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"So tell me again why Bob hates me..." Mikey said to Frank as they laid out on the grass and looked at the clouds. Frank had been ignoring Bob since yesterday, and decided to sit with Mikey at lunch. Currently, Frank was stretched out, with his legs draped over Mikey's waist.

"Uhm...jealousy, I suppose," Frank said accompanied by a shrug. He reached out and grabbed a piece of grass.

"Jealous of what?" Mikey didn't think he had anything that anyone else would want. "Ew, Frank, don't eat that." He snatched to blade of grass from Frank's mouth and wrinkled his nose. "Bleck, Frank spit..."

Frank shrugged and rolled over so he could see Mikey. This was the most anyone had ever heard him talk in a day, especially at school. But Frank was easy to talk to. He could go on for hours about the dumbest things, and never mention himself. Mikey appreciated that, because personally he thought of himself as very boring and liked talking about random shit.

"So Mikey....do you like people with glasses?" Frank asked. He liked glasses. He liked Mikey, anyway, and he wears glasses. Mikey didn't answer him, so Frank kept talking. "I do. I like the way they magnify your eyes. Did you know you have pretty eyes?"

Mikey looked over at Frank. Did he just say his eyes were pretty? Mikey felt a little jolt run through his heart. No one'd ever told him that before. His eyes were brown, the color of shit. Not only that, but everyone in New Jersey had brown eyes. How were his pretty?

"Do I?"

Frank, who had begun chewing on a flower now, nodded. "Yes, they're very pretty. I wish I had pretty eyes."

"You do."

Frank laughed and shook his head. "You're not looking at my eyes, Mikey. How would you know?" he asked. Mikey had Frank's eyes memorized, burned into his brain. They weren't brown like his, they were bright and different. When Frank looked at him, he could tell he was looking at him, not through him like everyone else.

"It doesn't change the fact that you do have pretty eyes. But what would I know of pretty things?" Mikey asked. Frank took the half-chewed flower out of his mouth and examined it. The petals....well, what were left of the petals were white with a dark blue center. If Frank hadn't ruined it, it would be beautiful.

"Well, is this pretty?" Frank asked, putting the flower in Mikey's vision. He smiled.

"Frank, don't chew on flowers. You'll get sick. And yes, I suppose it was pretty before you ate it," he said, Frank reached out to pick another flower. They were sitting next to a whole patch of the small blue and white flowers. Frank pulled the stem of the flower he was holding in two. Then he got another flower and repeated the process, then tied the flowers together. He kept doing this until he had a long string of flowers.

Frank told Mikey to stand up and he did. He took the string of flowers and tied it around Mikey's waist. "Don't throw this away. Keep it to remind you of..." Of what? Frank couldn't say "of me" , because Mikey might take it too seriously.

"Of pretty things?" Mikey offered. Frank nodded and sighed in relief.

*

Bob cornered Frank after school walking with Mikey to his car. When he saw Frank latched onto that goth fuck's arm, jealousy bubbled up in him. Frank was his...

"Frank, I wanna talk...please?" Bob tried to sound pleasant, like he wasn't imagining taking Mikey's head and smashing it into a wall. Frank hesitated for a moment before nodding and releasing his grip on Mikey to grab onto Bob's arm.

"What's up Bob?" he asked, playing dumb. Maybe if he acts cute, Bob will just forget this whole deal and the three of them can be friends...

"Frank, what the hell, you've been avoiding me since yesterday! Are you mad at me or something?" He glanced up at Mikey, then pulled Frank a few steps away. "Why'd you ditch me for him?"

"I'm not ditching you Bob! I just like hanging out with Mikey! You...you're always telling me what to do, ad I need some space." Shit, he did not just use a break up line with Bob. This wasn't going the way he wanted.

"Space? Are you fucking kidding me? Friends don't need space. Ray doesn't need space."

"I'm not like Ray! You don't care who Ray talks to! You don't act like a jealous boyfriend with him!" Frank's eyes widened and he slapped his hand over his mouth. He tightened his hold on his friend's arm. "Bob, I didn't-"

"No, you meant it! Just...ugh." Bob wrenched his arm away and ran off. Ah, geez, what did Frank just do? He didn't mean to say that. Yes, he meant it, but it just slipped out... He walked back over to Mikey and leaned against his black Kia.

"Shiit..." he growled. Mikey had heard every word they'd said...screamed, and was confused. Was Frank and Bob dating? It would explain things, like why Bob hated him. He must think Mikey was moving in on his boyfriend.

"Is Bob your boyfriend?" Mikey blurted out. Frank's eyes widened and he shook his head vehemently.

"Hell no! He's my best friend, but he kinda likes me...but I don't like him that way." Frank put his hands behind his back and looked down at the ground. He was a horrible friend, Bob was just trying to protect him. He sniffled and wiped at his eyes.

Mikey saw that Frank was sad, so he hugged him, which, yes, is a big deal. Mikey didn't just hug people, they have to initiate it. But Frank looked so depressed and on the verge of tears that Mikey couldn't stand it. He brought Frank into his arms.

"What's wrong, Frank?" he asked. Frank sniffled and clutched at the fabric of Mikey's T-shirt.

"Bob's mad at me," Frank mumbled, his voice slightly muffled by Mikey's shirt. Mikey smoothed down Frank's hair, wracking his brain to find a way to make him feel better. It was Friday, which meant Mikey didn't have to drive back to Belleville until later, so maybe Frank would want to hang out...?

"Hey, um, Frank, do you want to go...I dunno, to eat or something?" Mikey asked nervously, scratching the back of his head. Frank's head popped up from where it was hidden in Mikey's chest and his face lit up. Of course Frank wanted to go eat with Mikey! He wanted to spend all the time he could with him.

Frank was trying to find a way to discreetly stare at Mikey while they both sat in his car outside of Sonic. Of course, that was proving difficult because Mikey was very sensitive to people staring at him, so Frank gave up trying to be sneaky about it and just gawked.

"Frank, what are you doing?" Mikey asked, glancing over at Frank. What, did he have something on his face?

"I'm staring at you, duh. Don't bother asking why, cause I have no idea. Can I play with the radio?" Frank asked, pointing to said electronic contraption built into the dashboard of Mikey's car. Mikey nodded, so Frank gave a little squeal of happiness and pushed the power button. He gasped when the other buttons started to glow a bright blue and the word Tuner flashed across a screen.

"Mikey, you're radio's trying to communicate with me! Hm, what's it trying to say? And where's the music?"

Mikey smiled and turned the volume knob on the radio. The sound of Drown by Smashing Pumpkins filled the car. Frank smiled, satisfied with the music choice, and leaned back in his seat. He scooped up a spoonful of ice cream from his Sonic Blast and ate it. He's already devoured all of his and Mikey's onion rings a while ago.

"Mmm, ice cream. Mikey, do you like ice cream?" Frank asked, looking over at his friend who was still working on finishing on a hamburger.

"I guess. I don't eat it very much, but it's good," Mikey answered. Frank nodded and got another scoop. He stared at it for a minute before putting the spoon in front of Mikey's mouth.

"Eat some. It's good. It had little bits of M&Ms in it," Frank said, trying to make it sound tempting. Mikey rolled his eyes but opened his mouth so Frank could feed him the ice cream. For some reason, he found it a million times better than any other ice cream he'd eaten. Oh, who the fuck was he kidding, it was because the adorable little Frank was feeding him.

"See, it's good, isn't it Mikey?"

"Yeah."

"Want more?"

"...sure," Mikey said. Frank grinned and scooted closer to Mikey. He rested his back against Mikey's arm, and started alternating between feeding Mikey and feeding himself. He thought about how coupley this must seem to any preverts who were watching them, and was pleased with the idea. Frank loved being coupley with Mikey. But did Mikey feel the same way, or did he only put up with Frank because he's the only person not fearing for their life when they're around him? Mikey was even skeptical about being friends. He...basically didn't have any human contact, and if Frank just blurted out that he had a tiny crush on him, it would probably freak him out. It freaked Frank out. He'd never even entertained the thought of liking a boy before. But he wasn't going to waste time denying it. He definitely liked Mikey, and he wasn't ashamed or disgusted with himself.

"Mikey, did you have friends at your last school?" Frank asked softly. Mikey winced, not really wanting to go into the humiliating story of how much of a nerd he was. He decided to tell as much as he could without getting to that part, since Frank was bound to ask why he never had friends.

"No. You're my only friend. But...I think it's better to have a small amount of friends. You just...know them better. I'd rather just have one good friend than a hundred shitty ones who talk about me behind my back." Mikey put his arm around Frank's shoulders hesitantly. He felt different around Frank than around other people. He wasn't here to hurt him or make fun of him, and he couldn't even imagine Frank doing that. He was too genuinely sweet. But still, why did Frank hang out with Mikey? He was nothing.

"You know I'll never talk about you like that," Frank said. He just desperately wanted Mikey to trust him. He needed someone there for him, the poor kid. And in a way, Frank needed someone to take care of. He's always been the smallest, the youngest, and everyone felt like they should protect him, and he's sick of it. He's not weak, and he's fully capable of taking care of himself no matter what anyone else says.

Mikey nodded, even though Frank couldn't see it. Frank's head was right under Mikey's chin, so he could probably feel it, anyway. Mikey leaned his face forward a bit and could smell Frank's shampoo. He thought it was Axe, and chuckled a little.

"Geez, Frank, you're so mainstream." He meant it as a joke, of course. He wouldn't give a fuck if Frank started wearing Hollister shirts and listening to hip hop. He'd still be Frank.

"Oh? Mainstream you say? Well, you're non-conformist!" Frank exclaimed.

"Well, you're pocket sized!" Mikey said. He laughed at the disgruntled look he got from Frank. Frank looked down at himself then back up at his friend.

"Only your pockets because you wear those damn Tripp pants," he muttered. He looped a finger through one of the chains on his pants and pulled at it. Hm, wonder what those chains are for... No, bad thoughts, Frank. Don't think like that, Mikey's not gay. And even if he was, he doesn't want a midget.

Frank sat his ice cream in the cup holder next to the radio, which was now spewing Warning by Green Day. Then, since his arms were now free, he threw them around Mikey in a hug. Almost automatically, Mikey hugged back. He hardly even had to think about it anymore since it was a regular occurrence.

"You hug a lot of people, don't you?" Mikey asked. Frank looked up, not sure how to interpret the question. Actually, he only hugged Bob, Ray, and now Mikey most of the time. Most of the time. But, because of his rather friendly disposition, a lot of people talked to him, and sometimes he would get excited and hug them. No one thought a Frank hug was unusual, not even boys. He was basically the baby of the whole school. Which is not what he wanted.

"Yeah, I guess I do. I don't mean to most of the time, but I'm a hug-whore. It comes naturally," he answered, being completely serious. Mikey laughed a little at the answer. Frank was the only person besides Gerard to make him laugh comfortably like this. "Mikey, I love it when you laugh." Frank sighed, knowing he'd probably said too much. Now Mikey would feel weird about laughing...

"Why? I don't like my laugh. It sounds too condescending," Mikey said. Frank giggled.

"Condescending? I do believe you are the only person who thinks that. Of course, not many people hear your laugh, so they don't matter. But honestly, Mikey, how does a laugh sound condescending?" Frank asked. To him, laughter was simply that. Why laugh if it's going to have mean undertones to it? It's better to just keep your mouth shut. But he never really got sarcasm very much. He was just used to saying what he thought outright instead of being a dick about it.

"I just mean, when I laugh, it's more like polite laughter. When I really think something's funny, I'm just kind of quiet about it. I snicker."

"Mm, so you really think my height is funny?" Frank asked.

"It's cute," Mikey said before he could help himself. He may not be well-versed in normal conversation, but he did know one boy shouldn't tell another that they're cute. Even if it was true.

Frank cocked his eyebrow but decided against pursuing the conversation further, just in case Mikey didn't mean it. He was perfectly content with sitting here in Mikey's car listening to the radio.

His mind wouldn't let him rest, though. It kept revolving around the fact that Mikey said he was cute. He really shouldn't dwell on it too much, since it was probably nothing. It was just a word. And really, Frank didn't want to be viewed as cute. He was looking for hot, or maybe even sexy.

Mikey pulled out his pack of cigarettes and lit one. While his hands were busy putting the pack back in his pocket, Frank reached up and snatched the cigarette away. He put it between his lips and sucked. He really wasn't ready for the rush of smoke that entered his mouth, but he choked it back and just barely managed not to cough.

"Frank..." Mikey took the cigarette back. "You really shouldn't smoke. You'll get lung disease and die then I'd be really depressed and have to shoot myself. Do you want that?" he asked.

"Sheesh, you're so morbid. Stop it, or I'll totally get depressed and have to be goth like you."

Frank giggled at the image he got of Mikey giving him lessons on how to be goth. They were both in some totally dark room with a single candle stuck in the eye socket of a skull for light. And Mikey would be standing in front of a chalkboard drawing the proper way to apply eyeliner while Frank sat at a desk taking notes.

"Oh, that'd be awesome. But where the hell would you get a chalkboard?" Frank asked, forgetting that Mikey had no idea what the hell he was talking about. Nevertheless, Mikey answered him.

"Wal-Mart, duh."