FicWad

The diner was extremely quiet, but not the uncomfortable type of quiet. Even the table they seated themselves at seemed rather quiet, but both seemed rather content with it. Mikey fidgeted in his seat as his brother mindlessly stirred his coffee with a small stirring straw he found in the tiny glass vase near the window they were next to. Mikey wondered if his brother was truly an addict because he has yet to go off on his own to have his fix. Suddenly, he noticed a twitch forming underneath Gerard's right eye and that's when he knew that something may happen.

“Mikes, I'm going to the restroom,” he uttered quietly before he left the table in a slight rush.

The younger of the two sat at the table in silence and watched him squeeze through a small group of waiters and waitresses to gain access to the tiny hallway. Mikey rubbed his temples and placed his hand over his mouth in realization that his brother was indeed the addict he had anticipated he was. A young waitress set two plates of food on the table and left without saying a word. He grasped his fork and picked at his food in attempt to not burst out either crying or in fiery as he waited to be joined once again by his brother. Eventually, that happened and the feeling he had to burst out and say anything vanished, but something else lingered; an awkwardness that he couldn't explain.

Gazing at his face, he examined Gerard's buggy, glassy eyes that shifted uneasily every now and then. The mess of black hair on top of his head loomed over to the right and revealed a speck of dirt or a bruise, but he said nothing to gain his attention. The peacefulness that had taken over his elder brother really frightened him, but it was something that was not in his control. What have I gotten myself into? At the looks of it, he will not want help.

“Mikey, your fries are probably getting cold,” he murmured in a nonchalant tone. “You're starving me to death staring at it like that.”

“Why don't you eat your own,” he stated hastily as he jabbed one with the fork he had been tinkering with.

“Fries are meant to be eaten with your hands; portal potatoes,” Gerard stated picking one up and putting it in his younger sibling's face.

Mikey sat up, corrected his posture then set his fork down as he whispered, “At least I'm not high.” Like saying that will help the conversation grow any smoother than what it is.

“What?” Gerard crammed a few portal potatoes into his mouth. “Excuse me, Ms. Sassy. I've chosen my path in life and you're well on your way of paving the same damn road. I was exactly like you, so don't come into the outside world and tell me that being high is a bad thing.”

People eating at the tables around them glanced over their shoulders and shot looks in their direction. Mikey could feel burning sensations taking over his body while Gerard kept on with his rant. Bowing his head, he let his brother go on because he didn't know what to do. He honestly didn't appreciate being called “Miss Sassy” by a twenty year old guy. “Gerard, calm down.”

“Calm down? I am calm! Ain't I Clarissa?” he stammered loudly referring to the table of women next to them.

“He's always like this son, just gotta look over him,” the oldest one said with a weak smile.

Mikey lied his head on the table and wanted to slam it down so hard that it would just put him out of his misery, but he knew people would blame it on the addict seated across from him. Eventually, the diner grew silent once again and Mikey could feel someone softly patting the top of his head. He knew it was Gerard, but he didn't want to raise up to rejoin the world; he gradually did so and gained an odd look from his sibling. “What?”

“Hey, Sassy, don't you act like you're not here with me,” he stutter pointing at him with a fry. “Rejoice, the war is going to be over soon and the old man might get murdered by someone suffering from PSTD. Who knows?”

Mikey gawked at him not knowing what to say to someone that was going on like this, even if he was closely related to him, “What in the hell are you talking about?”

“There! That's the little bro I love!” Gerard shouted for the world to know. “Welcome back to Earth.”

“Just eat your food!” Mikey shouted back gaining a few laughs from Clarissa's table.

“I can do what I damn well please to with my food, thank ya,” Gerard stated smiling shoving another fry into his mouth. “Eat yours.”

Pleased with the fact that his brother was now talking at a human tone, he actually ate his food in a hurried manner. He listened to the rants Gerard commenced merely whispering about their father then began talking about how much he missed their mother, Donna.

“I miss mom,” he began resting his chin on his fist. “She was great. How'd she end up with an ass of a man like Donny?” He finally ate his last bit of food and spoke with his mouth full, “Donny... Oh God, he's a dick and a half. He kicked me out three years ago when he found out about me doing drugs, then calls the police on me every once in a while so you wouldn't find me. Ya know what? The police had nothing to arrest me for because I'm a sneaky bastard.” He broke out into hysteric laughter before he continued, “You gotta be a sneaky bastard or you cannot live in the excuse of a world we call ”Planted Earth”.”

“Don't you mean planet earth?” Mikey asked raising an eye brow.

“Uhm, yeah! What you said,” he replied hoarsely. “Where you want to go after this Mikes?”

“Not home.”

“Great, I had no intentions of going there,” he exclaimed happily. “Just stick with your older brother and you'll be dandy.”

Mikey covered his face and sighed, “Do you have to be so loud?”

“What? Am I embarrassed of me? No! Are you!? I think so,” he asked reaching across the table and patting his shoulder.

“No, you're just loud,” Mikey responded cowering back hoping he would be patted again.

“Alright, I'll talk at a homosapien tone,” Gerard stated glancing at the backpack then back to its owner. “Let's go!”

“Where?” Mikey asked as Gerard reached across the table and retrieved his brother's backpack.

“Follow me, it's not a bad place, just my apartment,” Gerard responded slinging the bag over his shoulder.

“Apartment?” Mikey retorted in surprise.

“Yeah. You can be homeless and have an apartment.” He gripped the strap to the backpack and headed towards the door after laying some money on the counter. “It's right down the street.”

Mikey shrugged, lied his half of the money on the counter and trailed behind the maniac that just strolled through the door. Now, he had become comfortable with his brother's behavior and even found it humorous, even when he shouted at the cars driving by saying that they were trying to run over him—even though he was the one walking near the road; not using the sidewalk.

They neared a trashy, broken down building that looked as if it hadn't received any care in years. Of course, Mikey should have figured his brother was speaking of an unpopulated building in the roughest part of New Jersey. “This is where you live?”

“Yes,” Gerard stated after he flipped off car number five since they began their walk. He led Mikey into the building, which looked even worse on the inside, then jogged up the stairs. “Watch out for that tenth one, it's tricky as shit.”

By the time he said that, Mikey stopped and counted the stairs, “Thanks for telling me.” He skipped the tenth stair then ran up the stairs to catch up with him. Once he did, he found Gerard standing in front of a door opening it. “Home sweet home.”

Mikey followed him into the shack like apartment. He didn't appear to be as bad as the rest of the building, but it still wasn't that great. It had a couch that was propped up with books and old dictionaries and a few door ways leading to other rooms. He murmured glancing around in a heavily unsure tone, “Home sweet home?”