page 25

[green]

Mikey takes off and gets into the bathroom in record time. He;s hoping the stain hasn't had time to set in. He starts the water running and gets halfway through cleaning up when he notices the guy sitting in the windowsill.

“Spilled something,” Mikey says. The guy is smoking a cigarette and Mikey sighs, pulling out his own pack. He's only got one left, and he doesn't have a lighter. “Can I get a light?”

The guy hands over the lighter without saying anything, and Mikey's starting to think the guy is mute or something when he finally says, “You're Gerard's little brother.”

Mikey smiles, because any positive mention of Gerard usually makes him pretty happy. “Yeah, I'm Mikey. You know Gerard?”

“We're friends,” the guy says, then, “I'm Bob Bryar.”

Mikey's never met any of Gerard's friends. They don't come over to the house, and Gerard never mentions them. It's weird to meet one. Weird, but cool.

Mikey takes a drag of his cigarette and looks Bob over. He's got broad shoulders and blue eyes, and he's wearing a black hoodie even though it's still summer. He also has freckles, which Mikey finds almost adorable.

“Do I have something on my face?” Bob asks.

Mikey smiles. “No, I was just looking at you. How do you know Gerard?”

“I tutored him in Spanish last year,” Bob says.

“I suck at foreign languages,” Mikey says. “And I've got Spanish this year. How much do you charge?”

Bob shrugs. “Whatever you can afford.”

Mikey nods and takes a long drag of his cigarette. “That's really cool, man. Will you give me your number?” he asks, handing over his phone.

“Yeah,” Bob says, programming it in. “You can just call whenever you want. Doesn't have to be about tutoring.”

Mikey glances up, surprised, but Bob's looking at him steadily. Mikey likes him a lot. He just gives the impression of being solid, someone that would be cool to have as a friend. And he likes Gee, which gives him major points.

“Cool,” Mikey says.

“Maybe after school, if you wanna hang out,” Bob says, and Mikey's surprised again.

“Okay,” he says.

The bell rings and Mikey stubs out his cigarette and shoulders his bag.

“See ya, Mikeyway,” Bob says.

Mikey smiles and gives a little wave before heading out to class.

The day goes by quickly, and before he knows it, it's the end of the day.


page 16 text Bob
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