We'll Show Them

I studied the pictures hanging on Lizzie's wall as she put away her clothes. They were framed covers of her first comic series. It was the same macabre style I remembered, only more refined and mature. I wouldn’t be surprised if she had authors beating down her door for commissions and series.

“Not bad, huh?” I turned to see Lizzie closing her dresser, finally completed with the task Justine had bestowed upon her.

“Not bad? These are spectacular. Hell, I want you to be my personal artist,” I chattered, enjoying the small smile that spread across her face.

“You’d sure be a hell of a lot easier to work with than some of those douchebags…” she fussed, collapsing on her bed. “I’m pretty sure my current project is giving me grey hair. I’m twenty-four. I can’t be old yet!” I laughed at her antics, taking my seat at her desk, which was covered with sketches and pencils. You could barely see her laptop under all of it.

We talked about nothing for what seemed like forever. That was, until the doorbell rang, causing both our heads to snap in that direction. “I got it Justine!” Lizzie hollered gruffly, reluctantly crawling off her bed. “God knows she doesn’t need another panic attack,” she added under her breath, heading toward the front door.

The closer we got, the more the frequency of rings increased. So, Frankie was here. “I’m coming!” Lizzie cried angrily at the door before opening it.

She was met by a small crowd of people. Mikey, Frank, Ray, and his girlfriend Christa all stood in the hallway, waiting to be invited inside. Frankie had his finger poised to press the doorbell once more, just smiling innocently in response to Lizzie’s scowl. Shaking her head, she stepped aside, letting the group into her flat.

They all stood there awkwardly, eyes on me. Finally, it dawned on me. “Oh! Everyone this is Eliza Miles. Eliza this is everyone.” I made a conscious decision to skimp on my nickname. That was something for just Lizzie and I. “Fro boy over there is Ray Toro and that’s his girlfriend, Christa. You know Mikey, and the hyperactive little shit is Frank Iero. We all call him Frankie.”

Lizzie exchanged greetings with the group, seeming to hit it off with everyone. “Are any of you thirsty? I think we have beer, beer, and I believe more beer. Then there’s tea for those of you who can’t handle it,” she chuckled heading into her kitchen. A chorus of agreement came from the group as we made our way into the living room. Before long, Lizzie reappeared, six beers in hand. She passed them out, then took her seat on one of the couches between Frankie and I.

Before long, everyone was chatting like they had been good friends for years. Justine had even ventured out of her cubby hole, making the comment, “They’re not as sweaty as I thought they’d be.” She was now trying to converse with Mikey about her new vacuum. All I can say is that he’s being an awfully good sport. Frankie was fawning over Lizzie’s tattoo sleeve, asking the story behind each one. She happily answered, telling her cryptic tales. That was until Frankie got a little too friendly. I thought I was going to have to interfere, but Lizzie simply shoved her hand into his face, temporarily stunning him. Atta girl!

Finally, it was among consensus of the group that it was time to order Chinese. Lizzie had picked up her phone, hand poised to dial the number, when the front door slammed shut, followed by the frantic clicking of heels. We all turned to see a girl, around Lizzie and Justine’s age, decked out in Christian Dior, grumbling under her breath heading straight to the kitchen.

“Karen?” I questioned.

Lizzie nodded. “Aspiring actress,” she informed the rest of us. I’m pretty sure that translated into ‘drama queen’ or ‘royal pain in the ass’.

The clinking of bottles could be heard coming from the fridge as Karen jabbered angrily. “I fucking hate directors. I fucking hate show business. I fucking hate this city!” The familiar hiss of a beer cap being popped sounded. “The nerve of that director! He said my F sharp was flat. I’m sorry I was a little off in a register only dogs and bigoted assholes can hear in! Does he realize that his production of ‘Rent’ isn’t even Broadway material. It’s barely Off-Broadway! Get your head out of the clouds!” she squawked angrily, plopping down next to her sister and my brother. She haphazardly threw her beer on the coffee table, causing Justine to hug her knees and mutter something about ‘coasters’.

Settling back into the couch, Karen finally saw the many wide-eyed people and the annoyed Lizzie in her living. “Who the hell are you people?” she voiced, suddenly taken aback.

“Karen!” Lizzie scolded. “These people happen to be Gerard’s friends and we’re supposed be having a nice movie night with Chinese food!”

“Oh… How do you know them?” Karen pondered, entire demeanor changing.

“Gerard’s an old friend and these are his bandmates, Mikey, Frank, and Ray. That’s Ray’s girlfriend, Christa. They’re in that band My Chemical Romance,” Lizzie tried to explain.

“Oh, so they’re band boys! My Chemical Romance was that band you were so happy about seeing, wasn’t it? So, which one are you fucking, Eliza?” Karen asked, taking a swig of her beer, switching back into her original persona.

Lizzie’s jaw just dropped at her friend’s antics. The rest of us just chuckled at the utter absurdity of her accusation. “Well, if you’re not going to spill, I bet I can figure it out,” Karan stated smugly, surveying the room, smirking when she saw the blush on Lizzie’s cheeks. “Obviously, it’s not Frotastic there. You’re not that much of a bitch to screw another girl's man. Scrawny is more of Justine’s type. So that leaves the tatted midget and the greaser. Seriously man, when was the last time you washed your hair?” I ran my fingers through my hair, seeing how true Karen’s claim was… Okay, maybe she had a point there.

“KAREN!” Lizzie screamed, obviously done putting up with Karen’s shit and making everyone else jump. Lizzie wasn’t one for raising her voice. “I am just friends with these people! Not everyone sleeps around like you do! Now, if you would kindly shut the fuck up, I’m going to order everyone Chinese now and one of our guests is going to pick out the movie. I don’t want to hear another word out of your fucking mouth,” Lizzie finished with a huff, grabbing her phone and heading out to the balcony. A silence fell across everyone as Lizzie made her exit.

The conversation slowly started to pick up again as Christa offered her choice for the first movie. Silence of the Lambs. Everyone agreed instantly, even little Justine. We were in the middle of talking about what it would be like if Jim Carrey played every role when I felt a tug on my sleeve.

“I think you should go check on Eliza,” Frankie mumbled, taking another swig of beer. “I haven’t heard her since she gave up on trying to explain what beef and broccoli was to the restaurant guy.” I nodded and made my way outside.

I walked out on the balcony to find Lizzie angrily smoking a cigarette, studying the New York skyline. “Hey, how are you doing?” I asked, throwing an arm around her shoulder, squeezing slightly.

“I’m just cooling off before I go back in there. What Karen did was totally uncalled for,” she mumbled, flicking her cigarette over the railing.

“No one blames you, Lizzie. In fact, we all got a good chuckle out of it. She’s behaving now, if that’s any consolation?” I offered, leading Lizzie back inside. “Anyways, Christa picked out Silence of the Lambs and it’s already been playing for ten minutes. Let’s go watch!” I grabbed her hand, practically throwing her on the couch with me. Looking over, I saw Justine hiding her face in Mikey’s shoulder, the latter smiling widely. Karen and Frank were chatting happily, completely ignoring the movie. I grinned, glad now that everyone was getting along. I threw my arm around Lizzie and she snuggled into me, already engrossed in the movie. Maybe tonight wouldn't be so bad after all.

Notes

This was basically a filler/character intro chapter. Trust me, Karen will get better with time. I just wanted her to be one of those people who you always hate at the beginning. Now, unfortunately, I'll be without internet for the weekend, but I'll try to post two chapters Sunday night! Leave your comments below! Thanks for reading!

-SS