When the guys left later that evening, Mikey went to the door to see them out.
"I'm sorry about before," Andy said, pausing on the doorstep. "That was kind of heavy, huh?"
"What did you do?" Pete wanted to know. "Mikey, what did he do?"
"Nothing," Mikey said, ignoring Pete when he made a pouty face. "I'll see you tomorrow. You'll call us if anything happens in the night, yeah?"
"Promise," Pete nodded, and gave Mikey a tight hug before following the others to the car.
Mikey went upstairs and stuck his head into the room Ray was sharing with Frank. "Hey, Toro."
"Hey!" Ray smiled, patting the bed he was sitting on. "Come on in."
Mikey went and sprawled out on the bed, rolling from side to side a little just because he could. "God," he moaned. "A real mattress. I could sleep for a week."
Ray laughed a little and patted Mikey's leg. "You can take a nap, at least. I think Brian's already crashed out so we're off the hook for the rest of the night."
"Mmm," Mikey curled up around the pillow, taking his glasses off and blinking when Ray transformed into a blur. "What about you?"
Ray stood up. "I actually have something I want to try and do a little work on. You want me to wake you in a little while?"
"Nmm," Mikey told him, already falling asleep.
When he woke up, he was kind of cold and his clothes were twisted uncomfortably around his body. Mikey hated sleeping in his clothes, and he made a face as he stood up, rearranging everything and groping for his glasses on the nightstand.
The empty room came into focus, and Mikey yawned as he stumbled out of the door and down the hallway to the bathroom. He smiled as he passed Bob and Brian's room, both of them snoring like freaking freight trains. He didn't know where anyone else was, though, so after he pissed and splashed some water on his face (and his hair, which looked insane. Maybe he could get Ray to do something with it) he went downstairs, heading for the kitchen.
He saw Gerard going in there as he turned the corner, and he was about to jog after him and catch up when he heard Gerard say, "We need to talk."
Shit. Mikey's heart sank. The last thing he wanted was to get involved in another round of the Frank and Gerard show, so he hid in the shadows and peeked around the door.
Frank was standing at the sink, fiddling with something Mikey couldn't see. Gerard leaned back against the opposite counter, arms folded. He watched Frank for a minute, then said, "Turn around, Frank. You know I'm here."
Frank stopped whatever he was doing and stood still for a moment, head bowed. Then he turned around to face Gerard, folding his own arms. He nodded once. "All right."
Gerard looked momentarily relieved, but the silence in the room was thick and soon he was making an anxious face. "Are you okay?"
"Peachy."
"Frank, can't you tell me how to make this-"
"I'm leaving," Frank cut in, still looking at the floor. "After we're sure this is over, this thing with Pete. Once he's okay, I'm out."
Gerard blinked. "What?"
"Did I stutter?"
"Where will you go?"
Frank shrugged. "Home."
"And do what?"
"I don't know. See my mom." Frank cleared his throat, looking up at Gerard finally. "Finish school maybe. Don't look at me like that, man, you said it yourself. You don't need me."
