Let The Flames Begin ✓ | Mikey Way

Chapter Twelve

Dedication to NeverTooLate925. Thanks for supporting this!

"You got an extra one?" I heard a voice, Frank's, from beside me. He plopped down next to me, putting his back against the brick.

I shook my head. "Pack's in my backpack. I always keep a spare in my pocket, but this is my spare."

He sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "Dammit-" I rolled my eyes and held out my hand, offering my cigarette to him. "Kris." He said sternly, and I looked at him, confused about his sudden mood change. He pushed up my sleeve and I winced as his hand grazed over a fresh bruise, and I yanked my arm back.

"Kris." He pleaded. "What happened?"

"N-Nothing, I j-just fell-"

"You and I both know that's complete bullshit." He cut me off. "Now, I'll ask again. What happened?"

"I-I told you, I-I just f-fell." I refused to make eye contact with him.

"This wouldn't have anything to do with Daren, would it?" He asked, and I went silent, as I had nothing to say. His voice lowered to a sympathetic whisper. "Kris, what was he been doing to you?"

I shook my head, as tears began to sting my eyes. I tried to speak, but I kept choking on my words. Finally, I took a deep breath. "He c-comes to my house ev-very day. H-he's never done it, but he h-has touched m-me, and-" I trailed off.

"And he's very physical?" Frank guessed, and I nodded. He sighed and threw his head in his hands for a brief second, before looking back up. "How long has this been going on?"

I squeezed my eyes shut, afraid of his reaction, as I already knew what it was. "A f-few weeks."

He gasped. "Why didn't you tell anyone, you've got to tell someone-'

"I told you, didn't I?" I almost shouted, running a hand through my hair. "God, I shouldn't have t-told you-"

"Kris, you've got to tell someone else-"

"No!" I cried, turning to stare him in the eyes. "I can't! H-he said if I did, then he'd hurt Mikey. H-he never breaks a promise, and h-he's completely capable of d-doing it."

Frank rested his hand on my shoulder, but pulled it away after I had immediately winced. "Why not try an anonymous hotline?" He asked, and I remained silent. Why the hell didn't I think of this? Wow Kris, you're fucking stupid. He sighed. "Just please tell someone, Kris."

I drove the toe of my foot into the ground, taking another puff of my cigarette. "Why do you even care?"

He lightly rested his hand on my shoulder, careful not to push down in case there were any bruises there. "Because I do, Kris. You're my friend." He sighed and gave me a hug. It was soft, and gentle, as he was afraid to hold me tight in fear of hurting me. However, it was a genuine hug, the type you get from your best friend when they haven't seen you in a while. I buried my face in his shoulder and smiled, as a weight was lifted off my shoulders after I told someone, someone who cares.

"I've got to go, I'll see you at lunch." He said, and ruffled my hair a bit once he stood up, in a fatherly way. I smiled, and he went back inside, and I took another drag from my cigarette. I wiped away the remains of the tears from under my eyelids, and was about to take another puff when a voice startled me.

"Kris?"

I heard the voice and immediately snapped my head away from it. I could recognize the voice from anywhere. Mikey.

"I know that's you, Kris. You're the only one in this school whose hair is half pink." I quickly extinguished my cigarette on the sidewalk, before turning to face him and stood up.