Before They Were Fabulous

Frankie gathered up the pillows and duvet that lay bundled in the corner of Gerard’s bedroom, delighting in the warm comfort they provided as soon as he held them. In Lawson’s apartment, his bed clothes had always been either inadequate or non-existent as a punishment. Frankie rarely knew what he was being punished for, but there was always something. He had simply grown to accept that he deserved no kindness and that no matter what he did to try to please his guardian, it was always the wrong thing. It pained Gerard to see the timid uncertainty in his friend; Frankie always appeared to assume he was in the way, causing trouble or unwanted and it broke his heart that this loving, kindhearted boy had no concept of how wonderful a friend he was.

“Are you okay?” Frankie asked as he turned; Gerard seemed present only in physical terms, his mind and feelings elsewhere.

There were a few seconds before Gerard fully registered that Frankie had spoken and his blank expression was briefly replaced by one of confusion. His furrowed brow finally smoothed as he looked directly at his friend and managed a half smile.

“Frankie...” Gerard put his hand to the back of his slightly tilted head and offered an awkward frown. “Would you... I mean...” Gerard took a deep breath. “No, it’s okay.”
“Go on,” Frankie encouraged. Turning to place the bedding down to appear more available to Gerard, he noticed a slight lift in his friend’s expression. “Tell me, please?”

Gerard shifted from one foot to another and back again, looking down he swung his arms slightly, uncertain how to continue. Only when a hand was placed on his left arm did he look up again.

“Talk to me, Gee,” Frankie encouraged, looking up through his eyelashes with a sympathetic smile.
“I... you’re my best friend, Frankie.”

Gerard stumbled over the words and Frankie couldn’t help but finding himself increasingly concerned about the usually articulate boy. Stepping closer, Frankie pulled Gerard into a hug.

“You’re my best friend too, Gee,” he added. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

It was as if Gerard had been granted new confidence by the words. Somehow the statement was making it easier for him to continue. Taking hold of Frankie’s arms, he stepped back so there were several inches between them.

“That’s sort of what I want to talk to you about,” Gerard began with more certainty in his voice.
“You... you want me to leave?” Frank stammered before quickly composing himself. “I know, I said I’d find somewhere...”
“No,” Gerard’s eyes widened suddenly. “I don’t want you to go.”

Frankie let out the slow deep breath that he hadn’t even been aware he’d been holding.

“What is it, Gee?” He asked quietly.
“I... I... would you stay with me?”
“Of course. I...”
“I mean... in here,” Gerard lowered his eyes, as if ashamed to ask the question.

Once again he raised his eyes as a hand was placed gently on his arm.

“You want me to sleep in here with you?”

Gerard nodded silently before finding his voice after a few moments.

“Ever since... Well, you know,” he shrugged. “I don’t want to be on my own.”
“Of course,” Frankie replied gently, pulling him close for another embrace. “I’d do anything for you.”
“Thanks, Frankie,” Gerard mumbled over his friend’s shoulder.
“And just so you know,” Frankie pulled back to look directly into Gerard’s eyes, his expression fixed and serious. “I won’t let anyone hurt you ever again.”
“You’ll save me?” Gerard smiled and nodded, hoping he didn’t give the impression he was trying to mock the younger boy.
“Like you saved me,” Frankie grinned in response.

*

SIX MONTHS LATER

“Frankie?”

Mikey leaned closer to the younger boy. Both were sitting at the bar on the raised section of their living room but only Frankie seemed to be enjoying his breakfast. Until now, Mikey had merely been staring at his plate, occasionally using his fork to push and poke his food aimlessly.

“Mmhm?” Frankie replied looking up, his mouth full of cereal.
“I’m worried about Gee,” he whispered.

Frank exhaled and stared thoughtfully into his bowl as he placed his spoon back on the counter and swallowed his food.

“It’s not just you,” he replied, also whispering, uncertainty and a sense of dread as to where the conversation was going filling his voice.
“What do you think’s happened to him?” Mikey frowned, his voice suddenly higher in pitch and almost normal speaking volume.

Frankie placed a finger over his lips and nodded to the couch, on which Gerard was seated, merely staring, his eyes focused on nothing.

“I doubt he can hear me,” Mikey shook his head. “Sometimes I wonder if he knows we’re here.”
“Sometimes I wonder if he knows he is!” Frankie returned immediately, staring with a worried and nervous expression at his best friend.

Turning his head to look toward the opening kitchen door, Mikey frowned as Jakob entered carrying a mug of coffee, heading straight for Gerard.

“Jakob?” Mikey called to their new assistant.

All Mikey knew about him was that Korse had recruited Jakob to take over from Petra after her sudden reassignment. None of the boys had either minded nor questioned what had happened to her; it was reasonable to say that they didn’t much care.

Jakob paused and turning to face the younger Way, he tipped his head with a questioning expression forming on his face.

“Yes, Mikey?”
“There’s a full coffee pot here,” he pointed behind him to the fresh pot that Jakob had set brewing less than ten minutes earlier. “You just made it.”
“Would you like me to pour you some coffee?” He asked innocently.
“No,” Mikey’s brow furrowed further and Frankie found himself staring at his friend, uncertain what he was asking. “I want to know why you made Gee a special cup for him when you’ve already made a full pot here.”

Jakob’s expression morphed into a disconcerted frown as he simply stared at the young boy who was now eyeing him with deep suspicion. Frankie’s eyes widened slightly as it became apparent to him what Mikey was thinking. It hadn’t occurred to him for a moment that it could be anything other than an illness and he had been about to suggest calling Dr Roby, but now Mikey’s line of questioning was making more and more sense the longer he considered it. It scared him to think about what could be happening and how.

“It’s a different brand,” Jakob replied. “He likes it.”

To Frankie, the reply seemed plausible and he really wanted to believe it but Mikey still appeared sceptical.

“How come we haven’t tried it?” Mikey pressed. “I mean we might like it, then you only have to make one pot for us all.”
“If you wish,” Jakob, replied. “I hadn’t given it much thought.”
“Well, how about making a cup for me now?” He tilted his head questioningly. “I might like it.”
“Of course,” Jakob placed the mug on the table in front of Gerard and turned to return to the kitchen. “What about you, Frankie? Would you like some?”

Frankie frowned; part of him wanted to say yes but the rest of him didn’t believe that the contents of the two mugs would be remotely similar.

“Yes, please, Jakob,” Mikey replied on the younger boy’s behalf. “One for Frankie, too.”
“I’ll have to fetch more,” Jakob nodded. “I used the last of that jar for Gerard. I’ll be back in about forty minutes. Can you wait?”
“We have this in the meantime,” Mikey jerked a thumb in the direction of the coffee pot behind him. “We can wait.”
“Very well,” Jakob replied. “I’ll ask Edward to stay with you while I’m out.”

Watching as Jakob nodded politely and left the apartment, Frankie turned to ask Mikey what he was thinking and how unlikely it seemed that if he were drugging Gerard’s coffee, that theirs would be similarly dosed. Even as Frankie turned his head, Mikey was jumping down from his stool and ran to Gerard’s side.

“Mikey?” Frankie whispered, uncertain as to his friend’s intentions.

As Mikey arrived at the table, he snatched up the mug. Immediately, Gerard grabbed his brother’s free arm, digging his fingers between the muscles and tendons, causing Mikey to grimace and cry out with pain.

In a moment, Frankie was on his feet and racing to Mikey’s side. Pulling at Gerard’s fingers, Frankie huffed in frustration as he found them rigid like steel.

“Gee, let go of him!” He cried, alarmed by the very different expressions on both of the brothers’ faces.

Gerard stared unblinking at Mikey, his eyes narrowed with a dark murderous glare. He didn’t even seem to register that Frankie was there. Mikey, by contrast, appeared terrified. He had never seen that expression on Gerard’s face before and even the closest he had ever come had never been aimed at him. The younger Way was speechless and almost moved to tears by the unforgiving glare.

“Gee!” Frank yelled.

Slowly, Gerard turned his head to look at Frankie, his eyes glazed and apparently staring straight through him. Frankie gasped; it was terrifying for him to see the vacant glaze in his friend’s eyes, but all the while there remained the underlying anger.

“It’s mine,” he growled.

Reaching up with his other hand, he grasped the mug. Turning back to look at Mikey, he almost snarled.

“Let go!”

Without a word, Mikey released the mug and was instantly shoved backwards. He watched silently as Gerard brought the mug up to his lips and took a mouthful. As he swallowed, his tension seemed to drain away, most notably his shoulders slowly dropped and his expression softened. Taking a deep breath and another mouthful seemed to be a catalyst for Gerard to calm. Looking up once more, the oldest of the three stared at the others. He now appeared confused as he looked up. Frankie was aghast, pale and shaken. Mikey looked on the verge of tears.

“What?” He asked.

Gone was the growl he had adopted earlier and he genuinely seemed not to understand why they were staring at him or what could possibly be wrong. Frankie glanced briefly at Mikey who immediately fled the room. Gerard turned sharply, surprised by the response, almost spilling what remained of his coffee in the process.

“Mikes?” He called, his tone a mixture of concern and bewilderment. “Mikey?” He called louder this time.

Placing the mug back on the table, he quickly rose only to find himself immediately falling back onto the couch - the small yet surprisingly strong Frankie standing over him.

“What the fuck, Frankie!” Gerard’s eyes widened. “Mikey’s upset, I want to...”
“So am I!” He returned, his face flushing slightly with anger.
“Well...”

Gerard was at a loss; his brother and best friend were both upset - who to attend to first?

“Well... okay, but Frankie, I have to check on him. He’s my brother, you understand, don’t you?”

Frankie frowned deeply; was he serious?

“He’s upset because you upset him!”
“Me?” Gerard pulled back slightly, pointing to himself in disbelief. “What did I do?”

The confusion in his voice was evident and Frankie knew beyond a doubt that he was not faking this - he genuinely had no idea.

“You really don’t know, do you?” He replied shaking his head, lightly.

Gerard grew silent and pursed his lips. Lowering his gaze slightly, he felt suddenly unsure of everything.

“Frankie...” he looked up again, grateful that his friend’s accusing glare had softened. “Th-there have been times lately... I’m not sure how long. I mean how long it’s been happening... Well, not even how long the gaps are...”
“Gaps?” Frankie queried, tilting his head with curiosity.
“I’ve been having...” Gerard shrugged and waved his hands, palms up, in a gesture of confusion. “The only way I can describe it is gaps in my memory.”

Frankie frowned as he took a seat alongside Gerard and placed a comforting arm around his shoulder.

“Tell me about the gaps.”

Gerard looked briefly at Frankie before shaking his head lightly.

“I don’t know, I mean, I’ll be sitting somewhere and I’ll think that maybe it’s been a few minutes and I look at my watch and hours have passed. Sometimes, I’ll know I’ve had a conversation with someone, because I kind of come to, like I’ve just woken up and either I’m saying something or someone is answering me but I don’t know what they’re talking about.”

Turning towards him, Frankie’s heart sank as he noted Gerard’s deeply unhappy expression.

“Frankie? Am I going mad?” He whispered, barely audibly.
“I don’t think so, Gee, but something is definitely wrong.”
“Why was Mikey so upset? What did I do?” Gerard asked, once again lowering his eyes, concerned about what the reply might be.
“He tried to take a sip of your coffee and you grabbed his arm so tight it’ll probably leave bruises. You yelled at him and made him let go. I couldn’t pull your fingers open to get you to let go, it was like a vice!”

Gerard blanched, distraught and severely shaken by the news, of which he had no memory.

“I... I don’t remember.”

The words stumbled out of his lips as he dropped his head into his hands.

“What’s happening to me?” He cried, his voice shaking and cracked.
“I think you’re being drugged.”

Both Gerard and Frankie turned to look at Mikey in the doorway to the living room. He still seemed shaken by the encounter, but hearing Gerard’s words and frightened response had calmed his own concerns a great deal.

“Drugged?” Gerard’s eyes widened. “Who by? Why?”
“By Jakob,” Mikey nodded to the mug. “In your coffee.”
“But why?” Gerard repeated.

Frankie frowned and shook his head lightly.

“Nothing’s been the same since the night you were abducted by those rebels,” he began. “Petra left, Jakob appeared, no one got to the bottom of how they got in, and then you start acting strange.”
“Could it be some sort of psychological reaction to the abduction? Maybe?” Gerard asked, pushing his hand up from his neck into his hair.
“It’s possible,” Frankie nodded.
“I’m telling you, you’re being drugged and I can prove it!” Mikey replied, walking with determination toward them.
“How?” Gerard asked, unsure as to what Mikey would do to prove such a strange hypothesis.

As Mikey reached the table, the private elevator arrived and Edward let himself in, causing Gerard to turn his head. None of them had noticed it was on its way, and the unexpected opening of the doors drew a fearful reaction from Gerard. Sighing with relief as he saw it was Edward, he offered a brief wave in his direction. Before he could say hello, Mikey spoke again:

“I’ll show you!” Mikey replied, his determined tone unwavering.

As he reached down to pick up the mug from the table, he was brought to an abrupt halt and, he felt - they possibly all felt - that his theory had been confirmed.

“Mikey,” Edward warned, stepping forward and gently taking hold of his lower arm to prevent him putting the mug to his lips. “Don’t drink that.”

All eyes turned towards Edward and he stared back, grimly.

“I think we deserve an explanation,” Mikey replied frostily as he returned the mug to the table. “Don’t you?”

Notes

Hello lovely readers! Sorry for the delay in updating. Uni has been VERY busy and I’m having to write a few lines here and there when I can. I’ve moved the timeline on a bit, and will probably do that every now and then just to keep the pace and so the fic doesn’t last for decades! Lol!

I hope you enjoyed it. Taking Back Fun Day should be updated next, but not for a while yet - not done much on that chapter so far.

Hugs
Sas xx