Part Two

"Mikey," Gerard growled, shivering slightly.

"What, fuckass?" His younger brother smirked, walking alongside Gerard. Although, it was more in front of him than behind him.

"It's four fucking thirty in the morning. Why are you demanding I go with you?" Gerard glared, adjusting his big baggy sweater. He wanted to be warm for this spontaneous expedition, clad in thick sweatpants, a ratty old sweater, and Ugg-like boots.

The brothers trudged down the empty street, the rain from the previous week still lingering around. They noticed that's how jersey was, since they've been living in various places for the last few years. Belleville had a trashy feel to it. An eerie, broken, ghetto-ish vibe. They lived in town, in a shitty apartment. Gerard learned that most of his whole street were apartments, not big houses. His was like that. The whole town was small and secretive, yet everyone knew who everyone was, apparently.

"I met these guys behind the coffee shop yesterday, Gee. They're cool. You're gonna like them," Mikey informed Gerard.

Gerard raised his eyebrows. "Mikey! You can't just talk to random strangers behind shops!" It still didn't explain where they were going.

"They're our age. Well, your age," Mikey admitted. They were only two years apart, even though Gerard was visibly smaller than Mikey and looked around the same age. Gerard was seventeen, but looked a year or two younger. "We hung out for a while and then they invited me over for this morning. They're all so fucking crazy. They sleep all fuckin' day, Gee!" Mikey chuckled, shoving Gerard playfully. "Just like you, ya dingus."

He scoffed as they went through someone's backyard, watching Mikey hop over the fence. The house who's backyard they were going into had some teens sitting on the back porch, smoking cigarettes. At least Gerard thought it was cigarettes.

As Mikey called over to the group of adolescents, they all whooped back. Gerard was still at the fence. He could not make it over that. And by the looks of it, the fence stretched pretty far. Too far to walk around.

"Come on, Gee," Mikey chuckled, hopping onto the porch's side thingy. A few other boys looked, making Gerard feel awkward. He was already an awkward kid, obnoxiously pale and wearing ratty clothes. These kids kind of looked the same, but less pale. Punks, they looked like.

"Yeah, I'm not gonna be able to get over this, Mikes," Gerard said dryly, patting the top of the metal. He stood there, leaning on the fence unamused as the boys talked from across the yard.

After a bit of chatter that Gerard couldn't make out, one of the boys made their way to the fence. He had black hair like Gerard, and wore smudgy eyeliner. He grinned widely, leaning over the fence and picking Gerard up at his ribs.

"Hey!" He gasped, struggling a little as the guy hauled him over the fence. Gerard blushed hard, crossing his arms as the boy carried him across the yard. "Here ya go, Princess." He set Gerard down, hopping back onto the porch and flipping his greasy fringe.

"I'm not a princess," he hissed, hiding behind some long strands of hair that fell out of his raggedy bun.

"You're sister's so cute, Mikey," a taller boy giggled.

"He's not my sister," Mikey spoke up awkwardly, chuckling a little.

Gerard felt the blush rise to his cheeks.

The boy who picked him up laughed. "What! You felt light enough to be a girl when I picked you up," he chuckled lazily.

"Well I'm not," Gerard said shyly, pouting a little. "So what if I'm a little feminine? Doesn't mean I don't have a dick."

"Gee," Mikey said, looking down at his older brother. "Calm down. Just a mistake."

Gerard glared back. "You say that every time! Everyone thinks I'm a girl," he blushed.

Mikey rolled his eyes. "Well there's reasons they do! You wear skirts sometimes," he pointed out.

Gerard seethed, blushing even harder. "Quiet, will you?! Not everyone needs to know that!"

The boys on the porch snickered. "Sorry, I'll drop it." Mikey turned to the boys. "This is Gerard.," he said, gesturing down to Gerard.

The boy who had lifted Gerard over the fence spoke first. "I'm Pete, and this is Bob," he said with the same energetic smile, nudging the hulky blonde beside him. "That's Ray," he pointed at a tall guy with a crazy head of hair. "And That's Bert," he gestured to a raggedy looking guy sitting by the door.

Bert looked older, a faint stubble on his angry face. He had nappy black hair, clearly dyed that way, and ratty clothes on. A cigarette perched in his chapped lips.

"I thought Frank would be here," Mikey said casually, making Gerard look away from Bert.

"He's on his way," Ray said. "He was breaking up with his girlfriend," he chuckled.

How was that funny? Gosh, Gerard already didn't wanna be here.

• • •

Gerard was slumped on the couch inside Pete's house, buried under his sweater and shivering slightly. It was about noon, and he shouldn't be cold. Yet he was, since he was so weak.

The rowdy boys made their way into the house again. "Hey, Gee," Mikey laughed, hopping over the back of the couch and plopping down next to him. "Too hot out there," he panted, the rest of the group coming to lounge in the living room. Gerard saw a new face.

Yet, the face wasn't new. The boy from the hospital. It was him.

They made eye contact, making Gerard's eyes go wide and he looked away immediately. The stranger, however, took a different approach to the situation. "Hey," he began with a crooked grin. "I'm Frank."