Chapter 41: The Bet
9:30 AM was awfully early for the phone to be ringing. Flinging his feet over the side of the bed, Angel stood up, stretched, and then leaned over to pick up the phone. Sniffling and gasping could be heard on the other end. "Hello?" Angel said, cautiously, into the phone.
"Ang?" Mimi's voice asked, sounding very upset.
"Mimi? Baby, what's wrong?" Angel questioned, concerned.
"It's Chase. Last night, I came home early from the club to surprise him and he-," her voice broke, "He was in bed with another girl!"
"Oh my god. Honey, I'm so sorry."
"She looked like she was thirteen and she wasn't even fucking pretty! I told him to get out and when I woke up this morning, all his stuff was gone and he just left a note!" She cried loudly as Angel sat on the other end, patiently waiting for her to calm down.
"Everything's gonna be fine. You're a great girl and any guy would be lucky to have you," Angel encouraged.
"Yeah, but apparently Chase doesn't think so. You know what he said in the note? Get this!" she laughed bitterly as he heard her unfolding a piece of paper, "'Mimi-sorry it didn't work out. I left the check for this month's rent on the counter. Take care, Chase.' He didn't even say 'I love you' or 'It was a mistake.' All he cares about his having sex. I bet that girl didn't have HIV and she probably didn't think to ask him if he did either. He's such a dumb fuck!" she screamed into the phone, as her crying began again.
"I know. Men suck, but that's why we love them," Angel sighed, "Can I help with anything?"
Her crying abruptly stopped as she spoke softly into the phone, "I don't want to be alone."
"I'm sure you'll find a new guy soon enough. You've never had any problem finding them before," Angel suggested, optimistically.
"No, that's not it. I mean, I don't want to live in my place alone. It's scary here at night when there's nobody to talk to. Will you stay with me, Ang? Please?" she asked, her voice sounding soft and innocent, a far cry from the way she usually acted.
"You want me to move into your place?" he questioned, slightly confused. He'd never lived with a girl before.
"I mean, you don't have to if you don't want to. I'll understand. But you keep saying that the thing with Paul is only temporary and that you need a new place to go because you've been there for almost a year, and I figure that you could stay here. We could split the rent and everything. There's 2 bedrooms, so we won't have to worry about anything like that, but you know I-."
"Say no more. I know what it's like to just be out of a relationship and I know how lonely it can be. I'll get Paul to help me bring some stuff over and I'll stay."
"Thank so much Ang. I feel better already. When will you come?"
"I'll be there in a couple of hours, I guess. See you soon baby. And hang in there-it'll get better, I promise."
"Thanks hon. Love you."
"Love you too," he said, as he hung up the phone. Looking out his window, the sun blinded his eyes. It was the first sunny day there had been in, what seemed like, months. Spring was supposed to be the rainiest season of the year, and it was.
Standing up and stretching, Angel went over to the wardrobe closet in his bedroom. Rows of rainbow clothing greeted him, organized sufficiently by season and then by color. Often times, Angel had considered making a catalog of all his outfits, but he didn't have the time or the patience. With a wardrobe that big, making a catalog could take a couple of days. Underneath Angel's bed were stacks of suitcases from his last move. Since he knew that Paul's house would only be a temporary place of residence, he had decided to keep his bags ready to move again. He never even unpacked all of the little things, like pictures, letters, magazines, etc. that he had packed when he left the club. Hauling the duffle bags out from under the bed, he began to open them up, reading the labels that he had put on them. "Spring shoes" "Winter shoes" "Winter drag red-yellow" "Winter men's clothes." It was complex system, but one that he was very proud of.
The running water coming from the kitchen distracted Angel from packing as he ventured outside his bedroom to greet Paul. "Good morning," Angel chirped cheerfully, as Paul set up his coffee machine to make his morning java.
"You're cheerful this morning. What's going on?" Paul asked suspiciously, smiling brightly. Angel always admired how, no matter what time of day it was, Paul always had a beautiful smile on his face.
"Mimi called me this morning."
"So that's who called. The phone woke me up."
"Yeah, I figured she was calling kinda early. Anyway, she was really upset so I didn't bother her about our 'No calling before 12' rule. She caught Chase cheating on her last night so she kicked him out. She was really upset and didn't want to be alone. She asked me if I wanted to say with her. I've been saying forever how I need to go and find a place of my own since I've been here for almost a year, so I figure now is the perfect time to make the change. We're gonna split the rent and I'm gonna keep my job at Mac to help pay it. I thought you'd be happy about that."
"That's wonderful!" Paul exclaimed, putting down the coffee pot so he could give Angel a hug, "I'm so happy for you! I must admit, though, that I will miss having you around. I won't miss my armoire being invaded by your dresses, but you've definitely been an interesting guest, to say the least."
Angel laughed, "I'm gonna miss it here, too. I mean, I'll still be at Life Support and everything, but it won't be the same. I know what you mean." He paused for a second to think about the fun times that he and Paul had together. Similar to Queenie, Paul had taken Angel in when he needed somewhere to be and something to do. He hadn't judged Angel in any way and he'd only helped him through a difficult part of his life. He was certainly going to miss living with him. "Do you wanna help me move some of my stuff?"
"Yeah, sure. I'd love to. Do you still have the boxes from when you came here?"
"Yeah. I knew the move was only temporary, so I figured it would be best to hold onto them," Angel laughed, "I don't know how I'm going to pack away my entire wardrobe. I have this great organization system where they're arranged by color by season and it works so well."
"You are the most fashion-obsessed man I have ever met," Paul told him, shaking his head, "That's one thing I won't miss, though. You being absolutely anal about your clothes being in the right place and in the right order."
"Hey, it takes a lot of effort to maintain a wardrobe like mine!" Angel exclaimed, walking back to the wardrobe in the living room to start packing up all his clothes. "See, when you don't want something to get badly-wrinkled during travel, you roll it instead of fold it," he explained, taking a favorite outfit of his-the dress that looked like it was made of rubber rings-and rolling it tightly, placing at the bottom of the box. "See? It works like a charm." (Fashion tip courtesy of Carson on Queer Eye For The Straight Guy.)
"Good to know," Paul said, slightly puzzled. "Do you wanna move everything today?"
"I'm not sure. I guess I'll pack most of it up today and just bring a couple of outfits tonight. You know me, I can never decide what to wear."
"That's true. All right, let's get packing!"
"Sure thing!" Angel replied, turning around to get ready to retreat into his room to empty even more drawers.
Abruptly Paul put his arm on Angel's shoulder, causing him to turn around. "You know, I noticed that you didn't go out last night."
Looking down at the floor awkwardly, Angel shifted his weight. "Yeah that's right."
"Come to think of it, you don't go out at all very much anymore," Paul stated, his arms hanging limply at his side, head tilted slightly to the right.
Still shuffling his feet awkwardly, he began to crack his knuckles, not able to make eye contact with Paul. "I do go out," he insisted, his voice sounding small and weak.
"You don't go out nearly as much as you used to," Paul aid, firmly, refusing to break eye contact with Angel.
"I don't know, I guess I just listened to what you said," Angel said quietly, quickly turning around and retreating into his bedroom.
Paul smiled an all-knowing grin as he watched Angel walk away. The words had finally had an effect on him.
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By 3:30 PM, after about 5 hours of non-stop packing, most of Angel's stuff was neatly rolled in the boxes and he had two duffle bags packed with essentials for his first few nights at Mimi's before he could move all of his stuff in. The bags consisted of a travel makeup kit- which was much smaller than his usual bag of cosmetics- about eight different outfits, in case he didn't feel like wearing a few of them, two wigs (the signature black bob and the basic layered blonde) and three pairs of shoes. Paul held Angel's sheets, blanket, and pillow as they stepped into the front room of the apartment.
"How are we going to haul all of this there?" Angel asked, looking down at the two enormous duffle bags he was holding. They were the bags that he had used to pack his stuff when his parents had kicked him out of the house so many years ago. Gold crosses, which were now extremely dull and scratched up, still dangled onto the handle.
"Sherri and Rae said they'd help. They've got a big SUV kind of thing. It kinda looks like a pick up truck. Leave it to the lesbians to have a pickup truck," Paul said, laughing.
Angel giggled right along with him, "I can't believe they actually drive one of those."
"Me neither," Paul agreed as they hauled Angel's belongings down the hall into the elevator to go downstairs and wait for Sherri and Rae.
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Mimi's apartment building was closer than Angel had remembered. Every night when he went to drop her off after their exotic nights at the club, the walk seemed interminable. Today, the car ride seemed as if it took under five minutes.
"Can we help you guys unload anything?" Sherri asked, still sitting in the front seat behind the wheel. Rae sat next to her, holding her hand tightly.
"No, I think we're all set. But we might need to utilize your car again in a few days-Angel still has about a million boxes of clothes to bring over."
The girls laughed. "Yeah, Ang, I don't think we've ever seen you wear the same outfit twice," Rae remarked.
"I try not to, you know? I repeat outfits every season, but I couldn't imagine wearing the same outfit twice in one month. The thought makes me shudder," Angel said, giggling as he smoothed down the front of his shirt.
The four of them all took one bag-Angel held one bag of clothes and Paul held the other, while Rae and Sherri took care of the sheets, pillow, and blanket. They were lucky that Mimi's apartment was right on the first floor. Angel rang the buzzer and the door opened as the 3 of them followed him into the building. Standing at the door was Mimi, eyes red and rimmed with tears. She held a wrinkled tissue in her hand, covered in black eye makeup. "Thanks for coming so soon," she said, her voice hoarse from crying.
"Baby, come here," Angel said as he took the young girl in his arms, holding her as she cried even more. Paul, Sherri, and Rae dropped the bags by the front door while Angel still held her tightly.
"Ang, feel free to call and let me know when you want to take the rest of your stuff over," Paul said, walking away to leave Angel and Mimi alone.
Once they had left, Mimi and Angel dragged the bags inside, shutting the door behind them. "I'm so sorry that I made you come here. I just didn't know what to do and I didn't want to be alone," Mimi said.
"It's fine. Don't even worry about it. I'm glad to be here. I think Paul was actually starting to get a bit sick of me. He was getting really annoyed with my wardrobe. Not everyone can put up with my impeccable fashion sense."
Mimi laughed, "I'm really glad you're here. When are you gonna move the rest of your stuff over?"
"Probably in a few days, if you want me to stay. Sherri said she'd bring her massive truck over the Paul's whenever I needed her to."
"You wanna call them tomorrow and ask them to help? I want you to get settled as quick as possible."
"Yeah I'll definitely call them. I'd like to get settled too."
"Thanks, Ang. You're the best," Mimi told him, kissing him on the cheek.
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A week went by reasonably fast. Angel was getting crazy with not being able to choose exactly what he wanted to wear every day, so the sooner that Sherri, Rae, and Paul could help him move in, the better. He had almost resorted to sharing clothes with Mimi, but then realized that even her clothes were not refined enough for such a fashion-obsessed queen.
At 12:00 on the dot, Paul, Rae, and Sherri got to Mimi's building and beeped the horn, letting Angel know that they had arrived. Angel leaped up from the couch, shutting off the television as he ran into Mimi's room and grabbed her arm. "They're here!" he squealed, thrilled that he would be reunited with his wardrobe once again.
"Calm down, Ang. I've never seen anybody get so excited over getting their clothes back before."
"You don't understand. Not being able to choose what to wear every day is driving me nuts!" he squealed, dragging her down the flight of stairs and outside to greet his friends.
"We're gonna be here for a while," Paul said to Angel when he got out of the car. "This car is packed with boxes. I never knew you had so much stuff, Angel, it's crazy!"
"What can I say, I like variety," Angel said as he picked up a huge, heavy box. Barely able to walk, he waddles up to the front door and put the box down to rest. "This is very difficult," he mumbled to himself, picking the box back up and carrying it into the building.
Nearly an hour later, almost all of Angel's stuff had been moved in. There was only one box left, which Paul had conveniently left in the lobby. Sherri and Rae had to leave, since they were only their lunch breaks from work and they were already going to be late. Somehow, they managed to drag Paul along with them, insisting that Angel was a big boy and he could bring the last box up himself. Patiently, Mimi waited at the top of the stairs as Angel lifted the last heavy box up the final flight, panting slightly from carrying so much.
Just as he was about to reach the top of the staircase, a sexy black guy with dreadlocks walked by him on the stairs. Gawking at him, Angel stood with his mouth hanging open, eyes bugging out of his head. This was, by far, the most attractive man he'd ever seen. The guy looked familiar- perhaps he had seen him on the street before. There were thousands of people in New York City, so who's to say that he hadn't. He attempted to take another step up the stairs while still staring at the guy, who was looking at him as well. Lifting his leg up, the heel of his shoe got stuck on the stair as his worst nightmare happened: he fell. He fell down the entire flight of stairs in front of the hottest guy in the world.
Face crimson with embarrassment, Angel yelped as he descended down the staircase, landing face-down on top of the box. As an attempt to remain cool, he tried to stand up, to no avail. He only tripped on his own two feet again, this time falling with his legs over his head.
Sexy dreadlocks guy looked at him, smiling slightly. He had sunglasses on, which seemed odd for the overcast, April day, but Angel looked right into his eyes anyway. Reaching out a chocolate colored hand, he bent down, never breaking eye contact with Angel. "You okay, honey?" he asked as Angel took hold of his hand, getting up and dusting himself off.
The feeling of the man's hand in his own made his entire arm tingle. Giggling like a young girl, Angel got up but was unable to let go of his hand. "Yeah, yeah everything's fine, I just, uh," he couldn't finish what he was saying.
Waiting for Angel to let go of his hand, sexy dreadlocks guy stood and looked at him. After a minute or two, he pulled his hand away, giving him another small smile. Raising an eyebrow, he pulled what looked to be a cigarette out of his pocket and lit it up, "Cool," he said as he walked away, smoking.
Angel watched, eyes wide in awe, as the man walked out the door casually. Looking up the stairs, he saw Mimi at the top with a huge smile on her face. "You're so cool, Ang," she said to him, sarcastically, as she burst out laughing, holding onto the railing for support.
"Shut up!" he squealed, picking his box back up and trudging up the stairs without falling this time.
"He was beautiful, though, I must admit," Mimi said as he reached the top to meet her.
"Beautiful? Honey, he was the most attractive thing I have ever seen!"
"See, now that surprises me," she stated as she held the door to her apartment open so Angel could get himself and the box inside. "He's nothing like those hunks you fuck at Metropolis. He's so."
"Different?" Angel questioned, "Yeah, that's exactly what it is. He's not your standard hot guy, he's got something else going for him."
"You looked at the guy for about 2 minutes. I don't know how you'd be able to tell all of that by him helping you up and smoking a joint."
"He was smoking a joint?" he asked, placing the box down next to him, "I thought it was a cigarette."
"No, that was definitely a joint. I've had them before-I'd know," she stated firmly, shutting the door behind Angel.
"Well, either way, he was hot."
"I totally agree."
"Glad to see we have something in common," Angel giggled as he put his arm around her shoulders, "But here me now: I will sleep with that man if it's the last thing I ever do."
"That's a bit extreme. Do you even know if he's gay?" Mimi asked, laughing at his determination.
"My gaydar has never been so strong," Angel insisted.
"Whatever you say. I'll believe it when I see it."
"I will bet you 200 dollars that he's gay and that we'll have sex eventually," Angel said, sticking out his hand to shake on the bet and make it official.
Sticking out her hand as well, Mimi smiled slyly. "It's official. You are so gonna owe me."
"I wouldn't be too sure about that."
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A/N: Snaps for foreshadowing! Yeah, I might have overdone it a bit, but this "SDG" chapter (don't worry if you don't understand) is something I've been waiting to do for a long time. Thanks to ArchOfWands and Bearfeetz for harassing me until I finished this. Luv u guys =)
9:30 AM was awfully early for the phone to be ringing. Flinging his feet over the side of the bed, Angel stood up, stretched, and then leaned over to pick up the phone. Sniffling and gasping could be heard on the other end. "Hello?" Angel said, cautiously, into the phone.
"Ang?" Mimi's voice asked, sounding very upset.
"Mimi? Baby, what's wrong?" Angel questioned, concerned.
"It's Chase. Last night, I came home early from the club to surprise him and he-," her voice broke, "He was in bed with another girl!"
"Oh my god. Honey, I'm so sorry."
"She looked like she was thirteen and she wasn't even fucking pretty! I told him to get out and when I woke up this morning, all his stuff was gone and he just left a note!" She cried loudly as Angel sat on the other end, patiently waiting for her to calm down.
"Everything's gonna be fine. You're a great girl and any guy would be lucky to have you," Angel encouraged.
"Yeah, but apparently Chase doesn't think so. You know what he said in the note? Get this!" she laughed bitterly as he heard her unfolding a piece of paper, "'Mimi-sorry it didn't work out. I left the check for this month's rent on the counter. Take care, Chase.' He didn't even say 'I love you' or 'It was a mistake.' All he cares about his having sex. I bet that girl didn't have HIV and she probably didn't think to ask him if he did either. He's such a dumb fuck!" she screamed into the phone, as her crying began again.
"I know. Men suck, but that's why we love them," Angel sighed, "Can I help with anything?"
Her crying abruptly stopped as she spoke softly into the phone, "I don't want to be alone."
"I'm sure you'll find a new guy soon enough. You've never had any problem finding them before," Angel suggested, optimistically.
"No, that's not it. I mean, I don't want to live in my place alone. It's scary here at night when there's nobody to talk to. Will you stay with me, Ang? Please?" she asked, her voice sounding soft and innocent, a far cry from the way she usually acted.
"You want me to move into your place?" he questioned, slightly confused. He'd never lived with a girl before.
"I mean, you don't have to if you don't want to. I'll understand. But you keep saying that the thing with Paul is only temporary and that you need a new place to go because you've been there for almost a year, and I figure that you could stay here. We could split the rent and everything. There's 2 bedrooms, so we won't have to worry about anything like that, but you know I-."
"Say no more. I know what it's like to just be out of a relationship and I know how lonely it can be. I'll get Paul to help me bring some stuff over and I'll stay."
"Thank so much Ang. I feel better already. When will you come?"
"I'll be there in a couple of hours, I guess. See you soon baby. And hang in there-it'll get better, I promise."
"Thanks hon. Love you."
"Love you too," he said, as he hung up the phone. Looking out his window, the sun blinded his eyes. It was the first sunny day there had been in, what seemed like, months. Spring was supposed to be the rainiest season of the year, and it was.
Standing up and stretching, Angel went over to the wardrobe closet in his bedroom. Rows of rainbow clothing greeted him, organized sufficiently by season and then by color. Often times, Angel had considered making a catalog of all his outfits, but he didn't have the time or the patience. With a wardrobe that big, making a catalog could take a couple of days. Underneath Angel's bed were stacks of suitcases from his last move. Since he knew that Paul's house would only be a temporary place of residence, he had decided to keep his bags ready to move again. He never even unpacked all of the little things, like pictures, letters, magazines, etc. that he had packed when he left the club. Hauling the duffle bags out from under the bed, he began to open them up, reading the labels that he had put on them. "Spring shoes" "Winter shoes" "Winter drag red-yellow" "Winter men's clothes." It was complex system, but one that he was very proud of.
The running water coming from the kitchen distracted Angel from packing as he ventured outside his bedroom to greet Paul. "Good morning," Angel chirped cheerfully, as Paul set up his coffee machine to make his morning java.
"You're cheerful this morning. What's going on?" Paul asked suspiciously, smiling brightly. Angel always admired how, no matter what time of day it was, Paul always had a beautiful smile on his face.
"Mimi called me this morning."
"So that's who called. The phone woke me up."
"Yeah, I figured she was calling kinda early. Anyway, she was really upset so I didn't bother her about our 'No calling before 12' rule. She caught Chase cheating on her last night so she kicked him out. She was really upset and didn't want to be alone. She asked me if I wanted to say with her. I've been saying forever how I need to go and find a place of my own since I've been here for almost a year, so I figure now is the perfect time to make the change. We're gonna split the rent and I'm gonna keep my job at Mac to help pay it. I thought you'd be happy about that."
"That's wonderful!" Paul exclaimed, putting down the coffee pot so he could give Angel a hug, "I'm so happy for you! I must admit, though, that I will miss having you around. I won't miss my armoire being invaded by your dresses, but you've definitely been an interesting guest, to say the least."
Angel laughed, "I'm gonna miss it here, too. I mean, I'll still be at Life Support and everything, but it won't be the same. I know what you mean." He paused for a second to think about the fun times that he and Paul had together. Similar to Queenie, Paul had taken Angel in when he needed somewhere to be and something to do. He hadn't judged Angel in any way and he'd only helped him through a difficult part of his life. He was certainly going to miss living with him. "Do you wanna help me move some of my stuff?"
"Yeah, sure. I'd love to. Do you still have the boxes from when you came here?"
"Yeah. I knew the move was only temporary, so I figured it would be best to hold onto them," Angel laughed, "I don't know how I'm going to pack away my entire wardrobe. I have this great organization system where they're arranged by color by season and it works so well."
"You are the most fashion-obsessed man I have ever met," Paul told him, shaking his head, "That's one thing I won't miss, though. You being absolutely anal about your clothes being in the right place and in the right order."
"Hey, it takes a lot of effort to maintain a wardrobe like mine!" Angel exclaimed, walking back to the wardrobe in the living room to start packing up all his clothes. "See, when you don't want something to get badly-wrinkled during travel, you roll it instead of fold it," he explained, taking a favorite outfit of his-the dress that looked like it was made of rubber rings-and rolling it tightly, placing at the bottom of the box. "See? It works like a charm." (Fashion tip courtesy of Carson on Queer Eye For The Straight Guy.)
"Good to know," Paul said, slightly puzzled. "Do you wanna move everything today?"
"I'm not sure. I guess I'll pack most of it up today and just bring a couple of outfits tonight. You know me, I can never decide what to wear."
"That's true. All right, let's get packing!"
"Sure thing!" Angel replied, turning around to get ready to retreat into his room to empty even more drawers.
Abruptly Paul put his arm on Angel's shoulder, causing him to turn around. "You know, I noticed that you didn't go out last night."
Looking down at the floor awkwardly, Angel shifted his weight. "Yeah that's right."
"Come to think of it, you don't go out at all very much anymore," Paul stated, his arms hanging limply at his side, head tilted slightly to the right.
Still shuffling his feet awkwardly, he began to crack his knuckles, not able to make eye contact with Paul. "I do go out," he insisted, his voice sounding small and weak.
"You don't go out nearly as much as you used to," Paul aid, firmly, refusing to break eye contact with Angel.
"I don't know, I guess I just listened to what you said," Angel said quietly, quickly turning around and retreating into his bedroom.
Paul smiled an all-knowing grin as he watched Angel walk away. The words had finally had an effect on him.
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By 3:30 PM, after about 5 hours of non-stop packing, most of Angel's stuff was neatly rolled in the boxes and he had two duffle bags packed with essentials for his first few nights at Mimi's before he could move all of his stuff in. The bags consisted of a travel makeup kit- which was much smaller than his usual bag of cosmetics- about eight different outfits, in case he didn't feel like wearing a few of them, two wigs (the signature black bob and the basic layered blonde) and three pairs of shoes. Paul held Angel's sheets, blanket, and pillow as they stepped into the front room of the apartment.
"How are we going to haul all of this there?" Angel asked, looking down at the two enormous duffle bags he was holding. They were the bags that he had used to pack his stuff when his parents had kicked him out of the house so many years ago. Gold crosses, which were now extremely dull and scratched up, still dangled onto the handle.
"Sherri and Rae said they'd help. They've got a big SUV kind of thing. It kinda looks like a pick up truck. Leave it to the lesbians to have a pickup truck," Paul said, laughing.
Angel giggled right along with him, "I can't believe they actually drive one of those."
"Me neither," Paul agreed as they hauled Angel's belongings down the hall into the elevator to go downstairs and wait for Sherri and Rae.
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Mimi's apartment building was closer than Angel had remembered. Every night when he went to drop her off after their exotic nights at the club, the walk seemed interminable. Today, the car ride seemed as if it took under five minutes.
"Can we help you guys unload anything?" Sherri asked, still sitting in the front seat behind the wheel. Rae sat next to her, holding her hand tightly.
"No, I think we're all set. But we might need to utilize your car again in a few days-Angel still has about a million boxes of clothes to bring over."
The girls laughed. "Yeah, Ang, I don't think we've ever seen you wear the same outfit twice," Rae remarked.
"I try not to, you know? I repeat outfits every season, but I couldn't imagine wearing the same outfit twice in one month. The thought makes me shudder," Angel said, giggling as he smoothed down the front of his shirt.
The four of them all took one bag-Angel held one bag of clothes and Paul held the other, while Rae and Sherri took care of the sheets, pillow, and blanket. They were lucky that Mimi's apartment was right on the first floor. Angel rang the buzzer and the door opened as the 3 of them followed him into the building. Standing at the door was Mimi, eyes red and rimmed with tears. She held a wrinkled tissue in her hand, covered in black eye makeup. "Thanks for coming so soon," she said, her voice hoarse from crying.
"Baby, come here," Angel said as he took the young girl in his arms, holding her as she cried even more. Paul, Sherri, and Rae dropped the bags by the front door while Angel still held her tightly.
"Ang, feel free to call and let me know when you want to take the rest of your stuff over," Paul said, walking away to leave Angel and Mimi alone.
Once they had left, Mimi and Angel dragged the bags inside, shutting the door behind them. "I'm so sorry that I made you come here. I just didn't know what to do and I didn't want to be alone," Mimi said.
"It's fine. Don't even worry about it. I'm glad to be here. I think Paul was actually starting to get a bit sick of me. He was getting really annoyed with my wardrobe. Not everyone can put up with my impeccable fashion sense."
Mimi laughed, "I'm really glad you're here. When are you gonna move the rest of your stuff over?"
"Probably in a few days, if you want me to stay. Sherri said she'd bring her massive truck over the Paul's whenever I needed her to."
"You wanna call them tomorrow and ask them to help? I want you to get settled as quick as possible."
"Yeah I'll definitely call them. I'd like to get settled too."
"Thanks, Ang. You're the best," Mimi told him, kissing him on the cheek.
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A week went by reasonably fast. Angel was getting crazy with not being able to choose exactly what he wanted to wear every day, so the sooner that Sherri, Rae, and Paul could help him move in, the better. He had almost resorted to sharing clothes with Mimi, but then realized that even her clothes were not refined enough for such a fashion-obsessed queen.
At 12:00 on the dot, Paul, Rae, and Sherri got to Mimi's building and beeped the horn, letting Angel know that they had arrived. Angel leaped up from the couch, shutting off the television as he ran into Mimi's room and grabbed her arm. "They're here!" he squealed, thrilled that he would be reunited with his wardrobe once again.
"Calm down, Ang. I've never seen anybody get so excited over getting their clothes back before."
"You don't understand. Not being able to choose what to wear every day is driving me nuts!" he squealed, dragging her down the flight of stairs and outside to greet his friends.
"We're gonna be here for a while," Paul said to Angel when he got out of the car. "This car is packed with boxes. I never knew you had so much stuff, Angel, it's crazy!"
"What can I say, I like variety," Angel said as he picked up a huge, heavy box. Barely able to walk, he waddles up to the front door and put the box down to rest. "This is very difficult," he mumbled to himself, picking the box back up and carrying it into the building.
Nearly an hour later, almost all of Angel's stuff had been moved in. There was only one box left, which Paul had conveniently left in the lobby. Sherri and Rae had to leave, since they were only their lunch breaks from work and they were already going to be late. Somehow, they managed to drag Paul along with them, insisting that Angel was a big boy and he could bring the last box up himself. Patiently, Mimi waited at the top of the stairs as Angel lifted the last heavy box up the final flight, panting slightly from carrying so much.
Just as he was about to reach the top of the staircase, a sexy black guy with dreadlocks walked by him on the stairs. Gawking at him, Angel stood with his mouth hanging open, eyes bugging out of his head. This was, by far, the most attractive man he'd ever seen. The guy looked familiar- perhaps he had seen him on the street before. There were thousands of people in New York City, so who's to say that he hadn't. He attempted to take another step up the stairs while still staring at the guy, who was looking at him as well. Lifting his leg up, the heel of his shoe got stuck on the stair as his worst nightmare happened: he fell. He fell down the entire flight of stairs in front of the hottest guy in the world.
Face crimson with embarrassment, Angel yelped as he descended down the staircase, landing face-down on top of the box. As an attempt to remain cool, he tried to stand up, to no avail. He only tripped on his own two feet again, this time falling with his legs over his head.
Sexy dreadlocks guy looked at him, smiling slightly. He had sunglasses on, which seemed odd for the overcast, April day, but Angel looked right into his eyes anyway. Reaching out a chocolate colored hand, he bent down, never breaking eye contact with Angel. "You okay, honey?" he asked as Angel took hold of his hand, getting up and dusting himself off.
The feeling of the man's hand in his own made his entire arm tingle. Giggling like a young girl, Angel got up but was unable to let go of his hand. "Yeah, yeah everything's fine, I just, uh," he couldn't finish what he was saying.
Waiting for Angel to let go of his hand, sexy dreadlocks guy stood and looked at him. After a minute or two, he pulled his hand away, giving him another small smile. Raising an eyebrow, he pulled what looked to be a cigarette out of his pocket and lit it up, "Cool," he said as he walked away, smoking.
Angel watched, eyes wide in awe, as the man walked out the door casually. Looking up the stairs, he saw Mimi at the top with a huge smile on her face. "You're so cool, Ang," she said to him, sarcastically, as she burst out laughing, holding onto the railing for support.
"Shut up!" he squealed, picking his box back up and trudging up the stairs without falling this time.
"He was beautiful, though, I must admit," Mimi said as he reached the top to meet her.
"Beautiful? Honey, he was the most attractive thing I have ever seen!"
"See, now that surprises me," she stated as she held the door to her apartment open so Angel could get himself and the box inside. "He's nothing like those hunks you fuck at Metropolis. He's so."
"Different?" Angel questioned, "Yeah, that's exactly what it is. He's not your standard hot guy, he's got something else going for him."
"You looked at the guy for about 2 minutes. I don't know how you'd be able to tell all of that by him helping you up and smoking a joint."
"He was smoking a joint?" he asked, placing the box down next to him, "I thought it was a cigarette."
"No, that was definitely a joint. I've had them before-I'd know," she stated firmly, shutting the door behind Angel.
"Well, either way, he was hot."
"I totally agree."
"Glad to see we have something in common," Angel giggled as he put his arm around her shoulders, "But here me now: I will sleep with that man if it's the last thing I ever do."
"That's a bit extreme. Do you even know if he's gay?" Mimi asked, laughing at his determination.
"My gaydar has never been so strong," Angel insisted.
"Whatever you say. I'll believe it when I see it."
"I will bet you 200 dollars that he's gay and that we'll have sex eventually," Angel said, sticking out his hand to shake on the bet and make it official.
Sticking out her hand as well, Mimi smiled slyly. "It's official. You are so gonna owe me."
"I wouldn't be too sure about that."
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A/N: Snaps for foreshadowing! Yeah, I might have overdone it a bit, but this "SDG" chapter (don't worry if you don't understand) is something I've been waiting to do for a long time. Thanks to ArchOfWands and Bearfeetz for harassing me until I finished this. Luv u guys =)