"Come dance with me."
Roger looked over at his girlfriend as if she had six heads. "What?"
"Dance," she repeated, tugging his hand. "With me. Ya know? Move to music?"
"I know what it means," he chuckled. "But I don't really dance."
"Why not?"
Roger looked over himself and then back at her. "Look at me. I just don't move like that," he said, imitating the rest of the dancing teens.
"Maureen and Angel are dancing," she said, pointing to the couple a few feet away.
The pair was pressed up against each other (Maureen, of course, not keeping her hands to herself), rocking back and forth to the music.
"Well, that's because they can dance," he said. "I can't."
"Fine," she sighed, crossing her arms over her chest.
Roger stuffed his hands into his pockets, shifting his weight uneasily, catching her pout out of the corner of his eye. Come on, Davis, it's her birthday. Forcing himself to move, Roger grabbed onto one of her hands, prying her arms apart and tugging her into the crowd of people. A smile danced across her lips as his arms wrapped around her waist, holding her close. Roger started slow, moving back and forth. Once he got comfortable, he daringly moved his feet… and crunched down on something soft.
"Ouch," she yelped.
"I'm sorry," he murmured, smiling bashfully. "Are you all right?"
"I'm fine," she smiled. Just keep holding me.
"See, I told you I'm not good at this."
You're wonderful. "You're fine. Just… don't let go, okay?"
"Wasn't planning on it."
"Hey, Rog,"
Roger felt a body bump into his back and he craned his neck to see the owner.
"We should have a sleepover," Maureen smiled excitedly.
"Girls and guys?" Joanne asked curiously.
"Uh, yeah? Is that okay with your parents?" Maureen asked.
"They're not home. They won't care." Roger turned back to Joanne. "Is that okay?"
"Yeah," she nodded, moving closer. "It's okay."
Mark moved to the darker area of the basement that had been dubbed the dance part. Jack trailed behind him. The attentions of the other boy had surprised Mark immensely. He hadn't been planning on having another guy flirt with him tonight, but it sure caught Collins' attention, so Mark played along. Like now. Jack pulled Mark close to him like Collins had done at the gig. Of course, Jack was far from being Collins… Instead of the big arms and comforting strength that Mark had come to grow used to, Jack was a mere inch taller and thin but muscular. The differences made Mark feel slightly on edge. However, he wouldn't let anyone see that. So he relaxed in Jack's arms, moving his body against his. Jack took that and ran with it, pulling Mark tight up against him. Mark squirmed a little. He wasn't really comfortable with the close proximity.
"Jack-"
Mark's protest was cut off by Jack's mouth landing on his. Mark squeaked in double surprise when Jack's hands grabbed at his ass. He started trying to escape from Jack's grasp. Jack held on tight, trying to force his mouth open. Mark's heart started beating frantically as he tried to get away. A moment later he was caught in a completely different pair of arms, ones that made him feel safe and loved.
"Hey buddy, get your hands off my boyfriend," the owner of the arms growled. Jack raised his eyebrow at him dangerously before disappearing in the crowd, still leering at Mark. Collins turned Mark around to face him. "You okay, baby?" he asked quietly, running a thumb over the skin under his eye. Mark looked away, attempting to appear like he wasn't loving being in his man's arms.
"I-I guess so…"Mark gulped a lemon when Collins took his chin to force him to look him in the eye.
"Babe, we need to talk… but can I do this first?" Collins slowly leaned in, giving Mark time to escape. He didn't. After all, who wanted to escape from heaven?
Joanne snuggled back against her boyfriend's chest, pulling the quilt up under her chin. He wrapped his arms tighter around the brainiac, leaning back into the couch. Looking up at him, she kissed his chin, smiling.
"So did you have fun?" Maureen asked, interrupting the cuddling.
Joanne didn't bother looking at Maureen, but kept her gaze turned upward towards Roger. "Yeah," she said softly. After a moment, she finally glanced over at the other couple. Maureen was sitting between Angel's legs. Angel had changed into stretchy gray pajama pants, but traces of eyeliner still lingered around his eyes. "So, Ang, where did the drag come from?" Joanne asked, shifting a little bit in Roger's arms.
Angel grinned at Joanne, moving his hand onto Maureen's stomach. "I don't know, just something I've always wanted to try... Maureen pushed me into wearing it in public though." He tickled his girlfriend's stomach. "Lucky I've got a girlfriend with weird kinks, huh?" he teased.
Maureen twisted in his grasp, giggling at the tickles. Grabbing into his hands, she held them in her own, tightening his hold on her, but stopping the torture.
"Yeah, lucky you," she grinned. Maureen tipped her head backwards against his shoulder, looking up at him, and kissed his lips quickly before turning her attention back to Joanne. "Jo, we should get some outfits together for Ang sometime," she smiled playfully.
Joanne grinned, sitting up a little. "Yeah we should!" she agreed. She moved forward a little, scooting out of Roger's arms. He groaned in protest.
"Baby..." he whined, grabbing her waist to get her to stay.
Joanne ignored him and started talking to Maureen and Angel. "So, Angel, what's your favorite color?" she asked with a wink.
Maureen clapped excitedly. She turned slightly in Angel's arms so she could talk to the both of them at once.
"Anything bright," Angel replied.
"Bright," Maureen echoed. "We can do bright."
Roger rolled his eyes, moving forward a bit, trying to get Joanne to settle back into his grasp. Clothes. Clothes are boring, he thought. All Roger wanted was to cuddle.
When the girls and Angel continued to chat, Roger eyed Mark and Collins, who'd cuddled up in the other armchair on the other end of the couch. Mark was sitting contently in his boyfriend's lap. Not talking about shopping. He sighed and tried again to persuade Joanne to relax back in his arms.
Meanwhile, in the other armchair, Collins sat extremely happily with his boy back in his arms. Mark had recovered from the sexual harassment from earlier and was now snuggling into Collins's arms. Collins just smiled and let him lean on his chest. The conversation loomed over his head though. Maybe he could get it over with now.
"Roger?" Mark and Roger both turned to look at Collins. "Could we uh... use your room for a while?" Roger raised an eyebrow but nodded anyway, turning his attention back to the chattering girls and Angel. Mark's face could've fried eggs as he followed Collins up the stairs. Collins could feel Mark's anticipation and gulped. Boy was he in for a rude awakening.
Collins sat Mark down on Roger's bed. He turned around to close the door, holding onto the knob for an extra moment to sigh. When he turned back, Mark had laid down on his back, his glasses were off, and he was looking up at Collins expectantly. "I've missed you..." he murmured softly.
Collins gulped. "Baby, sit up..." Mark did, his eyebrows drawing together confusedly. "I-I need to talk to you."
Mark frowned as Collins sank down next to him, fidgeting with his hands in his lap. "Okay..." he said slowly.
"Mark, I... I have HIV," Collins said in a rush. He took a deep breath and continued.
"I got tested two years ago and was positive. I don't know who I got it from, I lived a pretty wild life before I came here, and now all I know is that I've never met anyone like you and I'm completely horrible for you, what with being sick and older and dying and all, but Mark, as bad as it is, I never want to be without you because I'm nothing without you." He paused. "I love you." His heart started beating wildly. Collins gulped a lemon as he waited for Mark's response. "Well?"
Roger dragged his hands over his face, sighing loudly... again. No one was paying attention to the rocker, though, and his aggravated sighs fell on deaf ears. He tried to listen again... something about mini skirts and pink tights... Roger never really understood tights in the first place. They covered legs and looked quite uncomfortable, neither of which sounded like much fun to him.
"Jo," he whispered, trying to subtly steal her attention. "Jo."
She swatted him away, leaning closer to Maureen, babbling away.
He groaned, tugging on his hair in frustration. Leaning forward, he rested his forehead on her shoulder. Her warm skin against his forehead gave him an idea. He pressed his lips to the back of her neck, kissing the flesh. He moved further up, feeling goosebumps under his lips.
"Roger, cut it out," she giggled.
"Poor Roger," Maureen teased. "Fashion too dull for you?"
Roger moved aside some of Joanne's tight curls to glare at Maureen. "Yes in fact, it is," he growled against Joanne's neck. His lips brushed the soft skin again. Joanne giggled, shivering a bit. Roger wriggled closer to her back, pulling her against his chest. She finally gave in.
Maureen pouted a little. "Rogy... Jo and I were talking fashion..." she whined. Angel laughed and smoothed her hair back, gently tugging her head back until he could plant a kiss on her lips.
"What were you complaining about, Mo?" he teased.
Maureen's eyes fluttered open slowly, her lips curving in a smile. "Complaining? Me?" she said innocently before kissing Angel again.
"Hey," she murmured between kisses. "Let's play a game."
"A game?" he asked, punctuating the question with a kiss. "What kind?"
"Mmm, I don't know," she shrugged. "How bout... spin the bottle?"
"Spin the bottle?" Roger asked, finally coming up for air. "What's the point in that? We're already kissing."
"Well, have you got any better ideas?" she asked, shooting him a look.
He rolled his eyes. "I'll go get a bottle."
Mark sat on Roger's bed in a state of somewhat shock. Collins had HIV? Strong, sweet, warm, loving, healthy Collins had HIV? He felt stinging at the back of his eyes. "S-so... you're dying?" he asked, voice shaking a little. Collins opened his mouth to reply, but Mark kept going. "No, of course not... well, yes, you are, but the medicines, they're better now, right?" He kept staring straight ahead, Roger's stuff blurred by his lack of glasses. "HIV... why didn't you tell me earlier? Wait, no, I know why, but... well... oh fuck it." Mark turned and leaned on Collins, kissing him full on the lips. The aide's surprise from the kiss allowed Mark to push him onto his back. Strong arms wrapped around Mark, holding him tight on the large chest. Mark pulled away after a few minutes, blinking wet eyes. "I love you too..." he whispered, tracing Collins's jaw. The older man smiled slowly. He snaked a hand around Mark's neck, rubbing his fingers softly against his neck and hair. In what seemed like an eternity, he eased Mark's head down, meeting him in a lover's kiss.
Angel splayed his hands on Maureen's stomach, trying to hold her still as she bounced in excitement. Really, spin the bottle with four people who happened to actually be two couples wasn't that exciting, but if it made his girl happy... He pushed her mass of hair aside to peck his lips against her neck. She giggled, turning her head. "You're cheating, you can't kiss me unless you spin me," she informed him.
"Call me a cheater." Angel gave her a short kiss on the mouth, earning more giggles after he pulled away. Joanne was grinning at them from her newly reacquired position between Roger's legs. The rocker had set an old glass bottle on the carpet between them. He did not look happy about this.
"Okay, Maureen, since it was your idea, you can go first."
"Yay!" She reached forward eagerly, moving to Angel's side as she spun.
The glass bottle looped around and ended on Angel. She smirked, leaning forward to kiss him hotly. Maureen only stopped when Roger let out a "Get a fuckin' room!"
"Your turn, baby." Angel spun, landing on Joanne. The two shared a peck. Maureen protested to the short kiss. With a glance at Roger (who shrugged and shook his head), Angel leaned in and kissed Jo again, slightly longer. Joanne was blushing when he pulled away, and continued to blush as she spun.
It only got brighter when the bottle landed on Maureen. The diva grinned, leaning across the bottle to cup Joanne's chin. Before the brainiac could protest she was locked in a kiss with Maureen. Angel and Roger watched avidly... perhaps a little too avidly... until Joanne retreated. Maureen winked at her, making Joanne smile nervously.
Maureen spun again, sharing a short kiss with Roger ("I can't believe this hasn't happened before..." he commented, earning him a whack on the head.) Roger spun, and Angel could see him silently praying for Joanne. The mouth of the bottle slid past the brainiac and landed on... Angel.
The cross dresser and the guitarist looked at each other, ignoring the delighted squeals of Maureen. "Ah... whatever." Roger, surprisingly, leaned forward and planted his lips on a very surprised Angel. He didn't even have time to react before it was over. The drummer blinked a couple of times, confused, licked his lips and winced. "Eww, Roger, do you ever brush your teeth?" he asked, wrinkling his nose. Maureen and Joanne burst out laughing.