Hell-Bent on Slipping Away (Frerard)

Frank waited expectantly outside the Way residence, and as impatient as he was, he was tempted to ring the doorbell again. Before he could, the wooden door cracked open so Frank couldn't see into the house, but a single eye framed by thick glasses peered out. Upon seeing who it was, Mikey, the younger Way brother, pulled open the door and let Frank in.

Mikey was Frank's age, two years below his brother. Despite the fact that Frank was closer in age to Mikey, they never became friends. And even though Mikey went to a magnet school instead of the public high school Frank attended, it was a bit of a mystery why they'd never been closer, as they had far more in common than Frank and Gerard did. They were both pretty shy, for instance, and attempted to hide themselves under long hair. And don't make assumptions, Frank thought Mikey was great, but there was just something missing that separates the two. Something Gerard had.

Mikey called upstairs to his sibling and Gerard came out of his room in a matter of moments, leaning over the banister with a giant grin on his face. "Hey, come on up," he said as Frank bounded up the stairs. "There's someone I want you to meet."

The last time Gerard had said that, it wasn't a person, but a reptile. A baby corn snake had found its way into his loving arms and was granted a makeshift cage, the name Lilac, and new home.

When Frank walked in the bedroom, there was in fact a slithery animal, but it was being held by an actual girl. He had seen her before around school, but she was a junior too. She was attractive enough - dark hair gathered into pigtails and stopped around her shoulders, red lipstick lined her smiling mouth. As happy as she seemed, Frank couldn't piece together why she was here.

Gerard came in after Frank and closed the door. "Frank, this is my girlfriend, Lindsey."

The tainted sentence came out of his mouth, filthy to hear. Frank couldn't believe it. "Girlfriend?" he asked, still in awe, the word tasting dirty on his lips. "As in, dating?"

Lindsey giggled. "He's so adorable, Gerard!" Would it be adorable to hurl all over her black boots? Because that was close to what was about to happen.

As the fact that Gerard had a fucking girlfriend set in, Frank tried to compose himself with a deep breath, willing his face not to be flushed with rage or disappointment or fear or whatever the hell he was feeling. But Gerard, obviously on top of the world, hadn't stopped smiling.
Gerard took Lilac from around Lindsey's shoulder and handed her to Frank. "She missed you," he said as the snake began to make its way up Frank's arm. The cool scales sent shivers down his spine as they touched his neck and he could feel her slender tongue flicking out of her mouth. At least she likes me, Frank thought.

Lindsey tried to make conversation, but as Frank's shock melted into anger, he only replied in clipped, one-word phrases. She exuded friendliness and had a sweet charm about her, and as much as he wanted to hate her, he just couldn't. She was great. She was what Gerard needed.
Coming to this conclusion, Frank put down the snake and excused himself to get a glass of water. He ran into Mikey halfway to the kitchen, who said to him, "It's weird, right?"

"Gerard, with a girl?" Frank asked, somewhat surprised Mikey was talking to him. Mikey nodded. "Yeah, it really is."

Mikey shuffled his feet. "It's gotta be pretty awkward up there." Frank shrugged. "You, uh, wanna come to my room, play some video games or something?"

It had to be better than being around Gerard and Lindsey. "Sure," agreed Frank, who followed Mikey to his room.

It was a lot like Gerard's: posters covering the walls, an unmade bed, a desk that was in desperate need of organization. It was only missing the stacks of comic books. Mikey sat down on the floor, his back leaning against the bed, and grabbed two controllers. "You have Guitar Hero?" asked Frank, pointing at two plastic guitars next to the television.

"Yeah, man," said Mikey. "Wanna play?" Frank nodded fervently. He and Gerard had only played it once, but Gerard said he didn't like it and sucked at guitar. Ironically, it was the only thing Frank was better at.

They began to play Miss Murder, and in spite of the fact Mikey had probably played ten times more, Frank won. Mikey laughed when he saw the scores and ran a hand through his hair, still examining the results. There was a black ring around his eye, just like Gerard had.

"What happened?" Frank wondered, trying to sound nonchalant, but really, fear was frothing up in him. If both brothers were getting hurt like this, something could be seriously wrong.

"My eye? Oh, nothing," Mikey responded, still gazing at the screen like it had more to tell him. "I'm just a klutz."

"And Gerard too?" Frank asked, unable to control the growing concern in his voice.

Mikey shrugged. "It runs in the family. Want to play again? Maybe I'll win this time." The last part sounded suspiciously rushed. Before Frank could take him up on the offer, the front door opened and slammed shut.

"Who the fuck is here?" called an angry voice from downstairs. It was Mr. Way, no doubt about it, but he seemed more pissed off than Frank had ever heard him.

Mikey ran out to the hallway and looked downstairs over the balcony at the same time Gerard did. Frank and Lindsey lingered behind, staying in the thresholds of their respective rooms. They shot each other nervous glances.

Gerard eyes his father cautiously. "It's a friend of mine, and Frank's here too."

"Which friend?" Mr. Way asked slowly.

"Lindsey."

Mr. Way laughed. "It's a girl?" he asked maliciously. "So you're not a fag, ha!"

Gerard looked uneasy. If anyone else had said that, he would have came down on them with an argument against the offensive terminology. But he remained quiet, only saying, "No, sir."

"Get the hell back to your room and don't start fucking," said his father, sneering. "Don't bother me, either. I still need to work. And your mom's making dinner."

"Mom's in Chicago for the weekend," said Mikey softly. He gripped the banister tightly, a small movement that suggested he was afraid of speaking up.

Mr. Way glared at his younger son and hissed, "Then fix your own fucking dinner. What do I look like, a servant?!"

Gerard and Mikey both mumbled, "Sorry sir." Gerard headed to his room and Lindsey closed the door behind them, leaving Mikey to sulk back to Frank.

A thought passed through Frank's mind and he suddenly made the connection: it was Mr. Way. He was hurting the boys, he was the reason Gerard went missing.

"Is he the one hitting you?" Frank asked as Mikey shut the door and sighed.

He shook his head. "No, I don't know what you're talking about." He sounded very uncertain and defensive, two things that made Frank raise his eyebrow. Mikey deliberated for a moment, visibly shaking. "You can't tell anyone. Anyone," he said at last.

"I won't, I promise," said Frank, but he put his foot in his mouth. If anyone was hurting Gerard or even Mikey, who he didn't know well but cares about all the same, he would have to tell somebody. That's how it worked - secrets breed nothing but more pain. "So he's the reason Gerard's been going missing." Frank probably shouldn't have said that either, considering the way Mikey's expression changed.

He looked confused at first, then shocked, then petrified. "Missing?" he asked, incredulous. "What the hell do you mean, missing?"

"He's done it like three times," explained Frank, unable to stop himself now. "Just up and left, for days at a time."

"When did this last happen?"

"The first week of September," said Frank. Mikey became tense, eyes hidden under glasses wide.

"He said he was with you!" said Mikey, now looking terribly upset.

Frank felt a little lightheaded himself; the day wasn't going easy on him. First, Gerard had a girlfriend (which meant he was probably heterosexual), then he found out Mr. Way was physically abusing them, and then to distress Mikey like this--it was all too overwhelming.

Frank looked Mikey in the eyes. "Then where the hell is Gerard going?

Notes

Wow I'm bad at cliffhangers and also life in general

I'm also writing a novel this month (have I mentioned that? I don't know) and it's coming along well. That's pretty much why I haven't been around too much on here

It's been about a year since I joined the MCR fanfiction site on another account that got deleted and I posted the shittiest story of all time so yeah happy birthday to my fanfiction writing self even though you probably don't care but I love this site wow

This part is dedicated to @Originality-At-Its-Finest because your comment literally made me smile uncontrollably and look at that I'm smiling again and also you seem pretty rad

xoxo
gerweird