Faded Tee | Frerard

1 - The End.

"He's just so cute!"

Gerard rolled his eyes. On speakerphone across the room, his brother had been gushing over some boy for fifteen minutes now.

"Did you know he plays bass? The other day he offered to teach me. Does that mean a date? Wait, did I get asked out without even realizing it? Oh..."

Being the loner-nobody brother of one of the most popular boys in school, Gerard didn't expect to be on the receiving end of relationship drama. In fact, he didn't expect to be on any end of it. At home, in his little, dark room, as always, Gerard kicked his feet up onto his desk and positioned his sketchbook on his thighs. He leaned back and listened to the familiar squeak of his chair adjusting.

Mikey, his younger yet more social brother, continued his tangent about the new boy he was interested in who would undoubtedly be tossed aside in about a month.

Just as Gerard finished refining that one line that was bugging him for too long, he heard the front door click closed and heels hitting the ground.

"Mikey," Gerard interrupted, swinging his legs off the desk. "Mom's home. Gotta go."

"But I was just getting to the good part!"

Rolling his eyes, Gerard said, "you can tell me about it later."

"Fine. Tell mom I'll be home by 11."

"Yup." And he hung up.

Downstairs in the small, food-stained kitchen, Ms. Way was busying herself with emptying grocery bags onto the counter. She hummed as she worked; an upbeat tune she had heard Gerard play on the piano when the song was still in its beginning stages. When Gerard heard the melody, he groaned.

"Ma, if you're gonna hum one of my songs, at least make it a good one," he jokingly protested as he reached into a bag and pulled out a jar of off-brand tomato sauce. "And quit getting bad stuff just because it's on sale."

"Oh hush," she shot back, grabbing the sauce from out of his hands. "I like that song. I liked it before you added all the other extra stuff." She waved her hand around as she said the last words, knowing Gerard would know what she was talking about. The "stuff", as she so elegantly labeled it, were other instruments.

"The piano's just to find the general rhythm. I like 'the other extra stuff.'"

He pulled out a frozen chicken.

"What do you think?" She was leaning against the opposite counter, flashing a proud smile at the raw meat.

"What... why did you buy a chicken?" Gerard said, alarmed and confused. "You don't cook." He held it between two fingers as far away as possible. Seeing something like that was very unusual in the Way household.

"Well, I want to. Now, put it in the fridge—"

"Freezer."

"—and tell me about all the gossip going on at school."

Sighing dramatically, Gerard cleared some space in the freezer and dropped it in.

"No gossip," he stated plainly, hoping she wouldn't press the subject, but knowing she would.

"Oh, come on. Nothing? Your life can't be that boring. No cute girls catching your eye yet? Or maybe a boy?"

"Ma!"

"Okay, okay, sorry." She let out a laugh. "Just making sure nobody's treating my boys any less than amazingly. Oh, speaking of, where's your brother?"

"Brendon's house."

She nodded and looked at Gerard teasingly. "Are you sure—"

"Ma! Drop it."

"Alright, Sorry! Come on, let's go order a pizza."

"I thought you wanted to cook the chicken."

Shrugging, Ms. Way answered with a simple "not in the mood. Leave it for a special occasion" and grabbed her phone.

~~~

Steam clouded Gerard's vision. In the fogged-up mirror, after rubbing away a circle to see himself, Gerard studied the wet hair that clung to his forehead and the way black eyeliner that hadn't been fully washed off his waterline darkened his under eyes as if he had cried.

Gerard shook away the sight and walked out into his room. Turning on the radio and tuning it to a rock station, he slipped on some clothing and hopped onto his bed, phone in hand.

But his peace was soon interrupted.

Outside his door and down the stairs, Mikey was sneaking through the foyer and up the stairs, a group of his friends following closely behind, their chattering and giggling floating up the stairs and into Gerard's room.

With a groan, Gerard checked the time. 12:34 AM.

"Idiot," he mumbled to nobody in particular, and jumped off his comfy bed. He swung open the door with no intentions of being quiet and without even realizing that his brother's friends — some of the most popular boys at school — were about to see him in his pyjamas.

"Mikey."

He froze. Snickering, a few of his friends — Gerard didn't know their names and wouldn't bother to ask — filed into Mikey's room. The rest looked between each other and at Gerard.

"Gee," Mikey greeted lightheartedly, turning around to face his older brother. "What's up?"

"It's past midnight."

Mikey pursed his lips, trying desperately to come up with an adequate response. Instead, what he answered with was: "It does appear so."

Rolling his eyes and shaking his head, Gerard said, "just be quiet, okay? Mom's sleeping."

Mikey pressed his lips into a thin line, nodded, and spun on his heel, disappearing into his room with the others, and Gerard rubbed his forehead.

"Nice shirt."

Gerard started at the unfamiliar voice. He looked up to see a boy shorter than him with jet black hair, smirking at Gerard, who looked down at his old and faded band shirt.

He knitted his eyebrows. "Thanks," he said quickly. "It's my brother's."

The boy just smiled and walked into Mikey's room.

~~~
965 words
3 March, 2020
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Hehe I love Frerard leave me alone
I'll try to update this more often than... other things...
I'm soft for them, so there probably won't be any drama and sadness, but no promises (:
Ok bye bye