"Sweetheart, are you ready?" my mom asked. Previously, I was told to change into a dress. She rarely asks this of me, so I couldn't say no. My hair was straight and my makeup was the same as this morning; black eyeliner and black lipstick.
"Yeah..." I huffed out. I pulled my boots on and walked downstairs.
"Even in all black, you'll always be my little princess," she said proudly with a smile. She was in a blue flower dress, holding the cookies she had made while I was getting ready. "Let's go." We walked together to the Way house. I wasn't exactly thrilled for this, but for my mom's sake, I tried to fake it. I knocked on the door since she was holding the cookie tray. There was a thumping noise coming from the other side of the door.
"I got it, Gerard!" I heard Mikey shout as he opened the door. "Mrs. Quinn, Iris." His voice cracked when he said my name. He cleared his throat and opened the door wider. "Come in. I'll take that, Mrs. Quinn." He grabbed the tray of cookies from her hands as we walked into the house.
"What a lovely home you guys have,"Mom announced. I just awkwardly stood in the hallway. Mikey and my mom went to the kitchen in conversation.
"Well look at that, the beast has transformed into the beauty," Gerard whistled from behind me. I spun around to face him, stomping on his foot and went to look for my mom. "Fucking hell. Damn, you are a tough one to break."
"Iris, you look very lovely," Mrs. Way complimented. I smiled awkwardly.
"Thank you...I'm not used to dressing like this," I said truthfully.
"I understand. It's like these two, Don had to wrestle with them to get them in nice clothes instead of band shirts and jeans."
"Iris is the same, always wearing these shirts about Metallica, Rolling Stones, Green Date..."
"Green Day," Mikey, Gerard, and I silently corrected her. I looked up and made eye contact with them.
"Well, dinner will be ready in about ten minutes," Mrs. Way announced.
"Ooh, goody. Come on Iris. I'll show you my comic book collection," Gerard said and pulled me along.
"Okay, I can walk on my own," I told him and pulled my arm free, Mikey following behind us.
"Even in a dress, you don't look girly at all," Mikey said.
"I wasn't planning on looking girly at all," I jeered. "This doesn't exactly make us friends, you know."
"Why are you so stubborn?" Gerard asked. "We're just being friendly." I scratched my head awkwardly. "Would it kill you to be nice?"
"I guess it couldn't hurt..." I mumbled.
"Atta girl," he said. I glared at him. "Also, that. I literally saw a kid in art class freeze when you looked at him. Keep that up and they'll start calling you Medusa."
"I'm already named after a Greek goddess. It doesn't bother me," I said with a shrug. We went into what I assume is Gerard's room. "You weren't kidding; you are actually going to show me your comic book collection."
"Yep, I love comic books," he chirped. His fingers trailed through the bookcases and boxes filled with his prized possessions. I picked up a few up and shrugged.
"I'm not trying to be rude or anything, but I'm not a fan of comic books. I read actual books that aren't composed of pictures," I told Gerard as I placed his comic books back.
"Then the place you are looking for would be Mikey's room," he waved me off, leaning against the wall with a comic book at hand.
"Come on, I'll show you," Mikey said and led me to a different room. One wall was a big bookshelf, from roof to floor filled with books. I walked around in awe and touched a few. I glanced out his window and I could see my bedroom. I turned back in awe, still struck by the number of books he owned.
