After another session at Life Support, Collins and Angel headed to the Life Café. They were walking slowly as Angel wanted to arrive last and make an entrance. Collins was smoking a joint finding himself seemingly more nervous than Angel- though she did take it from him occasionally. As they arrived Collins had a quick glance through the window confirming they were the last ones.
"How do I look?" Angel asked adjusting her wig.
"Stunning." He replied. She had on a bright jacket with orange and green sleeves, a white flowered skirt and zebra print tights. He loved the way her bright fashion sense matched so well with her personality. He gently tilted her chin up and gave her a soft kiss. "You'll blow them away."
"Let's go!" Angel said smiling her sunshine smile, but Collins saw it didn't quite meet her eyes. There was a flicker of apprehension there which made him place her arm in his before they entered.
Seeing the two arrive various questions went round the friends' heads: Why's Collins with a girl? I thought he was with Angel? Wait that is Angel! Angel's a girl?
"May I present Miss Angel Dummott Schunard."Collins introduced her to the group.
"Chica!" Mimi called running over to her and giving her a big hug. "You look amazing." She whispered in her ear.
"That's so cool!" Maureen exclaimed. "Wait now there's more girls in the group- that's brilliant! Oh and you make a hot girl by the way- though not as hot as my pookie, but who is? Oh My God you know what? You totally have to come shopping with us sometime. And I love your shoes! Those heels are high. Where did you get them?"
Fearing she wasn't going to stop, Joanne forcibly interrupted "Honeybear let the girl breathe… you do want to be referred to as a girl right?"
"Right" Angel replied using her higher voice which she had been trying to lower at school.
"I'm so pleased you feel comfortable enough to be yourself with us."
"I never thought I'd see the day when you'd walk through those doors with a girl on your arm" Roger teased Collins who flipped him off good-naturedly before catching sight of someone at the other side of the café.
"I don't believe it" he groaned as he held out a chair for Angel. The others turned to see who he was looking at.
"Benjamin Coffin the third, here?" He said loudly enough for Benny to hear. He glanced over to them before getting up to join them.
"He's our enemy" Maureen quickly explained to Angel and Mimi. "He lives next door to Mark and used to be one of us even though he doesn't go to our school, but to impress his girlfriend Allison…"
"Muffy" Roger interrupted
"…he joined the football team and has since left us to hang around with those jocks." Little did she know that both Mimi and Angel were acquainted with Benny. He went to their old school and up until three months ago Mimi had been dating Benny unaware that he was also going out with Alison. In revenge Angel had agreed to kill their dog on behalf of his neighbour, earning her some money and paying back Benny. Angel also recognised some of the jocks as those who had bullied her at school.
"What brings you to the Life Café?" Collins asked as he reached their table.
"I just wanted to…"
"Go to hell!" Maureen called.
"Where's Muffy?" Roger asked
"Alison" Benny corrected. "There's been a death if you must know."
"Who died?" Angel asked innocently.
"Our akita."
"Evita" Angel and Mimi said together which made Mimi start to laugh.
"You make fun, yet I am the one attempting to do something good with my life. Bohemia's just a fallacy in your head. This is Calcutta. Bohemia is dead."
"Dearly beloved we gather here to pay our respects…" Angel had to laugh at Mark's pretence of a funeral made even funnier by the chants Roger and Collins began. Soon the whole group was joining in shouting out what they stood for. Celebrating being an us for once instead of a them. It felt amazing to her to be able to join together in a group expressing who they were and what they believed in. The experience was made more powerful by it being in front of the very people who used to bully her. It was not without reproach though. As Maureen spanked Joanne one of Benny's friends cleared his throat loudly.
"Hey mister. She's my sister." Maureen called over sarcastically making the others cheer.
The waiter then came over to take all their orders and as Collins ordered pasta with meatless meatballs Roger couldn't keep back an "eww!"
"It tastes the same." Collins said dismissively.
"If you close your eyes." Mimi retorted.
"You know what? I'll have the same." Angel decided. Collins wrapped an arm around her, pulled her close and kissed the top of her head, moved by her gesture. Wanting more Angel pulled his head down towards hers and wrapped her arms around him under his jacket.
However Mimi grabbed her away so together they could think up new things to shout out. Then Maureen dragged Collins towards her to call out bohemian ideals. Though she was having fun she couldn't help, but miss the close contact with Collins and their too brief kiss. Their previous kisses had been sweet and loving, but this one had been different. The passion it ignited was unlike anything she had felt before. When Roger and Collins stopped doing impressions together she pulled him towards her and continued where they had left off. Mindless of their surroundings she pressed herself against him wanting to be closer and closer to him. Their mouths met hungrily and she pushed him back so he was lying on the table with her on top of him. He pressed kisses down her neck as she hooked her leg around his. Then their mouths sought each other's once more.
Vaguely they heard the jocks teasing Maureen and Joanne again. "Sisters?"
"We're close." Maureen responded drily making Joanne laugh. Looking up they both shouted "Brothers!" at the same time. Then laughing they joined the others in shouting out what they stood for until the jocks left in disgust. Seeing them go was such an amazing moment for Angel. It felt like she had proven herself to them and won. For once she was the accepted one and they were having to run away. She was so lost in the euphoria of their celebrations that she didn't notice Benny hadn't actually left. Then she saw that he had pulled Mimi to the side. For a moment she wondered whether she should go over, but Mimi seemed to be dealing with it. To be honest an angry Mimi was more terrifying than an angry Benny.
She was soon distracted by Collins pulling her onto the table for her to use as a catwalk. She responded by shouting out one of his exploits as an anarchist when he had rewired the school's computer system so that all the screensavers read "Actual Reality. Act Up. Fight AIDS!" She had laughed so hard when he first told her that story. Just when she thought things couldn't get better she overheard Mimi and Roger talking in the corner of the café. It turned out he had AIDS as well and they were going to try and make it as a couple. Full of happiness she joined the others in shouting "Viva La Vie Boheme!"
Please review this chapter- i'm not really convinced la vie boheme fitted so any feedback would be great.
