A.N - I'm so sorry for the delay - life got hectic. It's test season for my year at school. SATS which we got told we weren't going to do. Lol.

Anyway, hope you like.

Chapter 5

Mark hung up the phone with a sigh. Poor Roger. He was going through a lot.

"What are we congratulating Roger for?" Maureen spoke loudly, obviously having listened to what parts of the conversation she could.

While Mark was trying to find the hotel Roger was actually staying at, Maureen had gone out to meet Joanne from work, where they quickly looked for Mimi on their way back to the loft.

There was only the three of them now, doing what they could to help find her. Four if you included Benny.

The two of them had arrived halfway into the conversation.

"He got a job offer." Mark explained wearily.

"Well that's great," Joanne exclaimed enthusiastically before catching the look on Mark's face. "Isn't it?"

"Yeah, I guess." Mark was avoiding their curious looks.

"Come on, Marky," Maureen pouted. "Tell us what you're thinking."

Mark sighed again as he thought of how to explain his thoughts to the couple.

"It's just," he began, "that this stuff always happens to Roger. April getting AID's, passing it on to Roger, her committing suicide, the drugs and withdrawal and then there's this whole thing with Mimi. Don't you ever think that maybe he deserves a break?"

Joanne left Maureen's side and offered Mark an awkward comforting hug.

"What was the offer?"

He pulled away from the tentative embrace and paused somewhat dramatically before continuing.

"Record deal, or something." Mark explained, not really knowing how the music industry worked. "A company gave him the chance to record a demo with them."

Maureen cheered excitedly.

"Oh my god," she exclaimed. "Go Roger!"

Joanne, however, wasn't so enthusiastic.

"That's not all," She said softly looking at the expression on Mark's face. "Is it?"

"No," he admitted. "I told Roger to go for it - it is his dream after all. Only … he's worried about Mimi. I said we'd find her and that he shouldn't worry."

Mark's gaze drifted out to the balcony, out of the window and over what views of New York City he could see from his place on the sofa.

"Only, I'm starting to think that we wont."

The women's eyes both widened.

"Yes," Maureen spoke seriously, "we will."

Joanne nodded, agreeing with her girlfriend.

Mark looked up at the girls' positive faces, then back out over New York City. Mimi is out there somewhere. Cold and alone.

He hadn't lied when he had told Roger that they loved Mimi - they did. For the almost-year he had known her, Mark liked the girl more and more. He didn't want to have to bury another one of his friend's so soon after Angel.

"I guess you're right." He eventually agreed.

"Duh." Came Maureen's reply while Joanne rolled her eyes.

"We better go looking again. I really can't bare the thought of Mimi alone out there."

The two girls nodded sadly, agreeing with Mark's statement, and silently started to wrap themselves up with warm coats and scarves.

They all left the apartment together, after Mark picked up his camera and began filming the walk downstairs onto the cold street.

"December 4th, 1990, Eastern Standard Time." He spoke sadly filming the soft flakes of snow drifting from the sky. "We're still looking for Mimi …"

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It had been a week since his conversation with Mark. A week since his last talk with Mike Turner. Seven whole days it had taken for Roger to finally make a decision. He was going to go for it. Record a demo with SF Records and be home in time for Christmas.

Sure, it would be a push to reach the deadline - especially since Mike had told him last week that the earliest finishing time would be Christmas - but Roger had to try.

He would have gone home. That was Roger's gut reaction - To go home and help find her. Mimi meant more to him then a job opportunity. He'd rather be starving and loved by Mimi than rich and without her.

It was only Mark's reassurances that they would find Mimi - and that Roger would be alerted the second they did so - that pushed him towards his decision.

Now he sat in a small café, warming himself with a Styrofoam cup full of coffee while he waited for Mike to turn up.

Roger had rang the manager up and alerted him that he would be recording with them. Roger had been given until today to choose a song.

Sipping his boiling coffee again, Roger's gaze darted towards the door in time to see his new boss, he supposed, walk into the building.

"Ah, Roger!" Mike exclaimed upon sighting the man, as he came over to the booth and sat down. "I'm glad you finally made a decision."

Roger looked uneasy and shifted nervously in his seat before answering.

"Yeah," he said eventually. "I had some things I needed to work through."

"Yes," Mike agreed, remembering their conversation from the previous week. "I remember. I hope things work out well for you."

Roger laughed dryly.

"Yeah, me too." He muttered to himself.

A waitress came over and took Mike's order while Roger looked around the café, drumming his fingers on the table, bored.

This café was cosy enough, but nowhere near as cosy as The Life Café back home. This place didn't compare with the amount of memories he had with that place.

Joking around, dancing on top of tables, kissing Mimi, drinking with his friends.

Every thought he had drifted back to Mimi eventually.

"So," Mike's voice startled him. "Let's get down to business, shall we?"

"Yeah, I want to get started as soon as possible," Roger agreed.

Mike nodded in response, knowing the boy had his reasons.

"Well, first things first," He paused to take a sip of his recently brewed coffee. "Have you chosen a song?"

"I have."

Roger thought back to the song he'd started writing last week. He'd agonised over it for days, scratching out words and pushing in new ones, rearranging the order of the lines until finally he had - what he thought - was a perfect song.

"Do you have it with you?"

Roger thanked whoever was listening that he had actually chosen to bring his notebook with him to this meeting.

"Yeah," he said fishing around his old backpack. "Hang on a second."

Roger slid the notebook across the table - once he'd found it - towards the man who could make his one dream come true and watched intently as the man read it, trying to read his expression.

"Wow," Mike finally said after reading through the words twice. "This song is filled with such passion, such raw emotion. It's remarkable!"

Roger shrugged off the praise, not used to it and not wanting to explain to the other man why he felt those things. It was personal.

"Have you got a title for it?" Mike either didn't notice, or didn't acknowledge, Roger's discomfort. Either way, Roger was glad.

The man thought over his words in his head, the guitar accompaniment he'd thought up automatically playing in the background.

A grin spread across his face as Roger flipped his hair out of his face.

"Yeah," He smiled. "It's called Your Eyes."