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   "hey, 9 is my lucky number!" Gerard way exclaimed. "I'm sure I'm going to like him.".  
   His younger brother Mikey raised an eyebrow. "your ninth blind date?" he said "I'd have given up by now"
   Gerard just smiled as he slipped on a Misfits t-shirt. 
   "whats so special about the number 9 anyway?" Mikey asked.
   "I was born on April 9th, my apartment number is 9, my name has 9 letters in it, -and my date is Ryan Evans. 9 letters. See what I mean?" 
   Mikey laughed. "so tell me about this new guy." 
   "he's the nephew of one of my friends. He sounded nice on the phone. Deep voice. Business type. Assertive."
   "well I can't wait to see how it goes" Mikey said.

~~~~

That Saturday evening, Gerard discovered just how assertive Ryan was. 
   He had chosen the restaurant, then selected the wine without consulting Gerard. And while Gerard preferred chicken, Ryan insisted He have the same seafood special he ordered.
   Not wanting to make waves, Gerard agreed, reluctantly.
   "so tell me about yourself" said Ryan "what do you do in your spare time?" 
   "well I read a lot. And I kinda play guitar"
   "oh?" 
   "yeah..I'm taking a guitar class-" Gerard hesitated when he saw Ryan shaking his head. "guitar classes aren't very effective." he declared. 
   "I like my classes.." 
   Ryan sighed, "you should let me teach you." 
   Gerard was about to protest, but Ryan suddenly put a hand up, pulled out a vibrating cell phone, and barked, "hello?" then he stood, talking loudly, and walked away from the table. 
   Gerard was fuming. What an arrogant know-it-all.
   Some blind date this "lucky 9" turned out to be. 
   He rose to go to the restroom, then, seeing Ryan was still on the phone, his back to him, he headed toward the front door instead.

~~~~
  
Outside, Gerard raised his arm for a cab, just as someone shouted "taxi!" and a short tattooed male dashed toward the cab that had just pulled up. As their hands reached for the same door, the man stopped, and Gerard looked into a pair of warm brown eyes.
   "oh" they said simultaneously. For a second, they stared at each other, and a shiver slid up Gerard's spine.
   "you take it." the man said
   "no," Gerard replied, his heart thumping. "you were here first"
   "well..." he considered. "where are you going?".
   "sixteenth street" 
   "my apartment's in that direction. Could we share a ride?"  
   "sure." Gerard agreed. After they'd settled in, the man said his name was Frank iero, he was a engineer and he'd just left a city counsel meeting. 
   "I'm involved with the construction of the new animal shelter. It was held up because of costs, but tonight everything worked out" he smiled. "of course, I knew it would."
   Gerard looked at him. "really?"
   He nodded. "it was our fifth meeting, today is the fifth of the month. I'm lucky with fives" catching Gerard's glare, he turned a bright red. "sounds strange, right?" 
   "no! Nine is my lucky number. Well, usually..." Gerard described his date. 
   "what a jerk" Frank said. He paused "so you haven't eaten yet?" 
   "no"
   "neither have I. There's a great place near hear-would you let me buy you dinner?" his eyes twinkled. "I promise you can order anything you like" 
   Gerard smiled back, silently counting the letters in franks name. He smiled. And when they got to the restaurant, he wasn't surprised to see, on the cab as it pulled away, the number 9.