You're a Snarky Little Shit (Frerard, Petekey)

mY POWER JUST WENT OUT

Three days had passed before Gerard had finally decided to call Frank.

Gerard hadn't come back to school yet, and he still hasn't come out of his room for more than 5 minutes at a time. The effects of being cooped up with low amounts of food and water were starting to show. He was becoming more thin, so thin that all his skinny jeans fit loosely around his waist. His mouth was always dry, along with his skin, and he hardly needed to use the bathroom anymore. Even when he felt the urge to cry, he couldn't, most likely due to the lack of water. Sure, he drank water, but not a healthy amount per day. It wasn't that he was trying to lose weight or try to become dehydrated; he just didn't really have the motivation to get out of bed and eat or drink.

He knew that if Mikey were here now, he'd rush in with the entire fucking fridge on his back and 10 gallons of water. It's not what his brother would have wanted to happen, and Gerard felt extremely guilty for being so selfish about this whole ordeal. He just didn't know how to get himself out of this slump. Gerard considered talking to Melanie, but he hadn't opened Skype since the day he told her Mikey died.

Gerard's bony fingers shook as he dialed Frank's number. After four rings, Frank finally picked up.

"Hello?"

"Hi," Gerard said, his voice quieter than a whisper.

"Sorry, what?"

Gerard coughed, then tried to talk again.

"It's Gerard. Um, I think I've got 'my head on straight,' although my head will never be completely straight, if you know what I mean," he said, his voice louder than before.

"Oh my gosh, Gerard. You...you sound awful. Alright, I'm coming over. Get your ass dressed. We're going for a walk."

~

"Hey, Pete. Do you wanna come over?" Patrick asked into the phone.

"I'll be there in 10 minutes," Pete said, hanging up promptly afterwards.

Pete was happy to sort of be back to normal with Patrick. Sure, things were still a little awkward between them, but Mikey told him that the two should start hanging out again. And they did; during school, at lunch, and they came over to each other's houses on a regular basis, bringing up Mikey on rare occasions. Pete found it was better to move past things that had already happen and focus on the present. It was called the "past" for a reason, right? Although, he didn't always stay true to his own little philosophy

Not a day went by that he didn't think about Mikey at least once, but he tried not to talk about him. He still looks through his old, inactive Instagram and kept all the selfies Mikey took on his phone.

"It's not about Mikey today," Pete said to himself as he walked down the sidewalk, his breath making a little cloud in the cold, "it's about Patrick. Hanging out with him."

Sure enough, he made it to Patrick's house in exactly 10 minutes. His mom was at the door, informing him that his "cheeks were as red as cherries" and he "really should have some hot cocoa." So Patrick and Pete sat at the kitchen counter, sipping hot chocolate from souvenir mugs and talking, while his mom went back upstairs, leaving the two alone.

Mikey's name didn't come up in conversation for the whole time Pete was there, a nice change for both Pete and Patrick.

~

"What the fuck happened? Oh my God."

Frank looked at Gerard, not being able to comprehend the person standing before him. Had he not really looked at Gerard when he was last over? Could he not see him properly through a mountain of blankets, and was too angry to notice how frail he was as he was pacing around the room?