Hidden From Reality

6

Gerard

I stared down at the picture Frank had taken for the profile picture. It was adorable in such a dorky way that I couldn't help but smile. I heard Mom call us for dinner and got up, making my way to the kitchen. I scrunched up my nose at the smell of vinegar. She had made some amalgamation of food, then doused it with the vile substance. I skipped out on whatever that was and dug around in the fridge, pulling out a pre-made salad. She scowled as I went back to my room.

"You don't like my food?"

"Can you even call that food?" Mikey came out of his room, took one look at the food my mom had made and got a box of cereal out of the cabinet. He didn't even bother getting a bowl and just took the entire box back to his room. Mom frowned as I shrugged my shoulders and went back to my room. When I sat down on my bed, my phone buzzed. I picked it up and saw that Frank was texting me.

"Hey."

"Hi."

"Watcha doin'?"

"Eating dinner. You?"

"Oh. I was gonna see if you wanted to come over for dinner?"

"Oh, yeah! I can come over!"

"Oh, okay. I'll come get you. Get ready, I guess." I practically jumped off my bed. I put the unopened salad back into the fridge and went to go put on my shoes.

"Are you not eating dinner again?"

"I'm going over to Frank's."

"Gerard..."

"Hey, it's not a full moon tonight. It'll be fine. Besides, school is canceled while the water is down. I'll just come back tomorrow." I sat on the couch and pulled on my shoes. I was in the middle of tying them when the doorbell rang. I jumped up before my mom could answer it and greeted Frank. I waved to my mom and closed the door behind me, starting the walk to Frank's house. He led me to his house and introduced me to his mom, who was still making dinner. Frank led me back to his room, where we hung out while we waited for dinner to be ready.

"I hope you like Italian."

"Dude, I like anything that wasn't cooked by my mom." Frank laughed as I heard his mom call for us. We left his room and went into the kitchen. Frank set the table, but kept looking over to smile at me. I was eventually invited to sit at the table. A plate piled high with spaghetti was put down in front of me. I thanked Frank's mom, but waited for everyone else to sit and start eating before I did. Frank sat next to me and we ate in silence for awhile. Eventually, Frank's mom struck up conversation.

"So, Gerard. I take it you and Frank are friends?" I nodded before answering.

"Yeah. We met when he came over to introduce himself."

"Oh, so you're a part of the family that moved in down the street?"

"Yup. The Ways."

"Wow. What kind of name is Way?"

"MOM!" I laughed as Frank stared at his mom.

"Hey, it's okay. I honestly don't know, but it sounds cool. Y'know, like, Gerard Way. Kinda makes me sound like a superstar or something." Frank recovered from his shock as his mom asked me another question.

"So, you have any siblings?"

"Just one. I have a brother, Mikey." We talked throughout dinner. Afterwards, I offered to help with the dishes, but Mrs.Iero told me to just go hang out with Frank. I walked with him as we went back to his room. We sat on his bed and talked. Eventually, his mom came back and told us that it was midnight and that we should probably go to bed. Frank lent me some sweatpants to sleep in. He went and brushed his teeth while I changed. Since the Ieros didn't have a guest room, Frank said it would be okay if we shared a bed. We laid there together, Frank messing with my hair.

"Y'know your pupils look like little slits at night?" I shook my head. I had never been able to hang out with anyone at night. I looked up at him and kissed his nose. We eventually fell asleep, not really caring that we were in the same bed.