A/N: Reviews? Thanks. Enjoy this chapter.

Mark had been sitting in his room contemplating for hours. In fact, he had been thinking so hard that his head was beginning to ache. He was trying to figure out what he should do at this point. Roger had been right about the fact that Maureen was bound to find out about his secret sooner or later. He was making a fool of himself and he knew it. But he just couldn't bring himself to tell his old girlfriend the truth about his imaginary one.

The phone began to ring and Mark left it for Roger to pick up, which of course, he knew he wouldn't do. As he had predicted, the answering machine came on. Mark padded into the living room/kitchen to listen to the message. Roger was already standing in front of the answering machine. They both listened intently to the content of the message:

SPEAK!

A beep. "Hey everyone, it's Joanne. Maureen wanted me to—"

Roger picked up the telephone before Joanne could continue. "Hey, it's Rog, what's up?"

Mark let out a sigh and flopped down on the couch as the phone conversation continued. He looked at Roger as a huge, satisfied smirk spread across his face.

Oh, shit, Mark thought. Roger only wore that huge, satisfied smirk when something was going particularly wrong for someone other than himself (that was worth being made fun of, that is). For some reason, Mark's troubles amused his roommate. Mark simply found it disturbing.

"Yeah...We'll definitely be there. Okay, see you tonight. Yeah." Roger hung up the phone and started laughing quietly, shaking his head and running a hand through his blonde hair.

Mark blinked. "What?! What did Joanne say?"

"You are so screwed, Mark. You have no idea," Roger said, still smiling that hateful grin.

"Maybe I would have an idea if you told me what the hell she said on the phone, Rog," retorted Mark bitterly.

Roger sat down on the couch beside Mark and put an arm around him. "Maureen and Joanne invited the rest of us to the Life Café for dinner to celebrate Joanne winning a big case."

"So?" Mark asked.

Roger started laughing again, his arm still around Mark. "When I said 'the rest of us,' I also meant Miss Imaginary Stephanie Morris. Joanne even told me on the phone that they want to meet her."

"You're kidding me," Mark cried, adjusting his glasses nervously. "What am I gonna do?"

"All you gotta do is call her up and invite her, Mark," Roger cracked, winking. "Ooh, whoops, I forgot...She doesn't exist!"

Mark glared at Roger. "I hate you so much."

"The feeling's mutual. Now, you better consult with the brain inside that albino skull of yours to see what the hell you're gonna do about this." Roger grabbed a soda from the fridge, picked up his guitar, and walked into his room, leaving Mark to sulk and wonder what he should do.

"Angel, are you ready yet?" Collins screeched from the other side of the closed bathroom door.

"Hold on a second, baby, I'm almost done!" Angel called back.

Collins let out a sigh and glanced down at his wristwatch. They were already ten minutes late. They were supposed to have been at the Life Café around 7:30, and it was already exactly 7:41.

"Girl, if we don't leave soon we won't even make it there for dessert. Hurry up!"

Finally the door opened, and Angel was donned in a sparkling black skirt and a pale pink sweater. The makeup she was wearing made her look even more radiant than usual. Collins stared at her for the longest time until she broke him out of his trance:

"You know, we could stand here while you gawk at me instead of go to the Life Café, but that would be kinda silly, wouldn't it?" She tilted her head to the side and smiled at him warmly.

Collins held out his arm. "Shall we?"

Angel giggled and took his arm, kissing him on the cheek lightly. "Yeah. Before Maureen pulls a hissy fit because we're not there."

Maureen was about to scream. Besides herself and Joanne, only Mimi and Roger had shown up at the appropriate time. Angel and Collins had just entered the restaurant, fashionably late of course. But where in the world was Mark? She wanted to meet this Stephanie face-to-face.

She doesn't know Mark as well as I do. I have to make sure she knows he gets scared easily and prefers onion dip over ranch. Not to mention he's a cute little spazzo. Maybe she figured that out already. But I bet she doesn't know how to appreciate his spazzing.

"...Maureen? Maureen!" The voice of her girlfriend interrupted her thoughts.

"Huh?" she asked blankly.

"Don't worry, honeybear. They'll be here," Joanne said knowingly. Maureen still resented how Joanne was such a know-it-all.

But she was indeed right. For when Maureen looked up at the door again, she spotted him. Aha! I see Mark's big blonde head, and those huge blue eyes that dart back and forth like a damn rabbit's. Maureen laughed inwardly. She jokingly used to call him things like "Mr. Twitch" or "Deer-in-Headlights", because when Mark was very nervous, it definitely showed.

Maureen glared straight at Mark again and gasped quietly at who she was seeing standing next to him.

Oh...my...God.

ZOMG!CLIFFY!! LMAO! Review to find out what happens next.