Disclaimer: Rent is Jonathan Larson's. I'm just playing with the characters.

Mimi responded to the beach by running, laughing, basically doing the things a kid would do anywhere, but more enthusiastically. Roger smiled. It felt so foreign, this idea of a happy childhood, he almost wanted to study it. Same with the beach: he had never seen the ocean before or walked on sand. He sat down and methodically removed his sneakers, then peeled off his socks and tucked them into his shoes.

Roger pushed his feet into the sand, down to the cool, damp sand, and wriggled his toes. Fighting aside, this was nice.

Maureen, meanwhile, already hated this summer. Everything about it was awful. The shouting, the yelling... it made her want to disappear into the sand. And Mark wasn't here. Usually her only solace when family drama was abundant, Mark had abandoned her. Self-exile, he had called it. Maureen was not used to this feeling of hatred that welled up inside of her... for everyone. Mark included. So she plopped down next to Roger with a huff and leaned her chin on her knees. Sucked that she actually liked Roger... but she was still pissed at him. It was his fault that Mark wasn't here too. "I wish they'd stop."

Roger looked over at Maureen and squinted when the sunlight glared in his eyes. He didn't particularly like Allison, as she made very clear her belief that by dint of being a foster child he was either a murderer or a rapist, violent and depraved and most likely a carrier of ringworm, but he kept that to himself for Angel and Collins' sake. Joanne he liked. She was so sensible and reasoned. The screaming, though, hardly bothered him. They seemed to like tearing into each other, but there was never any violence or anything like that. Still, someone like Maureen wouldn't have such a thick skin.

"They been at it long?" he asked.

"Yeah," Maureen said, unlacing her sandals and digging her feet into the sand. "It's not like they've never had it out before, though, I guess. I don't think they like each other very much." She glanced over, surveying him. Stupid boys. She wished the whole thing between him and Mark hadn't happened at all. Mark could fix this stuff. Or at least he would take her and Mimi down to Denny's just to get away from all the adults. She missed him. Did Roger misses him at all, or hate him?

Roger shrugged. "Happens," he said, glad nonetheless that Collins had suggested the kids get out of the way. Crossfire. Collateral damage. At least Mimi seemed oblivious. She was turning cartwheels in the sand. Roger scooped up a handful and felt it trickle through his fingers. For something that felt so soft under his feet, it was awfully hot and sharp. "Your mom's an intense kind of lady, huh?"

Maureen snorted. "That's putting it lightly," she said. "Mom likes everything her way, you know? Organized, under her own rules. Sometimes I don't even think that she didn't love my dad... I just don't think she could share her life with people who tried to run things out of her lines." She glanced backwards. "I know she doesn't like Allison though."

Roger nodded, though he had liked that about Joanne. He'd noticed that when things were awkward, she took control, and he had noticed the way Collins looked to her. So to him, though she could be somewhat stressful in less dramatic times, Joanne was wonderful. "Do you?" he asked. No one seemed to particularly like Benny's wife. Tolerate seemed more accurate.

"Not particularly," Maureen admitted. "Not that I really know her, you know? Adults don't mingle with us on that kind of level. I'm biased... nobody else seems to like her. She just seems like... she thinks she's better than everybody, you know? Like she's judging everybody. But she'd cute, I guess. Maybe that's why Benny married her…. Why, do you?"

"Nope," Roger replied easily. He trusted Maureen not to go running to the adults, boasting her superiority that Roger--who wasn't really a member of the family at all--didn't like Allison. It was pretty obvious that no one liked her. Still, he didn't mention Collins' impressions of her. Those bordered on mean. He glanced over at Mimi. "She's all right, though."

"Who, Mimi? 'Course she is, she's sweet. For a kid and all. She can be obnoxious as all hell sometimes, but she's alright." Maureen began to bury her feet with her hands. "I don't know why they insist on family gatherings like this. Too many people can't stand each other."

Roger drew his feet out of the damp sand, brushed them off and wriggled them down again, this time staying in the hot, dry layer. He knew Collins liked to see his siblings and their families, and Angel seemed to get along with everyone. It was just Allison who caused problems. Well, Allison and... "Was it like this before I came?"

Maureen was tempted to tell him never. Tell him that everything was sunshine and rainbows before he came, and she dug her fingers deeper into the sand, feeling it sharp under her fingernails. "Sometimes," she admitted. "It's almost always Allison too, and then everyone else loses their cool and it turns into something else entirely. My mother tends to be a part of it often... you know how she is." She bit her lip and couldn't help but say, "But usually Mark takes us down to the beach or out to a movie, so that when we come back it's either blown over or everyone is giving everyone else the silent treatment."

Roger sighed. "You know, I offered to stay home, and I said it wouldn't be weird if Mark came," he said. Actually, he said it would be weird, but asked Angel and Collins not to tell anyone that. He had promised to behave and be sensible. It wasn't his fault. At least, that's what Roger told himself and that's what Angel told him. He hadn't talked about it much with Collins, who had a nasty habit of turning everything into a debate on morals and ethics.

"Oh please, not weird? Who are you kidding?!" she asked, scowling. "People can barely get along as it is right now." She scowled even harder. "He said he wasn't going to come and that you should. It was his choice not to come, not yours. I just miss him, that's all."

Roger sighed. He wanted to belong to this family. He already thought of himself as belonging to Angel and Collins. But he hated this business about having no choice. "People decide to let discomfort get the better of them," he replied. That's what Angel told him, and Roger had worked hard at that. It wasn't easy being a high school student whose foster-mother was a transvestite.

She glanced over at him. "Maybe not everyone is as self-aware and self-assured and confident to fight against that," she said. "Mark lets a LOT bother him, even things that don't concern him. He has this stupid guilt complex... he's a wuss." She kicked her feet out of the sand. "I'm not saying I'm not pissed that this is all happening, but you're not that bad."

"You think I don't know that?" Roger asked. He shook his head. Whatever had passed between him and Mark, it hadn't been just about sex. In the end, after he freaked out, it had, but there had been care in the purer moments. He had cared about Mark. He knew who Mark was, even under everything. "And it's not like I've always been able to..." In a way, Roger knew things were easier now because he was feared at his school. He hadn't faced any real challenges.

"I don't know what you know and what you don't," Maureen said, watching him with serious eyes. She was deeply devoted to her brother, whatever idiot he might be, and Roger had in his own way, hurt him. That wasn't easily forgiven. She wasn't even sure he had ever really liked Mark. Yes, Mark should have known better... way better. What he had done was wrong. "He falls for people sometimes, even if it's wrong and stupid," she told him. "Did you ever like him too? He wouldn't have hurt you, you know, if you had just told him to back off. He's not like that." She glanced at him. "Not like you've always been able to what?"

Roger felt his temper flare up. His whole body felt so hot, and not just from the sun and the sand. As he'd been taught to do, he took a few deep breaths, waiting to calm down. Maureen had no idea what had happened. No one did, besides Mark and Roger. "It's just a thing that happened," he said. "But yeah. I liked him. I'd be his friend."

"Hmph," Maureen said, crossing her arms. She just wished it had never happened at all. Stupid lovesick Mark and his stupid feelings, always fucking things up for himself—literally!—and dragging everybody else with him. And stupid Roger for playing a part in it all. "I don't think we'll see Mark for a long time, so I wouldn't worry about it," she said. "Sorry," she said after a moment of silence, sensing Roger's anger. "I'm just... this is all so fucking stupid!"

Roger sighed and scooped up another handful of sand to drop. "You know, all families do this. All families have gatherings, but most aren't like this. Some people get together and everyone yells and beats up on everyone smaller. And some families get together and no one speaks to anyone else." Roger shrugged. He had been in a lot of families. "At least there's love here."

"I know that." She pouted, drawing a picture of a sun rising over a mountain in the sand. "I know we're very lucky and so on and so on, blah blah." She glanced guiltily at Roger. "Sorry. I know we're lucky. But this still sucks. I don't like being put in the middle and I don't like fighting."

"I guess none of it would mean anything to you," he said. After all, Maureen had always been in this family. She had been in this family before Roger and before Allison. She wouldn't know a family without love. "But they'll sort this out."

"Yeah, just in time for a new family drama to take hold. Don't worry, Roger. You won't be in the center all the time." She bit her lip and wondered if she should even say this. "He asked about you, you know."

Roger bit down a retort about what a brat she was. He couldn't tell if the last remark was some sort of trap or not. Nevertheless, he said, "Tell him whatever will make him happy. That I'm really happy and doing great in school. That I'm miserable and on the verge or a new placement. Whatever."

She turned her head. "But that's not true!" she cried. "Collins and Angel would never send you away. How could you possibly think that would make anyone happy? Mark wouldn't believe that anyway." She scowled. "Jesus, I didn't mean anything by it. I thought you might want to know, that's all."

"I thought it might make you happy," Roger replied. Maureen didn't put a lot of effort into disguising her feelings. "Do you want to tell him the truth, or do you want to tell him what you want him to hear?"

"I'm pissed at you, yeah, but it doesn't mean I want you to leave! Jesus, you're just like Mark! Always have to be such a fucking martyr! I won't tell him anything, if that's what you want. I don't care."

Roger glared at her. "It's not true, by the way," he snarked. "You can tell Mark whatever you like, but the truth is that I'm doing pretty well in school. I run track. We're thinking about getting a dog."

"Fuck it, like I want to be a go-between in that mess anyway," Maureen said. "You fucked up, but he fucked up more." She couldn't help but glance sidelong at him and hopefully asking, "Really? What kind?"

Roger shrugged. "Big one. Like Evita." He wasn't sure it mattered, since Maureen would barely see the dog. In a way, he even knew the dog was for him. Angel like dogs, and Collins was pleasantly indifferent, but Roger loved them.

"Cool," she sighed. "I've always wanted a dog. Mom won't let us have one because she's afraid the hair will go everywhere and she doesn't want accidents or... really, she just won't let us have a dog. When I move out one day, I'm going to get one though."

Roger nodded. He could imagine Joanne not being too cool with the idea of a dog. Dogs tended to un-organize things. They tended to cause messes. "What kind do you think we should get?"

"I like medium size dogs best," Maureen admitted. "But big? I like corgis... I guess that's small too. Retrievers are nice. Why, what kind were you thinking about? You should go to a shelter."

"Yeah, I was thinking the friendliest one at the humane society. You know, something for Dad to lo-- well... not-hate. Corgis are okay, but why not get a cat? Little dogs are weird, they're like cats for dog people, it's... weird..."

She laughed. "They're not the same at all! I mean, I love dachshunds, but it's hardly the same as a tabby! And Mom is just as afraid of cat hair as she is of dog hair. I bet she's OCD, anyway." She hesitated. "You should bring it, if you have it by next time. You know. It might have fun on the beach."

Roger nodded. "Isn't next time Thanksgiving? You'd be at our place, anyway." He sighed and leaned back on the sand. "You want to head back soon, think they're finished screaming at each other?"

"Sure." Maureen stood and picked up her shoes. "Hey," she said, before they start walking up the sand. "Look... I'm sorry about everything I said. I wish what had happened between you and my brother hadn't. I love him. But I like you. You just have to know that he got all the stupid and I got all the bitchiness."

Roger nodded again. "It's okay." He pulled on his sneakers and tied the laces, then hollered, "MIMI!"

She turned and ran over to him. "Look," she said, holding out a seashell.

Roger examined it. "That's pretty. We're gonna head home now, okay?" He looked to Maureen to lead.

"Yeah, come on, Meems," Maureen said, running a hand over the little girl's hair. Then she started towards the house, not looking back.

To be continued!

What have I learned so far this quarter? I've learned that nothing is so inspirational as having to sit through a Physics lecture. Reviews are still awesome!