The Chasing of Moons

Want

By a happenstance that is completely not coincidental and may or may not be related to Frank, once again, stealing things from Pete's locker, he finds himself sitting at a table, all of a day after Frank realized he was in love with the way Gerard laughs, staring uncomfortably at Mikey.

The rain has lasted through to the afternoon for once, something it rarely does, which means that the grass outside is not something anybody wants to go around lounging in. No one is eating outside it seems, because for the first time in a week, the cafeteria is nearly full. It's not an overly large school when you put things in perspective, but when you cram that many people in one mediocrely sized room, you start to get a little claustrophobic.

"So, like, I need more tips," Frank says, awkwardly. There's really no relaxed way to say that he's bad at getting Gerard's attention and he needs his fucking brothers help to do so.

"I don't know what to tell you, man," Mikey says.

"Is he doing anything this weekend?"

"He's going to be playing video games and catching up on House Hunters," Mikey says.

"So, is there, like, anyway you could lure him out of the house?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well I don't mean lure him out of the house like I'm going to kidnap him and tie him to the radiator in my basement, I just mean that I would very much like to try to find an excuse for me to talk to him that cannot be interrupted by a bell," Frank says.

"Well, if you wanted to tie him to a radiator, I'd be fine with that, what do I care?" Mikey says. "But to answer your question, I could probably get him to the book store. He's been wanting a new Dungeons and Dragons book recently, I could get him there without too much worry."

"Really?" Frank asks. "This could work. There's a coffee shop next door too, so, like, I could bump into him and then buy him coffee?"

"You could try," Mikey shrugs, "no promises on whether it would work or not, but it's a possibility. Have you told him about the concert yet?"

"No," Frank shakes his head, "I'm still looking for a good time to slip it in there, ya know? Like 'hey, I stalked you to figure out that this band you like is playing, I bought you tickets, will you marry me'?"

"Might be a little too much to start off with," Mikey says, "I would try instead complimenting him or something. Maybe something like 'you're hair isn't that greasy,' or maybe 'you're only mostly bad at life' or you could even try, 'your brother is the coolest guy in the world, but you're alright too, I guess.'"

"Thanks. That's real helpful. I'll just go over to Gerard and tell him that his brother is better than him."

"Well if the shoe fits," Mikey says uninterestedly, and Frank rolls his eyes at him.

"Frank!" Pete's voice carries through the cafeteria, like a paper airplane, except stronger and more definite. People look around at him, and Frank ignores them, he's pretty much used to Pete making a scene by now.

"Well it looks like someone realized his phone is missing," Frank announces.

"You stole his phone?"

"I didn't really want to broadcast it to them that I need tips from Gerard's brother on how to get him to fall in love with me. It's kind of belittling," Frank replies.

"But still, you stole his phone?" Mikey asks. Frank wonders absentmindedly if Mikey's got Pete's number yet. Do they flirt through text? Do they send emoji's to each other during class? How grossly coupley are they without being an actual couple?