Our Foundations from Decay

Gerards POV 7

Suddenly, my phone buzzed with a message, causing me to jolt a bit. Had someone already wanted to join our band? I thought with hopefulness, I don't usually get messages anyway.

I ran upstairs to my room, landing on my bed to read the message:

"Hey", said the first message, being followed up by another one.

"I like guitar. You're looking to get band recruits I hear?"

I giggled at the message, kicking my legs back and forth like a little schoolgirl.

I didn't expect to already get candidates for this! honestly, I was just going to go with the first person who messaged me. I gotta see if they're good, though.

I flicked this person a message back:

"Hey! yes, I'm looking for band recruits. When are you free? We could meet up after school and you could show me what you got."

I hovered my thumb above the sent button, hesitating slightly as I finally pressed down on the pixels of my screen. 'sent,' it told me.

"Gerard! Come down for dinner!" yelled my brother from downstairs.

I didn't respond to him, because I couldn't

".... I'm coming up!" warned Mikey

ugh, whatever. It was now almost 8pm— 7:55pm, to be exact, and the number still hasn't responded to me; what could they possibly have been doing? I impatiently stared at the screen, the feeling of frustration reflecting in my face.

Mikey barged in on cue,

" I can tell you anything, right?" he began, the air around us suddenly becoming tense.

I nodded at him reassuringly, patting next to me on the bed for him to sit down.

he did as I motioned him to.

" So.. remember that girl— the one from therapy?" he reminded me. I did remember and nodded accordingly.

"well", he goes on, "I did end up talking to her after class ended, I talked to her and ended up agreeing to go to her house after dinner. I think it's a date."

Wow, my little nerdy brother, Mikey, is going on a date. I'm proud of him.

I nodded in approval and hugged him out of proudness.

Wait, what's he gonna tell Dad? Dad's obviously gonna wanna know where he's going.

Mikey noticed that I was confused.

"Oh yeah, I was hoping you'd cover for me. If dad asks where I am, tell him that I left my homework at my friends house and was going back to get it. Please? I don't want him to know that I'm on a date. He'll put too much pressure on me— and I don't even know anything about this girl or what she's like yet! I just... don't want him to know until I know for certain."

I just sighed at him. Clearly, I did not fully agree with what he was doing— sneaking out, lying, but I do the same, I suppose.

I finally give in and nod almost unwillingly.

"Oh, thank you, big bro!" He said with joy and clung onto me for a hug.

Franks POV

I blew into my soggy tissue, my puffy red eyes glaring at the broken phone in my palm.

"Stupid phone. Stupid stupid phone with its stupid broken screen." I dipped my head in between my knees, the empty bathtub echoing the sound of my frustration.

"Frank, you in there?" I heard a call from outside the bathroom door, startling me into knocking my head on the shelf above.

"Ouch!" I hissed under my breath.

"Bro, you're acting so strange. Did you get rejected or something? I thought you'd be used to it by now."

I grumbled and wiped my face, moving to step out of the bathtub. Opening the door, I looked my sister in the face, jealous of her carefree expression. Gosh, how has this Girl got better control over her life than me?

"I'm okay, just tired." I watched as she glanced me up and down, clearly spotting my lies.

"You look worse than tired. Go to sleep, I've got a cute boy coming here soon, and you're being too noisy." She flicked her long hair and pranced back to her room, slamming the door behind her with the force of a gorilla. What? My smart-ass little sister? Getting a date? With who? I pushed open the door, but she was already holed up in her room. Guess I'll just have to wait and see.

I stood under the cascade of water streaming down on me, it's warmth helping clear my blocked sinuses. The sound of my sister and her date sounded like muffled chipmunks in the lounge.

I stepped out of the shower, water dripping down my cast. I pulled on pajamas and stomped the room next door, making sure my footsteps were loud.
"Don't want to see them kissing or something gross." I muttered, cringing at the thought.

I peeked my head around the corner, catching a glimpse of my sister's date. He seemed to be her age at least, so I wasn't going to have to beat him up.

"Hi, I'm Frank. Nice to meet you." The boy spun around to look me in the eyes, his glasses askew oh hus nose bridge. What had these two been up to?

"Hi! I'm Mikey. Mikey way." Oh! It's the kid I saw at the clinic.

"Ohh, you're that boys brother from therapy?" I responded, my head tilting. The boy looked contemplative with his nerdy glasses and ruffed up hair. How cute, it must run in the family. Just as Gerard's brother opened his mouth to speak, I flinched as the door shot open and the suffocating smell of alcohol wafted in.

Uh oh.