Silence and Sadness

Memories and Romance

A/N: Yeah, the pic doesn't really have anything to do with the story. I saw it online and thought it was just too freakin hilarious, so I thought I'd share it with you lovely people! Frank kinda looks like a Dalmatian!

{Frank's POV}- I know there are a lot of these, but I'll probably switch it up a couple times during this chapter, just to get more than one persons mindset on what will happen. Also, we're time skipping to the next day just bc I didn't really have anything else planned for the previous day except Mikey telling Frank about Bert.

       Mikey and I ran through Mrs. Mason's door just as the bell rang, sighing in relief as we sank into our seats in the back of the class. Mikey started digging around in his bag for last night's homework, so he didn't notice when some new kid walked through the door with Principal Monroe. "Ah, class this is our new student, Robert. Thank you, Mr. Monroe." Mrs. Mason said. I elbowed Mikey in the side, causing him to jump and smack his head on the desk. "Ow! What?" He asked. I pointed to the new kid, smirking at the fresh meat. Mikey looked at him and his eyes nearly popped out of his head. As Bert was looking around at his new classmates, his eyes fell on Mikey. He smirked and came over to take the seat in front of him. The seat belonged to someone, but that kid was out sick or something. He turned in his seat while Mrs. Mason began collecting homework. "Hey, Mikes. What's up? Long time no see." He said, with a smirk. Mikey looked ready to punch him. Then, Bert turned to me. "And what do we have here?" He asked. I scowled at him, and he just chuckled and turned back to Mikey. "Man, I can't wait to see Ray and Gee." He said, emphasizing Gee's name. Mikey's hands were balled so tight his knuckles had started to turn white. He had started breathing a bit heavily, too. Bert turned back around as Mrs. Mason approached our table for our homework. "Mr. Way, is everything okay over here?" She asked, glancing at his pale fists. I took Mikey's homework and handed it to her along with mine. "Mikey's been having, um, breathing problems. Lot of stress, you know, first year of high school. Is it okay if I take him out in the hall for a minute, help him calm down?" I asked. The teacher nodded, and I hurriedly grabbed Mikey by the arm and dragged him into the hallway, closing the door behind us. Mikey sat down against the wall, his head in his hands. "It's him, Frank. Bert...I thought he moved! Why is he back?!" He sobbed. I knelt down in front of him and put my hands on his shoulders. He looked up into my eyes. "I don't know why he's back, but I do know that why is not important. What's important is making sure that he doesn't lay a finger on Gerard, understand me?" I said sharply. His eyes widened. "Oh, God! How am I going to tell Gerard?! He'll freak out, Frankie. What if he gets depressed again, or what if Bert gets him drinking and cutting again?! What if he tries to...to..." He couldn't say it, but I knew what he was afraid of. He didn't want to see his brother try to kill himself again. "Mikey, we won't let that happen. I won't let that happen. I told you, I love Gerard, and I will do everything I can to make sure he stays safe, and Bert stays away from him, okay?" I asked. Mikey sniffed, but nodded. "Okay, now, do you want to go to the bathroom and fix your eyeliner?" I asked. He shook his head, then pulled out his eyeliner and phone from his pocket, a big smile plastered on his face. I smiled as he fixed his eyeliner. Once he was done, I rose to my feet before bending to help him to his. We went back into class, ignoring Bert's smirks as we took our seats.

{Time skip to Lunch/ Gerard's POV}

Ray and I got out of the lunch line and met up with Bob at our lunch table in the courtyard. Bob was scrolling through his phone, but looked up as we sat down. "What's up?" He  asked. "Not much. Stupid Math tests in Mr. Patricks's class. He didn't teach us any of that crap!" Ray groaned. "Or maybe it's because your always asleep in that class?" I teased, Bob and I breaking out into fits of laughter. Ray smirked and rolled his eyes. "Hey, it's not my fault his class is so boring!" He argued. We were all laughing like idiots at this point. "Hey, there's Frank and Mikey. Wait a minute, is that...?" He stopped. Ray and I turned around, and I froze. The same blonde hair and blue eyes that I loved once. "Gerard? Gerard!" Ray shouted. I snapped out of it, realizing I had been clutching the edge of the table. My knuckles were an unhealthy shade of white. I let go of the table and took a deep breath. Mikey, Frank, and Bert approached the table. Mikey's expression was a combination of terrified, annoyed, and murderous. Frank was looking between Mikey and me cautiously. "Hey, guys. It's been a while." Bert said casually. Ray frowned and said, "What are you doing here, Bert? I thought you moved." Bert took a seat, just a few inches away from me. I quickly scooted away, taking the spot next to Bert. Frankie jumped and took the seat on the other side of me, preventing Bert from sitting next to me. I gave him a grateful smile and grabbed his hand under the table. He smiled and gave mine a small, reassuring squeeze.
"My parents decided to move back to Belleville. Newark was just too busy for them. It got annoying. Besides, I missed hanging out with my friends. And I missed you so much, Gerard. You still look so amazing." He said, winking at me. Frankie threw him a murderous glare, and he frowned, rolling his eyes. "I don't think we've formally met. I'm Bert McCraken." He said to Frankie, holding a hand out. I instinctively flinched away from the hand. Frankie crossed his arms, refusing the offer. "I'm Frank, Gerard's boyfriend." He emphasized "boyfriend", making Bert frown a little. Then he smirked and said, "Nice." He turned to Bob and introduced himself. Bob simply glared daggers at him. Finally, Bert got annoyed. "Come on, guys. What is everyone's problem. I just met you two, and you seem to have a problem with me, too. I thought you guys would be happy to see me after all this time." He said. Mikey snapped. "Happy?! You thought we'd be happy to see you?! You know what you did Bert, and then you come back here all friendly, thinking we'd be happy that you were back. Screw you, Bert!" People were starting to give us strange looks, making me a little nervous. I gave Mikey a look, silently pleading him to calm him down. He didn't notice, though. Bert stood up, shooting daggers at Mikey. "It's not my fault, Michael, that you and your little gang of freaks can't move on from something that happened three years ago! And what I did wasn't even that bad!" He growled. Mikey's hands were balled into fists, and he looked ready to kill Bert right then and there. People around us were watching, and I slowly sank deeper into Frankie's side. He noticed all of the people's stares and rubbed my shoulder calmingly.
"First of all, Robert, you don't have the right to call us freaks when you used to hang out with us! You're just as much a freak as any of us are said to be. Second of all, you put my brother in the hospital! You could have killed him! And then you just left town, like the coward you are!" Mikey shouted. My chest started to feel tight, and I started to feel a little hot. "Gee, are you okay?" Frankie asked. I nodded, trying to catch my breath. "Guys, you need to get Mikey to calm down, and get Bert out of here." He warned Ray and Bob. He clearly knew that I was lying, that something was wrong. He wrapped his arms around me, rubbing my back and whispering into my ear. "Gee, baby, I need you to calm down, okay? You're okay. You're okay, Gerard. Just breathe, relax. You're okay." I tried to listen, but memories of that night kept flooding my mind. The pain, the cold, white rooms at the hospital, me crying into Mikey's arms on our couch, begging to never see Bert again. He and Ray had promised me that they would make sure Bert stayed away from me. I knew this wasn't their fault, but I was still terrified. I'd been doing so good. I had been getting clean. I'd been cutting and drinking less and less, and I hadn't been as depressed lately. What if all of that came tumbling down?
My vision was starting to become hazy, my head felt cloudy with nausea. I felt like I was going to throw up. Somewhere in the daze, I heard Frank's voice, talking to me, telling me to relax, to calm down, to breathe. "F-Frank? Frankie." I whined. "I'm here, baby. Just calm down. Listen, Bert is gone. Ray is calming Mikey down. You're okay." He said, his hand rubbing soothing circles into my back. "W-W-Where's B-Bob?" I whimpered. "I'm right here, Gee. You're alright. Just relax." He said, slowly putting a hand on my shoulder. "Bob...F-Frankie...I'm gonna..." I stuttered, clutching one hand over my stomach and the other over my mouth. "Uh, okay. Okay, here, Bob, get him over here." Frank said. Bob and Frank slowly lifted me from my seat. I groaned and stumbled as another wave of nausea hit me. "Come on, Gee. It's okay." Frank encouraged me. With a few deep breaths and a lot of struggling, we finally made it to the trash can. I immediately bent over and puked into it. Frankie rubbed my back while I got sick. When I was done, I lifted my head up and closed my eyes, leaning on the rim of the can for support. I jumped as I felt a different pair of hands on my shoulders. They were a little smaller and less rough than Frankie's. I looked up into my little brother's eyes. "Gee, are you okay?" He asked. I gulped and nodded, slowly letting go of the trash can. "Yeah. Yeah, I guess I just...panicked. I'm okay." I sighed. He nodded and rubbed my back a little. He led me back to the table, where Ray, Bob, and Frankie were waiting for us. "Hey, feel better?" Ray asked. I nodded and sat down, taking a sip out of the bottle of iced tea I had grabbed with my lunch. Frankie kissed my forehead, which made me smile. Then, he went down for my lips, and I made a nasty face and squirmed away. "I taste like vomit!" I complained. He held my hands down and pressed his lips to mine. A few people gave us dirty looks, but neither of us cared. When he pulled away, Frankie smiled and said, "Like I care!" I smiled even more, something I didn't think possible. God, I loved him!
       "Ewww, come on. Now I've gotta go wash my eyes out!" Mikey cried. Ray pushed his tray away and said, "Yeah, and I've lost my appetite." Bob laughed and gave us a thumbs-up. Ray shot him a look that said, "traitor". Frank turned to Mikey and Ray and said, "Aww, what, are you guys jealous because we can do that and you guys can't?" I froze, completely shocked. Bob was trying to stifle a laugh, and failing miserably. Ray was looking at Frank, about as shocked as me. Mikey looked surprised, but he was blushing slightly. "Oh, come on. You guys make it so obvious, I'm surprised you don't see it! It's obvious you like each other!" Frank said, throwing his hands in the air dramatically. Mikey looked at me, silently begging me to shut Frank up. "I think what Frankie is trying to say here is...shut up and kiss already. Jesus, how much longer you gonna make us wait?!" I said. Frank and Bob were dying of laughter now. Mikey looked at me, his expression matching Ray's "traitor" look. Ray looked completely shocked. Something like that coming from Frank or Bob was one thing, but that coming from me, the one who usually is quieter and defends his brother, was a whole different ball game. "Really, Gee?" Mikey asked, looking a little hurt. I wrapped him into a hug. "Mikes, I have no reason to lie to you. So, trust me when I say that you and Ray need to get together! Bob and I have been watching you two deny it for years. Frank's only been here a few weeks, and he's noticed! Please, Mikey, were begging you!" I said. Mikey looked at Ray nervously. Ray, in a bold stroke of courage, leaned in and pressed his lips to Mikey's softly. Mikey's eyes widened, then closed as he leaned into it. Frank, Bob, and I smiled at our victory. Ray and Mikey pulled away from each other breathlessly. I clapped Mikey on the back. "Congrats, bro." He gave me an annoyed look, but smiled and thanked me.

{Mikey's POV} -last one, promise!

       'Oh, my God! Ray and I just...we really did it!' My mind exploded with excitement. God, I've been wanting to tell Ray how I feel about him for years! And then what does he do? He just...kisses me! Man, he's a really good kisser. Woah, hey. That was my first kiss! And it was with Ray! Holy crap! Does this mean that were a thing? I guess so, since you know, everybody else seems to want us to be a thing, and he kissed me. I guess we are a thing. I have a boyfriend. That thought scared me a little. It wasn't that I had anything to worry about with my parents. They knew that Gee was gay, and they accepted him, so why wouldn't they accept me being gay, too? And they knew Ray, knew that he would take care of me and be careful, so that wasn't a problem. No, I was scared because of the kids at school. I had seen Gee get picked on multiple times for being gay-called names, beaten up, lots of horrible things. He'd had his confidence and trust broken because he had trusted the wrong guy. What if Ray ever turned out like Bert? I didn't think it would ever happen, but it could. Would I have the strength to stand up to him like Gerard did with Bert?
       The bell was going to ring any minute. Bob and Gee said bye and headed off to their classes. Frank left too. Ray and I just kind of stood there. "So, that was...nice." I stuttered awkwardly. Ray sighed and said, "Listen, Mikey. I don't know about you, but I've been wanting to do that for years now. I just...with everything Gee had been going through, I didn't know what you would say." He admitted. He felt the same way I felt. I smiled and pushed out lips together. He smiled into the kiss. When I pulled away, I smirked and said,"I have to go, but I'll see you later, okay?" He nodded, and I started to walk away, leaving him there smiling. "Hey, Mikey!" He called. I turned back to him. "Love you." He said. I was shocked, while also screaming in my head. He actually said it! "Love you, too, Ray." I said, then went on my way to class with a smile on my face.