Gerard only lived three houses down the street from my house and it was a quick walk. I knocked on the door and waited for someone to answer. After a few seconds, the door opened. I did a double take seeing the person who answered the door. It was a beautiful young blonde girl with piercing jade eyes.
“Can I help you?” she asked.
“I’m here for Gerard,” I answered.
Her eyes grew wide and then a smile came onto her face. It wasn’t a friendly smile. As soon as that spiteful look crossed her face, I was shocked to realize who it was. It was Brittany Way, Gerard’s sister.
“Come on in, Frank,” she said sweetly.
I walked past her without another word or as much as another glance. I made my way into the kitchen and saw Gerard putting lunch on the table. Brittany came into the kitchen shortly after me and laid plates out on the table.
“Frank!” Gerard said happily. “I nearly thought you weren’t coming anymore.”
I smiled, “Sorry about being late. I overslept and had a few last minute things to do.”
I heard a tsk-tsk-sound and saw Brittany shaking her head. I sighed: I wasn’t even back yet and already she was starting.
“It’s so good to see you again,” Gerard continued.
“Tell me about it. It’s been too long,” I agreed.
We sat down, dishing up. It went quickly and we soon started to stuff our faces, because Gerard was a good cook.
“Things are going to be huge,” Gerard said excitedly. “If we can get signed and start recording soon, who knows, we can be on tour within a matter of months.”
“It’ll take a lot of hard work,” I chuckled.
“Naturally,” he said, “But I’m still very excited about it.”
I nodded.
“Especially now that you’re going to be joining us,” he said.
Brittany choked on her food causing us to look at her. She cleared her throat before looking at us confused.
“What?” she asked hoarsely.
“Oh yeah, I haven’t told you yet. Frank is joining the band,” Gerard informed her.
“Why?” she asked, still confused. “I thought he was doing so well in New York.”
“I’m doing fine,” I said definitely.
“You know Frank is my best friend and I want him to be a part of everything,” Gerard explained.
“Right,” she mumbled.
“Just think about how great it will be,” I told her sweetly. “We’ll see each other a lot and it’ll be like old times!”
“Oh yeah,” she agreed, also faking excitement. “It’s going to be just great! Just great,” she finished sarcastically.
Gerard laughed, “Okay, I know you guys don’t really get along, but don’t you think that’s enough sarcasm for one day?”
“You mean one conversation,” Brittany said.
“Okay, but let’s finish lunch in peace?” he tried again.
“Oh, what’s wrong? Are you afraid I’ll stab your best friend?” she asked bitterly.
“No, I’m afraid he’ll slit your throat,” Gerard said and I cracked up.
She looked at Gerard resentfully before staring at me murderously.
“Oh come on, Brit, I was only joking,” Gerard chuckled.
“Excuse me. I’ll go eat my lunch somewhere else,” she said getting up, taking her plate and leaving the kitchen.
“She hasn’t changed one bit,” I noticed.
We finished lunch and then started to wash the dishes.
“Dude, I think your sister has a split personality,” I said and he looked at me questioningly.
“Think about it. When she’s with me, she’s such a bitch, but when she’s with you she’s all nice and sweet and innocent,” I explained.
Gerard laughed, “Brittany is everything but sweet and innocent. I think that kind of shoots your theory down the drain.”
“How else do you explain it then?” I asked.
We were so engrossed in our conversation that we didn’t even notice her standing in the doorway. When she entered the kitchen I immediately stopped talking. She stared at me with daggers as she passed me. After she handed Gerard her dishes, she left without saying a word. I started laughing.
“I really don’t know what your problem with each other is,” Gerard stated. “It’s been years. You’ve both grown up and you’ve both changed. I honestly think that you’ll get along really well if you just get to know each other a little better. Brittany is really cool. She’s the type of girl you’d like.”
I laughed even harder, “Dude, honestly, we’ve never gotten along and I don’t think we ever will. Besides, she’ll never give it a chance getting to know me better.”
“Maybe you should change your cynical attitude towards her,” he said firmly.
I kind of felt sorry for him, considering that he was stuck in the middle. It must suck if your sister and your best friend were constantly at each other’s throats.
I sighed, “Okay.”
He looked at me expectantly.
“I’ll try to change my attitude towards her,” I told him. “But I’m not promising anything,” I added quickly.
He grinned broadly, “Thanks man. I knew I could count on you.”
“Of course, what are best friends for? Hey, by the way, where’s Mikey?”
“Good question, but my guess is that he’s over at Syd’s house.”
“Syd?” I asked, eyebrow cocked.
“Yeah, she’s Mikey’s girlfriend. They started dating about three weeks ago and we’ve barely seen Mikey since. He’s constantly spending time with her. You’d think the end of the world is near,” he explained.
“Ah, well, I’m happy for him,” I smiled. “Good old Mikes. I’ve actually missed him too. He’ll be in the band, right?”
“Of course,” Gerard grinned. “Now I just need to persuade Brittany to join as well.”
“Hell no!” I exclaimed. “If you do that, I quit here and now!”
The raven-haired male cracked up, “I’m only messing with you! Don’t worry, Brit won’t join the band. It’s not her scene. Besides, she’ll never join the band now that she knows you’re a member.”
“Good,” was all I replied.