Listen Before You Go

Chapter 3: A Fun Night- Er, Morning...

don't forget to leave comments and opinionsssssss

Dinner was surprisingly not bad considering how much Frank was dreading it.

Frank basically stayed silent, and Mrs. Iero not-so-subtly pushed Gerard into Lindsey, making the two constantly pink with embarrassment. Frank and Mikey would make eye contact every time Linda would say something particularly bad, such as "An artist, and a handsome one at that. Why not show Lindsey a few things? I know she enjoys drawing." or "How is the ballet in Paris? Lindsey used to dance so well." First of all, France, not Paris. And second of all, Lindsey draws as a hobby, and only when she's extremely bored. And she didn't do ballet, it was basically self-taught schizophrenic hip-hop that she used as an extra workout for her boxing practice. 

When Linda finally got up to bring in dessert, she asked for help in the kitchen. Mr. Iero and Mrs. Way followed her out, leaving the young adults to themselves.

Gerard looked at his little brother. "Well that was worse than expected." He whispered.

Mikey nodded, and Frank spoke up. "I was expecting worse." He stopped when Gerard stared directly at him. Gerard was only listening, but his eyes were so distracting. Frank cleared his throat and continued. "My mom has a really bad shipping problem." Lindsey snorted and covered her mouth to be quieter.

Gerard glanced at Lindsey, then down to his plate. "I don't like girls." He spoke nonchalantly, pushing a chunk of broccoli around his plate.

Lindsey and Frank shared a wordless  -but communicative- look, and then both looked down to their plates.

"You aren't straight?" Lindsey asked casually, poking at her potatoes.

"I am." Mikey spoke up. 

"I gathered that, sweetie." Lindsey said, taking a sip of her water, earning reserved laughs from around the table.

"What about you, Frank?" Gerard asked, stabbing Frank with his eyes again. "Are you gay?" 

Frank tightened his jaw and let a snarky smile play at the corner of his lips. 

"For some people." 

At that moment, the parents came in with dessert and coffee so everyone shut up. Frank and Gerard still stared at each other. Not breaking eye contact until Mrs. Iero started with the questions again.

"So, Gerard, where are you staying? With your family?"

"I'll only be staying tonight." He said, shooting his mother a hateful look that Mrs. Iero didn't catch. "I need to find somewhere else for the rest of the summer." Mrs. Way pressed her lips into a tight line and looked at her lap.

"You could stay here." Lindsey spoke without thinking. Frank looked at her with the best 'What the fuck?' face he could without making an obvious scene, and she continued. "I'll see you more if you stay here, rather than a hotel. It'll be cheaper too." The more she kept going, the better it was sounding to Linda. "Just a thought."

"The basement has just been refurbished, and we won't charge you to rent it out!" Linda said quickly, making Lindsey absolutely beam with pride.

Mrs. Way looked hopeful. "It will be easier to see me if you stay next door, Geebear."

Geebear? Frank snickered, catching a murderous look from Gerard.

"I'll think about it, but I was really wanting to stay with Mikey." 

Mikey and Gerard looked at each other. Neither made an expression but there was a small emotion spoken silently. Frank couldn't tell if it was irritation or hope, that's how minuscule it was.