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Mark was still in a shocked daze by the time he wandered into his third block class. Maureen had dumped him? He vaguely remembered walking back into the cafeteria, sitting down and eating the rest of his perfectly packed lunch. All he could think about was the fact that Maureen and he were no longer together. He was single. She was single. There wasn't a Mark-and-Maureen, just a Mark.

He attempted to stop these thoughts as he slid into his seat in the third row from the front. History, Mark, Modern World History… Try as he might, his focus kept wandering back to his ex-girlfriend. The poor boy didn't even notice that Angel was in his class or that he was sitting next to him. Mr. Smythwick started the usual lecture. Mark poised his pen as if to take notes, but every time he looked down at his notebook, all he saw was Maureen's name written over and over.

A sigh escaped his lips. He couldn't wait for the next block. Fourth block meant three things. One, it was computer applications… the time when he could hide in the back of the lab and write new screenplays. Two, it was almost the end of the most horrible day of his life. Three… he would be seeing Collins again. Somehow, that brightened him up even more than the thought of escaping this hellhole called a school.

Angel was grateful that he knew someone in his next class, but Mark was definitely in no shape to talk. The boy had returned to the table looking dazed. It wasn't until after he had left to throw away his trash that Maureen had told them about their breakup. Angel knew he should be feeling bad for his new friends. However, all he could manage to feel was hope. Maureen was single?

It looked like Mark was not going to get over the diva easily. A half-hour into the period and he had filled three pages with her name. He frowned in sympathy. He remembered his last breakup. It had not been fun. The girl found out about his "nightly activities" and dropped his ass publicly the next day. Funny how a little cross-dressing can bring out the worst in people… he thought ironically. A loud question brought his attention back to the class at hand. With one last glance at Mark's notebook, Angel started scribbling down the notes he had missed while daydreaming.

Roger stomped off to his next block class, fuming and sputtering aloud, kicking over a trashcan as he went. What a bitch! How could she do that to him? Mark, of all people? What was wrong with Mark? Roger wasn't sure he was the best person to rate boyfriends, but from all of the girl talk he'd been forced to listen to, from his sisters and Mimi and Maureen, he was pretty sure Mark was what every girl talked about. He may not be the most attractive guy in the school, but he was always good to Maureen. What the hell was she doing dumping him?

He trudged into third block, throwing his bag onto the floor beside the empty desk near the back of the room. Calculus, he sighed. The one good thing about my day… and it just got better. Looking up, he saw the pretty-eyed dark skinned girl from Chorus and lunch, Joanne. A small smile flickered across his lips as she slid into the desk beside his. He waved loosely at her as he slouched down into his seat.

"Hi Roger," she smiled, dropping her bag on the floor beside her desk.

"Hey," he nodded.

"Calculus, eh?" she asked. God, that must sound stupid.

"Yeah," he nodded again.

"Cool," she said nervously.

"Guess so."

Joanne smiled as his voice rung in her ear. He was so sexy. She tried to focus as the teacher began to give notes but she found herself distracted by his deep green eyes, soft blond hair and sexy smile. She sighed dreamily as the teacher droned on and she floated off into her dream world.

"I feel so bad," Maureen mumbled as she and Mimi wandered the halls during their study hall. "I mean, the look on his face when I said it. He looked so… crushed. Did I do the right thing?"

"Sure," Mimi replied, chewing noisily on her gum. "If you think so."

"Well, I mean, he was just so clingy and needy and he was driving me nuts! You know what I mean?"

"Sure," she nodded. "What do you think of Roger?"

"Roger? Roger Davis? What do I think of him?" she asked.

"Yeah," Mimi sighed.

"He's an asshole," she replied. "But he's one of my best friends. I don't think he's speaking to me right now though."

"He's cute," Mimi noted.

"Eh," Maureen shrugged. "Can you keep a secret?"

Mimi smiled excitedly. "You know I can."

"Know who's cute?"

"Who? Who?"

"Angel."

Joanne quickly packed up her notebook after the bell signaled the end of calculus. She made to leave, but someone caught her arm and pulled her back. A little tremor shivered in her stomach when she ended up looking into the intense green eyes of the boy she had been dreaming about all block. "H-hey, Roger…" she greeted. The breathy tone of her voice made her want to slap herself.

"Hey, Joanne… What's your next class?"

"Uh, computer apps. Why?" She sounded accusatory now. Calm down, Joanne!

Roger didn't seem to notice, however. He gave her an easy half-smile. "I'll walk you. Mark's in that class too, and I want to see how he's holding up."

The pretty African-American girl cursed the way her heartbeat sped up. "A-all right." She turned to walk down the hall, Roger at her side. A few steps later, he leaned over at relieved her of the heavy textbook in her arms. "Oh, you don't have to do that – "

"It's all right. So, you are coming to the gig on Friday, right?" She didn't notice the way he glanced at her, hope in his eyes.

"Yeah, I'll be there."

They had reached the computer lab by then. "Good." The pair shared a slightly awkward grin before Mark came shuffling up. Roger went over to his friend. Joanne stood by the door in a daze for a moment, then moved into the darker room. This was going better than a first day of school had ever gone.

The soft hum of multiple computers running was nearly putting Collins to sleep. The somewhat calm atmosphere of the lab wasn't helping. He found himself dozing off, chin in his hand when the second bell for fourth block rang. Collins jolted up, clearing his throat quietly as the teacher started talking. She met his eyes at one point, smiling and winking. He laughed to himself. She had already tried asking him out earlier. Didn't work out so well, considering he was gay. Luckily, she hadn't been offended or had treated him differently since she found out, so Collins knew he had at least one ally on the staff.

"Fourth block, computer applications…" Wait, wasn't Mark in this class? He looked around the room. A vaguely familiar black girl was sitting a few monitors away from where he had set up, but he couldn't find the familiar blond hair of his student guide. Once the students started their assignment (and by started their assignment, he meant started surfing the internet,) he got up from his chair, stretched and wandered the length of the lab. Collins was beginning to think that Mark had skipped when a little cough caught his attention.

Mark was seated in the very back of the computer lab. He stared blankly at the screen. Collins noted with a frown how red his eyes looked. The anarchist stole an empty chair and brought it next to Mark. "Hey, man, you okay?"

The boy wiped at his eyes beneath his glasses. "Yeah. Maureen broke up with me."

Collins sighed. "Tough break, man. You holding up?" Without thinking, he placed his hand on the back of Mark's neck comfortingly.

"Sort of. I know she's not the only girl out there, but… I think I loved her, Collins." The fact that Mark was spilling his heart to someone he had met that morning went over both of their heads. Collins merely increased the warm pressure on the boy's neck, liking the way Mark leaned into his touch. No more words were spoken, but by the time the bell rang, Collins and Mark had moved closer to each other so that their legs were touching.

The lab aid shifted away from the boy. Mark half-smiled at him, gathering his bag from where it rested on the floor. Collins reached up to scratch the back of his neck, saying, "Listen, Mark, if you ever need to talk… Here's my home number. Call anytime." Mark's face flushed as he took the little slip of paper, something that brought a smile to Collins's lips. "I'll see you tomorrow," he said softly, squeezing his shoulder. The boy nodded shyly. Collins watched him leave. Don't do this to yourself, Tom… he told himself. A moment later he thought, He's worth it.

Roger waited impatiently out by his car for the scrawny blond cameraman to come rushing out. Roger had been giving Mark rides since sophomore year, and knowing Mrs. Cohen the way he did, he'd be giving Mark rides until they graduated. He leaned against the rust covered Chevy and pushed his long hair out of his eyes, shaking his head as a mob of freshmen girls scuttled past, giggling and drooling over him. He stretched his arms up over his head and sighed. First day of school was over and so much had happened.

"Hi Marky," Roger greeted, tossing the keys at the blond.

"Hey," Mark forced a smile, catching the keys in his hand and unlocking the passenger side door.

"How's it going?" Roger asked, taking the keys back and stuffing them into the ignition.

"S'okay," Mark sighed, leaning his head against the window.

Roger groaned as he shifted and pulled out of his parking spot. "Look, I'm sorry about Maureen," he said. "But she's crazy. She doesn't know what she's missing, okay?"

Mark looked over at the guitarist through his thick-rimmed glasses and nodded. "Okay." True, he was upset about Maureen, but he hadn't stopped running the slip of paper from Collins through his fingers since he'd left the computer room. What the hell was going on?

A loud knock came on Roger's window as the car sat idly in the line waiting to leave the school, causing him to jump. "Speak of the devil," he groaned, rolling down his window. "What's up, Mo?"

"Hey, do you guys think you can give Joanne a ride home?" she asked. "I know you're not thrilled with me right now, but she needs a ride home. I've gotta get home and babysit. Please?"

"Uh," Roger mumbled, feeling his cheeks flush slightly.

"Sure," Mark nodded. "She lives over by my neighborhood anyway."

"Okay," Maureen smiled. "Thanks guys. See you tomorrow, Jo."

"Bye," she said nervously, climbing into the back of Roger's car.

Roger glanced into his rearview mirror, letting his eyes linger on her pretty features. A loud honk sounded from behind and Roger immediately hit the gas, jerking the car forward. "Asshole!" he shouted, reaching a hand out the window and flipping off the car behind him.

Angel popped up from where he had been ducking down in Maureen's passenger seat. "So I take it that they bought the story," he said somewhat sarcastically.

Maureen laughed. "Yeah… Sorry about all this secrecy shit. I just didn't want Mark to think - "

"No, I understand. Don't worry about it. Thanks for giving me a ride home." Maureen grinned over at him before returning her eyes to the road. Angel laid his head against the window, observing his surroundings. His family had moved into the only place they could afford, which happened to be in the 'bad' part of town. It wasn't as horrible as he had originally thought, but he still didn't want to be walking home alone at night in the place.

Angel gathered his courage. "Maureen, d'you want to grab some pizza with me before the gig on Friday?" Lame. Lame times a million. But if the little smile on her face was anything to judge by, she was considering it.

"I'd love to, Ang," she answered, pulling over to the curb.

Angel smiled happily. "Great." A moment later, Maureen's lips were landing on his cheek and he was blushing and saying a goodbye and climbing out of the car. Next thing he knew, he was standing on the curb, waving goodbye to Maureen as she drove away. First day and he had a date. He definitely liked it here.

Mark rolled over so he was lying on his back on Roger's bed. He was still running his fingers over the little slip of paper in his hand. By now, he had memorized the seven digits of Collins's phone number, but he kept fingering the paper every few moments. With a sigh, he let it flutter down to land on a neglected notebook with long forgotten math homework scrawled across its pages. Mark groaned and rubbed his eyes. Why was he feeling like this? Sure, he was bisexual and accepted it, but why now? He had just lost Maureen. Logically, he should be depressed and rejecting any attraction he had for another person, not pursuing it. Again, he sighed and reached down to pick up the number.

: It wasn't there. "Collins… the new computer lab dude?" Shit. Roger.

"Uh, yeah… he gave me his number in case I had questions - "

"Bull-fucking-shit. Aides don't give out numbers and if they did, they wouldn't put a little flourish by their name." Roger grinned mockingly at Mark. "Do you like him?" The filmmaker's jaw fell open. He hadn't told anyone about his sexuality, especially not Roger. "Ah, give it up. Everyone knows you're bi." His jaw closed in even more shock. They knew? Eh. Mark shrugged it off. "So, do you? It's okay man, you can tell me."

Mark flushed. "I guess so."

"Then call him! Bring him to the gig, make Maureen jealous. If you don't, you know I will." To make his point, Roger reached for the phone. Mark moved quicker than he ever had in his life, snatching both the number and the phone from Roger in a matter of seconds. Roger didn't know whether to be afraid or impressed.

Mark's hands trembled as he dialed the number. One ring. The receiver slammed down. The filmmaker took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. He tried again. One ring. Two rings. "Hello?"

He slammed it down again. "For Christ's sake Mark - " Roger pounced on his friend, trying to wrestle the phone and number away from him. Muffled grunts came from both boys, along with a pleading, "Don't rip it!" from Mark. Moments later, Roger emerged the victor and quickly dialed the number. "Collins? Hey this is Roger Davis - what? Yeah, I'm the badass who was in the office this morning. Listen, Mark wants to talk to you. Hold on." Roger handed the receiver to a still-panting Mark, flashing him a shit-eating grin the process.

"Uh, hello? Collins?"

J fizzitalian: "Hey, Mark. What's up?" Just his voice made Mark melt.

"Well, Roger has a gig on Friday and I-was-wondering-if-you-would-go-with-me." What? Mark held back from smacking himself on the head. Seconds later, Roger did it for him.

"Calm down, man. I'd like that. Maybe we could grab something to eat before?"

Mark thought he might strain something from the grin on his face. Even though he wasn't sure he could eat around Collins without throwing up, he replied, "Sure. We can talk tomorrow. See you then."

"All right. Bye, handsome."

The receiver fell from suddenly limp fingers. Mark couldn't hear Roger's teasing sing-song or the way he laughed at Mark's shock. All he could hear was the way Collins had called him 'handsome' ringing in his head.