AN: Sorry I took so long to update...again. I know where I want to go with this story, I even have ideas for at least three sequels (one multi-chapter and two one-shots). Sometimes figuring out the little steps in getting from point A to point B are a little harder for me to figure out. Thank you so much for everyone who's been patient with me. Updates may be sporadic because I started classes last week, but there will be more, I promise. A LOT more.

P.S. Guess who got to see Adam and Anthony live in RENT...again?! I got Anthony's autograph this time...it made me squee with joy ((grins)).

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November 1, 1986

It was 11:42 PM. At least, that's what time it was the last time I looked at the clock and could actually read it. I giggled, licking the last bits of chocolate out of my teeth. Chocolate had never tasted better.

"Mark?" I looked away from the glow-in-the-dark elf that had been painted on the wall being illuminated by a black light and faced Benny who had just walked up to me. "What are you doing standing in the corner, man?"

I smiled widely, extremely happy to have a friend walk up to me. I chuckled and said "Benny, I love you, man."

Benny gave me a sideways glance. "You had one of Stacie's brownies, didn't you?"

I got excited as the olfactory memory kicked in (chocolate had also never smelled better...like a warm heaven). "I did! They were awesome! I think I'm gonna have another one!" I started to walk toward the plate of brownies, but Benny pushed me back into my corner. I pouted.

"Nah, I think you're good for now." He noticed the glass in my hand. "Whatcha got there, Mark?"

I looked down, just remembering the glass myself. "I don't know! They told me it was a 'screwdriver', but it's not. It's a drink and it tastes like orange juice!"

Benny reached out and took the glass from me. "Right, I think you've had enough of a lot of things for now. I'm gonna go get you some nachos, okay man?"

I gasped in delighted shock. "Nachos? You're awesome, Benny!"

"You too, kid!" he called back to me as he walked to the kitchen.

Some time passed after that. I'm not sure how much, because the next thing I remember, I was sitting on the floor and looking through my camera, casually reaching to my right now and then to eat a nacho from the plate beside me when I heard Benny's voice again.

"Mark, put the camera down."

"Why?" I whined.

"Because you've been filming your own crotch for the past ten minutes." he reasoned.

"Oh my god, I have?" I looked up at Benny in surprise, then back through the camera lens to confirm that the subject was, indeed, my own lap. "Wow...those are my pants..."

Benny knelt beside me, gentle guiding the camera out of my hands and setting it next to us. "I think you have plenty of footage for the night."

"Yeah, I guess so..." I stopped myself mid-thought when my eyes fell on my hands. I lifted them up in front of me in amazement. "My hands are huge! Benny, check this out!"

Benny grinned. Then he held his hand flat and made it beeline toward my face, swooping up over my head just before it touched my nose.

I flailed my hands in front of my face in panic. "Holy shit, what just happened?!" Benny laughed, and repeated his previous movement three or four more times. Each time, it looked like his hand was so close it was halfway in my head. "Stop doing that!" I begged, slapping his hand, then going into a fit of giggles.

Benny then handed me a glass filled with clear liquid. "Here, kid. You should drink this. Seriously, you'll thank me later."

I accepted the drink after some time concentrating on calculating distance and took a large swig. I coughed and set it down next to the plate of nachos. "Ugh, what is that stuff?"

He spoke to me in that tone of voice that people usually reserve for when speaking to someone who's five or younger. "It's water, Mark."

I stared at him in disbelief. "Water? Water? Who the fuck drinks water? It's so boring!"

He rolled his eyes at me as he stood up to walk away again. "Whatever, man. I tried."

Some time later, I was handed a drink by a guy I knew from a class...can't remember his name. I think he called it a 'Red Death'. The rest of the night is a total blur.

The next thing I remember is waking up in my dorm...in pain. My throat was so dry it hurt to breathe and my eyes felt like napalm. When I tried to lift myself off my stomach using my arms, the moment my head was elevated more than six inches it suddenly felt like it was being crushed in a vice...a pulsing vice.

I let myself fall back down and buried my face in the pillow. "Aww, fuck..." I groaned, my voice muffled.

I heard Benny's voice from across. "Good morning, stupid."

I dared to roll over to face him. Movement increased the immense hurting, so opted to keep my eyes shut tightly and rub my forehead with my hand. "What the fuck happened?"

"You learned your limits, that's what. Oh yeah, and you made out with that chick from your statistics class."

I squinted my nose in deep thought. "Alice?"

"Nope" he answered.

"Mary?" I tried again.

"Yeah."

My eyes snapped open. "Really?!" I stared at him as he sat on his bed looking back at me.

He grinned at my excitement. "No."

"Oh, fuck you." I rolled over again, this time facing the ceiling. "What time is it? Wait...what day is it?"

"It's 7:30. And it's Monday." Benny walked around the room and started picking up some books.

"Shit, I have a class in an hour." I rubbed my eyes with my palms as if it'd somehow make them stop burning.

"Yeah, you do. And you're going." With that, he lifted the books above me (I realized then that they were mine) and dropped them on my chest.

I grunted and shot upwards in an attempt to curl myself into a ball. "Don't ever do that again."

He stared at me, still grinning and with a hint of mischief in his eyes. "Don't get yourself totally fucked up on a night before class again, or I guarantee you this'll happen again. And I mean all of this." He indicated to the books and my head which was starting to feel like the vice had eased up about an eighth of an inch.

I looked down at the books and frowned. "Benny, these aren't even the right books."

He chuckled as he headed out the door. "I know they aren't. Find your own shit, Cohen, I'm going to get some breakfast."

After I heard his footsteps fade down the hall, I swung my legs over the side of my bed and sighed. Then I forced myself to stand and scanned the room for the books I actually needed that day.

Suddenly, the phone rang. I trudged over and picked it up. "Hello?" I more groaned than spoke.

"Cohen! What's going on, bitch?!" a familiar voice screamed from the other end.

I rubbed the bridge of my nose with my forefinger and thumb. "Nanette, do you have any idea what time it is?"

"Well, it's about 4:00 here and you're what, 3 hours ahead? You getting soft in your old age or something, Cohen?"

"Ugh...it's gonna be a long day..."