Authors' Note: ::cries:: I CAN'T BELIEVE IT'S OVER!!!!!!!!!! Waaaaaaaaah!!!!! Anywho, for those who haven't already guessed, this is the last chapter. Sigh. I had such a great time writing this, and I want to thank all the little people who contributed to this masterpiece in some way or another… ::stops:: Okay, you know what, I'm shutting up now. ^_^ Anyway, if I even made you giggle a little, I'm happy. Now, without furthur ado, the final chapter of The Bet! MY WORK HERE IS DONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Friday, 11:50 pm.
"So, fess up, Cohen. Gettin nervous?" Roger sneered evilly and slid a beer out of the fridge.
Mark sighed, and rolled his head back on his neck, shutting his eyes.
"Fuck off. I already know I've lost. You don't have to rub it in." He grimaced slightly before tossing the film magazine he was reading off to the side. "I don't even know why we're still doing this. There's only ten minutes left. If they haven't by now, they're not going to."
Roger laughed heartily and drew in an exasperated gasp. "Are you actually admitting you were wrong here?"
Mark shrugged. "I guess I have no choice. Proves somethin, though. Open mouth, insert foot."
Roger grinned again and plopped down next to his best friend. "Hey, don't sweat it. Okay. So you lost. But look at it this way. Angel and Collins are so long gone, they probably won't even remember about this whole thing after it's over. They'll be too busy screwing each other." He shrugged and took another swig of the golden-colored alcohol.
"Meaning?"
"Meaning you just might not be obliged to pay those 100 dollars."
Mark laughed bitterly. "Yeah. Wishful thinking."
Roger's satisfied laughter was cut off by the sound of the door opening. Both men's heads turned to look at the sight coming through the entrance to the loft.
Maureen and JoAnne walked in quietly, nodding slightly in acknowledgment to Mark and Roger before entering completely and revealing that each one was holding a psychopath homosexual sex craver on her arm. However, one would never be able to tell. Angel, who had spent the last three days looking like hell, now was wearing perfectly matched clothing, full done and neat makeup, and his hair was combed neatly, the long black strands of his wig falling like a waterfall over his shoulders and down his back. Collins was also neatly groomed, clean shaven, hair neat, clothes cleanly arranged.
Roger and Mark raised their eyebrows as the girls shut the door. The four entered the room, as Maureen, who was holding on to Angel, gently led the man to the nearest arm chair.
"Here ya go, honey, just sit down there," she eased the drag queen into the cushiony fabric as he clung to her arm, as if needing balance to not fall over. Angel stared off into space, the only movement being the now-accustomed to gentle shaking, and the only hint of expression on his entire face being the occasional blink of an eyelid. Finally, he let go, then gently folded his hands in his lap, continuing to stare enraptured at the blank space of air in front of him.
Blink.
Blink.
Blink.
Maureen gently tiptoed away from him, slipping over to Mark.
"How many minutes left?" Her voice was barely above a whisper.
Mark, still staring at Angel in wonder, reached to the side table, where there stood a small white egg timer. Picking it up, he turned it so that Maureen could see.
"Eight minutes."
"Counting your money?" Still whispering.
Mark sighed, then patted his pocket. "Got it all right here. Two fifty dollar bills."
"Good," Maureen, sighing in relief, collapsed down next to the boys on the couch.
"Why are we whispering?" Roger asked, leaning across Mark to see Maureen.
"We gotta be careful. No sudden movements, no loud noises."
"Ah."
The three watched as JoAnne, equally, eased the philosopher down into the other armchair across the room. She whispered something to him quietly, before turning and tiptoeing also over to the couch.
Collins stared off into space.
And stared.
And stared.
The same steady shaking, the same emotionless expression, the same absent blinking of dilating eyes.
JoAnne plopped down on the floor in front of the couch, heaving a huge sigh.
"Hey."
Tick.
Tock.
Tick.
Tock.
"Why do they look so…so…" Mark trailed off, struggling to find the appropriate word, "neat?"
::Beat::
Maureen grinned half-heartedly. "Ask Mimi."
"Huh?"
JoAnne giggled softly. "She got her hands on them. One huge thing that Mimi and Angel have in common, there is absolutely no excuse for looking the way that those two have been looking the past two days."
"Oh really?"
"Yeah. So, she cleaned both of them up nice, did Angel's hair and his makeup, picked out his outfit, all that jazz before going to work. She even ironed Collins' work shirt so that it wouldn't be so wrinkly, and redid the ends of his dreadlocks. A patient woman, that Mimi," JoAnne shook her head slowly, rubbing the bridge of her nose.
"How did she do it? I mean, wasn't she sick of dealing with their insanity?"
"You see, that's the thing," Maureen piped up. "It's so strange. They haven't said ONE WORD—either of them—all day!"
"REALLY?"
"Yeah! All they've done is just hang on to Mimi's arm and follow her around, shake a lot, and just blink off into thin air. I mean, they haven't even SNEEZED or anything! If I didn't know any better I'd say it was just their bodies. Their minds, well…who knows where they are."
"Wow. Who'da thunk."
"Yeah. It's kinda creepy. Normally you can't shut Angel up for the life of you."
"Maureen!"
"Well, it's true!"
"Can they hear what you're saying?" Roger looked confused.
"I honestly don't know. You can get right up in their face and scream something at them, but they won't even blink. It's almost like they're in shock or something."
"Yeah, well, in…7 and a half minutes, all this will be over," Mark groaned, plopping the egg timer back down on the table. "Thank Christ."
"Ditto." JoAnne exhaled deeply, leaning back against the couch. "Look at them."
The group focused on the two lovers, both sitting in separate chairs, hands folded neatly, staring inexpressionately off into space. They trembled fiercely, but stayed put, seeming to not even be aware of their surroundings.
"So…what do we do now?" Mark inquired, shrugging his shoulders.
JoAnne smirked. "We wait."
"We wait?"
"Yeah. Just…wait."
"For how much longer?"
"5 minutes."
Sigh.
11:55
11:56
11:57
11:58
Tick
Tock
Tick
Tock.
The group watched, enraptured, wide eyed at the two stone statues, anticipating the soon to follow result.
SLAM!!!!!
The four jumped as the door flung open wildly, and Mimi, outraged, came storming through the door.
"GOD DAMMIT!"
BANG! The door slammed shut loudly.
"Whoa!!! Mimi!! Chica, calm down, what is it?!" Maureen stood up and ran over to the curly haired basket case, and took her arm gently. "What's wrong?"
"What's WRONG?! I'll tell you what's wrong! I think I just lost my job, that's what's wrong!"
"WHAT?!" This time it was Roger who stood up.
"Yeah! Well, there was like, NO ONE at the club tonight, right? It was just me and this one other girl on the floor. So finally, after a total dry spell, this guy walks in. We both want to make some money, so we both go to start a lap dance. So I asked her all nice If I could take him, since I hadn't earned anything all night, and she tells me "shut up, bitch, he's mine," but I got there first and she was such a fuckin spoiled sport about it she started whining like a god dammed two year old about how that wasn't FAIR and he was HERS, and I started the dance and she FUCKIN PULLED ME OFF by my fuckin hair! So I turned around and smacked the bitch, and she smacked me back, and the next thing I knew we were fuckin screaming in this huge fight, and the guy runs out and then the manager ran over and told us to both get the hell out and not to come back unless we sorted it out…and finished it by saying that if he was feeling nice, MAYBE he'd CONSIDER letting us keep our jobs!"
"REALLY!!!???"
"YES! REALLY!! So now I think I'm all screwed over, and I don't even know if I still have a salary!"
Mimi plopped down on the couch, holding her head in her hands, before looking up and rubbing the bridge of her nose.
And noticing the storm cloud that had crossed over Roger's face.
"Baby? What is it?" Mimi asked, eyebrows raising.
"And why the FUCK would you be WANTING to give some random cheap ass bastard a striptease?" Roger stood up threateningly, the oh too characteristic smolder of jealousy blazing in his eyes.
Immediately, Mimi's expression hardened, and she rose swiftly to her feet.
"And what is THAT supposed to mean?!"
Maureen, JoAnne and Mark all exchanged looks.
Uh oh.
"Well, for someone who's supposed to be MY girlfriend, you're awfully willing and eager to give it over to a total stranger!"
"FUCK OFF, ROGER! IT'S MY GOD DAMNED JOB!!! And I am NOT in the mood to be messing with this right now!!!"
"Oh, but you WERE in the mood to just sit there and move all over his fucking lap!?"
"How can you accuse me of that!?"
"Oh, what, and give me one good reason why I shouldn't! It certainly hasn't stopped you with Benny!!!!"
"SHUT UP!!! I'M FUCKIN SICK OF TELLING YOU THAT I HAVEN'T DONE A GOD DAMNED THING WITH BENNY, SO BACK THE FUCK OFF!"
"WHOA! GUYS!" Mark cried, waving his arms in the air. "CHILL, WOULD YOU!?" Desperately, he looked around for the peacemakers. Collins and Angel could have this situation under control in no time. Yes. Collins and Angel. Had to get Collins and Angel.
Then he remembered.
Oh yeah.
Damn.
Damn.
Dammit.
DAMN!!!!
Collins and Angel remained completely unfazed by the rising commotion about them, still staring and shaking, blinking occasionally.
But, naturally, not at all hearing anything that was going on around them.
Which means that we have to leave Mark, Roger, Mimi, Maureen and JoAnne to SOLVE an ARGUMENT.
::Author laughs uncontrollably:: Oh yes. Very likely to happen.
That's another way of saying that we're all in very deep doo doo.
But I'm getting off track, so I'll just shut up and finish this thing.
"Don't worry, Mimi," Maureen, comforting, glared at Roger as she touched the girl's shaking arm. "I know the feeling. You learn to get used to it."
Ooops.
JoAnne's mouth dropped open as Mark's eyes widened in frightened anticipation.
Oh, dammit.
"And THAT means WHAT, exactly?!" JoAnne, furious, stuck her hands on her hips. Maureen raised her eyebrows, and answered back with passionate anger:
"Oh, c'mon pookie! You know EXACTLY what that means! A jealousy-driven psychopath whose constantly accusing her lover of creeping around behind her back?! SOUND FAMILIAR?!"
"HOW DARE YOU!!! Just because you can't stay faithful for the fuckin life of you doesn't mean that I have to put up with your bullshit!"
"WHAT?!!? BULLSHIT?!?! YOU'RE the one who thinks that you have complete control over everything I do, and that you have a right to tell me I can't even KISS another girl from time to time! You can't get it through you thick, oh-so-characteristicly lawyer-clogged head that a girl needs a little freedom!"
"WOULD YOU LISTEN TO YOURSELF?!?! Not ALLOWING you to KISS ANOTHER GIRL!!! You're MY girlfriend, Maureen!! _ I'M _ the only one who has a right to fuck you, God Dammit!"
"GUYS!!" Mark yelled at the top of his lungs, eyes wide. "Would you all CHILL?! My GOD! We shouldn't be fighting, for Christ sakes!!! We can't fuckin upset those two, they might crack!" He gestured dramatically to Collins and Angel, still staring off into blank space on the other side of the room.
"SHUT UP, COHEN!!!" The perfectly simultaneous shriek erupted from all four ball-fisted, sweating, fury-driven lovers.
Mark's eyes widened, and he whimpered.
Hey, it's Markie. Nothin he ain't used to.
Finally, his expression hardened. That was it. Enough BS. Time for Markie to take a stand. The filmaker balled his fists tightly, before screaming at the top of his lungs:
"DON'T YOU FUCKIN TELL ME TO SHUT UP, ALL OF YOU!!! AFTER ALL THIS, YOU COULD AT LEAST HAVE THE DECENCY TO WAIT UNTIL THIS IS FUCKIN OVER TO FUCKIN START FIGHTING ABOUT ALL YOUR LITTLE GOD DAMNED PETTY RELATIONSHIPS!! YOU'RE ALL SO FUCKIN SELFISH AND CHILDISH, ALWAYS "ME ME ME ME ME ME ME!!! MY RELATIONSHIP!! ME THIS, ME THAT! IT'S YOUR OWN FAULT, SO DON'T YOU ALL GO FUCKING YELLING AT ME JUST BECAUSE I'M MAKIN AN EFFORT TO FUCKING MAKE YOU GROW UP AND ACT YOUR FUCKIN AGE!!!!!!!!!"
Silence.
The group stopped, faces flushed with the fresh argument, fists balled, sweat dripping, heaving huge breaths of air and staring at each other in rage before…
* DING! *
All faces deadpanned slightly, before turning towards the source of the sound.
The egg timer sitting on the side table.
Midnight.
Midnight.
12:00 Saturday morning.
The five registered this for a moment, before instinctively turning their heads oh so slowly in the direction of Collins and Angel, still sitting in the arm chair.
Angel's head slowly lifted up.
Collins' head slowly lifted up.
The two, slow as molasses, turned their heads in the direction of the small plastic egg timer, perched innocently on the marble top of the table.
Angel blinked.
Collins blinked.
The two turned to regard each other, and for the first time in a very long while, the eyes focused. Faces became tinted with expressions, and the shaking stopped.
Angel grinned.
Collins grinned.
The two stood up, slowly to their feet, the rest of the group watching in tense anticipation at what was about to happen. The naughty, desired-filled grins of each man's face widened, before…
"YYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Collins and Angel laughed triumphantly, screaming in relief at the top of their lungs, before lunging forward and grabbing at each other savagely. The force of the impact sent both men careening into the wall, where they started frantically tearing at each other's clothing.
The group made no protest, blinking in downright shock at the scene laid down before them.
Angel and Collins, now nothing more but a tangle of arms and limbs, clothes hanging off them in every direction as they kissed passionately now started to tumble down the hallway in the direction of the bedroom. The group watched, still not moving or saying anything as the two practically tripped down the length of the carpet, before disspearing down the hall and falling into Mimi and Roger's bedroom.
CLACK!!! The door slammed shut loudly behind them.
Well then.
The group, still frozen, stared after the couple for a long two minutes before Mimi turned to Roger, all the anger no longer apparent.
"Did they just…"
"Yes."
"Which means they're gonna…"
"Oh, most definetly."
"On our…"
"Mm hm."
::Beat::
"Why don't we all go see a late movie?!" Maureen, chipper, started to the closet to get their coats.
"GREAT IDEA!" The group chided in in agreement, heading after her. Only Mark remained behind.
"Mark, you comin?" JoAnne swung her own coat over her shoulder as she tossed Mark his own.
Mark sighed. Then:
"No."
The group deadpanned.
"NO?!"
"No. I can't. I can't go. I feel awful. I mean, do you have any idea how MAD these two are gonna be at me after they…well…finish…well…YOU KNOW! They'll kill me!"
"Mark, they WON! And you owe them $100! You're gonna be their favorite person on earth!"
Mark bit his lip. "I dunno…"
"OH!!!!"
The gang silenced at the sudden moan that had drifted down the hall from the direction of the bedroom.
Mark gulped, looking slightly sick.
JoAnne opened the door. "C'mon, Mark. You don't wanna be here for this."
Mark remained adamant. "No. No way. You guys go ahead, but I go NO WHERE until I know for sure that Collins and Angel have forgiven me." He nodded decisively.
Maureen, exasperated, rolled her eyes. "Oh, for Christ's sake!"
And with that, she headed down the hall, still in sight, stopping right before the bedroom door. She knocked heavily on the oak wood, before sticking her hands on her hips and calling over the just-barely-heard moans:
"COLLINS, ANGEL, HAVE YOU FORGIVEN MARK!?"
::Beat::
"OH, GOD, YES!!!!" Angel's voice, horse and screaming, responded through the wood. Maureen, satisfied, turned to Mark expectantly.
A moment, before…
"So, what's playing tonight?"
And, sliding two green bills under the wood, he followed the group out the door.
~~
"OH! Oh, YES!"
"Oh, GOD!"
After the latest round, exhausted and breathless, Angel and Collins fell back on the bed, collapsing in a heap of sweaty skin and entangled limbs. Gasping for air, the two clung to each other closely, completely drained of any energy or stamina they had had left in them.
Needless to say, they were back to normal.
Well, as normal as you can feel when you're rutting like crazed hyenas.
But that's not the point.
And I know all you Mark fans are really pissed that he didn't win, but I like Collins and Angel, so they win and bah bah bah.
::Shuts up::
They lay there for a few minutes, panting desperately for air, and Collins snuggling his head against Angel's chest as he cradled him closely. Finally, after a few minutes of this silence…
"Wow."
Tom's voice was barely above a whisper, filled with awe and wonder. Angel giggled and kissed the top of the dark braids.
"Wow is right."
They both shared a laugh, and Angel snuggled down so that him and Collins were facing each other, nose to nose. The two joined hands, lacing the fingers in and out, kissing again and again, the lips red and swollen from past said events.
"That was…that was…wow…." Collins, grinning foolishly, was still frozen in awe.
"I know," Angel smiled seductively and wrapped his arms around Collins' neck, cuddling against the warm skin.
"You know," Collins grinned, gently planting a kiss on Angel's sweaty forehead, "I'm tempted to say that that was worth the wait."
Angel laughed. "I agree. That was DEFINETLY worth the wait…"
The two laughed again, before simply lying there in the warmth of the moment. They stayed in silence for several minutes, a languid sleepiness starting to drift over them as their eyelids began to flutter closed.
Suddenly…
::BRING! BRING!! BRING!!!::
Eyes snapped open as Collins' own zoomed in on the telephone sitting on the nightstand.
"Who on earth is calling at THIS hour?!" Angel, rubbing one eye sleepily, murmured, pressing his head against Collins' neck.
"I haven't the slightest idea!" Collins sat up, still holding Angel to him while reaching over and picking up the phone.
"Hello…?"
Silence.
"Yeah, this is him…uh huh…wait a minute…this is odd, I don't live here, how did you know to call me at this number? Yeah…mm hm…"
Angel watched curiously, awaiting an actual response.
"Yeah…oh, yeah, then I guess they never changed my records when I moved out…no, no, it's no big deal, don't worry, what's wrong? Yeah?"
Suddenly, Collins went very, very pale.
"I beg your pardon?"
Angel nudged him, but Collins simply gulped deeply.
"H-h-huh? Uh…um…when? WHAT? Uh…okay…wait, I--… um…yeah…okay…thanks…"
Collins, eyes wide with dread, dropped the receiver dazed into the cradle.
Angel stared at him, bewildered.
"Who was that?"
Collins blinked and gulped again, before turning to Angel, eyes filled with sorrow.
Angel shook Collins' arm, alarmed.
"My love? WHAT IS IT? What's wrong?!"
"The head of the philosophy department."
"What on earth did he want?"
Collins, pained, looked ready to throw up.
"I've just been called away on a two week business trip."
::Beat::
Angel gasped.
Collins' eyes filled.
"DAMMIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
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::Bows:: Well, ladies and gents, that's all. I'm glad I got so many positive responses, and I thank you all for your reviews!!!! I really had a blast with this, especially with that ending…I guess I'll just never stop being cruel to them. Well, that's all, folks!!!!!!!!!
The very very very very very very very very very very very (okay, alright already, you get the point) END!!!