"Oooh, my god…" Klara groaned pitifully. Her head ached like she had drunk last night away. She opened her eyes and looked around dizzily. She was in a small, two room apartment, sitting on a couch pushed against the wall next to the door. Across from her was a large desk, with a microwave and a mini fridge sitting on top. Another door was placed on the other wall, presumably to a bathroom. A dresser was the only other furnishing in the room, aside from the odd chair.

And the mannequins and clothes. Everywhere.

She blinked rapidly, and sat up, her hands unconsciously tugging on the short strands of her hair. She tried to move her feet off the couch, and realized that Chris and Caleb were curled up on them, fast asleep. She tugged her feet out from under them and prodded them both roughly.

Groans met her attempts, and she increased the intensity of her attack. They moaned again and uncurled from each other, looking at her with confusion before it dawned on them what had happened that day.

They both opened their mouths at the same time but were cut off by Klara. "Okay. Tell me what I remember about mysteriously disappearing cyber studios and pop culture icons coming to life was a sick dream?" At the same time, she raised her hand to her neck, feeling the choker she bought earlier. Shit. Not a dream.

"If it's creepy for you, think about me. I PLAY this supposed pop culture icon on Broadway! They're already trying to find out where we're from, I have no idea what to tell them!" Chris leaned into Klara and spoke in an urgent whisper. She pulled back. "Them? Not just Angel?"

Fearing she knew the answer already, she followed Caleb's finger to a window in the wall across from her, leading out to a fire escape. There, Angel stood in the arms of a tall black man, watching the sunset.

"…Collins." She breathed. The three fell into a disbelieving silence, watching the lover's turn towards each other and kiss, their hands intertwining.

Klara gripped Chris's hands, and her in turn grabbed Caleb's. 'what is going on?'

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Chris and Klara snuggled into one another, watching Caleb pace back and forth in front of the couch. Angel and Collins were still outside, and their chaste kisses had escalated into a full scale make out session. No one was too worried about the actions. It was the subject material.

"So what have you guys told them? And why are we at their apartment?" Klara gripped the hands of her best friend a little tighter, apprehensive to any answer she'd get. Chris must have sensed her nervousness, because he spoke soothingly to her.

"Chill, KK. We told them we were visiting from Maryland, and got lost. You an' me have got the accents, so our story checks out. I'm not worried about Caleb, though. They aren't too interested in making sure we're who we tell them we are. You're crushing my hands, sweetie," Chris gently removed his hands from her grip, and continued. "After you fainted, we couldn't get you up, and your head was bleeding a little. They insisted on taking you back here to get you back on your feet. They're…they're really nice, Klara."

He looked pained as he said it, though Klara really couldn't imagine why. Their characters were written that way. Of course they were nice!

A slight beeping distracted her, and she pulled her cell phone out of her pocket. She flipped it open and pressed a few buttons. "Someone left us a message at home," she said.

"Did it forward?"

"Not yet. I have to retrieve it myself, and there's not exactly good service here. It'll be a while." Klara closed her phone and shoved it in her pocket again. "It's good we've got it though. May come in handy."

Caleb sighed and joined the other two on the couch. "Do you think we should try and break them up? We need to figure out what to do." He nodded towards the silhouette still on the fire escape. The day had grown dark, and all three actors knew it would be a bad idea to walk home in this sort of neighbourhood, even if they knew where home was.

"No need," Chris answered as Collins and Angel crawled in through the window. The drag queen's face lit up as she saw them all awake and sitting up, and she maneuvered past boxes of books and fabric to get to them. Collins followed her, smiling at them warmly.

"Good morning, sugar! Or should I say, good evening!" Angel said to Klara. "Glad to see you're awake. Is your head feeling any better?" Klara smiled in spite of herself, and nodded shyly.

"It just feels like a normal headache. Thanks for letting me stay here. Can…Can I ask a few questions? Can WE ask a few questions?" She amended herself when Chris poked her stomach.

"Sure," Angel answered. Collins dragged a chair over and she perched easily on his lap. "Fire away, sweet thing."

"First, wha…what…year, is it?" Klara blushed furiously. She looked up to see Angel looking curiously at her, and Collins outright staring.

"It's…it's 1990. January. Are you…did you, uh, hit your head a little harder then you think?" Collins answered. Klara shook her head vehemently.

"No. I'm fine. I was just…testing you?" She trailed off lamely. Caleb stepped in to her rescue. "So, I don't mean to impose or anything, but it's dark. Can we save the twenty questions for later and stay with you guys tonight?"

Angel looked taken aback, but recovered quickly. "Well, we're going over to a friend's loft in a few. If you introduce yourselves and tell me what brings you to alphabet city, sure." She grinned outright again. "I'll even introduce you to my friends."

Chris jumped up, eager for a theatrical introduction. "My good hosts, allow me to introduce New York's own Broadway Babies, KK Duleana, more commonly known as Klara," Klara stood up and curtsied gracefully before straightening and gesturing dramatically to Caleb. "Caleb Johnston, fierce and fabulous, connoisseur of languages and the best damn singer on this side of the Mississippi!" Caleb bowed extravagantly and grabbed Chris around the waist. "And Christian Simmonds, who is anything but a Christian. Call him Chris, puh-leease!" The three joined hands and bowed as if they were onstage, before giggling madly and collapsing back on the couch.

Collins and Angel jumped up and clapped, laughing even harder then "New York's Broadway babies".

Angel controlled herself and said in between giggles, "You guys pass. C'mon, I don't even know you, but let's get drunk off our asses at Mark and Roger's place. They're our friends."

Klara caught herself before she said "I know," and slipped her jacket on. She joined hands with Chris, still ensnared by his lover, and followed Angel and Collins outside the door.

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She suspected that they were all feeling a little weirded out. Chris and Caleb, like her, were probably pretending they didn't know all about these people, pretending that they weren't stuck in the world of RENT. It made it a little easier to cope with conversation. I mean, Klara Duleana. She was walking down the street watching Chris have a casual conversation with Angel fucking Schunard. How was this normal? Best to pretend it was a spooky coincidence.

She flipped open her cell phone again and held it up to get service. Here on the streets, she managed to catch a few bars. Typing in the command to retrieve voicemail from home, she grabbed Chris's hand and pulled him back a little, letting Caleb take his place. She pressed listen.

Intertwining her fingers with the small boy beside her, Klara held the phone up to her ear. She quickened her pace to keep up. A familiar voice played into her ear. "Um, Hi, KK. It's me, Miche—"

Klara stood stock still and shut the phone off, breathing heavily and massaging her temples. Chris looked at her worriedly, as she leaned over and tried to control her breathing, hands on her knees. She pulled out a pack of cigarettes, and attempted to light one. She dropped two, and nearly burned herself on the lighter. Her hands shook visibly.

"I thought you were trying to quit," Chris said quietly.

Klara finally lit one and took a deep drag, watching the smoke curl in to the night sky as she breathed out.

"That was Michelle," She said in response.

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A/N: Is it just me, or are my chapters getting longer? Once again, I had fun writing this! I've never before attempted a multi-chaptered fic, and I'm having a blast.

Next chapter I think you'll get a little more of Klara and Michelle's background together, as well as KK, Chris, and Caleb's introduction to the rest of the bohemians!

Review, please. I'd really love some tips on how to make this story better, and I love to hear your input. Thank you!

TKAD