Hey everyone. So what's a girl gotta do to get a reaction? Lol. I first want to say, thank you to my reviewers. I love reviews...my psyche may even need them, which may be unhealthy...but everyone has problems hahaha. And I LOVE all the compliments, they make me feel warm and fuzzy inside 3. But I have to say, what I really want out of reviews are reactions. I was really hoping that certain parts of last chapter would garner some major reactions from my readers. The parts I thought you guys would react to are:

1. Gina... I love writing Gina. She reminds me of a crazy, hypersexual, intense friend of mine who pisses me off as much as she amuses me. But I have no clue what you guys think of Gina lol.
2. The Smoochies coupon book and the stripper. I really do try to put as much cute into this as I put drama.
3. "Go to Hell." "Believe me, I'm there." ...Really? Nothing on that?
4. Marshall walking in right when Roger was perhaps about to say...something. I was expecting at least one reviewer wanting to hurt Marsh for that lol.
5. "junkie fucktoy." ...Again, really? That line hurt *me*.

I know I have readers because I have like 125 ppl on alert and like 50 who faved this. And I love you all for that. But I really have no clue what you guys are thinking if you don't review... and I'm just that kind of person who needs feedback. Sorry if that makes me needy, but that's just me. 3

Anyways...

In response to a reviewer: Is Mark an addict? ...well, I'm not going to explicitly answer that, ever actually, in the story...but what do you think?

RENT not mine.

Double thanks to my lovely beta: Ms Mimi Elphie-Amy

Quick note, for the first time, I wrote the dialogue of people as they would sound while less than sober…so I apologize if you have any trouble understanding the dialogue. You should be able to get it if you just read it outloud.

Also, italics are Mark's thoughts, but a ~~italic text~~ is a flashback.

Parties, Presents, and Apologies

Mark laughed, growing dizzy as Marshall and him kept spinning. Finally, he lost his balance, beginning to fall backwards before Marshall scooped him up against his chest. Mark giggled drunkenly as they fell back against the couch amidst cheers and laughter.

"Smile!" Reye shouted, appearing out of nowhere to take a photo with Marshall's camera.

"Hey, pumy camraway. You're too wasted tabe handli nit." Marshall slurred up at her and she pouted slightly before going to take more photos.

Mark's head felt heavy. Marshall was always there to prevent him and Reye from doing anything silly, like mix heroin and lots of alcohol or go home with someone they didn't know(that one was exclusively for Reye since Mark never tried), or mix heroin with other drugs (excluding weed). But since it was Marshall's party, Kara, Mark and Reye had started working to get Marshall wasted from the second he walked in the door. And it had worked.

So Mark had been a little bad; he'd drank quite a bit and had been smoking H laced blunts. Reye had been worse, drinking, doing a little heroin, smoking weed and cigarettes, and doing a quick line or two of coke. Mark had been a little worried about her at first, but had soon reached that point where he forgot to care.

"Mmm, Marsh, that tickles." Mark giggled, pulling at Marsh, whose face was buried in his neck, weakly.

Marshall pulled his head up with a grin. "You'ave frostin' anyou neck." He said, acting as if he was confiding a big secret.

Mark laughed, leaning his head to the side to allow Marshall access to lick at his throat. Suddenly, Reye appeared again, this time with Mark's camera. Mark looked up to say something to her and laughed again; Reye still had cake and frosting matted in her hair.

Kara's attempt to cut Marshall's cake, after he'd blown out the candles, had turned into her trying to keep it away from Gina and Reye who had been reaching for it. And that had somehow turned into Reye tackling Kara and Gina seizing the cake and attempting to run off with it while stuffing a handful into her mouth. Kara had managed to push Reye off and ran after Gina, only to get hit in the face with a handful of frosting. By this time, Mark and Marshall, as well as the rest of the party, had been roaring in laughter.

"You think this is funny?" Kara had demanded and, grabbing a handful of cake, she had lunged at Marshall, smashing the cake in his face.

Not missing a beat, Marshall had seized Mark's face and kissed him, smearing the cake over Mark's face and sharing the dessert between their mouths. After that, an epic cake fight had ensued, leaving most of the party guests still finding frosting or cake crumbs on their bodies.

Mark winced, absently noting a pain where his throat met shoulder that meant Marshall had bit him. He automatically went to complain, but decided, Its his birthday, I'll let him have one free night of hickeys, and let it go.

The rest of the party progressed in a series of lucid moments surrounded by lengths of blur.

LINE

Mark looked up from where he was leaning against a wall, talking to Tyler (although he couldn't remember what about…), because he could hear Reye crying. He looked over and Reye and Kara were standing in a tight embrace, both wobbling and barely supporting each other, and Reye was sobbing:

"I'm sucha bitch! I'm so mean to you!"

"No, no. I never leave you alone! I'm the bitch!" Kara declared.

Suddenly Reye pulled away, wiped her face and grinned a watery, wasted grin. "Kara, I love you! You such a good friend!"

"No, no I'm not! You're the good friend!"

"No, I mean it! You just…you're just such a fucking good person! And you're such a good friend to my brother! I'm so sorry we fought, cause I love you, and we're friends!"

Mark chuckled to himself as he watched their conversation continue in the same fashion.

LINE

Mark fell back against the couch, coughing slightly as he held up the laced blunt for someone to take.

"Hey Marky, you better watch out, some kid is flirting with your man." Shauna said, pointing over to where Marshall leaned against a wall with a young, blonde man leaning into his space.

A hot flash of jealousy raced him Mark's spine as he staggered to his feet and clumsily ambled over to the duo. The blonde kid rested an arm against the wall, further leaning into the oblivious Marshall's face as Mark came up.

"Marsh! I've been lookin' everywhere forya!" Mark exclaimed, sliding between the two guys and placing a smoldering kiss on Marshall's lips.

"Babes!" Marshall grinned, wrapping both his arms around Mark's waist. "Hey, Babes…Babes…this is…this guy…this is mahnew frien'…" he trailed off. "Hey kid, whawuz you name 'gain?"

The kid looked between the two and scowled slightly. "Ryan…So is he like your boyfriend or something?"

"Yeah, thaz his boyfriend. And they're v. close. Like, exclusiff." Mark looked over to see an angry looking Reye glaring at the kid. "Whoda fuck are you, emyways? Don' 'member 'viting' you."

Ryan gained an angry look to his eyes and Mark tried to watch the interaction as Marshall ignored it all and contented himself with sucking on his earlobe.

"I'm a friend of Gina's. Who are you?" he snapped.

Reye stepped forward, eyes blazing. "I'm da chick whoza bout ta kickyur ass." She took another step towards him when Tyler and Shauna appeared, Lillia trailing behind them.

"Hey, hey, calm down, girl. We'll take him outta here." Tyler said.

"No! He wuz hittin' on mah brotha. He wuz bein' mean ta Sweettoof. I'm gonna kick his fuckin' ass!" she turned to Ryan. "Ya dunno who you're dealin' wit, I'm gonna kick yur fuckin' ass!" she yelled.

The kid simply stared at her, wide-eyed, until Tyler and Shauna flanked him on either side and led him away and Marshall grabbed Reye's arm, pulling her against him and Mark.

"Calmate, m'ija." he said gently.

She shook her head and stared up at him. "But I could kick his ass, Marsh! I swear, I wuz gonna kick his fuckin' ass!"

"I know, I know, m'ija, pero is my birfday. Yucan beat someone upat your birfday."

"You think I coulda kicked his ass, right, Sweettooff?" she demanded.

Mark laughed. "A course, Miss Reye. And I wuz almos' bout to help ya."

"Why were ya'll so mad at da kid, amywayz? He wuz nice…I think." Marshall muttered, sounding honestly confused.

Reye continued to huff while Mark just laughed, leaning up to kiss the photographer again.

LINELINELINELINE

"Oh…um…sorry." Kara stammered.

Mark lifted his head up, wincing as his temples pounded. "Huh? Sorry for what?"

"Uh…you're kinda naked…with Marshall…in my bed. Hey, why the fuck am I apologizing? Did you two seriously have sex in my bed?"

Mark's eyes flew open and he was suddenly very aware of his current state. Marshall was still passed out, his arm wrapped around Mark's waist and their legs intertwined. A sheet was draped partially over them, but Mark was mostly exposed. With a quick jerk, Mark pulled the sheet to cover their shame before he looked back at a slightly amused and slightly annoyed Kara.

"Uh…maybe?"

She sighed. "Well…I'll just have to wash my sheets later. You guys are still better than Reye. She hooked up with Amber and Andrew in my bathroom…"

"Damn, you go, Reye." Mark laughed, shifting so he could sit up without waking Marshall and still remaining covered. "Did everyone else go home?"

"Tyler and Lillia crashed on the couch, Reye, Amber and Andrew all slept in the bathroom, and Shauna, Anita and Joey stayed in the guest room with me. Everyone else found their way home last night. Anita, Tyler, Lillia, and Amber went home this morning." she listed off.

Mark nodded sleepily. "Ugh, I've got major cottonmouth…and I keep getting random flashes of last night along with random throbbing in my skull…you got any painkillers?"

"Over the counter or stronger?"

"Anything."

Kara smiled. "I'll get you some Tylenol…and you work on the whole clothes thing."

LINELINELINELINE

"Happy Birthday, Marsh!" Reye and Mark yelled, each handing him their own bags.

"Thanks, guys." Marshall grinned. He picked up the large brown paper sack Reye had handed him and opened it. With a grin he pulled out a stack of small stapled papers. "A new coupon book, terrific! I already know which one I'm going to use first."

"Uh, just so you know, Marsh, I'm way too hungover to be cleaning today."

He laughed, leering at Mark slightly as he answered, "I was thinking more along the lines of the one that says you'll leave the apartment for at least an hour, no questions asked."

Reye laughed. "Oh, okay, no prob. I actually put a few of those in this book…but all of them have the proviso that there is no shower sex. Ever."

Mark and Marshall laughed at the serious look on her face, but then both quickly dropped their smiles at her glare. "Okay." "Agreed."

Marshall turned back to the bag and pulled out a black camera bag that appeared to be secondhand but in excellent condition. "Thanks, hermana; I needed one of these since my strap broke last week." He grinned, opening the bag. "Wow, m'ija, this is nice." Leaning over, he kissed her on the cheek.

Placing her present aside, Marshall picked up the plastic bag from Mark. Each item inside was wrapped with old newspaper. He slowly unwrapped the painting supplies, a grin building. "Wow. Thanks so much, Babes. This stuff is great. But you shouldn't have done this…This stuff is for professionals, I just like to goof around with painting." He said sheepishly, but his grin stayed in place.

"Marsh, you forget, I've seen your paintings. They're good. You need to paint more." Mark answered, kissing Marshall on the corner of his mouth.

Marshall just smiled, unwrapping the last item: a reel of film. "What's this?"

Mark blushed. "Its us. All three of us. Just some of my favorite moments I got on film… Its corny, I know…"

"No! I love it…can we watch it?"

Mark blushed but nodded. "Sure, I have my projector here. I just need a white sheet to hang up."

Reye helped Mark find a white sheet and hang it up while Marshall cooked them dinner. Then they settled down with their meatless spaghetti and watched the film. Reye made loud commentary whenever she came onscreen, and Marshall just smiled and stayed silent, pulling Mark to sit between on his lap when they'd finished eating.

LINELINELINELINELINE

Mark smiled as he kiss Marshall goodbye. He had stayed over for two nights at Reye and Marshall's(and they had used two of Reye's coupons, to her slight annoyance). He was still upset with Roger, but he couldn't put off going home forever.

Mark walked into the loft. He paused in his step at the sight of Roger asleep on the couch. He hadn't seen Roger asleep in quite a while. A part of him felt like giving the musician a rude awakening, but he just didn't have the heart to go through with it. Instead, he tiptoed over, watching his sleeping face.

He looks so…peaceful. And young. God, I haven't seen him like this in ages. Its like all that anger…all that hatred between us, doesn't exist.

Mark watched him for a few more minutes, quietly taking in the gentle snores and soft rise of his chest. Suddenly, Mark felt a singe of intense pain hit him, a sharp cold clutching his chest.

It was never supposed to be like this. How the hell did we get like this? How did we get bonded into such hatred? Such…anger between us? I just…don't understand how we ended up like this…

~~ "Come on, be a man and chug it already!" Roger teased. Mark rolled his eyes but tipped up the bottle of vodka, taking a long draft.

"Damn, you're really good at sucking. Give blow jobs much?"

Mark choked, sputtering and spitting slightly. He lowered the bottle, wiping his mouth with a laugh. "Fucking perv."

Roger laughed, shoving at him playfully. "Just making an observation, Marky."

Roger grabbed the abandoned bottle, taking a long draft before sliding back against the couch. Mark made a clumsy grab for the bottle, squinting in his drunkenness. Roger pulled it away jokingly before grabbing Mark's arm and pulling him down onto the couch against him.

Mark giggled, making another grab for the bottle and beaming when Roger handed it over.

"I've been thinking, man." Roger said with the clarity of a thoroughly intoxicated man. "About Mimi. I've been thinking…bout Mimi…"

Mark swallowed, lowering the bottle to look over at his wasted friend. "Okay…and?"

Roger frowned in thought. "Uh…oh yeah, Mimi! Yeah, I've been thinking…and I think I love her…No, I mean, I know I love her!"

Mark snorted with laughter, taking another drink. "No shit, Sherlock!"

Roger shoved at him, seizing the bottle back. "No! I mean, I really love her! Like really, really, really love her." he grinned, taking a sloppy drink.

Mark rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I get it, Rog. You really, really, really fucking love her."

"Well…yeah! But so, I've been thinking…I think I wanna marry her."

Mark sat up, or tried to. "Really?" he asked in surprise.

Roger nodded earnestly, smirking slightly when Mark failed in his attempt to fully sit up and slid into him drunkenly. "Yeah! I really think I do…but yeah, um, I want to ask you something…"

Mark squinted up at him. "Ask away."

Roger threw an arm around him, pulling him closer. "You're like…my best friend. Like seriously, like…my fucking best friend…so, if I marry Mimi…I want you to be my best man!" he was beginning to slur hard core but Mark managed to understand him well enough.

Mark stared at him stunned for a moment before beaming. "Really?"

Roger giggled drunkenly but grinned. "Hell yeah, man! You just gotta be my best man cause…cause you're the best, man! See how that works? You be the best man cause you're the fucking best, man." he laughed again and hugged Mark with one arm.

Mark grinned. "Well, of course I'll be your best man, Rog! But you gotta be mine, too!"

Roger grinned. "Sure…I mean, if you ever find a girl desperate enough to marry you." he teased.

"Asshole!" Mark snapped, shoving at Roger before taking the bottle back.

"I'm just joking, Mark…You'll find someone who'll love geeky-Marky."

Mark watched as Roger began to swim in and out of focus, the alcohol fully hitting his blood stream. "Promise?" he slurred.

Roger ruffled his hair. "Promise."

"Roger? Are you trying to cheat on me with Mark again?"

They both looked up to see Mimi standing in the loft doorway, starring down at them in amusement.

"Mimi! I was just telling Mark how much I looove you. Did I tell you that? Cause I really, really love you." Roger crooned.

Mimi chuckled. "Well, why don't you come downstairs and show me how much?"

Roger blinked. "Wait…what? Downstairs? But…I'm hanging out with Mark tonight… Hey, can Mark come with us?"

Mimi sighed, exasperated by her wasted boyfriend. "Love, I really don't think you understand. I mean, unless you want Mark to have sex with us…cause actually…"

Roger frowned again before understanding suddenly hit him. "Oh! Oh, sorry Marky. You can't come!"

"Thank God." Mark muttered. He looked up. "Uh, no offense…kinda."

Mimi laughed.

Roger shook his head, staggering to his feet he grinned down at Mark. "I'll see ya tomorrow, Marky…and remember what I said! You gave me your word so I'll hold ya to it, best man!"

Mark grinned up at him. "A course…But in case I black out, just remind me about it in the morning." He watched Roger wobble over to the door, Mimi eventually having to go and help him out before Mark passed out on the couch.~~

Mark continued to stare down at Roger as the memory circled in his mind.

He's right fucking here…and I can't believe how much I miss him. How did we get this far apart? He's right here…and I feel like I've lost him forever.

"Roger?" Mark whispered. He watched his sleeping roommate carefully, but Roger didn't stir. "Roger…I just wanted to say…I'm sorry. I'm sorry this happened to us. I just…hate that we ended up like this. I'm sorry that we're not friends anymore."

He stopped, choking as his throat grew thick. He suddenly had to get away. He couldn't handle the pain of remembering.

Leaving Roger asleep on the couch, Mark hastily went into his room and prepared a strong hit of heroin. He tried not to think as he tied off a tourniquet and injected himself.

He shut his eyes, falling back against his bed as he waited for the beautiful, pain-erasing bliss of the drug to hit.

It just wasn't meant to be this way…

LINELINELINELINELINE

Okay…so what'd you guys think? I know the mood was a little all over the place…but I kinda wanted a bit of ups and downs. Also, thanks to guitarjunkie, whom I got the camera case idea from, Ms Mimi Elphie-Amy whom I got the reel idea from, and Perry who gave me the antique camera idea.

Spanish Guide:

Calmate – calm down (literally: calm yourself)
M'ija – affectionate term for a female, usually a girl who is younger than you and a family member, but not always (literally: my daughter/my little girl)
Pero – but (could be used for however, I guess)
Hermana – sister

Next chapter expect a standoff between Mark and Roger and a dash of Marshall/Mark fluff.

Please review! :) 3

Much Love
Di