Unknown Identities

Gerard closed the door to the basement, his room that was now taken over by his brother, friends and Frank. Frank. How can I get through to you? I need to tell you or I’ll go crazy staying ‘just friends’. I can’t just go out and tell him though, maybe…Oh I don’t know. Gerard shook his head and walked away from the door and towards the living room.
“Gerard?!” his mother questioned when he walked into the small room. Her three friends lounging on the couches before they would head out for the night. Gerard saw them and immediately back tracked it to the kitchen. “No! You get your butt back in here,” she called
“Yes?” Gerard questioned, flipping his damp hair out of his eyes trying not to look guilty.
“What did you do to your hair?” she questioned, giving him a look. The same kind of look she gave him a three years ago when he died his hair black for the first time. Back when he still had…problems.
“I dyed it,” he said simply.
“I can see that. Why?” she gave him a worried look.
“It’s not like that mom, leave it. I’m done. Have been for a year now.”
“I know, but a mother worries.” She said, he friends all looked at him in confusion. I guess mom never told them about me. Gerard thought as his mother began to recount the story. He left not wanting to relive his mistakes. Now, what to do about Frank. He thought walking back in to the kitchen and pulling out a sketchbook. At that moment his mother walked back into the kitchen her friends trailing behind her.
“Mom what are you doing?” he questioned. Realizing he wasn’t going to be able to go anywhere in the house without someone following him, until his mom left that is.
“I’m making you cookies,”
“Why?”
“Because I feel bad, and Mikey won’t let you into your own room sooo,”
“Oh, awesome,” Gerard said, looking down at his drawings, the three other ladies in the room shooting him pity-filled looks every now and then.
This was going to be a long night.
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The group of four studied for as long as they could. They had gotten pretty far, Frank had finished his math, Mikey his paper, Ray was no longer confused on Chemistry, and Bob…well Bob really wasn’t doing anything to begin with. It was rather difficult after a while though, especially since they decided to turn the Pandora feature on the TV up to full blast. Mikey had chosen the first station and when they ran out skips…all hell broke loose. The as predicted screaming match had started.
“Just pick a new station it’s not that hard,” Bob said after arguing about it for a few minutes.
“Ooo. Can I choose the station?” Frank piped up.
“No, you’ve got god awful taste,” Ray yelled back.
“Yours isn’t any better,” Mikey shouted. “Stupid Pandora,”
“Don’t get mad at the app just because you can’t decide on a song,” Bob said rolling his eyes.
“Nobody asked you, Bob,” all three of them yelled back.
“Fine!” he said raising his hands in defense.
“I think I should choose,” Frank added in, trying again.
“No,” Ray said taking the remote from Mikey and choosing his own station.
“Traitor!” Frank yelled at Mikey.
“I can’t help that he’s stronger than me!”
“Or that I’m more gorgeous,” Ray added in, but shut up and dropped the remote as Frank and Mikey both glared at him.
“Thank you very much,” Bob said reaching over and grabbing the silver device off the ground where Ray dropped it.
“Bob!” Mikey shouted, “Give it back!”
“You sound like a five year old,” Bob yelled back.
“Only at heart, my friend,” Mikey said
“Yeah, otherwise your love of unicorns would have died years ago,”
“Hurtful!”
“What the hell are you guys doing down here!” Gerard shouted as he flew down the basement stairs with a spoon in his hand. Putting the spoon in his mouth he raced over to the couches, stopping Mikey from jumping across the coffee table at Bob. “You sound like you’re murdering someone,” his voice slightly distorted by the spoon.
“Only Bob,” Mikey said as Gerard sat him on the couch, preventing him from killing the blonde.
“Okay…please explain,” He said around the spoon.
“We were arguing over the music,” Ray said.
“Oh,” Gerard took the remote from Bob and turned it off.
“Why do you have a spoon?” Frank questioned.
“Oh,” Gerard said, taking it out of his mouth. “Mom made cookies and had leftover cookie dough.”
“So you ate it with a spoon?” Frank asked laughing,
“Yeah, my hands are disgusting, see” the red head said, throwing his paint stained hands in Frank’s face for emphasis.
“I see, thank you,” the smaller boy said pushing Gerard’s hands out of his face.
“Why’d she make cookies?” Mikey questioned.
“I don’t know, I think she’s worried about me again,” he said
“Did she save any for me?” Mikey asked again.
“It’s mine you can’t have any,”
“You’re really stingy with your food,” Mikey said, crossing his arms.
“Yeah well, too bad,” Gerard said, “And I’m not that stingy, only with you. Anyway, speaking about food. Why don’t you guys take a break and we can get some dinner,”
They all agreed getting up off the couch and walking up the stairs to the kitchen. As Gee had said, there was a plate of cookies sitting one the counter. Mikey only shook his head, Mom can be so easily worried. And Gee takes advantage of that all the time.
“Unfortunately, to get pizza I’ll have to walk down there because they don’t deliver here anymore,” Gerard said turning to face the four of them.
“Why not?” Frank questioned. Mikey snorted as Gee looked embarrassed.
“I sort of scared the shit out of a pizza guy last Halloween,” He admitted, “Apparently, when you come to the door looking like a corpse, people really think you’re dead,”
All of them broke out into laughter. “It’s not that funny, so quit laughing at me!”
“Oh no, we’re not laughing at you,” Mikey said.
“Speak for yourself,” Bob said, leaning on Ray as he continued laughing.
“Anyway!” Gerard shouted, “I’m going to need help carrying them sooo who wants to come with me?”
“Frank will!” Mikey, Ray, and Bob all shouted all at once. And in perfect unison, it was almost scary. Gerard looked wide-eyed at the three of them in surprise, not expecting that loud of a response.
“Thanks guys,” Frank said shaking his head at his friends.
“Okay then,” Gee said. “Let’s go. We’ll be back in like fifteen,”
“Have fun!” Bob called mockingly. Both Frank and Gerard glared at the blonde as he laughed at them and their identical reactions. They walked out of the house and closed the door.
“Fifty bucks says that they come back a couple,” Bob said as soon as the door was closed.
“Knowing my brother, he’s not going to do anything. So you’re on,” Mikey said.
“Prepare to lose Way,”
“Whatever,”
“I’m siding with Mikey on this one,” Ray added in.
“Of course you are,” Bob said.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Mikey questioned
“Never mind,”
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Shutting the door behind them, Frank and Gerard walked down the front steps.
“Are we driving or walking?” Frank questioned
“Walking. It’s not that far and Mom took the car anyway,” Gerard answered as they walked down the sidewalk, Frank next to him.
They walked in an awkward silence for a few minutes before Frank couldn’t stand it anymore, saying the first thing he could think of.
“I didn’t know you could sing,” Nice.
“Oh, you…uh….heard me singing?” Gerard said blushing.
“Yeah, why do you look so embarrassed?”
“I don’t normally sing in front of people…”
“Really? With a voice like that?”
“Yeah, I…well,” he trailed off and Frank took this as his cue to change the subject.
“So…Red?” he questioned, trying to avoid the awkwardness that was for someone reason refusing to leave the two of them.
“I don’t know…a rebellion against myself I guess,” Gerard said thoughtfully.
“I think you’re spending too much time around me,” Frank laughed.
“Quite the contrary actually. I’m not spending enough time with you,” he said and Frank smiled at him.
“Anyway, the red…it looks good on you,” Frank admitted trying his hardest not to show any sign of embarrassment.
“Thanks,” Gerard failed miserably at hiding his.
The two of them walked down another street to where the pizza shop stood, in between an interesting looking record store and a florist. It really wasn’t all that far of a walk, only five minutes at the least.
Gerard stepped up to the door and held it open as Frank walked through nodding in thanks. He tried to convince himself to calm down from that act, Gee was just being a friend and nothing more. As Gerard walked up to the front counter to put in the orders for pizza, Frank lingered back near the door, really not liking the way the girl at the register was looking at him. She was obviously flirting but Gerard acted like nothing was happening as he continued to order causing Frank to smile slightly.
When he was finished, Gerard walked back over to Frank and they sat down at a table to wait for the food.
“Said it would take only about ten minutes,” Gee said sitting across from Frank at the small table.
“Good because the smell in here is making me hungry,”
“No kidding,” Gee sighed as if he just remembered something.
“What?” Frank questioned a little worried.
“I just remembered I left my cookies on the counter, how much you wanna bet the three of them have completely devoured them?” Gerard said and Frank laughed.
“That’s what you’re worried about? You scarred me for a minute,”
“Sorry, but this is serious,” Gerard said as he rested his head on the table, still not breaking eye contact with Frank. The smaller teen only rolled his eyes at the other, causing him to smile. “So, figured out your secret admirer yet?” Gerard questioned.
“I completely forgot that you read one of those,” Frank said resting his head in his hands. “But to answer your question, nope,”
“Aww, come on. You’ve got to have some idea,” he said
“I’ve got nothing,”
“Anyone you want it to be?” You. Frank thought immediately. I would give anything if it were you.
“I don’t think so,” He said instead. A look of hurt flashed through the boy’s eyes almost so fast Frank thought he imagined it, but he was sure it was there.
“Really? Nobody?”
“I don’t…..Well, what about you? If you were getting letters from someone who would you want them to be from?” You, Gee thought smiling to himself.
“Well, let’s see,” Should I tell him the truth? Even if he doesn’t like me he could take it as a joke anyway so give it a try. “I would want them to be from…”
Gerard’s name was called from behind the register. Their pizzas were ready to go and they could leave. Gerard got up from the table smiling apologetically back at him as he walked up to the counter. Damn it! He was so close from telling me! Frank thought angrily as he watched the girl continue to flirt with Gerard. Her efforts were in vain though, because the second he finished paying, Gerard walked back over to Frank smiling at him. Not showing any sign of continuing from where he left off. Maybe I can ask him a different time.
Gerard set the pizzas down at their table for a second to look at the receipt. Frank got up and stood next to him leaning over Gee as much as he dared to look at the flimsy sheet of paper. A normal receipt except for the phone number scrawled across the bottom of it. Frank walked away and went to go grab one of the boxes of delicious smelling pizza. Gerard clenched the receipt in his hand and Frank wondered briefly if he was going to keep it. Well there goes my chances with him.
“Oh no you don’t, I’ve got it,” Gee said stopping Frank from picking up the boxes.
“I thought you said you would need help carrying them,” Frank said with an eyebrow raised.
“I just didn’t want to go alone,” He admitted, “You get strange looks when you walk in and order two boxes of pizza alone,”
“Why didn’t you just say that in the first place?”
“And get laughed at for another ten minutes? No thank you,” Frank laughed at him and his silly logic.
“Whatever, come on let’s get back to your place before I eat this myself.
“You would have to share with me then,”
“I could live with that,” Gerard laughed and picked up the boxes carrying them with one hand and in the other the receipt still balled up. What’s he planning on doing with that?
A block away from the store Frank got his answer. Gee left his side for a minute and threw the thing in the nearest trash can. So he just didn’t want to throw it away in front of the girl? Way to be considerate.
Gerard noticed the odd look Frank was giving him and explained himself.
“I believe I already told you that I’m not in to girls, besides I’ve only got one guy on my mind,” He said smiling shyly at Frank. Frank wished more than anything that that guy was him as they continued on their walk home.

Notes

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