A/N: Ok, so I'm continuing. I guess. –blink- Not sure where I'm going with this. I might change the title, but I have no idea what to name this other than the boring title it has now. Lemme know if you have any ideas.

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The elevator doors slid shut in front of her as Joanne let out a long sigh. That went better than expected...

They had both been quite shocked at first, of course. Why wouldn't they be? The little girl they had raised so strictly and put through every college preparatory class had left for college, not seeing them for four years because of both of their busy schedules, and she returned something they had never expected. What well-respected parent wouldn't be completely floored at the discovery their daughter was a lesbian?

Her mother had been the first to blow. She asked how Joanne could have done this to them, after all they had done for her. Her father had rushed to her daughter's aid, calming her mother. In the end, Joanne had left after her father had assured her that they would always love her no matter what. Her mother didn't say anything, but Joanne hugged her, and she could tell she had been forgiven of her 'sin', as her mother called it at first.

The elevator jolted slightly as it began to move downwards. Joanne stared at her reflection in the shiny metallic doors. I, Joanne Jefferson, soon-to-be-graduate of Harvard Law, have just told my parents that I am a lesbian. And they didn't disown me. Amazing.

After a moment longer of looking at herself in the door, her stomach gave an odd lurch as the elevator slowed to a stop and the doors slid open. Joanne hustled out, ready to leave the building as quickly as she could, as if afraid her mother would appear suddenly and begin yelling at her. She paused at the revolving door, though, and turned back to the receptionist's desk. There was nobody there. She tapped lightly on a little bell twice, and a young woman around her age appeared with smooth, black hair. A gold nametag on her chest shone, displaying the name 'Daisy'. The receptionist smiled at Joanne. "Hello. How may I help you?"

Joanne stuttered for a second. "Err, well...you see, I'm new here to New York...and..."

Daisy smiled. "You want directions to where you need to get?" Joanne smiled in a defeated sort of way, nodding. "Where you headin' to, hon?"

Joanne pulled back out the piece of paper from before with the names and addresses of all the places she had to go to in the next few days she would be here. "I need to find 1st Avenue and 10th street..."

A few minutes later, Joanne was standing outside a building on the corner of 1st Avenue and 10th street, just as Daisy had directed her. She took a deep breath, even though she wasn't sure what she was worried about, and knocked on the door three times. After a pause, the doorknob rattled slightly and somebody opened the door. "What is it?" A man looked at her, his closely trimmed hair giving him the look of an army recruit.

Joanne blinked a few times. Why was she, a future lawyer, always so bad at first impressions? "I, uh...saw an ad for an available space here..."

The man nodded. "That would be here. You want the space?"

She stuttered a little more. "Well, you see...I'm a current student down at Harvard...and I, uh...had the weekend off...and I'm just..."

"Do you want it or not?" He looked like he was getting annoyed with her. That wasn't good.

"Er...I was wondering if I could see the room, first." Amazing how horrible you still are at conversation with any stranger, even after so many years at Harvard...

The man shrugged. "Come on in." He opened the door a little wider, admitting the young woman in. She stepped in, looking around. The man gestured upstairs. "The lower floor is mine. I live here alone, but I'm willing to rent out the floor above me." He began going upstairs, and Joanne, assuming she was supposed to follow him, climbed up the stairs after him.

The man opened a door at the top of the stairs and showed Joanne inside. She looked around for a moment. She was in a completely empty room, with holes in parts of the wall and scratches on the floor. She could see two doors slightly ajar, one leading into an extremely cramped bathroom, the other leading into a room not much bigger than the one she was in with a single double mattress on the bare floor.

He grinned. "I'm sure somebody of your intelligence can see what a deal this is. It's enough for just one, maybe two if you got cozy." He said the last word with a little wink, as if it was a private joke between them.

Joanne walked over to the door leading to the 'bedroom', ignoring the odd smell that greeted her. "What's the rent?"

He shrugged. "About a thousand a month."

Whatever she had suspected, she certainly hadn't suspected the answer she received. She had to restrain her jaw from dropping to the ground as she turned to face the man. "A...thousand a month!"

He acted as if she should be groveling at his feet in gratitude. He extended his arms, a smirk on his face. "Hon, you won't get much better for space like this."

Space! She had heard New York was crowded, but for this little room? And so expensive...even with working at her parents' legal firm, she wasn't sure she could afford such expensive rent. But if he was telling the truth, she didn't have much of a choice... "I'll take it."

It seemed as if Christmas had come early. His smirk broke into a big, toothy grin, and he extended his hand. "Perfect! Let's shake on that deal." Joanne took his hand in his, his firm grip threatening to shatter the bones in her hand. "Wonderful. Now, when are you planning on moving in?"

It took a moment for Joanne to consult her mental calendar. "June 13th."

Her new landlord clapped his hands together. "Sound good. I'll see you then. I expect your first payment that day. Oh, and one more thing," he said, just as she was turning to leave, "You do realize you'll have to buy all your own furniture. I'll give you the mattress for free, just 'cause I like you."

Joanne gave a half-hearted smile. "I understand." She turned again, walking briskly out of the small apartment-esque room she knew would be her future home. She walked out onto the street, taking in the sunlight for a moment. Now she just needed to find a subway stop and make her way to Grand Central to catch the 5:00 train to Massachusetts. Once she was there, it was back to her dorm in Harvard.

After about thirty minutes composed of two dead ends and three wrong turns, she walked onto a much less crowded subway, taking a seat near the front of the car. If she had interpreted the map correctly, she had to wait four stops until she got to Grand Central. She reached into her purse, pulling out a tube of lipstick and a compact mirror, reapplying her dark lipstick in one graceful movement before stuffing the stick and mirror back into her purse.

A few people stood up at the first stop, hustling off as quickly as they could. Joanne was left almost completely alone except for a bum who was sleeping in the back of the car. She heard the sound of somebody drumming on something, probably to earn a few extra cents.

Just before the doors shut, a hustled young woman rushed into the car, breathing heavily. She paused at the doors, lurching only the slightest bit when the train began moving, as opposed to Joanne, who nearly fell out of her seat. This caused the woman to giggle slightly, immediately making Joanne self conscious. She avoided eye contact with the newcomer, not liking when people laughed at her.

The woman seemed to find Joanne's uncomfortable behavior just as funny, if not funnier, than her nearly falling over, and laughed again. "Why so shy?"

Joanne remained silent. She really had to get over this fear of talking to strangers if she was going to be a lawyer. Just...not now. She heard the woman walk over to her, her footsteps punctuated by stiletto heels, and sit in the seat next to her. "Relax! Why so uptight? I'm not going to bite."

Joanne looked up, smirking slightly in spite of herself. "I'm not used to talking to strangers."

The woman laughed again. Now that Joanne was closer to her, she saw she was dressed in tight, black pants and a pink tank top that accentuated every curve in her flattering body. "You're not from around here, are you?" Joanne shook her head, shrugging. "No offence, but it shows."

Joanne laughed lightly. "Is it that obvious?"

The woman nodded her head, her wavy black hair bouncing slightly. "You look like a lawyer."

This made Joanne laugh a little louder. "Are you a mind reader or something?" The woman shrugged, and Joanne assumed she should continue. "I'm actually not a lawyer yet. I'm graduating from Harvard in a month, and I'm visiting for the day to make sure I'm all ready to move here."

She looked genuinely interested, which made Joanne very happy. Nobody in this city so far had really acted as though they really cared about anything she did. "That's really interesting, actually!" All of a sudden, she let out a sharp laugh that made Joanne jump slightly. "Oh my god! I've been going on, and I haven't even introduced myself!" She extended a hand. "I'm Maureen."

Joanne blinked. Then, after a soft smiled, she returned the gesture, taking Maureen's hand in hers and shaking. "Joanne. Pleasure to meet you." And for once, she felt something between them, a soft pull that made her feel wonderful inside. This wasn't any ordinary companionship she was building, she could guess that much.