Mikey was one of those kids who, if he liked someone, would give them a flower and then run away as fast as he could from being so nervous...
Normally when I don't have an answer to something, I just don't answer the question, but I was his big brother, so I was supposed to know how to make her like him. The only problem was, I had never really had a crush on anyone before, and I didn't really know how to act around girls.
I couldn't just not help him, though. I tried- I really did. I told him what I had read in books.
He got a black eye and a bloody nose, to put it simply. I'd always felt guilty for it, but he never seemed to want to hold it against me. He still looked at me like I was a genius.
"Hey, Mikey?"
"Yeah?"
"You're always coming to me for advice- can I ask you something, for a change?"
He blinked a few times, pushing his glasses up on his nose. "Uh, sure. I don't see why not."
I nodded and looked up at the ceiling. I didn't have an exact question, but... "What's it like to have a friend?"
He stared at me. "What?"
I shrugged, looking away. Seventeen is too old to be asking a middle schooler what friendship is like. I've never felt more awkward talking to my own brother before in my life. "Like, what do you and your friends do, and...?" I trailed off, sighing. "I don't know what I'm trying to say. Never mind."
He frowned a bit. "Gerard, is everything alright with you...? You've been kind of distracted the past few days."
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Just... I don't know. I think I need to get out of the house."
"Oh. But you were out a lot this weekend-"
"And I think I'm going to start being out a lot more, too."
He stared at me, brown eyes confused. "But-"
"You'll be fine, Mikey," I assured him. "I just need some time to myself."
That was a complete lie, but it was also fairly true. Being with Frank did feel like time to myself, because all my other time was spent with my family, so being around someone new was a brilliant, majorly refreshing thing.
"Okay, then," he said softly, sighing. "How long do you think you'll be out...?"
I shrugged. From the way the past few days had gone, it seemed like a while. "I'll probably start going out around three, and coming back... Well, whenever, I guess. About seven." That gave me thirty minutes before I had to meet Frank and about an hour after he had to go home, so I technically wasn't lying. "Sorry."
"No, it's fine." He didn't make eye contact with me.
I sat my math book next to his, stood up, and left.
As much as I loved Mikey, he cared about me a bit too much, sometimes.
"Mom?"
She stood by the kitchen counter, the window open, a cigarette clutched between her fingers. She tapped it out the window before putting it out in her ever-faithful ashtray. "Yeah?"
"Can I leave a bit early today?"
"Early? How early?"
"Like... Now, early?"
She glanced at the clock. "Gerard, it's only noon."
"Please?"
She sighed, shaking her head a bit. "You're lucky I love you."
Chapter Five - Gerard's POV
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