This is the last chapter.
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Chapter 12
"Maureen." Collins called walking into the living room, seeing the dazed out brunette sitting on the couch, "Maureen?"
"She's thinking about Joanne leave her alone." Angel smirked coming to stand next to Collins, giving him a playful nudge.
Maureen slowly turned to look up at them, raising a brow, all thoughts of Joanne vanishing from her mind, "What?"
"We're going to The Life Cafe now, are you coming?" Collins asked.
Maureen ran her fingers through her hair, standing up, "Yes, I need to get out of here."
"Good." Collins smiled, reaching out to pull her along, Angel looping her arm through Maureen's free arm.
During the walk over to the restaurant Angel and Collins were happily chatting away while Maureen had yet again slipped into her own mind, but this time Angel didn't let her get to far away, and brought her back to the real world.
"Okay, honey, since she has been consistently on your mind for the past week, and we know you have been trying to make up your mind about whether or not you should give Joanne a second chance, I have a question for you that might help put things in better perspective for you." Angel said, pulling Collins and Maureen to a stop, "So hypothetically, it's sometime in the future, it's the biggest day of your life, you're winning an award or something-"
"What kind of award?" Maureen cut in her curiosity getting the best of her.
Angel smirked, shrugging, "Whatever you want, maybe you're getting a Tony award." She said, watching Maureen's eyes light up a little, "Or you have successfully performed another protest, one that has such a big impact it is shown worldwide and you're getting ready for an interview that will be shown on evey channel."
Maureen smiled, "Okay okay, so it's a big night, go on."
Angel nodded, "Right, it's the biggest night of your life, so in this future who do you see next to you?"
"Well that's simple. All of you guys." Maureen replied and Collins stood next to her with a smile.
"Well of course we'd all be there to support you. But who's sitting next to you. You only get to bring one person to the award show or who's sitting next to you on the couch holding your hand while you watch the news about your hypothetical life changing protest?"
Maureen's eyebrows creased together with confusion, the question sinking in as the meaning of Angel's theoretical question just got deeper. "Oh..."
Angel leaned in, pressing a kiss to Maureen's cheek, reaching out for Collins' hand, letting Maureen ponder that, "Come on I'm hungry!"
Maureen nodded, turning to follow, "I need a drink..."
During the evening, even though Angel's question was still burning in her mind, she started out doing a pretty good job at not letting it take her out of her reality, and she was able to enjoy time with the boho's, however as she kept drinking and drinking, her mind began to slip to that place of thought and as she stumbled a little from the bar back to the table, she plopped down in the empty seat next to Mark.
"So would you..." Maureen began hiccupping a little, "Would you have given me a second chance?"
Mark turned to her, reaching for the beer Maureen was holding and setting it on the table, "Pardon?" he asked, even though he knew perfectly well where this conversation was heading.
"Back in the day when I was a bitch, would you have taken me back?" Maureen asked.
"I did." Mark honestly replied, "Don't you remember the first time I caught you making out with someone else?" he asked,
"But I never slept with that guy!" Maureen quickly fired back.
"But you slept with Joanne and I still stayed with you longer than I should have." Mark admitted watching Maureen's face fall. "Maureen, I-"
"It's okay." Maureen said shaking her head, pausing a minute, her gazing shifting to her hands, sobering up just a little, "Why?" She whispered, "Why'd you stay with me through that?"
"Because I was head over heels in love with you." Mark said, "I would have done anything to keep you. Love is a funny thing I guess. When you have feelings for someone, strong feelings it's just not something you give up on. I loved you enough to want to try and fix things. I loved you enough to want to make it work and try and have a forever with you. But sometimes you have to know when to walk away, even if it's the hardest thing you ever have to do."
Maureen finally glanced up at him, her eyes sincere, "I'm sorry."
Mark nodded with a smile, reaching out placing a hand on her shoulder, "I know. I forgive you. Things worked out anyway." He said nodding over to Ella his new girlfriend who was talking to Mimi, "I couldn't be happier. Things have a funny way of working out like that, if you just let them."
"She's your person?" Maureen smiled.
"It's kind of early to tell, but I hope she turns out to be." Mark smirked.
Maureen let out a breath sighing, "How'd you know it was time to walk away from me?"
Mark looked away for a moment, and then proceeded to answer, "When I saw you with Joanne. There was just something different about you. It was a good different, something I couldn't ever bring out and Joanne somehow did." He shrugged. "Like now...you just seem lost or something without her and I've spoken with Jo, she seems lost too."
"Yeah..." Maureen said standing up, "It because she's my person." She said grabbing her coat and sliding it over her shoulders, in her drunken state everything starting to slowly click for her, "I have to go."
Mark quickly stood with her, "Is that a good idea, maybe Ella and I can walk you home?"
Maureen shook her head, "I'm not going home." She said, catching the rest of the group's attention.
"Where are you going?" Collins asked standing up as well.
"It's Joanne." Maureen said her eyes landing on Angel, "The answer to your trick question." She said, "It's Joanne I see standing next to me."
Angel smiled bursting out of her chair and hugging Maureen, "I knew it."
Maureen playfully rolled her eyes, trying to pull away but Mimi came up behind her hugging her as well, trapping her between Angel.
"Go make things better again, I miss MoJo!" Mimi smiled.
"Okay I will, but like let go of me so I can." Maureen said shaking her head.
Angel and Mimi pulled away, sending Maureen on her way.
It was close to midnight when Joanne jolted from her sleep due to a pounding on her door. She blinked a few times sitting up on the couch, where she had fallen asleep after watching some Lifetime movie on TV. She pulled the blanket over her shoulders, picking up her pace when there was more frantic knocking, "Okay okay, I'm coming." She said, stopping dead in her tracks when she reached the door and realized what time it was, "Wait, who is it!"
"It's me." Maureen replied.
Joanne quickly unlocked the door and pulled it open shocked to see Maureen standing in front of her, after everything Maureen was the last person she expected to see standing before her.
"Sorry it's late, I was just out and Angel asked me this stupid question and then I was talking with Mark and that mixed with alcohol started to get me thinking and the answer ended up being you of course." Maureen ranted.
Joanne just nodded, not comprehending anything, but she moved aside to let Maureen in and shut and locked the door again, "Okay, why don't you go have a seat on the couch and I'll get you some water and you can try and explain to me what you just said over again."
Maureen only nodded and headed to the living room. A few minutes later Joanne entered the living room, handing Maureen a bottle of water. She took the seat next to Maureen and shut off the TV.
"So...the answer was me?" Joanne asked hoping Maureen would be able to clarify herself better.
"It's you Joanne." Maureen said, "It's you I see in the future. After everything, I don't know what it is, but if you're willing to try and fix things then I am too. I don't want to walk away yet."
Joanne was more than thrilled to hear that Maureen had arrived at this conclusion, but she aired her concern, "Yet?"
"Poor choice of a word." Maureen stated rolling her eyes, "I'm not ready to walk away from you." She said reaching out for Joanne's hand. "I still love you and I hope that this break you were on from me was the only one you-"
Maureen had no choice but to stop talking since Joanne had cut her off with a kiss.
"That break was stupid." Joanne whispered running her fingers through Maureen's hair, brushing some of it out of her face and tucking it behind her ear, "I don't even know what I was thinking. It was silly and I-"
This time it was Maureen's turn to cut Joanne off with a kiss, she being the bold one and sliding her tongue into the mix, slipping her arms around Joanne's waist and pressing into her, remembering how much she loved the warmth of being so close to Joanne. Joanne reciprocated those feelings, moving closer to Maureen, her fingers inching up the back of her neck and tangling in her hair. They kissed for as long as they could, before air was needed.
"I've missed you." Joanne whispered, the both of them still close, so when she spoke their lips would brush together. "Stay the night."
Maureen pressed a quick kiss to her lips, "Okay." She breathed, pressing another one and another until Joanne was lying on her back and she was on top of her.
The two spent the night relearning their bodies, and rekindling their relationship, whenever their lips weren't busy kissing other lips, or whatever exposed skin they could find, they were talking, or laughing, and just finally making things right.
The next morning they lay tangled in a blanket, Joanne pressing light kisses up Maureen's arm, neck and then ending on her lips, "Morning."
"So tired." Maureen mumbled, her eyes sleepily gazing into Joanne's.
"Me too." Joanne said, "Sleep for a bit and then go meet everyone?"
Maureen nodded, using what energy she had left to snuggle into Joanne, nuzzling her nose in her mocha skin, inhaling deeply and then relaxing into her, letting her body win and finally sleep. Joanne pulled her in closer and soon she too was asleep.
A few hours later at the loft Collins stood in front of Joanne, arms crossed, face serious.
"Is he going to kill her?" Roger whispered to Mimi, watching the interaction.
"Repeat it again." Collins said to Joanne.
"Collins..." Maureen whined, but she was smiling because she was secretly loving how he was being all protective over her, and as much as she loved Joanne, she deserved his protective ways before Collins let her back into The Boho's.
"I'm sorry, I was stupid and selfish, and I don't know what I was thinking. I love Maureen with all my heart and I would do anything to protect her. I realize and understand that you don't fully trust me yet and it will take time to regain your trust, but I promise you that I will get it back. Maureen is so worth it. I realize how worth it and you bet your ass I will prove how worth it she really is."
Collins finally nodded, smirking slightly and then heading back to the couches.
"It's a start." Angel smiled giving Joanne a hug, guiding her to the couch.
"Whoa..." Maureen said grabbing Joanne's arm and pulling her out of Angel's grip. "We can't stay."
"But we want to catch up..." Mimi said from behind Angel.
"So do we." Maureen said wrapping her arms around Joanne's waist from behind, "We have a lot to talk about."
"Yeah probably in bed." Roger teased.
Maureen smirked, "Don't hate."
"Maureen..." Joanne giggled, resting her hands over Maureen's, but she wasn't denying that she wanted to spend some alone time with Maureen.
"Fine, go." Angel said, "Go make MoJo happen."
"Oh we will." Maureen said, "Bye!" she waved, both her and Joanne all but running to the exit.
Once outside Joanne pulled Maureen to a stop and into her arms.
"I love you." Joanne smiled pressing a quick kiss to her lips.
"I love you too." Maureen smiled
The End
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So there you have it. Sorry if it felt really rushed, I just didn't want to leave it unfinished, stuff like that bothers me. And I'm also sorry it took me forever to update and finish this story, I hope you still enjoyed it though! Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed! :)
Special shout out to EmZ711 for the idea/concept of the story! I hope you enjoyed it lots! :)