A/N- I need more reviews! I know you people are reading this, but not many of you are reviewing! So special thanks to those of you that did review! You each get a cookie!

So, please R & R this time!

-Kait

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I was bombarded with hugs from Collins and Maureen. Izzy watched from the sidelines as I said hello to my friends.

"Guys, I'd like you to meet Isabelle West. She's going to be our new roommate."

"Izzy? How's it goin', girl," Collins asked with excitement as he gave her a hug.

"Hey, Professor Collins!" She hugged him back.

"Collins. Call me Collins. I don't see a classroom around here, do you?" She shook her head with a smile.

Mark walked up to her next with his hand waiting to be shaken by Izzy's. "I'm Mark. Mark Cohen. I, uh, I live in the loft with Roger and, well, now you. I would have met you earlier but—"

"Mark," I said.

"What?"

"You're rambling."

"No, I'm not."

"Marky gets nervous around pretty girls," Maureen said matter-of-factly as she winked at Izzy. Mark and Izzy both blushed.

"Maureen," Mark whined.

"Honeybear, I think it's best to go sit down for now. You've done enough, believe me," Joanne told her.

"But Pookie! I haven't even introduced myself yet." She turned to Izzy. "Hi, I'm Maureen Johnson!"

"It's nice to meet you, Maureen." She turned to Joanne. "And you're Joanne, right?"

She nodded. "Joanne Jefferson. It's great to meet you," she said with a smile as she ushered Maureen to the table Collins, Mark, and Roger had sat down at. Izzy followed the pair and sat down next to Roger and Collins, across from Mark.

Izzy didn't have much to say. It seemed that the purpose of this get-together was to welcome Collins home, not to focus on her arrival into the group.

Mark spoke up. "So, uh, Izzy?"

"Yeah, Mark?"

"What exactly brings you to Bohemia? No offense or anything, but you don't seem like a starving artist or anyone who belongs anywhere remotely near this side of town."

She laughed. "I just out of college a year ago. Yale, actually. That's where I was "graced by Collins' presence" as Roger puts it. My mom cut off my tuition when she found out I switched majors to something I was actually interested in."

Mark laughed. "That's exactly what happened to me, too. I went to Brown. My parents wanted me to be pre-med but I wanted to be a filmmaker, so I switched my major. They cut me off the moment they found out. That's when I met Roger."

Izzy smiled. "Well, we have a lot in common, then."

"Yeah, I guess we do."

Carlos, our usual waiter, came over to the table and sat down on an empty chair. "Hey, Collins. You're back from Yale!"

"That I am. What's up with you, Carlos?"

"Eh, same old, same old. I hate the job but I need the money."

"I hear ya, man."

"So, what'll it be today, guys?"

Collins ordered first. "I'll have a cup of the soup of the day, Car."

"Miso soup. How unusual," he said with a sarcastic tone. Collins laughed.

Izzy and Maureen both ordered a seaweed salad, Mark ordered pasta, and Joanne and I ordered soy burgers.

"Okay." He wrote the orders down. "Do you want anything to drink?"

"Carlos…you're slacking," I said.

"I know, I know. Wine and beer." He scribbled on the pad of paper. "I'll be right back with the drinks."

"Thanks," we all said.

I nudged Izzy on the shoulder. "You're awfully quiet. You okay?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. I just don't know what to say. You guys seem like such a tight-knit group and I don't want to intrude or anything. I don't even know these people and…"

"Listen. You're not intruding. You'll warm up to them eventually. They're nice people, you know. Like Mark. He's a filmmaker."

"So I've heard."

"He made a documentary about a year in our lives. It was called "Today 4 U: Proof Positive." I couldn't tell her about AIDS just yet. It'd probably scare her away.

"And Collins. Well, you already know him. He's a good person, right?" She nodded. "And Joanne, she's a lawyer. And a damn good one, too. Maureen, she's a performance artist. She does these wacky protests all the time. They seem kind of weird at first, but they work. I don't know…people listen to her, that's all. I remember the one on Christmas Eve in '89. There were so many people there it wasn't even funny. She may be blunt but she's honest in most aspects of her life."

"Most aspects?"

"In time you'll see what I mean."

"Okay. Should I be scared?"

I laughed. "Probably."

"Great."

I placed my hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry. They'll warm up to you sooner or later. If not, I'll hurt them. I promise."

This made Izzy laugh.

Carlos came by the table with our wine and beer.

"I'll be right back," she said as she started to walk away. She turned around to face me again. "Wait. Where's the bathroom?"

I pointed to a big sign that said "RESTROOMS". "Damn, how'd I miss that?"

I shrugged my shoulders and smiled at her as I watched her walk away.

"Hey, guys?"

"What?" they all said in unison.

"Do you think you could make Izzy feel a little more welcomed? She kind of feels left out, like she's intruding on our little group or something," I told them.

"Oh, I didn't know that. I feel awful now. Of course we'll make her feel welcome," Joanne said.

"How?" Maureen asked.

"I know! But we have to go back to the loft to do it," Mark said.

"Um, okay," I said.

"What're you planning to do, boy?"

"You'll see," Mark told him.

Izzy came back to the table and instantly she felt welcomed into the group. Everyone started talking with her and made her feel included, which made me happy. She wasn't a shy person, at least that's the impression I got from when she came up to me at the park, so I don't know why she was that nervous to be here in the first place. From all the things she's told me about herself, she seems like a level headed girl who knows how to have fun.

Just like Mimi. After the smack, that is.

Carlos brought our food to the table and we began to eat. When we finished, we were appalled at the bill. I guess we had a little too much wine and beer, now, didn't we?

Then we heard something hit the table. "Let's let mother dearest pick up the tab, okay? I'm sure she won't mind."

We all laughed. "Thanks, Izzy," we all said.

Our group walked back to the loft, a little woozy from the alcohol we'd just consumed. We weren't dunk, but we weren't sober, that's for sure. And knowing Collins, he brought liquor.

Tripping as we made our way up the stairs, we soon piled into the loft, collapsing on the floor or couch.

Mark immediately got out his projector and began to set it up. I walked over to him, knowing exactly what he was intending to show.

"You're going to show Today 4 U, right?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Um, can you maybe show something else? I mean, I think it'd be great to show her someday, but I haven't told her about Mimi and the fact that I have AIDS. I don't know how okay with it she is. Just...just show her something happy," I reasoned.

He placed a comforting arm on my shoulder. "Of course I'll show something else, then. And I know exactly what to show, too," he said with a devious smirk on his face.

Maureen and Joanne were in the kitchen making popcorn while Collins was opening the bottles of Stoli and making screwdrivers for everyone. Izzy and I sat down on the couch and waited for the movie to begin.

"AHH," Maureen and Joanne screamed. I ran over to see what had happened.

"Um, Roger. I think your microwave is broken. Look at the popcorn," Maureen said. I looked into the bag and all I saw was a black. No buttery, yellow pieces of popcorn. Just a black mess.

I laughed. "Yeah, that old thing hasn't worked in years. We can't really afford another one, though."

"Well why didn't you tell us?" Joanne asked.

"I thought this would be funnier." This earned a smack on the head from Maureen. She then smiled, grabbed Joanne's hand, and walked over to the couch.

"Okay, guys. I'm ready," Mark said. Collins and I brought over the screwdrivers and placed them on the coffee table. Even under the weight of six small glasses and a few scattered magazines, it looked like it was going to break.

"What are we watching?" Izzy asked.

"You'll see," Mark told her. "Let's just say you're gonna get to know us better over the next few minutes."

"Okaaaay," she said apprehensively.

Mark turned the lights off as the glow from the projector shone on the wall. It began with highlights of Maureen's protest of the eviction of the homeless. Izzy laughed when she saw Maureen jumping up and down screaming "MOO!".

"You know, Izzy, I could do a reenactment!"

"Um, I'm good, Maureen."

"Aww, really?"

"Really."

The next clip began with Mark dancing on the tables at the Life. Izzy watched as each of us danced around the café, laughing at Mark's spastic dancing and Mr. Grey's face when Maureen and Joanne told him they were just sisters.

"Wait." She pointed to the screen. "Who are they?" Mimi and Angel were on the screen, dancing in interesting positions.

"Oh, that's Angel and Mi—"

"They're old friends," I said, not wanting to discuss this right now.

This earned me a quizzical look from Collins, Joanne, and especially Maureen. She wasn't known for catching onto things quickly.

"Oh, okay," Izzy said.

I hated the fact that I didn't tell her the whole truth about the situation, but I feared what would have happened if I did.

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A/N- Loved it? Hated it? Let me know! Review, please! -Kait