Mikey changed his shirt for the fourth time, his hair was still damp from the shower he had taken, the first one in 9 days.
Not that he was counting or cared that the previous stench coming from him even made Gerard cringe, but it was much needed, eventhough their meeting was strictly platonic he still wanted to leave an impression on Pete. It was probably the small spark of hope that was burried somewhere in the depts of his mind that were only visited during the night when he was dreaming.

After he straightened his hair and decided on a worn out pair of skinnies paired with a black, short-sleeve button-up he gave up on polishing up his appearance and chose just to go with it. He walked into the living room area where his bandmates were gorging on a variety of pizzas.

He sat down infront of Bob's feet and the drummer instantly handed him a plate with a slice on it. He hadn't even noticed Frank sitting next to him and though it was one of his best friends in the entire world, he couldn't help but glare at him everytime he made a stupid joke that he normally would have deemed hilarious.

The bus fell silent though when Mikey couldn't take it anymore and surprised himself by yelling "holy shit Frank could you just shut the fuck up for one second, god you're such an annoying little shit sometimes" as soon as the words left his mouth he regretted them, especially when he saw how Frank's eyes were staring at him, big with confusion.
Nobody said a thing but he could feel Bob and Ray sharing looks behind him while Gerard was prodding his fingers into the pizza toppings that were stuck to his plate. Frank's staring made him uneasy and Mikey felt like an awful friend, but he just couldn't get a simple sorry to pass his lips.
He glanced at the clock, three minutes had passed, three minutes of complete silence. Luckily time was one his side, he had somewhere to be. He was already on everyone's darkside so it didn't take him much effort to just get up and leave his friends behind.

Pete had asked to meet him at the liquor store across the parking lot, a drink or two would be nice but with bus-call in two hours he didn't really feel like getting smashed. The summer heat was clinging to his skin in a thin layer of sweat. He sighed at his wasted effort of being properly clean for once when he saw a figure walking up to him in the distance.

It soon became clear that this figure was Pete, who was carrying an overnight bag with him.
"Mikeyway are you ready for our big hang out" Pete smirked at him.
Mikey smiled and shrugged "depends if you think 2 hours is long enough to call a big hang out, what's in the bag?" he said nodding in Pete's direction.
"Last year we played a show here and I found a bridge that has the most amazing view, so I figured we could watch the sunset together, I brought a blanket and some food and beer" Pete said, almost shy.
Mikey's hands were eager to touch Pete who was standing there, pink cheeked, sweaty and perfect. The idea of watching a summer sunset together was enthraling, however he stuck his hands in the pockets of his jeans because he knew that there was no way that all of this could turn out the way he wanted it to. Friends watched sunsets together, it was all strictly platonic and it made his heart sink.

-
After they'd spread the cloth out over the sidewalk of the abandoned bridge, they sat down and slung their legs over the ledge. After having a deep conversation on horror movie remakes and who had a better crowd that day, there was a comfortable silence while Mikey was throwing potato chip crumbs at the hungry ducks who were happily floating around the river. It was a nice scenery, the shadows of the hills making them look artificially flat and stacked like a 3D birthdaycard.

Behind the hills the setting sun was painting the sky in a bright palette of pinks and oranges. He leaned back and folded his arms beneath his head as a makeshift pillow. His back felt uncomfortable with the sollid ground putting a strain on his spine. The sky was serene and together with the silence it gave him time to think about everything that was spinning in his mind.

Today had been amazing, the crowd was fantastic and he was glad that he could make a couple of them smile during the signing after their set. Still all the attention their band received frightened him completely. Everytime someone would come up to him to tell him that he saved their live with his music he almost felt ashamed. It was a compliment that he didn't feel worthy of, when he himself was such a giant mess all the time. As if he was cheating by telling other people that everything would be alright when he was a giant fuck up himself.

-

Mikey was done feeding the ducks and turned around to ask something when he saw Pete lying on the ground and staring up to the sky with his brows furrowed. He nudged the other man's side, who was apparantly in deep thought "what are you thinking about?".
Pete smiled at him for a second before gazing at the sky again with the furrow back between his eyes "do you ever feel as if we don't deserve all of this" he softly spoke.
Mikey cocked his eyebrows "deserve what?" he asked.
He watched the man think for a moment, trying to search for the right words "I'm just a regular dude and people have all these expectations and opinions about me, like I'm some all knowing rockstar" his voice died a little at the end of his sentence "I'm just me" came out as a whisper.
Mikey's heart ached at his friend's insecurity and he lay down next to him on his side.

He couldn't keep his hands to himself this time and promised his guilty conscious that this was just friendly comforting when he softly patted Pete's chin with his fingertips, trying to grasp his attention "hey, look at me" he said softly.
He let his fingers dance upwards until they were resting on his friend's cheek so he could softly turn his face until Pete's dark eyes were staring back into his own.
They softened up a bit and Mikey's lips curled up into a small smile "people will always have opinions about you man, wheter you're famous or not. The only extra we have are some douchebags writing bullshit about us but that doesn't matter".
Mikey let his thumb softly stroke Pete's cheekbone before he continued "because for every douchebag there are at least a hundred people who are thankful everyday for having your music. You give them hope, because through every word they hear you, a person who inspires them to be so much more, just like they inspire us everyday."

He watched his friend take in his words for a moment before opening his mouth again to say something "but wh-." Mikey didn't let him finish his sentence and instead moved his thumb to Pete's lips, softly pressing them shut. His heartbeat became erratic and he knew that what he was about to do would probably cause problems, but without a second thought he removed his thumb but the emptiness on his friend's lips was quickly replaced by the warmth of his own. Mikey felt a fire rushing through his body, it felt like a star collision, everything felt right.

-

Pete was surprised, shocked in fact, but he didn't pull away. Even if he wanted to it was simply impossible to disconnect himself from all that he was feeling. Mikey's lips against his own before his tongue softly pushed into his mouth. It was perfect and sweet, drenching him in a shower of emotions as he simulated Mikey by cupping the other man's face and softly stroking the edges with his thumb.

His heart was racing and he felt incredibly alive, like a parched man in a desert desperately drinking his first drops of water. It was warmth, comfort, need and love, coursing through his veins at lightning speed. Then it hit him, he was truly in love with Mikey Way. There was no denying anymore, no more insecurity, just this divine feeling of euphoria.

Suddenly Mikey pulled away "fuck Pete I'm sorry, Frank's gonna be so pissed" he panicked.
Pete sat up, confused "what the hell, why would Frank be angry at us" he asked as he watched Mikey back away a little.
"Because I just kissed his boyfriend or whatever the hell the two of you have going on" he said.
His mouth almost fell open with surprise at Mikey's confession "Mikey, Frank and I have nothing going on, we're friends that's it" he spoke.
Now Mikey was the one looking confused "but why would the two of you sneak off all the time and hang out?".
Pete rubbed his face "holy shit Mikey, you are one oblivious bastard, Frank and I were sneaking off to talk about a certain kind of situation we both have going on".

-

"What situation" Mikey asked Pete.
He saw Pete blush and look at the ground before gazing back at him with a smirk "we are both in love, I'm falling in love with you Mikey, there I said it".
Mikey didn't hesitate but flung his arms around Pete's neck before planting a giant kiss on his lips and muttering "I think I'm failling in love with you too".
They let go of eachother, both with a sheepish grin on their face before Mikey started to think.
"But if Frank and you are just friends, who is he..-" he asked.
Pete didn't even have to answer because it hit him clear in the face, all the glances, the giggles, playfighting, blushing. "It's Gerard isn't it? Frank's in love with Gerard" the last part of his sentence more a statement than a question.
Pete simply nodded but Mikey quickly got to his feet "Pete I'm sorry, I really have to go, just to make sure, you and I are" he looked or a worth that didn't sound too childish "you and I are going steady right".
Pete smiled at him "yeah, guess we are Mikeyway".
He stole one last kiss and then ran as fast as his legs would allow him to, yelling "bus call is in half an hour, I'll text you later" over his shoulder as he made his way to fix a huge mistake.

-

Frank was pressed up between Bob and Gerard, both of them holding one of his hands in their own trying to silently comfort him. He was sad and angry to say the least, sad because his best friend yelled at him for no reason and angry because the no reason part. People yelled at him all the time, Bob yelled at him at least twice a day but never without reason.
Mikey's eyes showed instant regret when he was done with his little rant but instead of apologizing to him, the bastard just got up and walked off. Frank hadn't spoken a single word since he left, simply nodding yes or no to his friend's questions. After sitting on the floor for half an hour, contemplating every possible reason for Mikey's outburst, Bob and Gerard hauled him up and propped him up between the two of them on the couch while Ray popped in a movie.

It was good to know that the three of them were apparantly on his side, because when Mikey came in after being gone for an hour and a half he received four glaring stares at his flustered posture.
"F-frank" he stammered.
He simply shook his head, jumped up and stormed to the bunks, hearing footsteps quickly following him.
"What the fuck do you want Mikey, I didn't say a word, or am I still an annoying little shit for fucking breathing" he yelled out.
He watched the taller man stare at his feet, his face seemed guilt ridden before he looked Frank in the eyes "I'm a giant fucking asshole and I don't deserve your friendship at all but please, Frank, I beg you let me explain why I was being such a dick".
He crossed his arms and nodded for Mikey to proceed.
The bassist sighed "I like Pete a lot, I'm falling in love with him, and I know how fucking stupid this sounds but, since I know you like guys too and were hanging out with Pete alone all the time I thought the two of you were a thing so I was jealous.
I'm so sorry, I love you and, please don't hate me, I don't know what I'd ever do without you Frankie" he said with tears in his eyes.

Frank didn't say a word but simply threw his arms around Mikey, who reciprocated the movement and hugged him thightly "I swear you are a giant saggy dick, I could never ever hate you eventhough you're the king of assholeville, also you could've just asked me if I was boning Wentz because then I just could've told you myself that there's no way I'd ever get that close to him, the dude has cooties".

Frank let go of his friend and pulled him down next to him in his bunk "you clearly talked to Pete since the Way brothers make assumptions too quickly to ever discover anything on their own".
Mikey smiled "yeah I did".
Frank poked his sides "so are are the two of you together now or do I have to play fucking matchmaker now too" he said with handgestures to emphasize his words.
He watched the other man blush and bite down on his lips "yeah, I guess we are" he said softly but very surely "what about you and my brother" he quickly followed.
Frank felt the color drain from his face "did Wentz tell you, oh my god I'm gonna kill him or break his fucking bass or.-" he was cut of short by Mikey grabbing his face, forcing him to look at him.
"Frank before you make assumption, which by now you should know only cause crap, Pete didn't say a word. He only said that you were falling for someone and then I had some sort of fucking epiphany because I realized that it was Gee." the bassist said before letting go of Frank's face.

Frank felt the sudden tension leave his body again and sighed before grinning at Mikey "well if you really want to know, your brother is just as stupid as you are. He was jealous because I kissed that girl yesterday so he stormed off into the woods and I followed him, then we made out and he told me that he was jealous of Pete too, after I told him that Wentz and I are just friends and that he was the only one for me we made out some more. Then both blew a load in our pants before heading back to the bonfire." Frank watched Mikey's eyes grow wide with horror and disgust.
He got up and pulled Mikey from the bunk "now get up, everyone is super pissed at you for being such a dick, so I demand a piggyback ride into the livingroom, assuming that you're gonna tell them how in love you are with Wentzie".
Frank jumped on Mikey's back and heard him sigh underneath him "yeah, I'm gonna tell them" he said before slumping through the curtain, into their so called livingroom.