A/n: Sorry about the wait. This chapter is just a filler, really, and updates for all of my stories will be much faster after next Wednesday, when finals are over. Also, I'm waiting to update my Wicked fic until after I see it this weekend (:D); I'm hoping inspiration will hit, or something.
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Chapter 10
Maureen stared after Joanne, her heart sinking.
To her, it felt like this might just be the last straw. She was so sick of this fighting-- of the yelling and crying and making up quickly, and then starting the nasty, vicious cycle all over again.
Maureen started down the sidewalk and onto the street, searching the open, empty road for Joanne. She scanned the area, figuring that her lover couldn't have gone far. Maureen had been close behind her.
Her eyes fell to a park bench, where she decided to sit down for awhile, since she wasn't going to just find Joanne in this huge city. Tompkins was always a good place for thinking, Maureen knew.
She used to go to the park when Mark or Roger, or even April, was getting on her nerves. Since Central Park was relatively far, and Tompkins was only a few blocks away, Maureen opted for the lesser-known hangout spot.
That was so long ago, Maureen thought, her mind wandering back to the times when she and Mark were still a couple- when Roger was still high on smack, and April was usually with him.
Everything had changed so much, since then.
It wasn't that she stopped loving Mark. She always loved him-- but after everything they'd gone through, Maureen felt like Mark had been...tainted by it. He was a different Mark than he had been when they first started dating.
Tainted by death, drugs, and the loss of April. And...inevitably, the eventual loss of Roger.
Joanne had changed everything. She had pulled Maureen out of the depressing little hole she'd hid in. She comforted Maureen-- and had figured out that there was more to Maureen than good looks and sex. Which Mark had never really understood.
Joanne had saved her.
Clenching her fists, Maureen decided that there was no way she'd let Joanne get away this time. Not after everything. She didn't want to admit it, but Maureen had no idea what she would do without Joanne. She would be lost.
She stood up, confident in her plan, and began walking. She would go find Joanne and make things right-- she would beg, if she had to. All of this fighting was stupid and pointless, and it wasn't worth it.
She would make Joanne listen, even if the lawyer didn't want to hear it.
Maureen just needed to make one quick stop. She walked purposefully toward the tiny flower shop on Avenue A, determined to win Joanne back.
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Joanne stood in her empty apartment, staring at the items before her.
Ice cream: check, she thought as she looked at the half-full container of Edy's Birthday Cake ice cream-- her favorite since she was a kid.
Sweatpants: check, Joanne looked down at the old sweats she had thrown on a few minutes ago.
She brought the entire tub of ice cream with her, along with a huge spoon. Turning the TV to "Law and Order," Joanne relaxed into the sofa.
This was how she was supposed to wallow in self-pity, wasn't it? At least, it was always what she'd seen on television.
This time, she wouldn't hide in her work. She wouldn't pretend like everything was okay-- hell, she wouldn't even get a new girlfriend.
Not until she got over Maureen, at least.
And Joanne really didn't know if she ever would. She was completely in love with a woman who stomped all over her emotions without giving a damn!
It really was unfair.
Joanne knew she had to recognize the fact that there was nothing she could do about this situation.
As she scooped some of the slightly-melted ice cream out of the tub and spooned it into her mouth, Joanne wondered if this was the end. They'd had some pretty nasty fights, usually about really stupid stuff. Joanne thought back to their first fight as a couple.
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Joanne walked into the bathroom to wash her hands before dinner, her eyes falling to the toilet in the corner.
The seat was up-- and the toilet bowl was staring at her, almost grinning menacingly. Joanne hated it when the toilet lid was left up; she always made a point to put it back down after using it, exposing the rest of the public (or whoever came to use it) to the fluffy purple cover.
Now, since it was Joanne's apartment, and she'd just recently let Maureen move in with her, she thought nothing of it, quickly putting the cover over the toilet.
She smiled-- now it looked better. Nobody wanted to see the inside of someone else's toilet.
The next day, Joanne walked into the bathroom, seeing the same thing again. "Maureen?" She called, figuring that it would be best to handle this in a straightforward way.
Maureen skipped into the bathroom, following the sound of Joanne's voice. "Hey, baby!" She kissed Joanne on the cheek, slowly working her way toward her neck, and the lawyer smiled.
Before she could let Maureen distract her, though, she got right down to business. "I just wanted to talk to you about the toilet seat. The lid is up, and I've always kept it down. It looks sort of gross when it's up like that," she explained.
Maureen raised an eyebrow, but nodded. "So I'd appreciate it if you just put it down after you're done using it. Okay?"
Maureen walked over to Joanne, chuckling. She brushed a strand of Joanne's hair out of her eyes, shrugging. "Yeah, whatever, Pookie."
Joanne nodded, satisfied, and let Maureen distract her further.
.x.
"Maureen!" Joanne called from the bathroom, looking angrily at the toilet.
She turned on her heel, searching the apartment for her girlfriend. She found her sprawled out on the bed in their room, reading a book.
"Maureen."
"Yes, Joanne. You didn't have to yell. This apartment is small." Maureen looked up from her book for a half-second, before gazing back down at the page.
"Maureen, you left the toilet seat up again."
Maureen sighed. "And?"
Joanne threw her hands up in the air. "Come on, Maureen! You're not twelve, and I'm not your mother. You're staying in my apartment, so I expect you to follow just a couple of basic rules."
Maureen put her book down, turning her attention to Joanne. "Oh my God. Rules? God, Joanne, I'm so sorry that I forgot to put the toilet seat down." She rolled her eyes. "You're acting like it's the end of the goddamn world."
"What I'm angry about is your total lack of respect for me! For what I want!" Joanne shook her head, annoyed that Maureen could be so selfish.
Maureen laughed harshly. "Oh, come on. This isn't fucking Psychology class. It's only a toilet. Of course I respect you. You just like to make a huge deal out of nothing."
"It's not nothing," Joanne said quietly. "It's everything." She got up to leave, but stopped when Maureen spoke.
"And they call me the drama queen."
Joanne raised her eyebrows. "Okay. If that's what you think, then you can find another place to live."
Maureen's eyes flashed with anger. "You're the one who wanted to stay here, not me! I suggested we find someplace together, somewhere that would be a shared apartment. Home to both of us. But no. You said that this place would be both of our homes! That your house is my house!"
Joanne groaned. "It is, when you put the fucking toilet seat down!"
Maureen stood up in a huff. "Whatever. I'm gonna go get some air."
Joanne rolled her eyes. "Yeah, you do that. Just go to the loft and use their bathroom. They don't give a damn, obviously."
Maureen looked at her like she was five years old, which almost made Joanne's jaw drop. "Joanne, just...shut up."
With that, Maureen walked out the bedroom door. Thirty seconds later, Joanne heard the door slam.
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Joanne sighed, looking at the soupy tub of melted ice cream. Sometimes, she wished she'd never met Maureen Johnson.