A Shot to Remember

After about an hour and a half of small talk and a wonderful meal, we were on our way out the door. Just before we made it to the archway, Frank was rushing up behind us. "Wait!" He calls, tapping on my shoulder, "here's my number. We should hang out sometime, go to the movies or play Xbox. It's really whatever, but if you don't want-"

"Nonsense, Frank," I say, smiling on instinct, "I'll hit you up when I get home, alright?" Ray nodded and added onto what I said, saying he'd stop by on the way to school tomorrow. We did those bro-hug things, where you grab hands and totally half-ass a hug, and exited the building. I dropped Ray off at his house and headed back to mine and Mikey's house. When I pulled into the driveway and switched off the engine, the house was mysteriously silent.

I assumed he was passed out, despite it only being 6 something. I unlock the door and take off my shoes, hang up my keys and turn my gaze into the living room. Mikey was as expected; he was laying on the couch, quietly snoring while the television flashed across his body. He had a rag tied around his arm and I automatically knew what was taking place.

Turning off the TV and removing the rag, I hoist Mikey up over my shoulder and carry him to his bedroom, setting him on his bed and pulling the green plaid covers over his limp body. I lean down and whisper, "get well soon, bro," before exiting the room and silently closing the door.

I strode back into the living room and into the kitchen, looking through the fridge for something to drink. There were two water bottles and a few cans of Corona from a fourth of July party Ray had thrown. I grabbed a can and cracked it open, taking a long swig and shaking my head; Corona wasn't exactly my favorite.

I sit down on the couch and took another drink, pulling out the paper with Frank's number on it. I also grabbed my phone, entering the number and starting a new conversation. Hey, It's Gerard :) I type, and almost immediately I have a reply: Hey!

I smile to myself, imagining how excited that would've sounded if he had said it in real life. After the first can of beer was finished, we were wrapped in an interesting conversation about music. I took another two cans out of the fridge and lined them up side-by-side on the coffee table, opening one and drinking a little.

After those two were out of the way, I was feeling fuzzy. Okay, maybe a little more than fuzzy, but you get the point, right?

My texts started to get harder to read and my replies were lacking good spelling, so I just decided to text Frank goodnight. Struggling for a goodbye, I made it out with Night frank see u tmrw.

I headed to my room, tripping over a stray shoe in the hallway. Righting myself against the wall, I cussed to myself and entered the doorway. I slowly closed the door and flung myself on the bed, stripping from my clothes underneath the covers. I plugged in my phone and got a text from Frank. Goodnight Gee ;)

......

When I woke up the next morning, I had a terrible headache and I felt like I was going to die. I decided to call the school and let them know I wouldn't be there. I left my bedroom and opened Mikey's room. It was 9am (considerably late to call into school about not coming) to see he was still out cold. I decided I would call him off of school as well, but first I needed to feel less gross, and my shower was determined to make that happen.

I entered the bathroom, pulling off my boxers and running the water. I spent the time waiting for the water to heat up looking at myself in the mirror. (Not creepy, okay?) I noticed that a few months ago, my ribcage didn't stand out nearly as much as it did today. My skintone was pale and uneven in a lot of places, but that was to be expected.

Then I looked at my "downstairs." Not the basement, but my, private triangle, per se. I needed to shave -- badly. Even though nobody would be seeing me down there for quite some time, I thought it looked disgusting and I was not going to deal with it. I flipped on the electric shaver and.. did away with it.

By then, the shower was scorching enough to meet my liking. I stepped inside and closed the shower doors, lathering a thick layer of shampoo over my scalp. I massaged it into my head as I could very faintly hear someone knocking on the front door.

"Mikey! Get the door!" I yelled, hoping Mikey would wake up and hear me. "Mikey!" I heard him running down the hallway and to the front door. I didn't hear exactly what he said, but I hard mumbling from the living room. I rinsed out the shampoo and did the same with conditioner, pulling my old boxers on and rushing into the living room.

"My apologies for not looking at my finest, but-" As I arrived in the living room, I stopped dead in my tracks. Frank, Ray, and Mikey were all sitting on the couch, staring at my half-naked body. I awkwardly smiled at them as we all burst into fits of laughter.

"Hey now, we should go on a first date before we get this close, sugar." Frank winks. I could tell he was joking, but something about it made it seem ridiculously.. true. It was weird thinking about it. Maybe it was just his tone?

"Anyways, get ready Gerard. We're going to the movies. Whether you like it or not." Ray says as the laughing dies down. Mikey follows me back into my room.

"Gerard, I need help." He says, shaking. I hold his shoulders to keep him grounded, "what's up?"

"I-I have a, uh, a problem.." he says, as I raise my eyebrow, "..w-with drugs.." I nod my head sympathetically and hold Mikey in my arms, and I can hear him crying. The kid is only 15; he shouldn't be dealing with this.

"Shh, Mikes, I know. I put you in bed last night. I just want you to know that I'm here to help you, and any time you feel like shooting up, or getting cranked you can always tell me. I care about you Mikey, you're my brother, but you're also my best friend." I wipe the tears from his eyes and he smiles, "Here. You can come to the movies with us."

Notes

Title credits:
"Trade Mistakes" by Panic! at the Disco

soo, I have this whole story planned out from start to finish. I know it's quite early to acknowledge that mikey has a drug problem, but I mean, stuffs gonna go down.
by the way, gerard and mikey share a house. it's a long story that should show up in a few chapters.
how do you guys feel about alcoholic gerard and drug addict mikey?
-Kat