A/N: After realizing how cruel I was being, I ended up adding more MoJo than I thought I would. And by the way, the last two chapters were the only ones that weren't based on either Joanne or Maureen. Sorry about those, just had to set up the plot. Well, enjoy!
Disclaimer: Yeah, nothing changed in the past 24 hours. I still don't own it.
"SPEEEEEEEEEEAK." *beep*
"Hey Rog, it's Mimi. Meet me at the Catscratch? I'm gonna go look around the performance space afterward. Well, see you later."
"SPEEEEEEEEEEAK." *beep*
"Mark, Roger, it's Collins. I'm going down to the park with Mimi. If you guys decide to meet us there, keep an eye out for Maureen, okay? Still haven't seen her."
"SPEEEEEEEEEEAK." *beep*
"It's Mark. Listen, we haven't seen her in a week. I think she's pulling a Mimi. Guys, we need to find her, sooner rather than later."
"Hey! It's MoJo! If you're hearing this we're probably either really busy or possibly fucking each other. Leave a message after the-" *beep*
"Joanne, it's Mimi. Have you seen Maureen? We haven't seen her in, like, ten days. We're getting kind of worried. Roger thinks she did something stupid, but he wont tell us what, and... Anyway. Call us if you see her."
"SPEEEEEEEEEEAK." *beep*
"Guys, it's Roger. I'm on Avenue A. I swear, I saw her... Meet me down here if you can."
"SPEEEEEEEEEEAK." *beep*
"Roger again. I found her."
"Hey, did you see a girl come through here? Dark, curly hair? About this tall?" Roger continued to describe his friend, tapping his foot impatiently. The officer looked at the ceiling for a minute, before nodding. "That way," he said, pointing.
Roger ran in the direction the officer had pointed, not bothering to thank him. He had to find Maureen. It'd been a week and a half since she'd been seen at the Life. And it wasn't even that that worried Roger- it was the fact that Maureen had been talking to the Man.
Maureen and Roger had known each other since they were kids. No, they hadn't always gotten along well, but due to the fact that their moms had been best friends in college, the children were forced to make the best of their situation. And if there was one thing Roger had learned in the fifteen-odd years he'd known her, it was that Maureen could do stupid, dangerous things when she was heartbroken.
This was one of them.
As he weaved in and out of the crowd making their way onto the subway train, the rocker just hoped she hadn't used it yet. If she had...he shook his head, not wanting to even think about that.
One question rang through his mind: Why'd she do it?
He'd been searching for hours, all around the city, yet it had amounted to nothing. Roger knew they had to find her- he didn't think it was safe to risk one more day- but it looked like it was time to give up for the afternoon. It would probably be a better idea just to go file a missing persons report, and... He stopped his train of thought, noticing a dark-haired figure sitting on a bench in the shadows. "Maureen!" he called. The figure's head shot up, revealing green eyes that were dull from the stress, hunger, and exhaustion she had suffered in the past eleven days. She looked paler, thinner- she probably had barely eaten anything since the night of the breakup. Her hair was wild and tangled; the look on her face was one of desperation.
And there was a needle in her arm.
Eyes wild, she yanked it out, but not before Roger caught sight of it. His expression hardened; he ran up to her and snatched the needle from her hand, feeling extremely betrayed. Enraged. Hurt.
"Why?" he asked. "Why the hell would you do this, Mo?"
A small voice in the back of her head popped up. Because I need it, I need her...
Instead she went with, "Roger, it's not what you think."
"Really? Because I'm pretty sure it is!" He looked around, making sure no one could see or hear them, before continuing. "Is this not heroin?"
She lowered her gaze to the floor, choking back tears.
...with her hair and her eyes and her smile...
"Why did you do this?" he repeated. "Out of all the people you could turn to, you go to the Man? What the hell! Do you not remember what happened to me? To Mimi? To April?"
At the sound of April's name, Maureen flinched. The two had been close- best friends, even. When she died, it hurt Maureen almost as much as it hurt Roger. The first time you lose someone you're close to...she could never forget the pain, the depression, the longing. Roger tensed, now fully aware of what he had said, but forced himself to carry on with the lecture.
"There are so many things that could happen- addiction, HIV, death... You know that. For god's sake, you saw what happened to me. I just don't know what would even posses you to try this shit."
...her laugh and her voice and her passion...
"How many days have you used this?"
"A week," she whispered. "He gave it to me in the alley outside the Life, the day after... after she and I broke up. I wasn't going to use it, but he wouldn't say no, so I took it, and I was so fucking desperate, and by the time about three or four days had passed, I couldn't take it any more, and...you get the picture. I used it every day since."
...and her touches and her kisses and her love...
Roger sighed, throwing the needle into the garbage can. "I just can't believe you would do this. You, of all people."
They stood in silence for a little while, before Maureen looked up at him with watery eyes. "Rog, help me. Please."
...I just need her back...
The thought echoed around in her head, and she realized just how desperate she was.
After a bit of hesitation, Roger nodded, pulling her into a friendly, comforting embrace. Maureen had to dig her nails into her palm to keep from crying, attempting to ignore the longing she had to run to the trash can, grab the needle, and drive it back into her skin. It was the only thing that could distract her from Joanne... Shoving those thoughts aside, she buried her face in Roger's shoulder.
"We'll make it through this, Mo. You'll be okay."
She wished she could believe him.
"Do we have to do this?" Maureen whined, fidgeting under the bright florescent lights in the ceiling. The room didn't have a window, and Maureen didn't like enclosed spaces. At all. That on top of everything else made her want to scream and jump off a cliff.
"Yes, Maureen, we have to do this. You know what could happen."
She threw back her head. "For god's sake, Roger, I'm Bi! My partner is a female! I couldn't exactly spread it to anyone, could I?"
"Relax, Mo, it'll be done in no time and you'll be able to go back into the daylight," he reassured her. "We just need to know."
For a moment, she allowed herself to imagine it was Joanne who was with her in the hospital room instead of Roger. Joanne would wrap her arms around Maureen, planting a chaste kiss on her lips before pulling away... Maureen would pull her back in, deepening the kiss, never wanting the moment to end. Passion. Love. Joanne's shirt would end up on the floor, followed by Maureen's, and so on and so forth. Hands would grope, pleasured moans emitted, and neither would care if they got kicked out of the hospotal. The two would finally have a moment to themselves, a moment together... and the things they could do with a mere moment... Maureen could feel the butterflies in her stomach just thinking about it, and had to cross her legs in an attempt to ignore the familiar sensation in her nether regions. It surprised her how badly she longed for the lawyer- surprised her, amazed her, enthralled her, terrified her. In the end, all she was left with was an empty feeling, a newly reknowned longing for the mocha-skinned woman.
But Joanne wasn't there, Maureen had to remind herself, pulling herself out of her sexual fantasy and once again fighting back tears. Joanne didn't want her anymore. Joanne had moved on.
At that point, the doctor reentered the room with a needle (at the sight of which both Maureen and Roger tensed). "Ms. Johnson? Are you ready?"
Maureen took a deep breath and nodded, looking over at her oldest friend, who had stood up and was heading toward the door. "No!"
Roger turned back toward her.
"Please," she begged, feeling the stress of the last week and a half crack down on her. "Stay. I...I can't handle this alone."
He hesitated. "You sure? It'll only take a minute."
She nodded. "I'm sure. I need someone here."
A bit later, the doctor left the two alone while he went to get the results.
"No one else needs to know about this yet," Roger offered.
Maureen nodded, staring at the floor. "Imagine how Mimi would react. Or Collins. Or anyone." Imagine how Joanne would react, she added mentally, but decided against voicing the statement.
Lost in thought, they sat in silence for what felt like forever before there was a knock at the door and the doctor came back in.
"All right, ma'am, we have the test results here," he told her.
"Well?" The performer clung to Roger's hand like a lifeline and braced herself. There was a horribly long silence, and Maureen's heart skipped a few beats.
"...Ms. Johnson, I'm just going to cut to the chase. You're HIV positive."
And just like that, the world smashed down on her like a ton of bricks.
A/N: Well, there it is. Hope you liked it. Hmm...well, I had something I needed to say, but I lost it. Oh well. Thank you to my reviewers and story alerters! You guys are the best.
It worked, didn't it?
Of course it did.
See, no harm done in reviewing.
You know, this time, you get a cookie. A big cookie. With MoJo on top.
You know you want it...
You know what to do. :)