"Hey..." the two had just stood there in silence for what felt like several minutes after Mikey had closed the kitchen door back behind him, thinking very little of the weird little punk boy who'd rang the doorbell and kissed his sister.
Of course, Gee knew that this absolutely wasn't the end of it, and that Mikey would absolutely be asking her every single question on the planet later, but Mikey was nice enough to know not to embarrass her when Frank was here.
"Hey..." Gee blushed a little as she copied Frank, the two kind of stood there in an odd kind of silence: Mikey's interruption having ruined any chance of natural response, leaving the two kind of stuck, kind of just there, kind of just waiting, and wondering what could become of what was definitely something.
"I'm sorry... I.." Frank was the first to break the magic of the moment and rush into a stupid, forced apology, only for Gee to reach out and hold his hand, because she too was at a loss for words then, and perhaps this would serve purpose for the time being: just the two of them, just then, just there, just each other.
"It's okay." She finally followed up her actions with somewhat of a conclusion, smiling at Frank as she did so, "you're not as much of a bad kisser as you look." She giggled a little, watching as Frank's cheeks seemed to burn up in embarrassment.
"I... shut up.. I..." He stumbled over his words, desperate to find something endearing, and poetic, and meaningful, something good enough for Gee, but with that smile, it was evident the aforementioned was unnecessary, and Frank began to think the unthinkable: that Gee Way may actually like the weird little emo transboy who had a horrible borderline obsession with her.
"Come on, let's go upstairs, so Mikey doesn't listen in again." She smiled at Frank one more time before making her way upstairs, leaving Frank to follow: still just a little unable to comprehend just exactly what was going, and why he hadn't been slapped across the face yet, because he'd quite honestly been half way expecting it.
Gee gestured to the bed where they'd sat just hours before as she closed her bedroom door behind them, and left Frank sat awkwardly, just like he had been before, glancing at the mess of cigarette ash he'd made on her wall, and feeling awfully guilty about the whole thing, "sorry, about the..." He gestured awkwardly at the wall.
"Yeah, whatever." She shook her head, grabbing a cup from her desk and handing it to Frank, "use this as an ashtray at least."
Frank looked down into the cup, chuckling to himself, as Gee sat down beside him, "do I not have to ask to smoke anymore?"
"I've given up, Frank, I'm just expecting it now. Or maybe you've just put me in a good mood for once, how about that?" She smiled, watching with a slight amusement as Frank lit himself a cigarette: the whole procedure memorised and she reckoned he could probably do the whole hand in pocket, open packet, grab cigarette, cigarette in mouth, packet back in pocket, lighter out of pocket, light cigarette, lighter back in pocket, cigarette in hand manoeuvre with his eyes closed.
"A good enough mood to ignore the impending doom of my cancer ridden future?" Frank asked, raising his eyebrows as he put the cigarette to his lips.
"Stop it." She bit her lip, shaking her head, "stop making me worried about you, because I do worry about you, Frank, you know? Like... you don't just smoke, you do everything, don't you? I'm worried about you and the drugs, really, can't you try to stop snorting coke, at least? That must be really bad for your health, like... dude."
"Didn't know I was speaking to my doctor." Frank let out a breathy little, half-hearted laugh, "look, I don't want to fuck things by getting into another argument with you - I get it, you're worried about me, you don't like that I do drugs, but that shit's addictive, okay? And it's not like I'm a complete junkie, okay? It's just... look, I'm sober now, aren't I? I'm fine, Gee, promise, but the moment you see me really fucked up, feel free to slap me until I sober up and demand I listen to you then."
"I'm sorry... I just... I don't want anything to happen to you, okay? I don't know what I'd do then, quite honestly." She admitted, leaning her head onto Frank's shoulder as she did so, and waiting a few moments before continuing, "are we going to talk about the kiss? Because it's not like we can ignore it, because Mikey's not going to shut the fuck up about it, you know?"
"He didn't seem to give much of a fuck, I thought." Frank added, glancing in Gee's direction.
"He's kind of shy, I guess... and he's nice, he doesn't want to be annoying or embarrass me or anything, but as soon as you're gone, I promise you, I won't hear the end of it." She laughed a little at that, before continuing, "it was nice though, wasn't it? It was a nice kiss, bit of a surprise, yeah, but it was... it was good..."
"So..." Frank put his cigarette between his fingers, turning to Gee, "so... good enough that you'd maybe consider kissing me again? Or something...?" He trailed off, blushing like hell as he did so.
Gee glanced down at the cigarette and shook her head a little, "not with your mouth covered in nicotine and tar, no."
Frank glanced down at his cigarette and shook his head, "fuck you," he said, almost speaking to the cigarette itself.
"Yeah, stop smoking and I'll kiss you." Gee continued, grinning a little: joking of course, because okay, she had faith in Frank, but not that much faith.
"You're gonna be waiting the rest of your life then, and I don't know if you can wait that long, what do you think?" Frank glanced at his cigarette, and stubbed it out in the cup Gee had handed him minutes ago. "That's symbolic, or something, I don't know."
Gee grinned a little as Frank turned to face her, the two meeting each other's gazes, and finding themselves in silence once more, "you're really beautiful," the words left Frank's mouth before he could stop himself.
And again Gee blushed, "shut up."
"I will if you kiss me again." He grinned like an idiot, leaning closer. "Like, make me shut up, yeah?"
"Stop being such a fuckboy, Frank." She shook her head in mock disbelief, waiting until Frank was somewhat distracted, his gaze distant, before she leaned in and planted a short, gentle, but so fucking important kiss on his lips.
"Fuck." Frank cursed, his eyes widening a little as he looked up at her, still somewhat in awe of Gee's existence in general. "Fuck," he repeated, "you're going to kill me, not the cigarettes, I fucking tell you."
-
Mikey's mother was actually going to kill him if she ever found out about this. In fact, she'd probably kill Gee first for letting this happen, making Mikey watch before she killed him, but perhaps Mikey was just putting way too much thought into something that might not even happen, because, after all, this could actually be fine; Mikey might spend a day with suspended Pete and no one would ever know.
Besides Gee of course, but she wouldn't say anything, honestly Mikey reckoned he couldn't pay his sister to optionally speak to their parents at all, and of course, he didn't know why he'd ever want to either.
He'd approached Pete's house and stood almost awkwardly on the doorstep, almost as if every step he took now was morally wrong, because okay, Mikey felt a little guilty, because he knew that if people ever found out about this, then Gee would definitely get in more trouble than he would, and it wasn't like their parents were Gee's biggest fans anyway.
But, it wasn't like he could turn back now, and he reminded himself of that as he rang the doorbell, and waited in silence, his whole body shaking a little as he did so, and in the silence, he even caught himself wondering what it'd been like for Frank who'd just rung the doorbell and kissed his sister yesterday, and Gee had done everything in her power to say very little about it, and the two definitely had something between them, but Mikey wasn't quite sure what.
Mikey even wondered if he actually wanted to know; he was concerned for Gee, as her brother, of course, but there was always a limit with things little brothers should know.
However, Mikey didn't quite get enough of an opportunity to properly fret over his sister's love life, before the door opened, revealing a somewhat shocked looking Pete. "I thought you were joking!" He exclaimed, his eyes widening to take in Mikey's expression.
"What? I said I was skipping school to come see you-" Mikey began, his tone just a little patronising, as it all seemed so obvious in his head.
"But you're goody two shoes Mikey, who wouldn't ever do anything bad or hurt a fly, this isn't you, oh my god, you're going to get into trouble, go the fuck to school-"
"Pete, are you telling me to go to school?" Mikey exclaimed, his expression frozen for a moment before he burst into laughter. "Look, this is your fault, Pete, anyway, it's not like I have any other friends to spend time with, is it?"
Pete shrugged in response, "school are going to notice that you're not there, you know?" He continued, his eyebrows raised.
"Gee called in and told them I was ill." Mikey exclaimed, smiling to himself a little as he did so, "now come on, let me in, will you?"
Pete shrugged, opening the door wider and letting Mikey in, before locking it behind him. "And Gee just agreed to this, did she? Or did you like, sell your soul, to her?"
"No, she's... okay, I had to beg a little, but she's just nice, you know?" Mikey smiled, standing there awkwardly as he kicked his shoes off.
"You're lucky that my parents are at work, you know?" Pete added, gesturing with his arms at the empty house, "they probably wouldn't be quite as happy to see you as I am."
"You don't look very happy: all you've done is grumble and tell me to go to school." Mikey corrected him, smiling a little as he did so, "I feel underappreciated."
"Well, how can I make it up to you?" Pete continued, leaning Mikey upstairs to his bedroom- not like that, they're literally thirteen.
"I don't know." Mikey shrugged as he sat down they sat down on Pete's floor: the shorter boy grabbing his cellphone and reading Mikey's text over again and smiling to himself.
"I really didn't expect to see you on my doorstep, Mikeyway, I really did not." He sighed, throwing his phone down and leaning against the wall, before meeting Mikey's gaze with a smile, "you're not quite so innocent and perfect anymore, are you?"
Mikey blushed, turning away a little and keeping his head down, "I... I... did you not want to see me or something?" He questioned, raising his eyebrows at Pete.
"Don't twist my words, Mikeyway, that's nothing like what I meant." Pete let out a sigh, the conversation fading out into silence for a few minutes.
"Can I tell you about some stupid soppy thing that happened yesterday that sounds really weird, and like not my business, but it's really... I don't know, curious..." Mikey trailed off, eventually moving his gaze to meet Pete's.
"Yeah," Pete nodded, "I care about everything you have to say, Mikeyway."
"I'm sure you don't." Mikey raised his eyebrows: unimpressed, "what about that time I was geeking out over Star Wars - you didn't listen then!" He protested.
"You'd eaten a whole packet of those weird blue sour sweets in like three minutes, you were on an insane sugar high - I was doing myself a favour by not listening to a single word you'd said."
"Whatever." Mikey let out a sigh, continuing regardless, "well, okay, yesterday after I came home from school, me and Gee were just sat in the kitchen, like talking, just casually, and Gee was kind of upset, I don't know why... I couldn't really place it, and she didn't go into an awful lot of detail, but then the doorbell rang and she got up to answer it, and I heard someone talking who I didn't recognise, so I got up just to look who it was, and there's this guy just kissing her. He has a good taste in music, though; he had a Misfits shirt on. But, she's like refusing to say anything of value about it: all I know is that his name's Frank, he's fifteen, and he's from school, and that he likes the Misfits."
"Well, it's obvious," Pete spoke up after a moment, "your sister has a boyfriend."
"No." Mikey responded instantly, "like, you don't get it; we're really close... she'd tell me about the majority of things, I'd have known before I'd even met him, but... I don't know, and well... she doesn't really date, and she doesn't really have many friends, and I'm pretty sure they're all girls, so I just don't know where the hell this guy came from, and I-"
"You're getting overprotective." Pete cut in, grinning his fucking head off, of course. "It's fine, just leave her be, Mikeyway, it's her life after all. I'm sure he's a nice guy, but the very second he does anything horrible, that's when you're allowed to get overprotective as fuck, okay? I promise you that."
"No... but..." Mikey shook his head, "I don't even know if he knows, and... I don't even know what kind of person he is, and I'm just very confused, and I just want her to talk to me about this, but she won't, and what if he doesn't know, what is he going to do when he finds out-"
"Finds out about what?" Pete asked, meeting Mikey with a look of confusion.
And that was the very moment that Mikey realised he'd never mentioned anything about Gee being trans to Pete.
Not that he'd really needed to, because it wasn't Pete's business, but, it was a little odd, because Mikey was so used to it, and-
"I don't know if she'd appreciate me telling you." Mikey went for the easiest answer at hand. "It's really kind of personal, but if she hasn't told this guy then- I don't even know how he'd react, like... I- if he's an asshole then he might freak out, and... she's going to get really upset, and I really don't want to see her like that, ever... I-"
"Mikey, look, I really want to help you, but I can't help you if you don't tell me." Pete paused, thinking for a moment, "anyway, if she really cares about this guy, then he probably knows."
Mikey groaned, shaking his head a little, "I... I... don't mention this to anyone, okay? It's not like a bad thing, not at all, but... I... I don't know... just... I feel like it's not my thing to tell."
"It's fine, Mikeyway, I'm not an asshole." And Pete smiled, much like an asshole would- well, not a literal asshole, because they don't have mouths, but-
"She's trans, it's been like two years since she came out, so everyone who knows her is used to it, except our parents... because... because they're assholes, but- it seems like she just met this guy like recently, and... I just don't want her to get hurt, you know?"
"How about having the faith that she wouldn't date a transphobic asshole?" Pete raised his eyebrows a little, "anyway, if he does end up finding out and freaking out, then I don't give a shit, I'll punch him, I don't care if he's two years older and probably about seven feet taller than me, I'll fuck him up-"
"He's actually quite short." Mikey added, a smile growing on his lips.
"Well that makes things easier," Pete grinned, shuffling closer to Mikey, "but talk to her about it, just say one question and ask her if he knows about it, and then if she says no then we can deal with the problem, but if he does, then it's fine, isn't it? You don't need to stress yourself out over this, Mikeyway, if she hasn't told him yet, then I'm pretty sure she's doing enough stressing out for herself."
"Somehow, telling me that she's stressed out over this doesn't help me stop worrying, you know?" Mikey let out a sigh, leaning back so he was laid on the floor, Pete joining him moments later.
"Mmm..." Pete shook his head, "stop worrying, just think about something else, come on, it's not your life, is it? He's not your boyfriend - we can worry all about this if you ever have a transphobic asshole of a boyfriend."
"I doubt that's ever going to happen." Mikey let out a nervous laugh.
"Stop being so straight, Mikeyway, god." Pete tutted, pretending to look only half as bothered as he actually was.
"I was talking about the 'transphobic asshole' part... actually..." Mikey paused, putting his hands behind his head. "I don't really know who I'm attracted to at all, but I know for sure I'm not attracted to transphobes."
"Why is everything you say quite literally the best thing I've ever heard?" Pete blurted out before common sense could kick in and stop him.
"Because I'm amazing." Mikey grinned like an idiot. "I'm the best person you've ever met."
"Obviously." Pete let out a frustrated, suppressed homosexual sigh, fixating his eyes on the ceiling for a few moments before continuing. "Did you think I was going to react badly... about Gee, I mean?"
Mikey paused before answering, "no, not really, I didn't know exactly what to expect, but you're like... you're like the opposite of homophobic... what even is the opposite of homophobic? So I reckoned chances were that you weren't transphobic, also I have faith in you as my best friend and couldn't bare to think that you were problematic."
"I think the opposite of homophobe is definitely homosexual." Pete said, grinning a little, "but I don't know yet, I could be gay, I could be bi, I could be pan... I could be anything, there are so many sexualities, Mikey, but I know I like dudes, that's one thing."
"Did you just come out?" Mikey asked, sitting up a little, a grin attached to his face.
"Not really, like come on, Mikey, was it really that much of a surprise?" Pete shook his head in disbelief, "I talk about dudes all the time, and gays, and I got myself suspended for punching a homophobic kid in the face."
"I guess." Mikey shrugged, lying back down, and smiling oddly at Pete as he did so, "so how did you like- when was the moment when you were like dude, dudes!"
"There was never a moment like that because I'm nowhere near as cringey as you, but... I guess there wasn't a moment really, just... it was gradual, like... I sort of realised it gradually, and anyway, I don't think my sexuality's much of a concern until I reckon I've figured it out or I start dating someone or something, like... I'm not that fussed, honestly."
"Don't you just want to know, like I do, but I don't really know what to even think about... I just... I don't know... but I don't know what it is... I'm just-"
"Impatient." Pete finished for him, "that's what you are, impatient."
Mikey rolled his eyes at Pete, "you're an asshole," he added, but there wasn't a single chance in hell that he meant it.
-
this fic is literally the most important thing in the whole universe i actually just i love everyone i love all the characters actual precious babies (apart from mr & mrs way they can go die) smh im trash for my own fic. vote and comment and maybe one day i will get a life. i love you all <3