Author's Notes: We've hit 30 chapters people, WOO HOO! I was on fire w/ this one guys! Don't know why…just was! Here's another one for ya! Thanks so much to everyone that keeps up with this story and reviews, I really appreciate it. Wow, 2168 words…SHEESH! LOL!

I OWN NOTHING (but this story and the add-ons).

Please read, review and enjoy!

Chapter Thirty

The group watched, not because they didn't want to help Roger, but because they didn't know how. It was all too much, and Mark didn't know if he would be able to handle it all.

"You guys, I think we should all go home."

Everyone turned to the worn out film maker, he was right, they should go home but what if something happened to Collins while they were all asleep? What if they weren't there when he woke up?

"I can't leave him." Angel muttered still looking intently at the ground.

Mimi wiped away her tears walking up to her best friend and hugging her tightly. "Come home with me Chica, we'll come see him tomorrow."

Angel pulled away from Mimi slightly looking her in the eye. "I'm so sorry for the way I've acted; I just…don't even know what to say that will make it all better."

The dancer caught Angel's tears and wiped them away. "Forget about it Chica, I love you and I'm here for you. We can come see Collins in the morning, come on."

Without a word to anyone else, the two friends left the waiting room. Joanne moved away from Roger, grabbed Maureen's hand and left as well. Mark walked over to his friend, placing a hand on his shoulder which Roger quickly shook away. "Don't touch me." He said coldly.

"Roger, you need sleep."

Roger jumped up from his place on the floor to meet Mark face to face. "I don't need anything! I don't need you OR anyone!"

Mark continued to stay calm, he was used to this, Roger had said and done worse things when he was going to withdrawal. "Roger, let's go home."

Why did the group leave him to deal with Roger? It wasn't fair, and if anything was to happen to Mark he knew that he would deserve it.

"I said fuck off Cohen!" The rocker pocketed the gun, shoved Mark hard causing the film maker to fall backwards into a chair and left the room. Mark slowly got himself up from the couch and ran his hands through his hair.

Might as well see Collins while I'm still here.

The film maker walked into the room taken aback by all of the wires and tubes coming from his friend. The amount of them almost made Mark want to vomit. This shouldn't be Collins. "Tom?" He said quietly walking up to the man who was one of his best friends.

No response came from the professor as the machine that stood next to him helped him breathe. Mark placed his hand on Collins' and sighed. "We need you man, we're…we're falling apart over here." And for the first time since all of this, Mark wept and he wept violently. Even though he had witnessed it all, he still felt numb to it, not wanting to accept it. But he was apart of it, and there was no doubt in his mind that it wasn't over yet. Why did it seem like trouble followed the group wherever they went?

"We love you man and we just…need you to come back and fix this." He hated to put all of the responsibility on his friend, but it was the only thing he could think of at the moment. Perhaps if Collins came back, like his old self, the group would be better again. But somewhere deep inside, Mark knew that they might not even be friends after this.

"Please Collins, don't leave us…we need you." Giving up the fight against his emotions, Mark collapsed onto Collins' bed. Crying from confusion, crying from pain and crying from abandonment. No one was here to comfort him. Why did he always have to be alone in everything when he surrounded by people?

With Joanne and Maureen

The ride home was a quiet one, but both women were glad to pull into their parking structure of their apartment. Walking hand in hand up the stairs, neither woman said a word but knew what their next move was. Joanne unlocked the door, pushing it open for Maureen who smiled back at her as she walked into the apartment they shared. Maureen immediately went for the shower, peeling her clothes off as she went. Rubbing her face of the exhaustion, Joanne went to check the messages.

"Joanne! Miss Maureen! You won't believe what is happening! The Mayor's wife has come in and completely destroyed the Theatre, everything is gone!" The older woman wept into the phone, Joanne stood holding her hand to her mouth. "All of the costumes, the set, everything! The children were sent home, and Steven Jr.'s father says that Steven Jr won't even come out of his room! Oh goodness please come when you get this."

Joanne looked into the bathroom from where she was standing and figured Maureen should get some sleep with everything that was going on. Joanne was completely devastated by what the Mayor's wife had done to the Theatre, but it's hard to be devastated with one thing when something else is going completely wrong. Joanne quickly scribbled a note for Maureen and placed it on the counter of the sink. Grabbing her coat and keys, the lawyer sprinted down the stairs on her way to the Theatre.

When Joanne finally arrived at the Theatre, it was completely boarded up with no way to get in. The lawyer jumped out of her car and ran towards the front door pounding on it, tears falling down her face. "Please! Let me in!" When she got no response she remembered the hidden side door which no one let alone knew about and used. The Theatre was a bit dark at first until she walked into the main stage where the sun shone through the boarded up windows. Joanne looked around at the broken stage and tattered curtain, only to find Miss Abram in tears in the front row. All of their work, all of their passions were trampled upon as if no one created it. Jogging down the middle aisle, Joanne knelt down in front of Miss Abram who hadn't even lifted her head to greet her.

"Miss Abram, I am so sorry about this. It's all my fault."

The older woman held her hand out in protest. "No no dear, you stood up for what you believe in and I'm so proud of you."

Joanne grabbed the woman's hand and looked around at the damage. "How did she do this?"

The woman wiped her tears away with an old handkerchief. "She brought in police officers and state troopers and told them to destroy everything they saw before them. She went backstage herself and tore the costumes with a pair of scissors. All I could do was watch as the children fled the Theatre. That woman is pure evil, the children…she didn't even think of the children." Weeping into her handkerchief, Miss Abram released her hand from Joanne's who watched helplessly.

The lawyer stood up and took in everything that she saw. Placing her hands on the back of her head, Joanne walked up onto the stage picking up a piece of the wiring that held the Christmas lights Maureen loved to use at her protests. The Mayor's wife didn't leave a thing untouched or destroyed. "What do we do now?"

Miss Abram cleared her throat a bit before she spoke. "We could start anew, rebuild everything-"

"Only to have her destroy it all over again?" Joanne loved Miss Abram, but the optimism wasn't cutting it for the lawyer who threw the wiring at the wall that once was painted as a field.

"Then what do you suggest?"

A tear rolled down the lawyer's cheeks as she contemplated everything that was happening to her and her friends the past few days. "Give up."

With Angel and Mimi

Angel leaned over placing her head on Mimi's shoulder as they rode the subway back home. "Look at what I've done Meems, look at how I've torn us apart."

Mimi said nothing, and only sighed. "Shh Chica, we're almost home."

The two friends walked up the stairs to Mimi's apartment, and as Mimi fumbled for her keys Angel pointed to a note that was posted on the door. Mimi tore it off as she read it aloud. "It's an eviction notice!"

The dancer slammed her hand against the door. "Fucking Benny!" Angel could only watch her best friend as she showed her frustration and anger. "I almost lost Roger for him! No matter how many times I open my legs for him it still isn't enough! I'm never enough!"

"So you are still sleeping with him." Angel said without expression.

Mimi chewed on her lip a bit before she decided to speak again. "He wouldn't stop pestering me over it."

"That doesn't mean you have to keep seeing him Chica."

"I know! I know…" Mimi turned her back to the wall and slid down slowly. "He said that he'd leave Roger and Mark alone if I did. My mama's sister always said I'd make a great prostituta."

Angel walked over to her friend and sat down next to her, taking her hand. "Do you love him?"

Mimi looked at her friend, tears filling her eyes making it hard to see. "Yeah I do. I love Roger but…Benny, he was everything to me. He was so much more to me than sex or a way to pay the rent. We had a real relationship; I just couldn't be seen with him."

"Didn't that hurt you?"

"Of course it did Angel. But he would apologize to me, telling me that I really was special and how he really felt like himself when he was with me. I believed him…"

The street-drummer leaned over to Mimi, fixing her hair. "And you still do."

Mimi nodded her head slowly. "We had some of the best times Angel, I just wish that I could really be apart of him like I wanted-"

"Like you want to." Angel cut her off looking her square in the eye. "You can't play Roger like this, you need to choose."

"How do I tell him? What if I loose Roger and Benny doesn't even want me?"

Angel laid her head back against the wall. "That's just something you'll have to sacrifice Chica. But I'm telling you, once you loose Roger Davis, you'll never get him back again."

"I…I don't know what to do."

Angel stood up to her feet, reaching out her hand to Mimi's. "Come on, let's get some tea."

Mimi weakly smiled. "That sounds wonderful."

With Sunday

After she had explained everything, Sunday's uncle John Graves rubbed his head. "So you ended up here because of a boy?"

The young woman watched her uncle's every move. "Yes. I loved him. And he…well I thought he loved me."

"You do know that if your parents find out-"

"This is why you won't tell them Uncle John." Sunday said simply.

The man leaned back into his office chair, still not believing what just came out of his niece's mouth. "No, I suppose not. A lot of unnecessary trouble." He ran his hands through his hair sighing loudly. "Let me get this straight. You want me to have someone erase everything from this guy's record and help you find a place in Alphabet City?"

Sunday sat up in her chair moving her hair from her face. "Correct."

"You're crazy you know that girl?" The man chuckled writing down an address on a piece of paper. "Here. This will be the address of your home until we can find you a place in Alphabet City. I can't believe you Sunday, but I'm proud of you all the same. I swear if you weren't my niece…"

The young woman stood up smiling proudly. "I know Uncle, believe me I know." Taking the house keys from her uncle, the young woman ran to the side of the desk hugging her uncle tightly. "Thank you so much."

"Be careful Sunday." The older man hollered to her as she walked out. "Don't get into to much trouble."

Sunday turned to face her uncle as she walked backwards. "This is New York Uncle John! Trouble is just around every corner!"

A limo was waiting for her outside the building of her Uncle's company and she climbed in. "To the police station please."

The limo driver turned around looking at the girl in disbelief. "Miss, I was told to take you to-"

"I can get there myself thank you. I left my car at the police station could you please take me there?"

The man gave her one more glance in rear view mirror before shrugging. "Whatever."

Sunday watched out of her window as various people went on with their daily lives, not living once ounce of their lives to the fullest. But she would. She would live like she had never lived before, it was a new day and she had her eyes open to the world.