Okay good people. This is the part where I update and make your lives happy! :-) Wait . . . this isn't a happy story. It doesn't deserve a happy face. It deserves a sad one. :-(
I own nothing. The Almighty Larson owns it all. I'm serious. I don't even own the title . . . or Matt. Gema227 owns the title, i'llbeyourcoat owns Matt, and SPEEEEEEEAK owns the first sentence of this chapter. I just own the plot.
The lines of black print of the missing persons form swam in front of Angel's eyes. A few of her teardrops fell onto the paper. She was able to fill out Collins' name, birth date, and describe what he was wearing before she burst into tears again. Mimi filled the rest of the form out and then offered to stay with her before calling the rest of their friends.
"Sorry it took us so long," Joanne said as she and Maureen walked in the door. "We had to walk." She then noticed Angel was crying. "What's going on?"
"We don't know," Mark replied. "She's been crying ever since Roger and I got here."
"Well, where's Collins?" Maureen asked, causing Angel to cry even harder.
"Mo, maybe you shouldn't mention him right now," Mimi suggested.
"Why?"
"He's the reason she's crying."
"What'd he do to her?" Roger asked.
"Nothing," Mimi said.
"Then why's she crying and what does it have to do with Collins?" Joanne asked.
"He's . . . missing," Angel choked out. Everyone froze.
"What do you mean he's missing?" Roger asked daringly.
"He was kidnapped," Mimi explained.
Kidnapped? Roger thought. That can't be true. Something like this would never happen to Collins. He wouldn't let it. Looking at Angel's tear-stained face as she clung onto Mimi was too much for him. He went out onto the fire escape and just stared at the sky.
"Roger?" Maureen said, climbing out onto the fire escape. "You okay?"
"How could this happen?" Roger asked. "Who the hell would do this?"
"I don't know, but Mimi said that the police are all over it so it's gonna be o-"
"DON'T YOU DARE SAY IT'S GONNA BE OKAY!" Maureen jumped at Roger's sudden outburst.
"It's important that we think positively, Rog," she said.
"What is there to think positively about!?" Roger was glaring at her now. "Collins is gonna fucking die and you're saying it's gonna be okay!"
"You don't know that for-"
"Yes I do! Think about it Maureen! What do Mimi, Angel, Collins, and I all have in common!?" Maureen thought for a moment before her eyes widened.
"AIDS," she said quietly.
"Yes, AIDS! He needs his AZT and he doesn't have it!" Roger yelled.
"He . . . doesn't have his AZT! HE'S GONNA DIE!" Maureen fell to her knees, shaking from the force of her sobs. Roger got down on his knees and hugged her tightly.
"Shh," he soothed as he helped her up.
"But we've known each other forever!" Maureen sobbed. "He can't just die! It's not fair, Roger! It's just not fair!"
"I know it's not fair, Maureen, I know."
"Why couldn't it have been me instead!?"
"Calm down."
"I can't calm down! He's my best friend!"
"He's my best friend too. God, I can only imagine what could be happening to him right now."
"I don't even wanna think about it."
"Well, no matter what happens, we gotta be strong. For Angel's sake." Maureen sniffed and nodded before she let Roger lead her back into the apartment.
"So the guy in this picture is one of the kidnappers?" Mimi was asking Linda, who had come to the apartment while Maureen and Roger were out on the fire escape. Her face, like Angel's, was tear-stained.
"Yes," Linda replied. "And he didn't like Collins at all."
"What do you mean he didn't like Collins?" Angel asked.
"Well, I think it's because he's black."
"Collins is in the hands of a racist?" Joanne asked. Linda nodded.
"Let me see the picture," Roger said. Linda gave him the picture and he and Maureen looked at it together.
"Oh my God!" Maureen exclaimed. "That's Matt!" Everyone stared at her.
"You know him?" Joanne asked, her eyebrow raised slightly. Maureen nodded as she continued to stare at the picture. "How?" Maureen looked up at her girlfriend.
"I dated him," she said.
"Ow!" Collins yelled, his shirt half off, moving away from Lisa and the first aid kit.
"If you keep moving, I'm never gonna get it out," Lisa pointed out, moving closer to him with a pair of tweezers in her hand.
"But it hurts!"
"Well, having a pitbull's tooth stuck in your shoulder doesn't exactly feel pleasant."
"No need to be a smart-ass." Lisa tried to take the tooth out of Collins' shoulder. "OW! Okay, time out!" Collins snatched the tweezers out of Lisa's hand.
"Hey! I need those!" Lisa said. She grabbed for them, but Collins stood up and held them out of her reach. "Ugh! Give 'em back!" She stood up as well.
"No," Collins said.
"Do you want that tooth to rot while it's in your shoulder and give you an infection?"
"That's the last thing I want. If I get an infection I . . . my AZT! SHIT!"
"AZT? You have AIDS?"
"Yes. I'm gonna die without my AZT!"
"No you won't. You can use mine." Collins fell silent and lowered his hand. "What?"
"You have . . . who gave it to you?"
"Matt. We were having problems so he went on a two week vacation and gave me AIDS as a souvenir."
"Oh. I'm sorry."
"No need to be."
"I'm not gonna use your AZT. You need it."
"I'll just use Matt's. I'll tell him that . . . I ran out or something." Susie suddenly grabbed the tweezers out of Collins' hand and gave them to Lisa.
"Hey!" Collins exclaimed.
"Thanks," Lisa said to Susie, who smiled.
"Traitor," Collins said.
"I'm sorry, but I don't want you to get sick," Susie said.
"Alright, now let's get that tooth," Lisa said.
"Fine," Collins said. "Hold on." Collins took his shirt off and Lisa's eyes widened.
"What'd you do that for?" she asked, staring at Collins' exposed upper body longingly. She bit her bottom lip and silently wished she could see more of him.
"So you can get to my shoulder easier," Collins explained. "Why are you starin' at me like that?"
"Huh? Oh . . . no reason." Collins turned around and braced himself for the pain. Susie slipped her hand into his.
"If you feel any pain, you can squeeze my hand," she said.
"If I squeeze your hand, I might bre . . . AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Lisa had dug the tooth out of his shoulder, but he made sure he didn't squeeze Susie's hand in fear of hurting her.
"I'm sorry," Lisa said. "On the bright side, I got it." She then threw the tooth somewhere behind her and quickly, yet gently, cleaned up his shoulder and put gauze over the bites in his shoulder. "Collins?"
"Yes?" Collins replied, turning around to face her. She once again drank in the beauty of his body.
"Um . . . I . . ." She pulled Collins into a deep kiss as Matt came down the stairs.
Okay . . . chapter's done . . . you can predict what's gonna happen next if you want, but . . . uh . . . DON'T KILL ME! (dodges flying objects)