page 7

[green]

Mikey looks around for Gerard. He knows him pretty fucking well, which is proved once again when he finds him in the first place he looks: the art room.

“Hey, guess what?” Gerard says as soon as he sees Mikey.

Mikey shrugs and moves in close to his brother, peering over his shoulder at the canvas Gerard is working on.

“Mrs. McMillian is pretty much letting me do my own thing this year. She wants me to paint a series, and that'll be my final grade for the semester.”

“That's great,” Mikey says, and smiles widely. Gerard's excitement is always contagious.

“I don't know what I want to do, though,” Gerard says. “I thought of doing Despair, but that's maybe a little too, um, emo. You know?”

Mikey barely suppresses a laugh.

“So I thought I could do a series based on classic horror films.”

“That'd be cool,” Mikey says, resting his head on Gerard's shoulder.

“Something the matter?” Gerard asks.

Mikey shrugs. “First day and all,” he says, hoping that explains it.

Gerard seems to understand what Mikey doesn't say. It's stressful, and Mikey's mind doesn't always work the way other people's do. Gerard wraps an arm around Mikey's shoulders and pulls him closer.

It's nice, and Mikey's glad he decided to spend his lunch with Gee other than somewhere else with a lot of people. Gerard is warm and he smells – well, not good, but familiar, and that's comforting.

“I'm taking Spanish again this year,” Mikey says. He tried it last year and failed the class horribly. He's hoping the second time's the charm.

“Last year I had a tutor in Spanish,” Gerard says. “He's cool, I'll bet he'll help you too if you need it.”

“You never told me you had a tutor,” Mikey says. It's odd, because Gerard usually tells Mikey everything.

“Yeah, Bob Bryar. He's awesome. I'll talk to him and see if he'll take you on, too.”

“What's it cost?” Mikey asks. He doesn't get a very big allowance.

“He only charged me ten bucks an hour, which is like, a fraction of what other people charge. And he's cool, too,” Gerard repeats. “I think you'll like him.”

Mikey shrugs. He doesn't want to think about class anymore. Gerard seems to understand. He rubs Mikey's arm and talks about horror movies and getting the right style and influences for his art. Mikey's only paying attention halfway, but he likes the sound of Gerard's voice. He closes his eyes and just listens to the tone and lilt of it, and before he knows it, Gerard's shaking him out of his daze and telling him the bell just rung and he needs to get to his class.

Classes go by even faster for the second half of the day, and before Mikey knows it, it's time to go home.


page 18 take the bus home
page 19 wait for a ride from Gerard