Welcome to the Pride Parade [Frerard AU]

Part II: Chapter 1

          

PART II: SOPHOMORE SLUMP OR COMEBACK OF THE YEAR

CHAPTER 1 – MIKEY'S SONG

A/N: Maybe I should advertise that I update on Tuesdays instead of Mondays considering I'm always late. Enjoy.

I woke up on Tuesday morning to the sound of bass guitar chords strumming repetitively from next door.

I squinted at the clock by my bed. Only nine in the morning? It was summer; what was Mikey doing up?

I rolled back over, trying to tune out the music and get another few hours of rest, but it seemed that the harder I tried, the more difficult it was. The notes were getting louder and more irregular as time went on. Either Mikey was rehearsing something important or composing something entirely new, because the patterns of the chords didn't sound natural enough to be casual playing.

I groggily gave up on the idea of more rest, though, and after pulling on some clothes, made the decision to knock on his door.

The music stopped instantly. "Yeah?"

"Can I come in?" I asked.

"Um, okay." He seemed surprised by the question, but not reluctant at all.

I opened the door. "Sounds good, what you were playing."

He studied my face, ignoring my comment. "Did I wake you up?"

"No," I said, involuntarily yawning. "And by 'no' I mean 'yes,' but I don't mind."

"Sorry."

"Don't worry about it." I pointed to a collection of sheet music nearby. "What's the song?"

"An original," he told me, "but I didn't write it. A kid at our school did. He texted me yesterday and said he wanted to start a band, then invited me to be the bassist." A smile twitched at his face.

"And does this band have a name?"

"Not yet. It all literally just started yesterday. We're gonna rehearse all summer then have our first concert on the day before school starts again. Should be lit."

"Definitely should be. Well," I stood up, "I'm not going to interrupt your rehearsal. Should probably get breakfast at a reasonable hour. Have fun playing."

He sort of grunted in response and waited for me to close the door again to restart the song.

Now that school was out, I found myself with a surplus of time and nothing to do with it. While I ate breakfast, I played a few mindless computer games, but that wasn't exactly fulfilling of the lack of scheduled activities in my life. As much as I'd like to say I'm the average lazy teenager, I can appreciate a schedule when I'm given one.

That's why, when Mikey started sticking to one, going out to record his bass-playing with his new bandmates, I found myself utterly jealous. I was pretty close to asking to join the band, too, but I had next to no musical ability. Instead I heard him day in and day out, rehearsing and rehearsing and rehearsing.

As for me, I spent those few weeks having meaningless conversations with Frank and Ray on the group chat, my brother throwing in a line or two occasionally. I was the one who ended up telling the others about the fact Mikey actually had something to do over the summer. They all seemed impressed and not very surprised. They knew he played of course (and I'd let them know how good he actually was), but this was a new level of accomplishment for him.

It only took the next week and a half for Mikey's band to complete a song, and no one seemed nearly as excited about it as I was.

From Gerard Way: Guys

From Frank Iero: Yes?

From Ray Toro: hello

From Gerard Way: Guess what Mikey is doing today

From Ray Toro: sacrificing his soul to the devil?

From Gerard Way: Close, but not quite

From Frank Iero: Beginning a world tour full of daily bass performances?

From Gerard Way: Closer. He's releasing a song today!!!

From Ray Toro: sweeeeet

From Frank Iero: Aw, good for him! Tell him congrats for me!

From Gerard Way: Will do! I'm so excited; I don't know anything about it and have heard very little in context.

From Ray Toro: Where and when can I find it?

From Gerard Way: You can download it for free on BandWaves. I'll send you the link the second it's out!

From Ray Toro: Thanks! :D

At noon that day the track finally dropped. As much as Mikey groaned about it, I insisted we play it out loud. A few times. And then a few times after that. He was really good! They all were!

"Be proud of it, Mikey!" I yelled after him while he ran upstairs to escape having to hear his song again when I pressed replay for the sixth time. "It sounds fantastic!"

From Gerard Way: What do you guys think of it??

From Frank Iero: Mikey, this is amazing! I downloaded it to listen to again :)

From Mikey Way: Thanks guys

From Ray Toro: i could get into it. whos the guitarist? theyre awesome

From Mikey Way: we put credits at the bottom of the song description

From Frank Iero: Pete Wentz is your singer? Didn't recognize his voice at all.

From Mikey Way: Yeah he's really good. He was in your grade before he graduated early; you might know him

From Frank Iero: Yeah, I recognize the name! And Ray, it says their guitarist is Dallon Weekes.

From Ray Toro: next time you see him, tell him i love him

From Mikey Way: will do

From Mikey Way: Gerard will you stop playing it so loudly

From Gerard Way: Nah :)

From Frank Iero: When does your next song come out?

From Gerard Way: ^^^

From Mikey Way: whenever it's done

By the end of the day, the file had racked up hundreds of downloads and thousands of views. Despite seeming so much more excited than my brother about the release, he was definitely more excited than I was about the attention it was getting.

"It's one thing for you and our parents to love it; you have to like it and be happy for me. It's another thing for a hundred people," – a grin spread across his face – "to like it enough to download it."

"And just think," I said. "This is only your first song. You guys will keep writing and keep improving and your audience will keep growing. By the time you release a full EP – or perform that concert at the end of the summer – everyone will know about you."

"That's the dream," he sighed.

"That's the goal."