All Those Years and I Never Knew

I went home but didn't sleep. I couldn't get Mikey off my mind. I didn't know why he would push me away. Sure, I wasn't interested in him romantically, but he was my best friend.
Looking into his eyes made me think that I may actually be.
I shook the thought off. I was pretty and popular, not intelligent and shy. I couldn't get a guy like Mikey to be mine; even if he did like me, it wouldn't work out. It hurt my heart to think that he felt this way. I had to do something to get him with other girls.
Miranda.
I could call Miranda.
She used to be my best friend, but we'd since grown apart. She transferred to the Catholic school Mikey attends, and I never spoke to her.
I called her in the morning, and she picked up with a sigh.
"Lucy, hello?"
"Hey, Miranda, can I ask you a favour?"
"What do you want this early?" she whined.
"It's 10 in the morning." She only sighed, so I continued. "I have this friend, and he's kinda hung up on this girl, so could you take him on a date, pretty please?"
"What's his name?"
"Mikey. He's my neighbour."
"Mikey?" she asked, "Mikey Way?"
"Yeah," I said reluctantly. "He goes to your school, right? What's wrong with him?"
"Oh," she giggled. "Nothing's wrong. He's really cute, actually..."
I let go of the breath I didn't know I was holding. "So could you ask him out?"
Panic surged in her voice. "I can't do that! No one can! He's not, erm, romantically approachable."
"And why not?"
"He's not the romantic type. In fact, I thought he was asexual until you mentioned he had a huge crush on this girl." She sighed loudly and changed the subject. "So how have you been? I haven't heard from you in a while."
"Miranda, don't change the subject." I was getting somewhat irritated. "Can you ask him out, just once, for me?"
"Okay, fine. But only because you asked."
"Thank you so much! Call me before you go!" Which she, I knew, would not.
"Sure," she said. "Mikey fuckin' Way..." she then breathed, thinking I couldn't hear. The call then ended.
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The night of the date

I helped Mikey get dressed for his first date. He squirmed as I tied his bowtie.
"Luce, is this really necessary?" He gestured to his neck.
"Yes! It's so adorable." I thought back to my first date, when my (now ex) boyfriend visited from our old town in Georgia. He wore a plain collared shirt and a bowtie with those little whales on it. "You look great," I noted and reached up to smooth down his hair. "I remember that these bowties were all the rage in Georgia," I recalled fondly. "No Southern boy was decent without one."
Mikey laughed. "I love that your voice gets a southern twang when you talk about Georgia."
"I don't know what you're talking about," I mumbled and blushed.
"Yes you do," he chortled. "It's okay. It's cute." I put my hands down, which I realized were holding onto his neck in a flirtatious manner. He stepped towards me, so the gap in between us was less than six inches. I looked up through my eyelashes, and he looked down with a warm smile. He placed his hands on my hips. Gazing deep into my eyes, and he turned his head and began to lean down.
"Whoa, mister. You have a date tonight."
He snapped out of it. Taking a step back, he murmured, "Oh, yeah."
I really didn't want to lead him on. "I'll tell you what, Mikes. If this doesn't go well, then we can go play video games in your basement all night." I wasn't much of a gamer, but I had some skills.
"All night?" he inquired giddily.
I smirked. "All fucking night."
"We have a deal. But I refuse to wear this tie."
I glared at him jokingly. "Whatever," I pouted as I took it off. He unbuttoned the top two buttons on his shirt, which was pretty sexy, but I didn't object. He sauntered out of his room, meeting Gerard in the hallway.
His eyes widened. "Hey Romeo, going on a date or trying to get laid?"
Mikey looked offended, but didn't say a thing. He buttoned one and left.
I half-smiled and sighed. Rachael was on the couch, drinking coffee and watching some reality show. Gerard and I sat down.
"Our little boy's growing up, eh?" I chortled.
"Yep. I don't know if he's quite ready, but he'll be fine as long as you're here when he gets home." Gerard laughed. "You know it'll never work out because he's so concerned with you." And that was that.
Shortly after, I fell asleep on the small loveseat, even though it was only 8.

Notes