Familiar Faces In Strange Places (Frikey)

Chapter Twenty-Two: There's No Explanation

Mikey and I swayed to the beat of the music, barely talking and just enjoying each other's company. I had lost Dan in the crowd and to say that I was just freaking out would be a bit of an understatement. I was panicking. I tried to put it out of my mind but it was constantly nagging me. Tell Mikey while you have the chance, it said. Use this moment to your advantage, it continued. But, stupidly enough, I did neither. I let the music flow freely between us until the set list ended and Patrick was saying goodnight to everyone. It was then that the dimmed lights got a little brighter and the radio music from before came back on. It wasn't as loud as the performance, but I still needed to raise my voice a bit to be heard over it.

"Mikey," I began, but I was cut off when Mikey started talking at the same time.

We stumbled around and apologized awkwardly, trying to figure out who should go first before I claimed to have 'forgotten' what I was going to say. Mikey finally caved in with a sigh, "I have to get back to work. Gabe said that we had the performance off to do as we pleased since everyone that was at the bar magically migrated towards the stage."

"Oh yeah, I totally get it. So, uh, how's work going for you? If you don't like it, we could always go for something else. I've got people you can talk to and things we could check out. It's California anyways. It's like, what, the land of opportunity or something. No, wait, that might be New York."

Mikey laughed and ruffled my hair a bit, "Actually, I like this job a lot. So far, Dan has been nothing but kind to me. He's very reasonable and he clicks well with a lot of the customers. He's already showing me a few mixes that I didn't know and he's giving me thorough training. Can't say that I don't like it because I do. But enough about me, how are you tonight? You just found out that your best friend is getting married! That's pretty fucking awesome!"

I smiled faintly, "Yeah, it truly is. I'll probably slip into the practice room in a bit and hug the shit out of both of them." I shrugged and pretended not to notice when Mikey looked over my shoulder, laughing at someone who was behind me. His attention stayed there for a bit while I tried not to grit my teeth at being ignored. When he finally looked down, he pressed a quick kiss to the top of my head.

I sighed loudly and Mikey stopped swaying to the beat to get a good look at me. He lifted my head up and my eyes immediately met his, "Hey, what's wrong, Frank? You don't seemed all too happy and you have all the reason to be."

"Mikey, I really need to talk to you in private, okay? I have a lot on my mind and you're not going to like it very much, but I need to tell you," I opened my mouth to say more when Mikey's attention was diverted once more. I grit my teeth and called his name angrily before I jumped when someone tapped on my shoulder with a sharp finger. I spun around quickly, ready to chew out some idiot for ruining my perfect chance to tell Mikey about Dan when I was yanked from Mikey's arms and pulled into none other than Dan Howell's arms.

He held me close, almost possessively while Mikey just beamed like an oblivious idiot from beside us. When Dan finally got enough from his hug, he held me back at arms length. The yanking from his chest to sudden arm length made me feel like a rag-doll being thrown around. Dan was grinning at me, but the smile didn't quite reach his eyes, "Frank, I'm so glad you are here! I was under the impression that you were in New Jersey! You should've come straight to the bar. It's almost like you're avoiding me."

I felt myself stiffen and heard myself laugh awkwardly as Dan hit a nerve and continued to smile at me like I was some kind of science project rather than someone he made out with last week. I forced a smile and backed away from Dan towards Mikey, "Nope, I've just been pretty busy, you know? Hanging out with my friends tonight and trying to have a good time. Last weekend wasn't my best. I didn't feel like myself."