Take My Hand and Never Be Afraid Again

*October 31st*

So far mine and Frank's dual birthday was a total success. My mom had allowed the guys to stay the night the night before and woke us up a little early for a birthday breakfast of apple-cinnamon crepes, fruit salad and bacon (veggie bacon for Frank). I was a little nervous eating in front of the guys as until now I had been able to avoid it. I picked at my plate, mostly moving food around and I think Frank noticed because out of the corner of my eye I caught him looking at my with a frown and furrowed brow. I continued to pick regardless as I would be wearing tight clothes that day and didn't want to look like I was oozing out of them.

We went to school in full costume as it was Halloween and the school was allowing students to wear their costumes if they ran them by the principal first. Ours having been approved we arrived as the Fabulous Killjoys. Gerard was Party Poison, Mikey was Kobra Kid, Ray was Jet Star, Frank was Fun Ghoul, Bob was General Fallout and I was Motor Baby. Our costumes consisted of skinny jeans (fashionably torn), combat boots, brightly colored shirts with leather vests or jackets and bandanas. I completed my look with fingerless leather gloves, smokey eyeshadow and a tool belt slung around my waist.

Needless to say we felt like badasses that day, especially when lunch time came around and we all got to leave early. We had convinced our parents to all call in and let us out because Frank and I had scheduled tattoo appointments for that afternoon to get our first tattoos before the concert that night. Since Ray was the only one with a car, he drove us all, frequently yelling at Frank and I to shut up.

"God damnit, Franklin Anthony Iero Jr and Pandora Evelyn Grey, if you two don't shut the fuck up right now I will turn this fucking car around and neither of you will get your tattoos!" Ray's outburst was followed by a moment of silence during which Frank and I turned to eachother with wide eyes, clamping our hands on the other's mouth. At this point Bob lost it and began laughing hysterically, shortly followed by the others while Frank and I just sat there in fear and shock. The giggling eventually died down, but Frank and I stayed as we were, holding out breath in anticipation.

It seemed like forever, but Ray finally pulled into the parking lot of the tattoo parlor. Frank and I squealed with glee as we got out of the car. After a minute or two of deep breathing we were calm enough to go inside for our appointments. The paper work was done so our artists led us to their stations, which were right next to eachother, setting them up so that Frank and I were able to hold hands as the other guys couldn't be back there and were instead going to the comic/music store next door. This turned out to be a pretty good idea. Frank was getting a scorpion tattooed onto his neck and I was getting a chest piece done of a woman's face, slightly zombified, whose hair spread out across my chest, turning into snakes as it went across my collarbones, slightly Medusa-style.

Mine ended up taking the longest, though the artist was quick and thorough and able to get it all done in one session. Frank stayed the entire time, holding my hand and letting me squeeze with all the strength I had when they went over the more sensitive areas.

By the time we were both finished it was about two hours until the concert so we all piled back into Ray's car to head over to the venue, Mikey complaining about being starving and melting away before our eyes while Bob analyzed our new tattoos and Gerard avoided looking at anybody altogether, instead focusing on the outside.

"Hey, Gerard, what's wrong?" I asked. He looked at me in surprise.

"Oh...uh, nothing really.:

"You look like you're about to throw up. What's wrong, Gee?" He smiled at the use of his nickname.

"It's just, uh,,I'm really bad with needles and the fresh ink..uh, still gets me a little."He blushed, giving a nervous chuckle and a cute half-smile, just barely tilting up one corner of his mouth. I smiled back and patted his hand (again I was between him and Frank) and then zipped my jacket up to my chin, completely hiding my chest. Then I turned to Frank and pulled his hair over his ears, making sure it covered his neck on both sides.

"Better?" I asked, turning back to Gerard with a smile. He laughed, high and light and kissed me on the cheek.

"You're too sweet, Panda."

"Glad you think so, Gee." I replied, blushing slightly. He did look awfully cute when he laughed.

"Hey, Ray, are we almost there?" Frank shouted, startling most of us.

"Jesus Christ, yes we are almost there short-shit." Frank grunted and shifted slightly, leaning a little away from me. After a couple of minutes, Ray finally pulled to a stop and turned around to look at us. "You guys ready for the time of your fucking lives?"

"Fuck yeah!" was the collective shout as we scurried out of the car and into the line, shaking with anticipation.

Notes

Hey guys, hope you all had a wonderful holiday. Enjoy the update!

-Motor Baby