering what to say. "Women." She finally said bitterly, shaking her head.
Mark raised his eyebrow at her, but Collins just smiled with an easy laugh. "I wouldn't know Maureen."
Mark turned to him. "But what about- doesn't she count as-"
"Angel never even gets like that, man, you know her!"
"Where is Angel?" Maureen questioned, wondering about her friend's lack of appearance. She glanced around, as if she expected Angel to be hiding somewhere. She twisted in her seat, almost expecting the always-smiling drummer to leap into sight, sporting some exotic tights and a brightly colored skirt. She looked back at her friends, noticing the way Mark's nervous blue eyes flicked to Collins's solemn face.
"What's wrong?" She questioned, sensing the uncomfortable atmosphere. She directed her words to Collins. "Have you two been alright? Is…is everything alright?"
Collins cleared his throat, looking away. "Uh, Angel's been, uh, she ain't been feeling too well."
"What?" Maureen stared at him, eyes wide and shocked. She hadn't been expecting that at all.
"She's sick." She just blinked uncomprehendingly at him, and Collins snapped. "Goddammit Maureen, she's sick."
"What do you mean?" Her voice was sharp, pained. Collins was suddenly on his feet.
"I gotta go man," He said tersely to Mark, who nodded his quick, sympathetic understanding. "Bye Maureen."
"Bye," she echoed softly, after the front door had closed. She was slightly dazed. Angel was… sick? It seemed impossible for her lively friend to be any thing less than her cheerful, animated self.
"I can't believe it." She finally murmured. Maureen glanced up to see Mark's ever-watchful eyes on her, observing. "Did you know? I had no idea."
"That's because you're too caught up fighting with Joanne to ever notice anything." Roger answered before Mark could, and Maureen turned, startled, to watch him enter the room. He gave her a dirty look. "You're so self-absorbed, Maureen."
She blinked in a moment of surprise before she came up with a response. "At least I don't go to strippers to take away my sorrows." She sneered. "I deal with my conflicts."
"Yeah, loudly and in public. And besides, she's not a stripper." He replied coolly. "She's a dancer."
"Oh really?" Raised eyebrows, impressed, with mock surprise. "Wow, not only does she get paid to take off her clothes, she knows how to shake a thing while doing it! Sounds like real talent."
"You don't even know her." Roger snarled.
"But to know her is to love her, from what I hear! If you know what I'm saying."
"Maureen would you just-"
"Roger, don't try and defend her honor!" She let out a clipped laugh. "You must realize that, being a stripper, she doesn't have any!"
"Shut up."
"Great comeback. Excellent display of wit." Maureen used her sarcasm as a defense, frantic to get her mind from worrying about Angel. She turned to Mark, smiling brightly. "So when do I get to meet the stripper?"
"Her name is Mimi." Roger corrected, looking more than annoyed. He was shooting her a dark look from the kitchen, helping himself to some donuts from a pink cardboard box. Collins had brought them by; they were left in the staff room last week at his current workplace. Stale? Yes, but that didn't stop anyone from taking some.
"Mimi?" Maureen laughed sharply. "I would've expected something a bit more slutty-sounding, but maybe she likes the naughty-kitty type of name-"
"Maureen that's enough!" She was surprised to hear Mark speak. "Roger, why don't you go back to your room? Maureen, I'll drive you home." Mark spoke quietly, though his tone was forceful enough to send Roger to his room without further complaint. Maureen looked at her ex-boyfriend, who simply stood and walked to the door, holding it open for her. Maureen grabbed her purse and followed him outside.
They went down the stairs in silence. Finally at the bottom, Mark turned to face her. Before he could begin talking, she said with a bitter smile. "I guess you're really mad at me, huh?"
Mark sighed. "What makes you say that?"
"You've never really kicked me out before, first of all."
"Secondly?" He prompted. Maureen just laughed and gestured to the street.
"You don't have a car!"
"What? Oh yeah… yeah, you're right. I forgot."
"But I'm sorry. About Angel." She struggled to explain herself. "I wasn't trying to be mean about it. I really had no idea."
He looked up at her, blue eyes clear and wise. "I know. It's alright, Maureen."
He took her cold hand in one of his mittened ones. She noticed the worn thin yarn fibers, the way the tips of his fingers showed through. Maureen closed her eyes and allowed him to heat up her hands, feeling comforted by the familiarity of her former boyfriend. He was sweet. Mark was sweet. Why had she given up on him again?
Her cellphone went off, letting out a high-pitched ring. Maureen's eyes snapped open, her warmed fingers reaching for the phone in her jean pocket. She glanced at the name before snapping it open to speak. Joanne. Right, that was why she and Mark weren't together.
"Maureen, I'm sorry about the way I lost my temper. I didn't mean to storm out of there-"
"Pookie, Pookie, it's fine!" Maureen forced a laugh into her voice, smiling widely as she spoke. "I'm sorry too, I didn't want a fight."
"Really?" Joanne seemed skeptical. " Because it seemed to me that you were looking for one, but-"
"I can't believe this. Joanne, are you blaming me?"
Sigh. "Maureen, please not again. I didn't ask for a repeat performance."
"Well excuse me, but it seems like you're trying to blame me for what happened earlier!"
"I'm not! Would you just listen? I called to say I'm sorry. Do you want me to come pick you up?"
"Yeah, that'd be great."
"Be there in a few. Love you, Honeybear." Joanne's tone was affectionate.
"Yeah, bye." Maureen rarely said 'I love you' back. Even when she did, she didn't know if she ever meant it.
She shut her phone and looked up to find Mark watching her. She frowned. It could be really unsettling at times, with him always silently observing.
"Joanne?" He guessed.
"Yeah. She's on her way."
"Of course." He said softly. What did he mean by that?
"Yeah well… you know how she gets." Even Maureen didn't know what she was trying to say now. "But anyways- about Angel."
"Right. Roger's been taking it really hard, you know. It's difficult for him to see a friend weaken like that… you know, because-"
"I know." Maureen didn't mean to snap, but she did. "I know, poor Roger, the AIDs, I get it."
"It's not just that though. It's Mimi- she's a blessing really, because Roger's been out more and well, actually she-"
"What?" She was slightly suspicious.
"They're perfect for each other, I'll just say that." Mark was grinning slightly. Maureen just frowned, not understanding.
"Great for them." She looked to the street as Joanne pulled up. "Later, Mark."
She hugged him briefly before getting in Joanne's car.
Author's Note- Ok, I'm screwing with the timeline a little here. I think in the play/movie Maureen doesn't even know about Mimi until she meets her after the protest. I don't think Maureen meets Angel until then, either, but I'm not sure (You know, the greetings and introductions that take place outside of the Life Café right before La Vie Boheme?). So, I'm skewing things slightly, especially with Angel being sick before Mimi's even fully in the picture. Apparently, this fic is not strictly in the same Universe as the movie/play.
There's a lot more coming, believe me! I have three or four more chapters mostly typed up, and the ending and second to last chapter… It's really just a matter of filling in the blanks.
As always, if there are any questions, PLEASE PM me. I'd be very happy just to know that someone is interested in following the story.