Completely (Un)expected

It had been a few days since I'd started working at the comic shop, and Mikey had made good on his promise of visiting me whenever I was there. The original deal was that I was to enter in all the logs for the week, but that was before I learned about the behemoth box of past transactions that I also had to enter, so in an effort to actually get it all done before May, I took it upon myself to stop in a few extra times here and there. It's not like I really had anything better to do.

Mikey had come in a few times and hung around reading comics in my 'office' while I punched in the numbers and chatting with me when I needed a break from looking at the computer screen. I'd fallen into my mundane and monotonous routine, finding a place in Jersey, no matter how boring that place was.

School was to start soon and I wanted nothing more than to get the year started on a good note and keep it going, riding out my senior year smoothly and without any problems. A girl can dream.

Mikey was the one to put a major twist in the plot of my story of senior year.

It happened on a Wednesday. Nothing interesting ever happened on Wednesdays, but this was a special exception.

I was sitting in the back room of the comic store with the little window opened wide, letting the meager August breeze sweep through and cool the sticky Jersey air that had filled the room. I'd since taken my sweater off, deciding that New Jersey didn't care how light the material was; you'd still be hot regardless. My hair was tied up in a gradually loosening bun at the back of my head and I'd occasionally have to brush away a strand that would fall into my face as I worked.

It was just about time for a break and, as if cued to do so, Mikey walked in just as I hit 'Enter' to calculate the data on my spreadsheet. I heard the front door chime followed by Mikey's voice. He sounded like he was talking to someone, but not Gerard; perhaps one of his friends.

I took a moment too smooth out my hair in a feeble attempt to make myself more presentable, seeing as I probably looked a mess from having to deal with the heat.

Admittedly, I wanted to look good to meet Mikey's friends; I wanted them to like me, otherwise I'd spend my last year of high school with my cousin being my only friend. Lame.
The door cracked open and Mikey stepped inside. "Hey, Mi -" I began, but came to a halt as the person following him stepped through the threshold.

He was shorter than Mikey, but not necessarily short in general. His dark hair was messy and covered his eyes. Those eyes looked familiar, but from where? He came into a fuller view as he stood beside Mikey and I was able to see the ripped up jeans and ratty old converse sneakers. That's when I knew.

"Sup?" Mikey asked coolly before turning to the boy behind him and saying, "Yo, this is -"

"Henri?" he asked in shock, and I replied in an equivalent tone, "Frank?"

"Oh, so . . ." Mikey looked rather confused. "You guys know each other?"

I tried adjusting my eyes, blinking a few times to clear them, but his image remained. I shook my head slightly, seeing if that would realign my thinking and make me realize it was just a vision, a dream; that's it, I was day dreaming.

No. Sadly I wasn’t, as I learned my covertly pinching the inside of my exposed legs under the desk top. It hurt and I wasn’t dreaming. It really was Frank; the boy I thought I’d never see again, not in a million years.

"You know what Mike," Frank suddenly let out in a rushed, urgent fashion. "I just remembered; I have to go do something. I'll see you later." He turned on his heal, ignoring Mikey's pleading to learn where he was off to and not so much as throwing a glance in my general direction. He wanted out, fast, and I didn’t blame him.

Mikey watched as Frank left the shop and when I heard the bell chime, letting me know Frank was gone, Mikey turned back to me. "What was that?"

I breathed in deeply, clearing my thoughts and coming down from my shock. I didn’t want to let Mikey know about that night at the club in New York; I myself was trying to forget it, not that it'd be easy now. So I lied.

"I have no idea."

Notes

I'm sorry that this week's update is much shorter than the other chapters, but I needed a transition into a bigger event and this was the only introduction I could manage without putting in too much info at once.