Hey everyone, welcome back to this story!

Hehehe… remember me? Yeah… so last time I said chapters would be back to once a week… oops! I guess we can all tell that that's not really gonna happen… sorry. I'll try and update as often as I can, though, and that's a promise!

Can't remember if I've already done this warning before, but I'll do it again just to be sure, this story contains some strong language.

I hope you guys enjoy this chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own RENT: The Musical (or movie), Austin & Ally or anything you recognise from the show in any way, shape or form, nor do I own any recognisable brands, songs or lyrics within them.

. . . . .

Chapter 9

Half an hour later, Austin was back on the couch with his trusty guitar, when Dez walked in, returning from… wherever it was Dez had been, Austin didn't really have a clue. Although, knowing the eccentric redhead well he knew it could literally have been anywhere and it was probably best to not ask.

"Hey buddy." Dez said, strolling into the kitchen to find something to snack on.

"'Sup." Replied Austin, putting his guitar down and joining Dez in the kitchen to get a glass of water.

"So Kira's performance starts in like an hour." Dez said. "Why don't we head out now? We can drop by the market on our way; see if we can get any cheap last-minute sales."

Austin groaned, he didn't really want to leave the apartment at all if he could avoid it, he only agreed to go to Kira's performance at all to be a good friend and support her. "Dez…" He grumbled, slightly resembling an 8-year-old who'd just been told by his mom that he needed to go get a haircut.

"Oh come on, Austin, you can't stay in here forever."

"I can try…" Austin replied under his breath.

"Besides, I've already told Elliot and Dallas that we'll meet them there so you don't have a choice, come on let's go!" Dez said quickly, grabbing Austin by the arm and literally dragging him out of the apartment. Austin just had time to put down the glass he was currently drinking from as he let out a muffled squeal, caught off guard by his insane best friend's sudden action.

A few minutes later the two men were walking down the street towards the annual Christmas market, both grumbling to themselves incoherently about how much they hated the cold.

As they turned a corner, a couple of blocks away from the market, they found themselves approaching two homeless people sat against a wall, one of them asleep, which was not at all uncommon in this part of the city.

However, approaching them from the other side, and somewhat closer to them than Austin and Dez, were a couple of police officers the men recognised, they were notorious for alleged reports of abusive behaviour towards the homeless, and instantly Austin and Dez could tell this situation had the potential to turn real bad, real quick.

As the two officers came to a halt in front of the two homeless people, the awake man looked up and noticeably paled slightly. "Evening, officers." They heard the man say, obviously trying to remain calm and show no hint of any fear.

Without warning, one of the officers then raised his nightstick above his head, clearly ready to bring it crashing down upon the poor homeless man, a sickening, evil smirk upon his face.

Austin gasped, but a quick thinking Dez quickly whipped his handy video camera out of his pocket (he always carries a camera around) and took a step forward, ready to film the scene in front of him. "Smile for Miami News, Officer Jacobs." He said with a smirk, daring the cops to make another wrong move.

Officer Jacobs visibly hesitated, before slowly bringing his arm back down and holstering the nightstick, a stony glare gracing his features.

The commotion had, at this point, woken up the other homeless man, who quickly realised the situation and put on an obviously fake, cheesy smile to the cop before saying in an also clearly fake voice "And a Merry Christmas to your family."

The two police officers growled under their breath, before quickly walking away in the other direction. Austin breathed a sigh of relief that the situation had been avoided as Dez patted himself on the back, returning his video camera to his pocket.

They approached the homeless men, and helped up the one who had been awake, who was smiling at them, silently thanking Dez for intervening.

The other homeless man, however, was not as grateful, it seemed. "Who in the hell do you think you are?" He said to Dez, causing the redhead to be taken aback, not expecting the harsh tone to come from the man he had just helped.

"I-I'm sorry?" Dez stuttered.

"I don't need no help from some goddamn bleeding-heart cameraman!"

Austin stepped forward. "Look, man, we just wanted to make sure that you wouldn't get hu-''

The man took no notice of Austin, however, continuing to glare directly into Dez's eyes, who was looking beyond uncomfortable and afraid at this point. "My life ain't for you to make a name for yourself on!" He continued, seemingly getting more aggressive.

At this point the other man tried to reason with his friend, saying "Easy, dude, he was just trying to-''

"Just trying to use my position to kill his guilt!" The intimidating man said, not breaking eye contact with Dez the entire time. "Come on, Zeke, let's go." He continued, finally addressing the other man who had been more thankful for Dez's action. "These two are just a couple more mother fucking artists."

The two homeless men began walking away, but only went a couple of steps before the aggressive one turned back, walked back over to a still-bemused Dez and held out his hand. "Hey, artist, got a dollar?"

Dez just looked down at the man's hand, completely unsure of what to do, whilst Austin felt his whole body tense up as he got more and more angry at how this guy was treating his best friend and resisting the urge to get involved and potentially start a fight.

After a couple of seconds, the man sneered in Dez's face. "Didn't think so." Is all he said before once again walking off with the other man, not looking back.

. . . . .

There's chapter 9!

Sorry, kinda short and not a lot happens, but like with my other current story (it's called Believe and you should all go and check it out… okay sorry I just had to) I'm just getting back into the flow of writing. I also just think this is a really interesting little scene in the play and it felt right to include it here.

In the next chapter: Austin and Ally meet again! Whoooo! Make sure you keep checking back, I'm relaly hoping I'll find time to get that chapter up soon!

Please remember to follow, favourite and review!

Catch you later!