I looked over my shoulder as I walked out of my house and into the humid summer air. I locked all the locks that were locked before I left so it wasn't suspicious, made sure Jamia was asleep in her bed, made sure Mom was asleep, and that Jamia's window was closed so she couldn't see me. I was set on this date with my boyfriend.
Boyfriend. The word echoed through my head as I shuffled to Gerard's house. I had a boyfriend. And said boyfriend was oh so attractive. I thought about the events of last night. I have to admit, Gerard makes some... lewd faces. I pushed those thoughts out of my mind so I wouldn't end up with a boner. I just can't believe I have a boyfriend, a hot one at that, and that I-- well... had sex. It brought a smile to my face. Soon enough, Gerard's house came into view, a black car parked in the front. He sat on the trunk of the car, smoking, while Lindsey and a brunette girl sat in the front seat of the car. The second Gerard saw me, he broke into a smile. I was about to say something when he covered my mouth and pointed at his house. I raised an eyebrow, confused as to what the gesture meant. "Snuck out," he whispered, and guided me to the back seat of the car.
"Well, if you snuck out, why would you park right in the front?" I asked sarcastically. He just shrugged. The brunette girl in the front, who was driving, turned to me and held out her hand.
"Hi, I'm Kitty, you are...?"
"F-Frank, Gerard's boyfriend," I replied. I shook her hand and settled into the back with Gerard. "So, where are we going?" I asked as the car started moving to no one in particular.
"You'll see," Lindsey replied. Gerard was still smoking the same cigarette and she saw that in the rear view mirror, and scoffed. "Gerard, your lifespan is short enough as it--" She suddenly stopped herself, as if she had said the wrong thing. I shrugged it off, assuming maybe mention of death was triggering for Gerard. I wrapped my arms around him, resting my head on his shoulders. My eyes suddenly felt heavy, even though I had taken a nap. The swaying of the car didn't help much. Just as I felt I was about to pass out, the car jerked to a halt.
"Well, we're here!" Kitty cheered. I looked up to see we had parked in front of a beat down brick building, a sign above the door reading "LITTLE JIMMY'S". Me and Gee followed the two girls inside.

What greeted us was the stench of alcohol, people pumping their fists into the air, shouting, and music blaring over speakers. I didn't mind how loud it was, it's actually the same volume as most of the music I listen to. On a stage in the very back of the place was a man with black hair he quite literally spiked with hair gel, wearing all black and a hot pink tie. He was singing, the crowd screaming the lyrics with him. Sounds like something I'd listen to. I looked over to Gerard, whose eyes were wide in awe. The man looked over to where our group was and nodded, Lindsey and Kitty waving in response. "Just wait a few fuckin' minutes, assholes," he said to the crowd, resulting in screaming and cheers. He set his microphone down and disappeared behind a curtain to the right of the stage, appearing seconds later next to Kitty. He looked over to me and Gerard and turned to Lindsey. "Brought me my birthday presents?" he said to her, well, more like growled. I took a step back, off put by his comment. He chuckled. "Just kidding!" He held his hand out.
"Frank," I told him as we shook hands. He turned to Gerard and shook his hand.
"Well, I'm--"
"Jimmy Urine." Gerard interrupted, a smile plastered on his face and his eyes wide with excitement. The man, who I guess I could now call Jimmy, smiled.
"You a fan?" he asked. Gerard nodded excitedly.
"Fan of what?" I asked, unsure of what was going on.
"Frontman of Mindless Self Indulgence," Jimmy told me. "Ever heard of us?" I shook my head no. He shrugged "Not many have. Anyways, why you guys here tonight?"
"Me and Kitty wanted to go on a date," Lindsey said for us. "They wanted to join. We wanted to see your birthday performance. Figured bringing two underage kids to a bar for a date-slash-celebration of the birthday of a man only one apparently knows exist was a good idea."
"Why is the stage so empty tonight?" Kitty asked, nodded towards the stage in the back. There was no one up there, just two large speakers.
"Steve and Vanessa left 'cause they know I usually get piss drunk on my birthday." Jimmy laughed. "Been using instrumentals all night instead."
"Aww, you shouldn't have to use fuckin' instrumentals on your birthday!" exclaimed Lindsey. "How 'bout I fill in bass?"
"I was supposed to be here tonight anyways, so I'll do drums," Kitty snickered.
"I-I... I s-sing..." Gerard stuttered. I stood there, kind of confused. So everyone was volunteering to play. I kinda wanted to, but I'd never heard of this guy's music before. Kinda weird to just perform for him, right? But then he turned to me.
"You play anything, punk?"
"Guitar."
"Looks like we got an entire band here tonight!" he said, smiling.

GERARD'S P.O.V.

We stood on the side of the stage. My heart was practically beating out of my chest. I was about to perform with Jimmy MOTHERFUCKING Urine.
Earlier today, on Mikey's suggestion, I started a bucket list. It was a very short one.

1. Perform on stage in front of more than 10 people
2. Get over your damn social anxiety
3. Tell Frank
4. Don't break his heart

I guess I could cross the first one off. Jimmy was on stage, poking fun at the audience. He finished his joke, and began to talk about the fact he had some guest performers. "C'mon up, fiends!" he yelled, talking about us. I followed Frank up to the stage, and went into our spot Jimmy showed us. "Hope you don't like 'em, 'cause you might not see 'em ever again." I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned around to find Frank.
"What's the first song?" Frank asked. Jimmy accidentally answered his question.
"Let's start off with Straight to Video." The music started and pinched myself as the lights faded.

All aboard
Hit the road
All the bullshit
Can't be ignored

My heart was racing as the crowd sang along. I was performing with the frontman of one of my favorite bands. This is amazing! Everything seems to be going right in my life since I found out about my... problem. I was always afraid of singing in front of people, but I felt completely weightless right now. Like no one was judging me at all, that I could perform for hours. Guess I could cross number two off my list, huh? Now, my problem was not getting lost in the music. I always do that when I sing, I tune out the entire world and then it's just me. The problem is I have no idea what I do when I zone out. I could fall of the stage or just embarrass myself in general. Okay, Gerard, calm down and focus on the task at hand.

It's hard to place
In my face
No emotion
All the problems
Make me wanna go
Like a bad girl
Straight to video
Little darling
Welcome to the show
You're a failure
Played in stereo

---

The crowd was yelling and screaming, wanting us to continue. But it was 2 am and we were all tired and I and Frank in particular were minors, so we shouldn't even be here. My cheeks hurt from smiling so much. I'm sure my face would be stuck like this. I felt another tap on my shoulder and turned around to find Frank, his smile as wide as mine. I gave him a peck on the lips, which was obviously a bit too public, since the crowd began to yell even louder. "MAKE OUT!" someone yelled. I laughed. This sounded oddly similar to last night. I glanced over to Lindsey and Kitty and saw they were doing just what the crowd told them to. I saw Kitty take a few shots during the show, maybe she was a bit drunk? I turned back to Frank and crashed our lips together. I nearly dropped the microphone in my shock when it was Frank who pulled me closer and began to suck and bite my neck. I ruffled up his hair and he let go.
"Anyways, thank you all!" Jimmy yelled. "Now get the fuck out!" The crowd continued yelling as everyone cleared out. He waited until everyone had left to talk to us. "Thanks, guys. That was really awesome." I nodded in response. My suspicions about Kitty being drunk were correct, as she stumbled over on stage when coming over to hug me. Jimmy turned back to me and Frank. "Seems your driver is a bit drunk, sorry. Do you want me to hail you a cab?"
"No, no, it's fine," Frank answered. "I need to exercise more anyways." He set his guitar on a speaker and turned to me. "You coming?"
"Yeah, just-- wait." I ran over to Jimmy and took a picture with him, thanking him for having me, and ran outside to join Frank.
"That was amazing, Gee!" Frankie told me.
"Th-thanks. You did awesome too, for never having heard of them," I replied. It was true. He did absolutely amazing. I looked over to him a few times during the performance, and seeing him covered in sweat and panting was just... okay, Gerard, stop. You're gonna get a boner.
"You should sing more."
"You could barely hear me, I was doing backing."
"Not the entire time."
"Hm?"
"You really did zone out, huh?" He laughed. "Sometimes Jimmy stopped singing and left you to the vocals."
"O-Oh..." I muttered. I could feel heat rising in my cheeks. Frank stopped walking to give me a quick peck on the cheek.
"We really should hurry home," he muttered. "It's, like, 3 am and we're in the shadiest fucking neighborhood." I nodded in response.

FRANK'S P.O.V.

We walked in silence the rest of the way home. I loved being in his presence, it lightened my mood. Even the aching in my hips from the scars didn't matter with him. But, soon enough, we reached his house and I had to go home. I gave him another kiss before telling him I'll talk to him tomorrow. He smiled at me one last time before going inside.

God, my hips hurt like a bitch.

I began to shuffle in the opposite direction of where we came, towards my house. I could've sworn I heard someone walking behind me, but it was just paranoia. I mean, I always feared being attacked by someone on the street, what better time to be anxious about it than at 3 am? I quickened my pace as my house came into view. Thankfully, no murderer came up behind me with a chloroform rag or anything. I went inside as quietly as I could, making sure all the locks were locked like before I came in. Nothing yet, no lecturing and angry mom. I tiptoed upstairs, being absolutely silent as I passed Mom's room and Jamia's. I finally got to my door, and let out a small sigh of relief. I slowly turned the handle and opened the door, happy I wasn't caught. I looked up to find my mom sitting on my bed, staring intently at me, the same look of rage in her eyes as earlier.
She said something, but I couldn't make it out. My heartbeat was too loud, too overpowering. The last thing I remember before passing out was her getting up and walking up to me, her hands balled into fists.

Notes

i know jimmy's birthday is in september and the story is in summer but whatevs

also idk if just because you play rhythm guitar (like frank does) that means you can play regular guitar, just assume it does

xo