A/N: Okay so last chapter. Yes, I know. Sadness. But I think I need to wrap it up before it's an actual chore to read/write the fic XD Thank you all for the support, I have no idea what my next fic will be. I'm pretty lazy at that XD Anyway, thank you and enjoy!
By the time Mark got home, it was about 8 o'clock. He had just wasted the whole day talking to people.
He was surprised that Roger wasn't there, although he figured he was probably at Mimi's or something.
Mark hung up his coat and proceeded to the kitchen to make some coffee. As he searched around for a mug, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a note and Roger's barely legible writing on it.
"Gone to the Life. Meet me there." Mark read out loud.
"Great, now everybody is probably there." Mark sighed. He debated on going to the restaurant or not. He didn't really want to talk to anybody, but maybe if he surrounded himself around people, maybe, just maybe, he would forget about Carol. And her boyfriend.
Mark made himself a coffee and rested on the couch, flipping through a magazine. It was around nine o'clock when he finally decided to go the café.
"Whatever happens, happens." He told himself.
"Is he here yet?" Maureen hissed to her girlfriend as she attempted to tie up a balloon.
Joanne glanced out the window and rolled her eyes at her girlfriend.
"For the fifteenth time, no, not yet."
Maureen pouted. "Don't use that lawyer voice on me, pookie."
Joanne grinned. "But I thought you liked it?"
Maureen smirked. "Only in the bedroom."
"You two are gross."
Maureen and Joanne turned around to find a disgusted Roger staring at them.
"Then don't listen to us, Roger-smoopy." Maureen laughed, letting go of the balloon and pinching his cheek.
Roger batted away her hand and shoved her away; rolling his eyes and picking up the balloon she was working on.
"It took me a long time to blow this up and now she ruins it." He muttered.
Joanne patted him on the back and laughed, but her voice soon turned serious. "Are you sure you left that note for Mark?"
"Mhmm."
"And you are sure he'll see it."
"Well, he's wearing his glasses and he's blind as a bat without them so I'm sure he'll see it."
Joanne took a deep breath. "Good. You have no idea how much it took to get that cake away from Maureen. I just hope tonight we can actually eat it."
Roger nodded and glanced around the table. Mimi and Angel were once again putting streamers on the chairs around the table, Collins was smoking a joint and pretending to help them, and Maureen was now chatting with a few people.
Roger finished the balloon and gave it to Joanne to tie up, who in turn poked him in the ribs.
"What?"
"Mark!" She pointed to the familiar pale face walking across the street.
Roger brought this to the attention of the group, who all took their places at the table.
Mark opened the door to the café and saw all of his friends seated at their usual table.
"SURPRISE!" Everybody yelled, causing the rest of the customers to stare.
Mark laughed and looked around the table that was filled with streamers, and a huge cake sitting in the middle of the table. "You guys! You seriously didn't have to do this."
"Oh but somebody said we should." Angel smiled, getting up and showing Mark the seat at the head of the table.
Mark sat down. "Who?" He asked, peeling off his jacket and setting down his camera.
Everybody leaned back in their seats. Carol, who sat at the end of the table, smiled weakly and gave a short wave.
"Carol?!?" Mark asked, astonished. "But, what about you boyfriend…?"
Carol laughed and got out of her chair, playfully hitting Roger on the arm. "Your friend Roger makes a really good boyfriend."
Mark raised his eyebrows. "What?"
Roger smiled. "Well after you went and talked to Collins and Angel, Angel called me and told me what was going on."
"But I had to listen to him tell me that he wrote a song." Angel said, rolling her eyes.
Roger grinned. "It's a good song, but anyway, Angel asked me to go talk to Carol…."
"And when you came to my apartment, I didn't want you to know that Roger was there, so I came up with the lame excuse that he was my boyfriend from DC. I haven't even been to DC before." Carol laughed.
Mark could feel himself start to turn red. "So…you don't have a boyfriend….in DC, I mean."
Carol shook her head. "I have a boyfriend," she grinned at Mark, "But no, he isn't from DC."
"Awwww's." were passed around the table.
Mark rolled his eyes and laughed, and Carol took her seat at the end of the table.
"So before we do anything," Joanne said, clearing her voice and standing up. "Do we all agree that we will stay here until we finish eating the cake?"
Everybody laughed and nodded.
"I'm serious here. Is everybody going to stay?"
Everybody stopped laughing and nodded again, more seriously this time.
"Good." Joanne smiled and cut the cake, giving each person a slice.
"This is really good cake." Maureen said between bites. "It's really too bad we had to share it."
Everybody looked at Maureen.
She shrugged. "Oh come on, like if you guys had cake like this, you would share??"
Mark smiled and looked up from his cake to notice that Carol was smiling at him.
He smiled back and the familiar tune of the song Mimi, Maureen and Angel had made for him came to mind.
"You know," he said, "I could get really used to being a latte boy."
FINI
Yay!! Thank you guys so much for everything, please R&R.