Some Other Way to Continue

Mid-march brings a buds on trees, a warmth to the wind and good grades. I think I like March. I’ve also gotten much better at sneaking out so I think Gee really likes March too.
My mom is delighted with my grades she lets me have friends over as long as they’re Ray and Bob or Patrick. Patrick, Ray, Bob, Brendon and Ryan even come over for a St. Patrick’s Day party. We dress Patrick in all green and act as if he’s an Irish saint. None of us know any of the St. Patrick’s legends other than he banished snakes and this bothers our Patrick so much he sits on my laptop researching it while the rest of us play Call of Duty. My mom lets us try an Irish beer called Guinness to celebrate the day and then disappears to an Irish pub with her friends Loraine and Debby, Ellie’s mom. Everyone goes home after a while and I ring Gerard off the home phone but he has to go pretty soon after to a party at an Irish girl called Aoife’s house. I spend the remaining time till my mom gets home sitting in my kitchen looking out the window at the darkening sky and our grey-green patch of garden.
We only get a day off for the Irish holiday and then are back at school today, Wednesday. I sit in English and realise that I am pretty much the only person not hung over in the room. Even my teacher looks like she had a late night. Patrick isn’t in so I guess I’m the only one who spent what has become a national drinking day, sober. Fuck.
The teacher shields her eye from the sun rising in through the window by her desk. “Today seems like a good day for poetry appreciation. And considering everyone pretended to have Irish roots yesterday why don’t we look at an Irish poet,” she says standing up and handing out sheets.
“There’s Irish poets?” a girl called Cassandra says, sounding genuinely shocked. My teachers face falls in time with my own.
“Of course there is you thick bitch,” a guy called Zack groans from beside her. Our teacher pretends not to hear him.
“This poem is called “The Lake Isle Of Inis Free” by William Butler Yeats,” she says returning to the front of the class.
Someone behind me raises their hand, “What does inis mean?”
“It’s Irish for Isle I think,” she sighs. It’s going to be a long class I fear.

Gerard is grumpy and tired when we meet at lunch. “Fucking party,” he says pushing his dodgy looking beef casserole and his cafeteria tray. “Shouldn’t have one when there’s school the next day. I got two hours sleep. Two. And then I was still kind of drunk first classes but now it feels like a drill in my brain.”
Gabe and Bert join us after a while with their own canteen grade healthy food. “I’ve got it in my locker will you get it off me before class, Gerard?” Bert asks before forking some gross orange thing into his mouth.
Gerard nods and everyone at the table refuses to look at me with my raised eyebrows. “Oh fuck it, tell me nothing then,” I spit before taking a swig of water. “I’m really fucking sick of secrecy.”
“What secrecy?” Gerard says placing a hand on his collar bone, feigning shock and offence. “He has my jacket that I left at the party!”
Lies, you’re lying. I sigh and bite my sandwich. I’m not in the mood for a fucking argument.

My mom’s on the house phone when I get home, she must have finished work early. Gerard, Mikey and I walked home together, Mom kind of forgot I can still do that. Mikey told us a detailed account of his deluxe Beatles album. I close the door and begin to ascend the stairs. “Frank!” my mom calls from the hall. I sigh and turn around on the step and begin to descend.
“Yea?” I answer, reaching the foot of the stairs.
“I have a conference Friday in the company headquarters. I won’t be back till Saturday night and will be leaving tomorrow while you’re at school…” she’s hung the phone up and her eyes are measuring me for visible threats.
“Uh okay. Will you leave something I can heat up in the fridge?” I say, for once acting casual is working. I have my mind trained on inviting Gerard over for three days.
Her expression loosens slightly. “You can’t have anyone over. Well only that Patrick kid, he’s sweet. No parties. No drinking. No smoking. No going out.”
“Yea of course. Can I have Patrick over though?” She nods.
“Limited freedom Frank, I can take it away as easily as I give it,” her expression is serious and an eerie calm.
“I know,” I say, a little harsh.
Her face relaxes completely, “go start homework I’m making Swedish meatballs for dinner.”

Gerard isn’t nearly as excited about my free house as Pete. “We need to have a party on Friday!” he says smiling gleefully. “I can plan it, throw it and provide drink and you can take as much credit as you want!”
I shake my head and make a “nah awh” noise. Pete looks heartbroken. “I’m on too thin ice with my mom. Can’t risk it.”
“It doesn’t have to be big!” Pete says, dodging out of the way of the caretaker who is carrying a ladder. He ducks his head down so I can see him in the squares, “There doesn’t have to be many people!” He stands upright again. We’re making our way down to the band room. “In fact! It would be better the fewer people you invite. Make it seem exclusive. It can be us and a few others I deem cool. And your friends from Riverside if you want. We can have like thirteen in total, I’ll make sure it’s great and your reputation will soar!” Gerard and Gabe nod in agreement. “It can be, like, the six of us. Like four from riverside?”
“Five,” I correct. I think I’ll invite Ellie too, if I do this.
“Okay, five. And then let me invite like nine ten others and we’ll keep it a good small quiet party full of booze and music,” Pete is really trying to win me over.
“Let me think about it,” I say shoving my hands in my pockets.
“Sure! Let me know after school though so I can start organizing shit.”

I concede. I don’t know why but I do. Pete grins broadly and leaning against the locker next to mine begins to compose a text invite.
“Hey guys my friend Frank Iero is throwing an exclusive party Friday night at nine pm. Bring your own drink but not your own friends because this is invite ONLY. If you’re interested RSVP me, Lots of Love Pete W. How does that sound? And you can invite the riverside people because I don’t have their numbers and stuff.”
I nod, slamming my locker. “I’ll text them now and tell you if they’re coming. Who did you even invite?”
“Uh Josh, you know Josh. Mitchel, Lisa, Amanda, Stacey, Natalie, Ross, Harry, Kevin and Cho,” he says scrolling down through the list of people he’s just texted of the text.
“I know like five of them!” I protest, walking toward Gee’s locker.
“And the other five are really cool. Trust me. Mitchel is twenty one though and a great supplier of drink. Josh would kill me if I didn’t invite Lisa. Ross is Stacey’s boyfriend, Kevin is my cousin, you do know him and Cho is hot,” Pete says smiling at me. “This is a difficultly refined list, I could have invited like thirty more.”
“No you couldn’t have. Thirty more and there would be nothing to invite them to,” I sigh.
Pete grins and then bids us farewell as his lift just texted him.
“So party at yours,” Gerard grins, throwing his bag over his shoulder.
I sigh, “Apparently yep. You can stay over though,” I grin at him. He rolls his eyes but smiles back.

The first people arrive before nine. Ray and Bob said they’ll come for a while but Bob is driver and not a fan of social events. Brendon and Ryan couldn’t make it but Ellie says she’d love to come.
Bob sits in my sitting room with Ray and me. Pete is sorting out drinks in the kitchen. Pre-mixing a lot of them and hiding two bottles of vodka he doesn’t want to use unless he has to. No one else arrives until about ten past nine.
I answer the door to Mitchel, Josh and Lisa. Josh talks pleasantries as I show Mitchel to the kitchen with his backpack full of booze. Next comes Mikey and Gerard. Mikey goes in to the kitchen for Pete immediately so I decide to introduce Gee to Ray and Bob for the first time properly. “Gerard, this is Bob and Ray. Bob and Ray this is my Gerard, I mean… yea my Gerard.” No way to save myself there. Maybe pre-party shots with Pete to “loosen up” could have been better thought through.
After that I’m just nonstop answering the door for ten minutes. When I walk with Ellie, the last to arrive, into my sitting room I find Ray and Bob smiling along to an animated story curtesy of Gerard. They laugh when he’s finished and turn to see me. They all laugh even harder. “What?” I grin.
“Just telling them about that time in religion,” he laughs. Ellie turns to me with eyebrows raised. I motion to Gerard to relay the tale as I go into the kitchen to get Ellie a vodka and coke. Josh and Mitchel are still in the small kitchen. Everyone else is in either the Garden or the sitting room.
Mitchel takes a small tub out of his pocket and opens it. It’s full of green capsules. Oh fuck is that… “Hey Frank do you want one?” Mitchel says stretching his palm out. The tub is new, this is the first time they’ve opened it.
I shake my head, “I’m okay thanks guys,” I poor Ellie and myself a drink.
“Are you sure,” Josh says taking one himself. “These are insanely safe. Like pot only they’re pills and not even used medically,” he laughs.
I hesitate. No. No. Yes? Maybe? No. No. “No maybe later? If you’re doing it again?” What am I saying?
“Yea sure,” Mitchel says, he throws the pill back. “We’ll get you, yea? You and Pete for inviting us but we don’t have enough for the other ones, y’know.”
“Yea I know,” I say picking up the drinks. Fuck, what have I just agreed to? Maybe they won’t remember.
Back in the sitting room Ellie is sitting practically on Pete on my armchair. I hand her a drink but it seems she already had some. Mikey is talking quietly, awkwardly, to Bob. Gerard is discussing something with Ray and this guy Ross. I hand Ellie her drink and she smiles up at me and says, “That story about your religion class was really, really funny. I had no idea you were actually gay, no wonder Maddie couldn’t entice you.”
“I’m bi actually, and what?” I say. Pete wiggles his eyebrows at me.
“Don’t try tell me you didn’t notice. For the last, like, month, Maddie flirted her ass off with you. At first, she didn’t actually like you but in the end I think she did,” Ellie says, smiling menacingly.
“What…?” I say, taken aback.
“Did you really not notice?” Ray says, shocked. I shake my head and Bob smiles. Ray fishes about his pocket and passes him five dollars.
The next three hours blur together in shots and red cups of various mixed alcohols. I’m making out with Gerard against my windowsill in the sitting room when we lean too much to one side and I accidentally spill my drink. “Awh fuuuck,” I slur. Gerard laughs and I laugh. He leans in to kiss my neck, “Geeeeee we’re in front of people. Let me go get more to drink,” I smile. He sighs and releases me.
Pete and I leave to refill at the same time. He has a large hickey on his neck, curtesy of Ellie. I have one low on my neck, thanks to Gerard. We laugh and compare hickey size and who’s getting in more trouble as we leave the noise of the living room. It’s a cocktail of talking, laughing and Green Day playing at the max of my shitty speakers.
Out the window I see a group of people smoking. Mitchel spots me and Pete through the window and beckons josh in after him.
They walk in and say, “You up for it?” to me. I find myself nodding.
“Up for what?” Pete asks, pouring unsteadily into his cup. Mitchel takes out the tub and Pete’s eyebrows fly up at me. “You’re into that?”
“Well no. Not usually,” I say measuredly.
“Your first time?” Josh says, surprised, “but you’re going out with Gerard?”
“What?” I say. What’s that supposed to mean?
“What,” Josh replies as Mitchel tips four green pills into his hand and then reseals the tub.
We each take a pill and before I even realise what I’m doing my “shot taking” reflex knocks it back.
It tastes like apple for the brief second before I swallow it dry.
I pour my drink and wander back into the sitting room. Gee is talking to Bob who seems to be getting on so well with Gee and Mikey he’s forgotten to leave. Or maybe he’s waiting for those six cans to wear off enough to drive. If so he’ll be here another two hours at least. I skip over to Gerard. The floor seems too unsteady to walk normally. I pull him into the centre of the floor with me mid-sentence and start to kiss him.
“Frank?” he says pulling apart, “are you alright?”
I nod, smiling, “Very.”
“Very alright?”
I laugh, “Oh fuck, I just made a grammar mistake!” I laugh and then hush my voice into a whisper, “don’t tell anyone or my credibility will be ruined!”
Gee measures me quizzically with his eyes. “You sure you’re okay?”
“Yes. I’m just very drunk.” He lets it go then and the hours roll on with us making out. People go home in dribs and drabs until only the people who won’t be going home are left which includes Pete and Ellie who fall asleep together on my couch.
I can’t be sure what happens next only I wake up beside Gerard over my bed sheets, both of us butt naked the next morning.

Notes

So here's another update for you. Chapter 8 of 12. I'd originally intended there to be 11 chapters but that would involve fucing this chapter and the last... Way too long, so instead I've just written a little more about the party than I'd planned and yea, it got out of hand xD
Thank you sooooo veryyyy much for reading and if you want to leave a comment/rating it would be much appreciated, the feedback really helps ^-^