trees

7.

Mikey felt like all his problems were solved as he skipped through the front door.

For the first time in what felt like centuries, he felt light. He felt like a goddamn fairy or something. Not even the seven missed calls from his parents made him feel the slightest bit of negativity. Not even when his mother stopped him in his tracks, leading him into the lounge and sitting him down in the chair opposite to hers. Not even when she said, "I think we need to talk."

"Yeah, mom?" Mikey asked, playing with his fingernails and bouncing his leg up and down impatiently. He wanted to go upstairs to his room and blast Metallica and Skype Pete, God, he wanted to see Pete's face and play something for him on the bass guitar, which Mikey had recently taken up as a hobby, and talk until the sun rose and he'd have to drink infinite cups of coffee to get him through the day.

"I want you to be completely honest with me, honey, okay?" Mikey's mother, Donna, looked at her son with a look of hospitality; Mikey just nodded quickly, wanting to get this talk over with right away. "Are you a boy?"

Mikey let out a short laugh, and for a moment he forgot that his gender identity didn't match his biological sex, because that's how liberated he felt at the time. "Is water wet? Mom, what kind of question is that? Of course I'm a boy, what else... did you... expect me... to say..." And by now, of course, he had realized his mistake and he had realized what was happening and it felt like someone punched him in the gut, all the good times inside of him slowly deflating like a balloon someone forgot to tie shut. He could feel dread building up inside him, a wall that was just too tall for him to get over. "Shit, mom, I-"

"And you're going by Mikey, right? That's what you want your name to be?"

Mikey avoided all eye contact with his mother as he responded in a low voice. "Michael James. Michael James Way, but Mikey for short."

"Mikey," Donna tested again, looking slightly uncertain. "Michael James."

"Yeah." Mikey picked at his fingernails. He didn't know what would be better: a response, or a subject change. "Mom, I know what you might be thinking, about how I'm too young for this 'cause I'm just a kid, but-"

"No." Donna shook her head and Mikey looked up immediately. No? "It's your identity and I'm not going to stop you. I hope you know that whoever you are, you're still my child, and I'm not going to stop loving you because you're being yourself or loving who you love."

Oh my god. Holy shit. "You, um, probably figured this out, too, but I'm also gay." Mikey smiled weakly, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose and still trying to process, like, the entire goddamn conversation. "I just thought that I should tell you formally. Even though, like, I have a boyfriend and you know that."

Donna got up and gave her son a hug. "I know, hon, and he's a wonderful boy, and you should probably tell him-"

"He knows."

"But you still have to tell your father and Gerard, and you're doing that now. I'm going to go get them," she pulled back and started to leave the room, "Mikey."

While Mikey internally screamed because he wasn't going to be disowned (well, at least he didn't think he was), Gerard ran in almost as fast as he did to the record store that one time when they were auctioning signed Smashing Pumpkins vinyls.

"What did Mom do to you?" he demanded, grabbing Mikey's shoulders. "She looked serious. Really fuckin' serious. On a scale of one to ten, how in trouble are you?"

"Oh, Gee, it wasn't that bad," Mikey laughed, "she just found out about me being a boy and-"

"Mikey!" Gerard yelled, pulling his brother into yet another hug. "What did she say? Is she okay with it? Is she kicking you out? I'll fucking kick her out if she does, so help me-"

"First of all, you're suffocating me," Mikey said, squirming out of his brother's deathly embrace. "Second of all, it's okay. I think. She didn't get mad or anything, but she's making me tell Dad."

Gerard let out a sigh, running a hand through his hair. "Oh, my god. Thank god. I was so ready to kick her ass for you, Mikes."

Mikey smiled. "Hey, it's all good. And I feel kind of good. I feel awesome. It's been a pretty damn good day."

(That was the last good day he'd have for a long while.)

--
motivation makes its brief return with a short ass chapter!1!1!!!

i barely edited this but it's been awhile and i feel bad for not updating when i have the chapter so,,, here it is(:

thanks for 100+ reads!! love u all!!