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Dislaimer: JL owns Rent, I own my characters. same same….

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Chapter 5: Might be Love

Rachael's POV

I finished my drawing, lately with so much time around the loft, I had come to realize how much I had missesd Roger. I looked down satisfied with the result, his angsty, sad but happy face stared up at me. I heard a knock on the door, and set down the pad and pencil. Mark was finally home, he had recently gotten a job washing dishes at The Life since nothing else was available. I ran to the door, opened it and gave him huge hug, digging my head into his chest, enjoying the feeling of his arms around me. It was crazy, we hadn't been together for long, but I missed him so much when he was gone., it was like a part of me was missing without him there. I was starting to think it might be love, but it was too soon to really know.

He laughed at my sudden response, "Hey Rach." He whispered, then gave me a kiss on the head.

I smiled and looked up at him, 'How was work?"

He rolled his eyes playfully, "Boring and uneventful as usual. But somehow the thought of coming home made it more bearable."

"I missed you." I said truthfully, wrapping my legs around his.

He smiled, "I missed you too." He leaned in gave me a small kiss.

I kissed him back deeply and was about to put my arms around his neck when I heard someone call my name from behind.

"Rachael!" I turned around, and much to my chagrin, found my Dad staring back at me.

"Dad?!" What the hell was he doing here?

"Surprise!" He said weekly and gave me a hug, which I quickly broke.

"Why are you here?" The disbelief in my voice evident, it seemed unreal that he was here.

"Well, I realized your birthday is next week and I had no idea where to send you a present, so I called your Mum and found out you had come to the East Village. I was quiet shocked-"

I cut him off, "You bothered Mum to find out where I was? Did you at least remember the time change this time?"

He grimaced, "Yes I did. It's been a while since we've talked Rachael, no harm in trying to find my daughter."

I stayed stoic, after all this time, he was trying to be nice now, after all the bollocks before. Mark looked at me uncomfortably. I gave him a look trying to saw 'sorry' without words.

"Sorry, Mark, this is Dad, Dad, this is Mark, my boyfriend." I said, as they shook each others hands warily.

"Nice to meet you." They both said softly.

"Want to go out or something?" Dad asked hopefully.

I gave Mark another 'sorry' look, really the only place to go was the Life, and he had just spent the last 8 hours there.

"Do you mind Captn Crunch?" I asked him, knowing that's all we had in the lofts.

Dad shrugged, "Sure."

Mark gave me a grateful smile as we headed into my loft.

Dad looked around with a look of disgust, "Its…um nice."

I held back any rude retort, "Thanks Dad." I got him a bowl of Catpn Crunch, slightly stale, but it was all I had.

We sat down on my couch, and he ate in silence.

"How have you been latly?" He asked between bites.

"Fine." I said in monotone.

He put down his bowl looking up at me, the anger in his eyes visible, "Don't give me attitude, I came to see how you were, to make sure you hadn't had a lobotomy choosing to live here. But-"

"I don't need to check up on me! You made it clear, many times before that you don't approve of the way I am making my decisions and living my life. Especially after your last choice for me-"

He cut back in, this quickly escalating into one of our usual arguments. "You two seemed good for each other! His parents are nice people, I figured it was the least I could do, set you up with someone who could provide for you-"

My temper was rising quickly, "He was a terrible boyfriend Dad! Those were the worst to years of my life! I was his pillow-"

He seemed shocked by this comment, it was a family term we had always used, and knowing what he meant, he calmed down slightly, "I had no idea he was like that. I just wanted to help out."

I calmed down to, seeing that he was at least making an effort to get the conversation somewhat civilized again, "You didn't help. We have always wanted different things for me, and you have to accept that. This is what I want."

Not still approving of my decision, he walked to the door, then giving me a quick hug, left. Frustrated I grabbed my pillow and threw it against the room, crying.

Mark now understanding about my ex as I hit my pillow repeatedly, came over and slowly out his arms me as I cried into him, "I'm so sorry Rachael, about everything."

I cried harder, staying close, wishing he could make it all better. "Mark…why did he have to come? He changed everything."

"I don't know Rach, I don't know." He led me back to the couch where he sat and let me lay on him.

He wiped my tears and kept me close, running his hands through my hair. "Sorry about that." I said

"Its ok, I hate seeing you cry though." He said sweetly.

I came closer, "God..hes just so..he never thinks about anyone but himself. He probably came to just mock me and tell me again how much he disapproves. He never wanted to me to be an artist, he always told me it was a waste of time and that I should something 'better' with my life. Why cant' he just let go?"

He kissed me gently on the forehead, "I don't know. I don't think they ever do."

He held me tightly, just stroking my hair, both of us silent. I started to feel a little better. He always knew what to do to make me feel better. I snuggled closer to him, listening to his heartbeat.

"Why didn't you tell me your birthday is coming up?" He asked suddenly, catching me off guard.

"I don't know. To tell you the truth I almost forgot about it myself."

He nodded, he seemed a little disappointed, but gave me a kiss that said otherwise.

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Mark's POV

I thought for a moment, "Where were you born?"

Both of us were sitting Indian style on the loft floor against the couch. Since her Dad had come, we both realized we didn't actually much about each other, so today was our designated day (my day off from work) to ask each other any questions we might have.

And we were taking turns asking each other, "I was born here in NY but my mum is and dad are both English. I grew up with Roger in White Plains. What about you?"

"Scarsdale." I said, hesitating before asking, "What happened between your parents?"

She scooted closer and rested her head against my shoulder, putting her hand on mine. "They just grew apart, mostly because of beliefs, Mum is an artist too, and Dad resented that. They got divorced the summer before I left for college."

I turned my hands over so we were holding hands, "Have any siblings?" She asked.

I groaned, "One, she's two years older and much revered by my parents, her name's Cindy. You?"

She shook her head, "Only child. When's your birthday?"

"January 21st. What do you want for your birthday?"

She looked up and smiled sheepishly, "Just you."

She was so, there wasn't a word to describe how I felt for her, I think it might be love. I tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear then gave her a kiss, which she deepened, falling back on the ground, me on top of her. I used my arms to keep myself up a little so that I wasn't putting all my weight on her, I didn't weigh much, but I still want to crush her. But as she pulled me closer and ran her hands through my hair, my hands went around her instead. My heart was beating extremely fast, she always made me so happy, my body always unprepared for her charm. We rolled over, my hands going beneath her shirt. I suddenly heard someone clear their throats from behind us.

We both broke apart to see Roger smirking down at us. He didn't say anything, instead he just laughed. It was amazing to see the change in him, whenever Rachael was around, he was a different person. He just continued walking past us and picked up his guitar and started to play with it. Now that Rachael was here, my whole life seemed a lot better.