Since When Did You Become a Romantic?

Chapter 5: Plays and Pills

It was October first, so everyone in Millard Fillmore's high knew what that meant. Theater tryouts. Up to this point, Gerard had told everyone that the play was Hamlet when it's actually Rent. Soon, whispers got around and everyone but Ry knew that it's actually going to be Rent. Ryan would totally tell the Public School Board of New Jersey about the play. He is known for three things: his pretentious attitude, his crush on Brendon (haha pain), and following rules. Gerard knew these things better than anyone, so he hosted auditions secretly at the theater on a random Saturday to throw Ryan off.

Frank and him sit in the theater with a clipboard and a script. "Will anyone actually show?"

"Have faith in the students, Frank," Gerard tells him. "Also I said anyone that gets in the play will automatically pass the class they're currently failing."

Frank chuckles a little and with that auditions are underway. First up, Halsey. She and Frank stand facing each other on the stage. "But- but, I don't care if I'm cold and alone," Halsey cries.

"Well, damn, Maureen, I care! You can't go around believing in something that isn't real!" Frank's acting is pretty shitty, and he skipped three lines.

"One day, you'll see that my music will change this godforsaken dirty world." Tears stream down her face as she falls dramatically to the floor. Over the top, but only about five people try out, so in the end she's Maureen and Gabe fuckin Saporta is cast as Maureens ex-lover, Mark. By the end of the endeavour, the casting endeavor, they realized they were the only ones on crew. They sit on the stage with their feet touching doing that weird leg thing. Gerard is covered in yellow and red paint while Frank has enough bruises to be at a roller derby. Hanging lights while painting wasn't their brightest idea.

"Hey, wanna get coffee?" Frank asks in a casual sense, but really so he can be with Gerard more.

He glances at his watch. "It's 9:30 at night?"

"Oh, right, right, sorry. You probably have sleep to do," Frank awkwardly rubs the back of his neck.

Gerard kinds waddles to his feet. "It's okay. We can get together another time. Thursday?"

Frank stays on the floor. "Saturday's better."

"Alright, Saturday at noon then," Gerard rubs the paint on his old jeans. "It's a date." He hops off, but then remembers something and kinda moonwalks back. "Noon doesn't work. Mikey has a doctor's appointment."

"You take your twenty year old brother to his doctors appointments?" Frank chuckles a little.

"Yeah. I schedule all the doctors appointments at the same time. All three of us are going on Saturday," he walks back to the exit. "I'll call you," Gerard shouts before bumping into the heavy theater doors.

Frank looks at the floor. Three? he thinks. Who's the third? Maybe he meant two? Maybe he has another sibling? A pet? Before he can ask, Gerard is gone.

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Mikey sits on the couch nearly asleep when Gerard gets home that night. As soon as he gets in the kitchen, he looks around confused. "Hey, where's L?" Normally, everyone is home at 9:30 at night. Mikey doesn't wake up. Gway sighs when he sees his brother asleep with Cheetos on his lap. "Where's L?" He nudges Mikey.

"Gone," he mumbles.

"Helpful?" He pulls Mikey up.

"Chill, ya nerd. She's probably at the store."

"At 9:30 at night?" Gerard rolls his eyes and wanders over to his bedroom to change his clothes. When he gets there, all his clothes are on the ground and everything from the bathroom is littered around the room. Gerard pops his head into the living room. "What happened?"

"She couldn't find something. Idk man, something to do with drugs?" Mikey has nearly fallen asleep again.

Gerard starts to look around the apartment for his phone. "When you say drugs, do you mean medication? Or actual drugs?"

Mikey's face is in the Cheeto dust on the couch. "The weeds and marriage iguanas."

Gerard lifts his face up by his hood and looks at him. A chorus of ows come from Mikey.

"Your drugs?" he asks like an angry mom. Mikey pulls away from him like a cat being handled by a small child. "Where did you get them?" Gerard asks with an array of hand gestures.

"It doesn't matter." Mikey stands up and starts to head to his room.

"It does though," Gerard follows him. There's some weird tension in the room. Like when you make a promise when you're happy and realize later it means nothing. "I thought you were doing better. I thought we were doing better." His voice drops from frustrated to betrayed.

Mikey turns around sharply. "We were, but I just couldn't keep it up. My life just keeps getting shittier and shittier and I thought 'hey, who the fuck cares anyway, Way.'" Tears form in his eyes and he can feel them at the back of his throat. If he keeps talking, he won't be able to stop them.

"What would make you think I don't care? You're my Baby Way." Whenever he fights, Gerard's voice goes all quiet and breathy.

"I've always been a burden to you since the incident, but you never stopped to think that maybe I wanted the incident to happen," he steps closer. "Maybe I fucking planned it." The look in his eyes is something that Gerard has only seen a few times. It scares him.

Gerard stands there frozen for a moment; his face stuck in a state of shock and disbelief. He would believe this kind of shit from himself, but from Mikey? "You don't really mean that, do you?" he asks quietly.

Mikey is already halfway into his room. "I'm sorry, but I do." (KILL ME). Like they say, when one door closes, another opens and this time quite literally. In this case, it's the front door. Gerard spins around when he hears the loud door bang. There's Lindsey. She's breathing heavily as she rests her arm on the door frame.

"Where is he?" she asks between breaths.

"He?" Gerard walks cautiously towards her.

"Your idiotic brother." She grabs onto his shirt like she's going to fall over.

"Oh yeah, he's here," Gway walks over to the kitchen table with her.

"I need you to know something. I came home and couldn't find him and then I found this in the cabinet." She tosses her bag on the table. Being the nosey person he is, Gerard starts rooting through it. He pulls out some pill bottles and holds them up to his face.

"What are these?" he asks, squinting.

"Some good ole methaqualone and heroin." She lets her chin sink into her hands.

Gerard sighs a little while setting them back down. "I feel like a failed parent," he grumbles while sinking into his chair.

"Don't worry. He's not with Robert anymore. This should be over quick," Lindsey reassures. She gets up and ruffles his hair a little.

"What if it's not?" Gerard asks while looking up at her.

"If it's not over in a month, I will personally find the dealer. We just have to keep an eye on him and we'll be fine." She gives him a quick kiss on the cheek.

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