Author's Note: First of all, so sorry for the wait! I don't really have an excuse, just lack of inspiration. Thanks to everyone who reviewed!

Disclaimer: I don't own RENT

Mimi would kill Roger if he was watching her.

She wouldn't really be mad at him, though. She'd pretend to be, of course. She didn't want him to know that she liked it when he watched her practice; she preferred to appear a little embarrassed. Then, she'd always ask him if he liked it with a sly smile, and he wouldn't have to say anything. Mimi thought it was a fun way to get him to make out with her or, depending on the dancing she was doing, more. If she told him that honestly she liked the attention he gave her when she danced, there was no game. Where's the fun in that?

Today Mimi wasn't practicing her routine for work, but instead some choreography of her own that she'd been working on. She often did this to remind her that she did love to dance, and she couldn't let work ruin that.

She finished her combination and turned around to see Roger there, not to her surprise. "That was really good," he said. Mimi frowned at his tone of voice. He didn't sound amazed, or turned on.

"I told you that if you ever saw me practicing not to watch!" Mimi whined, giving him a playful hit.

"Sorry," he apologized. "It's just when I saw you doing this routine instead of your other stuff I just wondered…why can't you do this for a living instead? You're good enough."

"Just like you're good enough to be a musician," Mimi said. "It's really tough to get a career in dance, just like music."

"Well at least I'm trying," Roger said. "You just keep working at the club like there's no hope of ever getting a career in dance."

"What do you want me to do?" Mimi asked, getting frustrated. "If I quit, we're both unemployed and have no money coming in. Besides, maybe one day someone from a dance company will be at the club looking for new talent."

Roger scoffed. "Yeah, like anyone there is looking at anything but your ass."

Mimi stared at Roger for a second, processing what he just said. Was he serious? "Excuse me?"

"You heard me."

Mimi looked at Roger a moment longer, looking for any sign that something might be wrong with him to make him act like such an ass. His eyes, she noticed, were much wider than usual. Her stomach churned, believing she knew what was going on. She wanted to say something, but what if she was wrong? How could she accuse him of something that huge and have it not even be true?

Not knowing what to do, she left for work without another word.

Mark had been staring at Collin's AZT container for what felt like hours. He knew that if he just took all the pills at that moment, he could end it all. The loneliness was what had been haunting him more than anything, and he'd love to be in a place where he actually felt loved and wanted. And, he wouldn't have to watch his friends slowly die. After Angel died it really hit him, it was almost a guarantee that he'd watch three of his best friends dies.

The only way he could think to prevent this was if he died first.

There was a knock at the door, interrupting Mark from his thoughts. Probably for the better, he figured. Mark knew he wasn't happy, but suicidal? That title wasn't meant for him.

He was a little confused as to who was at the door, since it was really late. He opened the door and found Mimi standing there.

"Roger's being an ass."

Mark nodded; he didn't need any more explanation. "You want to crash here?"

"That would be great, thanks," Mimi said. "Though, I'm not sure I should really leave Roger alone…"

Mark knew that Mimi was prompting him to ask about what happened, but he didn't need to ask. He was pretty sure that Roger had gotten high, and some little thing had gotten him pissed. He was never really good at handling anger. Mark didn't want to talk about, so he changed the subject

"You can sleep on the couch," Mark said. "I'll get you a blanket…"

"Ok, thanks," Mimi said. "Roger's been acting really weird lately; I don't know what's wrong…"

Mark sighed, knowing Mimi wouldn't give up. "Do you think he's using again?"

"Yeah," Mimi admitted. "I do."

Mark nodded. "Me too."

"Really?" Mimi asked, sounding genuinely shocked.

"Well, yeah," Mark said. "I knew him when he first started using; I know what he's like. I didn't know how to help him back then, whatever I did obviously didn't work since he's gone back, and I don't know how to help him now."

"Well we have to try," Mimi said. "I just don't want to accuse him because what if it's not true?"

"What if it is?" Mark countered. "It's better to do something, just in case."

"I don't know if I can," Mimi said, sighing. "Maybe…you could talk to him?"

Mark paused. He still didn't think it was really his place to help Roger, and he knew that Roger would think the same thing and call him out on it.

But, maybe if he knew Roger that well, it was his place after all.

Mark sighed. "Sure, I'll talk to him."