So, another update. I'm pleased with the fact that I'm getting reviews. They make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. :)

Warnings for this chapter include much angst, some male/male action, and possibly some fluff. This is where the M rating becomes necessary, be warned. I'm once again using New York, NY and Single Drop Of You in this chapter. I may add in another few songs in upcoming chapters, so keep an eye on it.

I tried to offer some humor this chapter, but the plot's getting deep. I have a feeling Collins is going to be our eternal comic relief. Roger's mother will be for a bit too. I offer another apology for Mark's father, by the way. I write mostly in play-verse, so that's why he's such an asshole.

So, I feel I should mention my most constant reviewers here. They get my eternal gratitude! SPEEEEEEEAK, twicexshy, and StormyNight55 have all reviewed at least twice. More reviews means quicker updates. So, to my multiple-review reviewers, you get a prize. I shall write a story for you. It has your option of pairing, plot line, and rating. The only thing is, it has to be in a subject I know. PM me with your idea, and I shall write it. =) Now, to the story.

To days of inspiration...

It was almost a month later when I got my parents to trust me enough to let me stay at Collins' house for the night. I packed a bag and went over his place, had dinner there, and then of course set out for Roger's.

Roger and I had sort of started dating. We weren't official to anyone else, excluding Collins of course, we just weren't looking to date anyone else. The benefits of this situation included some heavy makeout sessions and the comfort of being able to watch him turning down yet another girl and know it was because of me.

I walked in his front door at around 8 that night, popping into the kitchen to see them still eating. I laughed lightly. "You guys never eat early, do you, Ms. Davis?"

The older brunette woman laughed a bit, shaking her head. "I've told you every time you're here, Mark, you're dating my son. Call me mom or Patricia."

I laughed, walking a little further into the house and putting down my bag in the living room. Kayleigh was sitting down on the couch, watching a cartoon until she went to bed. She didn't notice me come in, I guess, so I snuck over and picked her up from behind. She squeaked before giggling when I turned her around. "Hey Mark!"

I hugged her and put her back down. "Isn't it time for you to go to bed, missy?"

"Not until eight thirty!" she said, looking back at the television.

I shook my head, laughing again, and went back into the kitchen. I sat in the empty seat I usually got when I was over the house for dinner and poured myself a glass of soda while Roger and Patricia ate and talked.

It was so different seeing dinner in this house compared to dinner at my house. Roger and his mother actually talked over dinner, caught up on everything that the other was doing. Even Kayleigh talked during dinner sometimes. In my house, no one talked. No one had ever talked during dinner. It was a nice change to see a close family.

I heard Roger's fork clink on his plate and looked over. He leaned back in his chair, resting a hand on his flat stomach and said, "I'm stuffed. Jeez, mama, I swear you're trying to fatten me up."

I snorted, shaking my head. "Like you could get fat, Mister Let-Me-Run-A-Mile-Backwards-During-Gym-Class."

Patricia laughed. "He's still doing that? No showing off, Roger. It's unbecoming of up and coming rock stars."

"Please, mama, it's what makes the girls fall to their knees at my feet." Roger smirked, winking at me.

"Oh Rog, you know those girls aren't the ones you want falling to their knees."

I had been taking a sip of soda at that point, and after her statement, I practically choked on it. I swallowed and coughed, blushing furiously.

Roger started laughing loudly, Patricia giggling behind her hand. I looked down at my glass and shook my head, standing up. I walked over to the living room, their laughter following me, and sat next to Kayleigh again.

The girl was blond, like her mother and brother, and had Roger's same green-blue eyes. Their mother had brown eyes, so I could only assume they were from their father. She was about 5 years old now and had started kindergarten. She was curled up in her seat, wearing a pair of black pajamas that Roger had clearly bought her, considering the pants had guitars on them and the shirt said ACDC.

I held an arm out to her when she smiled at me, and she came over to sit on my lap. She curled up comfortably again, her head leaning on my arm, and we sat in silence while the cartoon finished. At 8:30, Roger came in to tell her to go to bed. He looked down at her, then back up at me with a small smile. "She's asleep already."

I looked down, pushing some of her hair out of her face carefully, and shifted my other arm to pick her up. I followed Roger to her room and tucked her in to bed, kissing her forehead lightly, and then we went down to Roger's room.

I laid down on his bed, closing my eyes and taking in the smell of him on the pillows with a smile. Where normally he laid down next to me right away, he stayed standing. I opened my eyes, looking at him curiously.

Roger had a cute smile on his face, and a camera in his hand. I smiled up at him and he snapped a picture of me before laying down with me like he usually did.

We were quiet for a bit, just laying together and enjoying each other's presence, before he spoke. "I wanted to ask you something." I looked up at him, nodding for him to continue. "So... remember that song you were playing the other day? That New York one?"

I nodded again. "Yeah. It's so far from done, but I don't know what else to do with it."

He smiled at me for a moment before sitting up and reaching for his guitar. He picked it up and started playing a guitar riff that complemented the piano very well. "He don't care what it takes, he knows he's got the ability, and with what his folks make he knows he'd have stability. He just needs to get out there and step towards his validity. He can't keep dying over this because it's just killing me." He stopped playing just before he got to the chorus.

I smiled wide, nodding. "That's perfect. Rog, you're... amazing."

He smiled shyly again, putting the guitar back where it had been, and shrugged. "It's not much, but it kinda popped into my head."

I sat up and wrapped my arms around him, kissing him. "It's perfect."

XmXrX

Roger picked his guitar up again after that and played until well after midnight. It was almost 1:30 when he put it down and laid down next to me.

I smiled when he opened his arms and pulled me close. I rested my head on his chest and took a deep breath, curling up in his arms. He covered us up and flipped off the light before he spoke.

"I want to ask you something," he whispered. I rested my hand on his hip lightly, nodding so he would continue. "Why did your parents seem so... angry when I walked in yesterday afternoon?"

I sighed, closing my eyes. "They weren't angry, per sé. They just... they don't approve of you. Honestly, they don't approve of Collins either, but mom never saw Collins kiss me in his car..."

He laughed quietly, kissing the top of my head. "Tell me about your parents?" he asked gently.

I curled closer to him, nodding into his chest. "Well... my mom and dad are Jewish. Strict Jewish. They raised me in a strict house, which I guess is expected. I was used to it. But they got bad toward the beginning of high school. Collins came over one day, and he stayed for dinner. He was my first friend that my parents met. Things went fine until mom asked about him dating anyone. Collins did pretty well, in all honesty, but he slipped up once. He'd done fine at making it sound like he was with a girl for the whole conversation. Then the name Paul came out of his mouth. And from that point on, Collins was forbidden from the house. I had to beg and plead to be able to go out to see him. My parents wouldn't let me date who I wanted to. They're the reason I ended up dating Maureen in the first place. When she started dating Joanne, they wanted to stop me from seeing her. Then I met you. And again, they don't want me hanging out with you. Especially after the car incident. It's not as bad as it seems. I'm mostly okay with the fact that they don't approve of my friends. But... Their insults hurt. My father is worse... My mother at least just stays quiet. Tells me that it's against God's will. My father..."

At this point, I could feel myself getting upset. It was never easy voicing the things he said. Roger kissed the top of my head again, so I continued.

"He has a tendency to insult me. Pansy. Queer. The usual ones. Nancy-boy. Mary. Faggot. Hey, Mary, where's your boyfriend? Did the dyke dump you because she knew you were a faggot? School expell you for being queer yet?" I shrunk even further into myself, almost pulling away from him. "Can't throw the football, can you faggot? But you'll go out there and film the football players. What's that about? Something to jack off to later?" I don't know if I was angry or hurt, but by the end of that statement, I could feel tears building up. I wasn't going to cry. No, I refused to cry. "No son of mine is a faggot. Must not be mine." My voice cracked and I stopped talking.

Roger gently pulled me close to him, rubbing my back gently. I kept fighting the tears back, not wanting to cry. After a minute or so, he lifted his head and whispered in my ear, "It's okay for you to cry."

I cried silently into his shoulder for a minute or two before I regained control and stopped myself. I kept my head where it was for another few minutes before Roger spoke again. "Mark?"

I took a few deep breaths before looking back at him. "I'm sorry," I breathed.

He smiled lightly. "Don't be. You're human." He lifted a hand to put it on my cheek and kissed me gently. He pulled back, meeting my eye again, before kissing me more deeply. He ran his tongue across my bottom lip gently, and I opened my mouth, letting it in. As we kissed, he shifted so that he was on top of me. We separated for air and his lips were on my neck, kissing and licking lightly. He kissed up to my ear before whispering, "Let me make it better."

I nodded breathlessly. A whispery moan escaped me when his hands, roaming under my shirt, stopped on my hips. He lifted his head again, meeting my eyes. He held himself up on one elbow, his other hand toying with the waistband of my pajama pants. His expression was questioning, asking permission."Is it okay?" he questioned softly.

I kept his gaze for a moment or two before nodding. He smiled, kissing me again, just as gentle as before. Slowly, his hand dipped into my boxers. He broke the kiss, propping himself up on his left arm and meeting my eyes. My breath caught in my throat as his hand wrapped around me. He paused, just holding me, making sure I was okay with it. Slowly, he began to move his hand.

His hand around me felt amazing. As he pumped, he kept my gaze, his smile never dropping. "Feel good, baby?" he whispered, pressing a light kiss to my neck. I nodded, letting out a whispery moan of his name. He smiled a bit wider and started pumping faster.

I didn't last long after that. My back arched away from the bed, closer to him, as I got closer. He continued to whisper softly in my ear, kissing my neck and my mouth alternately, and his strokes were steady and even. I came with a breathy whisper of his name, still keeping focus on his green eyes. He pumped a few more times before sliding his hand out of my boxers and wiping it on the sheet beside me.

As my breathing slowed, Roger pressed another kiss to my neck. "I love you," I breathed without thought.

For a moment, he was silent. Then he met my eye again, his smile glowing. "I love you too."

I smiled sleepily and let my eyes slide shut. I was asleep moments later.

XmXrX

The next morning, Roger's alarm beeped loudly. I sat up with a smile and leaned over him to switch it off. He made a grumbling noise and pulled the pillow over his head. I could sort of hear the words "Damn alarm... Early..." before his voice was too muffled to understand.

I laughed quietly, leaning toward him and lifting the pillow. "Time to get up, sleepy." He made a noise that sounded distinctly like the word meh, curling up a bit more. I kissed him lightly before beginning to tickle his sides.

Roger shot up, glaring half-heartedly at me. "No fair."

I smiled cheekily, kissing him again. "But you love me anyway."

He raised an eyebrow. "Someone's chipper this morning."

I shrugged, looking at the floor around the bed. "I slept well."

Roger just looked at me for a minute before a wide smile crossed his face. "I know." He flipped the radio on, a pop station playing. He was about to switch the channel when I stopped his hand. He glanced at me with a shrug.

I dressed in a pair of my jeans, singing along with the song lightly. When I started digging through one of Roger's drawers for a shirt, I could feel him smiling at my back. I turned my head to look at him, blushing slightly. "What?"

He shook his head, his smile still the same. He was already dressed, wearing a pair of jeans and a faded Guns N' Roses tee. "It's cute."

I looked back down at the drawer, my blush growing. "Yeah, me singing Selena is so cute..." I mumbled sarcastically.

Before I knew it, he was behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist gently and resting his chin on my shoulder. "It is cute. Because it's you."

I laughed lightly, shaking my head. "If you say so." I returned to digging through the drawer, finally finding a plain black tee shirt that I could pass off as my own. I'd forgotten to grab anything other than pajamas, so I wore the same jeans I'd worn the day before. Before I could slip it on over my head, Roger turned me in his arms and kissed me deeply.

I wrapped my arms around his neck, my eyes sliding shut. I opened my mouth to him, sliding down so I was sitting on the floor. He straddled my waist and we continued kissing until I couldn't breathe anymore. His lips found my neck again and a low moan came from my throat. "Ro-ger... School..."

He nipped my neck lightly before pulling away to look me in the eye. He smiled at my expression, one I'm completely certain would have been horribly embarassing if anyone else had seen it, and kissed me lightly one more time before getting up. "I suppose you're right. We do have to eat. And it smells like..." He sniffed the air as I slid my shirt on and stood up. His face lit up in an almost childish manner. "I smell bacon!"

I couldn't help but laugh when he opened the door. He held it for me before bounding down the steps. Patricia stood at the stove, moving sizzling pieces of bacon around a skillet. He walked up to her and gave her a kiss on the cheek before walking over to the table. I shook my head, grinning at the wide smile on his face as he poured a bowl of Captain Crunch. I sat across from him, pouring myself a glass of milk instead of taking cereal, and looked over at Patricia again. "Morning Ms. Davis."

She looked at me over her shoulder with a smile. "Patricia, Mark, Patricia." She shook her head. "Have a good night last night?" she asked, winking at Roger.

Roger smiled, chewing the bite he'd just taken of his cereal. "Ask Mark."

I just looked down at the table, smiling and blushing at the same time. I nodded and took another sip of my milk, choosing to focus on the tablecloth rather than the now laughing woman.

"First time, Marky?" she giggled.

Roger dropped his spoon. "We didn't go that far, mama!"

I snorted at that. I couldn't help it. Hearing that from Roger's mouth was just perfect.

Patricia put some bacon on a plate in front of me, still smiling. "Still a first."

I shook my head, looking up at Roger. He was blushing furiously, now staring at his bacon like it was speaking to him. I chuckled and he looked up at me curiously. I shrugged, and his smile returned to his face.

I ate breakfast in silence, listening to Roger and his mother talk about what the plans were for the day and everything else. Finally, around 7:30, Roger and I left for school.

We got there around 7:40 and went to the front steps immediately, finding Collins talking with a tall senior from my Calculus class. We stood off to the side for a few minutes, waiting for Collins to finish his conversation, and walked over after the senior leaned down and kissed him before walking away.

"Who's that?" I asked, smiling.

Collins grinned. "His name's Jon. He's really sweet."

I raised an eyebrow, opening my mouth to speak before Roger cut in. "Jon as in Jonathan? Larson?" Collins nodded. "He's that kid working on that play. The one about Superbia." Collins laughed, nodding again.

I smiled. "Why do you know more about the kid in my class than I do?"

Roger shrugged. "I know things."

We stayed and talked for a while longer, until the bell rang. Roger and I walked to homeroom, his arm around me, and kissed me lightly before we walked in the room.

XmXrX

The day was pretty uneventful. We went to all our classes, and I had a conversation with Jon during Calculus. I discovered that he was really working on two plays, one sort of what he saw himself going through when he left for New York, and the other about Bohemia. It was interesting, overall, and he was a good writer. I approved of him for Collins.

Lunch was interesting, yet again. Maureen hadn't been to school since the fight with Joanne. None of us had heard from her, and all she'd left her parents for a note was "I'll let you know when I find where I'm supposed to be." Collins had been the one most caught off-guard, since despite the fact that I'd dated her, she was closest to him.

When we got into the lunchroom, Collins was smiling wider than I'd ever seen him smile before, and was talking animatedly to Joanne. The girl looked like she was torn between relief and severe pain at the words he was saying. Finally, she nodded and said thank you before walking away, wiping at her cheeks with the back of her hand. She waved to us as she left the cafeteria, and after that we walked over to see what had him so excited.

"Guys! Mo called!" he said before we could even ask. Forgetting our food, we sat at the table in front of him and prepared ourselves for what he was going to say. "She left for New York. She's living in a loft in Alphabet City with this guy named Benny. She's not dating him or fucking him or anything, actually. She's just staying with him. They live there for free since Benny's dating the landlord's daugher. She's been doing performances left and right, got into this play called 'Akita'. She's doing great!"

I let the words process before a smile crossed my face. "She made it to New York..." I shook my head for a moment, laughing. Roger's arm circled my waist in a way that I'm certain was comforting me in the thought that she made it first. "Did she mention the company she's doing the play with?"

"The New York Theatre Workshop."

I nodded, smiling again. "Great. Great. We'll have to go see her this summer."

Collins went on animatedly for the rest of the period, seemingly forgetting we were there. I looked at Roger, the news still feeling bittersweet. I put on my best smile, but he saw right through it. "You'll get there," he whispered in my ear. "I promise."

XmXrX

After music that day, Roger and I stayed in the music room late. I sat at the piano, listening to him play the riff he'd played the day before, and then started to play my piano portion over it, testing the sound. It was better than I'd expected it to be.

We paused when we got to the part we didn't have lyrics for yet. Roger looked at me, seeming pensive, before speaking. "Play your song, Mark."

I raised an eyebrow, shaking my head. "No, no... It's no good."

The music teacher came over then. "Play it Cohen. I might assign you a solo piece otherwise. This way, only we're gonna hear it."

I looked at Roger, then back at Mr. Raymond, and then at the piano. I sighed, then set my hands in the right position to play.

Before long, I was lost in the song. Roger started saying verses over the melody I played, and when it got to the chorus I took over like it was the most natural thing in the world. By the end of the song, we had covered most of the verses I hadn't filled yet and played the chorus four or five times.

Mr. Raymond sat down on the piano bench next to me when we had finished and looked at the keys for a minute or two before nodding. "For a boy who says he's bad at music, you've got some skill Mark." I shrugged, blushing. "I mean it. I don't say that to just any student."

Roger smiled, putting his hand on my shoulder. I looked up at him, then at Mr. Raymond with a smile. "Thank you sir."

Roger stood then. "Well, we're going to get going. See you tomorrow, sir."

We walked out to his car after he stowed Jessie in the music office. As we drove away from the school, I looked back at the guitar he'd put in the back seat. "What's your guitar's name?"

Roger glanced over at me as we drove toward my house. "I don't really know. I hadn't chosen a name for it." He looked thoughtful for a moment before speaking. "I kind of like the idea of calling her April."

So... that's the end of this chapter... It feels a bit short for me. Like something else should be there. But it's the best I can do for now. We know where Maureen is now. We know Collins' boyfriend. Teehee. And of course, Mark's father was of importance here. It was big. Even though it feels short, I feel like I did a good amount with this chapter. From here on out, the plot starts to get darker, heavier. It'll get worse as we go, but better in some ways too. This is sort of the quarter-point. The half-way is at the end of high school. So about six more high school chapters, and then we get into them when they're older. And yes, I did intentionally choose the names of his guitar and bass. The guitar is self-explanatory. The bass you'll see...

I'm still deciding on whether or not I should go through RENT detailed or just skim over it... Since the story's already known, should I do it in detail, with Mark's thoughts on Mimi and everything, or should I just skim over it like I was thinking at first?

Reviews? They might make me update faster this time. Hehe.

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