Disclaimer: Not mine.
AN: This occurs at roughly the same time as the last chapter. BTW, see if you can spot the reference to another (non-RENT) musical in this chapter and tell me in a review.
Maureen left Joanne looking in the law section of Barnes and Noble and made her way to Hot Topic. On the way she passed Angel in Club Libby-Lu. Angel gave her signature pinky-wave by way of acknowledgement and went back to helping a "tween" girl choose the perfect shade of lip-gloss. Maureen chuckled to herself and entered the dimly lit Hot Topic whose stereo was pounding the lyrics "You belong to me, my snow white queen…"
Maureen didn't know the song but decided she liked it. She examined a pair of stylish pinstripes pants with a studded belt while a "baby-bat" with blue hair, fake bat wings, a black camisole top, a black mini-skirt, and tall black leather boots looked at a spiked choker with skulls. "Poser," Maureen hissed. The girl looked scandalized and flounced out of the section to look at some "Nightmare Before Christmas" thong underwear.
Soon, a shop assistant in a punk-rocker outfit with huge hair and enough piercings to set off every metal detector within a mile approached Maureen. "Need help?" asked the assistant between snaps of her chewing-gum. "Yeah," replied Maureen. "What was the song that was just playing?" "You've never heard 'Snow White Queen'?" the assistant queried incredulously, still snapping her gum, "It's by Evanescence." She indicated a display of copies of "The Open Door." Maureen checked the price: 18 dollars. Just how much she had with her.
"Thanks for the help," Maureen told the assistant. She just snapped her gum extra-loudly in response. This annoyed Maureen who couldn't ABIDE gum-chewers, especially gum-snappers. "I swear, if you pop that gum one more time…" "You'll what?" sneered the assistant, laughing cynically in response to Maureen's ensuing stutters and joined the "baby-bat" to help her choose underwear. Maureen bought the CD and left the shop, shoving the assistant (who HAD popped her gum MANY more times) hard with her shoulder as she went.