Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/ works/3499685. Rating: Explicit Archive Warning: Graphic_Depictions_Of_Violence, Underage Category: M/M Fandom: My_Chemical_Romance Relationship: Frank_Iero/Gerard_Way, Frank/Gerard Character: Frank_Iero, Gerard_Way, Mikey_Way, Original_Characters Additional Tags: Post-Apocalypse, War, corrupt_government, Gay, Fluff_and_Smut, Angst, Alternate_Universe_-_Future, Homophobic_Language, Violence, Gore, Sexual Content, Explicit_Sexual_Content, not_complete, Anxiety_Attacks, Depression Stats: Published: 2015-03-07 Updated: 2015-03-18 Chapters: 8/? Words: 6094 ****** The Trial ****** by MCRrhi Summary "Bombs didn't scare me anymore, let alone make me jump. They became another background noise, like cars passing, or birds chirping. Well, birds didn't chirp anymore. Even with their small brains, they could comprehend how fucked up everything has become." Notes This story is somewhat inspired by "The Wall" by Pink Floyd, hence the title. I hope you enjoy this fic. :) ***** Chapter 1 *****     Bombs didn't scare me anymore, let alone make me jump. They became another background noise, like cars passing, or birds chirping. Well, birds didn't chirp anymore. Even with their small brains, they could comprehend how fucked up everything has become. I watched the planes go by, only to drop bombs miles away. It's quite dangerous to live here. Why we moved here is a mystery to me. Then again, the entire Earth is a war zone. No one is safe. The war started fifteen years ago, on the day I turned four years old. April 9th, 2050. Reasons are vague to me, but of course America started this all. I always used to feel bad about my birthday, as if I had started this war. When my mom was still around, she'd always have my birthday on a different day so I'd feel better. I miss those times. Now I just live with my younger brother, Mikey, in this small shack. It is hard to provide for us, but we make do. I work at an antique shop a few miles away. Mikey does odd jobs for people. We get by, but barely. "Hey, Gerard?" Mikey walks in, pulling on his jacket. "I have to go. Some guy called saying he needs me to do some housework." "He can't do it himself?" I ask, chuckling. "He's a cripple, Gee." Mikey replies, smiling. "I'm off then. See you later." "You know the drill, right?" I say, hugging him. "Sure, if I get stopped, show them my card and recite my name and birthday. I got it, Gee. Love you and see you later." "You too, Mikes." When he leaves, I have to take Xanax to relax. Anything could happen. One slip up and he could die. He's smart for his age, so I trust him. I'm just scared. I've been stopped once, and I had a gun held to my head while I recited my information. You can't act nervous, or they take it as you are not truly American. How it ended up like that; I have no fucking clue. Anybody would be nervous with a fucking GUN held to their head. I sighed, pulled my sketchbook from my bookshelf, and opened it up to a fresh page.  Almost an hour into my drawing of Mikey, I hear a knock on the door. I expect it's Mikey, which I'm excited to show him my almost completed drawing of him. I shuffle over to the front door and open it.  It's not Mikey.  ***** Chapter 2 ***** Chapter Notes I'd like to note that I know Frank is 4 years younger than Gerard. This is a fic, and I want them to be very close in age. :)     "I'm Frank." The stranger says casually.  "Hi, I'm Gerard. How can I help you?" I find it quite odd this guy is standing here. He looks a couple years younger than I am, and very, very attractive. I hope I don't look like a doof. Well, he's probably not even gay, but hey, just in case. Frank smiles.  "Well, don't hate me, but can I stay here for like an hour? I kind of need to hide." Frank says smiling apologetically. That was kind of sketchy. I have no problem with him in my house. It's not like gross or anything. but what if he wants to kill me? "Are you going to murder me?" I ask hesitantly. Frank busts into a full blown laugh.  "No, man. I just don't wanna die."  "Yeah, come in, man." That's the kind of world we live in. We are afraid to be killed any moment. Frank awkwardly stands in the kitchen, looking around. "Let's go to the living room, Frank. Make yourself comfortable." He follows me into the den, and sits on the couch. Frank spots my sketch of Mikey.  "Who's that? That's a fucking awesome drawing, dude! You did that?" He remarks, smiling. I blushed. "Yes, I did. And it's my younger brother Mikey. He should be home soon actually." I reply shyly. "So, uh, you want coffee?" "Sure, sure. Thanks so much. I haven't had coffee in days." Frank exclaimed. He was quite confident socially, opposite of myself. I wondered why he hadn't had coffee. I wondered why he was here. Something about that freaked me out. I walked into the kitchen, and he followed behind. God, he really is attractive. I hope his personality matched.  "Tell me about yourself. If you're gonna be here, I'd like to get to know you." I said, trying to sound friendly, but sure I sounded passive-aggressive. Frank smiled anyways. God, the kid smiled a lot.  "Well, my last name is Iero, and I'm from what's left of New Jersey."  "Really? I'm from Jersey as well!" That was cool, we were from the same place. "Belleville." "You aren't serious? So am I!" Frank is just as shocked as I am. "That's so cool. Anyways, I'm 17. I'm sure you're wondering why I'm in hiding. I'm a protester." My eyes widened. Protesting can get you killed. He continued, "So like, I was running away from these cops, and now they're after me. If you were worried about them coming here, they won't. I lost them 20 miles back." "Twenty miles? Damn, man. You must be good with cops." He is obviously so good with cops. This kid is the definition of rebellious. Tattoos were littered all over his body, and he had gauged ears and a nose and lip piercing. He really worked the look. I just couldn't get over how hot he was. "Coffee is done. How do you like yours, Frank?" "Sugar and cream, doesn't matter how much. Thanks again, man." Frank began to hum as I prepared his cup. I immediately recognized the song. He was humming "Dig Up Her Bones" by The Misfits.  "Dude, I love the Misfits!" I exclaimed handing him his cup. "I didn't think anyone knew who they were. They're so old, but they're so good." "Oh, dude, they're the best! What else do you like?" "Well," I began, "I like old punk stuff like Black Flag, and stuff like Iron Maiden, The Smiths, David Bowie, Queen." Frank smiled. "You have great taste, Gerard." He said smiling. A bomb dropped somewhere, and Frank immediately fell to the floor and covered his ears.  "Are you okay?!" I exclaimed. Frank blushed.  "Yeah, yeah. Uh, I just don't like the bombs." He said quietly, then looked up with a smile. "Let's go sit, yeah?" So for a while we talked on the couch about things like music, protesting, my drawings. A whole ton of things. I discovered that Frank is really interesting, and pretty funny. He had me tell him about myself, and he didn't judge a bit. It made me happy. Nobody usually cares to hear my life. Who could blame them, though? I'm not very exciting.   "God, what I would give for this war to be over." Frank said longingly. I don't even think he was talking to me, more just stating it. I don't remember how it was before all this, but I'm sure people weren't scared for their lives everyday.  "I know, man. I'd like to be able to know my brother is coming home or not." I replied, looking into my coffee.  "It'll be over someday, and I wanna be part of the reason." Frank stated. I admired how sure and motivated he was. Another bomb dropped somewhere, and Frank reacted by dropping his coffee and covering his ears. "Stop." He whimpered to himself. It was strange to see this tough punk kid immediately cower like that. "I'm really, really sorry. Here, let me clean it." He said moments later. I didn't care about the coffee really. I understood. "No, you're a guest. It's totally okay, Frank." I reassured him, and left to get paper towels. As I grabbed a roll, I noticed someone was knocking at the door. This time it was my awkward little brother. Thank God. I opened to see Mikey drenched with rain. Huh, hadn't noticed it was raining. "Hey, Mikes. How was it?" "Gross. The man had so much porno mags. Who even uses those anymore? I HAD TO STACK THEM, GEE." Mikey whined. I laughed. That's really gross. Who does stuff like that? Then I remembered Frank. "Oh yeah, and we have a visitor." I said quickly. Mikey's eyes narrowed.  "What? We don't really know anyone." "Yeah, uh, well...he's a protester." "Ge-" "But he lost the cops 20 miles back, also he's really cool and awesome. You'd like him, Mikes! He's our age. His name is Frank." "Frank? Frank Iero?" Mikey said, sounding a bit relieved. "Yeah! Do you know him?" "Kinda. I go to school with him. Yeah, he's alright. But he better not cause trouble." "He won't, Mikey. Now, let's go."  ***** Chapter 3 ***** Mikey and Frank talked about school, while I watched, sometimes I intervened. I liked watching Mikey talking to someone who could relate to him. Living in the days of the Trial War, you couldn't trust anyone. Making friends was nearly impossible. All I have is Mikey and Ray, maybe Frank now. Goofy laughter pulled me out of my thoughts. I looked up to see Frank doubled over on the couch, and Mikey smiling to himself.  "Don't you have a nose ring?" Mikey asked. "Yeah." Frank said, his face red from laughing. "Why?" "Where is it?" "Oh shit." Frank said, touching his nose. It was gone alright. I looked down by my feet. Nope. Not there. "I can't find it." He announced. I giggled.  "Let's hunt it down." I suggested, getting up from my seat. "Make sure it wasn't under you before we go on this strenuous hunt." He felt the cushions, and felt between them.  "Nope. Looks like we're hunting!" Frank said, smiling. We continued to look for the silver ring. I'm so glad we have wood floors. Imagine if we had carpets. GOD. I looked under the kitchen table, under the couches, and under the cushions. It wasn't anywhere. Where could he have lost it? "HEY GUYS, I FOUND IT." Mikey suddenly yelled from the kitchen. My god, FINALLY. Frank followed me to the kitchen. "Oh my god, thanks, Mikey!" He said happily, trying to replace it, but without a mirror it was useless. I sat back in my seat. Frank tried so hard to find the hole in his nose. Mikey was laughing at him. "Mikey, shut it. Ow-AH- okay. You guys got a mirror?" He muttered, defeated. Mikey smirked, and pointed to the one above my seat. It's this old ugly mirror for decoration. Why it's up there? No clue. Frank snapped me out of my thoughts when he stretched his body closer to the mirror, leaning over me. His hipbones poked out from the hem of his shirt. Tattoos covered his lower abdomen. A trail of hair disappeared into his exposed boxers. My face turned warm, and I felt my dick twitch in my pants. I looked away and thought of something else before my attraction became too obvious. He pulled away, with nose ring back in place. God, this guy was gorgeous.  "Gee, where is Frank sleeping? The couches are too small to be comfortable. Also, he's gonna be here awhile. So like, where is he gonna go?" Mikey asked. I thought for a moment. I didn't think about that. "He should sleep in your room," Mikey continued, "It's bigger, and he would be more comfortable. Is that cool with you, Frank?"  "I'm not opposed." He shrugged, smiling. Oh my god, I'm going to be sleeping in the same room as him? I blushed. "I'm not either," I finally said, "Let's go set you up." I led him downstairs to my room, which is pretty much the basement. The lights were dim, but you still could see my messy area. God, I should clean more. Frank didn't notice the mess though. He was staring at my hung art and band posters.  "I love all of this, Gerard." Frank said happily. "Thank you." I replied. "So, uh, are you good with an air mattress?" God, I sounded rude. Frank didn't seem affected.  "Sure, that's cool, man."     ***** Chapter 4 ***** A/N: I'm trying to keep up with this story. I will be! I am a slow writer, and I also have school work and such. So if you enjoy, bear with me! I'll try harder to go faster. :) ***** Chapter 5 ***** Chapter Notes Check the end for notes, in case you get confused. See the end of the chapter for more notes You know that stingy dryness in the back of your throat when you smoke in the cold? I was addicted to that feeling. Nothing brought me more satisfaction and comfort than that feeling. Other people are probably bothered by it, but not me. Sometimes I crave that feeling. In the summer I have withdrawals in the absence of the feeling. It was my favorite thing. Nothing made me happier than sitting outside in the dark and smoking, thinking about how brighter the stars shine in winter. Snow was awful, but winter was my favorite season. Smoking during the day didn't have much appeal. Sitting on the porch at two in the morning, headphones blaring, the moon light aiding you into lighting your cigarette, and the five second walk back into your house was the most amazing feeling in the world. It has helped all my depressions and anxiety. Just by being here, I can forget everything but the stars. I pull out another cigarette from my pack, along with my lighter. The cherry glows bright red when introduced to the flame. One of my favorite sights to see. In my headphones, "Disarm" by The Smashing Pumpkins is playing loudly. I think it fit nicely with the atmosphere. I breathe the smoke in deeply, and there it is. The most beautiful feeling I could think of. It's bliss. A breeze creeps into my jacket, causing me to shiver. I pull the leather tighter around me. Somewhere in the night, another bomb is dropped hundreds of miles away. Far enough to not harm us, but close enough to be heard clearly. I flick the ash off the tip of my cigarette and watch it disappear into the ground. Oh, how I wish I could sit out here forever. The stars were beautiful tonight, as was the the moon. I feel some movement next to me. I pull out my earphones and look. It's Frank. "Hey." He said, groggily. He looked adorable wrapped up in the blanket I had given him. His eye makeup was now smudged, and his hair was sticking up in weird places. Adorable.  "Hey, you. Can't sleep?" I asked. My voice was scratchy from smoking. I probably sounded gross. Eww. Speaking of, my cigarette is burned out. I toss it to the ground and pull out another one. I hold it out to Frank. "Want one?" "Yeah, man. Thanks." I light it for him, and get myself one as well. "And no, I can't sleep. Bombs." He said, looking at the ground. I've been thinking about his fear of bombs for a while. I wondered what had happened.  "You're welcome. And, uh, do you mind if I ask something?" I question nervously. "No, man. Shoot." "Why do, uh, bombs scare you so much? I mean, you must get used to them by now." His face went rigid. Oh no, I had offended him. "Look, sorry. Don't answer if y-" "No, no. It's fine. Well, a couple of years ago, I was protesting. It wasn't that frowned upon then like it is now. Still illegal, but probably worth a week in jail. Anyways, cops hate me. Can't stand me. I've been in jail more times than I can count. So cops aren't really fair to me. Cops aren't fair in general, right?" I nod. They really aren't. He continues, "So, like, one night I was in jail. This officer came to speak to me. A real nasty bastard he was. He told me, 'Frank, keep an ear out tonight.' That's all he said. He had this sick grin on his face." Frank began to get angry as he spoke. His jaw was clenched and his breathing became quicker. "So I stayed up listening. I heard a bomb in the distance. It was louder than I'd ever heard. I didn't really care for it then, but the next morning they released me. When I went home, my house was destroyed. My family was dead. They bombed my family, Gerard. I had nowhere to go. Those bastards took their stupid safe bombs, and ruined my life." Tears ran down his face, and sobs erupted. "It's all my fault." He said. My heart ripped when he said the last line. No, no. Don't think that. I rubbed his back, trying to comfort him. "Frank, no. You can't think that. It was them who did it." I said quietly. He looked at me, and threw his arms around my waist, and buried himself into my side. I rubbed his head, trying to soothe him. Frank relaxed under my touch.  "Let's go in, Frank." I said. He nodded. I pulled him up with me, and guided him back to the room. I felt his fingers grab at my shirt. Down the stairs we went, and I slipped back into my bed, and he slid into his.  Another bomb landed minutes later. "Gerard?" I heard from the air mattress on the floor. "Yeah?" "Uh...could I..uh, sleep up there with you? I just- the bombs.." He whispered nervously. I had to keep from screaming, "UH, YES."  "Of course you can." I lifted up the blankets, and his cold body slid in under. We lay there for minutes, still awake. I don't think I can sleep for a while now. "You're warm." He commented, happily. "Gerard, why do the stars shine brighter in winter?" "You know, I've been wondering that for years. It's beautiful." I whispered, glancing out the window. "Yeah, it is. I wish I could fly. I want to see them." I giggled at his remark. "Gerard?" "Yeah?" "Could you draw me sometime?" I stopped breathing. "Of course."  Chapter End Notes Safe bombs are bombs that can be manipulated to annihilate a place without messing anything else up. I made it up, but I didn't really wanna explain in the story. :) ***** Chapter 6 ***** Nothing was better than waking up to a very attractive boy snuggled up to your chest with his legs wrapped around yours. My body engulfed his small one. God, he may exude confidence and badass-ness wherever he went, but the boy was the equivalent of a kitten when he slept. I slid a hand down his body experimentally, and looked up at him. He looked as if he were smiling. Sunlight hit his face in the best way possible. I stroked his hair gentle enough so he didn't wake up. I admired Frank already, oh boy. Frank ceased my hair stroking my grabbing by hand sleepily, and holding it to his face. He leaned into my warm palm. "Morning." He said, voice cracking and sleepy and oh-so-sexy. His eyes shone as bright as the smile he gave me. "Hi- I mean, Morning." AH, I was such a dope. Frank didn't really seem to mind though. I used my thumb to stroke his pale cheek. "Did you sleep good?" "I haven't slept that good in years. Thanks for letting me sleep up here. By the way, you talk in your sleep." Frank giggled. Oh no, what did I say?  "Do I? What did I say?" Frank thought for a second. "You mumbled a bit, but you were talking about something beautiful. Like, you said someone was beautiful, but I couldn't make out who." Frank smirked, "Gerard has a crush on someone!" I blushed.  "N-" I began to say, but was cut off when the door was flung open.  "Guys, get up a- oh." Mikey said, seeing Frank and I wrapped around each other. He looked at the air mattress, which was in perfect condition. Frank and I blushed fifty shades of red. "Well, uh, get up and change...it's one in the afternoon. When you're done, I need to talk to you, Gerard." He left, and Frank giggled.  "I guess that didn't look right. Heh.." I said, still blushing.  "That's okay," Frank said, smiling, "I'd rather be caught with you then anyone else." "Is that a good thing?"  "Very." He said, winking. My face grew redder, if it was even possible. I sat up and stretched. "Let's get changed, Frankie."  "Yeah, dude." He agreed. I noticed he was still wearing his clothes from yesterday.  "Did you wanna borrow some clothes? Granted they'll be big on you, but you probably don't wanna end up smelling weird." Frank smiled shyly. "Could I?" "Of course you can. Go for it. Underwear is washed so don't worry." I laughed, wondering if that was weird to offer your underwear to someone. Frank seem more relieved than weirded out. He walked over to the dresser, and opened the second drawer, which contained underwear, and...OH NO. OHNOOHNOOHNO. PLEASE GOD MAKE HIM NOT PICK IT UP. Frank picks up a pair of rolled up boxers, and unrolled it before I could even speak. Out fell my fucking vibrator. Frank's face went tomato red, and I was on the edge of tears.  "I'm so sorry. Uhm." Frank shifted from foot to foot, avoiding my eyes. I swept down and picked it up. "I'm going to go brush my teeth." I said quickly, and retreated into my bathroom. Oh my god. OH MY GOD. GOOD WAY TO MAKE AN IMPRESSION, GERARD. I turned on the light switch, along with the sink. Cold water flowed from the tap. Splashing my face with it didn't help. My mirror revealed I was still red as a tomato. God, I really should find a better place for that. What if Mikey had found it? I cringed at the thought. I wet my toothbrush and smeared gross toothpaste on the bristles. Brushing my teeth was difficult. How was I supposed to do this when the most embarrassing thing in the world just happened? I spit out the foamy paste, and rinsed my brush. Before walking out, I hid the toy somewhere for now. I'll find a place for it later. When I walked out, Frank was sitting at the end of the bed, wearing my clothes, and looking adorable in them. He can really rock an Iron Maiden shirt.  "Hey, Gerard." Frank said casually, as if nothing had happened.  "Uh, hey. We should go up and,uh, eat." I stammered. Frank stood up and gently grabbed my hand.  "Hey, it's fine. I don't care. It's natural. Don't make it more awkward than it is, Gee." Frank said, smiling. I tried smiling back, but I was still humiliated like you wouldn't believe. "Let's go up, Gerard." We walked back up, and I tried to act normally. Frank walked into the kitchen and said hello to a sandwich-eating Mikey Way. Mikey smiled, and told Frank he could eat what he wanted from the fridge and pantry. He then turned to me. "We'll be back, Frank." Mikey said, then pulled me into the living room. "Dude, explain. Are you gay?" "Well, uh, yeah." I replied, looking away from him. "You know I don't care, Gee. I love you anyways. Nothing will change that." He pulled me into a hug. "I love you too, Mikes." That was a relief. He was bound to find out sometime, but I never really wanted him to know. "So, do you have a thing for Frank?" Mikey asked, pulling away. "I guess. He is pretty awesome. Very cute too. I don't know if he's gay though." I replied. "I'm gonna go eat. I'm starving." ~ My day already had become eventful.  -Frank and I cuddled.  -Frank found my dildo. -I came out to my brother.  After our breakfast/lunch, Mikey announced he had to go to work. He was requested to clean at this old store for twelve dollars an hour, which was more than generous. He left Frank and I. I didn't have to work again, so I decided I wanted to go to town. "Hey, Frank? Wanna go into town with me? I need to pick up some things." I said, pulling on my old, old Converse. "Sure. Do you think I'll be safe?" He said hesitantly. "Well, you're wearing my clothes and hoodie. Maybe if you pull up the hood, you'll be alright. You don't have to go if you don't wanna." "I'm not gonna stay here alone."  "Okay, then get your shoes on. I'm gonna leave Mikey a note just in case." I grabbed a pen, and a scrap of paper.  hey mikey, we went to town if you don't find us here. i have my phone on me. love you lil bro -gee "Alright," I say. "Let's go." ***** Chapter 7 ***** "Ow!" Frank yelped when I accidentally rolled my shopping cart over his foot.  "I'm sorry." I laughed. "Get your foot out of the way, nerd."  "I will throw this can of beans at you, Gerard. Don't make me do it." He said trying to glare at me, but giggling anyways. "Oh, put my beans back, or I'll shove you in the baby seat." "What's that supposed to mean?" "It means you're toddler sized."  "I WILL END YOU, GEE." He claimed, snatching a box of cereal from my cart. My Cheerios. Strangers began to give us dirty looks, as we were being sort of loud. Frank didn't care, and neither did I. We're having fun, so they can go fuck themselves. I grabbed for the cereal, but he quickly fled. Which was a bad idea, as he ran into this middle-aged man. "Watch where you're going, fucking fag." The man snarled. I would've probably apologized and ran away, but Frank wasn't going to tolerate it.  "Look, sorry for running into you, but what the fuck? You can't be rude like that." Frank confidently stated to the ugly bastard. People were starting to stare.  "Oh, I can to a little punk fag like you. Think you're the shit around here, don't you? Now, leave this store with your faggy boyfriend." He spat, glaring at me. "Fucking homosexuals. You're all dirty faggots."  "Come on, Frank." I said, nervously. "Let's just go pay. I'm done anyways." The man smirked. "Frank? Oh. Now I know who you are. Frank Iero." He said nastily. "You must remember me, don't you?" Frank thought a moment, then went pale. "Get away from me. You ruined my life." Frank whispered. "Oh, no, Frank. I didn't. You did. I didn't provoke myself to go destroy your family."  "Frank, LET'S GO." I said, louder this time. "Frank's not going anywhere." The man said to me. "He's wanted by the police. He's coming with me." He grabbed Frank's arm.  "Get your fucking hands off of me. I'm not going with you!" Frank said, followed by a punch right in the man's face. Oh my God. Frank punched a cop. I'd really like to admire how hot he looks angry, but we needed to go. ASAP. Frank fled, and I followed, my groceries forgotten in the canned food aisle. ~ "I can't believe you punched him, Frank." I said when were in my car and about a mile away from the supermarket. "Couldn't that make things worse?" "Absolutely." Frank said, pissed. "I just probably fucked up so bad. But I was pissed, Gerard. It was him. He murdered my parents. Oh, god. I hope he didn't pay attention to what car we got in. I probably put you guys in danger. Gee, I'm so sorry." He was right. We were probably in danger now. Though I couldn't find myself to be mad about it. I should've just had him stay home. How could I be so stupid?  "Frank, it's okay. We'll be alright. I'll make sure we're going to be safe. Can you call Mikey for me, please? I don't wanna be on my phone while driving. His number is on there." I handed him my phone. He took it and tapped on the "Call" icon. Mikey answered three rings later. "Hey, Mikey. It's Frank." I heard some mumbling, to which Frank replied, "Not so good. Uh, so like, I ran into a cop. If any cops come by or anything, say you don't know who I am. I don't want to get you guys hurt. I'm really sorry, Mikey. This is totally my fault. I owe you guys." More mumbling. "Yeah, he's right here." He said, passing me the phone despite my wishes.  "Hi, Mikes. I'm driving, so make this quick." "You better find out how to fix this, Gee. How are we going to keep ourselves out of trouble?" "I don't know, Mikey. I'm thinking about it. You're home, right?" "Yeah." "Then we'll talk about it when we get home. Love you." "You too. See you then." Then there was silence. I put my phone away and sighed.  "He's pissed at me. I'm sorry, Gerard." I looked over at him. Frank was red, and looking at the ground.  "No, I don't think he is. More worried than anything. And don't be sorry. You need to be safe like we do. We can get through this together." I assured him, pulling out a cigarette. "Want one?" ~ Mikey had been waiting for us in the kitchen. He was obviously stressed.  "What are we gonna do about this?" He questioned, pacing. "Calm down, Mikey." I replied, somewhat calmly. "I think we'll be okay, as long as no one followed us home." I had no idea what we were going to do. What could we do? We can't leave Frank out for them to take. Mikey sighed and pushed his glasses back in place.  "We need to leave." Mikey asserted, breaking the silence. "I know a place. Gerard, are you good on gas?" In that moment, I realized how mature he was. I've done nothing but go crazy over Frank, while Mikey was thinking of what to do in case something like this happened. Suddenly I felt like the younger brother.  "Yeah, I refilled in town." I began, "Why? What's your plan?" Mikey fixed his glasses again. Just now I am realizing how much he does that. "We're going to stay with Bob." "Bob?" I thought for a moment. "Ray's cousin? Why him?" "He lives in this big ass house way out of town. His parents are loaded. I think he has a couple guest rooms too. His family is really nice, and will probably take us in for a while."  "Alright," I said slowly, "Where is this place? How far?" "Three hours away, around that." I ran a hand through my greasy hair.  "Okay, you have Bob's number, right? Call him." Mikey nodded, and left the room while dialing the number. I noticed Frank looking awkwardly at the floor. "Hey, it's okay. We're not mad." I assured him, rubbing his back briefly. "We never get to go anywhere really, so maybe this will be an adventure." "You guys have been so good to me. Thank you so much." Frank gave me a one armed hug. I blushed. When I was about to tell him it was no problem, Mikey returned, looking very relieved.  "Go pack up. We're gonna be gone for a while." Mikey then left to his room.  "Right then," I sighed, "Let's go pack. Frank, we're sharing clothes. Is that alright?" "I'm not opposed."   ***** Chapter 8 ***** Before I got into my car, I pulled out my phone and called the shop I worked at. No one answered, so I left a quick voice mail.  "Hey, Andrew. I won't be coming into work for, well, a long time. A lot of stuff has happened, and I need to get out of town. I have to go now, so call me back when you can." I cringed at how vague and casual I sounded. Andrew was an understanding guy, so I hoped he wouldn't be too pissed off. How was I going to get money? This whole thing was too stressful, but it needed to be done. To even harbor a criminal can get you a long sentence. I wish I lived way before this, when everything wasn't fucking illegal. Frank punching that cop could get him the electric chair. Sighing, I opened the car door to the backseat with Frank. Mikey started the car and began driving away from our house. I watched it disappear from my view as we turned onto the road. "Hey, Mikey," I suddenly blurted out. "Why am I not driving my car?" There was no reason I had to sit back here. Although, I did enjoy sitting with Frank. "Three reasons: I know where Bob lives, and I don't feel like directing you. Two, the cop could've seen you driving away." He then turned around and smirked. "Three: I'm a way better driver than you are." I glared at him while Frank giggled.  "You are not." I scoffed. Mikey rolled his eyes. Pft, better driver my ass. Frank's giggles died down. Silence replaced all the noises. This is going to be a long trip, I thought, pulling out my phone and earbuds. I noticed it was getting dark out, so I switched so "Bleed" by The Smashing Pumpkins. I'm a real atmospheric kind of guy, and my music has to match. Before the song even finished, my eyelids became heavy and I drifted off to sleep.  "Be careful." She had told me. How did I know the voice was a she? It wasn't necessarily a voice though. I couldn't explain what it was like. When you think, you don't hear a voice do you? It was like that, but I definitely heard it. "Be careful." It said again.  "Why do I have to be careful?" I questioned the voice with no apparent owner. "You love him, don't you?" It said. I wasn't sure if this question was relevant to the last. "I don't really know him." I replied.  "Don't snap." I froze. Don't snap? What will happen if I do? I remembered to the last time I had broke down. Mikey had to drive me to the hospital. I don't know what he had done when he found me. April 9th, on my birthday I had slit my wrists and downed half a bottle of Xanax. The doctors said Mikey found me just in time. Why I snapped was a mystery to them. I hardly knew myself. Overwhelming depression? Probably. I've never been happy, really. Sometimes I'd numb my pain with Vodka. I was just never happy. Apparently the voice heard me thinking. Wait, you can think in dreams? "You'll be happy with him. Just don't break, or he will too." Said the voice.  I awoke to be shaken by Frank. At first I didn't see anything, and that's probably because I had fallen into Frank's lap while asleep. I raised my head and groaned. Frank's smile was the first thing I noticed. When he smiles, his eyes do too, twinkling. After all he had endured, how could his eyes twinkle like that? For a second, his eyes had me stop thinking about the dream. All I thought about was those beautiful eyes and how warm they made me feel. "We're here." Mikey announced, looking back at us, probably noticing that I was staring at Frank longer than I should have been. Blushing, I turned away from Frank and got out of the car. A burly blonde came into view, and smiled at Mikey. Mikey hugged him, which was a weird site to see. Mikey's not so affectionate with anyone really. The blonde grabbed our things from the trunk, which I appreciated. I'm not strong by any means. We followed him into this giant house that could only belong to a celebrity. I visibly gaped. An older woman was waiting for us at the door. She looked very sweet and motherly, despite being rich. Her face was aged, but she was still a beautiful woman. Her face told a story of worry, intelligence, tears, and fears. You could see she has lived a life. I admired that in a person. When their face told a story. She took my hand very politely and shook.  "I'm Deb. I'm happy you all will be staying with us." She smiled. I was happy to stay here too. Deb was making the situation seem less than it was. She shook Frank's hand, and gave Mikey a bear hug. "I missed you, dear." Mikey smiled. "You too, Deb."  "Bob, we have two guest rooms, show them there." Deb said to the blonde who was now confirmed as Bob. "One of you will have to share a bedroom with the other." She informed us. Mikey pointed to Frank and I. "You guys are sharing." I looked at Frank, who was smiling.  "Okay." I said.     Please drop_by_the_archive_and_comment to let the author know if you enjoyed their work!