TALK TO ME ¯ᶠʳᵉʳᵃʳᵈ

-ˏˋｓｅｖｅｎ：ｌｉｋｅ ｏｌｄ ｔｉｍｅˊˎ-

The next day I woke up earlier than usual because going to the Way household hadn't seemed this exciting in a long time. Not that I didn't love going just for Mikey, I did. But, well, this is Gerard. If I were this excited to see Mikey, things would be weird.

To add on to my excitement, when I woke up I had a text from Gerard, saying, "Bring your guitar so I can draw as good as I used to."

The smile didn't leave my face all morning. I showered, and then messed with my hair for about half an hour before just letting it fall naturally, curling at the tips slightly. I knew no matter what I did I wouldn't be satisfied so I didn't bother messing with it anymore. With my towel still wrapped around my hip, I rummaged around for my eye liner and applied just a bit to the water line. I didn't want to look like I was trying too hard...even though I was.

I proceeded to my closet. Every time I picked a shirt up and put it down I was mentally slapping myself for being such a girl. I finally settled on a plain long white sleeve shirt and some grey skinny jeans-I wasn't sure if they were actually grey or originally black but faded. Oh well, they were my best pair. Once I was dressed, I checked myself out in the mirror. I actually thought I looked pretty decent.

Suddenly, my confidence dropped as I thought about what I was doing. Why was I trying so hard to impress Gerard? I didn't know if he thought of me that way, or shit, if he was even gay! I know Mikey said that Gerard liked me, but Mikey was full of shit most of the time, so that could mean nothing.

I had no desire to go to the Way household. All that excitement was gone after just one negative thought. I was so pessimistic, it was irritating. I ran my hand through my already messy hair and took deep breaths to calm myself down. I should go there with normal expectations, so that I wouldn't have a reason to be nervous. Gerard was just my friend again. That was it and it would never be anything more.

As much as it sucked to think that, it definitely helped calm me down. I put my guitar in its case so that it would be easier to carry and made my way out. It was only a few minutes before I reached the Way household. I had a key to their house with me, just as they had a key to my house-which was how they managed to get in yesterday. We were childhood friends and were at each other's houses too often not to have spare keys.

As soon as I went inside, I could already hear Mikey and Gerard being louder than ever.

"Gerard, STOP SHOOTING ME!" Mikey whined.

"That's the point of the game!" Gerard laughed.

"But still! UGH, WAIT, JUST WAIT, LEMME RELOAD FIRST!"

"Ha! No!"

"OH MY GOD YOU KILLED ME WHILE I WAS RELOADING! WHAT THE FUCK, GERARD! THAT IS NOT GOOD SPORTSMANSHIP!"

Their pointless arguing brought a smile to my face. I hadn't heard them getting along like this in a while, even if Mikey was being the typical baby about losing. By the time I walked into the living room, Mikey was out of his seat and turning off the game.

"Finally, Frankie!" Mikey exclaimed as I set my guitar case down on the floor. "Gerard was being such an ass hole."

"Oh yeah," Gerard laughed, still in a fit of giggles. "Biggest ass hole ever."

I smiled and looked down at the video game, then back at Mikey, letting them know that I knew exactly what they were talking about.

"Everyone knows you're a sore loser, Mikey," Gerard said, sitting up off the couch and stretching. "I kicked his ass like five times already, Frankie, you should've seen it."

"There was nothing to see!" Mikey said. "Anyways, my mom's home, she wants to see you before she leaves."

Mikey took me by the arm and dragged me into the kitchen. Their mom, Donna, was amazing. She was so nice and hilarious. She was like a second mother to me. She was at work most of the time, though, so I hardly ever saw her. Same with their dad. He was nice, too, but not as approachable as their mom.