Catacomb Kids

I wasn’t really sure what to wear to the party. I obviously knew that my school uniform was not an option, but other than that, I was kinda lost. I kept hinting to Gerard that I didn’t know what to wear. I was too embarrassed to ask for help in front of Ray; I’d just met this kid and I was still setting in my first impression. I ended up texting him when he was sitting right next to me in the car; that way he knew but Ray couldn’t see.
He replied with a joke that it was a black tie event. It was funny, but not helpful by any means.
I ended up choosing a dark pair of skinny jeans, green Vans sneakers, a black t shirt and my favorite Misfits hoodie. I rushed out to the car as fast as I could; I had no idea how long I’d kept the two waiting.
As I climbed into the backseat of Ray’s car, Gerard stated dramatically, “Ten hours later, and Frankie returns.”
“Shut up,” I scowled. I smiled just to make sure that Gerard knew I wasn’t actually mad. I was the king of giving people the wrong signals- I was one of those people who come off as rude because of how blunt I can be. I also suffered from a serious resting asshole face. If I had a dollar for every time I had a neutral expression and someone thought I was mad, I would be able to pay for a surgery to get a less intimidating face.
The party was in the middle of nowhere, which was annoying for the drive, but incredibly useful for prolonged disturbance of the peace and underage consumption of alcohol. I mean, it was highly unlikely for anyone to call the cops and crash it, and even if someone did, everyone would probably know about it and head out in the fifteen minutes it took the police to get there.
I didn’t recognize most of the kids first thing we walked in. I kept my eyes straight forward for the most part. Entering that room was like taking a haunted house tour; I tried to block out what I could but knew that it wouldn’t work.
Ray just about sprinted for the keg, returning with three beers. He handed one to Gerard and gave the other to me, taking a large swig of his own. “It’s shit beer, but you’ll feel it kick in after you down a few.”
I tentatively took a sip, this being my first real drink.
Ray was right; it was shit. In fact, shit was an understatement; I could barely choke that absolute garbage down. I had the urge to spit it back out, but I was afraid I’d get made fun of. So I did my best to swallow and then try to produce copious amounts of saliva to rid my mouth of the aftertaste.
Gerard and Ray were drinking like it was no problem. I’d never seen Gerard drink, but there were times where I’d come over to his house and he’d already be drunk. I didn’t have a lot of experience with drinking, so it was usually difficult for me to tell if someone was drunk. But Gerard was always so obvious; not only would he reek of it, but he slurred his speech and had the tendency to do embarrassing things, things he’d never even consider doing sober. He was a happy drunk, which was also a drastic change from his typical disgruntled demeanor.
“So where’s Mikes?” Ray asked. “He and Pete show up yet?”
Gerard dug his phone out of his pocket, replying, “I’m not sure. He hasn’t texted me.”
I stared into my drink, watching the foam settle.
Then I saw it.
A single short, curly hair in my drink. And you know what my first thought was.
Pubic hair.
I gagged right off the bat, slapping a hand over my mouth.
“What is it, Frankie?” Gerard asked.
I didn’t answer, just headed off in the opposite direction in search of a bathroom. I pushed through the swarms of kids, mumbling out what ‘excuse mes’ I could.
I started up the steps, taking a sharp right and luckily finding the open bathroom.
I didn’t even hit the toilet throwing up.
I stumbled out after, my stomach sour and mouth raw. I brought the side of my hand across my lower lip a few times, heading back downstairs.
And then I saw them.
Leaned against a wall was Mikey; Pete draped over him like a cloth. One of Pete’s hand was gripped tightly onto Mikey’s shoulder, and the other had a firm hold on his ass. They were kissing and breathing heavily, mouths gaping and reaching.
I approached them, clearing my throat loudly.
Pete jumped a bit, caught my eye, and then immediately took his hands off of Mikey. Heat rising in his cheeks, he crossed his arms, muttering, “I… we uh…”
“Let’s talk, Pete,” I ordered. Grabbing him by the forearm, I led him down the hall and against a doorframe.
“Is this the part where you say Gerard’s gonna kick my ass if I break Mikey’s heart?”
I chuckled, shaking my head. “You’ve seen Gerard, right?”
Pete looked at me warily.
I sighed, moving forward, “You know what, nevermind. That’s not the point. I’m not going to threaten you or anything like that.”
“Then why am I here?” Pete asked.
“Look, I don’t wanna embarrass you,” I began. “I just... I thought I’d get a more direct answer from you than Mikey.”
Pete raised his eyebrows questioningly.
I ducked my head, asking clearly, “You and Mikey have been dating for a while, right?”
Pete nodded, so I pressed on, “Have you ever done anything besides kissing?”
He then frowned, replying, “Well, I guess we’ve done some uh, let’s call it ‘heavy petting’.”
“Okay,” I replied. It was even awkward for me to talk about this. “Anything that you’d like, need a condom for?”
Pete’s eyes flashed to the ground, and he answered softly, “Um, sorta, yeah. Why?”
“Sorry I know this is weird it’s just that Gerard wants to make sure you guys are being safe,” I explained. “You know, using the condoms and whatnot?”
Pete groaned, “Oh my God, I do not want to have this talk with you.”
“Believe me, I’m not exactly relishing the moment,” I grumbled. “Just yes or no, are you guys being safe?”
Pete sighed, finally muttering, “Yes.”
I patted him on the back. “That must’ve been hard. Good talk, kiddo.” I started leading him back towards Mikey, encouraging in a lower voice, “Now go continue your game of tonsil hockey; I think you were winning.”
Pete blushed harder than he already was, if that was even possible. He returned to Mikey’s side, lacing his fingers with his before heading down the hallway.
I made my way down the stairs slowly, still feeling slightly nauseated. Towards the bottom step, I ran into Gerard, who was worried and so full of questions.
“Frank? Oh my God, what happened? Are you okay? You just ran out, it scared the shit out of me!”“Gerard, relax,” I chuckled. “I’m fine I just uh..” I decided to omit the part about me puking, so I half told the truth by saying, “I saw Pete and Mikey.”
“And?” Gerard asked.
“They’re doing.. stuff...” I confessed. “But they’re being safe so, that’s really what matters.”
“Dude they’re starting party games downstairs,” Gerard said. “Let’s go, before they’re all done!” He grabbed my hand and led me the rest of the way, forcing me to a quicker pace.
We found Ray soon enough, standing around with a beer in hand.
“Toro, what’s going on with the games?” Gerard asked.
Ray shrugged, admitting, “I dunno man, it’s kinda lame. You know they’re talking about stuff like Spin the Bottle, Twister.. I mean, you’d think we’re ten or something.”
“This whole party’s turning out that way,” Gerard agreed.
“Wanna bail?” I suggested.
“And what would we do, exactly?” Ray demanded.
I scoffed, replying, “I’m not sure, but it has to be better than this.”
“He’s really not wrong,” Gerard pointed out. “Come on, let’s hit the road, Toro.”
Ray ended up dropping us off at Gerard’s place. He left us at the driveway, shouting, “See you guys in class Monday!”
“Sounds good, man!” Gerard responded.
We headed up the porch to his house, entering through the living room. We were not prepared for what we saw.
It was a fleshy mess of Pete and Mikey, hot and heavy on the Ways’ overstuffed sofa.

Notes

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