FicWad

So, the reason I haven't updated in so long is really kind of a stupid reason. So I won't talk about that. But I do have a good reason why I might not be updating later. I'm helping my sister move into a huge-ass house, and not only do I have to help pack all of her shit, I have to help her completely gut all five bathrooms. I also have to pack up all of my stuff and the furniture I inherited from my mama and move it as well. Plus I'm trying to get into an amazing school, so that's taking a lot of work. But I'll be free to do whatever the fuck I want by June. I'll most certainly try to start on the next chapter before then... I'm too excited for what's happening next to wait ;)


I quietly sat on my bed, legs pulled up to my chest. I leaned my head against the wall and stared out the window at the azure sky. The clouds were drifting leisurely, and the longer I watched them, the more relaxed I became. Unlike usual, I was calm. Not that I had a lot of energy in the first place, but I felt like I was asleep with my eyes open.

I wasn't worried about being disturbed by my family. My mom was out on another 'friendly dinner date' with her friend Kevin, and my dad was out of town. The only possibility of my silence being shattered was my cousin Brianna. But since it was a nice day during the summer, I doubted she would be knocking on my door just to bother me.

The house was completely quiet when it was just me at home. I wondered what Monty was up to, and debated calling her. I turned and put my feet on the floor. A cool breeze drifted through my open window and I almost fell back onto my bed just from how tranquil it made me feel. I ignored my desire to stay frozen in one place for hours and stood up. I made my way over to my desk and picked up my cell phone. I quickly checked my missed calls (which consisted of one from Bree, two from my mom and one from a restricted number) and dialed Montgomery's number.

She picked up after two rings. "Hey..." she said tiredly.

I giggled at the tone of her voice. "Did I wake you up?" I asked.

Monty yawned. "No, I was just kind of relaxing. It's so nice outside that I was laying under one of the trees in my backyard. And you snapped me out of my daze. You don't exactly sound up to par yourself, honey" she said. I could tell she was smiling, mentally mocking me for making an oversight like that when God knows she wouldn't waste an afternoon in the summer sleeping.

I rolled my eyes and smiled. "Big deal. I was doing the same, for your information. So put your smart little head to work in some other way by figuring out a way to cure my boredom."

She was silent for a moment, and I could almost see her staring at the phone blankly. "I'll be over in ten minutes" she said, sighing. I heard shuffling in the background as she slid her shoes back on. The one thing she couldn't stand was wearing shoes outside (unless they were needed) during the summer. We shared a mutual annoyance when it came to that.

I laughed. "I love you, Monty..." I said, grinning.

"Yeah... sure. You're just saying that because you're not the one who has to do the walking."

"Why would I walk when everything I want is right here?" I asked, glancing out my window. Frank sat outside strumming his guitar. I silently wished he would break one of his strings so he'd have to go inside and get another one, just to spare me listening to him for five minutes.

Monty sighed. "Is staring out your window at the guy across the street some creepy type of fetish or something?"

I continued to glare at Frank, still hoping he'd break a string. "Fetish? Are you kidding me? Montgomery Scott, I am ashamed of you. I like staring out of my window because I'm too goddamn shy to go talk to him myself."

I heard her laugh. "Wait... are we talking about the same guy here? Because if we are, I doubt he feels the same."

I pulled the phone away from my ear and stared at it in disbelief. "Are you sick? I am not talking about Frank Iero!" I said, halfway between disturbance and hysteria due to giggling.

Montgomery stifled a laugh just as one of Frank's strings snapped. "Yes!" I cried, forgetting that my window was open. Frank's head snapped up and he glared at me from the street. I bit my lip to keep from laughing at the look on his face.

I leaned out the window. "I guess there's some kind of supernatural force surrounding the neighborhood that won't tolerate the sound of a dying cat, huh?" I called down to him.

He chuckled and shot me a look. "I wouldn't say that. Your vocal chords would be permanently damaged if that was the case", he called back.

I narrowed my eyes and opened my mouth to retaliate when Monty interjected. "Don't even think about answering him. I don't care what the hell he said, but it's not worth bursting my ear drums from hearing you scream that close to the phone again."
I sighed and settled for quickly giving him the finger before moving away from the window. "I won't do it again...", I said apologetically.

Montgomery sighed. "Whatever... I have to go wash my hair before I start heading over, so if you'd like to continue wasting your breath on the abnormally short prick across the street, go ahead."

I smiled. "Don't' tempt me", I said chuckling. "I'll see you in fifteen."

"See ya... and Cadence?"

"Yeah?"

"Please try to resist the urge to strangle him unless you absolutely must to get him to shut up."

I giggled and she hung up. I set my phone back on my desk and slid my sandals on my feet. I pulled my hair into a loose ponytail before making my way downstairs. I grabbed a cookie from the kitchen and checked the refrigerator to see if my mom ad left me a note. She had, and I wasn't surprised. I pulled it out from underneath the magnet that was holding it and read it quickly.

Cadence

I'll be home a lot later than I thought tonight, so you'll have to make yourself dinner. I hope you won't have a problem with that. Just call Kevin's phone if you need anything.

xoxo
Mom

Translation: 'I'm too busy fucking some guy while your dad is gone, and I don't care enough to come home and make sure you're not starving to death or that the house hasn't burned down with you in it.' I sighed and crumpled up the paper and tossed it in the trash. "Thanks, mom. I don't give a fuck about you either", I mumbled.

I turned and made my way to the other side of the house and went out the front door. I sat down on my porch swing, annoyed and tired of my shitty parents. Not that I don't like my dad. He's really nice and caring... when he's home. He travels so much because of his job that I only see him a few times a month. And with my mom at her boyfriend's house, I'm almost always alone. I don't blame him for that, but he doesn't even call me when he's gone anymore. And that's what bothered me. He knew my mom wasn't home a lot either (though he didn't know exactly what she was doing), and he neglected to check up on me occasionally. Most kids I know would be in heaven if their parents left them alone. But they're all I've got except for Monty, no matter how much I dislike my mom and how pissed I am at my dad.

I glanced at my watch. Monty wouldn't be over for at least another ten minutes, so I laid back on the swing while I waited. I closed my eyes and let the sun warm me. The neighborhood was quiet for the most part, save the normal sounds of birds chirping and those goddamn squirrels constantly chattering. I felt myself drift back into my relaxed state that I had been in only five minutes before I stepped outside. I let my mind wander, thinking about things that had no real place with anything.

I could have just stayed there for the rest of the time that I waited for Montgomery, but I was interrupted by the horrific sounds of Frank's guitar again. I groaned and sat up. “Do you fucking mind? I'm trying to kill time here, and I can't even think straight with you playing that goddamn instrument!” I called. I lay back again, annoyed. I crossed my arms and closed my eyes, trying to block out the noise. He continued to play, which pissed me off even more. Honestly, I'm not the only person in our neighborhood who would complain about the noise. There's some elderly woman down the street, who seems to have perfect hearing when it comes to disturbances, but can hear a thing if you try to talk to her about something she doesn't give a shit about. Plus Frank lives next door to a family that has a young infant.

I thought about saying something to him, just to save his ass. It usually not the best idea to make a ton of noise. I chuckled quietly to myself. If he wants to piss me off, let him. I'm not the one who's gonna be hit upside the head with that old witch's broom when she walks over to his house to complain.

After a moment or two, he stopped playing. I didn’t bother to look up, considering I could finally enjoy the quiet. But of course, it didn’t last. Why the fuck would it? I mean, if it involves Frank, it’ll always piss you off.

“Cadie! Get your motherfuckin’ ass over here!” Frank yelled.

I shot up and turned. “Do you mind to watch your goddamn—“

I stopped. Feeling like the complete idiot that I normally am, I blinked. No, of course it wasn’t just Frank sitting there. It usually wasn’t anyway. Gerard was leaning against the front of the house, right next to the little fucker. But did I even see Frank? Hell no.

Gerard caught my gaze and smiled. I smiled back at him, slightly surprised at the fact that I had just gotten to see him smile without it being a very dreary morning when I didn’t give a damn about anything.

Frank rolled his eyes and sat back against the steps. “Would it kill you to get over here faster? I have no patience for you, little girl.”

I shot him a look and walked across my porch, then jumped down the three steps onto the cement. I was half tempted to piss him off and walk at a slower pace than usual, but I really wasn’t in the mood to deal with him.

As soon as I crossed the street onto his property, he sighed dramatically. “Finally…” he mumbled. He pointed to the empty spot on the stair next to him. “Sit.”

I stopped dead, glaring at him. “If you think there is any way thank I am sitting down that close to you, Frank Anthony Thomas Iero, you truly are delusional.”

Gerard bit his lip to keep from showing his amusement.

Frank narrowed his eyes. “Fine”, he growled. “You can stand over there next to Gee, if you want. Unless you’d rather go sit in the middle of the street.”

I rolled my eyes. “Does it really matter?”

“Does it really matter?” he mimicked, sneering. He adjusted his guitar. “Of course it doesn’t fucking matter. Do whatever the hell you see fit.”

I held my tongue and sat down across from Frank defiantly. He glared at me. “I thought you said you couldn’t—”

“Shut the fuck up, Frank. Do you mind to tell me why you so courteously called me into your kingdom of Hell?” I said, raising an eyebrow. He was starting to bore me, so I started playing with the blades of grass beside me.

Frank sighed. “Gee said you liked music, so he figured you might like to come over and join us while we… well, you get what the hell I mean”, he said, mumbling his words quietly.

Gerard chuckled. “Don’t listen to him. I wanted to see if you could sing.”

I turned my head to face him so quick I swore I almost broke my neck. “Sing? I can sing. That doesn’t mean I do it in front of people.”

He smiled and walked over, sitting down next to me. “What if I start, and you join in?” he asked.

I stared at my hands. “I don’t know if I can do that…” I said quietly. Frank looked at me curiously, so I figured only Gerard had heard me. Gerard chuckled. “You can. It’s not that hard. Trust me.”

My heart pounded at those last few words. I didn’t trust anyone. It was so easy to be led into something you couldn’t get out of. And that’s what I never understood. Even though this was simple, I couldn’t just take someone’s word for my guidance. No, I don’t trust Gerard. He seems so sweet and pure. But I still don’t trust him.

I took a deep breath and shook my head. “I- I can’t. I can’t sing in front of people.”

Gerard was silent. “Is it because you aren’t comfortable around Frank?”

I shrugged. I didn’t really know if I was comfortable around Gerard. Maybe I was, to a point. “I can’t sing in front of most people. Frank isn’t any different.”

Gerard nodded. “Do you think you could sing if it was just you and me? Not anyone else. Just us.”

Could I? Could I just do it in front of him? I’m not intimidated by him.

“Maybe. I probably could”, I said quietly.

He smiled. “Perfect. Meet me on the west side of the tracks tomorrow around noon. There won’t be anyone else. I want to hear you.”

I raised my head to look at him. “What do you mean?”

Gerard shook his head. “You don’t understand. It’s hard to see yourself as others do. You may think you aren’t worth anyone’s time. But just from spending even a small amount of time with you, I’m amazed. Not to seem old-fashioned, but you enchant me. You’re unlike anyone I’ve ever met. That’s why I want to see another side of you. That is, if you’ll let me.”

I looked back down at my hands. “Why wouldn’t I let you?” I asked quietly.

I heard Monty calling my name from down the street. I quickly stood and realized Frank had gone inside. I smiled at Gerard. “I’ll see you tomorrow”, I said before quickly jogging down the street to meet my friend.

Monty glanced at Gerard. “Who’s that?” she asked curiously after I had reached her.

I smiled and shrugged. “One of Frank’s friends…”

She raised an eyebrow. “What the hell were you two talking about? You seemed pretty deep into conversation with him. I mean, I thought you were gonna have a heart attack when you shot up like that.”

I bit my lip and shook my head. “I don’t really know, Monty. I swear I really have no clue…”


I think that's gonna be all for a while. I'll update within the next month, hopefully. Moving is a pain in the ass, and it takes up a lot of time. But we should be in our house by June at the latest.