Lady of Sorrows? I Think Not! (New Version)

The scream was shrill, chilling, terrified. It rang out across the cold, lonely street, but as loud as it was nobody heard it. No one noticed the man, pale and scared, clawing at the sidewalk. The asphalt ripped his soft white fingers to shreds, oozing musky red blood onto the pavement. He scrambled for a handhold, anything, as if his life depended on it because at this point it just might. The knife slowly slipped into his back, rending more blood-curdling cries from his raw throat as he felt ever long, cold inch of steel sink into his spine. It was quite believable, as far as acting went. Pete stared fixedly at the screen as the murderer slowly dragged away his limp victim. Shovelling popcorn into his mouth blindly, missing his mouth occasionally, his riveted attention was finally pulled away from the movie by something he almost didn’t hear. Frowning, he glanced over at Vic where he sat on the other side of the couch.

Vic had his phone to his ear and was talking quietly, a soft smile gracing his lips and a light blush on his cheeks. Pete grinned. Vic always got that cute anime, lovey expression when he was talking to Kellin.

“Say hey to Kells for me,” Pete grinned again as Vic looked up at him.
He seemed that Pete knew who he was talking to. Vic nodded before returning to his phone call, while Pete returned to his movie.

“See you then,” Vic smiled sweetly as he bid his crush farewell. With a soft, happy sigh, he turned to Pete. “Kellin says hey back, and he is totally okay with scheduling the workload of the assignment. You were right. It’s not as bad as I thought.” Vic smiled and pushed his friend’s leg with his bare foot. “Man, you listening?”

“Huh?” Pete turned his chin a little in Vic’s direction, his reply coming muffled by a mega-mouthful of food. As the female protagonist of the movie ran screaming from the impossibly slow villain, Pete turned more of his attention to his friend. “What?”

“I said you were right about the project.” Vic laughed softly.

“I’m sorry; I didn’t quite hear that first part.” Pete grinned as Vic rolled his eyes.

“You will never get me to repeat that.” Vic glanced over at his watch while taking a handful of buttery deliciousness. He frowned slightly. “Pete, did Gerard say when he was going to be back?”

Pete frowned and glanced over at Vic, “Yeah, but it isn’t that late now is it?” Vic held out his wrist for Pete to see. It was well past eleven. Gerard definitely should have been home by now! He always called when he was going to be late. His movie quite forgotten, Pete grabbed his phone from the coffee table and hit Gerard’s number in his call logs. Turning it on to speaker, they both sat in silence as it rang, and rang until Gerard’s soft, melodic voicemail introduction came through, inviting them to leave a message with a promise of a return call.

“Shit a brick.” The curse came with less vehemence and more exasperation, but before Pete could re-dial the number, Vic gently grabbed his wrist.

“Pete, don’t. How long has it been since Gee has actually gotten to spend time with Mikey? He’s probably enjoying himself, and gotten carried away with whatever they’re doing and isn’t near his phone.” Pete frowned, not entirely convinced, but he slowly placed his phone face down on the arm of the couch and turned half-heartedly back to his movie. His eyes were locked on the screen, but he didn’t see the images that flashed past. He only saw the horrors his mind was constructing from his worry.

“You’re right; he’s probably having the time of his life.”

Stretching in the passenger seat, Frank smiled as Mikey sang along to the playlist blaring out of the small car’s surprisingly strong speakers. Mikey had a really nice singing voice but Frank couldn’t help but think about how Mikey’s brother, Gerard, would sound if indeed he did sing. Even when Gerard spoke in that soft, musical voice of his, Frank could imagine himself falling asleep to whatever that gently lilting accent was saying. It was soothing to his soul, or at least it felt that way to him. Shaking his head hard, Frank forced his thoughts away from the pretty, pale man he had met; his roomie’s brother! He definitely shouldn’t think of Gerard that wat at all. Glancing over at Mikey, Frank felt a wave of guilt. He would never think those things about Gerard again, even if he had to avoid him for the rest of his existence. Mikey glanced over at Frank, as if he had felt the smaller man’s eyes on him. They shared a warm smile both returned their attention to the music and the road.

It wasn’t a long drive to their dorm, and they got there relatively soon. Frank climbed out of the car slowly, taking in the sights of the campus buildings near to midnight; they had an almost surreal look to them, like they came from a different time and they were intruding. Frank looked down and followed the happily chatting Mikey back up to their room, only answering to keep Mikey from noticing his now sullen mood. He was probably the only one who felt this out of place in such a modern school; it was, after all, only the buildings that were old. He also knew that he should keep his opinions on such things to himself for now.

The room was neat and it looked as if only one person had gotten a say in decorating. The truth was simply that the two guys had such similar tastes; their stuff had blended almost seamlessly. Bidding Frank a goodnight, Mikey ducked into the bathroom to shower before he went to bed. Frank, feeling a little sad for what he told himself was no good reason, walked back out their room and went wandering down the hall to the other side of the dorm. Glancing down the corridors on either side of the plain, wooden door, Frank knocked softly and entered when invited.

The room was thick with swirling with smoke that didn’t seem to have a point of origin, and through the thick smell you could just make out the smell of pizza. Ray was on his beanbag chair, next to his busted up old couch, joint in hand and eyes steady as Frank walked in and closed the door behind him.

“Frankie, you’re back sooner than usual. Hard week?” Ray’s smirk was cultured, smooth as silk, and completely fake. Frank was a client, and a good one. He paid well, and for that Ray was willing to fake whatever degree of friendship Frank seemed to think they shared. Nodding slowly as if lost in thought, Frank sat in the side of the couch closest to his curly haired companion. Taking the spliff he was offered, Frank took a long pull and leaned back into the couch.

“What can I say? College is quite the experience these days.” Ray arched a brow at the strange comment; it sounded almost as if he meant he had gone through college before, but his records hadn’t said anything of the sort. Ray did background checks on all his new clients, and Frank’s file had been nothing short of perfect.

“Well, I have just the thing for you. A bit of Indica: a mix of blueberry and white widow, with a little AK-47 gene thrown in for the kick.” Frank smiled slowly. That really did sound like just what he needed.

“How much do you need for it?” After agreeing on a rather steep price, Frank took the money out of his wallet and Ray went to get the stuff. He sat and tried to relax, but his mind kept wondering back to earlier that evening, to those bright green eyes and soft smile, to those perfect lips as they had parted in surprise when his reflexes allowed him to catch those keys. He was yanked out of his reverie by a light nudge in the leg and the couch cushion shifting while Ray settled next to him.

“You ready for this, man?” Ray grinned as Frank agreed, but he didn’t know that Frank wasn’t here for the high this time. He was here for a distraction.

Notes

Okay so, I'll admit that the way I started this chapter was mean. But come on! Admit that it was pretty good! XD If I at least had one person going, thinking it was Gee, then i am a success.
Anywho, feel free to comment/vote/subscribe because any feedback is good feedback.

Keep it Ugly and Rock 'n Roll, Pretty Pansies