Categories > Celebrities > My Chemical Romance > Faring Well
The next day was a pain for Gerard, who had had to leave school on his senior privilege, get Mikey, drop Frank off at home, then come back to school for the stupid meeting about the stupid play that he didn’t even want to be in. Why had he let Sarah talk him into this?
Gerard had asked one of the receptionists in the front office if she didn’t mind Mikey just sitting behind the desk doing homework, as long as he was very quiet and didn’t make too much noise. She’d agreed happily, but some of her nosy questions (“Why did you have to bring him back to school anyway, sweetie?”) had made him almost late to the meeting that he didn’t want to go to. He’d run into the theatre just as Karp was quieting everyone down. He took a hasty seat in the audience next to Sarah, who quietly asked him why he was so out of breath.
“Okay, everyone, quiet down. You’re all here for our first line-through of Peter Shaffer’s A Black Comedy.” So that was what the show was called. Gerard wondered what it could possibly be about. The title didn’t sound very promising. “In case you are completely unaware, this play is a one-act, meaning it’s shorter than most plays. It’s a British farce about an artist in the 1960s who is trying to impress his fiancée’s military-father and hold a showing of his artwork to a famous collector on the same night. When the show starts, the stage is dark, and we hear the couple, Brindsley and Carol, setting up for their party. The characters in the show are in the light, while we see them on a dark stage. When they plug in the record player, a fuse blows, and the stage lights up, plunging the characters in the play into total darkness, hence the name, A Black Comedy. Brindsley’s neighbor, whom he stole furniture from to impress the art collector and Carol’s father comes home from his weekend vacation early, the crazy old drunk lady from down the hall comes into the picture, and the wise electrician even comes into play.
“It just so happens that we have two newcomers playing our leads this year. We have Sarah Valens as Carol Melkett, and Gerard Way as Brindsley Miller. A round of applause for these stars out of the rafters.” There was some clapping, but not much, since the entire cast consisted of only seven people. The only person Gerard knew was Sarah; everyone else may as well have gone to a different school, for all he knew. That didn’t help with the awkward feeling of being applauded by people he didn’t know and didn’t care to know. “Here are your scripts,” Karp continued, distributing binders to each actor. “We’re going to read through the whole thing today, just to give you all a feel for your characters. Gerard, please start on the first page.” Gerard sighed and opened his binder.
“There,” he began, but was cut off immediately.
“British accent, please. Everyone speaks with a British accent, except for Bamberger and Schuppanzigh, Josh and Zach,” he nodded to two boys that sat beside Gerard. “Who have German accents. Start over.”
“There,” Gerard repeated, this time in his accent. “How do you think the room looks?”
“Fabulous!” Sarah responded in a ridiculous voice. “I told you it would!”
The play was, in fact, very short. In about an hour, they had finished reading through the whole thing. It was actually pretty funny, Gerard had to admit. But he had a lot of lines. How was he supposed to remember all these? The last time he’d been on a stage, he was in fifth grade, and he was wearing green tights as Peter Pan. It had been horrible. At least he didn’t have to wear nylons this time. He hoped.
“So,” Sarah said, catching up to Gerard, who had bolted from the theatre the moment Karp had dismissed them. “We have a kiss on, like, the first page.” She blushed furiously and grinned shyly up at Gerard, who had to use every ounce of self-control not to roll his eyes and smack his palm to his forehead.
“Yeah. Great.” He had to stop for a moment to think of which office (there were three main ones) that he’d left Mikey in. Sarah’s distracting chatter was not helping.
“You know, Gerard, I still really like you a lot,” Sarah said quietly, trying to keep up with him as he lengthened his strides. The front office. Right.
“I like you too, Sarah,” Gerard said, thinking that maybe she’d lay off if he played off her love-puppy comments.
“No, I mean, like, I really like you, Gerard.” Why did she have to do this now?
“Look, Sarah, you’re great. I really value your friendship. But with everything that’s going on right now, with Mikey, and looking for a new job, and keeping up with schoolwork, the last thing I need is a girlfriend.” It might have sounded more sincere if Gerard wasn’t just trying to shake her off. She still seemed to buy it, though.
“Oh. Okay. I get it, I guess. Just…you know, if you ever want to…you know…” With that, Sarah turned on her heel and walked away, which Gerard was thankful for. He’d probably feel bad if this exact thing hadn’t happened a few times before, and he didn’t know that she’d just bounce back in a few hours. He took out his phone and dialed Frank.
“Hello?” A cutely groggy voice.
“Did I wake you?” Gerard stopped outside the office and lowered his voice.
Frank cleared his throat before speaking again. “No. No, of course not.”
“It’s the middle of the day; why were you sleeping?”
“I was just taking a nap, chill out. How was your first rehearsal?”
“It was okay, I guess. I have a lot of lines. I don’t know how I’m going to be able to do this.”
“Want to come over for a few minutes?” Frank’s voice had a tempting tone.
“I can’t…I’ve got Mikey with me.” Gerard looked in through the window of the office and saw his little brother swinging his feet below a table and coloring on some printer paper.
“Just a few minutes,” Frank pleaded. “My Aunt Karen will watch him. You know she loves the kid.”
“I don’t know…” Gerard bit his lower lip.
“Please? Gee? Please?” That did it. It was the nickname that did it. Gerard sighed.
“Fine. But just for a few minutes.”
Ten minutes later, Gerard was parking his car in the Bryars’ driveway. “Now remember,” he told Mikey as they walked up the steps to the front door. “Don’t give Mrs. Bryar any trouble. Be polite.”
“I know, I know, Gee.” Mikey sounded exasperated. Gerard ruffled the kid’s hair. He greeted Bob’s mom when she answered the door and took the stairs two at a time to Frank’s room. He knocked lightly before walking in.
“Hey, Gee!” Frank had been laying back on his bed, a comic book in his hands. It didn’t seem like he’d been reading it, though, since it was upside down. Frank also seemed as though he was being a bit too cheery. Despite his strange mood, Frank got up and threw his arms around Gerard’s waist tightly, squeezing until Gerard thought the smaller boy would snap him in half. “I needed that,” he sighed, pulling away, but not taking his arms from around the other teen. It was then that Gerard noticed that his eyes were a bit red and somewhat puffy, as though he’d been crying.
“What’s wrong?” Gerard placed his hand on Frank’s cheek. “You’ve been crying.”
“What?” Frank’s hand flew up to his eyes. “No, I haven’t. I…my eyes were itchy. I got something in them. They’re…itchy.”
“Don’t lie to me, Frank,” Gerard said sternly. “I can tell. What’s wrong? You know you can tell me.”
“I don’t…It’s stupid…” Frank murmured, turning his head to avoid looking at Gerard.
“It’s not stupid, it’s important.”
“It’s just something Bob said.”
“What? What did he say?” Gerard placed his hands on Frank’s shoulders and peered into his eyes.
“He just made some comment about the way I looked…He said I looked like a stupid faggot.” Gerard’s insides froze.
“Does he--does he…know?”
“No, I was just fooling around and put on eyeliner, but…I told you it was stupid.’
“No, that’s not stupid. He is stupid. What an asshole. Don’t take anything he says seriously, ever. You hear me? He has no idea what he’s talking about. You’re beautiful, and smart, and funny, and an infinitely better person than he is.” Frank smiled sadly.
“Thank you,” he said, pressing his lips to Gerard’s, who let it linger for a moment before pulling away.
“I--I have to go.” With that, he walked out of the room and down the stairs. Frank watched his car pull away from his bedroom window, before letting the curtain fall and collapsing back onto his bed.
“Love you, too,” he murmured, covering his face with a pillow.
Not much to say about this chapter. New one soon. Go comment, rate, and subscribe, please. OverAndOutxx
Gerard had asked one of the receptionists in the front office if she didn’t mind Mikey just sitting behind the desk doing homework, as long as he was very quiet and didn’t make too much noise. She’d agreed happily, but some of her nosy questions (“Why did you have to bring him back to school anyway, sweetie?”) had made him almost late to the meeting that he didn’t want to go to. He’d run into the theatre just as Karp was quieting everyone down. He took a hasty seat in the audience next to Sarah, who quietly asked him why he was so out of breath.
“Okay, everyone, quiet down. You’re all here for our first line-through of Peter Shaffer’s A Black Comedy.” So that was what the show was called. Gerard wondered what it could possibly be about. The title didn’t sound very promising. “In case you are completely unaware, this play is a one-act, meaning it’s shorter than most plays. It’s a British farce about an artist in the 1960s who is trying to impress his fiancée’s military-father and hold a showing of his artwork to a famous collector on the same night. When the show starts, the stage is dark, and we hear the couple, Brindsley and Carol, setting up for their party. The characters in the show are in the light, while we see them on a dark stage. When they plug in the record player, a fuse blows, and the stage lights up, plunging the characters in the play into total darkness, hence the name, A Black Comedy. Brindsley’s neighbor, whom he stole furniture from to impress the art collector and Carol’s father comes home from his weekend vacation early, the crazy old drunk lady from down the hall comes into the picture, and the wise electrician even comes into play.
“It just so happens that we have two newcomers playing our leads this year. We have Sarah Valens as Carol Melkett, and Gerard Way as Brindsley Miller. A round of applause for these stars out of the rafters.” There was some clapping, but not much, since the entire cast consisted of only seven people. The only person Gerard knew was Sarah; everyone else may as well have gone to a different school, for all he knew. That didn’t help with the awkward feeling of being applauded by people he didn’t know and didn’t care to know. “Here are your scripts,” Karp continued, distributing binders to each actor. “We’re going to read through the whole thing today, just to give you all a feel for your characters. Gerard, please start on the first page.” Gerard sighed and opened his binder.
“There,” he began, but was cut off immediately.
“British accent, please. Everyone speaks with a British accent, except for Bamberger and Schuppanzigh, Josh and Zach,” he nodded to two boys that sat beside Gerard. “Who have German accents. Start over.”
“There,” Gerard repeated, this time in his accent. “How do you think the room looks?”
“Fabulous!” Sarah responded in a ridiculous voice. “I told you it would!”
The play was, in fact, very short. In about an hour, they had finished reading through the whole thing. It was actually pretty funny, Gerard had to admit. But he had a lot of lines. How was he supposed to remember all these? The last time he’d been on a stage, he was in fifth grade, and he was wearing green tights as Peter Pan. It had been horrible. At least he didn’t have to wear nylons this time. He hoped.
“So,” Sarah said, catching up to Gerard, who had bolted from the theatre the moment Karp had dismissed them. “We have a kiss on, like, the first page.” She blushed furiously and grinned shyly up at Gerard, who had to use every ounce of self-control not to roll his eyes and smack his palm to his forehead.
“Yeah. Great.” He had to stop for a moment to think of which office (there were three main ones) that he’d left Mikey in. Sarah’s distracting chatter was not helping.
“You know, Gerard, I still really like you a lot,” Sarah said quietly, trying to keep up with him as he lengthened his strides. The front office. Right.
“I like you too, Sarah,” Gerard said, thinking that maybe she’d lay off if he played off her love-puppy comments.
“No, I mean, like, I really like you, Gerard.” Why did she have to do this now?
“Look, Sarah, you’re great. I really value your friendship. But with everything that’s going on right now, with Mikey, and looking for a new job, and keeping up with schoolwork, the last thing I need is a girlfriend.” It might have sounded more sincere if Gerard wasn’t just trying to shake her off. She still seemed to buy it, though.
“Oh. Okay. I get it, I guess. Just…you know, if you ever want to…you know…” With that, Sarah turned on her heel and walked away, which Gerard was thankful for. He’d probably feel bad if this exact thing hadn’t happened a few times before, and he didn’t know that she’d just bounce back in a few hours. He took out his phone and dialed Frank.
“Hello?” A cutely groggy voice.
“Did I wake you?” Gerard stopped outside the office and lowered his voice.
Frank cleared his throat before speaking again. “No. No, of course not.”
“It’s the middle of the day; why were you sleeping?”
“I was just taking a nap, chill out. How was your first rehearsal?”
“It was okay, I guess. I have a lot of lines. I don’t know how I’m going to be able to do this.”
“Want to come over for a few minutes?” Frank’s voice had a tempting tone.
“I can’t…I’ve got Mikey with me.” Gerard looked in through the window of the office and saw his little brother swinging his feet below a table and coloring on some printer paper.
“Just a few minutes,” Frank pleaded. “My Aunt Karen will watch him. You know she loves the kid.”
“I don’t know…” Gerard bit his lower lip.
“Please? Gee? Please?” That did it. It was the nickname that did it. Gerard sighed.
“Fine. But just for a few minutes.”
Ten minutes later, Gerard was parking his car in the Bryars’ driveway. “Now remember,” he told Mikey as they walked up the steps to the front door. “Don’t give Mrs. Bryar any trouble. Be polite.”
“I know, I know, Gee.” Mikey sounded exasperated. Gerard ruffled the kid’s hair. He greeted Bob’s mom when she answered the door and took the stairs two at a time to Frank’s room. He knocked lightly before walking in.
“Hey, Gee!” Frank had been laying back on his bed, a comic book in his hands. It didn’t seem like he’d been reading it, though, since it was upside down. Frank also seemed as though he was being a bit too cheery. Despite his strange mood, Frank got up and threw his arms around Gerard’s waist tightly, squeezing until Gerard thought the smaller boy would snap him in half. “I needed that,” he sighed, pulling away, but not taking his arms from around the other teen. It was then that Gerard noticed that his eyes were a bit red and somewhat puffy, as though he’d been crying.
“What’s wrong?” Gerard placed his hand on Frank’s cheek. “You’ve been crying.”
“What?” Frank’s hand flew up to his eyes. “No, I haven’t. I…my eyes were itchy. I got something in them. They’re…itchy.”
“Don’t lie to me, Frank,” Gerard said sternly. “I can tell. What’s wrong? You know you can tell me.”
“I don’t…It’s stupid…” Frank murmured, turning his head to avoid looking at Gerard.
“It’s not stupid, it’s important.”
“It’s just something Bob said.”
“What? What did he say?” Gerard placed his hands on Frank’s shoulders and peered into his eyes.
“He just made some comment about the way I looked…He said I looked like a stupid faggot.” Gerard’s insides froze.
“Does he--does he…know?”
“No, I was just fooling around and put on eyeliner, but…I told you it was stupid.’
“No, that’s not stupid. He is stupid. What an asshole. Don’t take anything he says seriously, ever. You hear me? He has no idea what he’s talking about. You’re beautiful, and smart, and funny, and an infinitely better person than he is.” Frank smiled sadly.
“Thank you,” he said, pressing his lips to Gerard’s, who let it linger for a moment before pulling away.
“I--I have to go.” With that, he walked out of the room and down the stairs. Frank watched his car pull away from his bedroom window, before letting the curtain fall and collapsing back onto his bed.
“Love you, too,” he murmured, covering his face with a pillow.
Not much to say about this chapter. New one soon. Go comment, rate, and subscribe, please. OverAndOutxx
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