Early Sunsets over Monroeville

“I love it,” Mikey the ginger says as I step away from his newly adorned wall. “Like honestly love it. I wish I had your talent.”
“It really is really good,” Frank muses. It’s a Monday and neither lawyers are at work.
“Thank you. I’m just glad you like it,” I smile. I get this amazing feeling when people compliment my art. It’s like here’s this thing I made that formed within my mind and you like it. Just awesome.
“My brother got all the creativity,” my brother muses from a few feet behind me.
“Yea but you’re more musical, you can play an instrument,” I point out. My brother happens to be capable of playing the bass.
“You can sing though,” Mikey points out.
“Mikey C here can also sing,” Frank says raising his eyebrows testily at his friend.
“So can Frank though, and he can play guitar,” Mikey retorts.
“I sound like a whiny teenage boy,” Frank laughs.
The sudden argument of “I suck you’re good” escalates rapidly and we all end up sitting around Mikey’s computer to watch youtube clips of when Frank was in that band before college.
“Well my favourite song there has to be Fat and alone,” I laugh, “It is literally the story of my life, or at least at that age.”
Frank grins, “And I wondered for ages why we didn’t get big.”
After five minutes of searching they found a youtube clip of that New Jersey interschool’s talent show I entered as a fat senior. My brother and I are almost crying with laughter as the memories flood back thanks to a video taken on someone’s blokia. “Oh god, Gerard, you were just…” Mikey says through fits of laughter. The other two guys are grinning but obviously not wanting to offend me.
After about an hour longer than I expected to be here, my brother and I finally take our leave. After a moment of hesitation at the door Frank finally blurts, “do you guys want to hang out again?”
“Yea! Yea sure…” I say, cursing my overenthusiasm.
“Cool, we’ll text you.”
“Awesome, see ya.”
“Bye.”

“I can’t believe you’re making friends with the rich,” Ray says, spooning steak and kidney pie onto my plate. At the rate I’m now being paid I could nearly hire Ray as my personal chef and I’d probably be better off. He lives in the two cramped floors above the frame shop. There’s a sitting room/dining room are and a kitchen on one floor and two tiny bedrooms upstairs. Ray owns a total of one whole bathroom but I guess why would he need more? He has a girlfriend but she lives in New York. For such a small space you’ve got to hand it to Ray that he keeps it well. Tonight I’m eating here with Bob and Ray.
“Don’t forget us when you become rich and famous,” Bob grumbles lightly.
“I’d never forget you guys, you’re my squad!”
“Never call us that again.”
“Okay, sorry, but honestly, you guys are my favourites and I’m keeping you.”
“I’m just so happy for you,” Ray hums as he begins to eat. “I mean, it’s great that you’re coming into money but you’re also broadening your circle, as my mom would say, and I guess that’s an important thing. You can’t have just two friends.”
“I also have Mikey,” I point out, reaching across the table to get another spoonful of peas.
“Oh Mr popular, two friends and a brother. Not healthy man,” Bob says.
“Well I lasted on that for a while,” I say defensively. It’s not my fault I’m just not likeable.
“And look how great your mental health was. I’m just saying more friends is a good thing,” Ray smiles broadly at me. I nod and finish eating.

Hi Gerard it’s Frank, Mikey and I are going to the bar wanna meet there? I had been waiting embarrassingly excitedly for this text. Saturday night, the bar will be pretty full and pretty much entirely made up of straight people. I haven’t been hit on by a girl in so long…
I immediately text Mikey asking him if he’d like to come. I want to go but not just with them.
Want to go to that bar tonight with Frank and The Other Mikey? I stare at my phone until it lights up moments later. Sure.
I don’t know why I’m so nervous. I find the only clean shirt in the whole flat, a slightly too tight Iron Maiden shirt, and the only pair of black skinnys not fatally stained. I search for about half an hour until I find my leather jacket. I live in such a cramped space why the fuck can I never find anything.
Mikey lets himself in. Since I gave him a key he hasn’t rang the doorbell. Sometimes he just wanders in when I’m asleep or in the shower and takes my coffee. He only lives a block away so he sees no problem with just turning up.
“Ready?” he asks as I, obviously not ready, am still searching for a sock.
“No.”
“Need help?”
“Nope.”
“Okay… Well hurry the fuck up.”
My ability to never find my socks or shirts or jackets makes me want to wash my clothes more.
“Okay let’s go,” I mumble, pulling on a sock I found that’s completely splattered with white paint.
We get to the bar and find Frank and Mikey sitting in the same corner where we joined them last time. Mikey orders our drinks as I sit down. “Hey.”
“Hey.”
After a while we end up all making a bet on whether or not a girl is going to come and try chat up my brother. Both Mikey’s said no but Frank and I thought she would. She kept looking over at him and delving into whispers with her friends. I noticed that when Mikey looked over she raised her vodka and coke straw to her lips and drank from it for several seconds before swishing her hair and returning to conversation.
“Oh come on that was so flirty,” I say.
“How would you know, you’re gay.” I see Frank’s eyebrows raise and I shoot Mikey a testy look.
“A, I’m not gay. B, that doesn’t mean I haven’t been flirted with by a girl, I’m not that ugly,” everyone laughs a little. I’ll kill Mikey later for dropping the whole g-a-y bomb.
The winners of this bet gets to pick the music while the others pay. Sure enough one vodka and coke later the girl walks over and says, “I think I recognise you.”
“Did I rewire your house or something?” Mikey says dryly. He broke up with his girlfriend, immediately regretted it and when she refused to get back with him he’s claiming to be to heartbroken to even look at another girl.
“No, I think it was something more physical,” she purrs. Frank bursts out laughing and picks up the money off the table. He grabs my arm and drags me away to choose the music leaving two Mikeys awkwardly at the table, one fending off flirting and the other watching it.
“She was so obviously flirting fucking hell,” Frank laughs as we reach the juke box. “What songs do you want?”
“I’ll see what they have.”
When we get back to the table my brother is kissing vodka and coke girl. “Well that escalated quickly,” I muse.
“Yep,” ginger Mikey laughs as we take our seats. “The two not straight people called it.”
Frank and I share an awkward look just as Mikey finishes his drink, raising his eyebrows over the rim.
Vodka and coke girl, Lara, and Mikey end up leaving before Mikey Chapman is even tipsy. I honestly expected the ensuing time to be awkward considering I don’t know these guys too well but I couldn’t be more wrong. We just discussed several topics and drank a lot of different drinks.
“I have an idea,” Frank slurs at one point. For some reason I can’t stop staring at his mouth.
“Mmmhmm what?” I reply.
“Shots, of Jägermeister,” he grins.
“Whoa,” Mikey says from across the table. “You guys have had enough, shots would be a very bad idea.”
“I think you are wrong,” I grin.
“You’ve been drinking it all night, our turn,” Frank giggles before turning around to go order the shots.
Mikey reaches out and touches my shoulder and quietly says, “Be careful.”
After those shots the night finishes in a flurry. I remember Frank throwing up in the bathroom and Mikey calling us a cab. I try and explain where my flat is to the cab driver. I must have succeeded because I wake up there on my couch the next morning.

Notes

Hi :)
I did not think I'd get to post this today because i was supposed to be debating tomorrow but the other school cancelled... So yea here you go :)) I'll get to update again probably tomorrow and the day after and the day after because this fic is apparently going to be five chapters longer than anticipates XD sooo thanks for giving this a read and let me know what you think :*