Categories > Celebrities > My Chemical Romance > Vicissitude
‘You’re not seriously going to wear that?’ Carrie scoffed as Bree emerged from her bedroom wearing jeans and a t shirt. Bree looked perplexed. ‘This is how I always dress,’ she frowned.
‘Exactly.’ Carrie replied. ‘Do you really want this Frank guy to think of you as the jeans and t shirt girl?’
‘Better than being known as the drunk girl.’ Bree shot back.
‘Ooh, someone take me to the burn ward,’ Carrie replied sarcastically. ‘You could do with a few drinks yourself. Come on, why don’t you wear something a bit different?’
Bree sighed. ‘Fine. You’ve convinced me. I’ll wear a hoodie too.’ Carrie rolled her eyes in reply.
They were half an hour late for the party, and Jackson had offered to drive there as Mikey had invited him to the party too. He stood impatiently in the hallway, leaning against the wall and drumming his fingers on his legs.
‘So, do we actually know whose party this is?’ Bree asked as the three of them walked to the car.
‘Do you think I ask those sorts of questions?’ Jackson questioned as he unlocked the car and opened his door. ‘Mikey says there’s a party, so I ask where. He says there’s free alcohol, I say I’ll sleep in my car. That is the way it works. Who’s hosting the party? Not important.’
‘Oh good, so we’re sleeping in the car? I can’t wait.’ Bree said sarcastically.
‘Me either.’ Jackson replied with a genuine smile on his face.
~
Bree watched out of the car window as they pulled up in front of the party. The house reminded her of her own house – small and nothing special. It would have melded into the background of the neighborhood as just another house had it not been filled with people, with loud music piercing the night sky. Bree could only imagine how unhappy the neighbors were with the noise levels, not to mention the amount of people who were sure to vomit in their front yards. The three of them hopped out of the car and approached the front door, where Jackson walked in first; knocking would have been impractical, there were already close to a hundred people inside. One by one they stepped over the threshold, and all of a sudden it was as if Jackson and Carrie had developed some sort of magnetic reaction to alcohol as they both rushed towards the kitchen. Bree stood just inside the hallway, observing the action around her. As far as parties went, this was pretty typical: drugs, alcohol, sex.
A feeling of pointlessness filled Bree. What was she doing here? She did not belong. She dreaded the end of the night where she would, undoubtedly, be holding back Carrie’s hair as she threw up on some poor, unsuspecting neighbor’s garden. Her dread was interrupted by a light tap on her shoulder. She turned to see My Chemical Romance’s lead singer smiling at her with a beer clutched in hand.
‘Hey, Jackson’s sister?’ He verified.
‘Bree.’ She smiled as he took a sip of his drink.
‘Gerard,’ He flashed her a crooked smile. ‘Frankie said he invited you. What do you think of his house?’
‘This is Frank’s house?’ Bree asked, suddenly noticing the pictures on the walls. A very familiar looking boy’s elementary school photo was hanging on the wall. ‘So it is.’ She answered her own question. She smiled as she gazed at the seven year old boy in the picture.
‘He was so cute,’ Gerard sighed. ‘What happened?’ He joked, pretending to ponder his own question. A hand clapped him on the shoulder and he turned to reveal Frank, who was grinning.
‘Hey, be nice to your host, or he’ll make you sleep on the nature strip.’
Gerard shrugged. ‘Oh you know me. I’ll probably pass out there on my own. I’m going to get a drink. You guys want one?’
Frank shook his head as Bree said a polite ‘no thank you.’ Gerard shrugged once again and walked off.
Frank turned to Bree and grinned. ‘Thanks for coming. I didn’t know if you would.’
Bree returned the smile and shoved her hands in her pockets to keep them from shaking. Frank made her feel flustered. He was nothing like the boys that went to her school. For one he had a tattoo; a scorpion on his neck. The thought that he smoked pot also made her nervous. She thought she was out of her depth with him, and was wondering why he would find her interesting in the first place. ‘Of course I was gonna come. Even if you hadn’t invited me, Jackson probably would’ve dragged me along.’
Frank reached across to her and lightly rubbed her shoulder. ‘Still, I’m glad you came.’ Bree could feel herself blushing and mentally cursed her pale skin that made it so obvious. Why was she feeling so stupidly coy? Why couldn’t she be like Carrie; confident and smooth? Why did she have to be so damn awkward? Frank simply smiled at her as she screamed questions at herself in her head.
When the silence between them reached beyond awkward, Bree wondered what to say next to Frank. He was frowning at her, and she was hoping he didn’t think she was a bitch. But she was also hoping he didn’t think her incapable of human interaction, which, she was beginning to realise, she probably was, judging by this conversation. ‘So where’s your brother?’ Frank asked.
‘I’m not sure,’ Bree replied as she looked around. ‘He probably gravitated towards the beer. I’m willing to bet money that’s where Carrie is.’
‘Drunk girl?’ Frank grinned. Bree nodded in reply. Frank kept his arm on her shoulder as he began to guide her towards the kitchen. ‘Come with me, I want you to meet the guys. Your brother might be with them too.’ Bree let Frank steer her in the direction of the kitchen.
They entered to find it packed with people all trying to get to the keg of beer sitting on the kitchen counter. In the opposite corner of the room, a small group of boys was congregate. Frank and Bree approached the group. ‘Guys, this is Bree, Jackson’s little sister.’
Bree suddenly felt an overwhelming pressure to say something cool, do a back flip or something. However she simply stood there and smiled lamely. Frank went around the circle and introduced everyone to her. ‘Bree, that’s Ray, he’s our lead guitarist, he knows more about guitar than I ever will.’ Ray nodded and smiled. ‘That’s our drummer, Matt, he’s known Gerard forever. They started the band together.’ Matt smiled at her. ‘You know Gerard.’ Gerard waved and grinned at her. ‘I think you know Mikey, our bassist?’ Mikey made no acknowledgement of Bree’s existence.
‘It’s great to meet you guys.’ Bree said.
‘And here’s the dude this party’s all about!’ Frank yelled, looking over Bree’s shoulder.
‘Oh, this party actually has a purpose? We actually have parties for reasons now?’ A voice called back jokingly. Bree turned to identify the voice; it sounded familiar. She froze upon realising who it belonged to. ‘Bree, this is Scott. He just got back from Chicago.’
‘Bree?’ The eighteen year old boy with dark brown hair and blue eyes stared at her. ‘What are you doing here?’
Frank frowned as he looked from Bree to Scott. ‘You guys know each other?’ Bree tried to talk but she simply opened and closed her mouth like a goldfish. Scott seemed too stunned to speak as well.
When Bree finally got her voice back, she took a deep breath. ‘I need a drink.’
Gerard stepped forward. ‘Allow me to escort you to the beverages.’ Bree nodded and Gerard led her away as Frank and Scott stared after her. ‘So what’s with you and that guy?’ He nodded his head in Scott’s direction.
Bree shook her head as she picked up a plastic cup and filled it with beer. ‘Just used to know him, that’s all.’
‘Like, used to fuck him, you mean?’ Gerard asked, wiggling his eyebrows. Bree turned to scowl at him. ‘Sorry, I keep forgetting I’ve only known you five minutes. I should probably dial down the weird.’ Bree’s scowl turned to a smile and she lifted the cup to her lips and chugged the whole thing down. ‘Don’t wanna take it a bit slower?’ Gerard inquired.
‘Trust me, I’m gonna need a whole lot more if I wanna make it through tonight.’
~
Bree was using Gerard’s shoulder for support as she stood in the kitchen with him having a virtually one-sided conversation. ‘...And I hate that Nicole bitch. She always laughs at me with her stupid friends and they all have stupid hair and stupid faces.’
‘Do you know how old I am, Bree?’ Gerard asked. Bree shook her head as she swayed on the spot. ‘Twenty two,’ he said. ‘And trust me, I don’t give a fuck about high school anymore. Don’t worry, it won’t mean shit to you once you’re done with it.’ Bree nodded as she watched him intently.
‘Why aren’t you as drunk as me?’ She asked. ‘We’ve had the same amount.’
Gerard sighed. ‘Years of practise.’ Bree watched him. He looked quite sad. She was about to ask him if he felt as sad as he looked when Frank approached them, Mikey sauntering in his wake.
‘There you are. We’ve been looking for you two.’
‘No, actually he has.’ Mikey said pointedly.
‘Hi,’ Bree giggled. She no longer felt nervous around Frank. In fact, she felt positively wonderful.
Mikey frowned at her. Frank, on the other hand, smiled at her. ‘Had a lot to drink, huh?’ Bree nodded and grinned, biting her lip.
‘Why haven’t you?’ She asked.
‘It’s my mom’s house too,’ He replied. ‘Gotta look after the place for her. And I can’t do it if I’m drunk. I am a little bit high though.’ He winked at her. Bree was slightly taken aback for a moment, but that passed quite quickly. Bree was beginning to really grasp alcohol’s merits. No wonder Carrie drank so often. Her pondering of the advantages of drinking was interrupted by Scott approaching the three of them. Suddenly, her good mood felt deflated. ‘Fuck off,’ she said bluntly. Mikey, Gerard and Frank all looked startled at her abrupt change in mood.
‘Can we please just be nice to each other?’ Scott pleaded.
‘No. We can’t.’ Bree replied flatly. ‘So fuck off, or else I will.’
‘Bree.’ Scott said, about to try and reason with her.
‘Fine, have it your way.’ She shrugged and turned around, stumbling her way to the front door.
~
Bree was sitting on the front door step. She felt dizzy. She did not know where Jackson or Carrie were, so she simply sat, staring at the pavement, wondering what to do next. Tonight, like the night before, was not turning out so well. Additionally, Frank probably thought she was incredibly weird now, yelling at Scott for no reason. She heard the door open and close behind her and shuffled to the side to let whoever was leaving pass. But instead of walking past, the person sat next to her. She turned to see Mikey, his arms draped over his knees, also staring at the pavement. She simply looked curiously at him. He broke the silence. ‘You wanna tell me what that was about?’
‘Not really,’ Bree said flatly, returning her eyes to the pavement. She could feel his eyes practically burning into the side of her head.
‘It might make you feel better,’ he said.
‘Why would I tell you, of all people?’ She said rudely, turning to look him straight in the eye.
Mikey met her gaze and frowned. ‘Fine,’ he said, getting to his feet. ‘Whatever.’ He turned to leave.
‘We used to date.’ Bree looked at the sky while she talked. ‘Last year. For about 6 months.’ Mikey turned slightly to face her, but he did not return to sit next to her. ‘He was friends with Jackson; he was in his year at school, and he asked me out one day and I said yes. I’d always had a crush on him so I couldn’t believe he’d actually want to date me. I was probably the happiest I’d ever been those 6 months. I think I thought I was gonna marry him or something.’ Bree laughed humourlessly. ‘So I let him have my virginity. Good fuckin’ idea that was. I found out the day after he was also sleeping with a girl from the year above me, Natasha. Had been for about four months. So yeah, that’s what THAT was about.’ She stood up steadily and looked at Mikey. He was embarrassed to see there were tears in her eyes. He reached out and tried to rub her shoulder comfortingly. At this gesture of kindness Bree burst into tears and moved forward to hug him, sobbing into his chest and all over his Joy Division shirt.
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‘Exactly.’ Carrie replied. ‘Do you really want this Frank guy to think of you as the jeans and t shirt girl?’
‘Better than being known as the drunk girl.’ Bree shot back.
‘Ooh, someone take me to the burn ward,’ Carrie replied sarcastically. ‘You could do with a few drinks yourself. Come on, why don’t you wear something a bit different?’
Bree sighed. ‘Fine. You’ve convinced me. I’ll wear a hoodie too.’ Carrie rolled her eyes in reply.
They were half an hour late for the party, and Jackson had offered to drive there as Mikey had invited him to the party too. He stood impatiently in the hallway, leaning against the wall and drumming his fingers on his legs.
‘So, do we actually know whose party this is?’ Bree asked as the three of them walked to the car.
‘Do you think I ask those sorts of questions?’ Jackson questioned as he unlocked the car and opened his door. ‘Mikey says there’s a party, so I ask where. He says there’s free alcohol, I say I’ll sleep in my car. That is the way it works. Who’s hosting the party? Not important.’
‘Oh good, so we’re sleeping in the car? I can’t wait.’ Bree said sarcastically.
‘Me either.’ Jackson replied with a genuine smile on his face.
~
Bree watched out of the car window as they pulled up in front of the party. The house reminded her of her own house – small and nothing special. It would have melded into the background of the neighborhood as just another house had it not been filled with people, with loud music piercing the night sky. Bree could only imagine how unhappy the neighbors were with the noise levels, not to mention the amount of people who were sure to vomit in their front yards. The three of them hopped out of the car and approached the front door, where Jackson walked in first; knocking would have been impractical, there were already close to a hundred people inside. One by one they stepped over the threshold, and all of a sudden it was as if Jackson and Carrie had developed some sort of magnetic reaction to alcohol as they both rushed towards the kitchen. Bree stood just inside the hallway, observing the action around her. As far as parties went, this was pretty typical: drugs, alcohol, sex.
A feeling of pointlessness filled Bree. What was she doing here? She did not belong. She dreaded the end of the night where she would, undoubtedly, be holding back Carrie’s hair as she threw up on some poor, unsuspecting neighbor’s garden. Her dread was interrupted by a light tap on her shoulder. She turned to see My Chemical Romance’s lead singer smiling at her with a beer clutched in hand.
‘Hey, Jackson’s sister?’ He verified.
‘Bree.’ She smiled as he took a sip of his drink.
‘Gerard,’ He flashed her a crooked smile. ‘Frankie said he invited you. What do you think of his house?’
‘This is Frank’s house?’ Bree asked, suddenly noticing the pictures on the walls. A very familiar looking boy’s elementary school photo was hanging on the wall. ‘So it is.’ She answered her own question. She smiled as she gazed at the seven year old boy in the picture.
‘He was so cute,’ Gerard sighed. ‘What happened?’ He joked, pretending to ponder his own question. A hand clapped him on the shoulder and he turned to reveal Frank, who was grinning.
‘Hey, be nice to your host, or he’ll make you sleep on the nature strip.’
Gerard shrugged. ‘Oh you know me. I’ll probably pass out there on my own. I’m going to get a drink. You guys want one?’
Frank shook his head as Bree said a polite ‘no thank you.’ Gerard shrugged once again and walked off.
Frank turned to Bree and grinned. ‘Thanks for coming. I didn’t know if you would.’
Bree returned the smile and shoved her hands in her pockets to keep them from shaking. Frank made her feel flustered. He was nothing like the boys that went to her school. For one he had a tattoo; a scorpion on his neck. The thought that he smoked pot also made her nervous. She thought she was out of her depth with him, and was wondering why he would find her interesting in the first place. ‘Of course I was gonna come. Even if you hadn’t invited me, Jackson probably would’ve dragged me along.’
Frank reached across to her and lightly rubbed her shoulder. ‘Still, I’m glad you came.’ Bree could feel herself blushing and mentally cursed her pale skin that made it so obvious. Why was she feeling so stupidly coy? Why couldn’t she be like Carrie; confident and smooth? Why did she have to be so damn awkward? Frank simply smiled at her as she screamed questions at herself in her head.
When the silence between them reached beyond awkward, Bree wondered what to say next to Frank. He was frowning at her, and she was hoping he didn’t think she was a bitch. But she was also hoping he didn’t think her incapable of human interaction, which, she was beginning to realise, she probably was, judging by this conversation. ‘So where’s your brother?’ Frank asked.
‘I’m not sure,’ Bree replied as she looked around. ‘He probably gravitated towards the beer. I’m willing to bet money that’s where Carrie is.’
‘Drunk girl?’ Frank grinned. Bree nodded in reply. Frank kept his arm on her shoulder as he began to guide her towards the kitchen. ‘Come with me, I want you to meet the guys. Your brother might be with them too.’ Bree let Frank steer her in the direction of the kitchen.
They entered to find it packed with people all trying to get to the keg of beer sitting on the kitchen counter. In the opposite corner of the room, a small group of boys was congregate. Frank and Bree approached the group. ‘Guys, this is Bree, Jackson’s little sister.’
Bree suddenly felt an overwhelming pressure to say something cool, do a back flip or something. However she simply stood there and smiled lamely. Frank went around the circle and introduced everyone to her. ‘Bree, that’s Ray, he’s our lead guitarist, he knows more about guitar than I ever will.’ Ray nodded and smiled. ‘That’s our drummer, Matt, he’s known Gerard forever. They started the band together.’ Matt smiled at her. ‘You know Gerard.’ Gerard waved and grinned at her. ‘I think you know Mikey, our bassist?’ Mikey made no acknowledgement of Bree’s existence.
‘It’s great to meet you guys.’ Bree said.
‘And here’s the dude this party’s all about!’ Frank yelled, looking over Bree’s shoulder.
‘Oh, this party actually has a purpose? We actually have parties for reasons now?’ A voice called back jokingly. Bree turned to identify the voice; it sounded familiar. She froze upon realising who it belonged to. ‘Bree, this is Scott. He just got back from Chicago.’
‘Bree?’ The eighteen year old boy with dark brown hair and blue eyes stared at her. ‘What are you doing here?’
Frank frowned as he looked from Bree to Scott. ‘You guys know each other?’ Bree tried to talk but she simply opened and closed her mouth like a goldfish. Scott seemed too stunned to speak as well.
When Bree finally got her voice back, she took a deep breath. ‘I need a drink.’
Gerard stepped forward. ‘Allow me to escort you to the beverages.’ Bree nodded and Gerard led her away as Frank and Scott stared after her. ‘So what’s with you and that guy?’ He nodded his head in Scott’s direction.
Bree shook her head as she picked up a plastic cup and filled it with beer. ‘Just used to know him, that’s all.’
‘Like, used to fuck him, you mean?’ Gerard asked, wiggling his eyebrows. Bree turned to scowl at him. ‘Sorry, I keep forgetting I’ve only known you five minutes. I should probably dial down the weird.’ Bree’s scowl turned to a smile and she lifted the cup to her lips and chugged the whole thing down. ‘Don’t wanna take it a bit slower?’ Gerard inquired.
‘Trust me, I’m gonna need a whole lot more if I wanna make it through tonight.’
~
Bree was using Gerard’s shoulder for support as she stood in the kitchen with him having a virtually one-sided conversation. ‘...And I hate that Nicole bitch. She always laughs at me with her stupid friends and they all have stupid hair and stupid faces.’
‘Do you know how old I am, Bree?’ Gerard asked. Bree shook her head as she swayed on the spot. ‘Twenty two,’ he said. ‘And trust me, I don’t give a fuck about high school anymore. Don’t worry, it won’t mean shit to you once you’re done with it.’ Bree nodded as she watched him intently.
‘Why aren’t you as drunk as me?’ She asked. ‘We’ve had the same amount.’
Gerard sighed. ‘Years of practise.’ Bree watched him. He looked quite sad. She was about to ask him if he felt as sad as he looked when Frank approached them, Mikey sauntering in his wake.
‘There you are. We’ve been looking for you two.’
‘No, actually he has.’ Mikey said pointedly.
‘Hi,’ Bree giggled. She no longer felt nervous around Frank. In fact, she felt positively wonderful.
Mikey frowned at her. Frank, on the other hand, smiled at her. ‘Had a lot to drink, huh?’ Bree nodded and grinned, biting her lip.
‘Why haven’t you?’ She asked.
‘It’s my mom’s house too,’ He replied. ‘Gotta look after the place for her. And I can’t do it if I’m drunk. I am a little bit high though.’ He winked at her. Bree was slightly taken aback for a moment, but that passed quite quickly. Bree was beginning to really grasp alcohol’s merits. No wonder Carrie drank so often. Her pondering of the advantages of drinking was interrupted by Scott approaching the three of them. Suddenly, her good mood felt deflated. ‘Fuck off,’ she said bluntly. Mikey, Gerard and Frank all looked startled at her abrupt change in mood.
‘Can we please just be nice to each other?’ Scott pleaded.
‘No. We can’t.’ Bree replied flatly. ‘So fuck off, or else I will.’
‘Bree.’ Scott said, about to try and reason with her.
‘Fine, have it your way.’ She shrugged and turned around, stumbling her way to the front door.
~
Bree was sitting on the front door step. She felt dizzy. She did not know where Jackson or Carrie were, so she simply sat, staring at the pavement, wondering what to do next. Tonight, like the night before, was not turning out so well. Additionally, Frank probably thought she was incredibly weird now, yelling at Scott for no reason. She heard the door open and close behind her and shuffled to the side to let whoever was leaving pass. But instead of walking past, the person sat next to her. She turned to see Mikey, his arms draped over his knees, also staring at the pavement. She simply looked curiously at him. He broke the silence. ‘You wanna tell me what that was about?’
‘Not really,’ Bree said flatly, returning her eyes to the pavement. She could feel his eyes practically burning into the side of her head.
‘It might make you feel better,’ he said.
‘Why would I tell you, of all people?’ She said rudely, turning to look him straight in the eye.
Mikey met her gaze and frowned. ‘Fine,’ he said, getting to his feet. ‘Whatever.’ He turned to leave.
‘We used to date.’ Bree looked at the sky while she talked. ‘Last year. For about 6 months.’ Mikey turned slightly to face her, but he did not return to sit next to her. ‘He was friends with Jackson; he was in his year at school, and he asked me out one day and I said yes. I’d always had a crush on him so I couldn’t believe he’d actually want to date me. I was probably the happiest I’d ever been those 6 months. I think I thought I was gonna marry him or something.’ Bree laughed humourlessly. ‘So I let him have my virginity. Good fuckin’ idea that was. I found out the day after he was also sleeping with a girl from the year above me, Natasha. Had been for about four months. So yeah, that’s what THAT was about.’ She stood up steadily and looked at Mikey. He was embarrassed to see there were tears in her eyes. He reached out and tried to rub her shoulder comfortingly. At this gesture of kindness Bree burst into tears and moved forward to hug him, sobbing into his chest and all over his Joy Division shirt.
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