The Wrong Body [Frerard AU]

Chapter Seventeen

Gerard's hands started to shake, making the paper crinkle. I've been watching you and Mikey. What was that supposed to mean? Has he been stalking them? Is he still?

I've signed all the papers. Everything's legal now. Didn't Mikey have a say in this? Their dad couldn't take him if he wanted to stay.

He needed answers and he needed then now. Without another thought, he crossed to the hallway and barged into Mikey's room.

The younger boy looked up from his math textbook at the sound. He spotted his brother and his eyes widened. "Gerard, I really need to talk to you–"

Gerard ignored him and shoved the piece of paper in his face. "Read."

Mikey took the note and looked it over. As he read, his facial expression started to change. Not to fear like Gerard expected, but to... dread.

"Well?" Gerard nearly shouted after Mikey remained silent.

His brother looked at him sadly. "I can explain..."

Gerard's eyes nearly popped out of his skull. "What?!" He was yelling now. "You mean you're actually in on this? You'd go to Europe with him? Mikey, do you realize what he's done to our family?"

"First, I am in on this. Yes, I will go to Europe with him." Mikey's tone was so firm, so serious, Gerard drew back a little. "And he talked to me today. About–"

"He was here today?" Gerard interrupted. "When?"

"Literally two seconds after you left. Anyway, he told me why he took everything away from us."

Now that was interesting. Gerard lowered himself onto Mikey's bed. "What did he say?"

Mikey took a deep breath. "I'll get to that. But it was creepy. He was wearing this long black coat and sunglasses. It–"

Gerard snorted. "First he wears a tux, now a detective costume?"

"He said he didn't want you to recognize him," Mikey said flatly. "Said that you'd try to... k-kill him again."

Gerard felt as though a shard of ice had pierced through this body. He glowered at the floor. "Good choice. I would of."

Mikey's eyes went wide. He shook his head fearfully. "No, Gerard, don't say that. You– I don't want you to be a murderer. I don't think you do either."

Gerard sighed. His brother was four years younger than him, and yet, he was a whole lot smarter. "You're right. So... about what he said..."

"Oh, right," Mikey said, pushing his glasses up his nose. "I obviously don't remember, I don't know if you do either, but Ma didn't have a great job, right? Dad was the one with all the money. So they agreed to split up, only Dad was supposed to take us. But there was a misunderstanding, and... yeah."

Gerard stared at him in disgust. "And you believe him?"

The younger boy shifted in his seat. "He sounded so... so sincere, like he was sorry for what he did."

"He was acting."

Mikey glared at his brother. "You weren't there, Gerard. You don't know how he sounded. He was telling the truth."

I seriously doubt that, Gerard thought. But he didn't dare say that out loud. He stared out the window instead. "So you're going with him," he said quietly.

"I think so. End of April."

Gerard felt his eyes start to water up. "Mikey, I– I can't–" his voice was scratchy. "You're my closest friend, I don't want you to leave."

"Don't... don't say that..." Mikey's voice was so full of emotion that Gerard's heart nearly broke. "You don't mean it..."

"I think I do, Mikes," Gerard said shakily as tears started to stream down his face. "I mean... Lindsey died about two weeks ago, and I'm just starting to get over it. You're my brother. I– I was the one who raised you. If you left, I..." he wiped his eyes. "I don't know. I don't know what I'd do."

"You have Frankie. She'll help you."

Gerard pushed back the strands of hair that had fallen in his face. Things between him and Frankie were still a bit awkward. "Yeah..."

"And me going to Europe doesn't mean we'll stop talking," Mikey continued. "We can call each other, Skype, all that stuff. Dad's loaded, he probably has at least four or five computers."

"I guess so," Gerard said reluctantly. "Wait, what about school? Do your teachers know? What about your friends?"

Mikey held up his hands. "One thing at a time," he said with a small grin. "We have everything figured out. My last day of school is Friday and I'll be starting online classes for the new school until I leave. And I don't have any friends, you know that. That's... that's another reason why I want to leave. A fresh start."

"But you have me," Gerard pressed. "Isn't that enough?"

Mikey sighed. "Stop trying to guilt me into staying. I've already made my decision."

Gerard stood up and walked to the other side of the room, trying to control his rage. He pressed his forehead against the wall and squeezed his eyes shut, wanting to regain some facts.

Mikey was leaving for Europe with their father at the end if April. That was just over four weeks away. He had about thirty days to spend with his brother. Thirty days wasn't a lot of time. There was school five days a week, so he had... ten. Only ten full days. He was going to cram everything into those ten days.

He opened his eyes she turned to face Mikey. "Okay. I think I'm... I think I'm accepting it."

Mikey brightened up. "Really?"

"Really. Just..." Gerard swallowed, sitting down next to his brother. "I want to do a lot of things with you. We don't have much time together, and I want to spend as much time was possible with you."

Mikey's face split into a grin. "I want that, too."

Gerard smiled back. "Yeah?"

"Yeah."

He pulled Mikey into a hug. "I'm going to miss you, kid."

Mikey squeezed him gently. "So am I."

"Listen, if dad gives you any crap, tell me," Gerard said, looking at his brother square in the eyes. "Promise me you'll say something to me if he's hurting you."

"I promise."