Pretty. (Frerard, Petekey, Ryden, Peterick)

28: Thanks To Alicia Simmons And Ray's Dog

Alicia had been right, and Mikey hated to admit it, but he was getting better and perhaps the secret really was in looking at things differently and just talking to people, which of course, made his heart sink for Patrick, who, as he'd heard, didn't talk at all anymore.

It had started with Alicia, and with another late night by the canal where he said everything and anything and still not nothing, but it was better, and Mikey felt okay and he didn't hate himself for it: either he was making progress, recovering, or Alicia Simmons was hypnotising him somehow, and this time not with her ass.

Mikey even ended up apologising for everyday he thought of her as nothing more than an ass to stare at and a girl to seek after, because she was so much more, and she would always be so much more than Mikey, because Mikey Way was all fucking hate and ignorance, whereas she was love and understanding, yet still more than prepared to call you out on your shit if it was necessary.

But, of course, Alicia was nowhere near perfect, and neither was Mikey, and if he could rank hopes for himself in a similar range to his hopes for Alicia Simmons, then maybe, just maybe, he'd make it out of high school alive.

Ray and Mikey sat in silence at first: words were secondary after just accepting each other's presence, which had been in a terrible abundance recently, and it was taking a toll upon the both of them, and Ray couldn't help but think back to when everything was just simple and okay and all about Mikey Way trying to impress the girl that he'd end up cheating on.

It was really quite funny how things turned out.

Ray wondered if in a few months he'd find himself looking back on this: him and Mikey talking again after too long, and in consequence, he came to wonder just how he'd remember it, and in turn, just how things would end up and just what he'd become.

He hated not knowing, especially when smacked in the face with a reminder of his naivety. This time, Ray wanted things to go well, and he didn't want to be worried about Mikey doing just what Pete did, and he definitely didn't want to attend a funeral for the second time this month.

But it was just what he said now and just what he did in this very moment that would determine this whole future: his words quite literally would change everything, and to say that such a realisation overwhelmed Ray was nothing more than the world's biggest understatement.

But it was okay, and he was okay, and it was nothing more than a matter of inhale, exhale, and repeat, flashing a smile at Mikey and breaking the silence that seemed adamant upon lingering for far longer than necessary.

Ray stopped for a moment, following Mikey's gaze out onto the water of the canal: watching the reflections as the corners of his lips twitched with the wavering presence of a smile.

It was okay, and he was going to make it okay, because phone calls that never got answered just weren't and never would be enough: he wasn't trying, not really, and that was exactly what was going to ruin Mikey.

Alicia had tried, Alicia always fucking tried, and perhaps that was the only reason Mikey Way was sat out here with Ray tonight and not in his bedroom with his favourite box of sharp objects.

"I love you." And the words tumbled out at once: with both too much and too little thought, and Mikey reacted before Ray could even really come accept just what had happened and just how the line between his words and his thoughts had chosen now to snap.

This was definitely something that would matter in the future, and still, Ray was hesitant to believe that those three fucking words had just slipped his lips because his head was spinning like hell as Mikey's lips parted into a simple 'o' shape: a response worth fucking nothing for the three most important words, well, in the mind of a romantic, and neither Ray nor Mikey would consider themselves as such.