Take Me By The Hand

...SeVeNTeeN...

I stare intently at the half eaten Kit-Kat bar in my hand, glancing back every few seconds at my plate. I bite down on my lip ring, tugging softly, before pursing my lips in consideration.

"Don't even fucking do it." Mikey's voice breaks through my somewhat trance-like state and I look up at him, my eyes widening a bit in innocence.

"I wasn't gonna do anything," I lie quickly, feeling like a deer in headlights.

"You've been staring at the Kit-Kat bar for the past five minutes," Mikey says. "I can see the temptation all over your face and that's disgusting."

I shake my head, feeling offended, and lean forward to rest my elbows on the table. "It might be good." I argue.

Mikey raises an eyebrow at me. "Frank, you are eating spaghetti and if you dip your Kit-Kat bar into that tomato sauce, I am throwing my bowl at you."

I narrow my eyes at him and childishly stick out my tongue. I know he's right-- Chocolate and Ragu? That's disgusting. And yet somehow it sounds so delicious... But I stuff the last bit of the candy into my mouth, finishing that off before turning my attention back to my breakfast.

It's a Sunday morning and here we are; Pajama clad and devouring pasta for the first meal of the day. Why? Simply because it sounded good to me. Mikey didn't argue, though he did give me a rather amused smirk before proceeding to accidentally drop all of the uncooked noodles on the tiled kitchen floor. After about three minutes of debating, we decided the five-second rule was valid and continued with our cooking anyway.

It's been a month since my mishap with Zacky-- you know, when I accused my amazing boyfriend of cheating on me?-- and it seems like things are actually starting to look up for me. Zacky is still as sweet as ever, even offering to duplicate our first month anniversary date, the original plan, for the second month, but I declined. I told him I just wanted to be with him-- no condemned buildings or once-living creatures on my plate; Just a simple movie and maybe some heavy making out, to which he abided and the date went smoothly. As for Josh, we gradually started talking again, leaving the topic of Zacky Baker out of the conversations, and soon forgot the whole incident even occurred. My friends still despised my boyfriend and vice versa, but I managed to make time for them both and they seemed happy enough with the arrangements.

And then there was Gerard. I still hadn't confronted him about starting the rumor, but I had succeeded in pushing my crude thoughts about him to the back of my mind and acted civil whenever he was near.

As if on cue, Gerard saunters into the kitchen at just that moment, dawning plaid blue pajama pants and nothing more. His bare chest is pale and fleshy, only a meager amount of muscle visible under the smooth layer of skin. He's scrawny, like his brother, but not as stretched out which makes him look less wiry and more average. I avert my gaze back to my bowl of untouched pasta, having eaten my candy bar first and foremost, as Gerard moves swiftly across the room, taking no notice of us.

Mikey leans back in his chair and watches me curiously. "You've been acting weird lately." He states.

I shovel a bite of spaghetti into my mouth and shrug. "What do you mean?"

Mikey rolls his eyes at my lack of table manners and tilts his head to one side, studying me in a way that makes me feel awkward. I shift in the wooden chair uncomfortably and my eyes flit around the room, at once landing on Gerard. He's leaning against the counter, a Nightmare Before Christmas mug pressed to his lips, sipping cautiously at the hot coffee, watching me. He doesn't look away when I catch his gaze, which surprises me. He just... stares. He looks relaxed by his posture, but his bright hazel eyes seem intense, grabbing ahold of my own and not letting go. After what must have only been a few seconds, I pull my gaze away and stare down at the table instead. I feel my face heat up, the pink staining my cheeks in an embarrassing blush, and try to focus on Mikey's words.

"You almost dipped your candy bar into spaghetti sauce," He says slowly, letting the strange sense of his words soak into my brain. I shrug again and he sighs. "Last week, you skipped three classes because you were too busy chucking up your guts in the nurses office."

"I'm always sick," I argue truthfully. "Miss Zimmerman knows that. I have a shitty immune system; Not my fault."

Mikey raises a single perfect eyebrow and for a split second I wonder if he plucks them or if they're naturally that well shapen. "Last Monday, I caught you eating raisin yogurt during in the middle of math class."

"So?" I wonder.

Mikey shakes his head at me dubiously. "You're lactose intolerant and you hate raisins."

"Maybe I just like food!" I exclaim, throwing my hands up melodramatically. "Maybe my allergies are kicking in and it's making me sick. Maybe one of the side effects of my Zyrtec is weird cravings. I don't know."

I hear Gerard's small chuckle and the simple noise sounds grating to my ears. I feel my anger toward him only amplify, knowing that he started the rumor that almost ended my relationship and now he's laughing at me. It pisses me off and I find myself glaring at him when he smirks and says, "Maybe you're pregnant."

I roll my eyes, annoyance now settling in. "And maybe you're an asshole."

Gerard's smile falters and his cockiness seems to disappear as he looks down into the black mug. I almost feel sorry for snapping at him, seeing the hurt that flashes quickly across his pale features. Almost. And then I remember that he's the one that started the rumor and I lean back in my seat, folding my arms across my chest.

Mikey's only response is a short laugh as he stands and takes his empty bowl to the sink, nudging his brother's arm as he passes. "What if Gerard's right?" He muses. "You got baby Baker's in your belly. That would explain the sickness and the sudden weird eating habits." He turns on the water, letting it fill to the brim of the plastic bowl and mumbles in a lower voice, "And the reason you've been acting all bitchy lately."

I narrow my eyes at him before flipping him the finger, which he doesn't see because he's facing the other way. "I have a penis," I state. "Explain how I conceived baby Baker's with that."

Mikey turns around, waving his fingers in the air. "Magic." He grins and then lets his shoulders rise and fall in a slight shrug. "Or your butt, 'cause I'm pretty sure Zacky's not the one to take it up the pooper."

I close my eyes and slap myself in the forehead. Mikey Way; Bluntest motherfucker you will ever meet.

Gerard looks awkward all of a sudden and I think Mikey is imagining me with a ballooning stomach because he's grinning like an idiot as he stares into space. I simply shake my head again, bringing the conversation back to it's original point. "Like I said, I have a shitty immune system. I always have. Or maybe I had food poisoning or something."

Mikey shrugs smugly and sits down at the table once again, bringing his knees up to his chest and wrapping his lanky arms around them. "Well you won't know for sure unless--"

I shake my head once, my jaw clenched as I interrupt his words. "Michael James Way, I swear to God if you say it--"

"How do you know what I was going to say?" He feigns innocence and widens his eyes, amusement taking over his features.

"Because I know you," I say matter-of-factly. "And I am not doing it."

Mikey grins and I can see some humor in even Gerard's eyes as he smirks into his coffee mug. "Scared of the results, Frank?"

I sigh, rolling my eyes upward and giving in, knowing that this is going to be the only way to shut Mikey up now that the idea is in his head. "Fine." I finally say. "I'll take it. But you are buying the pregnancy test."