Chapter 18! I had to do this. Enjoy! Oh, and by the way- some erm… swearing. Not really mild swearing either. Haha. Sorry. Oh, and special thanks to Ducky for donating the french fries for lunch. The bohemians thank you, Ducky. ;D Done rambling now.

Disclaimer: Same old sentence as every time, I don't own the RENT characters. Ooh, but I do own Josh! -giggles uncontrollably-

--A Step Beyond--

-Collins' POV-

Well, it's now the first day of November. Last night was fun, in more ways than one. I can't wait to see Angel today- I already miss her. So I walk to school a little early, and I see that some people had the same idea. Roger, Mark, April, and someone else are under the tree. I can't quite see the last person- they're leaning against the tree-trunk. I walk up and- Oh my god.

"Angel? You're wearing that to school?" I look at her current outfit- striped blouse, short purple skirt, floral-pattern tights, and those green boots. All topped off with a new wig- shorter black hair. ((AN: OMG it's the movie wig!))

"Yes. I'm wearing this at school." She looks up at me confidently. "And yes, I know what everyone's going to say. But Mark thinks it's a good idea, and so do April and Roger. And you know what I say? Fuck anyone who doesn't like it." She smiles and laughs. Amazing how the sound of her laughter can still make my heart skip a beat…

"I think it's wonderful."

I sit down under the tree, and Angel decides that my lap looks more comfortable and sits there. I put my arm around her shoulder, and think I could get used to this. We talk with Mark and Roger mostly, and April tries to get Roger's attention several times. Maureen shows up eventually, adding some noise to our quiet conversation. Soon enough it's time for the dreaded start of school. I walk Angel to her first class- Math. We reach the door, and I give her a quick goodbye kiss, hoping for the best.

"Have fun in class, honey." She whispers as she opens the door. I leave for English, walking quickly so I won't be late.

-Angel's POV-

Lord, give me strength. I walk into the classroom with a huge nervous feeling in the bottom of my stomach, like when you eat too much food and then run around playing tag with your hyperactive little brother. Everyone's chatting before class starts, and the noise quickly dies down as I walk to my seat. It's a good thing I keep my balance really well in these shoes. I hear someone snickering loudly behind me, and soon a whisper of noise moves throughout the room.

"Wow. It went a step beyond gay- maybe it just wants to be a girl!" someone shouts. I look up and find the offender with his usual group- one of the jocks. He smirks at me, and I scowl back at him. "Oh look, I think it's mad at us!"

"Fuck you, asshole. You know you're just jealous, 'cause you wish you had a girlfriend who looked this good." Suddenly his face has only a look of disgust, and he seems to be having trouble thinking of something to say. That's good enough for me. The teacher walks in, ending any further trouble (hopefully). During role call things get interesting.

"Angelo?"

"Here." I say nervously. It sounds more like a squeak than a word. Several people snicker. Our teacher looks up and sees me. She smiles.

"Really." She says simply, moving on to the next names on the list. I have to deal with similar shit at the beginning of History, too. But when I get to Art I know it'll be better. I dance into the classroom, deftly avoiding chairs and backpacks as I make my way to our usual table. Collins is there, smiling at me.

"Hey, how did it go?"

"Well, no physical harm. Some idiots saying stupid things, but other than that… I even made a few good comebacks today. I'm on a roll." We kiss gently, earning several groans and rude comments from the other people in the room.

"Oh, hush. You do it with your girlfriends. How is this any different?" Collins says. Several people shake their heads; one or two say a few words in agreement. The rest of the morning passes quickly, and I meet Collins outside his classroom so we can walk to lunch together. He puts his arm around my waist, pulling me closer so he can kiss my cheek.

-Collins' POV-

We enter the cafeteria and I sit down at our usual table. Angel walks instead to the lunch line, where she gets some french fries and a peanut butter sandwich. She comes back and sits close to me, sharing the french fries. Roger does something similar with April, and announces that they're back together. I think I'm the only one who notices the look on Mark's face- only there for an instant, but still noticeable- a look of disappointment. Maureen applauds them and turns to Mark, whispering something to him. He shakes his head. Angel laughs.

"Fucking fags…" I hear suddenly- it's barely audible over the uproar in the large room, but still there. I wince, and try to ignore it, but Angel heard too. She stands up and turns around to find… Oh god, this can not be happening.

"Hello to you too! Hey… Are you Josh?" Angel asks slyly. The pale boy before her nods slightly, brushing his brown hair away from his face. She laughs.

"What are you laughing at, queer?" He says menacingly.

"Well, you're quite the hypocrite. I can see why Collins might like you- you are pretty cute. Too bad your personality sucks." I try my best to turn invisible. Josh smirks at her and turns his attention to me.

"Why hello, Thomas. What's it like to be with someone who can't make up their mind about their gender?" He laughs at his cruel comment. He leans down and whispers over my shoulder. "We're going to talk. After school. Meet me behind the gym." He straightens up and turns to leave. Angel suddenly calls after him.

"Hey, Chico- don't knock it till you've tried it!"

Lunch ends without further incident, and whatever insults we receive for the rest of the day barely penetrate the shield of having Angel around. I hear them, but it doesn't matter what they think. I can tell she's a little annoyed, but she resists the urge to kick anyone- especially since those heels might cause serious injuries. When school ends I apologize profusely and say I can't walk her home today- I have to go talk to a "teacher" about an assignment. She looks at me warily, but starts walking towards home anyway. I slowly make my way over to the gym, turning the corner to find Josh leaning against the wall. He's smoking, but when he sees me walk up he drops the cigarette and stomps it out.

"Collins."

"Josh. Why did you want to talk to me? I thought I was just a stupid fag. And you certainly wouldn't want to be caught with one of those."

"Still yourself, I see. I wanted to apologize, but if you don't want to hear it then…"

"Apologize?"

"Yeah. For… when we were together. I'm sorry for forcing you to do that shit. I really am. I was a little caught up by… peer pressure I guess. And I wanted you to know that I still like you a lot." He moves closer to me and puts his arms around my shoulders. He leans forward and kisses me- I'm so surprised that I just stand there for a moment before I push him away.

"Josh, you're one fucked up bastard."

I'm glad I walked away from that. He's just not a very good person to be around. I start to walk towards home when I run right into Angel.

"Hey Collins. I decided to wait for you. Did you get help with that homework?" She asks suspiciously.

"Um… Okay. You caught me. Josh wanted to talk, but he was really just trying to be a bastard and get me back. Don't worry- I love you too much to ever give you up." I say this before planting a kiss directly on her lips. She smiles and kisses me back.

"Good. I would hope so, after all the shit I put up with today."

I walk her home and continue on my way. Life isn't that bad, is it? No. It's quite fine, actually.

-Angel's POV-

Today wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. No one was really horrible, and I got to meet Josh. He seemed like a total ass, although I'm sure he wasn't really as bad as he was acting. He was probably just afraid that someone might doubt his masculinity. Oh well. I walk into the house, forgetting for a few minutes that I'm still in drag. Forgetting… until my parents say hello to me. My dad's home early from work. Uh oh.

"Angelo, what the hell are you wearing?" He doesn't yell- his voice is almost a whisper. My mother sighs and puts her hand to her forehead. "I would have though after all the shit that happened… you would at least try not to cause more trouble! Do you have no sense at all?" He walks over to where I'm standing and pulls the wig off of my head. "No more of this… foolishness. No! I don't want to hear any excuses."

"But dad… This is how I am! This is who I am! This is how I feel comfortable… and I'm not going to stop this for you or anyone else!" He looks furious now.

"If you keep speaking to me like that, Angelo, I swear you will be out of this house so fast you won't even have time to think."

"Fine. I'll keep talking however I want. Maybe I'll be allowed to be myself for once, without having to worry about your approval!"

I run up the stairs, knowing that my dad probably meant what he said. So I grab my duffel bag and pack some of my favorite new outfits, plus some normal clothes. I grab a toothbrush, hairbrush, and other essentials and stuff them into the bag. Sure enough, my door opens a few minutes later and my father grabs my arm and starts to drag me out of the room. I manage to grab my duffel bag and not fall down as I'm pulled down the stairs and shoved out the front door. Miguel runs out into the living room, yelling something. But our father only turns and yells back as he slams the door. I sit on the ground outside, crying. Where am I going to go?

I start walking with my bag over my shoulder. I don't even know where I'm going. I just let my feet carry me to the closest place- Collins' house. I know his parents aren't crazy about me, but maybe they'll have pity when they hear what happened. I knock on the door, and soon it is answered by his mom. She falters slightly when she sees me crying on the doorstep.

"Hello, Angel. What are you doing here?"

"My… my dad… he kicked me out. C-can I stay here… for a little while?" She starts to coo over me sympathetically, and takes me into the kitchen.

"Of course you can stay here, sweetie. Would you like some tea or coffee?"

"Tea would be nice…" I say, before flopping down onto one of the chairs at the kitchen table. I drop my bag and sigh, leaning my head on my hands.

She sets a steaming mug down in front of me, and I mumble a thank-you. She tells me it's alright, and I feel a little better. After around twenty minutes, I hear my lover's cheerful voice as he enters the room.

"Hey mom, what's up? I thought I heard you talking to- Angel! What are you doing here?"

"My dad kicked me out. Because of this." I gesture at my clothes, minus the wig- my dad still has it. I start crying again, and he rushes over and wipes the tears off of my cheeks.

"Don't cry, Angel. Everything will be okay- you'll see. You can stay in the guest room, and we'll try to settle things with your family in a few days. Don't cry, baby- don't worry…" He holds me close, whispering sweet words as he kisses me. His mother seems to roll her eyes a bit, but keeps quiet. Collins smiles at me and kisses me again, probably just to annoy her. "I'll show you where the guest room is."

He leads me upstairs, into a different room where there's a bed and chest of drawers, plus a small bedside table with an alarm clock. It's like home-away-from-home. I have to smile at the quilt on the bed and framed Monet print hanging near the door. Quaint.

"Oh, Collins, it's lovely. Almost as lovely as you." I drop my bag and turn to press him against the wall and kiss him deeply. He puts his hands on my waist and pulls me close to him, and we kiss until we need to breathe again. As I have said before- breathing is definitely overrated.

Okay, well that was a longer chapter. :D Hope you all liked it! Please review- I'll love you all forever if you do! And next chapter will be some more fluffy fun, I promise- no more of this dramatic stuff for a little while! -wink wink-