Tainted - frerard

Chapter 2

Today was Monday. Gerard's day off from his second job and college. However this meant his day would be spent working at the coffee shop and sketching later on at night.

Gerard was feeling particularly uninspired today. He waited for Mikey to come pick him up and take him to work. Despite the Ways original household being left to both the brothers in their mothers will, Gerard decided it would only be fair to let Mikey have it. Gerard lived in New York now and there was no need to be selfish and own half a house he didn't even live near. He wanted the house to be a silver lining to Mikey, for all his hard work he put in while their mother was alive.

However, every other month Mikey would come visit Gerard. Their attachment was a strong one. Mikey was Gerard's closest friend, even though Mikey was unaware of his side job.

Gerard knew that it would kill Mikey. Mikey was suspicious of course because where was all this money coming from? Gerard blamed every other large payment on luck from scratch cards but of course Mikey knew that Gerard wasn't that lucky. No one was. For years Gerard swept Mikeys burning questions under the rug, brushing them off as if Mikey was over reacting. Although curious, Mikey decided it wasn't worth it. He trusted his brother and at the end of the day money is money and he shouldn't complain.

When Mikey visited the city he stayed with his friend Pete. Pete and Mikey had been best friends since birth. Pete Wentz was the Way's next door neighbour however he was barley next door. Mikeys earliest memories are sat in the basement with Pete and Gerard playing board games and listening to music. Scrabble was a personal favourite of Mikeys, although he never won. Pete was far too good to ever be beaten. The Way brothers were convinced that Pete must read the dictionary for fun in order to know all the words that he knew.

As Gerard neared the familiar car he smoothed his apron, trying to pick off some red paint he had accidentally splattered on to it during his heated session of painting a bleeding angel. The bleeding angel painting was one of Gerard's favourites. It wasn't done for a project or for anyone else to see. It was made after Gerard was having a particularly hard day and was looking through Polaroid's of the Way family thanksgiving.

Thanksgivings dinner at the Way's house was to die for. Even the Wentz family next door attended every year because the smell of momma Way's turkey was like a siren to sailors. The thought of the happy families was always enough to send a pang of pain through the older brothers heart. And that's why he painted the bleeding angel.

The painting was symbolic of his mother who was the angel. Because anyone who ever met the woman was always in awe of her. Despite her facing a whole war, she would put peoples small anxieties and sadness to the top of her list of things to make better. Everyone would refer to her as angel. Little did the majority of people know, this angel was bleeding. She fought cancer for a year before even telling her two sons because she couldn't let them worry. It was silly on her behalf but as a mother you want the best for your children and she thought letting them live a carefree life would benefit them.

Gerard's thoughts were cut short by a blaring horn coming from Mikeys car.

"Get in loser we're going shopping" Mikey exclaimed in his most stereotypical gay accent. Mikey wasn't gay, in fact completely straight. He'd only ever thought about the same gender when Pete confessed his feelings for Mikey. He declined Petes offer of being his boyfriend, freaking out slightly that all the no homo things him and his best friend did were in fact full homo on Petes behalf.

Pete plummeted into depression at this point, feeling embarrassed and regretful that he let Mikey know his secret. Because the sad thing is, he thought Mikey felt the same. He assumed the late night cuddles, and back tickles were all romantic however Mikey was being completely platonic. At this point Pete couldn't bare to see Mikey as it just hurt him further. It was hard to avoid him, them being neighbours and all. So Pete left his mother, his friends, his school and moved to New York to stay with his dad.