Chapter 10

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A/N: I'm done! No more exams! =) Enjoy this (kind of short) chapter and tell me what you think!

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Mark rolled over in his bed and sighed. He couldn't get comfortable. He rolled over again, rolling into something. He heard Maureen giggle. Mark turned over to face his girlfriend and laughed quietly without changing his expression.

"Sorry."

"It's okay," she kissed him.

Mark pulled away and lay on his back, looking up at the ceiling. Maureen tried to run her fingers up and down the side of his arm, but he jerked it away.

"You alright, Pookie?" she cocked her head at him, leaning up on her elbow.

"Yeah," he replied distractedly.

"Good." Maureen started to kiss Mark's neck.

"Where were you last night?" he asked. She pulled away and looked at him.

"Well?" He was growing impatient, and finally turned to face Maureen.

"Uh, at a friend's house."

"A friend. . ."

"Yeah. She's going through a really bad break up and wanted someone to eat ice cream and cry with," she laughed nervously.

Mark looked down. "When did you get home?" He knew it was after three in the morning. He was a light sleeper and he heard her come in, but he wanted to hear it from her.

"Uh, late. Or early, I guess. . ." she laughed again, sliding her hand into his. Mark didn't pull away this time, but he didn't buy it.

"Why didn't you tell me where you were going?" he asked gently.

"Well, she just called, and you were out filming. . .so I just left," she tried. Her smile faded and a slight look of affliction crossed over her face.

"Why didn't you tell April or Roger where you were going?"

"I wouldn't usually, so I didn't think to."

Mark pulled his hand away from Maureen. He wanted to crawl into a hole and die. He could easily tell Maureen was lying, that she was trying to think things up on the spot. But he really didn't want to be mad at her. He couldn't be. She was his goddess, his wild, impetuous, gorgeous Maureen. He loved her too much to think anything negative about her.

"What was her name?"

"Excuse me?" Maureen thought her cover was blown.

"Your friend's name."

"Oh. Joanne," she replied honestly. She looked up at Mark and he examined her expression. He could tell she was telling the truth.

'Well, I guess that's it, then. She was visiting a friend. I should have known she wouldn't do anything like that.'

Mark still felt funny inside, like something wasn't right. He tried to ignore the feeling and stepped out of the bed.

"I'm gonna go and take a shower," he said monotonously.

" 'Kay. I'll go make us some breakfast. Sound good?"

Mark turned around and smiled. "Yeah, I'll be out in a bit."

Maureen watched Mark saunter out of the room and waited until she heard the bathroom door shut. She stomped her feet under the covers and threw her pillow against the small window adjacent to their bed. How did she get into this mess? She didn't know what to do. She turned over and buried her face in the pillow.

Mark. It smelled like Mark. She couldn't take it. She turned back over and got out of bed. She grabbed Mark's old Brown University sweat shirt and threw it on over her small t-shirt. She slowly walked out into the loft and stood numbly in the kitchen. She could hear April and Roger's voices in the next room and Mark's water running from the bathroom. She crossed her arms over her chest and leaned against the counter. Shaking her head of any thoughts of Mark and Joanne, Maureen pulled open the fridge. She grimaced when there was nothing but beer and tofu (a new found liking of Collins') in it, and swung it shut. She plopped down on a stool at the island and noticed there a newspaper from the previous day, probably Benny's or Collins'. She sat and flipped the first section open, and began to read.

Almost immediately Roger and April emerged from Roger's room, fully dressed and holding hands. Maureen looked up and April flashed a smile to her. The couple sat down at the island across from Maureen.

"Morning," April smiled, looking at Maureen directly in the eyes.

"Morning," she replied. "If you're looking for breakfast, we've got nothing."

"No, we're just. . ." she trailed off, still smiling.

Maureen glanced over to Roger who was also smiling at her, though his seemed considerably more forced, then back at April.

"What?"

"Can't we just be happy to see you?" Roger asked, clearly trying to be polite.

"You can't." She wrinkled her nose. "What? What'd I do?" She looked to April for an answer.

"Nothing." Her smiled grew wider and she looked over to Roger who nodded. "We're gonna get married!"

"What?!" Maureen's eyes bugged out of her head.

"We want you to be there."

"She wants you to be there. . ." Roger corrected her.

"What? I don't— I don't understand. . ."

"Lemme break it down for you," Roger spoke slowly as if he was explaining something to a toddler. "When two people love each other very much—"

"I know what you mean, dumbass! Just. . .what?"

April leaned in and lowered her voice. "We're gonna go to the courthouse and we want you to be our witness."

"But you guys haven't been dating very long. . ." Maureen protested slowly. Were they crazy? They'd been together for what, four months, and now they're getting married?

"Shut up, we want to do this," Roger scoffed at her, and April raised an eyebrow at him. Roger sighed loudly. "Please?"

Maureen laughed. "Roger Davis, begging? I guess I can't turn that down. . .When are you guys going?"

"Now," April replied.

"Now? Like, now now?"

Roger rolled his eyes, "Yes, Maureen!"

"Oh. Uh, okay. Let's go then." She smiled in disbelief and hopped off her bar stool.

"Thank you so much, Maureen. This means a lot to me," April smiled and linked arms with her.

"No problem, sweetie." She picked up her purse from the couch and looked over at Roger.

"I'm not gonna thank her," he said to April. She gave him a menacing glare. "No! I'm not gonna thank her!" He slid into his shoes and took April's hand. "Come on, baby."

April and Maureen put on their shoes and coats, and left the loft with Roger.

"Maureen, are you still wearing pyjamas?"

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Mark opened the bathroom door, towelling off his blonde hair. When he didn't smell anything cooking, he called to Maureen as he wandered out into the kitchen.

"I thought you said you were gonna—"

Where was Maureen? He checked in their bedroom, too, only to find it empty. He tossed the towel on the bed and sat down, dropping his head in his hands.

Why did she think she could do this? She left again, just like that. No warning. Did she not realize that Mark had feelings too? That he was worried when Maureen disappeared for hours at a time and would then come back, acting like it was all okay?

Mark rubbed his temples with the palms of his hands and stood up. He quickly pulled on a pair of jeans over his boxers and a sweater from the closet, and grabbed his camera from on top of the dresser. He stormed out of his bedroom and into the loft, throwing on his coat and scarf. He put his shoes on and left, slamming the door behind him.

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Several hours later, Roger, April, and Maureen emerged from the courthouse. April was all smiles, and Roger was beaming. Neither had been this happy since they found out about having AIDS. Hell, neither had been this happy ever.

The three descended the stairs in front of the building. Roger was cradling April in his arms and the two were laughing like they hadn't in a long time. Maureen stuffed her hands in her pockets and watched as her breath turned to 'smoke' in the cold winter air.

"Fuck, do you guys know what time it is?" Maureen realized her watch was still at Joanne's.

They reached the bottom of the stairs, and Roger was spinning April around. She struggled to look at her watch.

"Uh, quarter to three – Roger, put me down!" She started slapping at him and laughing loudly as he psyched her out, eventually throwing her into a snow bank.

"Oh shit. I gotta go, I was supposed to. . .I'll see you back at the loft, okay?" she said quickly, walking away from the newlyweds. They didn't even realize she was leaving, they were too wrapped up in their big moment.

Maureen walked quickly down the street and hoped she had some money in her usually very empty wallet. She pulled it out looked inside, finding a twenty dollar bill. She'd stop at a convenience store, pick something up to eat, take the subway home, and tell Mark why she inadvertently ditched him.

As she walked down the sidewalk, she came to a conclusion. Standing there, watching April and Roger get married made her realize that she wanted Mark. Not Joanne, not John, not anybody else. She wanted Mark. When she saw how happy April was, she realized that that's what she wanted, too, and she wanted to share it with Mark.

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Mark sat on the couch in the living room watching the few shots he got that morning. He went out to get his mind off of everything, but it didn't work. After only an hour, he returned home and received a call from his mother. As usual, she had asked him if he had eaten anything lately, and told him that he was going to waste away. She asked him to visit her, and told him to call his father. He refused to call Mark. Not that he was a bad father, because he wasn't. He was just stubborn, and when he found out his son wanted to move to New York to become a filmmaker, he wasn't too pleased.

Mark tried to think about anything but Maureen without much success. While he was filming, he kept thinking about how much better the shot would be with her in it. That was the reason he came home. But once home, he couldn't think about anything else. He didn't want to think about it, but he couldn't help himself. He didn't understand why she would just up and leave. Where was she going all this time? Why wouldn't she tell him the truth?

Mark rested his feet up on the coffee table, feeling it start to give out underneath him. This loft was such a piece of crap. He sighed and dropped his camera on the couch next to him, hoping he could try and take a nap. He leaned his head back, when he heard someone outside the door. It slowly opened to reveal Maureen. Fantastic.

"Hey Pookie," she smiled. She put the plastic bag she was holding on the coffee table before taking off her shoes and coat. Mark lay still with his eyes shut. Maybe she'd think he was asleep. No such luck. He felt her sit on the couch and rub the back of his neck.

"Marky. . .Marky-Marky-Marky," she giggled quietly, nipping at his ear.

"Stop it," Mark scolded her coldly. He was surprised that it came out as harsh as it did.

"Sorry," she replied sheepishly. Mark was surprised. Maureen never felt stupid, but now she was blushing slightly and looking down at her feet.

"It's okay." Mark stood up and walked towards the kitchen, and quickly turned around. "No, it's not okay. What the hell, Maureen. What are you doing?"

Maureen looked up at her boyfriend with a blank expression on her face.

"I don't. . .what?"

"Where the hell did you go? Or are you going to dance around it and make something up again?"

He watched Maureen staring back at him as he said this. Now he felt horrible. He shouldn't have brought it up.

"I went out with April and Roger."

"Okay. . .and could you tell me the truth?" Mark asked slowly.

"I am, Mark."

"I'm not stupid! They're in his room right now, where they've been for the last week! Jesus, Maureen!"

Maureen stood up slowly, still looking at Mark and walked over to Roger's bedroom. She opened the door wide so Mark could see inside. Mark immediately felt like an idiot and quickly walked to Maureen, embracing her in his arms.

"I'm so sorry."

"It's okay, sweetie," she laughed, placing her arms around his waist. "I figured you'd be mad."

"Where did you go then?" Mark asked as he led Maureen over to the couch. Her face immediately lit up and she leaned in closer to Mark.

"They got married!" she exclaimed.

"What?!" Mark asked in disbelief.

"That's what I said," she explained. "But they wanted me to be their witness and they went to the courthouse and just. . .got married!"

"W-why?" Mark couldn't help but laugh when he saw how excited Maureen was.

"April said it was because they wanted to be together for as long as they have left. I think they're overreacting if you ask me, but whatever. Oh! Pookie!" She jumped up from her seat on the couch and grabbed the plastic bag from the coffee table, taking it into the kitchen.

"I believe I owe you breakfast," she smiled.

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Be kind, re…view…