Title: If You Don't
Author: Megg
Feedback: is always greatly appreciated.
Pairing: Mark/Maureen
Rating: PG/PG-13...Roger has a mouth...
Genre: General
Summary: "Even if your heart would listen, I doubt I could explain"
Notes: Entry for speedrent...didn't win anything and is, honestly, not what I would call my best work. Split into 3 chapters (4 counting lyrics) for easier reading.
Special Thanks: Everyone!
Spoilers: Um...if you've never seen RENT, I wouldn't read this...
Warnings: Swearing, lovies. And I totally messed with the timeline of April's sucide and when Mark and Maureen called it quits, so if you're canonpurist, don't read!
Disclaimer: Alright, hate to admit it, but I don't own RENT, or Jimmy Eat World, from who I stole the song lyrics for dialogue and title...the song is "If You Don't, Don't" and you'd best download it now, it's amazing.
1992 - Valentine's Day
Three years passed and although he hadn't been sure things would be okay, everything had righted itself. Even after the loss of Angel, Collin's greatest love, and Benny - the traitor - and the almost loss of Mimi, things were almost back to normal. After that fateful Christmas Eve where they almost lost Mimi, Roger had proposed, vowing to never let her go again. Mimi, for her part, gave up drugs and even checked herself into rehab. She got clean and had been that way for a year now. Roger had moved down to her loft to be with her all of the time, although he still gave Mark his portion of the rent for their old loft, just in case he ever needed a place to stay during a fight. Mark was glad to take the money in order to keep the loft - the only place he could truely call home.
Collins had passed on, oddly enough, on the same date as Angel. He became a victim to the common cold that his immune system could not fight. As sad as everyone was, they were at peace knowing that Collins was philosophizing with his Angel once again. Joanne had received a job offer in LA and jumped at the chance. Maureen followed her, vowing to be committed and looking forward to the chance to break into Hollywood.
Mark still thought of her on every Valentine's Day that he spent in the loft. He agonized over every little detail of that night. Even if he had moved on (or so he told himself), he could not seem to move on past the fact that on Valentine's Day, he had thought to propose to her and she, in turn, had thought to inform him that she had been cheating on him. "What different concepts of a day!" he mused to himself.
The phone rang, startling him from his memories. "We screen," he said allowed to the empt loft.
"Speak!"
"Hello? Marky? Are you - stop screening!" Maureen's voice came floating out of the answering machine.
He quickly ran to pick it, stumbling over every object that seemed to jump into his way. "Mo?" he asked breathlessly when he'd finally grasped the prized object, hoping that she hadn't hung up yet.
"Marky? Hi! Happy Valentine's Day!"
"Oh, uh...yeah. Hi. How are you? Joanne? Why aren't you two...out?"
There was an awkward silence on the line. "Joanne left me two days ago," Maureen finally said, her voice cracking slightly.
"Oh, Mo..." Mark couldn't think of what to say. He'd never really relished in the fact that his ex had gone lesbian to escape his clutches (so it seemed), but he knew how much Maureen adored Joanne and he could hear the hurt in her voice.
"No, no, it's fine. I was just calling to say...I miss you. Can I come home?"
"H-home? As in home to me?"
"Where else, silly?"
"Mo..." He paused. "I don't know if that's a good idea."
"Why?" She sounded like such a small child, and so lost. His heart was breaking at the sound of her voice.
"...Would you mean it? If it happened? Please?"
She didn't answer.
"Because I need this now, more than I ever did. Really, Mo."
No answer.
"Mo?"
A pause, and then: "Mark, I don't know if this is exactly what I wanted." Another pause. "Maybe I shouldn't have called."
Her voice was like ice. He had to do something to save the conversation. "I'm sorry, Mo. I really am. I miss you, too. At the least...well, at the least can we stay friends? Like we were...before?"
"Friends?" She chuckled softly. "That's what Joanne said, too. Should never have started being friends with her. Look what happened."
"Maureen?"
"Yeah, Mark?"
"We can stay friends...right?"
She sighed. "Ain't that the way it always ends?" And then she hung up.
Thoughts?