Kick Me Like A Stray

Chapter 7: The Lights Are Out and the Party's Over - Mikey's P.O.V.

Written by moi

As soon as Pete left, I turned to Gerard.

"What the fuck, man?" He chuckled at how bright my cheeks were. "You've gone against the bro code!" He snorted.

"The bro code?"

"Yeah, you know, no waking the other up at any time before 6 unless you bring an offering of coffee, no embarrassing the other in front of their crush (that line I emphasized), no telling mom about the other's stash, that sorta thing. You broke a rule, man." He threw his hands up in the air.

"Hey, I was not informed of this. Don't blame me!"

"IT'S SOMETHING THAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ANYWAY! If you don't do that to your friends, why would you do that to your brother?" He shrugged.

"Because it's fun. Besides, I do it to my friends as well."

"Oh yeah?" He nodded. "What about Lindsey? You didn't try to embarrass her in front of Jamia, and she's your best friend!" He laughed, a short laugh that was almost patronizing.

"Oh but yes I did, little bro. I extra-embarrassed her in front of Jamia, because she's my best friend. And look where they are now! They've been in a steady relationship for over a year." He flipped his hair in my face. I spluttered as some strands found their way into my mouth. "Don't question my methods you soggy nugget. And prepare for extra teasing."

"Whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy," I said, dragging out the 'y'.

"Cause you're my brother. And I want you to get some." I flushed bright red (again).

"GERARD!"

"What? I only said that I wanted you to get lai-"

"GERARD SHUT UP!"

"But you-"

"I SWEAR I WILL TAKE EVERYTHING DEAR TO YOU AND KILL IT!"

"Aww, but that includes you, Mikey, sweetie."

"Oh fuck you, Gerard."

"Please don't. You're my brother!"

"Jesus Christ. Well, as soon as you get a crush, I'm going to embarrass you so hard in front of them that you won't ever be able to show them your face again!" He wouldn't meet my gaze when I looked back at him, instead he averted his eyes, his cheeks lightly tinting with color. "Oh. My. God. You have a crush! Who is it? Do I know them? It better not be Pete-"

"Oh, no, fuck, no. No offense to Pete or anything, but hell no." I grabbed his shoulders and looked down straight into his eyes.

"Tell me who it is, or I will find out myself and you will regret it." He let out a long, exaggerated groan.

"Tell me."

"Ughhhhhhhhh-"

"Gerard!"

"Fiiiiine. But, uh, I don't think you know him. He rooming with a, uh- friend of my roommate. I met him at the bar the other night. His name, uh, it's Frank."

"Frank?" I thought for a moment. "I don't think I know any Franks. What's his last name?"

"Iero. He's really short, and has like, thousands of tattoos, and it's super hot. And his hair is black and kinda short-ish and I can just imagine running my fingers through it, and tu-" I cut him off hurriedly.

"Woah there. I have no interest in your sexual fantasies, or what you want to do with hot, tattooed, short guys." As I said that, a girl with a shoulder length bob walked by. She stopped and stared at me for a second, before shaking her head and walking away. Gerard and I looked at her as she walked away for a second, before bursting into laughter. We quieted down after a few seconds, and then I turned the description over in my mind a couple times.

"Iero, Iero, Iero. Hmmm, can't say that I know him. You'll have to introduce us sometime." At that point I winked aggressively, and he glared at me.

"There is no way in hell I'm introducing you two. You'd just embarrass me, and tell that dress story or something."

"Well then, we'd be even."

"What about your sib code, or whatever the shit that was?" I snorted.

"First of all, it's bro code, not sib code. Second of all, you broke the code first. It's only right that I am allowed to get my revenge." With that, I cackled evilly, turned away from Gerard, and set off in the direction of my dorm.

**********

I was sitting in my room on my bed, humming off-key as I plucked a few random strings on my bass. A strand of my dyed blond hair kept falling in front of my eyes. I shook my head vigorously to get it out of my face, and at that exact moment, I heard a voice.

"Are you a dog, Mikeyway?" I turned my head violently towards where the voice came from. Pete was standing there in the doorway, leaning against it and looking so cool and suave and hot. "'Cause that sure looked like it," he finished. I felt a hot blush spread over my cheeks at being caught doing something stupid. Pete's attention turned to the bass in my hands.

"Oh! Do you play?" He gestured excitedly to a case in the corner by his bed that I seemed to have missed. "I play too! And I write lyrics! Oh-" he gasped. "We should start a band!" I frowned.

"With just us? An only bass band? Do you even sing, 'cause I don't." He looked slightly dejected at me shooting his idea full of holes.

"I- can um... scream?"

"Pete, that's not singing."

"It can be if we're a heavy metal band!", he defended.

"A heavy metal band without a drummer? Or any guitarists?" I raised an eyebrow and he groaned and flopped besides me on my bed.

"Fiiiiiine. Thanks for being a dream-killer, Mikeyway."

"Always a pleasure."

That pesky piece of hair flopped in my face again. I groaned, ready to storm into the bathroom and grab a pair of scissors, but Pete stopped me from having to make that decision.

He sat up, grabbing my shoulder with one hand. His other hand reaching up to gently tuck the hair back into place behind my ear. I realized how close he was to my face, and also that I had stopped breathing about 10 seconds ago. He leaned in slightly, bit by bit, until he was only inches away. I was still holding my breath, but it seemed like he was holding his too.