*~*Mikey's POV*~*

Being back in the kitchen was good for me, it was something I was good at. The food was never expected to be good, just enough to sustain life, nothing more, so no one expected to get a three course meal like someone would at my house. My mother would be proud that I was cooking, although when she realized how it tasted, she might not be so much. I said this all to Alex while he was cutting fruit and I was stirring and mixing spices into the food to give it some amount of flavor and he laughed, even Jacky chuckled a little.
As we started to fill some bowls as it drew closer to supper, there was a noise, a bell that was definitely not for dinner. It was louder, like one the town Frank and I would hear as the hours changed, or maybe like the one that would sound when something important was happening, like an announcement or some highly regarded man parading through town. We walked around the tent, and a group was forming in the middle of the camp, with Bryar standing on a platform of crates. I frowned, confused. I looked to Jacky, he'd been there longer than anyone I knew, had something like this happened before? He shrugged and we turned our attention to the man on the box.
"Gentlemen, I bring news. We have been given permission by a higher authority to engage in action. I've been sending him letters about our progress, and he's finally given the word we can go into battle." There was a loud cheer from the group and I frowned harder than before. Why was this so special? "We could fight whenever we wanted, who cares what anyone says, but we have permission to plan our own ambushes, and not have to tag along behind some other group of misfits and wait for them to give us the word like we have been for months." There was a louder cheer and I saw Jacky roll his eyes.
"Damn bastards. They all have a mindset to kill, and who it is wouldn't matter," he said and headed to the back of the tent. I followed behind him, tugging Alex's arm until he followed, too. We went inside the tent, carrying the giant pot inside and continued to dish out bowls, since right after Bryar finished it'd be supper time.
"With this announcement, I'm telling you all that in less than a week's time, we'll be sending groups of soldiers out to stop those damn Union soldiers from getting any farther into our territory!" Another loud cheer and I realized why he was making this announcement.
He was already planning to go to war.
A line started forming and Alex and Jacky were handing bowls as fast as I could fill them and hand them out. A lot of people were hollering, and all seemed excited about the news while I seemed to be an endangered species and be one of the few who wasn't excited. Even Jacky seemed a little excited. I guess the lack of anything interesting going on was good for him, and I can't blame him. Being stuck in this camp for as long as he has and nothing happening, except the gain of new soldiers no one liked, then being stuck with them and actually growing to like them, he had some right to be excited. I just wish it wasn't about killing people. I wondered if maybe Jacky was excited in hopes that the people he didn't like would die. I know that's the only reason I'm excited. I was hoping that Bert and his crew would all die (and no, I didn't want Frank to die necessarily, but I wanted his new 'friends' to).
"Oh look who's back in the kitchen," a familiar voice said, and I wanted to hit the source in the face. Or anywhere, really. "Is aiming a gun too much for your little brain to handle?"
I saw Frank standing next to Quinn, who was the one talking. Frank looked like he was trying not to laugh, and I also wanted to punch him in the face. He looked back and saw me, and I turned my back to him.
"Oh look, Way's back there too," Frank said, "I guess they're not cut out for what being a man is."
I dropped the bowl I was filling, along with everything else I was holding and walked to the front of the tent where soldiers were lined up to get their food. "Listen here, Iero, you think you're so tough because you can shoot a gun? That's what cowards do, aim a gun and fire at long distance so they don't have to deal with anyone. You know what's another name for a coward?" I grinned, and leaned forward to poke his chest. "You."
What happened next was not my fault, not at all, no matter what anyone says.
Frank looked appalled, and downright pissed. I smiled, feeling something strange come over me, and I slapped him. "Your mother would be so proud of you, her son, tormenting people for no reason except that you were jealous."
"Don't you dare say that!" Frank yelled and he reached forward and tried to hit me. I grabbed his wrist, holding it a fair distance from my face. Frank raised his other hand to throw a punch, but I ducked.
"Can't handle the truth, Frank? Is it too hard for you to understand? Should I dumb it down even further?" I was on a roll and it felt good to get some of my anger out. I twisted Frank's wrist until he yelped and I let him pull it out of my grip. "You're a failure, just like you always feared."
Apparently, that was the end of Frank's temper. He screeched and the next thing I know, I was on the ground, and he was on top me. He had jumped over the barrier and knocked me down on my back. I blocked my face from his blows, and waiting a minute until I figured out his rhythm before grabbing his fists. I rolled us over until I was on top, and I started punching him myself, until I felt someone pulling me off of him. I kicked out, trying to get free, I needed to hurt Frank, I just needed to. I saw Jacky and Alex both holding on to me, one on each side, and Quinn had jumped in too and grabbed Frank. He didn't look happy, and only seemed to be holding Frank back because of what happened next.
"Iero! Way! Can you two not stay out of trouble?" a voice boomed, and it was Bryar, who had come, probably someone, Bert, tattling on us like the little kid he was. He couldn't stand to see one of his own men get beat up by someone like me, a lanky fellow who looked like he couldn't hurt a fly. I tried getting out of the grip holding me back again, but it only tightened. Bryar glared at me, and I didn't look at him, looking anywhere but at him.
I turned my head to the side, finally stopping to fight free, and saw Alex's face looking as scared as the day I saw him in the tent after changing into my uniform.
"Who started this?"
"Mikey!" Quinn said, pointing a finger. He let go of Frank, who apparently knew how to compose himself better than I did, but I saw the anger in his eyes, something I had never seen directed at me, but a look he'd send people when I chose to spend time with them instead of him.
"Frank!" I called out, and in that second there was a yelling match going on between everyone in the tent, and finally Bryar pulled out his gun, a threatening move that got everyone to stop.
"Since no one is admitting to the wrong done here, you will both be put in the guardhouse for a week, together, and if I see so much as a scratch on either of you after this week, you will both be sentenced to death, got it?"
I didn't care in that moment if I was to die, at least Frank was going down with me. It wasn't until I saw Alex that I realized I couldn't just willingly go in and chose death over anything, Alex needed me, whether he'd admit it or not. Without me, he would be an open target, and would probably take the blame for everything.
"Got it?" Bryar repeated.
"Yes sir." Frank and I saw in unison, and I looked over at him. He was glaring at me, and I glared back, my jaw tightening as I resisted the urge to yell at him again, and ultimately jump at him and beat him.
Alex and Jacky let go of me, and Frank and I both started following Bryar out, past all the soldiers who sat watching. I wondered what they all thought, and I focused on that thought instead of Frank, because how the hell was I supposed to stand a week with him if I couldn't even think about him without getting angry?
I've never actually been to the guardhouse, or seen it for that matter. It's a small tent, not very big, just big enough for a handful of people to sit. I wondered what would be done if a big group of guys had to go to the guardhouse, what would happen. Maybe they'd have to make separate ones? I didn't want to be apart of it to find out.
Bryar opened the tent flap, and Frank went in first, claiming one side of the tent to himself, which left me the other side. There was barely enough room for me to sit and stretch my legs out without touching Frank, who could easily sprawl out since he was practically the size of a child.
"Behave," is all Bryar said before leaving. I heard him call out someone's name, assigning someone to watch the tent, no doubt.
Neither of us said anything for a while, the only sound was breathing.
"You know how to hit," Frank finally said with a small voice I'd only ever heard from him when he was scared, which was hardly ever. He wasn't the type to get scared, he was more of the person to go up and punch what was ever bothering him in the face, which I guess is what he did with me.
"Thanks?" I said, unsure. He shrugged, and started picking at some of the grass by his side. "I'm sorry for hitting you?"
Frank shrugged again, "I'm sure I deserve it. I've been an ass this past however long it's been," and I nodded, agreeing with him. He didn't say anything. "Did I hurt you?"
I shook my head, "Like you could, you're puny."
"Hey, I can fight. Just be glad we weren't at shooting practice, you'd probably be dead now." Frank didn't say anything more, ending what form of conversation we had there. It was silent for who knows how long and it was driving me crazy, the silence was uncomfortable, something that's never really been between us. We would normally be talking, or cracking jokes at Brian's expense, or even making up stories while we made deliveries.
"Like you could actually kill me," I said, exasperated with the thought. Frank shrugged, and I actually started to get a little worried. "Are you wanting to kill me?"
"This past week I've been wanting to," he said, quietly.
"Same here," I said, not lying one bit. He looked up and glared at me, and I shrugged. "You were being a baby, dear Frank. You stopped talking to me because you were jealous, and you've only looked in my direction to mock Alex, which I don't appreciate, at all. He's a good kid."
"Better than me?" Frank asked, and I could feel anger radiating off of him, like that day in the tent last week.
"At the moment, yes, because he didn't leave me to become best friends with the guys who tried beating him up our first day here," I said pointedly, crossing my arms over my chest.
"They're not that bad, Branden and Jeph are really nice guys, it's just Bert, no one likes, and occasionally Quinn. He seems to be in love with Bert and does whatever he says, although he's nice when Bert's not around. I like them."
"Like them better than me and Alex?" I asked.
"I don't like Alex," Frank said quietly, and I rolled my eyes. Great, he didn't like Alex, and Alex didn't like him. My two friends in this hell hole hated each other, what a wonderful predicament I'm in.
"Well he doesn't like you either." Frank shrugged. "Why don't you two like each other? I can't figure it out. I mean, neither of you have spoken to each other than a quick greeting, or in your case lately, an insult. How can you tell you don't like him?"
"I have my reasons," Frank huffed, and I poked at him with my foot, until he pushed it away. This was the most we'd talked in the week he's been ignoring me, and although I didn't plan on forgiving him for ignoring me for such a stupid reason, I really was glad to find out he hadn't changed for the worse.
I sighed, "I really hate you for not telling me things. If you told me, I would understand and stop talking about it, and then we could go the rest of this week not talking about it, and we could restore our friendship because fuck, I miss you and your love to cling to me at night, you were warm."
Frank looked up at smiled slightly. I smiled back, just a little. "So you'll still be my friend?"
"As long as you promise not to be an asshole anymore," I said seriously. "If you continue being an asshole, consider our friendship over and I'll give you worse than a few punches to the face."
"I didn't think you'd want to be my friend anymore," Frank said, barely loud enough to understand.
"I can't just stop being friends with you, Frank, without a valid reason. And don't think that I'm forgiving you, you stopped talking to me for pretty much the worst reason ever, but I need you in my life again. Spending time with just Alex and Jacky can get pretty boring, and I need proper gun lessons."
Frank grinned, "I can do that, seeing as I'm the best at the camp."
"You'll have to prove that to me, Jacky's set the bar pretty high."
The atmosphere between us felt normal again, and I stretched my legs out all the way, bumping Frank in the side and not caring at all. He laughed, and I could tell that this week wouldn't be as bad as I thought it was.
As the day went on, we stopped talking, Frank had actually fallen asleep at some point, claiming that Bert didn't let anyone sleep if he couldn't. I couldn't stop thinking about how Frank and I seemed to reconnect all too easily, and I didn't really like it, how easy it was for him to get me to make me forget my anger and just pretend like nothing happened. Sure, I was glad we were on the same page again, he is my best friend after all, but I can't help but think I should be angrier than I am at him.