There was a knock on the bathroom door, making us both looked up. "Mikey, Iris, Iris' mom is here," Frank said through the door. Mikey looked at me.
"Are you calm enough?" he asked. I nodded. He stood up and unlocked the door. "We'll go down soon." I put my things away and grabbed my bag. Mikey handed me my notebook back. "Come on." We walked downstairs together. My mom was sitting down on the couch talking to Gerard. I stopped Mikey before they could see us and listened to their conversation.
"She helped you guys?" my mom asked. Gerard nodded.
"Frank and Mikey mostly. I can handle things on my own. Ray avoids everything, and people usually don't bother him as much. Iris' heart is in a good place, trying to help those who are being bullied. But sometimes her temper gets in the way."
"Yeah...that happens a lot. She stays in her room most of the time. Tony is going out more often now. I don't see them a lot anymore. And I've never seen them fight like that before. I want to help Iris, but I don't know how and sometimes she doesn't cooperate."
"I'm trying to help her too. She's a really cool person when she isn't angry."
"Nowadays, I see her angry all the time." I wanted to cry. I closed my eyes. Mikey pulled me into a hug. I didn't hug him back, just tried not to cry. He rested his head on top of mine, and I hid my face in his chest, as he rubbed small circles on my back.
"It's going to be alright," he whispered. "Come on." I took a deep breath and nodded. We walked down into the living room.
"Hey, Mom," I sighed out.
"Hey sweetie," she said. "You ready to go home?"
"Yeah," I mumbled. She smiled at me.
"I'll see you home then. Thank you for helping her, Gerard."
"Anytime, Mrs. Quinn," Gerard said politely. My mom left and Gerard threw a pillow at me.
"Ow, what was that for?" I asked and rubbed my head.
"For punching me earlier."
"Sorry." Frank and Ray were sitting on the floor looking at me. "About everything."
"Everything?" Frank asked.
"Pushing you guys away, being a bitch and an asshole, being rude. Everything."
"Why are you sorry? This is the start of a beautiful friendship." Gerard said. The others agreed. I sent them a small smile.
"I should go. I'll see you guys tomorrow."
"Bye!" the four of them chirped. I smiled and walked out to my house. My mom was in the kitchen drinking wine.
"Hey, Mom." She smiled at me. "Where's Tony?"
"His room." She nodded at the chair in front of her. "Sit." I did. "Why didn't you tell me things at school were already bad?"
"I didn't want to worry you. I already cause you enough trouble and stress."
"You don't cause me stress," she said, looking sincere. "But I'd like it if you told me about your feelings once in a while." I stayed quiet and looked down. "Gerard mentioned something about a concert? Do you want to go?"
"I don't know yet. I'm still thinking about it."
"Were you gonna tell me?" I nodded. "If you want to go, you can go. I trust you."
"I know, Mom."
"Christopher is out of prison." Christopher was her ex-husband and my adoptive father. "He wants to see you and Tony."
