Disclaimer – I don't own RENT. That belongs to the wonderful Jonathon Larson. I can say, however, I own my original characters. 'Nuff said.

A/N: I was thinking about this story during my sign language class on Wednesday. After class, I jotted it down in my idea notebook and wrote several hand-written versions, realizing that I CAN'T READ MY HANDWRITING! So, here it is – typed and still fresh in my mind.

Summary: AU: High school fic. Maureen and Joanne are perfect for each other, that is until Maureen finds out that Joanne cheated on her. ONE-SHOT. Rated T for safety. Mostly dialogue. Takes place in 2010.

Genre: Drama/General

Rating: T

Joanne Jefferson looked over at her girlfriend, Maureen Johnson. They were watching the movie Black Beauty on TV. Both girls were horse lovers and were enjoying the movie very much. Joanne was a competitive rider, while Maureen rode for fun.

When the movie was over, Joanne turned off the TV and turned so that she was facing Maureen.

"Honey, can we talk?" Joanne asked. Maureen nodded, brushing her hair behind her ear.

"Am I in trouble?" Maureen inquired in a soft voice.

"No, honey. You're not."

"Okay – let's talk."

"I was wondering, since our anniversary is coming up, what you would like to do?"

"I was thinking maybe we could go to dinner and then see a movie."

"That sounds like a good idea." Joanne told her partner, looking at her watch. "Babe, I have to go to my riding lesson. We'll talk later, okay?"

Maureen nodded and watched her partner exit the house. She then folded up the blanket the two of them had been using and put it away.

Joanne ended up riding a new horse – a slate gray Arabian mare named Storm. As Joanne tacked Storm up, Joanne noticed the new girl – Ally – struggling to get her horse, Jupiter, tacked up.

"Here, let me help." Joanne offered, putting Storm back in her stall.

"Oh. Thank you." Ally thanked Joanne, watching her get Jupiter's saddle on and tighten the girth. The Quarter Horse mare watched from the corner of her eye, her ears flattening against her head when Joanne tightened the girth a couple holes.

"Hey!" Joanne warned, giving the mare a pat on her hindquarters as she walked to where Storm was. Joanne finished tacking up Storm and led her to the indoor arena. She heard hoof beats behind her and turned to see Ally leading Jupiter. Joanne smiled at her as she grabbed a helmet and a crop, just in case Storm decided to act up.

After the lesson, Joanne got a ride home with Ally and her family. Ally kept smiling at Joanne. Joanne found herself smiling back at Ally a couple times.

"Thanks for helping me with Jupiter." Ally thanked Joanne as they approached Joanne's house.

"You're welcome, Ally." Joanne said, getting out of the car. "Thank you for the ride Mrs. Green."

"You're welcome, Joanne. Will we see you at the horse show this weekend?" Mrs. Green inquired.

"I hope so." Joanne answered, getting her house key out as she climbed the stairs and entered the house.

Joanne found her mind drifting during algebra the next day. Algebra was usually Joanne's favorite subject, but today, she found Mr. Henson's voice to be terribly annoying, boring and dull.

"Psst!" Ally hissed loudly from the row behind Joanne. Joanne pretended to drop her pencil as Ally slid her a note. Joanne slumped in her chair and read the note silently to herself:

Do you need a ride this weekend? Yes or No

Joanne turned around and nodded to Ally. Ally smiled and went back to her book. Joanne did the same thing. Maureen looked from Joanne to Ally and back to Joanne, a concerned look on her face.

After algebra was Joanne's second favorite subject – lunch. She headed to an empty table and saved it for her friends Mark Cohen, Maureen, Ally, Tom Collins, Angel Schunard, Mimi Marquez, April Ericsson, Benny Coffin and Roger Davis.

Joanne didn't care for the school food, so she usually packed her lunch the night before. Today, she had a peanut butter and banana sandwich, apple slices and a carton of chocolate milk.

"Hey." Roger greeted Joanne as he sat next to her.

"Hey." Joanne greeted him back.

Soon after Roger joined the table, Collins, Angel, Mimi, April, Ally, Benny and Mark came over and sat down. Maureen came over and saw there was no room for her until Joanne moved over. Maureen smiled and sat down next to Joanne.

"So, what are you guys doing this weekend?" Roger inquired.

"Ally and I have a horse competition at the fairgrounds, if you guys want to come." Joanne told her friends.

"That sounds like fun. Which horse are you showing?" Maureen asked.

"We're actually showing three horses each. I'm showing Storm, Mr. Tibbs and Lion Heart." Joanne answered, feeling Maureen squeeze her hand.

"I'm showing Jupiter, Arizona and Knight." Ally spoke up.

"Hope you guys have fun – Mimi and I are going to be going to Michigan for a cheerleading competition." April said, tossing her red hair over her shoulder. April, along with Mimi, were on the cheer team and were actually pretty good.

"I snuck out last night, so I have to wash both of my parents cars – they have two each." Benny told the others. Their jaws dropped and eyes widened. Benny was usually a good kid, but he had been acting out lately.

"Benny, why?" Collins inquired, taking a sip of his bottled water.

"ToseeAlison." He mumbled.

"Why?" Angel asked.

"I love her and missed her." Benny explained. Maureen rolled her eyes – she couldn't see Benny with her stuck-up, snobby cousin.

The bell rang for lunch to end and the friends ended up going their separate ways – Roger, Ally, Maureen, Joanne and Mark went to choir. Benny, Collins and Angel went to Spanish. Mimi and April went to P.E. – the girls' least favorite class.

Once school was over, the friends did their separate things. Ally and Joanne headed to the barn to do some more practicing for their competition for the weekend. Maureen decided to tag along and do homework while Joanne rode. Mark, Roger, Collins and Benny stayed after and played tennis, since all of them were on the tennis team. Mimi and April had cheerleading practice, so they had to stay after. As for Angel, she decided to come to the barn, too, just to hang out with her friends and to do homework with Maureen.

"Okay girls. Heels down, toes up and look forward." Helen, the riding instructor, instructed Ally and Joanne as they rode two new horses – Ally was mounted on a pure black mare named Arizona. Joanne was mounted on a chubby chestnut gelding named Mr. Tibbs.

"Good. Joanne, get him into an extended trot." Helen told Joanne. Joanne nodded and pushed Mr. Tibbs into a bigger trot. She patted his neck as they came upon a jump – a double oxer. Joanne looked through Mr. Tibbs' ears and felt him soar over the jump. As he landed on the other side, Maureen and Angel let out a cheer. Joanne smiled as she trotted by them.

"Joanne, why don't you canter him around the arena while I work with Ally?" Helen suggested. Joanne nodded and cantered Mr. Tibbs around the large arena.

"You're such a good boy." Joanne whispered in Mr. Tibbs' ear. Mr. Tibbs tossed his elegant head and tugged the reins out of Joanne's hands. Maureen saw her girlfriend was in trouble and ran to help her, startling Arizona. Arizona missed the jump and ended up injuring herself.

"Sorry!" Maureen apologized as she ran to help Joanne. Mr. Tibbs was moving his head up and down and sidestepping. Maureen knew that he was a highly trained horse and needed to calm down. She touched his shoulder as she handed Joanne the reins.

"Thanks." Joanne thanked her girlfriend, touching the top of her head with her crop. Maureen smiled and turned to see what was going on with Arizona. Ally was on the ground, holding Arizona's reins while Helen examined Arizona's shoulder. As Maureen walked back to where Angel was, she could see blood trickling out of a wound on Arizona's shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Ally, but if you don't have three horses by this weekend, you won't be able to ride." Helen was telling Ally. Ally felt tears in her eyes as she nodded and slowly led Arizona back to her stall.

"It's all my fault." Maureen mumbled to herself as she sat down next to Angel. Angel looked up from doing her algebra homework and turned to look at Maureen.

"You're right, chica. It is your fault." Angel said, her tone defensive.

"Whoa, Angel! What's with the 'tude?" Maureen inquired.

"It's your fault that Ally can't go this weekend." Angel growled, her eyes narrowing. Maureen had never seen Angel like this – usually, she was sweet, fun and never had an attitude.

"Are you mad at me?" Maureen inquired.

"I'm disappointed, I guess." Angel told her friend as Joanne came over, still mounted on Mr. Tibbs.

"What's going on?" Joanne inquired.

"Ally won't be able to go this weekend, not if Helen can't find her another horse." Angel answered before Maureen could say anything.

"Problem solved – Ally's gonna ride Levi." Joanne said, smiling when Ally re-entered the arena, mounted on a Palomino Quarter Horse gelding named Levi. Joanne had ridden Levi before and knew he was a good choice for Ally. Joanne clucked to Mr. Tibbs and trotted him over to where Ally was. Maureen glared at Joanne as she and Ally trotted around the arena, smiling and laughing.

"I think Joanne's cheating on me." Maureen told Angel, turning her attention away from Joanne.

"Sweetie, don't be silly." Angel said, turning her attention back to her homework.

"It's true, Angel, and you know it." Maureen told her friend, tears in her eyes. Angel rolled her eyes and did the last problem on the page before putting her book away.

"How do you know that Joanne is cheating on you?" Angel inquired, stuffing her books back into her school bag.

"She's spending more time with Ally instead of me." Maureen said.

"Chica, they're just practicing for the competition this weekend." Angel pointed out, watching as Ally and Joanne came cantering by.

Once Joanne and Ally were done riding, Maureen followed them to the stable yard. She watched secretly as Joanne and Ally held each other's hands and talked. Ally nodded every once in a while, a serious expression on her face. Maureen's jaw dropped as Joanne kissed Ally on the lips, pulling the other girl closer to her. Maureen got up from her hiding spot and ran out of the barn, tears streaming down her cheeks. Angel got up from her spot on the benches and sprinted after Maureen.

The next day at school, Maureen felt tears in her eyes as Joanne and Ally worked on their art project together. Maureen tried to focus on her sculpture, but she couldn't do anything with the lump of useless clay.

At lunch, Maureen sat alone, watching her friends laugh and talk at a few tables over. Joanne caught Maureen's eye and saw her friend sitting alone. Joanne excused herself and walked over to Maureen, sitting down across from her.

"Go away, Joanne." Maureen told the other girl, avoiding eye contact.

"Honey, what's wrong?" Joanne inquired.

"Don't you 'honey' me. I saw you and Ally making out yesterday." Maureen said, not caring what Joanne's reaction was.

"Maureen, what's wrong with you?" Joanne asked, looking over at Ally. The other girl shrugged her shoulders and straightened her sweater vest.

"Joanne, don't talk to me anymore because we're through!" Maureen yelled, throwing the charm bracelet Joanne had given her for a birthday present at Joanne and stormed off. Joanne felt tears in her eyes as she sat down with her friends. Roger got up from his spot next to Joanne and went to find Maureen. He found her in one of the practice rooms, playing the piano. He could hear the music perfectly.

"Without you
The hand gropes
The ear hears
The pulse beats." Maureen sobbed as she played. She looked up and saw Roger standing at the door, waiting to come in. Maureen wiped the tears out of her eyes and opened the door.

"What do you want?" Maureen asked, playing random notes on the piano.

"To talk with you." Roger told her, sitting next to her at the piano.

"I'm not really in the mood to talk, so you can go away."

"Maureen-"

"I don't want to hear it. Just leave me alone!"

"Maureen, just listen to what I have to say – it'll take five minutes, maybe less."

Maureen rolled her eyes again and turned to face her best friend.

"Look, Joanne is leaving tomorrow for the horse show, yes, with Ally. She'll be down at the show for the weekend. Can you forgive her?"

"Roger – Joanne's cheating on me with Ally. I found out the hard way yesterday. How am I supposed to react to that?"

"Ally's my friend, too. I know she would never do anything to hurt you or your relationship with Joanne."

"Roger – read my lips – I SAW THEM KISSING YESTERDAY AFTER THEIR HORSEBACK RIDING LESSON."

"Are you sure it wasn't someone else?"

"Do me a favor and go away!" Maureen screamed, grabbing her bag and exited the practice room. She stormed off to her next class and took a seat towards the back. Not caring who was in the room, Maureen let out heart-wrenching sobs.

When classes were over for the day, Maureen decided to take the bus home. She found a seat towards the back and saw next to the window. She stared out the window and saw Joanne and Ally walking together around the soccer field, Joanne's arm wrapped around Ally's waist. Maureen held back tears as she felt someone sit next to her.

"Hey." A sweet voice greeted Maureen's ears. She felt her tears disappear as she turned to see her friend, Lizzy, sitting next to her.

"Hey Liz." Maureen greeted Lizzy back.

"What's going on?"

"What do you mean?"

"I notice that you're not with your friends."

"Joanne and I broke up. I really don't want to talk about it."

"That's fine."

There was a moment of awkward silence.

"Hey Lizzy?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

"For what?"

"For being there for me. You wanna do homework together?"

"I actually can't – I'm babysitting tonight for my little sisters."

"Sisters?"

"Yeah – I have twin sisters. They'll be five next Tuesday."

"That's cool. What are their names?"

"Lauren – she goes by Laurie and Samantha – she goes by Sammy."

"Any other siblings?"

"A brother, Simon. What about you? Any siblings?"

"Two brothers – Max and Jacob."

"How old?"

"Max is a junior at Harvard and Jacob is a freshman at Yale."

"Wow."

"Yeah – they're pretty smart."

"You close with them?"

"Yeah. They're pretty cool. What about you and your brother?"

"He died last year. He was in a car accident."

"Oh. I'm so sorry. How old was he?"

"Nineteen."

"I'm really sorry, Lizzy."

"Thanks."

More awkward silence.

"Hey Maureen?"

"Yeah, Lizzy?"

"Would you like to see a movie together, as friends?"

"Sure. When were you thinking?"

"This weekend?"

"I actually can't this weekend. Even though Joanne and I broke up, I'm still going to go to the fairgrounds and cheer her on."

"Oh."

"Lizzy, I didn't mean it like that."

"Of course you didn't." Lizzy stood up and exited the bus. Maureen leaned her head back and let out a frustrated sigh.

Upon arriving home, Maureen threw down her bag and went to check her email. She noticed there was one from Joanne. Curious, Maureen clicked on it and read the following message:

Dear Maureen,

I know you still might be mad at me (I don't blame you if you still are). Ally and I took a long walk around the soccer field and talked about my relationship with you. I apologize a thousand times that you saw Ally and I kissing yesterday. To be truly honest, I've developed a sort of crush on her, but I told her that I was in an amazing relationship with you and wouldn't want it any other way.

You are my friend, soul mate, comrade, support, forever love and don't you forget it.

I hope to see you at the fairgrounds this weekend, cheering me on like you always do.

Forever yours,

Joanne Lynn Jefferson

Maureen read the email five times, tears in her eyes. She always knew that Joanne loved her and cared about her. Maureen didn't need some stupid email to point that out.

Maureen smiled as she walked to the row of stalls that housed the six horses her friend Allyson Michelle Green and Joanne Lynn Jefferson were riding.

"Hey Helen." Maureen greeted the riding instructor.

"Hello Maureen." Helen greeted Maureen back.

"Where are Ally and Joanne?" Maureen inquired, noticing that Knight and Mr. Tibbs were not present.

"They're in the practice arena. You can go watch them." Helen told Maureen, watching her walk to the arena.

Maureen leaned against the fence as Joanne and Ally cantered by, smiling. When they saw Maureen they trotted their horses over to her.

"Hey, sweetie." Joanne greeted Maureen.

"Good luck you guys." Maureen told her friends as they exited the arena. The girls smiled at Maureen as she headed to the bleachers to join Roger, Collins, Mark & Angel. Mimi and April were in Michigan for the cheer competition and Benny was grounded, so it was the five of them.

"Next up, number 11237 Joanne Jefferson showing Mr. Tibbs. Next is number 11238 Allyson Green showing Knight of my Heart." A voice came over the loudspeaker.

"Go get 'em, baby!" Maureen cheered as Joanne trotted into the arena. Joanne saluted the judge and performed the hardest dressage pattern that Maureen had ever seen.

Once Joanne finished her pattern, she saluted the judge again and exited the arena at a trot. Ally nudged Knight into the arena just as the voice on the loudspeaker announced her name.

Ally also had a very complicated dressage pattern, but she performed it perfectly.

"In second place, number 11238 Allyson Green. In first place, number 11237 Joanne Jefferson." The voice over the loudspeaker announced. Roger, Maureen, Collins and Angel went to greet their friends. Mr. Tibbs bobbed his head as the judge pinned a blue ribbon to his bridle. Joanne patted his neck as she dismounted him. Roger, Mark and Collins, who weren't comfortable around horses, kept their distance while Maureen, Joanne, Angel and Ally untacked Mr. Tibbs and Knight before putting them back in their stalls. Maureen had the honor of placing Mr. Tibbs' first place ribbon on his stall door.

"Hey, Joanne, can we go for a walk?" Maureen asked once the events were done for the day.

"Better yet, we can go for a ride." Joanne said, getting Storm and Lion Heart out of their stalls while Maureen got their brushes.

"Which one am I riding?" Maureen inquired.

"Lion Heart." Joanne answered, leading Maureen over to the dark bay gelding. Maureen talked gently to the gelding as she brushed him and tacked him up. Once both horses were tacked up, Maureen and Joanne led them out into the sunlight. They mounted the horses just outside the practice arena and walked the horses around the arena.

"I can't tell you how proud of you I am." Maureen told Joanne, shortening the reins on Lion Heart. Joanne did the same for Storm. Maureen leaned over and passionately kissed Joanne's lips. Joanne smiled and returned the kiss.

"I love you and I always will." Joanne told her partner, gently squeezing Maureen's hand.

Those seven words were music to Maureen's ears and she knew that she would never find a more perfect partner than Joanne.