A/N: So first off, yay! The response to this fic has been overwhelming. Over 400 hits with only two chapters; that's double what I've had for any other story. Now if only I could get you guys to leave reviews…really people, 10 reviews with 446 hits? We can do better than that.

Many thanks for the birthday wishes. Even though I had to take two exams on my birthday, my family came to take me to dinner, so it didn't suck. And I got the first season of Lost on DVD. Yayness—now I have something to watch on Christmas break.

And for those of you who were wondering when Tali is really gonna meet the gang, your wait is over…I'm well aware of the fact that this chapter is gonna sound slashy, but believe me, it's not. Roger isn't so much jealous, as hurt that his best friend would keep such a big secret from him. Get it? Got it? Good. No slash—it's not my style.

Disclaimer: I don't own 'em, and I don't think that Mr. Larson would want to claim my OCs. So…yeah, not mine. Although I'm sorely tempted to steal Mark's camera…

Anywho, enjoy the show!

Chapter 2: Who is That Girl?

Roger sat in the Life Café, halfway listening to the conversations going on around him. He found himself staring out the window, his mind wandering to the enigma that was his best friend. Mark had been acting strange lately, or at least stranger than usual. He had been in better spirits the past several weeks, but in a strange way the filmmaker had become more withdrawn and secluded. Sometimes he would disappear for hours at a time, and he had even cancelled plans with his friends a time or two. All in all, it was very unMarkish behavior.

The musician was pulled back into the present when Mimi pulled him to his feet, and he realized that everyone was leaving. He and Mimi had hooked up with Collins and Angel at the Life, and now the quartet slowly made their way out of the restaurant. As they spilled out onto the sidewalk, Roger nearly plowed into Collins's back as he and Angel stopped suddenly. "Oh my god," he heard Angel exclaim softly.

"Is that Mark?" Mimi asked in astonishment. Roger angled himself around Collins to find out what they were all staring at. Across the street, a familiar looking blond guy was coming out of the Chinese restaurant, hand in hand with a girl who had dark curls cut short above her shoulders. Mark had a bag of food in one hand, and was holding tight to the girl with the other. The two laughed at something, the girl talking animatedly and Mark smiling in a way that Roger hadn't seen in ages.

"Oooo, I wonder who she is," Angel said excitedly.

"Maybe she's nobody," Roger said, almost to himself. However, his self-delusion was shattered when at that moment the couple stopped as Mark pulled the strange girl into a kiss. Angel and Collins exchanged an impressed look, while Roger just looked disgusted. He had nothing against Mark dating, but he was repulsed at the fact that his best friend had felt the need to hide the fact that he obviously had a new girlfriend.

"That don't look like nobody to me," Collins said. As the couple started to disappear down the street, Roger stalked towards the loft. He was determined to find out what Mark had been hiding from him.

As though sensing Roger's intent, Angel rushed up to him and threaded her arm in his. "Now Roger…" she started.

"What?" he snapped. "Aren't you curious about what Mark's hiding from us?"

Angel pulled the musician to a halt. "Roger, I'm sure that Mark is just waiting for the right time," she said soothingly. "He would never intentionally hide something like thing to hurt you."

Roger glared at her for a moment, before sighing heavily. "Now you promise me that you're not going to do anything stupid," Angel prodded. "We need to wait until Mark is ready to come to us on his own."

After a long pause, Roger shook his head in defeat. "Fine," he spat. "I promise that I won't go up there and wring the truth out of my best friend, even though that's what I really want to do right now."

Angel nodded in satisfaction. "Good." She released his arm and walked back to Collins, who was just a few paces behind them. "Besides, I'm sure Marky is just waiting for the right moment."

Mark felt like shit. It had been nearly a week since he had promised Tali that he would introduce her to his friends, and three days ago he'd shown her his film. She was still eager to meet his friends, and he was no closer to finding a way to spring the news. To make matters worse, Roger had been acting strange towards him for a few days, though the filmmaker had no idea why. But knowing that Roger was prone to moodiness, he tried not to think about it too much.

Now everyone was in the loft, laughing and having a good time. However, Mark found that he had a hard time being comfortable with his friends while under the burden of his secret. He just wished that he could find a way to tell them…

As fate would have it, however, he didn't have to tell them. As the evening wore on, he found himself caught up in a fight trying desperately to keep Maureen from telling everyone about some of his more embarrassing childhood moments. A knock sounded on the loft door, but it barely registered in his mind; Tali was working, and Maureen was threatening to drag out the tale about their friend Aaron's bar mitzvah and the game of spin the bottle that Mark would rather forget.

Collins, drink in hand, walked over and pulled open the loft door. Much to his surprise, the dark-haired girl that they'd seen Mark with was standing on the other side. A momentary flash of shock appeared on her face, but was quickly replaced with a broad smile. "Hi," she said. Peering around Collins into the loft, she added, "Is…is Mark here?"

The professor, after his own moment of shock, smiled at the young woman and stood aside, waving her inside. "Yeah, he's here," he answered, though it was unnecessary, as Mark had already seen Tali standing in the doorway. The filmmaker stood rooted in place for a moment, eyes locked with his girlfriend's, wondering exactly what was happening and how the hell he was going to deal with it. Embarrassing stories forgotten, Mark strode over to Tali and pulled her aside. Silence fell over the other Bohemians as they realized who was at the door, except for Maureen, who rattled on for several moments before realizing that no one was paying any attention to her.

"What are you doing here?" Mark asked quietly. Collins left them by the door, sitting left to Angel, while Angel and Mimi exchanged somewhat nervous glances. "I thought you had to work."

Tali smiled at her boyfriend. "I did. But Deirdre wanted to be off Thursday, so I offered to switch with her." The young woman glanced around the room with a nervous smile. "I wanted to surprise you."

Mark sighed and closed his eyes, before remembering that his six closest friends were staring at them, probably wondering what the hell was going on. He lifted his gaze to Tali, who smiled at him encouragingly. "No time like the present," she offered quietly. He sighed again.

"Right." Taking Tali's hand, Mark moved further into the room, standing before his friends. "Um, guys…this is Tali Sandburg. She's, uh, she's my new girlfriend."

Standing slightly behind Mark, Tali smiled and sort of waved at the group. Angel burst out in a smile, standing to her feet and walking over to the couple. "Well welcome to the family, honey," she said, pulling Tali into a hug. "I'm Angel."

Collins wasn't far behind his girl. "Collins," he said, reaching out and shaking Tali's hand. She grinned back up at him, before glancing over at Mark, as though to say 'See? This isn't so bad.' But Mark was staring at the other occupants in the room, particularly his roommate. Roger looked…pissed. And for that matter, Maureen didn't appear to be overly pleased either.

Mark only paid idle attention as Mimi and Joanne introduced themselves to Tali, even though the introductions were really unnecessary. Tali already knew who was who from the film.

"Tali?" Mimi asked, sounding slightly confused by the name. The other young woman nodded and grinned sheepishly.

"Talorah," she explained. "My mother was determined to give me as Jewish of a name as possible."

Everyone laughed. "Well now, this is reason for a celebration!" Collins declared, ordering everyone to get their things. Mark stared at Roger for a few moments longer, who stared back, shooting daggers into his best friend. Without a word they joined the others heading out of the loft and Mark just couldn't shake the feeling that the entire thing had been too easy, and that something bad was going to happen.

Okay, so what'd think? Fireworks are sure to follow, and not just with Roger…let me know what you think. Remember: save a muse, send a review!