Yellow Flowers

Part One-

Author's note: Unfortunately, in the next few... weeks... I'll be less active. So, I've taken to writing something I can only describe as longer than a short story but shorter than the ones I write in my free time. This first one, Yellow Flowers, took me about two weeks, and I busted it up into several parts because it's super long.

Enjoy!

-Lola

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Yellow Flowers

The orange of the leaves was fading to brown a sure sign of approaching winter, Gerard noted to himself as he walked to the steps beside the commons area, green lunch tray in hand. He sat down, folding his legs beneath him and tightening his black jacket, a chill brushing down his back. The high school junior could hear the distant calls of his classmates as they ventured around the grounds with their lunches, searching for their friends. Gerard shivered, a chill dancing down his back as a cool wind blew. It was late November, almost thanksgiving.

Gerard was still uncertain of what in his life there was to be thankful for.

Gerard sighed to himself, turning towards his lunch tray. The meager school food sat there, on the brink of non-edibility. There was a small grimace on his face as he opened his plain white milk carton and took a small sip. He was setting it back down as there was a short yell.

"Hey!" A very familiar voice called. Gerard turned and saw his best friend, Frank, sitting down beside him. Frank was much smaller than Gerard, but he made up for being small by being a great guitarists and dressing in the epitome of alternative cool kid. They had met through the school's band program at the beginning of this year when Frank was new and promptly became best friends. Now, at any given free period, the two could be found together, bonding over comics or music or guitars.

"Hey," Gerard replied much less energetically, nodding towards Frank as he looked back towards his tray. He found himself staring towards the dirt covered ground, eyes finding a dying yellow flower in the school's flower beds. They reminded him of his younger brother, Mikey.

Mikey always liked the yellow flowers best.

Mikey was barely fourteen, but... Upon meeting him, nobody would guess that. Had Mikey grown with proper care for his problems, they might not be as bad as they are now, but, they are. Gerard is very protective of his younger brother, and, however, they might not go to the same school anymore, Gerard has found himself worrying more so about his brother now than he did before.

Mikey's 'problems' could barely be described simply as problems, and Gerard hated when people called them 'problems.' Mikey's mental issues didn't fit the description of any disease in the medical books. He was born with little to no communication all skills, and the few he had consisted of screaming. These weren't problems. It was just how he was born, however, they seemed to cause many problems for Gerard.

"Something bothering you, man?"

Gerard turned back to his friend, raising an eyebrow slowly. A lot of things were bothering Gerard. A lot of things. He and Frank, however best friends, simply never spoke of Gerard's home life. That was simply a topic that was forbidden. Since Mikey's last 'tantrum' at the end of last year, the younger Way had been transferred to a nearby alternative school/hospital that was much more fit to his needs. Frank, being the new kid this year, had never seen Mikey before, and he had no idea what Gerard went home and what he had to deal with night after night. All Frank knew was that Gerard had a younger brother, who could be a dog for all he knew.

Gerard was very envious of Frank even though he didn't know all that much about him. He knew his friend lived a decent life. Plenty of food, a loving mother and father, a warm bed, a sibling who didn't scream all the time. Most of the things Gerard had never been able to have. It's hard growing up with a brother who was constantly screaming and parents who never cared much. Sure, they took Mikey to his numerous doctor's appointments and therapy, but they never really seemed to want to put fix their child's needs. They simply existed alongside their broken son.