A/N: Well I'm finally back!! Updating this one was a bit delayed because I was really sick for the last few days. You know, vomiting and all that jazz. So I'm better now and able to get back at the computer for longer periods of time and thought I would work on this one!! Yay!! So this will be about how Mark and Roger met Collins. Because I love Collins and I just realized that he's barely even mentioned!! (gasp!)

Disclaimer: I don't own Rent or anything related to it. Well, technically I own the soundtrack and a cool t-shirt but other than that…

I'm Ready For My Close Up!

I've Got Friends In All Kinds of Places

There were a few brief, shining years in my new life as a "responsible" adult that were filled with happiness and light. Before all the disease and the heartache I was actually happy. Wow, amazing huh? Anyway, those times included all of my best friends. Mark Cohen, Tom Collins, and Benny. Eventually April and Maureen made their way into the picture at the Loft but for a while it was just us four amigos.

There was a time even before that though when Mark and I lived by ourselves in our small Loft space that we had rented out after moving to New York (but that's a different story in itself so I'll stop there). It was great and we had never even considered having another roommate. We didn't know anyone anyway, right? Sometimes I still have to convince an older couple living downstairs that Mark and I are not lovers. Again though, that's another story. The point is, Mark and I lived alone.

One day though, all of that changed…

(Flashback!)

It was a dark and bitter morning that greeted Roger Davis. The young rock star had been trying to sleep but found the chill rather hard to cope with so instead decided to get up and make some coffee.

His mussed blonde hair stood up in all directions and his eyes were half closed as his hands fumbled around for the coffee filter. When they finally found it Roger had to take even longer trying to set it up in the coffee maker and you can imagine what happened when he tried to fill the pot with water. Eventually though, it all managed to come together with only a small handful of coffee grinds scattered on the counter.

Roger barely seemed to notice though as he sat down in the chair with a grunt and huddled into his sweatshirt more. Thank goodness his parents had sent him these warm pajama pants… he practically never took them off because of the cold weather.

Mark must have heard the commotion because soon he too was stumbling into the kitchenette and was adjusting his glasses blearily. He was more of a morning person though and was able to focus better than Roger had.

"Cold," Roger muttered and allowed his head to fall onto the table peacefully. Mark raised an eyebrow but nodded in agreement.

"Early," he countered and Roger grunted in response. This was pretty much a morning routine for the two of them. Talking in no more than two syllables until about noon I mean.

So they sat for a while with Roger's head pressed against the table and Mark's hand on his forhead comfortingly. Eventually though, Mark noticed the incessant whine of the coffee machine and without thinking about it went over and poured himself a glass of the black liquid. He grabbed some for Roger too and set it down next to his roommate's seemingly lifeless form.

Once he swallowed though Mark came to a horrible realization.

"You made this when you were still asleep didn't you?" Mark demanded. Roger lifted his head up from the table and smiled as sweetly as possible.

"Compulsive habit," he explained with the sweet expression still on his face. Mark scowled but was unable to say anything more about it. That look made it impossible to be angry with Roger for too very long over something like horrible coffee.

So while the bitter taste worked its magic on the dynamic duo Mark remembered what he had wanted to say to Roger.

"Oh, hey Rog, did you want to go out and visit a few shops with me?" Mark asked and shifted more comfortably in the old chairs. Roger set his plastic cup down for a minute and moved a wild strand of hair away from his eyes in a thoughtful manner.

"Which shops?" he asked curiously and flicked the edge of his cup distractedly. Mark winced as he imagined Roger flicking that cup just a little too hard and tried his best not to snap at him.

"Stop doing that Roger." Roger stopped. "Well… I was thinking we could maybe pick up SOME food items for around here and then maybe just do what we always do," Mark explained. Roger grinned and leaned against his chair lazily.

"Wander around and bug the crap out of anyone walking by," he said with a cackle and nodded. "I'm in." Mark rolled his eyes because he already knew Roger would be okay with it but whatever.

"I guess we'll leave whenever it's reasonable," Mark added and forced down another swallow of the disgusting coffee. While he did so, Mark did the thing he always does after he's swallowed something. He cleared his throat loudly and wrinkled his nose up until it looked like it might just get sucked into his face. Roger's fingers twitched in annoyance as he stared in disgust.

"Could you not do that?" he asked as innocently as possible before scooting away to the sink so he could dump his cold coffee.

(End flashback)

Okay, so we were grating on each other's nerves. It was bound to happen some time and I guess sharing an apartment was all it took before we got sick of each other. I guess maybe we both kind of considered taking in another roommate to solve just that problem (not to mention it meant more people paying the rent) but one didn't bring it up to the other. We were both afraid I guess that we would hurt the other one's feelings.

Luckily… we got lucky.

(Flashback)

"Excuse me miss…" A pretty young woman toting her little boy on one hip turned to stare at the young man in front of her. She blushed ever so slightly because he was so handsome but decided to wait to see what he had to say. "Your son is simply adorable." Roger smiled at the woman and winked enticingly.

"Umm… thank you," the woman stuttered and smiled up anxiously as a rose color tinted her cheeks. Roger grinned back and was about to say something else before he was intercepted.

"Roger! There you are!" Mark exclaimed and grabbed his friend's elbow firmly. "I've been looking for you!" Roger opened his mouth to protest but at that point Roger had been dragged away by the shorter man with glasses.

"What are you doing?" Roger managed to bellow before glancing back at the girl in a hurt manner. "She was hooooooot!!" he whined. Mark chuckled softly and pointed back at a man with a suit and tie that was rapidly making his way to the young woman.

"Married," was all Mark had to say before Roger got the message. "Didn't you noticed that HUGE stone on her finger?" Roger muttered something inaudible, causing Mark to laugh. "I guess we accomplished something anyway. Look at how worked up that guy looks!" Roger managed to glance back again sulkily before he allowed himself to smile a little. The woman's husband was so red in the face it looked like it might implode or something.

"Probably because he's ugly and too old for her and he knew I could steal her," Roger added with a serious tone and expression. Mark made a face and stuck out his tongue but laughed anyway.

"Well, can't win 'em all can you Casanova? What do you say we get a drink?" Roger perked up considerably at the thought of a drink and the spring in his step was back.

"That's sounds like a wonderful idea." The two slipped into a nearby bar, ignoring the sign above, and grabbing hold of the grimy door handle. It certainly wasn't the nicest bar around but it would do for the time being.

The two young men crossed the threshold and were hit with a strong smell of cigarette smoke, the sound of some wailing country song, and the intoxicating amount of liquor behind the bar. Eagerly, Mark and Roger sat at a stool and signaled to the bartender.

"Two of the best of whatever you've got," Roger ordered and Mark seconded the motion. The weary bartender nodded and disappeared around the back for a moment to fulfill the order. He certainly wasn't a happy camper about it though. It was then that Roger looked around at the other customers and found it strangely empty. What day was it even? Roger couldn't seem to remember at all.

It was while Roger was pondering what day of the calendar he was on when an older man took a seat next to him. He didn't seem too much older actually, maybe just a few years, and had beautiful dark skin that his eyes complimented nicely. The black beanie on his head was on slightly crooked and it appeared that he hadn't shaved in quite a few days because there was a little more than stubble surrounding his chin and cheek bones. He had a playful air about him though and he smiled politely over at Roger as he took the seat next to him.

Roger smiled back but his attention was turned away when the bartender finally emerged from the back and threw two glasses before him and Mark. They both managed to pay (Mark's mom had thrown a little extra money in the mail this time) for their drinks and grinned at each other.

"Bottoms up," Mark said cheerfully and took a large gulp. Roger laughed and also swallowed a large amount of the amber liquid even though it caused his head to swim a little. Man, it really was a strong drink. He barely noticed that the man next to him had ordered a drink and was waiting quietly while Roger and Mark chatted and conversed with one another. Finally, Roger remembered the man and turned to face him this time. Mark also peered around Roger to get a look at the other man and waited for Roger to make the first move.

"Hey," Roger said a little loudly to get the other man's attention. When he looked over Roger smiled warmly and stuck his hand out. "I'm Roger." The other man took Roger's hand and also smiled before responding.

"Tom… but my friends call me Collins. It's my last name," Collins explained and Roger nodded agreeably. Mark waved from his seat shortly and Collins looked over at him expectantly.

"Mark," he said, introducing himself and reached across the bar to also shake hands with Collins. Collins laughed at the awkward stretch but shook hands with the younger man nonetheless. The bartender had reappeared at this time with a drink for Collins and eyed the display with disinterest.

"Here you are," he grunted and then moved off to see to the other customers. They had been hollering for more beer while singing a drunken rendition of some popular drinking song.

"Well he's a friendly fellow," Collins said with a cocked eyebrow. Mark and Roger laughed and took another considerable gulp from their own drinks. It was just the beginning of a beautiful night… and a friendship.

(End flashback)

Okay, so we got a little wasted. It's not like we meant for it to happen but when you hang out with Collins the fact you'll get drunk off your ass is a give in. The man always has Stoli or something on him. So while we drank, we talked about what we're doing in New York. Mark and I found out that he graduated as a teacher but wasn't having any luck getting a teaching job. His goal was to start working at NYU but so far they haven't agreed with many of his theories.

When we asked what exactly those theories were he just laughed that infectious laugh and changed the subject. We didn't mind that he blew the subject off of course because…well for one we were drunk. And for the other it was his life and he didn't have to tell us all about it or anything.

So at some point I ended up teaching them both a song that I had been sitting on for a while. I hadn't planned on it but it just sort of happened. Collins thought it was the best thing he had ever heard and before long all three of us were beating out a beat on the bar and singing the chorus loudly. We found it incredibly amusing but I guess everyone else did not.

(Flashback)

"And selling ooouuttt is a sin so don' let me catch you SEELLIINGG!!!" three male voices bellowed together and laughed hysterically in a drunken way. This had been going on for nearly an hour and quite frankly, even the drunkest of customers were getting sick of it. Plus, the more drinks that the men ordered the more that the bartender began to get suspicious.

Just then Roger took his guitar solo while Mark and Collins cheered on. Several customers gawked at the spectacle and the more sober ones laughed. But just as Roger was about to go for the wicked high notes the bartender came and slammed something down on the bar. This startled the three of them and they looked blearily over at the rude man who had just ruined their fun.

"The tab," he said shortly and stared walked away. Now why someone would just walk away, none of them knew. What they did know is that none of them had any money, there was a huge tab to be paid, and they weren't so drunk that they couldn't run.

When the bartender turned around all three of the raucous men were gone.

A few minutes later Roger, Mark and Collins finally stopped running and were laughing hysterically. They couldn't believe that they had just done that. The cold, sharp air was almost as intoxicating as all the liquor they had consumed and all three could feel the adrenaline pumping through their hot blood.

"I can imagine his face," Roger chuckled and stopped to catch his breath. Mark was also wheezing but his eyes were bright and his cheeks were flushed in excitement. Collins seemed relaxed and was now ambling down the street at a slow pace. The crunching sound his shoes made against the sloppy snow was also just as relaxing as he was.

"We better get headed back Rog." Mark and Roger looked at each other and Roger nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, we better." Collins suddenly stopped walking and stared for a while at his two new friends who had turned to face him. "We'll have to get together again Collins." He nodded and suddenly just began to spew whatever came to mind.

"I can't go home. My landlord is bound to have locked me out and thrown all my stuff away." Roger froze and shot a glance over at Mark who also looked surprised. They both knew that if Collins hadn't been so drunk he probably wouldn't have shared this with two strangers. Roger felt bad for the guy and before he could stop himself the words had already slipped through his lips.

"Well that's easy. You can move in with us." Roger heard the words and winced a little. He knew that Mark wouldn't like him having made such a decision without talking it over with him first. Mark didn't seem the least bit upset though and he even eagerly seconded the motion.

"Yeah, we have plenty of room for another person," Mark insisted. It seemed it didn't take much prodding for Collins to accept the offer however for he willingly began walking forward.

"I really appreciate it," Collins thanked and clapped both of their shoulders roughly. "I would have gone to Rick's house but… we…" Collins's voice faltered and nearly broke before he picked himself back up. "Thanks." At this point, Mark and Roger just wanted to get to their apartment and sleep their rapidly approaching hangovers away so they quickly ushered Collins to their apartment.

"You probably would have done the same for us," Mark reasoned while Roger kept a hand on Collins's shoulder. Collins nodded and grinned.

"You two are so young and naïve," he chuckled throatily. "I doubt anyone else in this city would have helped me out." Roger laughed and began to ascend the unsafe metal stairs to where their apartment was conveniently located.

"Well I guess it's lucky you got the seat next to the softies."

(End flashback)

Ever since then we've all been close. During the time we spent with each other we learned more about one another and soon Collins was amongst my closest friends. No guy can enter a room with as much ease and… well… coolness like Collins can and no one could drink him. At least, I hope not. If so then we might have a problem. It's really kind of funny how you meet some of your friends. Who would have thought I would have met one of my greatest and best friends in some small, dirty bar in the middle of New York? Even though it was strange and random I'm glad that it happened this way. And I'm just glad that I met him.

A/N: So sorry for the delay. I won't give excuses but I will ask you to review!!! I'm not quite as fond of this chapter… I had a hard time writing for Collins. I don't have as much practice with him as the other characters. Anyway…