I'm thinking of having Moritz fall in love with Mimi. Possibly in the next chapter.
Moritz's POV
I learned quickly that night that the flat is Mark's, although many of the group had lived there at one point. Up until I got here, he was alone for the first time since he has lived in the city.
"You can stay with Mark," said the man who sat with Angel. "He needs someone to keep him company now that he's the only one not getting laid."
I watched as Mark's ears went red and the group laughed at his expense.
Once everyone had left, Mark showed me a small room with a welcoming bed and stacks of paper with music notes scribbled on them. "Roger's old room," he said with a shrug, then closed the door. I fell onto the bed that night and slept more fitfully than I had in weeks.
The next morning, I had stepped out into the flat's big open space to find Mark standing over the counter. "Coffee?" he offered, and I nodded, enjoying my first taste of it. Over mugs of steamy bitter liquid, Mark explained the lives of his friends.
"Well, first there's Roger. He'd lived here for as long as me until he met Mimi. Now he lives with her downstairs," he said with a grin as he banged his foot on the thin floor. From below, we heard a faint "Shut up, Mark!"
"Roger is a musician," Mark points to some faded concert posters with Roger's face on them taped to the wall. "And Mimi dances," he says quickly, but I can't help but imagine the beautiful girl I had met last night moving gracefully across a stage, perhaps some sort of ballroom, or contemporary.
"Collins and Angel live not too far away, though Collins lived here for a while. He's teaching now, again, but he keeps talking about moving out west and opening a restaurant." Mark laughs. "Of course, Roger's already tried that. He lasted about a month. And Collins isn't going anywhere as long as Angel's around.
"And then there's Maureen and Joanne…well, Joanne is very nice. Successful, caring, good person." Mark suddenly seems to want to get away from the topic.
"What about Maureen?" I ask, suddenly intrigued.
"Um, well, see, Maureen and I –" Mark stutters. "See, we had a thing once. I mean, we were together for a while. A few years. Anyways, that was a long time ago. I'm over her now," he said, not meeting my eyes. "Just be careful around Maureen, ok, Moritz? She's… flamboyant to say the least.
I smile at him, thankful for the peak of his life he had allowed me. He smiled back, then stood and stretched. "You can explore the city, or stick around here today if you want," he said. "We're having dinner at the Life Café again. You can get to know everyone better then. Just be back before dark. We're going out tonight."