CHAPTER 2

A/N: Wow! In no particular order, thanks to Kelby, Bearfeetz, Jan, Annala, the-fraulein, EMI, Amy, and Michelle for the awesome reviews. I was a little unsure of posting this at first, thinking that no one would be really interested in it, but you all proved me wrong and now I'm glad that I went through with it.

For those of you looking for the next update of Before You Wake, that'll be up early this week, I promise. Sorry for the delay.

Enjoy! =]

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SEPTEMBER 1989

LABOR DAY WEEKEND

Roger walked down the cracked sidewalk that lined the majority of Avenue B. He certainly wasn't used to the inner city environment, and in fact, he was a little apprehensive. Sights in the East Village were a hell of a lot different then in the suburbs. Instead of perfectly manicured lawns and the sounds of kids laughing, there were people angrily chattering to each other. The grass was replaced by shops that practically sold anything you ever could need. Drug dealers haunted the corners, trying to hide themselves in the shadows where the addiction swelled like the pavement after a summer rain. And then there was the homeless that kept to themselves, often times dragging a bag or two of belongings behind them.

He clutched the newspaper clipping nervously in his pocket the further he got down the street, practically wishing the damn apartment building would jump out at him so he get himself out of his current surroundings. Consider there was a good chance he might be living here, he knew he damn well needed to get used to it sooner or later.

"Hey Mista, gotta dollar?"

Roger blinked as a heavyset homeless woman approached him. She was carrying two Macy's shopping bags and was shaking a generic plastic cup at him demandingly. He dug around in his pocket quickly, finally pulling out a crumpled dollar bill from his wallet. He dropped it in the woman's cup.

"Thanks," she said unenthusiastically, almost as if she were expecting more than he had just given her. "And a word of advice to you. Don't ever flash your wallet in this area again, honey. Unless you want yourself to get mugged."

"Oh yeah. Right." Roger shoved the wallet back into his leather jacket. "Uh, thanks."

"No problem. How old are you?"

"Eighteen."

The bag lady shook her head. "Huh. Well, best of luck to ya, baby doll. Hard to make a living in these parts."

Before Roger could say anything in response, she had picked up her bags again and was huffing down the street, still shaking her cup. He had a feeling he was nearing the apartment building, so he removed the ad out of his pocket and read over it briefly.

EAST VILLAGE

2 BR apt; 4th floor indust. Loft

full kitchen; 1 bath; hot water/heat

No AC; No pets

Rent $750/month

1108 11th Street and Avenue B

(212) 555-5598

Ask for Al Henderson

He had scanned the New York Times for the past week, hoping to come across something that was big enough, but cheap enough, to fit three people comfortably. He knew it would probably be himself until at least December, when he hoped he could convince Jen to live with him for the spring semester instead of living in a dorm. Most likely Mark wouldn't even live with them until four years from now, but he could always have the extra bedroom for him anyway, right? Just in case him came to visit on break.

Roger had cut out a few ads that previous week and set up appointments around the city. He would have rather had an apartment closer to Jen's dorm at NYU, but both of those had been rented out when he called the day after to inquire about them. Now his last hope seemed to be a man named Al Henderson, and soon enough he found himself in front of the four story industrial building. He double-checked the address before opening the shaded office door. He paused on the carpet, turning around to try and figure out where the hell he was supposed to meet this guy for his appointment. He walked down the hall some more, passing a gray haired man sitting at a desk inside an airy office. He was typing up something on a typewriter, but looked up immediately when he saw Roger's standing in the hallway.

"Well hello there. You're here about the apartment, I presume?" The man stood up and smiled warmly before walking out into the hall. He stuck out his hand. "Al Henderson, landlord."

"Roger Davis." Roger shook Al's hand loosely. "Yeah, I had an appointment for today? I talked to you on the phone last week?"

"Right, right." Al pulled a key out of his pocket and motioned for Roger to follow him. "Well, if you'll follow me, I'll show you the apartment and give you all of the basic information."

Roger climbed the three flights of stairs after Mr. Henderson. They finally reached the end of the cemented hall, right in front of an apartment marked 4A. Al gave the door a little kick with his foot and it creaked open.

"Sometimes you have to give it a good push to get it open, but other than that, no problems." Al pocketed the key and waved Roger inside. "Come in, come in. I'll show you around."

Dust rose off the floor in the visible streams of light floating in through the two identical windows in the main living room. Roger caught a quick peek out of them and saw the people walking down on the streets below. A little further in the distance, he could make out the heavy traffic on Second Avenue.

Al noticed Roger glancing around hesitantly and cleared his throat. "Sorry about the dust and clutter, but the apartment has been vacant for months and unfortunately I haven't gotten a good chance to clean lately. Well, the two bedrooms are over here—" He opened a door, allowing Roger to view an entirely empty room with one large window and an open closet. The beaten tan carpet was comfortably worn in and appeared to be clean, as far as he could tell anyway. The only thing that bothered Roger was the stifling air that circulated the room. He unzipped his leather jacket and took it off while Al continued speaking.

"This is basically the master bedroom, if you'd like to call it that. Pretty spacey. Usually if you leave that window open you get a cool breeze blowing through right over your bed." Al walked over and opened the window halfway. "Like the ad said, the rent is $750 a month and I collect it on the third of every month. But if you're interested in the place and you leave your $300 deposit with me, I'll waive the rent aside for the first month and you'd have to pay me the monthly rate on the third of November."

"Okay. Sounds good."

Al walked down the hall again and opened another door. "This is the second bedroom. Almost identical to the first, except the closet is switched to the other side and it's a little bit smaller in size. Same window and everything." For the next twenty minutes, Mr. Henderson continued showing Roger the apartment, pointing out various things here and there. He explained that the water heater for the shower was decent, but if Roger expected to take showers any longer than fifteen minutes, he was out of luck. The building heating would be turned on whenever the outside temperature dropped lower than fifty degrees to conserve energy. Al spent the last few minutes explaining that although there was no central air conditioning like the heating, he was in the process of installing two portable air conditioners in each apartment, and the fourth floor was next up to get them.

"So, what do you think? Quite a big apartment for someone living by themselves," Al noted.

Roger shrugged. "Yeah. It might just be me for now, but I'm trying to get my girlfriend to move in with me. She just started at NYU last week."

"Well that's fine. The more the merrier, I always say."

"I like it a lot. Better than anything I've really seen around here."

"Oh, is that so?" Al nodded and shifted in place a little bit. "If you really like it, it's all yours. You'll just have to sign a few papers and give me your deposit by Friday, and we'll make it a deal."

"That's three hundred?"

"Sure is. Three hundred even, and then I'll just need the rent on November third."

"Definitely."

Al stuck out his hand and Roger shook it. "It's a deal then. Welcome to the building. Anything you need, I'm the man to see. Just come on down to my office so you can sign the paperwork and I'll give you your key."

Roger agreed, and minutes later he had signed the paperwork in Al's office and already had his new apartment key in his jean pocket. Al handed him pink copies of all the paperwork he signed and smiled.

"Alright Roger, I'll just need that deposit by Friday latest. Other than that, it was great doing business you. See you around, and feel free to move in whenever you'd like. My home number is on the back of those sheets, so in case anything goes haywire around here, give me a call and I'll take care of it."

"Thanks Al."

"You're welcome. Take care of yourself kid."

Kid. He was eighteen—nineteen next month-- and just bought himself a place to live with his own money—as soon as he drove to the bank and withdrew the deposit, that was. Why was everyone still referring to him as a kid? He mentally shook himself and walked back out onto the street, where he quickly blended into the bustling crowds. He had to get on the subway so he could tell Jen about what he had just done. He had just bought an apartment, for himself. For Mark. For Jen. Roger couldn't get over that. He must have been practically glowing, because the next thing he felt was an impatient tap on his shoulder once again.

"Yeah?" The same homeless woman was standing in front of him, smiling.

"So Mista, how'd ya appointment go? You get the apartment, or what?"

"Yeah. I did."

"Congratulations, Mista. Welcome to the East Village, home of the motherfuckin' artists and the poor. You'll fit in just fine, baby."

Roger practically laughed out loud over her sarcasm. People in the suburbs weren't this outspoken, although he knew a few that could give this woman a run for her money. "Thanks. Hey, what's your name?"

"Loretta, honey. What's yours?"

"Roger."

"Well Mista Roger, I better get a move on if I wanna get somethin' good to eat tonight at the shelter downtown. See ya later, baby. You take care of yourself now."

"I will." He tossed a few more crumpled bills into her cup.

"Thanks, sweetheart. You get goin' now. Your train's probably here already."

Roger watched her leave before descending the subway stairs. If he was going to be living in the East Village now, he might as well make the best of it.

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Roger paused outside of his girlfriend's college dorm and knocked on the closed door. It was a little after four, and he didn't know what her schedule was that day. He just hoped that she was in her room right now, because aside from wanting to take her to dinner, he wanted to tell her the good news about the apartment.

He heard someone ruffling around inside and then the door opened. Jen appeared and smiled when she saw him.

"Hey. What are you doing here?" Her dark brown hair was pulled up into a messy bun, and she was dressed in a pair of gray sweatpants and a black tee shirt.

Roger kissed her and followed her into the room as she shut the door. "Just wanted to see what you were up to."

"Oh yeah?" Jen moved the laundry basket off of her bed and onto the floor to give Roger some more room to stretch out. "Any luck in finding that apartment yet?"

He shrugged and grinned. "Maybe."

"Just maybe?" She laughed and cuddled up against him. "I miss you."

"I miss you too. Anything good happening around here?"

Jen shook her head. "Nope. Unless you count my roommate Marcy sneaking off with just about every member of the frat house as happening."

Roger laughed. "Definitely not."

"So are you telling me about this apartment or not?"

"Well I bought it. Rented it out, or whatever. Two bedrooms, one bathroom, and a full kitchen. Central heating, but no air conditioning as of right now. Al, the landlord, said he's installing two air conditioning units sometime next week so at least we'll have that for the summer."

Jen smiled and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "That's great. It sounds nice. How much is it a month?"

He laughed nervously and looked at her. "Seven-fifty a month. Plus a three hundred dollar deposit I have to give him on Friday."

"Roger! Jesus Christ! That's expensive!" she shouted at him. "How can you afford that?"

"He's not making me pay rent until November third because of my deposit, so I'll be okay. I'll pull the leftover money from my summer job out of my bank account and use whatever's left. Plus, since I'm living in the city, I won't need my car, so I think I'm selling it. I should get three or four thousand from that. And I'm going to start looking for a new job."

Jen let out a long sigh. "Okay. As long as you're sure. But really, that's expensive—"

"The last guy wanted twelve hundred a month. I think I got a bargain. Plus, you'll be living with me and when you get a job we can both pay the rent. We'll make enough." Roger saw the look on his girlfriend's face as he finished and blinked, confused. "Right?"

"Rog, I can't move out of my dorm until December. It's paid in full until then. It would be a waste of money. Plus, I wasn't really going to look for a job until October. Classes just started up and everything. I'm having a hard time balancing already," she sighed. She saw the depressed look that had formed on Roger's face and ran her fingers through his hair. "But I promise, right before Christmas I'll move in with you. By then I'll have a job too, okay? So don't worry. I know this is making you really happy, and you deserve that babe. We're finally closer to each other. We'll all be okay. And hey, this summer Mark can live with us too. We'll make it. You can have some time to yourself to write music, and maybe you'll be able to play a few gigs around the city. You'll see."

"Yeah, I know. It's a lot of money though."

"Yeah it is," Jen agreed with him. "But you'll make it."

Roger kissed her again and nodded. "So what do you say about us going out to eat tonight? To celebrate and all, maybe?"

"Okay. Then you can tell me what you want for your birthday next month," she smiled, grabbing a pair of jeans and a gray sweatshirt out of her drawer. "Let me get changed and we'll go wherever you want." She yawned and headed into the bathroom.

Roger laid back on the bed and heard the sound of water running in the bathroom. He was almost nineteen years old. He had his own apartment in the city. He had a great, beautiful girlfriend. Things were finally starting to get back on track, and maybe his life wasn't such of a scattered mess anymore as he previously had thought.

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Benny dropped the magazine he was holding and popped another chip into his mouth. "Hey Mark, what the hell are you doing tonight?"

Mark opened one eye and shrugged. Classes and college life had really started to wear him down, so he was trying to sleep as much as he could, whenever he could. But when you had an outgoing and ambitious roommate like Benjamin Coffin, sleep was a joke.

"No idea," he yawned. "Sleeping. Maybe writing more of that paper for Lit."

"Man, why don't you come out with me to the frat house and get a head start on pledging? Or even if you don't want to do that, you could always just hang out with the guys. They seem to like you and all."

Mark loosely shook his shoulders and pulled a pillow over his face. "Benny, I'm tired. Maybe some other time."

Benny laughed, crumpled up the empty chips bag, and tossed it into the trash. "Suit yourself. Personally I think you need to get laid."

"Whatever works."

"Let me set you up with someone! I know a few of the sorority girls would love to be introduced to you. My girlfriend Jessica could set you up with one of her friends."

"After I get some sleep, okay Benny?"

Benny grinned and took that as a yes. "Sounds good. Hey, what about—" He was cut off by the sound of the phone ringing. "Hello?"

"Uh, is Mark there?"

"Yeah sure. Who's this?"

"Roger."

"Hold on man." Benny covered the mouthpiece of the phone. "Mark, it's for you. Roger."

Mark sat up and rubbed his eyes. "Figures. Give it here."

Benny handed him the cordless phone and slid into his sneakers. "I'm going to the gym for a few. See you later tonight, and I'll let Jessica know."

"Yeah sure. Hello?" Mark spoke into the phone and yawned.

"Hey. What's up? How's college?"

"It's okay. What's up with you? And where are you?"

"I'm standing in the middle of my new apartment."

Mark sat up, shocked. All waves of exhaustion had been washed away and he grinned slowly. "What? You mean you actually rented out an apartment? When did this happen?"

"A few days ago. And I'm not really standing in the middle of my new apartment. I'm at home in Scarsdale with Jen packing up my room for when the movers come on Monday."

"Are you really serious? That's great. Is it a nice place?"

"Yeah, pretty nice." Roger filled him in on all the details quickly. "A little expensive, but nice. I'm gonna have to sell my car, but I wasn't planning on keeping it. Who needs a car in the city?"

"Yeah true. So I guess you're moving in on Monday then?"

"Yup. Looks like it."

"That's great." Mark tried to fake as much enthusiasm as possible, but the truth was, he was a little disappointed. Here he was, stuck in college and actually having to do work, while his best friend was free to do whatever he wanted in his new apartment. It was just a little depressing. Plus, being over three hours away from them didn't help any.

"You should come up as soon as you can to check it out. For the weekend, or something."

"Yeah, maybe I will." Mark looked over and noticed Benny waving for him to get off the phone. "Rog, I gotta go. I'll talk to you later. Tell Jen I said hi. And congratulations."

"Thanks. Bye."

"Bye." Mark hung up the phone and shot a look at Benny. "What do you want now?"

"Come to the gym with me. We can pick up chicks."

Mark shook his head and grabbed his workout clothes and stuffed them in his gym bag. "You mean I can pick up chicks. Don't you have a girlfriend?"

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean I can't help you. Who said anything about me helping myself?" Benny grinned mischievously.

"Right."

"So are you coming or not?"

Mark nodded. "Yeah. I'm coming."

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About the landlord: I never really figured that Mr. Grey owned the building at this point in time. For some reason, I always figured he came in sometime later and bought the current landlord out. Hence Al Henderson for now.

So what do you think? I know it might seem a little slow right now, but we'll be getting into the deeper stuff soon enough, I promise. It won't always be so happy and light.

Review! =]