Just Think Happy Thoughts

The next three periods dragged on, but finally, it was lunch time. Gerard and I decided to walk together since we were also in the same English class before lunch. We walked into the cafeteria and got on line for the lunch of day, mac and cheese.

"Well this looks appetizing" I gibed.

"I should have known better to bring lunch" Gerard moaned. "I wish they had coffee."

I giggled. "Me too."

"Table's this way" Gerard said as he veered to the left of the cafeteria. I followed behind him with a smile, elated I wasn't going to be sitting alone on my first day.

Upon arriving at the table, Gerard introduced me to his friend that was already there, Frank. In that moment, I felt breathless. Once Frank and I locked eyes I couldn't look away. His eyes captivated me like no others. They were hazel, but not just any hazel. They reminded me of autumn leaves, the way they changed colors from greens to crisp golden browns. And they gleamed with mischief, but at the same time there was an innocence to them. I could feel my heart beating in my chest as I stared. I'd never felt like this before. I needed to know who he was, and I needed to be close to him.

"Earth to Kairi" Gerard said as he clocked me on the head. I snapped out of my trance.

"Hm?" I looked over at Gerard who was now taking his seat. He pointed back to Frank who had his hand stuck out for me to shake.

"Oh... I'm sorry. Hi Frank nice to meet you!" I enthused as I accepted his hand. I couldn't look directly into his eyes for I feared I would get lost again. I finally took a seat next to Gerard.

"I said it already but you were off in your own little world before. Nice to meet you too. I think this will be a beautiful friendship, only because I'm beautiful duh" he said with a smirk on his face.

"Um..." is all I managed to get out. I blushed. He was beautiful. He must have known I was staring. It was only for a few seconds but it had felt like an eternity to me.

"I'm joking, don't get all choked up now" he said and stuck his tongue out at me.

I laughed nervously. "Oh yeah well... before I was just... I remembered something and..." Before I could finish someone else walked up to the table.

"Hey Gee, Frankie. Who's the brunette chick?" a boy with short brown hair and big glasses asked.

"She's my new girlfriend" Frank joked. I almost choked on the iced tea I was drinking. The boy looked baffled.

"Frank you're going to scare her already on the first day. This is Kairi. Kairi this is my younger brother, Mikey. He's a sophomore. Kairi is new here. She just moved here from California" Gerard explained.

"Ah I see. Nice to meet you Kairi. Don't mind Frank he always says things like that. You can never take him too seriously. Though I find myself believing him anyway" Mikey said as he took a seat between Frank and me at the circular table.

"Mikey that's because you're gullible as fuck" Frank teased as he ruffled Mikey's hair. Mikey wasn't having it. I smiled at the interaction. These guys seemed like just the type of people I wanted to be friends with.

"Thanks Mikey, I'll remember that" I said. I took a bite of my mac and cheese. It was as distasteful as it looked.

"Oh you're really eating that?" Frank asked me, a look of disgust on his face. I looked up at him, careful to avoid his eyes.

"Mhm" I said between bites. I was starving enough to eat anything. He reached over the table and snatched my fork from my hand.

"Frank what are you doing now?" Gerard asked when he saw Frank took my fork.

"I'm saving her from stomachaches. Here take half of my ham and cheese sandwich. It's way better" Frank offered. I looked at him surprised. His kindness was giving me stomachaches. No it wasn't that. It was something different, some kind of swirling feeling I had never felt before. Maybe this was what people called butterflies.

"Really?" I asked, pleased. He handed it to me and I gladly accepted it. I quickly took a bite to try and suppress the feelings that were surging inside me.

"Wow Frank. You usually share with me what's going on here?" Gerard asked, jokingly.

"Sorry Gee, I'm cheating on you with Kairi today" he replied in a childish voice. He was adorable and I couldn't help but beam at him.

"You guys are so gay" Mikey chimed in.

"We know" Gerard shot back at him. He dug his fork into his distasteful mac and cheese. Before he took a bite he looked at Frank and narrowed his eyes as if it were his fault he had to eat it. Frank just smirked, mischievously while enjoying his meal.

"Should have brought lunch like me Gee" Mikey said and then took a bite of his turkey sandwich.

"Mikey who the fuck just eats turkey on a sandwich?" Gerard asked him.

"Me" he mumbled, his mouth full of food.

"Okay but in all seriousness guys. Can we please talk about Kairi's shirt" Frank said as he pointed at me.

"Like that's what you were looking at" Mikey quipped. I looked down at my food as I felt my face start to heat up. "Ow! Did you just kick me Iero?"

"Well that's what you get for saying things like that" Frank responded.

"But don't you say things like that all the time?" Mikey reminded him.

"Okay seriously though Mikey, did you even see her shirt?" Gerard asked him. He threw a straw at his head to get his attention. Mikey looked over at me.

"Holy shit, you're into Ashes to Ashes? Well then your'e sitting at the right table" Mikey assured me and flashed me a smile. I smiled back.

"So all of you guys like them then?" I asked. They all nodded simultaneously.

"Of course, they were rock legends!" Frank exclaimed. "I can't imagine my life without their music." I was ecstatic at his words. He really liked them. All of them, really liked, no loved this band. I thought we could all have a great connection solely based on that. Even though I believed that, I knew they would find out sooner or later and then I didn't know what would happen.

"Oh by the way Frankie, here, for your next class" Gerard said. He shuffled in his bag and took out the guitar pick from earlier and handed it to Frank.

"I feel like I'm holding a trophy" he said. His eyes gleamed with excitement as he cradled the pick in his hand.

"Don't fucking play with it. I'll kill you" Gerard threatened. He shot Frank a deadly look.

"Never. Besides this is for my next class, music appreciation. Not for band, Gerard" he explained.

"Hey I have that class next" I chimed in. "Is it the same teacher?"

"There's only one teacher for that class and he's fucking awesome. Guess we can walk to class together. We can hold hands if you want" Frank teased and winked at me.

"Christ. Cut the crap Frank" Mikey said, his voice full of aggravation.

"Aw don't get all jealous too. First Gerard, now you" Frank joked. He punched Mikey lightly on the shoulder.

"This isn't even the worst of it" Gerard said to me. "He may look innocent but..."

"What are you saying over there Gerard?" Frank interrupted.

"That you're short" he teased. Mikey and I burst into giggles. Frank's face was turning red. I knew the feeling of being called short but this time I wasn't the victim.

"You'll regret that Mr. Way" he threatened. He had on a face of vengeance. Then the bell rang signaling lunch to be over. "Come on Kairi, let's go." Frank walked over to me and tugged on my arm.

I looked up but avoided his gaze. "Coming." I gathered my things and got up to walk with him.

"Don't have too much fun now" Gerard said, a smirk spreading across his face.

"I'm kind of mad we're going to miss Frankie's whole speech on Ashes. You know Frank. He'll go in" Mikey stated. Gerard sighed in response.

"Damn, wish you guys were in our class. Too bad. It's gonna be a good one" Frank assured them. "Let's go Kairi!"

"Okay! Bye guys see ya later!" I said. Mikey and Gerard waved back at us. I followed Frank out of the cafeteria and down the hall to our next class. I knew this would be an interesting class because of Frank's topic, but I wasn't sure I was ready for it. It would either bring me some closure, or it would shoot me into a panic attack.

Notes