FicWad

Ray and Monty had gone to the park. They sat on the swings, talking about what was on their minds. They had dropped Frank and Bree off earlier in town, and then Monty decided it was a nice day to go to the park. It was a nice day, beautiful actually. The sun was shining, with very few clouds in the sky. It wasn’t too hot and it wasn’t humid. There was a slight breeze blowing through the summer air.

The park was small. It had mostly jungle gyms and other fun structures for little kids to play on. There was a giant metal slide that looked a lot bigger when they were kids, but the slide was always dangerous to slide on in the summer heat. There was a swing set with two regular swings and two baby swings, then next to that was a huge metal and plastic jungle gym filled with kids. Ray and Monty passed that to go to the “big kids’” swing set. It was just high regular swings next to a giant maple tree. The park overlooked the soccer fields, with no game going on currently.

Little kids, who looked the age of four and younger, ran around, giggling and having fun. Mothers chatted amongst eachother of their child’s behavior. Ray and Monty didn’t say too much, they just enjoyed the peaceful summer afternoon in each other’s presence.

“Mommy, mommy! Look at that man’s hair! It looks fluffy!” A little boy, probably four years old, exclaimed, pointing a little stubby finger at Ray. Monty laughed, smiling at Ray and the little boy; Ray chuckled.

“It’s not polite to point, dear,” the little boy’s mother scolded. “Come along now.”

The two hurried off, as the little boy was still fascinated with Ray’s hair and his mother was embarrassed. Monty and Ray couldn’t help but laugh. Kids ran left and right, some stared at them, others waved ecstatically.

“I want this day to last forever,” Monty said, pushing her legs forward and back to get a little air on the swing. “This is going to be a great summer, I hope.”

“Of course it will,” Ray said, smiling in an optimistic attitude. His swing was barely moving back and forth, “as long as we’re together.”

Monty grinned, “Oh, Ray, you hopeless romantic. I have the feeling Gerard has something very elaborate planned, so I’m sure we’ll be together.”

“Well, you know Gerard,” Ray laughed, kind of nervously to what his friend could have planned. He shook his head of that thought. “Hey, I’m thinking about selling my car, what do you think?”

“Why?” Monty asked. Her speed on the swing slowed down almost to a complete stop. She looked at Ray, trying to read his expression.

Ray shrugged. “I was thinking about getting a truck. There’s this guy who’s selling his truck and it’s just as old as my car. He’s selling his truck for less than the estimate on my car. I’d have a new-old truck and gas money. It’d work, I think. But, what do you think?”

Monty nodded. “Sounds like a good idea, I guess. Whatever you want, babe.”

She hopped off of the swing, and motioned for Ray to follow her. Monty grabbed his hand. They passed all the jungle gyms and other fun stuff to where the basketball court was. No one was there, either. Monty and Ray climbed the large steps that were the chain link fence, overlooking the ball diamond right next to the soccer fields, again, with no game. The stairs had graffiti everywhere.

Dates and obscenities covered the top of the stairs, especially. There were things that said “I hate so-and-so” and “I love him too much” and other teenage fluff. The announcer box was locked, and several kids have picked at the lock.

“Look, remember this?” Ray asked, pointing to several initials that were hardly readable with a date next to them. Monty saw them and laughed.

GW.RT.MS.JW.CH.MW.FI. 6.27.93

“Dude, that was like forever ago!” Monty laughed. Two years ago, to be exact. They write their initials in age order, putting the date next to it like the cliché seventh, ninth and tenth graders they were. “We have to rewrite this, cause now we have Bree with us.”

Ray nodded, “Of course!” He peered over the side of the railing, seeing exactly how high they were up. Then, he got an idea. “Yo, wanna go on top of the dugout?”

Monty rolled her eyes, “Sure. Just don’t say ‘yo’ again. It makes you sounds like you’re from the hood.”

They climbed up on the fence that connected the dugout with the chain-link wall. It wasn’t too high up from the ground, but while on the dugout, it was pretty high. Maybe six feet high. Ray was okay with jumping off, but Monty was a little more hesitant when it came time to go. She bit her lip and held onto the edge tightly

“I’ll catch you, I promise,” Ray said.

Monty nodded, taking in a deep breath. “Okay, okay. One…two...” She pushed herself off of the dugout ledge, and landed right in Ray’s arms. “Thanks,” she said, placing a kiss on his cheek.

“No problem, princess,” Ray smirked at the little on-the-spot nickname, placing Monty back on the ground. She grinned, taking his hand.

The two walked to Ray’s car, and headed back home. They went to Monty’s house, and she didn’t care what her father would have to say about it. Ray parked on the street, right in front of her house.

Monty’s dad and Emily were waiting for them—for her—to come back, because apparently they had some exciting news.

“Dad,” Monty said, “I don’t think you two have been properly introduced. Dad, this is Ray, the guy I love. Ray, this is my dad. Oh and that’s Emily.”

Emily smiled, shaking Ray’s hand enthusiastically, “Nice to meet you. Well, we have some exciting news for you,” she said to Monty. “How about we go into the kitchen to talk about it? I made lemonade.”

Ray seemed very awkward in this position, and sat next to Monty. As Emily said, she made fresh lemonade, and poured a glass for all of them. Monty’s father sat across from Ray and was looking him up and down, not sure if he quite approved yet. Monty glanced at her dad, with a small scowl across her face. She turned her head back to Emily.

“The news?” Monty asked, trying to get this started.

Her father’s attention turned to her, and he nodded, “Right. Well, the exciting news is…”

Emily showed her hand to the teenagers, “We’re going to be getting married over the summer! How exciting!”

Monty pressed a fake smile on her face, “Yeah, that’s great.”

“Congrats,” Ray said, awkwardly.

“That’s not all,” Emily said with a big grin. “You’re going to have a sibling, Monty!”

“You’re pregnant?” Monty asked, shocked. Her dad wasn’t old, thirty-two, and Emily was only thirty, but it was awkward. She was going to a have a sibling that would be sixteen years younger than her by the time it was born.

Robert Scott nodded, “It’s fantastic! I can’t wait to see the new shining little face! She, or he, will be absolutely gorgeous!” Emily nodded, agreeing completely, taking her fiancée’s hand. “Ray, may I talk to you outside?”

Ray and Monty’s father exited the room. Monty was nervous about what would go on. It was going to be the “are you worthy of my daughter?” talk.

Emily grabbed Monty’s attention. “Monty, I know we haven’t been on the best of terms, but I want to make it up to you. I approve of Ray, and I think it’s sweet you two are in love. Montgomery, I want you to be one of my bridesmaids, please. And, to make you happy, I want to invite your friends, too.”

Monty nodded, “Uhm, thank you. It means a lot to me.”

Ray came back into the kitchen, with Monty’s father behind him. He looked down, and then up at Monty’s awaiting eyes.

“I got to go, Monty,” he said.

Monty’s eyes widened. “Oh. I’ll walk you out then.”

They walked out to Ray’s car. Monty was so ready to cry. Her father said no. Now it’d be harder to see him. The one person that made her feel special and beautiful was being ripped out of her life. She hugged him closely before saying goodbye.

“He approved, Monty,” Ray whispered in her ear. “Said you can come over to my house for dinner, too, tonight. If you want, of course. My mom wants to meet you officially.”

Monty looked up at him with shock eyes. She punched him in the arm. “I thought I’d lose you, jerk, and you were just pretending?” She hugged him again, “Love you, Toro. Don’t do anything like that to me ever again. And of course I’ll have dinner with you.”

“Sorry, love,” Ray chuckled, hooking his arm around her waist. “Love you, too, Monty.”

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“Alright, just hold it like this,” Mikey said. “And press B, it’s the one on the bottom.”

“Mikey! I know how to hold a controller. Jesus,” Jamie said, rolling her eyes. “I know what buttons to press, okay? Just because I’m a girl doesn’t mean I’m completely ignorant when it comes to videogames.”

Mikey smiled sheepishly, “Sorry, James. I just can’t believe you agreed to actually play videogame with me. Sorry.”

Jamie and Mikey sat on his bed, facing the small TV across from them on Mikey’s dresser. Mikey was pretty shocked when Jamie agreed to play videogames with him, but there was no way he’d object to it. They were about to play some racing game, which came untitled because Gerard bootlegged it. It was still good quality, though. Jamie thought she would have to beat Mikey over the head with her controller if he didn’t stop trying to ‘teach’ her what to do.

“Press start,” she said, “please.”

Mikey nodded, pressing the A button. The game started. The room was filled with determination, concentration and the noise of buttons clicking. Neither of them said anything, except the frequent swearing when one of the automated opponents passed them. When the words “Last Lap” appeared on the screen, the noise of the buttons and the swearing grew louder.

When the game finished, though, the words “Winner: Player 2” flashed across the screen, Jamie grinned, but Mikey was shocked, gaping at the screen.

“Best two out of three?” Jamie offered, Mikey shrugged and nodded.

The game started again, and when they got to the last lap, Jamie was far ahead of Mikey, who lost his concentration when discovering that. The words flashed “Winner: Player 2.” Jamie smirked at Mikey, who was in complete shock.

“Beginner’s luck,” he mumbled under his breath, rolling his eyes.

Jamie smiled, and sat up, folding her knees underneath her, “Sore loser,” she whispered to her boyfriend, pecking his cheek with a kiss. She pressed start this time, giving Mikey little time to prepare for the next level.

The third level, of course, was more intense than the last two. Mikey was sure he’d win this time. There was no way he could lose to a girl, even his girlfriend who would most definitely brag about it. The screen flashed with the starting “3-2-1.” Jamie started at position number four, for winning the last two rounds. Mikey was at ten, for not winning at all. He scowled slightly. Maybe he’d be able to make her lose her concentration.

“How the hell are you so good at this game?” Mikey questioned, not taking his eyes off of the screen at all.

Jamie glanced over at him, still pressing buttons quickly. “Oh you know. Beginner’s luck,” she smirked.

“That’s a load of bull, Jamie.” Mikey pressed the X and Y buttons, trying to desperately catch of with her. “So, you’ve obviously played this before?”

Jamie shrugged, “This game exactly, no. I’ve played others, though.” She pressed B twice, landing right on a Hyper Boost.

“So you lied to me?” Mikey asked. “You told me you never played videogames before…” He pressed Y and X, and ended up sliding off the ramp, having to restart where he was again. He was losing his concentration.

Jamie shook her head, “No, I just didn’t tell the truth.” A, X, Y. Half through the level. She smirked in satisfaction. “Besides, it was cute watching you try to teach me how to play.”

Mikey rolled his eyes. “But you still lied, however you try to put it.”
Jamie glanced over at him again; he still had most of his concentration on the game. Mikey felt her eyes on him and glanced over. Jamie sighed, looking back at the screen. He was trying to make her feel guilty, and she knew it.

“I know what you’re doing, and it won’t work on me,” she said.

“Really?” Mikey asked, “What exactly am I doing, then?”

“You’re trying to make me feel guilty for lying, but the real reason is that you don’t want to be beat by a girl,” Jamie said, practically reading his mind. “I could let you win, if it means that much to you.”

Mikey shook his head, “Ha ha, no. I’ll just make you lose.”

“Make me lose—Hey!” Jamie exclaimed as Mikey dropped his controller next to him and picked her up by her waist, placing her in his lap. He kissed her neck, making her squirm; her neck was really ticklish. But she only had one more lap left.

“You gonna give up yet?” Mikey whispered in her ear. She shook her head, still pressing the buttons rapidly. “That’s a shame.”

Jamie shrieked as he started to tickle her. She was a very ticklish person all over and this was not a good situation for her. “Jesus Christ! Stop it!” She was so close to winning, but she was very quickly losing her concentration and ability to breath properly.

“Just quit, and I’ll stop.”

Jamie sucked in a deep breath, “Ugh. No. Screw you.” One last sequence of A, X, Y and the words flashed with “Winner: Player 2.” The game made a beeping noise, signaling there was a new high score. “Ha! I beat you. Now keep your hands to yourself.” Jamie swatted his hands away, standing up to catch her breath, and tossed her controller on the ground. She went back to her spot on the bed, wrapping her arms around his neck, resting her head on his shoulder.

“Awh, you’re no fun,” Mikey whined. “What do you think the others are doing? I feel like we’re so boring.”

Jamie shrugged. “I have no idea. Why would I know that?”

“Cause you know everything.”

“Shut up, Michael.”

“No thanks, Jamison.”

“Loser.”

Mikey pouted, “That’s not nice. Especially coming from you. Thought you were better than that.”

“I didn’t mean it like that!” Jamie exclaimed, sitting up properly, with her knees folded underneath her. “Look. I’m a loser, and you’re a loser. We’re both losers.”

“That still doesn’t make a difference. You still called me a loser,” Mikey said.

Jamie rolled her eyes, “Don’t be so difficult. I didn’t mean it in a bad way.”

Mikey didn’t say anything in reply. So, Jamie got up from the bed and went to go downstairs. Mikey, though, followed her anyways like a lost puppy.

“Where are you going?” he asked, grabbing her elbow before she could take the first step.

“To get a drink?” Jamie said, making it sound like a question.

They walked down the stairs, but when Mikey called her name again, she stopped. He didn’t expect her to stop completely, and he didn’t stop, so Mikey bumped her into her, on about the bottom stair. Mikey grabbed Jamie’s waist as they went down, and landed with a thud on the floor.

“Sorry,” he laughed. “For, as you said, being difficult.”

Jamie was giggling from the whole thing. “Nahhhh, I’m sorry for calling you a loser. But if it makes you feel better, you’re only my loser.”

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“No, no. You need to eat,” Frank argued with Bree.

Bree rolled her eyes. They were sitting in a booth in the back of the local pizzeria. They had walked into town after school, since, well, their rides went elsewhere. Originally, they were going to go with Monty and Ray and then figure out what to do, but they decided it’d be better to let them have their own space, so they walked. For the three weeks Bree had been in Belleville, she had never really been in the town. That was because she was always with her cousins and friends.

When they walked into town, Frank dragged her into this pizzeria, exclaiming that she needed to try the best damn pizza in the world. Of course his mind was on food. Bree didn’t object, though. That was until Frank was going to force her to eat. She was honestly not hungry, but he would have none of that bull.

“What’s with it with girls not eating?” He questioned.

“Frank, I’m just not hungry,” Bree said, speaking the truth. “I don’t have a problem with eating.”

“But you ate like nothing for lunch!” Frank exclaimed. Compared to his lunch—homemade Way eggplant lasagna that was dinner the other day and a few snacks—Bree’s did look like nothing. It was just a sandwich, snack and a juice. But, she wasn’t hungry for more food. It was usually enough to satisfy her until her aunt made dinner, or one of the boys ordered Chinese or pizza/

Bree smiled slightly, “I love your concern. I’ll eat a little bit, to make you happy, okay? But I want you to answer any of my questions that I have. Deal?”

Frank chewed on his bottom lip. “I learned a while ago not to make any deals with the Ways or anybody related to them. But, okay, for you.”

The food came out as Bree grinned; the trap snapped and she had Frank right where she wanted him. She picked up the overly greasy food, folding it in half and took a bite.

“Wait,” Frank said, “Each bite you take, you get to ask one question.”

Bree swallowed the bit of food in her mouth and nodded, “Okay, fine. Question number one.” She waited until Frank swallowed the mouthful of pizza he had. “So, are we, like, dating, or what?”

Frank chuckled, “You had to use an all access question on that?” Bree shrugged. “Okay, um, I don’t know. I like you, you like me. So yes?”

Bree smiled, taking another bite of the pizza. She was just getting warmed up with the questions. She wondered how many questions she could get out of one pizza…

“Any hobbies?” What a lame question. It was only the second one and she couldn’t even think of anything.

Frank smiled, licking the sauce off his lips. “I play guitar sometimes. And, um, not really anything else.” Bree nodded, taking another bite. “I like this game, to be honest. But next time, I get to ask the questions.”

Bree laughed and rolled her eyes. “Okay, next question, um…” Bree really didn’t expect herself to run out of questions so quickly. “So, what’s your history?”

“Oh,” Frank said, taking in a deep breath. This could be a long story. “Okay… I went to Catholic school until seventh grade, in like South Jersey. My parents have been divorced for as long as I can remember. Then the September of seventh grade, I moved up here to live with my dad. I became friends with all of them. And then, now.”

“Biggest regret?”

Frank swallowed the big chunk of pizza he had just taken a bite out of. “I don’t really regret anything. Well, except not telling anybody about…you know. Otherwise, I don’t dwell on the past.”

“First kiss: who and when?” Bree questioned, finding the questions coming easier.

Frank started to remember the whole scene like it was yesterday. It was back at St. Mary’s. She was a pretty brunette, older, cute. They were hanging out together with a whole group of, as they called themselves, “Catholic rebels.” And then as soon as he knew it, she was kissing him. So, like any other male, he kissed back, placing his hand on her hip. Then, before he could really take in what was happening, Sister Eva had his ear pinched in her tight grip, dragging his sorry ass to the confessional booth.

Frank smirked, “This chick back in seventh grade. So, I was still in Saint Mary’s Catholic school, and this girl was hot. She was older, but she came on to me and kissed me in front of a shitload of people. Sister Eva saw and we got in trouble. I told her what happened, she told me not to lie, that a poor innocent girl would never kiss someone like me. So, I got kicked out. Transferred up here.”

Bree giggled, “You were remembering it, weren’t you?” Frank nodded. “Knew it. One hell of a story there!”

“What about you?”

“Nope,” Bree shook her head, “That wasn’t part of the deal. I’m the one asking the questions here.” Frank pouted at her. “Oh don’t give me that look. Okay, fine, fine. I’ll tell you, just don’t laugh!”

Frank nodded, consuming the rest of his pizza, listening to Bree.

“So, it was, I don’t know, December. I was with my friends—Karla and Amy—and we were with a couple of guys too,” Bree explained. “We were hanging out at this, malt shop you could call it. They had Christmas decorations everywhere and stuff. So when Chris and I walked through the door, there was mistletoe. I mean, I sorta kinda liked him. He was cute. And, uh, Amy pushed me into him. We kissed. God. It’s so lame, isn’t it?”

Frank nodded, sitting back in his sit. “So, what happened after that? This was way before you moved up here? Did you two become something?”

Bree blushed, “Uh, yeah, a little bit after that though. Valentine’s Day, he asked me out. It was so sweet. We were going out for a while. Just about until I moved, honestly.”

“Do you still have feelings for him?” Frank asked directly.

Bree looked up from tracing circles in her palm, straight into Frank’s hazel eyes, “Are you serious? Is that what’s got you all tense?” She giggled, shaking her head.

“Hey, I’m serious about this,” he said, with a very serious “I’m not fucking around” face on. “I don’t… I can’t be… I really like you. And I don’t want to be crushed.” Frank looked down at his hands in his lap, biting his lip.

Bree shook her head, grabbing Frank’s hand from across the table. “No, sweetie. When I moved here, I moved on with life. That’s what I learned I have to do. I broke up with him, because I didn’t feel that spark anymore, you know? I like you. Okay?”

Frank leaned across the table, pulling Bree into a brief passionate kiss. No words were needed to be said, except for “Okay,” from Frank.

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Gerard and Cari stayed in the coolest room in the house, the basement. The radio was on, with the ceiling light off, the only light was coming in through the tiny little window, which was opened just a crack to get some fresh air into the bedroom. Clothes and paper were everywhere. It seemed that the clean ones were on Gerard’s desk, or near there. The dirty ones were by the bathroom door. But, no one could really tell… Papers were either from school or sketches that just didn’t quite work out. Along with the clutter was an odor that just screamed “Gerard!”

Cari spun back and forth on the desk’s spinning chair. She tapped her fingers along to the beat of whatever song was now playing on the radio. She watched Gerard concentrate on a current sketch, or something. She stayed quite, not wanting to disturb him. Cari turned around in the chair, looking at the wall of photos and artwork. She absentmindedly sighed out loud. She was so bored right now.

The sound of laughter came from upstairs. Cari bit her lip. Obviously Jamie and Mikey were having a good time. It wasn’t like Cari didn’t want to be here, she did, but she wanted to do something instead of watching Gerard draw. Cari did really like him, but she didn’t know exactly what they were.

This time Cari sighed louder, spinning back around in the chair to face Gerard. She eyed him down until she thought she’d glare a hole through him. She sighed even louder, pushing the chair back onto the desk.

Gerard didn’t look up. He only said “Hmm…”

Cari rolled her eyes. She grabbed a notebook off the desk behind her. She threw it with perfect aiming, hitting the raven-haired artist right in the head. Cari smirked in satisfaction as Gerard rubbed the back of his head, and glanced over at her.

“Do you need something?” He asked, tossing the notebook aside.

“Yeah,” Cari said. “I want you to pay attention to me. What do I have to do to get you to freaking notice me? Strip?!”

Gerard chuckled, “Not tonight, love. So is that why you were making all that noise? Just to have my attention.”

Cari blushed and nodded. “Well, yeah. Seems like you wanna draw more, though.”

“This? Nah, it can wait,” Gerard said, tossing the sketchbook and his favorite pencil aside. “C’mere.”
She got up from the chair and sat next to him on the bed. Cari sighed and crossed her arms. She was still agitated. Gerard chuckled softly, placing his hand in hers and crossed his legs on the bed. He ran a hand through the strands of her red and black hair.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, whispering it quietly.

Cari shrugged, “I wish I knew.”

“What’re you thinking about?”

Once again, she shrugged. “I dunno. I… Everything, I guess. The future.”

“And what about the future?” Gerard questioned further. If he could find a way to help, he would.

“Us.”

“Oh.”

Now that answer Gerard wasn’t really expecting. He could have predicted it, but that wasn’t really a main priority of his at the moment. He knew that makes him sound like a jerk, but Gerard couldn’t help that. There were other things blocking his focus on love, such as college and high school graduation. Cari sighed from the lack of silence, pulling her hand away from his and fiddled with her thumbs in her lap.

Gerard took her hand back, and twisted his position to look her in the eyes. “That’s not what I meant. Really. I just. I haven’t thought about it. I’m sorry.”

Cari shook her head. “No, no. It’s fine. I know you have more important things to worry about than some stupid little freshman.”

“Cari, no. That is not what I mean at all,” Gerard said firmly. “Just listen to me.”

She looked up from her lap, staring into the older teen’s hazel eyes with her own blue green ones. Gerard sighed softly. He just wanted to fix her, she was so broken and he’d do anything to fix her. Gerard put his left hand on her cheek in a comforting manner, his other hand still in hers.

Gerard bit his lip, trying to find the words in his head. “Look. I do like you. A lot. It’s just. We can’t. I’m eighteen—full-fledged adult. You’re a minor. I can go to jail if we did anything.”

“Well you can also go to jail for under aged drinking and illegal drug use, too, but you don’t seem to care about that fact!” Cari snapped. Her eyes widened when Gerard withdrew his hands back to his side. “No. I didn’t mean that. I’m sorry!”

Gerard shook his head, wiping the tears from her eyes. “No, shush. Cari, it’s fine. You’re right, you know.” He pulled her into his lap, wrapping his arms around her protectively. “If we’re careful enough and nobody finds out, we can be together.”

Cari shook her head. “You’re just saying that so I’m not upset.”

“No! No, I’m not. I really mean it,” Gerard pleaded. “Please believe me?”

She thought for a moment, and for that moment Gerard held his breath, worried about what she would say. But she nodded, whispering “Okay.” He held for a few more minutes, running his thumb over her scarred arm.

They would have stayed like that for a long time if they could. Though, the front door opened—Bree and Frank—and there was a loud crash upstairs—Jamie and Mikey. Gerard sighed, and Cari giggled quietly. They went upstairs to check out what exactly was going on.

They walked into a scene of awkwardness: Jamie and Mikey were sitting on the floor, laughing at Bree and Frank who stood awkwardly in the doorway. Cari and Gerard were obviously confused. And where were Ray and Monty?

“What happened here?” Gerard asked, cocking an eyebrow.

“Well. Long story short—I beat Mikey at some videogame, he’s a sore loser, and we fell down the stairs which kind of hurt. Then Frank and Bree walked in all lovey dovey smoochy smoochy. And, then you guys showed up,” Jamie grinned. “Oh and Monty is having dinner at Ray’s tonight. So.”

Cari bit her lip to quiet her laughing. “And how hard did you hit your head, Jamie?”

Jamie rolled her eyes and sarcastically said, “Funny.”

Gerard smirked, turning to Frank and Bree, whose faces were red. “Lovey dovey smoochy smoochy, huh?”

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Took me long enough, huh? Well, I'm proud of the length of this chapter. Three more after this and then it's over D: R&R lovelies. I'll try to be more consistent with the next update.

Summary: Love is Dangerous- blink-182