You Said You Read Me Like A Book But The Pages All Are Torn And Frayed
Chapter 7
Gerard POV
I arrive home to Mikey and Frank curled up on the sofa asleep together, the menu of the spongebob movie flickering on the telly. The scene could easily be misconstrued as something else but I know it’s purely platonic, and adorable at that. It’s about 8pm, I had a meeting until 6 but decided to sit and mark some pieces for another hour or so in my office. I hover in the living room, turning off the telly, the only sound being their soft breathing. The moment soon passes, as I feel a bit of brotherly rivalry bubbling up inside me and think of my pack of pens in my room. I run and grab a black felt tip, and come back, looking at Mikey. His head’s flopped back with Frank laying across him. I’d be lying if I said Frank doesn’t look gorgeous like that or that I don’t want it to be me he’s asleep on. I focus my attention back on Mikey and lean forward over the pair, Frank’s face dangerously close to my armpit. Carefully, I draw a moustache on him with a smirk. I gently take his glasses off and doodle some more. Suddenly, I feel some movement beneath me and I realise Frank is waking up. I shuffle slightly and his eyes flutter open. His face is centimetres from mine and it goes against every fibre of my being not leaning in for a kiss right there. I look down at him, almost lost in his eyes for a moment before realising what an awkward situation this is.
“Morning sunshine” I laugh. He hums in response, with an expression that I can’t make out, but doesn’t seem too creeped out.
“I was just uh… yeahh” I gesture to Mikey’s face and smile fondly as Frank looks up and giggles sleepily. He sits up slightly still far closer than we should be.
“F-for an aart teacher, I-I’d expected something m-mmore cre-creative than a m-moustache” he teases.
“Okay then, give me sec” I laugh and lean forward while he slowly sits up and shuffles to the end of the sofa. I tilt Mikey’s face to the right, careful not to wake him, though he sleeps like a log. Carefully, I begin drawing a small marching figure in military uniform with a skull for a face and a cane. A few minutes later, I stand back slightly and feel pretty damn proud of how well I just drew on my brother's cheek.
“That good enough for an art teacher?” I ask. Frank peers over and smiles.
“Woah c-calm down pic-picasso” he replies.
“I bet you don’t even know who he is”
“I-I uh n-no not really”
“I’ll have to teach you sometime”
“I-I’m no good a-at arrt anyway”
“Yeah you are”
“D-dude I can’t d-draw for sh-sh toffee, I-I’m like a D”
“Actually you’re a B and it’s about creativity not grades, don’t say I said that, and you’re very creative”
“Th-that sounds l-like what you s-say t-to someone b-bad at art j-just to m-make them f-feel b-better”
“No one’s bad at art because art is self expression and even if it’s not visually pleasing as long as it was cathartic for the artist then it’s art and art comes in lots of forms like you said you play guitar, that’s art”
“I-I guess”
I sit on the floor, I only have a 2 seater sofa and Mikey asleep leaves barely enough room for Frank let alone me as well. Suddenly, I remember Frank is a guest and I should probably be a good host.
“Anyway, do you want anything? A drink? Something to eat?” I ask. He shakes his head “You sure? I’m making some coffee anyway”
“O-okay, c-coffee”
I get up and go into the kitchen and put the kettle on. While I wait for it to boil, I stare out the window, tapping out some song on the counter and humming quietly. I can see out over new jersey, the lights of new york glittering in the distance, though most of the scene is washed out by the reflection of the bright lights of my kitchen. I look at my reflection, feeling self concious. My reflection and I rarely get along. I frown slightly at how visible the dark circles under my eyes are.
“You alright?” I murmur, seeing Frank appear in the doorway in the window.
“Uh y-yeah, w-well I w-will be” he replies, I feel a pang in my chest at the doubt in his voice.
“You will you know” I assure him as the kettle boils. He doesn’t reply as I pour the boiling water into two mugs “How do you like it?”
A part of me hopes he replies ‘up the ass’ but I immediately push that thought out, disgusted slightly by my own dirty mind.
“M-milk no s-sugar”
I nod and finish making the coffee before carrying it into the living room. We both sit cross legged on the floor, sipping our drinks. My stomach flutters at how adorable he looks like this.
“Do you wanna watch something or?” I ask, reaching for the remote. He nods and I look through the TV guide.
“Miami i-ink!” he exclaims suddenly.
“Okay” I reply “Why so eager?”
“I-I love t-tattoos, I’m getting o-one i-in two m-months”
“Ooh, do you know what you’re getting?”
“N-no but I kn-know I’m getting o-one”
I laugh at how fucking adorable he is and switch to the right channel. As soon as the screen lights up, without my permission, I squeal and propel myself backwards, shielding my eye’s with a stray cushion.
“Y-you alright?” Frank checks, looking concerned.
“Yeah, uh, it’s just needles, I hate them” I reply.
“D-dude, it’s a sh-show on t-tattoos, there’s gonna b-be clips of p-people getting tattoos” he laughs softly, emphasizing the word ‘tattoos’.
“Alright smartass I know I just didn’t think”
“S-seriously though, w-we can watch s-something else i-if y-you don’t l-like this”
“No, it’s alright I’m good”
We sit and watch the show together and it feels almost perfect, this is exactly what I’ve been dreaming of. But it’s not really. I find myself watching Frank more than watching the tv, an awkward cycle of looking at him, him looking at me and then both of us promptly looking away. He must be so fucking creeped out, but I can’t help myself. I wince as another close up of a someone being tattooed appears on screen and Frank looks at me worriedly.
“T-turn it off, i-if you w-want, really” he murmurs.
“No, it’s alright”
“O-okay just like l-look at m-me or s-something during the cl-close ups instead”
Don’t mind if I do.
***
“Gee”
I open my eyes quickly and see Mikey shaking me awake. I snicker slightly when I see he still has today’s doodles all over his face.
“What is there for dinner?”
“I don’t fucking know” I mumble wearily “There’s pot noodle somewhere, what time is it?”
“Like 10pm, is there not anything else?”
“I don’t know Mikey, there’s bread and eggs and shit, probably a microwave meal somewhere, can you not look yourself?”
“I could but you’re not gonna make Frank are you?”
I momentarily forgot Frank was here.
“No uh fuck you, give me a sec”
“Fuck me? I’m sure we all know who you’d rather fuck”
“Mikey” I hiss as I feel myself blush, not even risking a look in Frank’s direction.
“I’m v-vegetarian” he pipes up “I-I’m kinda a p-pain in the ass. In m-more ways th-than o-one”
“‘In more ways than one?’” Mikey quotes “Didn’t know you want both of us”
“Shhut up m-mikey, you kn-know that’s n-not what I-I meant” he giggles.
“Pot noodle’s vegetarian” I say suddenly, aware of how close Mikey is getting to spilling the beans. My beans. My beans to spill in my own good time.
“Gerard Way, you can’t feed Frank pot noodle”
“I-I don’t mind” Frank murmurs.
“See he doesn’t mind my cooking”
“Pot noodle isn’t cooking”
“I haven’t burned myself. You could burn yourself on pot noodle. I can cook”
***
“Fuck” I hiss, a few minutes later.
“What?” Mikey asks me.
“I fucking burned myself”
Immediately both Mikey and Frank cackle with laughter.
“It’s not funny” I pout.
“Yes it is” Mikey replies eventually “Look, you go sit with your date and I’ll get the goddamn pot noodle”
I gulp, surprised by how blatant he was but I do as he says and luckily Frank seems non plussed.
“A-are you a-alright? S-seriously” Frank asks as I sit down.
“Yeah, it just really fucking hurt”
I fake annoyance as he giggles again before composing himself.
“S-sorry, w-where is i-it?”
“Just there” I murmur, showing him the red patch on my hand, where some water from the kettle splashed.
“Sh-shouldn’t y-you like r-run it under c-cold water?”
“Yeah, I should actually. Hold on”
I walk into the bathroom before catching my reflection.
“MICHAEL JAMES WAY” I screech, looking at myself in the mirror, black ink scrawled all over my face, ‘I <3’ and a penis with a motherfucking lip ring accentuating my forehead and felt tip facial hair spreading round my chin and my upper lip. I hear a torrent of giggles as the two younger boys appear in the doorway.
“I’m gonna fucking kill you Mikey” I exclaim, though after all it’s sort of karma. I cringe remembering the fact I was talking to my crush with a dick on my head.
“It’s true though”
“Yeah, I do like penis, alongside every other type of genital, but no I do not need that advertised on my forehead”
They both giggle again and I find myself smiling too. Suddenly, Mikey spots himself in the mirror. I forgot he hadn’t noticed yet.
"Gerard I hate you" he whines. We both hover over the sink trying to scrub the ink off our face. Frank does nothing but giggle at the entire situation and I suppose it could be humorous to an outsider. But he's my crush and I have a phallus on my forehead.
"Frank, don't ever let your annoying younger brother stay with you" I tell him.
"Oi" Mikey pouts "You love me really"
"I do" I murmur.
We don't get round to eating the damn pot noodle in the end, once we're done in the bathroom all three of us crash on the couch.
I arrive home to Mikey and Frank curled up on the sofa asleep together, the menu of the spongebob movie flickering on the telly. The scene could easily be misconstrued as something else but I know it’s purely platonic, and adorable at that. It’s about 8pm, I had a meeting until 6 but decided to sit and mark some pieces for another hour or so in my office. I hover in the living room, turning off the telly, the only sound being their soft breathing. The moment soon passes, as I feel a bit of brotherly rivalry bubbling up inside me and think of my pack of pens in my room. I run and grab a black felt tip, and come back, looking at Mikey. His head’s flopped back with Frank laying across him. I’d be lying if I said Frank doesn’t look gorgeous like that or that I don’t want it to be me he’s asleep on. I focus my attention back on Mikey and lean forward over the pair, Frank’s face dangerously close to my armpit. Carefully, I draw a moustache on him with a smirk. I gently take his glasses off and doodle some more. Suddenly, I feel some movement beneath me and I realise Frank is waking up. I shuffle slightly and his eyes flutter open. His face is centimetres from mine and it goes against every fibre of my being not leaning in for a kiss right there. I look down at him, almost lost in his eyes for a moment before realising what an awkward situation this is.
“Morning sunshine” I laugh. He hums in response, with an expression that I can’t make out, but doesn’t seem too creeped out.
“I was just uh… yeahh” I gesture to Mikey’s face and smile fondly as Frank looks up and giggles sleepily. He sits up slightly still far closer than we should be.
“F-for an aart teacher, I-I’d expected something m-mmore cre-creative than a m-moustache” he teases.
“Okay then, give me sec” I laugh and lean forward while he slowly sits up and shuffles to the end of the sofa. I tilt Mikey’s face to the right, careful not to wake him, though he sleeps like a log. Carefully, I begin drawing a small marching figure in military uniform with a skull for a face and a cane. A few minutes later, I stand back slightly and feel pretty damn proud of how well I just drew on my brother's cheek.
“That good enough for an art teacher?” I ask. Frank peers over and smiles.
“Woah c-calm down pic-picasso” he replies.
“I bet you don’t even know who he is”
“I-I uh n-no not really”
“I’ll have to teach you sometime”
“I-I’m no good a-at arrt anyway”
“Yeah you are”
“D-dude I can’t d-draw for sh-sh toffee, I-I’m like a D”
“Actually you’re a B and it’s about creativity not grades, don’t say I said that, and you’re very creative”
“Th-that sounds l-like what you s-say t-to someone b-bad at art j-just to m-make them f-feel b-better”
“No one’s bad at art because art is self expression and even if it’s not visually pleasing as long as it was cathartic for the artist then it’s art and art comes in lots of forms like you said you play guitar, that’s art”
“I-I guess”
I sit on the floor, I only have a 2 seater sofa and Mikey asleep leaves barely enough room for Frank let alone me as well. Suddenly, I remember Frank is a guest and I should probably be a good host.
“Anyway, do you want anything? A drink? Something to eat?” I ask. He shakes his head “You sure? I’m making some coffee anyway”
“O-okay, c-coffee”
I get up and go into the kitchen and put the kettle on. While I wait for it to boil, I stare out the window, tapping out some song on the counter and humming quietly. I can see out over new jersey, the lights of new york glittering in the distance, though most of the scene is washed out by the reflection of the bright lights of my kitchen. I look at my reflection, feeling self concious. My reflection and I rarely get along. I frown slightly at how visible the dark circles under my eyes are.
“You alright?” I murmur, seeing Frank appear in the doorway in the window.
“Uh y-yeah, w-well I w-will be” he replies, I feel a pang in my chest at the doubt in his voice.
“You will you know” I assure him as the kettle boils. He doesn’t reply as I pour the boiling water into two mugs “How do you like it?”
A part of me hopes he replies ‘up the ass’ but I immediately push that thought out, disgusted slightly by my own dirty mind.
“M-milk no s-sugar”
I nod and finish making the coffee before carrying it into the living room. We both sit cross legged on the floor, sipping our drinks. My stomach flutters at how adorable he looks like this.
“Do you wanna watch something or?” I ask, reaching for the remote. He nods and I look through the TV guide.
“Miami i-ink!” he exclaims suddenly.
“Okay” I reply “Why so eager?”
“I-I love t-tattoos, I’m getting o-one i-in two m-months”
“Ooh, do you know what you’re getting?”
“N-no but I kn-know I’m getting o-one”
I laugh at how fucking adorable he is and switch to the right channel. As soon as the screen lights up, without my permission, I squeal and propel myself backwards, shielding my eye’s with a stray cushion.
“Y-you alright?” Frank checks, looking concerned.
“Yeah, uh, it’s just needles, I hate them” I reply.
“D-dude, it’s a sh-show on t-tattoos, there’s gonna b-be clips of p-people getting tattoos” he laughs softly, emphasizing the word ‘tattoos’.
“Alright smartass I know I just didn’t think”
“S-seriously though, w-we can watch s-something else i-if y-you don’t l-like this”
“No, it’s alright I’m good”
We sit and watch the show together and it feels almost perfect, this is exactly what I’ve been dreaming of. But it’s not really. I find myself watching Frank more than watching the tv, an awkward cycle of looking at him, him looking at me and then both of us promptly looking away. He must be so fucking creeped out, but I can’t help myself. I wince as another close up of a someone being tattooed appears on screen and Frank looks at me worriedly.
“T-turn it off, i-if you w-want, really” he murmurs.
“No, it’s alright”
“O-okay just like l-look at m-me or s-something during the cl-close ups instead”
Don’t mind if I do.
***
“Gee”
I open my eyes quickly and see Mikey shaking me awake. I snicker slightly when I see he still has today’s doodles all over his face.
“What is there for dinner?”
“I don’t fucking know” I mumble wearily “There’s pot noodle somewhere, what time is it?”
“Like 10pm, is there not anything else?”
“I don’t know Mikey, there’s bread and eggs and shit, probably a microwave meal somewhere, can you not look yourself?”
“I could but you’re not gonna make Frank are you?”
I momentarily forgot Frank was here.
“No uh fuck you, give me a sec”
“Fuck me? I’m sure we all know who you’d rather fuck”
“Mikey” I hiss as I feel myself blush, not even risking a look in Frank’s direction.
“I’m v-vegetarian” he pipes up “I-I’m kinda a p-pain in the ass. In m-more ways th-than o-one”
“‘In more ways than one?’” Mikey quotes “Didn’t know you want both of us”
“Shhut up m-mikey, you kn-know that’s n-not what I-I meant” he giggles.
“Pot noodle’s vegetarian” I say suddenly, aware of how close Mikey is getting to spilling the beans. My beans. My beans to spill in my own good time.
“Gerard Way, you can’t feed Frank pot noodle”
“I-I don’t mind” Frank murmurs.
“See he doesn’t mind my cooking”
“Pot noodle isn’t cooking”
“I haven’t burned myself. You could burn yourself on pot noodle. I can cook”
***
“Fuck” I hiss, a few minutes later.
“What?” Mikey asks me.
“I fucking burned myself”
Immediately both Mikey and Frank cackle with laughter.
“It’s not funny” I pout.
“Yes it is” Mikey replies eventually “Look, you go sit with your date and I’ll get the goddamn pot noodle”
I gulp, surprised by how blatant he was but I do as he says and luckily Frank seems non plussed.
“A-are you a-alright? S-seriously” Frank asks as I sit down.
“Yeah, it just really fucking hurt”
I fake annoyance as he giggles again before composing himself.
“S-sorry, w-where is i-it?”
“Just there” I murmur, showing him the red patch on my hand, where some water from the kettle splashed.
“Sh-shouldn’t y-you like r-run it under c-cold water?”
“Yeah, I should actually. Hold on”
I walk into the bathroom before catching my reflection.
“MICHAEL JAMES WAY” I screech, looking at myself in the mirror, black ink scrawled all over my face, ‘I <3’ and a penis with a motherfucking lip ring accentuating my forehead and felt tip facial hair spreading round my chin and my upper lip. I hear a torrent of giggles as the two younger boys appear in the doorway.
“I’m gonna fucking kill you Mikey” I exclaim, though after all it’s sort of karma. I cringe remembering the fact I was talking to my crush with a dick on my head.
“It’s true though”
“Yeah, I do like penis, alongside every other type of genital, but no I do not need that advertised on my forehead”
They both giggle again and I find myself smiling too. Suddenly, Mikey spots himself in the mirror. I forgot he hadn’t noticed yet.
"Gerard I hate you" he whines. We both hover over the sink trying to scrub the ink off our face. Frank does nothing but giggle at the entire situation and I suppose it could be humorous to an outsider. But he's my crush and I have a phallus on my forehead.
"Frank, don't ever let your annoying younger brother stay with you" I tell him.
"Oi" Mikey pouts "You love me really"
"I do" I murmur.
We don't get round to eating the damn pot noodle in the end, once we're done in the bathroom all three of us crash on the couch.
Notes
i rlly enjoyed writing this chapter c:
about 3 quarters of the way through i got rlly delirious bc i just pulled an all nighter but i havem't edited that part for shits n giggles
So i have an updates schedule, i have 5 fics going, updating one every weekday and this one is updated on tuesdays. And that's why it's the early hours of friday.
ALSO IS ANYONE GOING SITC IF SO HMU YEAH?
@snailthesaints
frnktasy.tumblr.com
@Left Shark
ty <3
10/29/15