3 Months Later
�Damn damn damn,� muttered Lance under his breath. He ran his hands through his hair, spiking it up, and gripped the ends of it in frustration. The phone rang and he picked it up answering, �Hello?�
�Hey, man!� chirped JC�s lively voice.
Lance grinned and reclined back in his seat, propping his feat up on his desk, and said, �Hey! How goes it?�
�Pretty good. Things are going really well, I think,� answered JC. There was a loud noise and then the clatter of plastic. �Shit!�
Lance chuckled. �What�s the matter?�
�I just knocked over a stack of cds. Fuck.� JC went silent for a few moments before picking the phone back up, slightly out of breath. �So, hey, how�re you? How�re things in sunny California?�
�Everything�s going pretty good, man.� Lance sighed. �Well, except Jeremy, my friend from Mississippi, decided not to move in with me so I�m one roomie short.�
�That sucks. Do you have anyone else in mind?�
�Not really. I mean, there are others that I could ask but they�re not the kind I�d wanna ask, y�know?� Lance picked up a pencil and began twirling it in his fingers, not being able to just sit still and talk on the phone. �I want someone that wont mind the occasional party but not someone who wants to party all the time. I dunno. It�s not like I need another roommate, I just thought it would be nice to have some so the house didn�t seem so big and gloomy.�
�Oh, hey!� JC said suddenly. �What about Marie?�
�Marie?� repeated Lance; slightly surprised JC would mention her. �She lives in New York, man. I doubt she�d want to pick up and move out here. And, hey, what made you suggest her?�
�Dude, any time you get a phone call, e-mail, or letter from that girl you don�t shut up for days. It�s always �Guys, you should have heard what Marie said last night� or �Marie just got a whatever on her test�.�
�You don�t even know her, man. What makes you think she�d be such a great roomie,� asked Lance skeptically.
�She freaking knocked you on your ass when you acted like a shithead. What�s not to like?�
Lance laughed. �I dunno, Jayce. She doesn�t seem like the type who�d want to live in LA, y�know. I mean, she lives in a suburb of New York. That�s a completely different atmosphere.�
�Ya never know unless you ask. But, hey, I hate to cut this short but the guy I�m working with on this track just showed up and I gotta go.�
�All right�bye.� He hung up the phone and tapped the pencil against the tip of his chin before chewing on it thoughtfully. Marie, huh?
~*~
�Daddy!� yelled Marie down the stairs. When he didn�t answer she shrieked louder, �Daddy!!�
John Andrews shot up in his recliner, groaning as his sore muscles tightened, and turned his head toward the stairs to yell, �How many times do I have to tell you not to yell down the stairs!?�
Marie came down to the landing and smirked down at her father. �Until you start listening to your own advice.�
He shook his head and laughed. �What�cha need, sweetie?�
Marie clambered the rest of the way down the stairs and looked at her father closely. She took in how he was favoring his back and the uncomfortable look on his face. �Daddy, are you ok?�
�Yeah, I�m fine,� he replied gruffly. He pushed himself up and out of his chair, teetering slightly until Marie shot out of her seat and grabbed him gently by the arms arms, steadying his balance.
�No, you�re not,� she replied firmly. When he wouldn�t meet her gaze she crossed her arms and looked at him expectantly. �Have you been taking your medicine?�
He shook his head and threw the magazine he had been reading before he nodded off onto the coffee table. �No.�
�Daddy, you know what the doctor said.�
�Yeah, I know,� he answered, �I just choose not to listen.�
Marie followed her father into the kitchen, giggling softly. �And you wonder where I get my stubbornness from.�
�You�re mother was stubborn as an ox so don�t you go blaming me. You inherited my charming good looks.� He grinned and stuck his chest out proudly. Marie snorted and poked him in the stomach, deflating a bit as he let out a huff of air. �What�d you yell down the stairs for?�
�I wanted to know if you wanted me to cook tonight or if you were just going to wing it.�
�Oh, I�ll just wing it. Order a pizza or something.�
�Ok, then I need to get to the library to pick up some books and then I should be back.� She leaned up and pecked him on the cheek real quick before grabbing her keys and purse off the backdoor table. �Take your medicine.�
�Yeah, yeah,� he mumbled, grinning.
~*~
Lance twirled the pencil around in his fingers as he contemplated calling Marie about being his roommate.
They had spent the last three months being pen pals to one another; short letters or postcards back and forth with little bits of random thoughts, calls that lasted late into the night, and funny little e-mails had sealed their friendship. Their friendship wasn�t like any other he had in the past few years. She was completely�normal, for lack of better word, although during their many conversations he questioned her sanity. In a way, she kept him grounded.
She�d call him on his shit and had no problem telling him when he was being an asshole. They�d had many fights that ended with him slamming the phone down, but eventually he realized that he was acting like an ass and apologized. To his astonishment she never held a grudge no matter what he�d say. The guys were all anxious to meet the girl who had given him a black eye but she hadn�t had a chance to go visit him, although he had flown out for the little graduation ceremony that her community college had held the month before.
Finally he picked up the phone and dialed. After a few rings she answered, �Hi, you�ve reached Marie�s whore service, how can I help you?�
Lance held back a snort of laughter and lowered his voice to an incredibly low tone, �Hey baby, what�re you wearing?�
Marie squeaked and dropped the phone. She could hear Lance�s laughter filtering around her and glared at the phone. Keeping one hand on the wheel and her eyes on the road, she grappled for the phone. �Hey, Lance.�
�Hey! What happened to the call girl service you had going last week?�
Marie rolled her eyes. �You�ve gotta get with the times, baby.�
�So how are you doin�?�
�Since the last time we talked, which was last night,� she giggled, �I�m good. I�m on my way to the library to pick up some books I reserved and then it�s back home to curl up and read. What�s up with you?�
�Not much,� he said slowly.
She could tell by the sound of his voice that he wanted to talk about something, and it sounded like it could be important. �All right, spill it. Whadya wanna ask me?�
Lance grinned. That was one of the things about Marie that he loved. She didn�t beat around the bush about anything, and if she wanted to know something then she flat out asked. �Um, I have a proposition for you.�
�My business hours are from six in the evening to six in the morning and my rates are two hundred an hour,� she joked.
�Damn, that�s pretty steep. But seriously I need to talk to you about something.�
Marie pulled into the parking lot of the library and shut the car off. �What�s wrong?�
�Well, you know how I was telling you about how some of my Mississippi friends were moving out to live with me in California?�
�Uh huh.�
�My one friend bailed so I�m one roomie short.�
She pulled open the door to the library and pushed her sunglasses up on to the top of her head when she was enveloped in darkness. �And?�
�Well, JC suggested that you should be my new roomie.�
�Are you serious?!� she semi-shrieked. When the librarian glared at her, she ducked her head in embarrassment and whispered, �Why me? He doesn�t even know me.�
�He said that the fact that you knocked me on my ass was reason enough for you to make a good roommate,� explained Lance, laughing.
�Do you want me as a roommate?� She handed the woman behind the counter her library card and switched the phone from one ear to another.
Lance furrowed his brow in thought and bit his lip. �Sure, I mean. You�re one of my best friends, why the hell not. But the real question is, are you willing to move out here?�
�Well, I did get a few acceptance letters from universities around you but I never really gave them a second thought because I don�t really know anyone out there beside you.� She mouthed �thanks� and grabbed her books before making her way back outside. �I�d have to think about it. California is a really far away from dad and he hasn�t been doing so well.�
�What�s the matter? Is he all right?� asked Lance, worried.
�He�s been getting really sore after work lately so I made him go to the doctor�s office last week. It�s your basic old age catching up to him and the fact that he�s never really taken care of his body so she prescribed him some medication and told him to start taking some vitamins, exercise, etc.�
�Then how come he�s not getting better?� She relayed the conversation they had earlier and he laughed. �No wonder where you get it from.�
�That�s what I said,� she exclaimed, giggling.
�Well, listen I have to go to some stupid movie premiere soon so I have to get ready. Just think about it and call me when you�ve decided, there�s no rush. Tell your dad I said hi.�
�All right, have fun!�
Lance hung up the phone, pushed out of his chair, and began making his way up to his room, dancing a little on the way. He was excited, giddy even, about the possibility of Marie coming to live with him. JC was right about what he had said earlier, whenever he talked to her or read one of her letters he was left with this odd feeling of happiness in his stomach.