Title: Alphabet City Alphabet

Author: ello luv

Summary: A look into our favourite Bohemians' lives

Disclaimer: I do not own Rent. Many thanks go out to Jonathan Larson for creating such a wonderful masterpiece. If only he could have seen his dream come to fruition.

A/N: Ahh I'm so sorry for going missing! I'm currently in the midst of a production of West Side Story and we open in two days, so our schedule has been hectic. But I'm back now with the next to last letter.

Y is for Yo-Yo

Mark was digging through a box of his old things when he found it. It was made of cheap fluorescent green plastic, covered in stars drawn with fading black sharpie, the string gray and grimy.

The rest of the contents of the cardboard box momentarily forgotten, Mark stood and went to the centre of the attic room, sliding the loop at the end of the string onto his middle finger.

He threw down the yo-yo and winced as it slapped none too softly back into the palm of his hand. Mark tossed it light this time and watched as the fluorescent plastic slid smoothly down and then back up.

He pumped the yo-yo slowly s few times then suddenly flicked his wrist, causing the yo-yo to stop at the lowest point of its path, spinning but not moving in either direction. A sleeper.

It occurred to Mark as he stood there playing with the toy, that Maureen was like a yo-yo. She bounced back and forth between lovers and lifestyles with complete disregard to her effect on the people she touched.

Occasionally, though, Mark thought as he threw a sleeper. She lingered with a person, as she had with him, but, and Mark knew he should have seen it coming, eventually she always snapped back.

The plastic yo-yo slapped into the palm of Mark's hand.