Fantastic Bastards In Monroeville (Frerard)

Seven

After getting outta the shower and getting dressed, I headed to the cafeteria. As I made my way there, I suddenly stopped and looked at the giant calendar hanging up on the wall of the hallway. We're in the month of April, and I've been here for a few days now.

Wait a minute. If it's April, then that means...

Oh god. My birthday is today. I almost forgot about my fucking birthday. How could I have missed that? I've lost track of the days since I got here. Every day here is the same, anyway.

"Hey, Gee!" Frank exclaimed, skipping happily over to me. "Good morning! Whatcha looking at?"

"The calendar. Today is...my birthday," I said, hoping that Frank won't throw me into the spotlight. I shouldn't have said anything...

"What? For real? How old are you now?"

"20," I said reluctantly.

"That's awesome! You're almost legal!" Frank said. "I'm 19. My birthday is on Halloween!"

Okay, that's awesome. That's like the best day you can have your birthday on. For real.

"We should tell everyone it's your birthday!" Frank exclaimed suddenly, running down the hall. I just about collapsed.

"No!" I yelled, running after Frank into the day room.

"Guess what, everyone? Today is Gerard's birthday!" Frank announced to everyone. There was nothing I could do to stop him. The damage has already been done.

"Oh, really? Happy birthday, Gerard!" Hayley said, smiling at me as she got vitals from a patient.

"We should sing happy birthday!" Frank said. Everyone in the room nodded in agreement.

Oh, fuck no...

"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you. Happy birthday, dear Gerard. Happy birthday to you!" everyone sang in unison. I swear I could feel myself shrink...

Frank wrapped me around his arms, giving me a bear hug. I happily accepted it, wrapping my arms around Frank and smiled, despite embarrassing the shit outta me.

"Congratulations, Gee," Frank whispered.

"Thank you," I said back to him. I really, really like this silly boy.

_ _ _

I managed to eat a little bit of my breakfast and lunch; about half of each meal. Even though I could have done better, I know Frank is proud of me nonetheless. After group was visiting hours, and I was almost 100 percent positive that Mikey was gonna come see me. My predictions were confirmed when I saw Mikey walk in, smiling at me with a present in his hand.

"Hey, Gerard. Happy birthday. I brought you a gift. I also baked you a cake, but the people here wouldn't let me bring it. They're afraid of it being laced with something, so I guess you'll have to eat it when you get home," Mikey said. He suddenly looked at me in a bewildered manner when he noticed I didn't have my notepad on me. "Gerard, where's your notepad?"

"Don't need it," I smiled. Mikey just about dropped my gift when he heard me speak.

"Gerard...you're talking! Oh my god!" he said shakily. I just laughed and pulled my brother into a hug. "Good to have you back,"

"Thanks," I said. Me and Mikey walked together to the cafeteria and sat down. As we sat, I looked into my brother's eyes and thought about what he said the other day that made me upset. Maybe there was a way I could change Mikey's mind about Frank...

It was at that moment when Frank walked in, a piece of paper in his hand. He sat down with us, smiling.

"Hey, Frank," I said, turning to Mikey. "Mikey, this is Frank. Frank, this is my brother Mikey,"