Backdoor Boy

8

Mikey smiled. He was one of the only three people in the coffeehouse that day, which meant that he and Ray could talk almost as much as they wanted.

Mikey watched as Ray made his drink. That day, he was sitting in front of the machines to be closer to Ray. It was at the point where Ray was about to make the foam design. For this, he turned so that Mikey couldn't see.

"Hurry up," Mikey teased. "I'm thirsty!"

Ray laughed. "I'm almost done," he said. "You can't rush perfection, Mikes. Here, cover your eyes. I want it to be a surprise."

Mikey did as he was told, putting his hands over his eyes. He waited for Ray's cue to remove them.

"Okay," Ray said finally. "Open your eyes."

Mikey did. He looked down into the mug, meeting it with a wide smile. A pretty (if shaky) cursive letter M was drawn in the foam. "Aw, Ray," Mikey said, "It looks really good!"

"You think so? I've been practicing."

Mikey looked up at him. "Well, it shows," he said. "Thank you."

Ray grinned. "You're welcome."

Mikey took a sip of his coffee. As he did so, he noticed Ray drumming his fingers on the counter. "What are you doing that for?" Mikey asked.

"Doing what for?"

"That thing. With your fingers. You're usually still."

Ray looked down at his hand, then straightened his fingers out onto the counter. "Hm," he said. "I, uh, didn't even realize I was doing it. Hey, I was thinking; would you maybe wanna meet my buddy? He's really cool, and I think you guys would like each other."

Mikey hesitated, lowering his drink to the white saucer on the counter. Shit, he thought. If I do this, I run the risk of his friend knowing Pete. Then again, if he and Ray are such good friends, he'd already know about me anyway, meaning my world would have already crumbled around me.

Wait. Pete is cheating on me. Why the fuck do I care?

Fuck it.

"Yeah, okay," Mikey said. "That sounds fun."

"Oh, cool," Ray said. "To be honest, I was kind of expecting you to say no."

"How come?"

Ray shrugged. "You strike me as more introverted, I guess."

"Ray, we met at a party."

Ray chuckled. "Yeah, I guess that's true," he said. "But the real question is: Did you want to be there?"

Mikey shrugged. "I didn't not want to be there," he said. "But I will say that Gerard kind of dragged me there."

Ray bobbed his head, but didn't say anything. Mikey raised an eyebrow at him.

"What's that?" he asked.

"What's what?"

"There's something you're not telling me!"

Ray laughed, shaking his head. "I'm not trying to hide anything, Mikes! It's just... You struck me as introverted from the moment I first saw you."

"How come?" Mikey asked. "When you first saw me, I was in the middle of a giant dance circle."

Ray laughed again. "Well yeah," he said, "I noticed. Believe me, I noticed. But-"

"Wait, what's that supposed to mean?"

Ray sighed. He leaned forward, elbows on the counter, and looked Mikey directly in the eyes. "You really wanna know?" he asked in a low voice.

"That's why I asked, silly."