It was almost Sunday afternoon, and I still hadn’t decided if I should really go to Mikey’s place. It just felt strange that he would even ask such a thing when we had only just met. I knew nothing about him and Frank, and Mr. Way was reason enough to stay away, but still, there was a part of me that felt curious and wanted to go.

As we weren’t in school, would he be different towards me? Would he be more like his brother?

I didn’t tell any of my friends about this. I knew they would think it was weird and that I shouldn’t go. They would also tell me how ridiculous I was being about the whole situation with my Art teacher.

But then again, maybe I was being ridiculous. Maybe I should just let it go… Or at least try to after I figured out the reason for this immature behavior.

“Are you going somewhere today, Sam?” My mom asked as she started peeling potatoes for today’s dinner, “You normally stay in your pajamas on Sunday.”

I shrugged as I grabbed another potato peeler and started helping, “I’m not sure. Maybe… Mom, can I ask you something?”

She stopped peeling, her attention now fully on me, “Oh god, what is it? Is it boys? Are you pregnant? Oh my, I don’t think I can handle this right now! I always told you about safe sex –“

“Whoa, mom!” I placed a hand on her shoulder, “Mom, I’m not pregnant… I don’t even have a boyfriend.” I heard her exhale, relieved that she wasn’t going to be a grandmother just yet, “No, I just wanted to ask if… Well, have you ever met someone for the first time and… They instantly hated you?”

Mom put a hand on her hip, “No, I don’t think so. I mean, if they did then I just chose to ignore it. Why do you ask? Are you having problems at school? Are you being bullied?”

I shook my head, “That’s not it… You know what? Never mind, we can talk about this another time. I really should be getting where I want to be.” Before mom could stop me, I was out the door.

I wasn’t sure what finally made me decide to see Mikey. Maybe it was that I couldn’t stand my mother’s questions any longer. She always over exaggerates problems, thinking its pregnancy rather than teacher problems.

The walk to Mikey’s was almost twenty minutes, but the walk didn’t bother me. It was the fact that his brother could be there. Maybe this was a bad idea after all. Or maybe I just needed to stop acting like a little girl scared of the monster under her bed.

I needed to show him that he didn’t bother me.

When I arrived at Mikey’s, I cautiously pressed the button on the door, and waited for an answer. Only a moment later, a tired looking Frank answered the door, “Erm… Hi?” He mumbled, his eyes barely open.

I opened my mouth to speak, but it took a moment for words to form, “Hi… I’m here to see Mikey?”

Frank’s eyes went suddenly wide as he jumped from the house. He placed his hands on my shoulders and shook his head, “Look, whatever he did, or whatever he said… He didn’t mean it. I mean, you seem like a nice girl, but he is already in a committed relationship, so you need to leave before she gets here!”

He went to push me away as I stopped him, “What? No! I am nothing to Mikey… But he asked me to come here.”

I explained that I met Mikey after Frank’s show last night, and he cooled down a little, but enough to agree to let me inside the house. But when I saw Mr. Way, I wished I had let Frank believe I had done something with Mikey so that I could go home.

What was I actually doing here anyway? It was a bad idea. What could I possibly gain from being here? Mikey said he wanted to mess with his brother. Sure, ‘cause that’s mature. It will make me just as bad a him really.

“What the fuck is here doing here?” Mr. Way demanded to know when he saw me.

Frank replied coolly, “Whoa, relax; she’s here to see your brother.”

It was then I heard footsteps coming into the living room. I almost relaxed knowing that Mikey was now present, with mugs of hot coffee in his hands, “Calm down, Gerard. Here’s your coffee… Hey Sam! How are you?”

I soon forgot that Mr. Way was in the room. He was so quiet; it was easy to forget he was there. I only glanced at him a couple of times; both times he was busy drawing in his sketch pad.

I got along great with Mikey and Frank, and when their girlfriends, Alicia and Jamia, arrived, I got along great with them, too. We chatted about anything and everything. It was amazing how relaxed I felt around them, even with my teacher in the room.

The mood shifted a little after Frank had made what was probably his sixth cup of coffee, “Hey, remember tomorrow…”

Mikey’s smile faded a little at remembering what he had to do tomorrow, “Of course, man. How could I forget?” I saw at the corner of my eye that Mr. Way gripped his pencil tighter, suggesting that whatever was going on tomorrow had something to do with him, too.

“W-what’s going on tomorrow?” I regretted asking as soon as I said it. It was none of my business.

However, I got a response from Mikey, “Erm, it’ll be the thirteenth anniversary of mine and Gerard’s parents’ death… “

I looked around the room to confirm that what he was saying was true. Their parents had died. I couldn’t imagine what they had gone through, losing parents so young.

It was then I realized, but didn’t voice it, that my parents had read about it in the paper. I remember them talking about it. They had died in a car accident on the way to an engagement party.

I looked back at Mr. Way and saw that his face showed a lot of pain. Was it his parent’s death that made him like he is? Why he’s always so angry? If that was so, then why wasn’t Mikey the same way, or worse? Surely it would have affected him just as much because he’s younger? Or maybe he was handling it much better than his brother was.

But if losing his parents made Mr. Way turn out like this… Why does he take most of anger out of me?

What exactly did it have to do with me?