Chapter Five

Benny arrived in front of his chic apartment building on the Upper East Side of New York, looking out over Central Park. It was beautiful, but certainly not bohemian in any sense of the word.
He got out of his car and walked around onto the sidewalk, waiting for Roger to get out.
"Alison's probably sleeping by now so I don't think she'll be too much of a problem tonight," he informed Roger, knowing that if Roger saw "Muffy" in his current state, he was sure to have a few choice words for her.

Roger didn't reply however as he slowly made his way out of the car.
Like Mimi, Roger was also now coming down from his high. He had nearly forgotten what it felt like coming down. Now, he remembered and gave a soft groan. If Roger regretted it now, he'd regret it even more tomorrow. He was also sure to get it from Mark once Mimi mentioned what she had seen to his roommate.
"Fuck Mark..." he muttered angrily to himself, shaking that thought away. What did he care?

"...right, fuck Mark," Benny said, slightly confused as to where this small outburst had come, but agreed nonetheless.
Benny took a hold of Roger, who seemed to be struggling a little to regain his balance, and led him into the building and upstairs to his apartment.
As he suspected, Alison was sound asleep in their bedroom, so Benny let Roger crash on the couch. He went into the kitchen and got Roger a glass of water. He handed it to him before taking a seat on the coffee table.
"How's it feel to be comin' down?" Benny asked, knowing the answer well enough already.

Roger collapsed on the couch. He took the glass of water Benny handed to him and took a drink. He glared at Benny's question.

"Like shit!" was his reply. "Remind me never to do that again..." Roger ran a hand through his hair.

"You'll feel better tomorrow. Then tomorrow we can just take you back to your place and you can talk shit out with Mimi and Mark," Benny said casually, hoping to get a rise out of his old friend.

"...Back..." Roger muttered.
He wasn't really looking forward to going back. He knew what he would face upon his return. Especially if Mimi told Mark about tonight.
"Well you gotta go back sometime. You gotta stop this shit between them before it gets any worse," Benny said simply.
Rogersupposed Benny was right. However, even now Roger was begining to doubt Benny's words on the whole thing.
"Even now you never know what they could be doing. You leave them alone for one night and who knows."
Roger shook his head.
"It's true, man. They left together and you think they're gonna go back and have coffee or somethin'? I don't think so.
"I...just can't believe Mark would do this to me…"
"Sometimes your best friends are your biggest enemies."
"No! Mark wouldn't. Maureen cheated on him. He knows what that's like!"
"Well maybe he wants to see what it's like. He wants closure or some bullshit."
"I still can't believe it..." Roger replied with a sigh. "Mark and I knew each other forever."
"Yeah, but shit happens man. People change; it's all a part of life."
"I can't believe it," Roger said again. "I won't believe it!" He looked to Benny. "I'm going by your word and on assumptions."
Benny held his hands up in defense. "I'm just tellin' it like I see it, dude. I'm tryin' to help you out."

Roger sighed and backed down from his defense. "There's no proof. I had no right to blow up at them like I did tonight..."
"What are you talking about? You saw with your own two eyes and have been seeing how they act around each other. You had every right."
"I assumed," Roger shot back. "Because of you bringing it to my attention."
Benny rolled his eyes.
"Don't shoot the messenger. You already went through too much shit. I didn't want to see you hurt again."
Roger took a deep breath.
"Besides, if worse comes to worse, you can get a new best friend and a new girlfriend. Not like it's the end of the world or anything."
Somehow, Roger doubted that. He didn't tell Benny that, though.
An awkward silence seemed to settle over the room and after a few moments, Benny got up.
"Well, I think I'm gonna go hit the hey. You need anything else?"
He shook his head.
"Nah...I should be fine for tonight…"
"Aright, good shit. See ya in the morning buddy."
With that, Benny headed down the hall and into his bedroom. He smiled a little at his sleeping wife before making himself comfortable next to her.
Roger set the glass of water down on the coffee table before positioning himself on the couch. His eyes went up to the ceiling as he gave another sigh.

Mark's stomach dropped as he sat in the loft editing some footage for comfort. He was still smoldering about everything that Roger had accused him of. Roger, accusing him of sleeping with Mimi! it was absurd. Who the HELL did Roger think he was? And doesn't he know Mark well enough to know that he wouldn't do that to him? Mark, getting aggravated all over again, slammed down his film. He wasn't going to get shit done tonight and he knew it. It was going to be impossible for him to concentrate on cutting his film when all he could think about was how betrayed he felt. Betrayed that Roger would doubt him and seriously think he would do that to him!
Mark sat back, took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. That makes no sense. Mimi and Mark were FRIENDS--but nothing more. Mark wasn't exactly Mimi's type, and Mimi wasn't exactly his. Mark needed someone to talk to, and when he was that stressed, he could only think of one name. He put back on his glasses and dashed over to the phone.
He picked up the phone and called Maureen and Joanne's. No one answered. Right, because they were still at the Life, Mark reminded himself. He called Joanne's cell-phone, but hung it up after the second ring. What was he doing? Maureen moved on, had a new life. She didn't need to deal with him and his insecurities anymore. But damn, he needed someone to talk to. And Roger was who-knows-where, and Mark didn't know if he wanted to talk to Roger at the moment anyway.

Maureen was fuming. She just knew that Benny had something to do with this. Obviously, confronting him hadn't worked. Why would it have? You needed a soul to feel bad for things you've done, and Benny had that sucked out a long time ago. Maureen headed out of the hallway and looked around the Life. She didn't see Joanne anywhere. Where they still fighting? She shrugged it off. She would deal with that later. At the moment, she decided to check on Mark and Mimi. Maureen walked out of the Life and down the street to the loft. Quickly she took the stairs and knocked on the door.

"It's open!" Mark spat out. "Not like we lock the fucking thing anyway." Mark was expecting Roger to come in and was bracing himself for the fight. He was not going to tolerate Roger treating him like shit when he didn't deserve it. When the door opened and he saw Maureen, his expression changed.
"Oh--sorry, I didn't know it was you." He said, getting up to get the door for her. "I just tried to call you--" he felt stupid the moment he said it. She didn't need to know he still thought of her as a confidant. "I mean--I just wanted someone to talk to, and here you are." He said this as if it was a coincidence.

"Well, you know me. I have that whole psychic vibe thing going on." Maureen joked lightly, stepping through the door. She sat down on the beat-up old couch and looked up at him. "I am here, so go ahead and talk." Maureen was never one to beat around the bush.

"It's just," Mark sighed in aggravation before throwing his hands up. "I can't believe he would seriously believe that, you know? I mean, me, c'mon, me. We've known each other since we were kids and he has the honest to God balls to look me in the face and tell me that I'm doing that to him? Who does he think he is? If Mimi's got a bad record with her, that's not my fault, so don't bring me in the middle of it! But then he seriously thinks that I would DO that to him? Get real! And like I've got the drive to do that to him, even if I wanted to! You know me, Maureen; we dated for what, five years? You know for a FACT that I wouldn't do that to you, what makes him think I would do that to him? He's my best friend, for God's sake!" It felt really good to just get all of this out, so hardly stopping to catch my breath, I continued. "And to top it all off, I come home and wait for him so we can figure out what the hell is going on and he just blows, now I don't know where he is, or Mimi--who left a while ago. I don't know what the fuck is going on and nobody is talking to me because a) their pissed at me for doing something I didn't do or b) they don't know what the hell is going on either!"
He ended his whole speech on a rough note.

Maureen had never heard Mark this angry before. It was almost scary. "Whoa, slow down, Mark. What is Roger accusing you guys of?" Maureen was a bit lost, not having actually heard any of the fight between the three.

"I didn't tell you?" Mark was so sure he mentioned it. "Roger seriously thinks that Mimi and I are having an affair. I don't know WHERE he got that idea. He was fine this morning! But he actually accused us of having an affair."

"What!" Maureen exclaimed. Then Mimi walked in.

Her high had dramatically taken a nosedive into more of a low, which crack usually does to a person anyway.
She climbed up the stairs, gripping onto the railing as she made her way up to the loft. She pushed open the door and saw Mark and Maureen sitting in the front room.
"Hey. I'm on a low, don't mind me. I'm going to bed... or something. If Roger comes home..." Mimi began, but never ended as she just went into the room she shared with Roger and slammed the door behind her.
She looked around, everything reminding her of her relationship that was crumbling. In her altered state of mind she hadn't really thought that coming back to the room she shared with Roger would actually make her think of Roger.
She walked over to the dressed and pulled open one of her drawers, trying to find a change of clothes. She ended up coming across a number of things that Roger had given her and a number of things of his that she had saved, which she had forgotten she kept in that drawer... because she was high/low. She pulled everything out piece by piece, giving it a disgusted glare as if it were a voodoo doll and Roger would end up feeling every one of them.
There was a chain of Roger's with a guitar pick of his on it. A pair of furry leopard print handcuffs for their own personal enjoyment. A couple pieces of paper with the lyrics from songs he had written for her. Some pictures from one of those cheesy photo booths that Mimi made Roger take. A poster from his first gig back at CBGBs wrapped around a couple of pictures of him on stage that she had bought off of a photographer there. A roll of film Mark had cut and given to them after Mimi's near-death experience of the two of them together and happy and of the two of them together and fighting. Roger never really had been much of a fantastic gift giver. All her presents usually consisted of a new song he had written about her that he was so excited to play for her. Many times she was touched by each and every one of them, but sometimes she wanted more. A day with him all to herself with out the guitar... or more. After all, Mimi was a material girl living in a material world.
She looked at all of it before deciding she wanted nothing to do with it, not tonight, not ever. As far as she was concerned, their relationship was over. If he couldn't trust her with his best friend, then who could he trust her with? It was pointless. If his guitar was in there, she surely would've smashed that into a thousand little tiny pieces of wood as well. Lucky for Roger, he never kept it in their room, which was now going to be her room.
She took all the things and put them in a shoebox she found under her bed. She was half tempted to just throw everything out her window, but decided that the people below were too good to be littered with presents from a heartless ass hole. She simply opened the door and plopped it outside in the hallway. She would deal with it tomorrow when she felt like walking downstairs to the dumpster.
She decided maybe she wouldn't change her clothes after all and just climbed into bed, drifting off into a dream as soon as her head hit the pillow.

There was something off about Mimi, Maureen thought, like she had...but she wouldn't, right? Apparently she had. Maureen had seen April and Roger coming down off their highs enough times to recognize it, even without Mimi saying anything.

"Shit," Mark muttered under his breath when Mimi's door slammed. "Why did she have to do that?" He looked at Maureen. "Being wasted right now is only going to make matters worse, especially when Roger gets home. You know he hates it when she gets wasted."

When Mimi went into the bedroom, Maureen turned back to Mark. "Mark...I don't think Roger came to this conclusion on his own."

"To be honest, Maureen, I don't either." Mark said with a sigh. "If he would sink this low, then he's too stupid to come up with it. I don't think he's just looking for something to be pissed at, but he either thinks he saw something and took it the wrong way or something really innocent got twisted in his mind and it looks like something it's not, you know?" Mark sighed. "I don't know what I'm going to do about him. Or her at that moment. Right now, let's just leave her in her room to sleep it off and when Roger comes in--well, we'll deal with that when Roger comes in."

Behind him, Mimi had opened and slammed her door shut again. When he turned around, he saw that she had set a box outside her door, and three bucks said it was full of Rogers stuff. "She doesn't want to do that," Mark said, almost to himself. He made his way over to their closed door and picked up the box. The back of his neck was sweating; because of the scarf but also because Maureen had thought enough to come in and check on him. That DID really mean a lot to him. He took off his scarf, which slid to the floor. As long as it was still in the house, he'd be able to find it later. He grabbed the box and set it in his room on top of the small bookshelf/dresser.
"She'll be wanting those again, I just know it." He said as he came back into the front room and sat down again. "Thanks a lot for coming over here, hon." He half-smiled.

"Hey, I couldn't let my favorite cameraman deal with this on his own. Besides, Joanne has been ignoring me all night anyway. I figured it be much better to come here and be paid attention to," Maureen responded casually. But secretly, she was thrilled that Mark noticed she made the effort. Maureen looked towards Mimi's door as she heard it slam again. Mark had gotten up to pick up the box Mimi pushed out the door. Roger's stuff. This was worse than Maureen thought. Mark went to put the box in his room and Maureen leaned back against the couch. 'What are you doing, Maureen?' The thought was sudden, catching her off-guard. 'Why did you come running here after that fight with Joanne? Why do you always run here?' Because Mark has always been a good friend to her, even when she screwed up. That was the only reason...right?
"Hey, are you okay?" Mark asked. "You're good, but you don't usually jump thirty feet in the air when I talk to you." He tried to ignore her comment about Joanne ignoring her, but at the moment, that bit of information seemed vital at the moment. "Yeah, I'm okay. I just didn't hear you come back in." Maureen forced a small smile onto her face, as if to prove she was fine.

Mark's life was hitting yet another plummet downward; Roger is accusing him of cheating, Mimi is wasted and in bed, and Mark was again alone.
Well, not completely alone. Maureen had come over, which wasn't a bad thing at all. It was a very good thing. She was there for him now moment just as much he was there for her. But for what?
"So..." Mark said as they reached a silence.

"So..." When had they run out of things to say? Maureen decided to swing things back around to Roger and Mimi. She lowered her voice and scooted closer to Mark so that Mimi wouldn't overhear in the other room. "Mark, I think Benny had something to do with all this. I know, I'm not the biggest fan of Benny so it seems like I'm just trying to pin stuff on him, but I really think that he said something to Roger about you and Mimi. I saw him go in to talk to Roger right before Roger stormed out and found Mimi. And, I mean, he has the motive and everything...do you think I'm just being paranoid?"

Mark threw her idea around in his head for a while. Sure, Benny had a motive--but did he really have the guts to do that? It was hard to tell.
"I don't know," he finally said, also scooting a little toward her so as not to be overheard--not that Mimi cared about what they were talking about in her state anyway. "I mean, yeah, it's not far from Benny to do something like that, but every other time he's every done it he hasn't lied or made it up. I mean, he really slept with Mimi, so...would he make something like that up?"

"I don't know." Maureen admitted. "But I wouldn't put it past Benny to even just plant the idea in Roger's head. He knows Roger well enough to know that once that idea is there..." Maureen trailed off. "I wish Collins was here. He would know exactly what to do to fix this. Or at least have some sort of wisdom to share. I really miss him, Mark."

"I know. We all do because he was a part of our family. I want him back here with us, but at the same time I want him to be happy, and if that's in Santa Fe, then so be it. He's a big boy; he can make up his own mind." I sighed. "I don't know--the chance of Benny trying to screw up me and Roger's friendship is slim. You saw how he was when we were all out together--and even when he wasn't 'chummy' with us, he never tried to mess with our relationship, you know? Mimi is another thing, but like I said, that was well founded. I know Benny can be a real prick, but I don't think he would sink so low as to do this. How the hell would he expect us to work for him if he's doing this? And that IS what he wanted us to do in the first place, which is why he came over earlier. I'm not saying your superstitions aren't well supported, it just seems unlikely to me."
Mark paused, allowing a momentary lull in the conversation. "So...what are you doing tonight? Do you just wanna hang out here, or do you have to leave?" Mark was debating if he even wanted to be home when Roger got here, but at the same time he didn't want to leave Mimi in her state. If Maureen wanted to stay, they'd stay, if she wanted to leave, he'd go out with her. Some fresh air MIGHT do him some good. Slow down his temper.

Maureen shifted on the couch, letting the subject of Benny drop for the moment. "Well, I am going a little stir crazy just sitting here. Do you think Mimi will be alright if we did go out?"

Mark really liked the "we" in that sentence.

"Yeah, she should be fine. I mean, she's been like this before we even met, so I'm sure she knows how to take care of herself. Besides, if Roger gets in, I don't want to get in the middle of that, you know?" Mark was saying all of this to convince himself as much as Maureen. "Where did you want to go?

Maureen considered their possibilities. "Well, let's see. We could go see a movie...or sneak into a movie, seeing as I don't think either of us has major funds right now. Oh, this new club opened a few blocks away too and I've been meaning to check it out. So, I guess it all depends on if you want a relatively quiet night or a night of loud to the point of obnoxious music and drinking."

"I've had enough for loud," Mark said. Truth be told, he really didn't want to be in the middle of a crowded room with strangers while music played WAY to loud. He'd rather do something simple. "I'm all up for movie sneaking if you are. Did you have anything in mind?"
Wow, Mark thought. It had been ages since he and Maureen have been out like that. It would be nice to just spend some time together. As friends, since nothing more can be had of it. But a night out wouldn't be so bad. "And I wouldn't mind the drinking part. After the show we could just go somewhere and get a drink?" he suggested.

"Well, let's see what's playing." Maureen grinned at him. "I guess it would be stupid to ask if you guys had a newspaper."

Mark smiled, but shook his head. "No, not at all. We HAD a newspaper. Needless to day, we don't HAVE a newspaper anymore. It's been burned a long time ago. We could just left wing it: see what's playing when we get to the theater if you want."
Mark didn't really care. Any time was good time as far as he was concerned.

"Good idea!" Maureen jumped off the couch, her bubbly disposition returning. "Let's go!" She was hit by a sudden rush of adrenaline. She needed to be out doing something. Maureen grabbed Mark's hand and hauled him off the couch, pulling him towards the door.

"I appreciate your enthusiasm," Mark said as he was yanked off the couch. "But give me one second…" He grabbed his wallet, putting it in his pocket. There wasn't a lot of money, but enough for the moment. He walked over to Mimi's-room/Rogers-possibly-ex-room and talked next to the door.
"Mimi? Maureen and I are going out for a while." He said. He hoped that Mimi heard him. He walked back over and took Maureen's hand. "C'mon, let's get out of here," he said, walking over to the door and holding it open.
He really didn't want to be there when Roger got home. IF Roger came home tonight. He didn't want to deal with that fight and wanted to postpone it as long as humanly possible. In the mean time, he would just avoid Roger for today—hopefully he'll cool off a bit so that tomorrow he might be able to be spoken to. Mark held the door open for Maureen.

"Why thank you, kind sir." Maureen giggled, doing her best Scarlett O'Hara impression. As she stepped out the door into the dim hallway, Joanne briefly crossed her mind. But, as quickly as she was thought of, Maureen made sure to push the thoughts away. If Joanne had wanted to make up, she would be there with Maureen. Instead, Maureen glanced over at Mark and smiled mischievously. She had a feeling that the night was going to be fun.

"You're welcome, m'lady." Mark said, smiling back at her. They walked down the stairs and on to the street, heading toward the movie theater.
"Let's see something light. I don't really feel like a drama or anything. I've got enough of that today. You can pick out the movie."
Mark regretted saying it almost the minute he did. "You pick out the movie" almost promised him a chick-flick. Oh well, can't take it back now. And besides, he didn't have to study the film, so he could just zone out at the really boring parts.

Maureen's eyes sparkled as she looked over the movie titles and times on the sign in front of her. "Oh, I really wanted to se Great Expectations! Oh, and Dangerous Beauty! But let's see, a light comedy...What about the Wedding Singer?" Maureen seemed very much the part of a kid in a candy store.

"That sounds good," Mark said. He thought it wasn't that bad of a choice for a movie, considreing all the other options that were out there. At least he might actually be able to watch it. If there was anything he couldn't stand, it was a chick flick.
They got into the theater and Mark covered the tickets. They headed in. "So, do you want anything?"

"Popcorn!" Maureen exclaimed as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "I'll get it." She added quickly. As much as she would have liked to just let Mark pick up the tab, that was going much too far into "seems like a date" territory than she was willing to go. She walked over to the counter and ordered.

Mark, however, paid for it before she did. The kid behind the counter thought they were going on a date, but Mark ignored him. Let him think what he wants to. Once they got everything, they went into the theater.
"How about we sit all the way at the top? Those were always my favorite seats," Mark said. It was true, even as a kid he loved sitting way up at the top; it always felt like he was looking over everyone else. It was the best place to be for him.

"Okay," Maureen responded, following him up to the top. Her answer surprised even herself. The whole time they had been dating, Maureen always had insisted on sitting right up front. Once, she had even made Mark ask a couple to move. They settled into their seats. "This is a lot of fun, Mark." Maureen said, just as the lights went down and the previews came onto the screen.

"Well, yeah," Mark said, grinning. "This is film, after all." He watched as preview after preview went up. He wanted to talk with her or at her or whatever, but at the same time you have to be quiet when you're watching a movie. He was tempted to again pull a "we're dating": hold her hand, wrap an arm around her shoulders (or at least the back of the chair she was sitting in), something along those lines.
But they weren't dating, so he held his own hands in his lap and stared directly forward. It wasn't that he wasn't enjoying himself or the film, it's just he kept having the strangest feeling of deja vu'. Oh well.

"Ditto," Mark said. He knew she knew that, but felt the urge to tell her that. Given that she started it. He grabbed her hand and gave it a light squeeze. "I'm here for you, babe." Mark said. He held on enough to be friendly, but let go to let her know he knew his bounds.
The movie started.