Three Cheers for Sweethearts [Frerard AU]

PART I: Chapter 5

                  

CHAPTER 5 – YOU KNOW WHAT THEY DO TO GUYS LIKE US IN HIGH SCHOOL

No one paid attention to me, and I paid attention to no one as I headed into the building on Tuesday.

First period: No, I don't have the equation memorized. Yes, I do truly believe I should have memorized it for the sake of my health, Ratliff. Thanks for the pop quiz.

Second period: Please stop staring at me, Lisa or Lindsey or Liza. It's getting more annoying than concerning.

Third period: Yes. That is how we correctly cite a source. Good to know for all the essay writing I'll be doing in my future. (This thought, of course, sparked a whole volcano of thoughts to erupt - what am I going to do in my future? Will I ever get a job outside unimportant places like McDonald's or JC Penney? I was over here taking required classes just to graduate... But then what? I wasn't employed anywhere yet; I'd only ever had cutesy summer jobs...)

Fourth period: Yay. Math.

When the bell finally rang, I headed straight to the lunch line, hoping that for once they wouldn't run out of chocolate chocolate chip cookies before I got there.

I managed to grab one of the last ones, and when I began walking toward Ray's and my lunch table, I realized there was one extra head. Only when I got closer did I see who it was.

"Hey, Gerard!" Ray waved at me. "Is it okay if Frank sits here?"

"Hi," he greeted me quietly, like he was scared to hear my answer. But what else was I going to do? Say no?

"Sure," I answered.

I awkwardly shoved myself onto the bench, Frank and everyone else on our side scooting over. Frank and I were crushed against each other – it was either that or I'd fall off the edge completely. Ray looked vaguely amused, maybe because he was enjoying his right to a personal bubble. But there wasn't enough space for another person on that side, either.

We ate in silence, with occasional one-word conversations. Mikey was staring straight ahead, not looking at his food as he ate it. Frank and I kept accidentally elbowing each other as we tried to eat, followed by muttered apologies. Every passing second was more awkward. After about ten minutes (was it really only ten minutes?) I caught Frank looking disturbed as he watched Mikey.

"Um... Frank, have you met my brother?" I asked, jerking my head towards Mikey.

Frank startled at the sound of my voice and almost dropped his sandwich, and I instantly felt bad. He regained his composure, acting like nothing had happened, and then replied. "That's your brother?"

"Yeah," I smirked at his expression. "Why do you look so surprised?"

Frank glanced at Mikey again (I assumed he did that to make sure Mikey wasn't listening, but who the hell knows what Mikey is ever listening to), and leaned in to mutter quietly in my ear. "Mikey - it is Mikey, right? - is in three of my classes. All he does is sit there, just like that, and stare... blankly... without a single twitch of expression on his face. He's so... creepy."

I knew I should have taken offense to that, most likely - being called creepy is rarely a compliment, and hearing my brother be called creepy should have angered me even more - but it was sort of a fact that Mikey was creepy. I wasn't about to argue. I chuckled silently, which must have scared Frank again, what with the way he flinched. Then I wondered:

"Does that mean you don't find me creepy? If you didn't at all suspect that we were related?" I smirked at him. I hoped he recognized that it was a joke.

Frank smirked too, a relief in itself. I glanced at Mikey to see how and if he was reacting, but, of course, his expression was completely blank. Just that iconic poker face of his.

"Mikey is a year younger than us - a sophomore." I filled Frank in.

"Really? You guys look like you have a wider age gap than that," commented Frank.

"Plot convenience, I guess," I shrugged, briefly wondering what had made me say that. "Anyway, he's really into playing bass guitar, but he'll never tell you that." I let my gaze wander back to my brother's face, adding melodramatically: "And yes, Frank, before you ask, his expression always looks like that. His poker face most likely hides emotions most of us can't even comprehend - but at the same time, it's awfully frustrating asking for his opinion on something." I wanted to add that Hunter's favorite name for him was Mikey the Mysterious, but that didn't seem necessary. No doubt Frank would figure that out for himself if he hadn't already. 

I turned back to Frank. "So which classes do you have with Mikey and Ray?"

We spent the rest of lunch discussing our classes, our teachers, and other first-day-of-school stories. By the time the bell rang (was it really already thirty minutes?), I felt more comfortable around Frank - which was definitely a good thing, considering he'd probably be sitting at our table for the rest of the year.

Not only that, but someone showed up who I would probably have run away from if he didn't approach Frank first. We just didn't make it out of the cafeteria.

"Hey – hey new kid," Hunter sneered. His friends showed up behind him as if they had been magically summoned. "Smiiiiile!" Hunter held up a camera and snapped a picture of Frank before he knew what was happening. Hunter grinned down at the screen. "Hot."

"Delete that." I pushed passed Frank and stood right up against Hunter. Being slightly shorter than him, I had to tilt my chin up to face him, but I didn't make eye contact.

"Oh, and look who it is. Your boyfriend." Hunter glanced at Frank, then back at me, then brushed past me to poke Frank's chest. "You're lucky he's around right now, or I'd kick your ass."

"Oh, stop that," I sighed. Hunter looked at me like he'd forgotten I was there.

"Oh! Right," he said, slapping his forehead, "You must think I'm flirting. My apologies, Gerard Gay. That reminds me, did you get my message? I left it in... no, wait, on your locker a few days ago."

"Who the hell decided Frank and I were dating?" I retorted. "Did your friends make that up to make you feel better, like you're not the only gay guy in this school?"

Ray, like the loser he is, covered his mouth and went "ooooooooohhh!" No one joined him. He stopped quickly, cleared his throat, and pretended nothing happened. Hunter gave him a quick deadpan glance, but Ray wasn't looking.

"Are you even allowed to have a camera at school?" I asked him.

"Well, most students aren't... but I joined Yearbook class this semester. I'm supposed to be taking candid photos." He gestured to the photo he'd just taken of Frank. "Now I've got a golden one to use."

"What a special snowflake you are."

Out the corner of my eye, I could see a group of girls glaring at me. I wasn't entirely sure what their problem was, but I didn't ask any questions. Nothing happens at Three Cheers High that isn't abnormal or mysterious, and that's no secret.

"Funny," Hunter said, staring at the ceiling like he was trying to remember something. "I actually think you'd be cute together... some guy flunking out of high school dating the loneliest, f-"

Before I knew what was happening, my fist was colliding with Hunter's jaw. I didn't even remember walking toward him. Someone told him to leave. Maybe it was me. I couldn't comprehend much until a few seconds later, when slow-motion replays were all my brain was capable of. 

When I snapped back out of it, Frank was staring at me. No one seemed to have seen what happened, but Frank and I definitely had. Hunter was gone; so were his friends. I didn't meet Frank's eye or say anything, I just put my head down and walked away from them.