FicWad

Abbey watched the days turn into weeks and before she knew it, July had rolled around. A month had passed, and still, her feelings for the Way brothers were murky as ever. If anything, her confusion was mounting; as she was now on good terms with both of them, she was finding it increasingly difficult to decipher the way she felt as they were both being so wonderful to her. Worst of all, she found herself flirting with the both of them involuntarily and hanging out with both of them on a one-on-one level on a regular basis. Simply hanging out with them had never been a problem before, but as Gerard’s feelings for her had been revealed and Mikey had a steady girlfriend, things had become far more problematic. Abbey felt guilty every time she giggled at Mikey’s jokes (“He has a girlfriend, you common whore,” she thought), and she mentally scolded herself every time she touched Gerard’s arm (“Don’t give him the wrong impression, you slut!”). She had never felt so incredibly cautious around the boys, and it was beginning to make her very flustered.

On Saturday 15th July, Frank bounded into Abbey’s room at an unusually early hour. Abbey groaned as he leaped onto her bed exuberantly, bouncing up and down like a child on Christmas morning. ‘Did I miss the memo about “Crazy Asshole Bursts Into Your Room At An Ungodly Hour” Day?’ Abbey muttered grumpily into her pillow.
‘No!’ Frank shouted. ‘But clearly you missed the memo about Toro’s birthday, you shitty friend!’
Abbey sat bolt upright. ‘Well,’ she said in a businesslike tone. ‘We should certainly call him right now to give him our best wishes, as I do not want to be the only one suffering by being awake at,’ she glanced at the clock and groaned. ‘5AM? Are you fucking serious? What is wrong with you?’
‘We’re not ringing him.’ Frank spoke as if Abbey was extremely thick. ‘I wouldn’t get you up just for that. We’re going to his apartment and putting his hand in a bucket of hot water. I want to see if it really does make you pee yourself.’
‘Oh good, I’m sure he’ll be really pleased about that. Especially on his birthday.’ Abbey said sarcastically. But Frank was not listening.
‘Come on, get your clothes on. I got some out for you. No time for makeup. You will have to just go to Ray’s looking like a monkey shat on your face.’
‘You’re a good friend.’
‘Shut up, and stop telling me things I already know.’

~

‘So these two basically break down the door of my apartment; this guy,’ Ray gestured to Frank, ‘holding this massive bucket of water, thinking I’ll be asleep. But I’m wide awake playing my guitar. You should’ve seen the looks of disappointment on their faces.’ The whole group laughed.
‘I was only disappointed because this little shit dragged me out of bed for nothing.’ Abbey grumbled.
‘How was I supposed to know Toro’s an early morning freak?’ Frank questioned earnestly.
‘Because you have toured with him for months at time, sleeping on the same bus!’ Abbey exclaimed.
‘Yeah, well, still, I’m usually asleep when he gets up, aren’t I?’
Abbey shook her head incredulously.
‘To Ray Toro,’ Bob raised his glass. ‘Still getting up early like a badass motherfucker at 29!’ Everybody laughed and raised their glasses in reply, taking long swigs from their drinks.

The group had decided to simply go to their usual spot at the XL Lounge for Ray’s birthday. Frank had insisted on embarrassing Ray as much impossible, forcing the whole club to stop the music so they could sing “Happy Birthday” and having specially ordered a guitar shaped cake with a magnificent chocolate afro on top. After Mikey pointed out that the afro looked more like pubic hair, Frank calmed down considerably, looking slightly disgruntled. So here the group was, just the boys and Abbey; Ray and Bob arguing over their favourite guitarists (“What is wrong with you? How in the hell could Randy Rhoads’ skill outweigh Tony Lommi’s, you asshole?” Bob questioned passionately) and Mikey and Frank talking about the fans’ response to My Chemical Romance’s new single, “Welcome To The Black Parade” (“My friend told me her friend said Gerard looked like Billy Corgan in the video so my friend told her Gerard’s his illegitimate lovechild,” Mikey laughed).

Gerard shuffled over in the booth to talk to Abbey, who was sipping her diet soda through a straw. ‘So I see you’re not drinking,’ he commented.
‘I meant what I said,’ she smiled at him. ‘I do stupid things when I drink. You’ve witnessed that first hand. I’m sure you remember. You don’t like me when I drink and neither do I. It never ends well.’
‘I wouldn’t mind if it made you kiss me again.’ He muttered in her ear so nobody else could hear. Abbey blushed as she felt the tickle of his breath on her. Oh, how she would love to kiss him again. But unfortunately, she had made a promise both to Gerard and herself that she would not act until her feelings were clear. She looked over to where Mikey was sitting, laughing at whatever Bob had just said. She loved the sound of his laugh, his voice, his name rolling off her tongue. Gerard’s eyes followed her gaze and he looked down at the table disappointedly. ‘I can understand why you like him.’

Abbey looked back to Gerard looking startled, clearly unaware that Gerard had known what she was staring at. ‘I never understood why more girls didn’t when we were younger,’ he went on. ‘I love him more than anyone else in the world.’ Abbey nodded, her eyes wandering back to the man in question. ‘But fuck, you make me hate him when you look at him like that.’ Abbey’s eyes returned to Gerard, shock evident on her face. He continued as though he had not noticed. ‘Can you just let me know when you figure out that I don’t have a chance against him?’
Abbey looked up Gerard, feeling terrible for him. His eyes seemed to search hers for answers, and when none came, he spoke again. ‘Gotta go. Bathroom.’ He muttered. And with that, Gerard left the table and disappeared into the crowd.

Abbey stayed seated where she was, feeling miserable. She was tearing Gerard apart, and she felt selfish. Additionally, she felt helpless. She did not know what to do to make everything better, and they were departing for the tour in a month. Abbey was so deep in thought that she did not even notice when Mikey appeared at her side. ‘What’s with the anti-social behaviour, pretty?’ He asked softly, obviously aware of Abbey’s melancholy mood.
Abbey made a frustrated noise. ‘I just wish life wasn’t so complicated.’
‘It’s only as complicated as you make it,’ Mikey replied wisely.
‘Yeah, but on top of my stupid mindset, the world keeps throwing in extra roadblocks,’ Abbey crossed her arms, thinking of Jamie. Mikey grinned at Abbey and kissed her lightly on the top of the head.
‘You’ll figure it out, kid,’ he said, wondering what she was so agitated about.

‘Mikey!’ cried an unidentified woman’s voice. That voice belonged to Jamie. She was surrounded by a group of her friends, who were all looking awkwardly around, trying to avoid getting mixed up in a quarrel that was clearly about to begin. Jamie approached the table while Mikey quickly retracted his arm from around Abbey. ‘Look,’ Jamie began, keeping her voice low to avoid causing a scene. ‘I can’t say I haven’t tried here. I’m a good girlfriend. I let you do what you want; I let you hang out with this girl even though I know perfectly well how you feel about her. Hanging out alone together weekly? Running off to find her in the middle of the night? But kissing her, no matter where, is too much for me. She may as well be your girlfriend. So go on. She can have you. There’s no point in me pretending that you like me anywhere near as much as you like her, the evidence of the opposite is plain for everyone to see. I’ll drop your shit off on Monday.’ Somewhere in the middle of the speech, Gerard had returned from the toilet and had stopped to stare, stunned, while Jamie spoke. Abbey had spent the entire monologue looking from Mikey to Jamie, looking utterly bewildered. There was silence around the booth, and despite the music pumping in the background it was as awkward as ever. Frank coughed loudly. ‘So, Ray. Without makeup, Abbey looks like a monkey shat on her face. Discuss.’

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Hope you liked it guys, I enjoyed writing this one thoroughly.
Be sure to rate and review, I'm always open for praise and criticism; this story is as much for you as it is for me.
Also, do tell me who you think Abbey will end up with, I'm curious to know your thoughts.
Until the next chapter!