A/N: So, here we have Chapter Seven. My last fic ended at Chapter Seven. But you would already know that if you read ATLL. :D I was happy with how that ended, but I know in my head it isn't over. It will probably be continued with a new series, but not until I finish up this sucker. I don't like to have too many series going at once. Oh, and I decided that, for lack of a better title, I'm just gonna keep this title as it is, even if it is kinda stupid. XD So, let's see what my characters decide to do this time...

.-.-.

Joanne looked at herself in the mirror in the small bathroom she used. She just barely had enough room for a shower, toilet, and small sink and mirror. Even though it was cramped, the landlord was fair in his rent nowadays, now that he had gotten to know her a little better. He wasn't as bad as she had thought he was when she first met him. Every once in a while he would let a month of rent slide, like when he knew she was having a rough go with something at work.

She buttoned up one more button of her black dinner coat, scrunched her nose in dislike, and unbuttoned it again. She brushed off her black suit pants for the umpteenth time with her hands, and grabbed a comb and ran it through her hair once again. Just as she was about to add a little more cover-up to an annoying spot on her chin, there was a loud knock at the door. She dropped the bottle of makeup, rushing out of the bathroom and into the small, one-room apartment, grabbing her purse off of a chair before going to the door and opening it.

There she was, in a form-fitting red dress and high heels of the same fire engine red. Joanne had to blink a few times before she could take it all in, her bright red lips in a massive smile as she squealed, "Joanne! I'm so happy to see you!"

Joanne smiled back, trying to control her sudden feelings she knew she should be holding back. "It's g-great to see you too, Maureen."

However awkward Joanne felt, Maureen was the exact opposite. She looked like she was about to explode from excitement. "Where do you want to go?"

"Umm...I hadn't really thought –"

"That's OK! How about we just go to this nice little place I saw up north of here?"

"I...guess that's -"

"Great! Come on!" Maureen grabbed Joanne by the hand, almost dragging her out of her apartment and shutting the front door. Joanne followed Maureen down the staircase, having to almost jog to keep up with her. She was always so amazingly energetic, it blew her away every time. Was that why she was having these feelings?

.-.-.

"What may I get you, ladies?" The waiter stood at their two person table, a small notebook in his hand and a pen prepped to take their order.

Maureen folded up her menu, handing it to the waiter. "I'll have a Fettuccini Alfredo, with lots of Alfredo sauce, please!"

The waiter nodded, tucking the menu under his arm and turning to Joanne, who was still looking through the menu. She had actually attended this restaurant numerous times while meeting with her clients, and could have placed her order on the spot if she wanted to. The only thing was the menu was a very nifty way of not making eye contact with Maureen. Unfortunately, she knew the menu trick was never going to last forever, so she might as well just give up. "I'll...just have a Spaghetti Marinara." She folded up her menu quickly, handing it to the waiter and immediately picking up her purse and shifting around the items inside as if looking for something. The waiter nodded again, leaving them alone.

Joanne was frantically thinking up new ways to avoid talking to Maureen. Maybe she could go to the bathroom and disappear for a moment. And she could pretend she had an important call and excuse herself to talk to a dead line on her cell phone. Once the food came, she could suddenly have a ravenous appetite and not be able to speak because she was eating so quickly...

"What's wrong, Joanne?"

Shit. "Umm...nothing, I just..."

"Joanne, I want to talk to you about something, now that we're here."

For a moment, Joanne was scared. Now the cell phone ploy sounded very useful. But a little voice in her head told her that she was being immature. Why was she so worried about talking to Maureen? They had known each other for half a year now. It probably was nothing majorly important, anyways...OK, Joanne, take a few deep breaths...count to ten...After a long and dead pause, Joanne sighed, shutting her purse and setting it back underneath the table. "Actually, Maureen, I want to ask you something."

Maureen blinked, looking at Joanne straight in the eye. "Well...OK...what is it?"

Joanne took a deep breath, still looking at the woman straight in the eye, and finally mustered up the courage to ask the question that had been annoying her all day. "Maureen...why did you break up with Mark?"

Maureen's eyes fell down to her hands, which were folded in her lap. "I knew you were gonna ask that."

"Maureen..." Joanne could quite figure out how to put her confusion into words. "You were always going on about how wonderful he is, and how he worships the ground you walk on..." OK, here's the hard part. "Why did you do that to him?"

There was a long silence, during which Joanne watched Maureen desperately and Maureen stared at her hands in her lap. After what seemed like ages to Joanne, Maureen finally looked up, an odd look in her eyes. "Joanne...I think I'm...well, you see, I don't know exactly how it happened...but..." She laughed softly, almost in a nervous way.

Joanne continued to watch her. "What? What happened? Did he do something?" A pause. "Did you do something?" A longer pause. "Maureen, please, just spit it out."

"IthinkI'malesbian." It came out so fast Joanne had to replay the string of words in her head, slowing it down. I think I'm a lesbian. "...Wow." She couldn't think of anything more intelligent to say.

Another nervous laugh escaped from Maureen. "Yeah. And...well, this may seem a little crazy to you, but..." She was staring at Joanne with the same odd look in her eyes. "...I think the girl I'm falling for...is...you."

Maureen could have said she was hiding a bomb in her purse and was going to blow up the quaint little Italian restaurant and Joanne would have been less surprised. Joanne couldn't even think of one word to say that wouldn't be complete gibberish, so her mouth simple hung open slightly as she stared at Maureen in stunned silence. Maureen laughed again. "Joanne, I felt something about you...ever since we met. You were so different from anything I've ever had before..."

Joanne wanted to do something, stand up and walk out of the restaurant even, but something glued her to her chair. Finally, her numbed brain thought of something to say. "I...I'm shocked."

Maureen laughed, a meek smile curling her lips. "I knew you would be. But...that's why I dumped Mark. He's just...not quite what I want."

Joanne's mind was reeling. Should she confess her own curious feelings she had been having, that perhaps, just maybe, she liked Maureen back? Or should she tell her it would never work? They were completely different people! Sure, it was all right for them to get together on the weekends for lunch, but...being romantic? "What...what did Mark say? When you told him you were..." Suddenly, something occurred to Joanne. "Did you tell him you were falling for a girl!"

Maureen shrugged. "I couldn't do that to him. He...didn't say anything. The line went dead."

"You...you broke up with Mark on the phone!"

She shrugged again, and Joanne realized that Maureen was reminding her almost exactly of a sort of small squirrel trapped in headlights. "Well, I didn't want to see his face when I told him it was over."

"What did you tell him, Maureen?" In reality, Joanne was just trying to keep the topic away from if she liked Maureen back. Her brain wasn't really connected to the conversation they were having; it was somewhere else, trying to piece together what to do.

"I...just said that something had happened, and it was over between us." Maureen was looking down at her hands again, almost as if she was ashamed. (And if she wasn't, she was doing a mighty good job of acting like she was.)

Joanne fumbled with what to say next. "Maureen, I...I just...I don't know...And you...but we..."

"Just..." Maureen cut her off suddenly, and Joanne's mouth snapped shut. "Just...tell me if you feel the same. If you don't, that's OK...I'll understand..." Maureen wasn't looking at her still, seeming almost shy (even though 'shy' and 'Maureen' had never made sense together in Joanne's mind).

"I..." Joanne looked away as well, off into the distance, frantically thinking. Did she? Or didn't she? Was it really more than a friendship that was making these feelings? Her mouth, however, was suddenly not as hesitant as her brain, as it suddenly blurted out, "I do." There was a stunned silence between them, Maureen probably shocked at what she had heard and Joanne shocked at what she had just said. Both of them looked up at each other at the same time and, neither knowing quite what to do, Joanne continued. "I think I do...I think I'm falling for you, Maureen..."

Suddenly, Maureen's face lit up as she broke into a great big smile. "Are you serious! This is wonderful! I..." Suddenly her expression changed, and she was confused and worried once again. "But...I thought your parents...they're strict, aren't they? You didn't want to date another girl, in case they got angry..."

Joanne stood up, her legs moving of their own accord, as she walked around the table to Maureen. "Who cares anymore?" Their eyes met, and suddenly their heads had moved together and their lips were connected in a passionate kiss. Neither really paid attention to anything around them, as they held each other suddenly, furthering their intense kiss. The kiss felt like it lasted forever to Joanne, and, despite her logical side yelling at her that she was making a huge mistake, she loved it. Every last second of it.

There was a sharp noise from beside them, and the two of them broke apart to see their waiter standing in front of them, eyes wide. After Joanne looked around for a moment, she noticed the entire restaurant was looking at them with wide eyes as well, some amazed, some shocked, and even a few with a disgusted look on their faces. After a long pause, Joanne ducked underneath the table and grabbed her purse, setting a twenty dollar bill on the table. "That should cover our food." She grabbed Maureen by the hand, pulling her up. "Let's take this somewhere else."

Maureen smiled at her slyly as the two began to rush out of the restaurant amid stares and gaping customers. "Your place?"

Joanne smiled back, and she got a sudden sensation throughout her body that filled her with animal desires. "My place."

.-.-.

A/N: Sorry it's a little short, but I am posting this at the same time I'm posting Chapter Eight. So it's all good.