Pos/Neg, Chapter Two
Title: Pos/Neg
Author: Donner
Summary: It's over for Angel and Collins. They have called it quits after a few months. Mark decides to let Angel in, but as they get closer and closer to each other, an attraction of "more than friends" occurs. Mark must decide. Either be something he has never been, a risk taker, or try and ignore a beautifully broken person trying to get by.
Rating: Now PG-13
Pairing: Angel/Collins, Mark/Angel
Fandom: RENT
Disclaimer: I don't own emotion, or REEEEENT!
You officially know you’re cool when Teh Alice says she likes it.
Whoa... I’m staring at this old ticket stub from the New York Giants... and all I saw was “COLLINS” and I realized Kerry Collins was on it. Muy ironic.
Pos/Neg
By Donna
Chapter Two: Hold Fast
By ten, Angel was fast asleep. Mark wasn’t worried about it. He could only guess how long Angel was out there and the drama that surrounded him beforehand. He looked peaceful. His eyes were closed gently, his pink lips parted slightly. He was now nice and dry and had a rather good meal. Mark felt exploitive. His friend was recovering from a break-up and all he could think about was how... tangible... they looked asleep. Roger came in and gave Mark a blanket. “Want it? It was in my room, but it’s too damn hot for me.”
Mark grabbed it, fingering through the fringe at the edge of it.
“You okay?” Roger asked, suspicious.
“Just... confused,” was the only way Mark could reply. Confused wasn’t even the half of it.
Roger grumbled, “I’m going to be early, too. Night.”
“Night,” Mark whispered. He held the blanket tighter in his arms. He shut his eyes and took a deep breath. “Ah... I hate this.”
He draped the blanket on Angel and darted.
*****************************************
The next morning, Angel was happy again. He bounced around and attempted to make breakfast. Roger liked the idea of having a waiter and showed it by leaning back on his chair, demanding, “Make coffee. I like mine black.”
Mark sighed. Either Roger was trying to have it seem like nothing happened, or Roger was just a jerk.
Mark watched Angel twirl in the old sweats. He bit his lip. He had to get Angel his normal clothes... pronto. He didn’t deserve to live in Roger and Mark’s tattered sweatpants. But at the same time, Mark had to weigh out seeing Collins, which he really didn’t feel like seeing right now. He was short on details, but he had this nagging feeling that Collins did something stupid to make Angel lurk in the rain without any umbrella or jacket. Mark just prayed that it was a clean, mutual, break. He took a chance and got ready to leave, hoping to catch Collins before he left for NYU.
“Where are you going?” Roger asked.
“Yeah ” Angel said, “You’re going to miss breakfast...”
“I’ll have some later, guys,” Mark said, “I’m going to go get some things for you, Angel.”
“You don’t have to do that,” Angel said quietly.
“I know, I know,” Mark mumbled, wrapping his scarf around his neck, “but, you’re probably going to have to stay here for awhile, I figure...”
Angel nodded. Roger gave a look of utter dread. He wasn’t sure if he could take Angel’s perkiness twenty-four/seven. It was like looking after a child.
“Well,” Mark said, opening the door, “I gotta go.”
He ran to Collins’ apartment. Collins was nearly out the door. He looked up at Mark and mumbled a hi.
“Uhm,” Mark said, trying to be quick, “Angel is going to spend some time at the loft. She was there last night, too. You know, in case you’re wondering.”
“Oh. Yeah. Thanks. I was worried,” Collins said, almost emotionless. “I was worried sick about her.”
“What happened?”Mark asked.
“Look, Mark, I gotta go,” Collins said, gruff.
“Can I get her things?” Mark asked.
“Yeah,” Collins said, letting Mark in.
Mark found the infamous pickle tub and stuffed it with her blonde wig, a few pairs of tights, two drag outfits, street clothes, and some make-up (he could only figure that her necessities were like that of Maureen or any other girl). Collins shoved in a pair of drumsticks. “That’ll do.”
Mark nodded. “Yeah. You know, I’ll come back at a better time and get all her stuff...”
Collins looked at Mark with a pained look in his eyes. “Okay. Uhm... see ya, Mark.”
“Bye,” Mark whispered, leaving. As he juggled the important contents in the tub, his mind raced. This basically wasn’t a clean break. Collins still wanted her back, and it was clear. So either the Collins screwed up theory was accurate, or Angel dumped him, which wasn’t possible. Angel seemed much too distraught to be the one to dump him. And that simply didn’t seem like Angel’s style. He took a deep breath and opened the door of the loft, juggling the tub. He gasped as he nearly dropped it, Roger and Angel darting over to catch it. As a drumstick hit the ground, Roger asked, “How’d it go?”
“We didn’t really talk,” Mark said. He picked up the drumstick and handed the tub to Angel. “He feels bad... for whatever he did.”
Angel nodded. “I’d hope so.”
Roger and Mark looked at each other nervously. Mark got an idea. “Oh! Angel, why don’t you come with me to do some filming today and tomorrow instead of drumming... it’ll be fun. We really do need some time together!”
Angel said, “Mark... I really want to drum. I haven’t for a few days.”
“So drum in the loft with Roger afterwards,” Mark suggested, “Roger needs a beat, anyway.”
Roger nodded. “Yeah. It’d be fun.”
Angel smiled. “Okay. I’ll... go get dressed.” He took the tub into the bathroom and returned several minutes later in a floral-pattern dress and a blonde wig. With a quick smile and a curtsey, he became the glamourous Angel Dumott-Schunard, mistress of blurring the lines of male and female. She hugged Mark tightly. “Thanks for picking out this dress... I just got it at a thrift store and I didn’t get to wear it yet! I think it looks pretty good. What do you think?”
“I like it,” Mark said, blushing.
“Yeah... I do, too,” Roger added, trying to sneak out. Then something caught his eye. “Angel... are those... bruises?”
Angel looked at him like he was crazy. “Where?”
Roger grabbed her arms and inspected them. “Yep. Those are bruises.”
Sure enough, there were purple marks on the upper half of her arms. “Did someone grab you?”
Angel said, “Yeah... some did. It was ugly.”
Mark piped in with, “Was it... Collins?”
Angel didn’t answer. She took her worn red jacket and put it on.
“Angel,” Roger said, raising his voice.
“It was Collins, alright?” Angel snapped, “We fought physically. If you look at him, he’s got some scratches. He grabbed me and shoved me. It’s seriously not as bad as it looks. I just bruise easily. Leave me alone.”
Mark gasped. This was getting a little more serious than he thought. These two fought... physically. He knew that he couldn’t get any more information with Roger around. He said, “Come on, Angel, we need to go.”
Angel nodded, not having enough emotion to shoot Roger a dirty look. They walked out in silence.
The whole day was very quiet, thick with confusion and curiosity, but no courage to come out with it. Angel barely said a word, tapping out a beat on her legs and Mark filmed around the city. The next day fit their current state perfectly... unseasonably cold for late March. As the drag queen and film maker walked together, Mark asked, “Angel... are you cold?” He noticed how she rubbed her arms multiple times, in hopes of heating up. She didn’t have a thick jacket, and was used to being tangled in someone’s arms, so it was strange and lonely.
She shook her head. “I’ll be good.”
Mark took her hand closest to him and gently felt at her fingers. “You’re freezing!”
He made them stop as he took his scarf and unwrapped it from his neck. He wrapped it around Angel’s neck and smiled as he let go of it slowly. “There you go.”
Angel looked at the way the blue and white stripes hung down her chest. “Thank you.”
“You look good in it!” Mark added.
Angel smiled, realizing she was blushing. “O-oh... oh God. I’m blushing!”
“I never thought I’d see the day that the invincible Angel D. Schunard would feel herself crumble against the weakling white boy from Scarsdale,” Mark said, well aware he was bashing himself.
Angel laughed. “You’re so weird!”
Mark smiled widely. They were finally resuming normality. She looks so cute... he thought. Then he mentally cringed. Wait, wait, wait. No! She’s not really a girl, remember? She’s a guy. And she has AIDS. Just... don’t... start.
“What’s wrong?” Angel asked.
“Nothing,” Mark said. But even so, his mind was racing. Mark... you have more than five valid reasons not to go on with this fantasy. She’s still recovering from a break-up... you are going to succumb to being a rebound. You are not even that low, yet. And, hello, she’s a guy. And besides, even if you get over that... she’s going to die. You don’t deserve to suffer, Mark!
He watched as Angel played with the fringe of his scarf.
...but... she doesn’t deserve to suffer, either.
Mark held her hand as a mysterious part of his brain said, Come on, Mark. For once, do something impulsive.
“Angel,” Mark whispered, “can you give me some advice?” Just take your time, Mark...
“Of course, Mark,” Angel said, “I’m all ears.”
“Well,” Mark said, “let’s say that you have a friend you’ve known for awhile.”
“Yeah?” Angel said. She had an idea as to where this was going...
“Okay. You have a crush on this friend.”
“Ahh... one of those,” Angel murmured, hanging onto the scarf for dear life.
“...but you’re not sure if your friend wants to go with it,” Mark said.
“Uh huh,” Angel said, trying to play dumb. Mark was so cute when it came to this stuff...
“What do you do?” Mark asked, “Do you bite the bullet and just say, ‘I love you, dammit!’?”
Angel grinned. “You bite the bullet, dammit! Just say it! ‘Tis better to love, than not love at all... or something like that! And I do believe this ‘friend’ demands some thing in return for their trouble.”
Mark looked at her, confused. “What?”
“A kiss would be nice,” Angel said.
“My, aren’t we a little aggressive,” Mark said, as if he was talking to a four year old.
“And you’re just not finishing what you started,” Angel snarled back.
“Okay,” Mark said.
“Okay!” Angel yelled, “Kiss me, dammit!”
Mark nodded. He hadn’t done kissing in a long time... but it was like riding a bicycle. You never forget...
He took her chin and pulled it toward him. He tried to dig back into his memory banks to when he was dating Maureen... He slowly met with Angel’s lips and made sure that it was a long, deliberate, kiss. As he broke it he realized he opened a floodgate. It wasn’t so much that he was negative, and she was positive, it was that he pretty much took an oath to be with her until the end.
Whenever that was.
*************************************
*beams* I really should be studying for my geometry quiz on proofs... but...
In the next chapter, Mark and Angel wander around the city, trying to figure out how they work together.
There is going to be a hardcore makeout scene by chapter five... I’m writing it right now :D
I hope you liked it,
Donna
Author: Donner
Summary: It's over for Angel and Collins. They have called it quits after a few months. Mark decides to let Angel in, but as they get closer and closer to each other, an attraction of "more than friends" occurs. Mark must decide. Either be something he has never been, a risk taker, or try and ignore a beautifully broken person trying to get by.
Rating: Now PG-13
Pairing: Angel/Collins, Mark/Angel
Fandom: RENT
Disclaimer: I don't own emotion, or REEEEENT!
You officially know you’re cool when Teh Alice says she likes it.
Whoa... I’m staring at this old ticket stub from the New York Giants... and all I saw was “COLLINS” and I realized Kerry Collins was on it. Muy ironic.
Pos/Neg
By Donna
Chapter Two: Hold Fast
By ten, Angel was fast asleep. Mark wasn’t worried about it. He could only guess how long Angel was out there and the drama that surrounded him beforehand. He looked peaceful. His eyes were closed gently, his pink lips parted slightly. He was now nice and dry and had a rather good meal. Mark felt exploitive. His friend was recovering from a break-up and all he could think about was how... tangible... they looked asleep. Roger came in and gave Mark a blanket. “Want it? It was in my room, but it’s too damn hot for me.”
Mark grabbed it, fingering through the fringe at the edge of it.
“You okay?” Roger asked, suspicious.
“Just... confused,” was the only way Mark could reply. Confused wasn’t even the half of it.
Roger grumbled, “I’m going to be early, too. Night.”
“Night,” Mark whispered. He held the blanket tighter in his arms. He shut his eyes and took a deep breath. “Ah... I hate this.”
He draped the blanket on Angel and darted.
*****************************************
The next morning, Angel was happy again. He bounced around and attempted to make breakfast. Roger liked the idea of having a waiter and showed it by leaning back on his chair, demanding, “Make coffee. I like mine black.”
Mark sighed. Either Roger was trying to have it seem like nothing happened, or Roger was just a jerk.
Mark watched Angel twirl in the old sweats. He bit his lip. He had to get Angel his normal clothes... pronto. He didn’t deserve to live in Roger and Mark’s tattered sweatpants. But at the same time, Mark had to weigh out seeing Collins, which he really didn’t feel like seeing right now. He was short on details, but he had this nagging feeling that Collins did something stupid to make Angel lurk in the rain without any umbrella or jacket. Mark just prayed that it was a clean, mutual, break. He took a chance and got ready to leave, hoping to catch Collins before he left for NYU.
“Where are you going?” Roger asked.
“Yeah ” Angel said, “You’re going to miss breakfast...”
“I’ll have some later, guys,” Mark said, “I’m going to go get some things for you, Angel.”
“You don’t have to do that,” Angel said quietly.
“I know, I know,” Mark mumbled, wrapping his scarf around his neck, “but, you’re probably going to have to stay here for awhile, I figure...”
Angel nodded. Roger gave a look of utter dread. He wasn’t sure if he could take Angel’s perkiness twenty-four/seven. It was like looking after a child.
“Well,” Mark said, opening the door, “I gotta go.”
He ran to Collins’ apartment. Collins was nearly out the door. He looked up at Mark and mumbled a hi.
“Uhm,” Mark said, trying to be quick, “Angel is going to spend some time at the loft. She was there last night, too. You know, in case you’re wondering.”
“Oh. Yeah. Thanks. I was worried,” Collins said, almost emotionless. “I was worried sick about her.”
“What happened?”Mark asked.
“Look, Mark, I gotta go,” Collins said, gruff.
“Can I get her things?” Mark asked.
“Yeah,” Collins said, letting Mark in.
Mark found the infamous pickle tub and stuffed it with her blonde wig, a few pairs of tights, two drag outfits, street clothes, and some make-up (he could only figure that her necessities were like that of Maureen or any other girl). Collins shoved in a pair of drumsticks. “That’ll do.”
Mark nodded. “Yeah. You know, I’ll come back at a better time and get all her stuff...”
Collins looked at Mark with a pained look in his eyes. “Okay. Uhm... see ya, Mark.”
“Bye,” Mark whispered, leaving. As he juggled the important contents in the tub, his mind raced. This basically wasn’t a clean break. Collins still wanted her back, and it was clear. So either the Collins screwed up theory was accurate, or Angel dumped him, which wasn’t possible. Angel seemed much too distraught to be the one to dump him. And that simply didn’t seem like Angel’s style. He took a deep breath and opened the door of the loft, juggling the tub. He gasped as he nearly dropped it, Roger and Angel darting over to catch it. As a drumstick hit the ground, Roger asked, “How’d it go?”
“We didn’t really talk,” Mark said. He picked up the drumstick and handed the tub to Angel. “He feels bad... for whatever he did.”
Angel nodded. “I’d hope so.”
Roger and Mark looked at each other nervously. Mark got an idea. “Oh! Angel, why don’t you come with me to do some filming today and tomorrow instead of drumming... it’ll be fun. We really do need some time together!”
Angel said, “Mark... I really want to drum. I haven’t for a few days.”
“So drum in the loft with Roger afterwards,” Mark suggested, “Roger needs a beat, anyway.”
Roger nodded. “Yeah. It’d be fun.”
Angel smiled. “Okay. I’ll... go get dressed.” He took the tub into the bathroom and returned several minutes later in a floral-pattern dress and a blonde wig. With a quick smile and a curtsey, he became the glamourous Angel Dumott-Schunard, mistress of blurring the lines of male and female. She hugged Mark tightly. “Thanks for picking out this dress... I just got it at a thrift store and I didn’t get to wear it yet! I think it looks pretty good. What do you think?”
“I like it,” Mark said, blushing.
“Yeah... I do, too,” Roger added, trying to sneak out. Then something caught his eye. “Angel... are those... bruises?”
Angel looked at him like he was crazy. “Where?”
Roger grabbed her arms and inspected them. “Yep. Those are bruises.”
Sure enough, there were purple marks on the upper half of her arms. “Did someone grab you?”
Angel said, “Yeah... some did. It was ugly.”
Mark piped in with, “Was it... Collins?”
Angel didn’t answer. She took her worn red jacket and put it on.
“Angel,” Roger said, raising his voice.
“It was Collins, alright?” Angel snapped, “We fought physically. If you look at him, he’s got some scratches. He grabbed me and shoved me. It’s seriously not as bad as it looks. I just bruise easily. Leave me alone.”
Mark gasped. This was getting a little more serious than he thought. These two fought... physically. He knew that he couldn’t get any more information with Roger around. He said, “Come on, Angel, we need to go.”
Angel nodded, not having enough emotion to shoot Roger a dirty look. They walked out in silence.
The whole day was very quiet, thick with confusion and curiosity, but no courage to come out with it. Angel barely said a word, tapping out a beat on her legs and Mark filmed around the city. The next day fit their current state perfectly... unseasonably cold for late March. As the drag queen and film maker walked together, Mark asked, “Angel... are you cold?” He noticed how she rubbed her arms multiple times, in hopes of heating up. She didn’t have a thick jacket, and was used to being tangled in someone’s arms, so it was strange and lonely.
She shook her head. “I’ll be good.”
Mark took her hand closest to him and gently felt at her fingers. “You’re freezing!”
He made them stop as he took his scarf and unwrapped it from his neck. He wrapped it around Angel’s neck and smiled as he let go of it slowly. “There you go.”
Angel looked at the way the blue and white stripes hung down her chest. “Thank you.”
“You look good in it!” Mark added.
Angel smiled, realizing she was blushing. “O-oh... oh God. I’m blushing!”
“I never thought I’d see the day that the invincible Angel D. Schunard would feel herself crumble against the weakling white boy from Scarsdale,” Mark said, well aware he was bashing himself.
Angel laughed. “You’re so weird!”
Mark smiled widely. They were finally resuming normality. She looks so cute... he thought. Then he mentally cringed. Wait, wait, wait. No! She’s not really a girl, remember? She’s a guy. And she has AIDS. Just... don’t... start.
“What’s wrong?” Angel asked.
“Nothing,” Mark said. But even so, his mind was racing. Mark... you have more than five valid reasons not to go on with this fantasy. She’s still recovering from a break-up... you are going to succumb to being a rebound. You are not even that low, yet. And, hello, she’s a guy. And besides, even if you get over that... she’s going to die. You don’t deserve to suffer, Mark!
He watched as Angel played with the fringe of his scarf.
...but... she doesn’t deserve to suffer, either.
Mark held her hand as a mysterious part of his brain said, Come on, Mark. For once, do something impulsive.
“Angel,” Mark whispered, “can you give me some advice?” Just take your time, Mark...
“Of course, Mark,” Angel said, “I’m all ears.”
“Well,” Mark said, “let’s say that you have a friend you’ve known for awhile.”
“Yeah?” Angel said. She had an idea as to where this was going...
“Okay. You have a crush on this friend.”
“Ahh... one of those,” Angel murmured, hanging onto the scarf for dear life.
“...but you’re not sure if your friend wants to go with it,” Mark said.
“Uh huh,” Angel said, trying to play dumb. Mark was so cute when it came to this stuff...
“What do you do?” Mark asked, “Do you bite the bullet and just say, ‘I love you, dammit!’?”
Angel grinned. “You bite the bullet, dammit! Just say it! ‘Tis better to love, than not love at all... or something like that! And I do believe this ‘friend’ demands some thing in return for their trouble.”
Mark looked at her, confused. “What?”
“A kiss would be nice,” Angel said.
“My, aren’t we a little aggressive,” Mark said, as if he was talking to a four year old.
“And you’re just not finishing what you started,” Angel snarled back.
“Okay,” Mark said.
“Okay!” Angel yelled, “Kiss me, dammit!”
Mark nodded. He hadn’t done kissing in a long time... but it was like riding a bicycle. You never forget...
He took her chin and pulled it toward him. He tried to dig back into his memory banks to when he was dating Maureen... He slowly met with Angel’s lips and made sure that it was a long, deliberate, kiss. As he broke it he realized he opened a floodgate. It wasn’t so much that he was negative, and she was positive, it was that he pretty much took an oath to be with her until the end.
Whenever that was.
*************************************
*beams* I really should be studying for my geometry quiz on proofs... but...
In the next chapter, Mark and Angel wander around the city, trying to figure out how they work together.
There is going to be a hardcore makeout scene by chapter five... I’m writing it right now :D
I hope you liked it,
Donna