Freak Show

“So how old did you say you were?” Alicia asked.
“19. Turning 20 in, like, five months.” Mikey replied, putting his glasses on. He preferred to put it near the edge of his nose for whatever reason. Alicia glanced at him for a moment.
“19? You look…”
“Older? Yeah, I get that a lot. I’m taller than my older brother.” Mikey chuckled as he remembered Gerard throwing a hissy fit on the day Mikey passed him in height. God, now he was missing Gerard.
“Are you… okay?” Alicia asked him. Mikey looked at her questioningly before nodding quickly, so as not to worry her. More memories of Gerard, Mom and Frank came flashing into Mikey’s mind as the overwhelming gravity of the situation came crashing down on him.
He was never, ever going to see Gerard again. Or Mom. Or Frank. Mikey didn’t notice the tears slowly sliding down his face, one by one, or the fact that Alicia was approaching him.
“Hey, it’ll be okay… I promise,” She said soothingly, hugging him tightly. She wrapped her arms around his waist awkwardly, resting her head on his chest. He slowly hugged her back, letting his tears fall freely. Alicia rubbed his back soothingly until his tears slowly dissolved into sobs and hiccups. She tried to separate, but Mikey had a firm grip on her. She sadly smiled when Mikey separated from her, his eyes red-rimmed and puffy. He removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes awkwardly, the corner of his lip turned upward to form a slight smile.
“Kind of embarrassing seeing me cry, huh?” He joked. Alicia shook her head and handed him a tissue, which he used to wipe his eyes and glasses.
“Not at all, dude. Are you sure you want to meet the others here?” Alicia said, worry in her voice. Mikey sniffled a bit before nodding. Alicia simply nodded before taking his hand and bringing him to the other performers’ bunks.
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Alicia decided that it would be best not to let Mikey meet Ray first. After all, Ray was damn scary, despite being the grandpa of the group. That afro did hide a lot, according to Pete. Alicia knocked on Ryan’s door. The nineteen-year old (the youngest in the whole show) answered the door with half-opened eyes.
“Hmm? Ohhi Ali…” He slurred. Alicia giggled as Mikey shifted uncomfortably behind her.
“Hi Ry. Look, there’s someone you should meet.” She introduced Mikey, gently moving him in front of her. “His name’s Mikey, he’s going on 20, he plays bass and he’s our newest member.”
“Mmm… Kay. Nice to meet ya, Mikey.” Ryan said before heading back into his room. “I’m gonna go back to sleep, g’night.”
“Don’t mind Ryan. He’s usually like that, especially on Sundays.” Mikey laughed at the thought of Ryan passed out on a bed for 24 hours straight.
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Next, they went to a cream-colored door with a small letter ‘P’ painted on the door in black. Just as Alicia was about to knock, a somewhat short and chubby guy emerged from the room. He was wearing a black Argyle sweater, a fedora, shorts and glasses.
“Oh, well, Mikey, this is Patrick.” She said simply, letting Patrick meet Mikey himself. They were in a conversation in no time. “Uh, sorry to interrupt, but we need to meet the others too.”
“Oh yeah, sorry…” Patrick trailed off, blushing slightly. After Mikey assured him it was fine, he and Alicia went to the other bunks.
Soon, they were at a plain door with a small moon and sun painted on. Alicia knocked, and a man with dark brown hair answered the door. His eyes were bright blue-green, and he wore a big smile upon seeing Alicia.
“Oh hey, Ali-“ Alicia interrupted him with a stifled laugh.
“Sorry, Leto number 2. No time for flirting with you today. Just wanted to introduce Shannon and you to Mikey here.” She said, gesturing to Mikey. A slightly older looking man came out from the room and said hi to Mikey. The latter waved sheepishly at them, receiving grins in return. After having a brief conversation, the Letos said their goodbyes and shut the door.
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After realizing multiple members of the show were having breakfast, Alicia and Mikey decided they should head to breakfast too.
“Look, I’m really sorry and-“ Alicia started.
“No, don’t apologize. No one here seems like a douche, at the very least. Everything’s nice and comfy, and I just want to try and accept the fact that I’ll probably be here for a long time.” Mikey assured, despite the hint of uncertainty in his voice. The two walked into the diner, as Alicia called it, to see all the members sitting at their respective tables, chit-chatting to one another happily. Alicia led Mikey to her seat, where there was some lady waiting for them.
“Hey Ali! Is this that Mikey boy everyone’s been talking about?” She asked curiously, pointing to Mikey, who looked intensely weirded out.
“Linds, he isn’t some circus animal. Or, god forbid, an alien.” Alicia joked. She and the lady chuckled happily.
“Oh, sorry, the name’s Lindsey.” The lady said, extending a hand to Mikey, who shook it awkwardly. Just then, Brendon burst into the room, attracting everybody’s attention.
“Hi everyone! As you all should know, we have a new member, now don’t we? Mikey, you here?” He asked loudly. Alicia nudged Mikey’s arm just as Lindsey loudly called Brendon over.
“Hey, Bren! He’s over here!” She yelled, much to Alicia and Mikey’s annoyance. Brendon practically skipped to their table and pulled Mikey out of his seat, placing his palms on Mikey’s shoulders. Mikey bit his lip as roughly 10 pairs of eyes stared at him. He felt a blush creeping up his cheeks as he looked at all the members.
“So, Mikey… Tell us ‘bout yourself!”
“Uh, well…” Mikey started. He didn’t really know what to say; he wasn’t all that interesting in his opinion. He scratched the back of his head nervously as he thought about what to say. Everybody looked at him expectantly.
“C’mon, man, don’t be shy.” Brendon encouraged. Mikey shifted uncomfortably before shaking his head.
“I… guess I’m not too interesting. I dunno, I can’t think of anything.” Mikey stated softly. Brendon stared at him, as did the others. Mikey walked back to Alicia and Lindsey’s seat, sighing to himself.
“Cheer up, kid. You’ll be fine.” Lindsey said cheerily. “I think you’ll be a great addition, y’know.”

Notes

bloop bloop hi guys! sorry for being a crappy writer, i haven't written this sort of thing before. all my previous stuff was terrible anyway. thanks for reading, hope you like it <333