Whoot! Another chapter down! The next chapter will be coming soon. As soon as I finish typing it which should be soon!

Thank you to all those who reviewed! I love you guys!

Disclaimer: I don't own, I RENT. Except my characters and my storyline. Those are mine.

How to Become an Addict

Two Days Later:

Mark was sitting on his twin sized bed that Ray had given him, waiting for his next hit. He was craving it. He needed it. It was his life now . . . Smack was what controlled him . . . he loved it . . . it and Jo . . . Jo . . . how he missed her . . . but smack . . . smack was becoming very important to him now . . .

His metal door opened and in strode Richard, blindfolded, and one of Ray's lackeys. The lackey took Richard's blindfold off and shoved Richard to Mark before slamming the door. Richard brushed himself off and walked over to Mark.

"Hey Mark, how are you today?" Mark was silent and adverted his eyes. Richard sighed, "Mark . . . Jo— . . ."

"Is she safe?" Mark asked suddenly.

"What?"

"Is Jo safe?"

"Yes, Collins, Roger and Benny won't let her out of their sight. She's worried and scared. She's afraid of what will happen to you if she . . . if Ray . . . finishes his job . . . Joanne's trying to figure out how to alert the police without exposing Jo. Maureen and Mimi make her eat because otherwise she might forget to. Roger, Collins and Benny take turns staying with her during the day and they sleep on the couch at night." Richard paused, "I think she's dying on the inside without you. Her eyes are dull. No one can tell what she's feeling unless she's yelling or crying. But she has a message for you: she says that they'll get you out of here and that she's sorry."

Mark sat silent for a moment before speaking. "Tell her: It's not her fault. And that I'd rather Ray torture me than her . . . because . . . the world's a lot brighter with her in it. And tell Roger not to beat himself up over this, because I know he is."

Richard nodded. "I can do that."

The door suddenly swung open and Ray entered with two lackeys.

"So sorry to interrupt, but it's time for Mark's next hit." He turned to one of his lackeys, "Get Richard."

The lackey pulled Richard away from Mark as Ray easily dragged the emotionless man into his torture chair. Ray strapped Mark down but left his left arm out. Ray then prepared the drug and brought it over in a needle. Then Ray tied a strip of elastic around Mark's bicep, held out Mark's arm, and hit the vein in the arm. Mark was emotionless and did not fight. Ray stuck the needle into the puckered vein and pushed the plunger down. After Ray took out the needle, he pulled the elastic off and untied Mark before shoving him towards the bed.

"Poor weakling," Ray sneered before exiting with his lackeys, leaving Richard to tend to Mark. Richard ran over to the slumped figure.

"Mark!" he called, "Mark! Talk to me!"

"What?" Mark slurred.

"How do you feel?" Richard asked, worried.

Mark paused, ". . . great . . ."

"Why didn't you fight?" Richard asked in anguish.

"Because . . . it feels . . . so . . . good . . ." Mark smiled to himself. Richard realized in horror that Mark was becoming addicted to heroin.

RENTRENTRENTRENTRENTRENTRENTRENTRENTRENTRENTRENTRENT

Two Months Later:

All was quiet in the loft. Maureen, Joanne and Collins had come over to be with Jo, Roger and Mimi. They were waiting from en expected visit from Richard.

Suddenly, The Man himself burst in through the fire escape. "He's getting worse." He announced.

"What?" Joanne asked.

"Mark, he's . . . he just . . ." Richard was in shock. Jo quickly went over to him and led him over to the couch where she sat him down.

"Richard, calm down. What happened?" Collins gently prodded the drug dealer.

Richard took a deep breath before speaking. "Ray talked Mark into injecting himself . . . Mark shoots up on his own now."

"He what?!" Roger exclaimed.

Mimi put a hand on Roger's arm. "Baby . . ."

"No! He's addicted now?!" Roger turned to Richard who nodded. Roger threw over the coffee table. "DAMNIT! We need to get him out of there!"

"We can't!" Collins exclaimed, "Roger, there's no way to find Mark. And even if we did, we couldn't rescue him without the police."

Richard spoke up, "I know where he is, but it's a matter of infiltrating it without getting shot."

The room was silent for several moments.

"We can do it . . ." Jo said quietly.

"What?" Collins asked.

"We can do it . . ." she said again, "We can save Mark . . ."

"Jo," Richard addressed her, "How do you propose we do that?"

"Simple, we go in undetected and save Mark . . ." Everyone stared at Jo. "What? I know Ray's armed but that doesn't mean we don't have a chance . . ."

There was a pause, "She's right," Roger said.

"What?" Mimi asked.

"Listen, Richard knows his way around this place, right?" Roger turned to Richard.

"Mostly . . ." Richard said.

"Okay, so he can lead us to Mark without us getting shot." Roger explained.

"How can you be sure?" Joanne inquired.

"I'm not," Roger replied, "But it's worth a chance."

There was another pause in conversation before Maureen spoke. "I'm coming with you."

"Honey-bear . . ."

"Pookie . . ." Maureen turned to her lover, "Listen . . . Mark's put his life on the line for us multiple times . . . I think it's time we returned the favor."

"But . . . Maureen, I don't want you to get hurt . . ." Joanne sounded worried.

"I'll be okay." Maureen reassured.

"I'll make sure of it . . ." Richard vowed, "Listen, it's worth a shot. I have a gun; I'll make sure everyone's safe."

"Then it's agreed. Let's go." Jo declared, "Mark's not going to wait forever."

"Okay, let's go." Mimi agreed. Everyone then left the Loft to go save Mark. Little did the Bohemians know, Jo had a plan of her own . . .

Oh No!! What is Jo planning??!?!? You'll find out soon!! Next chapter is a flashback then the chapter after that is a plot mover. . . PLEASE REVIEW!!! REVIEWS ARE THE SCARF AND JO TO MY MARK!!!!!