Name Not Final (frerard killjoy au)

Chapter Four: Party Poison

Gerard--no, Party Poison--shook into his already tight space-grey jeans. His hair was newly dyed a poison red, and his killjoy jacket fit him perfectly now.

"Ge- Poison, am I ok?" Frank, Fun Ghoul, stepped from behind the curtain. Two years had turned the cute cuddly 13-year-old into a beautiful human with a mop of black hair that curled up a bit at the end, the effect of cutting hair with safety scissors.

Party Poison had to resist the urge to run over and hug him and maybe kiss him. They'd all come so far in two years. From planning the whole escape from Battery City to contacting Dr. Death for all the clothing choices, they'd done together.

All four of them.

The Fabulous Killjoys.

"So... We're all set to go?" Ray--Jet Star--asked while fixing Mikey the Kobra Kid's bike helmet that had the visor spray painted with 'good luck'.

"I think so," Party Poison grinned. He reached into his pocket and took out the pocket radio he'd picked up from the edge of the city. Snapping on the power, a grainy voice muffled by static rumbled out.

"Can you even hear what Steve's saying?" Kobra Kid wrinkled his nose at the grainy rumble.

"Uh, no," Party Poison muttered. "But hey, guys, this is huge. We're going. Tonight. We're gonna fucking go. This night. Can you believe it?" He grinned at the others' faces of finally realising this. "Well I can't, but we're doing alright, I guess. I'll hit the lights to the car, and I can try this whole running away thing again."

***

"The tank's full, Poison," Kobra Kid grinned at his brother. "We can go now."

Party Poison ruffled the blonde-dyed hair of the youngest member in their group. His own baby brother.

Somehow, he couldn't help but feel worried.

Jet Star was sitting shotgun. Party Poison jumped into the driver's seat, his jacket billowing behind him annoyingly.

"'There are many dangers on the roads we travel,'" he quoted, grinning. "'Ain't no DJ gonna save my soul'. Let's go now, killjoys, life's short, and I got the answer to living it fucking full. Put your hands up, jam to the fucking road song!"

They all cheered silently as the car, dark without headlights, sped across the desert zones and out of Battery City.

It wasn't an hour away from Battery City when Fun Ghoul started squirming in his seat.

"Shh," he muttered. "Don't say anything, Peppers, or they'll find you."

"Ghoul, you didn't actually bring along your dog didn't you?" Kobra Kid muttered.

"What," Fun Ghoul said defensively, wrapping his vest around a lump on his belly that was never there before. "Your brother did tell us to bring along anything important that was small. And Peppers is small."

"You're also small," Kobra Kid muttered as he went back to picking the paint off the car door.

Party Poison sighed. "I guess you can let Peppers out, Ghoul." Jet Star raised an enquiring eyebrow at him. "It's not good to suffocate animals." He added hastily, not wanting to seem like he was biased towards Fun Ghoul (which he was).

The sounds of joyful barking followed as the killjoys cranked up the volume to Party Poison's radio.

Just half an hour's distance away, Party Poison thought hopefully. And then we'll see Dr. Death again, and the other killjoys.

As they came closer to their destination, the radio became less grainy, and the sun started to shine through the horizon.

"... Look alive, Sunshine."