AN: YAY for college! Ok, no Rentheads (yet), but still the two hour breaks rule! Yes!
Replies:
Liv: im working on the length! There's only so much I can write for a chap!
WickedElphaba: Alex is nice, however Mo is her/his lover (see note below). The Rent gang as a whole is nothing compared to the Tango: Maureen.
ANPS: Hey, just as a lil' thing that kind of ticked me off: Where is the assumption coming from that Alex is a girl? To the best of my knowledge (hell, I'm the one writing this), I never said if Alex was a man or woman. Look at the previous chaps. I never even mentioned Alex's sex. Remember Mo's "Fully functional, bi-sexual, 21st century woman" statement three or four chaps ago (I think)? That meant that her next conquest could be either man or woman. But eventually, I'll have to stop with confusing you all b.c. it's just too hard to write a character and not use definite pronouns. Thanks.
"Why's Benny coming?" Mark asked as he and Tara turned around the street corner.
"Because my brother and Collins invited him. And it was a nice gesture."
"May I just remind you that the second Roger sees him, he will not hesitate from impaling that Fender into that void where Benny's heart used to be."
Tara was silent for a second. "Shit. I forgot about that."
"Yeah. Might have been nice to inform Rog about this."
"Well, haven't you guys ever thought about giving Benny a second chance?"
Mark stared at her for a while. "You really need to get a clue about what's going on here, you know that right?"
"The nerve of you to actually show up-" Mimi started.
"Hey, listen, it's not like I'm here to make things a living hell." Benny shifted his bag. They were still standing outside of CBGB's, although the show was supposed to be on in about a half hour.
"Really?"
"Yeah, so before you start making accusations about my motives, why don'tcha talk to Collins and them?"
"I wouldn't give a shit about who invited you." She started to storm back into the club.
"Meems." She turned her head back to Benny. "I really want to make amends. As far as I know, I'm in the same boat with you guys."
"Yeah, right. You're poor now, so what? You nearly ripped us apart."
"Finally glad to meet you," Dave shook Alex's hand. "I definitely can see why Mo's been talking continuously about you."
"Come on, Al, pookie," Maureen said, draping herself over her lover, "Let's get drinks."
"No choice, huh?" Alex started laughing, being dragged over to the bar by Mo. Dave watched them go up to the front. "I thought Maureen dated Mark once."
"They did. Didn't you know that's Mo's bi?" Collins took a sip of his beer.
"I always thought they broke up because she discovered the joys of being gay."
"Nope. This Mo we're talking about, remember?" Before Collins could even start in on his next sentence, Mimi stormed over to their table. "Why? Why did you two have to invite him?"
Collins, befuddled for a second, looked over at the club's door, where Benny was paying the cover fee. "Oh, boy."
"Honestly, Collins, I really thought you would know better to invite Benny."
"I didn't invite him, though."
Mimi's eyes widened. "What?"
"Meems, hon, I thought- I thought," Dave said quietly.
Roger popped his AZT, although he felt like he was going to throw it back up any second. The first time in...well, a year and a half but it seemed like a lot longer. In all honest, Roger couldn't remember the last time he played in a live show. Usually from being too strung up on the high.
He fumbled around on the guitar strings. What was it he used to cover here? Some old Ramones song- fuck, why not? He was at CB-fucking-GB's. "If you think you can win," he half sang/mumbled, "well, come on man."
"They made it!" Dave stood up from his seat and started waving his hands around. Everyone else turned around to see Tara and Mark running in. "Sorry, traffic was murder out front," Tara said, shaking off her jacket.
"Where's the resident yuppie scum?" Mark asked. Of course, considering the look of pure murder written all over Mimi's face shut him up.
"Ladies and gentlemen..." an MC up on the stage started.
"Jesus Christ, were we running that late?" Mark whispered over to Dave.
"Could be the opener."
"Oh yeah."
"CBGB's is proud to welcome back...Mr. Roger Davis!"
The crowd out on the floor screamed their approval as Roger with some other guys took the stage. "Rog was that popular?" Tara and Mimi asked simultaneously.
Roger shielded his eyes for a second as he stepped up to the mike. "It's great to be back here, you guys. This is a new one.
Heal me, I'm heartsick
I'm hungry and I'm broken
I'm haunted, and weeping
The blood of heaven flowing like a river tonight, tears I can't fight on my own
I'm a haunted, heaving, I'm hung and barely breathing
The drowning ocean, snuff the sun in motion.
There's a pill on my tongue, a shot from a gun , the bottles bottom
I'm lonely as a star
So heal me, I'm heart sick
Hungry, but I can survive on you
Heal my heartsick hungry cries
I'm heartsick
Father, free me. mama , woman, feed me.
Child of fury, lost his way but don't worry.
I won't stop til the dawn,
Though I'm in too long on the run I grow strong and restless as a dog
Heal me
I'm heart sick
I'm hungry and I'm broken
I'm haunted, and weeping
The blood of heaven flowing like a river tonight
Tears I can't fight on my own..."
"WHOA!" Tara's jaw dropped. "Damn, he's good!"
"Yeah, I told you so," Mark replied, smiling.
Roger and the band broke out into another, faster-paced song, "She came from a happy home, a very happy home..."
"Who's the band?" Maureen asked, only to replied by various shrugs and "Who cares?"
"What went wrong? We couldn't tell..."
"Hey, Mo, this song's about you!" Dave said, laughing.
"FUCK YOU!" Maureen also felt compelled to give him the finger, although Alex was nearly crying from laughing.
Benny leaned up against the bar, watching his old friend rock out on stage like he had many a time before. Of course, he would have liked to be with the group, but since last Halloween, no one made a point to even speak to him. Except for that Dave guy. And Collins. And Tara.
"Great band, huh?" He turned to the girl next to him. "Yeah, Roger's cool."
"I bet!" she said, laughing. Even with the dim light, he could've sworn he knew the girl someplace else. "So, you here with any friends?" she asked.
"I guess...they're all over there."
"Ah. Drink gopher. I get it."
"Nah...it's not, I mean-"
"They're not nice to you? God, what are you in high school?"
"No," he mumbled, "it's a lot more complicated than that."
"I see." She tossed her curly, brown hair back. "Well, I'd go over and buy them a full round. Maybe that'll show them. It was nice meeting you," she finished, while waving a hand.
That...nah, couldn't have been, Benny thought. He looked back over at the table where his "friends" were congregating . "Hey man!"
Roger went backstage, where a stagehand handed him a bottle of water. "That was un-fucking-believable!" Theo kept saying.
"My man, you don't know how much I wanna thank for that," Roger said.
"Honor was all ours. You know we do have another hour to go."
"Yeah, I know." Roger picked up his acoustic. "I just need it to cool down a notch."
Quickly changing into a black, button down shirt, he bounded up the stairs that lead to the main stage. The roar of the crowd came the second he stepped on. Grabbing a stool from the stagehand, Roger planted himself in front of the mike. "This next one's 'bout my girl Mimi." Mimi bit back her lip, and actually blushed a little as Rog began "their" song.
Your eyes
As we said our goodbyes
Can't get them out of my mind
And I find I can't hide
From your eyes
The ones that took me by surprise
The night you came into my life
Where there's moonlight I see your eyes
"Meems?" But Mimi didn't really hear Tara, all she could keep thinking about was last Christmas.
Why does distance make us wise?
You were the song all along
And before this song dies
I should tell you I should tell you
I have always loved you
You can see it in my eyes
Obligatory cheers from the audience, while the loftmates sat in abject silence. "Wow," Dave said, sounding mystified.
"That was...really different." Mark put down his camera. Unfortunately it was almost toppled over by Mimi rushing to the closest bathroom. "She okay?"
Maureen slapped him in the back of his head. "Idiot. No wonder I broke up with you."
"Come on, Mo," Tara said, "Let's go check on her."
The two former enemies barged into the ladies' room. "Meems, girl?" Maureen called. One of the stalls opened up to reveal Mimi, her face streaked with mascara. "Sorry, you guys," she whimpered.
"Aw, Meems..." Tara said, "We understand."
Maureen nodded. "Yeah, girl. You had every right to cry."
"Really? Thanks." Mimi smiled weakly. And then she grimaced a little.
"Mimi? Everything okay?" Maureen asked. Mimi, on the other hand, dove back into the stall, from which the two women could hear retching sounds.
"Yeah, she'll be okay," Tara replied.
Meanwhile, on the club's floor...
"You want to do what?!" Collins put his head in his hands. "How long have Mark and Benny been fighting?" Dave whispered.
"Ever since Muffy," Collins mumbled back.
"What the hell were you thinking that we were gonna do here?" Mark yelled.
"Maybe invite me over, like a friend would!" Benny yelled back, despite the fact he was impressed with Mark lashing out at him.
"Really? I thought we weren't friends anymore, ever sin-"
"Why are you guys even fighting?" Alex suddenly said.
The two of them looked over at the three sitting at the table. "Benny?" Collins moaned.
"Yeah?"
"Where's the best place to get drunk?"
Benny looked skywards. "Got a bottle of good shit back at the apartment." He turned to Mark. "You still need to get drunk with me, you know that, right?"
"From what?"
"I don't know. Mostly from last October."
Mark thought about that for a second. He really did wanted to go top one off for Angel after the funeral, but that interview..."Sure, why the fuck not?" Hell, maybe that's what Angel had wanted.
Mark ran into Tara and Maureen as they were coming out of the bathroom. "Come on, we're going back to Benny's place," he said.
"Who are you and what the fuck have you done to Marky?" Maureen asked.
Mark's eyes narrowed. "I hate Marky."
"Okay. It's you. So why are we getting drunk with Benny?"
"Because. He's got some back at his place."
Maureen smiled at Tara and then back at Mark. "I'm in."
They started to all leave, except for Tara who was still staring at them in shock. "I'm not touching any of that shit, I hope you know!!"
"Night, guys!" Roger yelled, after beating away random groupies. Damn, he felt good- a whole lot of a fuck better than ANY high. "Watch out, New Yawk," he said in his Queens imitation, "Roger Davis is back, baby."
"Really now?" He turned around to see Mimi hugging her coat together.
"Hey. What'd you think?"
"You were great." She smiled. "Make that wonderful."
"Where's everyone else? You're not going to take me home, so we can have sex together, right?"
"Maybe."
"So," Roger said, shifting his guitar case, in order to slide his arm around Mimi, "besides the groupies, how was it?"
"I just told you, you idiot, it was great."
"Then why'd only you stay?!"
Mimi slapped her hand against her head. "April had better not get your idiot genes."
"I'm insulted that you would say something like that about our unborn child."
"Roger," she said, turning around to face him better.
"What?"
"I still love ya, you idiot." Mimi stood up on her tiptoes and kissed him.
After they pulled away, Roger smiled. "Okay. It was a good show. Let's go home, babe."
AN: Ooooh! Guess who Benny saw!! ; ) I don't own any of these lyrics. We all know where "Your Eyes" is from. "Heal Me, I'm Heartsick" is from (what else?) School of Rock. The song Roger randomly sings is the Ramones' "53rd & 3rd" and the other song performed during the show is also from the Ramones, "Daytime Dilemma (Dangers of Love)" I highly recommend all of them! ; )
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