I Drew You Once in Art Class

One Hundred Four

"Ugh. I'm not tired."

"Me either. Should we check in with Mikey?"

"Probably."

The two walked down the hall and gently knocked on Mikey's door, opening it slowly. Pete had Mikey leaning on his shoulder, sniffing. Gerard and Frank took a seat on either side of the two younger boys, Gerard next to his brother and Frank next to Pete, who was rubbing a gentle hand over Mikey's back. "What did she say?"

"She's cool with it. She promised not to tell anyone."

"Why are you crying?"

"Scared the shit out of me."

Gerard pulled Mikey in tighter, so he was sandwiched between Gerard and Pete, his two safe people.

"Thank you, guys," he said, his voice barely a whisper.

"We love you, man," said Frank, looking over the pair at Gerard, who smiled softly back.

~~

"Has Bert reached out at all?"

"Nah. He probably just wants some space."

The two had caught each other up on the goings-on with Hayley and Bert. Frank was glad he'd been able to remain friends with Hayley, and he hoped that once all the dust had settled, maybe she and Gerard could be friends.

Frank walked around Gerard's room touching all the furniture and knickknacks while Gerard sat on his bed, watching him.

"I missed your room," he said, running his hand over the wooden dresser. Suddenly, his brow furrowed as he noticed something he'd never seen before, tucked behind the mirror leaning against the wall atop the dresser. He heard Gerard sharply inhale behind him.

Frank picked up the small, framed photograph, maybe four-by-three inches, and examined it. "Is this you? You look so..."

"Different? Yeah, I know."

"How old is this picture? Bert looks exactly the same."

"Uh, about a year and a half ago, I think."

The photo was of Gerard and Bert. Gerard's hair was longer than it was now, dyed black and touching his shoulders, and hanging in front of his eyes, his bangs practically at the bottom of his lips. Bert was next to him, his hair also dyed black, identical to its current state.

"That was the first time me and Bert had really hung out outside of school, in Chicago."

"Like, your first date?"

"Nah. It was the first time we made out, though."

Frank couldn't help wrinkling his nose, which made Gerard giggle.

"What were you doing in Chicago?"

"Goin' to some music festival. Found out Bert was going too, and we decided to go together. It was a pretty shit day, though. Bert almost died."

Frank's eyes widened. "How?"

Gerard winced. "I... kinda don't wanna tell you. You're gonna like, shit yourself."

Frank sat next to Gerard on the bed, still holding the photograph in his hands, the metallic frame cold against his skin. He looked at Gerard, his eyes wide and wondering. "Come on. I mean it can't have been too bad, right? Nothing too illegal, right?"

Gerard winced, pulling his face back in an 'ummmm...' expression.

Frank's eyes got somehow wider. "What did you do?"