A/N: I was actually writing a Harry Potter fic when all of a sudden "Another Day" came on because I was listening to my soundtrack and I just HAD to write another chapter for this story RIGHT NOW. Sadly, it took me a while to find a subject to write about, but the inspiration was there at least. Anyway, this will be in bohemia and I will try to focus a little more on Roger's friendship with Mark since I haven't really touched on that for a while. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own Roger. ($!!!) Okay, I'm in control now.
I'm Ready For My Close Up!
Mark, You're a Brother to Me, But the Camera Has To Go
Mark is my best friend in the whole world, no question about it. We've been through hell and back together. He put up with my wild rocker days and I put up with Maureen without complaining too much. Mark even helped me through my withdrawals and held absolutely nothing I said or did against me. So the guy is really special to me as you can probably tell.
Well one day, there was something that caused me to be… well… jealous. Mark went out one day to get, and I quote, "Something I've been saving for a whole month!". I of course just grunted and remained a lump on the couch. I had just survived an incredibly grueling band practice the night before so I didn't really want to bother with whatever crazy scheme my amigo was up to. Imagine my surprise when he finally came home after nearly four hours of being in the outside world.
(Flashback)
"Hey Roger, I'm home!" Mark announced and slammed the sliding door that was the entrance to the Loft space shut. Roger winced at the loud sound the door made (like he always did… for some reason it always caught him by surprise) and looked up from his spot on the lumpy couch.
"Finally man! What took you so long?" Roger asked and slowly got up to see Mark's findings. Mark grinned happily, boyish gleam and all, at his roommate and quickly pulled out something from his bag.
"It took me hours of looking, but I finally got it!" Mark cried triumphantly. He turned around to face Roger and revealed an old fashioned camera and presented it to the Sex God before him. Roger wasn't really sure what to say so he pasted on a smile and decided to indulge his friend.
"Wow! It's a camera! I didn't know you were a director!" Roger teased gently and punched Mark in the arm. Mark tried to hide his wince upon the impact and sent a small glare towards his physical friend.
"I took a few classes in high school, remember?" Mark explained and looked at his friend hopefully. Roger leaned his head back and all of a sudden he remembered. He recalled Mark's mother boasting about with pride to all her friends that her little son, Marky, was going to become quite the little filmmaker because of the classes she enrolled him in.
"Oh yeah! And your mom strutted around like a proud mother hen for the whole time you were in those classes!" Roger exclaimed and let out a short bark of laughter. "Well come on, let's give it a try!" he insisted and Mark complied easily.
"I've always wanted one of these," Mark breathed in excitement as he continued to set up his new purchase. "It doesn't record sounds, but it has an amazing picture," Mark continued to babble on like this during the entire setup process. In fact, Roger was close to tearing out his hair. But he refrained from doing so because he felt that he owed it to Mark since he himself always went on about the band and whatever song they were performing next for hours on end.
"Oh come on, film something already!" Roger whined and gave Mark a light shove. Mark laughed and waved his friend away distractedly.
"All right, all right! It's ready." Mark then lifted the camera up and instantly all of his old classes came back to him in a rush. "November 13, 1971. I, Mark Cohen, will here on out solemnly swear to make a kick ass movie with this very camera that will make the film gods cry tears of joy," Mark narrated in what Roger later called his "director voice". "Zoom in on Roger Davis, the reason that I'm wasting this film because he wanted me to film something right away."
"Hey!" Roger protested, "You weren't kicking and screaming about the idea!" Mark laughed as Roger made a disturbing face into the screen of the camera. "Dude it is so cool to see you behind the camera like that!" Roger was really only telling part of the truth… he could imagine Mark getting completely obsessed with this thing.
"Okay, let's find something more interesting to shoot than Roger," Mark said and dramatically moved off to the kitchen, ignoring Roger's indignant cries. "Here we have our pathetic excuse for a kitchen. In case you haven't noticed, we're bohemians with not a single penny to our names and will die as nobodies," Mark explained grimly.
"Yeah, but we had one hell of a time living!" Roger exclaimed in the background and raised his hand as if he were giving a toast.
"Hear, hear!" Mark responded and flashed his friend a smile. "On to the rest of the apartment then."
(End flashback!)
Oh sure. The camera was all cute and fun then. The little whir that the gears inside of it made were cool sounding and expressive, but let me tell you. Those little noises that the camera made and Mark's funny narrations only lasted so long before I began to get tired of it. And incredibly jealous of the time that Mark was spending on it.
(Flashback!!)
Roger sat opposite a small, mechanical camera and sipped his coffee. He couldn't help but notice that the device seemed to be mocking him in some way and it caused Roger to stare at it in slight horror.
The long morning silence prevailed as Roger continued to sip his too strong coffee and stare at the mechanical device that was currently occupying Mark's spot at the table. The toothy mechanical grin was slowly becoming more than poor Roger could bear as the minutes dragged on… and on… and on…
"Mark likes me better!" Roger finally snapped and turned in his seat to face a wall instead of the camera. Just then Mark came down the hallway and could have sworn he heard Roger talking to himself at the kitchen table where he had left his camera.
"What was that Roger?" Mark asked curiously as he completed his journey to the table and snatched up the camera protectively. Roger jumped a little in surprise to see Mark standing there and cradling the camera in an almost motherly gesture.
"I was just reminding myself to pick up April at three," Roger covered quickly. "And don't coddle the thing Mark! It's incredibly disturbing." Mark just stuck his tongue out playfully and slipped the camera into its special bag.
"Oh, you mean April like the girl that you met a couple a weeks ago at a gig?" Mark questioned and Roger nodded, smiling. It had been a little over two months since Mark had gotten that damn camera. Roger could remember the duck incident that had taken place during those first few weeks of ownership and smiled again.
"Well I'm gonna go shoot some stuff outside," Mark said while grabbing a paper cup of coffee. "I'll see you later and have fun with April!" he called behind his shoulder and gave a quick wave. Roger waved back and then slumped in his chair.
"You've been filming crap for nearly 48 hours in the last three days," Roger muttered to himself and carried himself to the couch lazily. "Don't worry, I'll just sit here by myself," Roger said as if he were talking to a Mark that was still hanging out in the doorway.
He likes the camera better than a struggling guitarist Roger.
"Shut the hell up."
(End flashback!)
So yeah, I was a little insecure about where Mark placed me in his group of friends. I was pretty sure that the camera scored higher than me in that area. I mean, Mark practically carried the thing to bed with him and took it out to lunch! I just thought there simply wasn't enough time for me in Mark's new filming schedule.
Then I had an epiphany of some kind while I sat there and amused myself by staring at the ceiling for hours on end. I needed to get Mark a girl to get him away from the camera. And I knew just the girl.
(Flashback!)
"Oh come on Maureen! He's a really great guy!" Roger pleaded and held the arm of Maureen Johnson, drama queen of Alphabet City.
"I don't know Roger," Maureen said distantly as she tried to briskly walk down the street with the rocker attached to her arm. "I don't even know the guy." Maureen and Roger knew each other from a brief gig that they did together a while back and the two had clashed personality wise. Still though, Roger thought that Maureen would get along great with Mark. She was controlling and he wasn't so they completed each other.
"He's my roommate, Mark Cohen. He's also an aspiring filmmaker!" Roger had thrown this last piece of information into the open as a sort of last resort. He didn't know though that Maureen's eyes would light up in such a way of her face take on such a star struck look.
"He likes to film people?" she asked giddily and gave a little skip. Roger was so thrown off that for a moment he didn't reply.
"Yeah! You know, he's sitting on some great movie material right now and just needs the right chick to star in his movie!" Roger said manipulatively, hoping to get Maureen to take Mark out on a date.
"Is he any good?" she asked before also adding, "And is he sweet?" Roger grinned widely and waved his hands for dramatic emphasis.
"He's one of the best I've ever freaking seen Maureen. And he is the sweetest guy you could ever meet." Roger actually didn't know what kind of a filmmaker Mark was since he refused to show anything that was unfinished. Which was pretty much everything he had ever worked on. Maureen seemed to think for a while longer before shaking her auburn curls and turning to face Roger again.
"I'll do it." Roger gave a whoop of joy and gave Maureen a fierce hug.
"That's excellent Maureen! I promise the second you see this guy you'll be madly in love with him!" Roger cried and ran down the street towards his apartment. Maureen stood in the middle of the sidewalk and stared, baffled, after a man that she thought had been such a dignified rocker.
"Men," she muttered and headed off towards her own home and wondered what Mark was like.
(End flashback!)
So then a very long infatuation began. Just as I had thought, Maureen and Mark had taken off like a freaking wildfire. They laughed with each other and drank profusely while Mark told her funny tales of his filming experience and of his friendship with me. I had brought April with me to make it a double date and she and Maureen also hit it off. I was happy as can be for a while.
Then Mark became with filming Maureen. But that, my friends, is an entirely different story that has almost no relation to this one. And it is a story that I might want to get violently drunk before exploring again.
A/N: Kind of an odd little chapter I guess. I wasn't really intending it to play out quite the way it did but hey… writing can be unpredictable. So please drop me a few reviews!! Thanks!!