FicWad

I tapped at the counter, bored out of my brains and just dying to go home. Or home out again. It didn't matter which - either option would offer more entertainment that just sitting in an empty tattoo parlour, serving non-existent clients and waiting for John to arrive back at the shop with my new house mate.

My nose wrinkled at the thought of that. I wasn't exactly an unsocial person, but the idea of having to share my top floor with another person was abhorrent. Particularly as I had no idea what this person was going to be like; only that he was going to join my school in the year above me, and had been kicked out of his parent's house for doing drugs. John told me not to let on that I knew that last bit though.

Having another person sharing the house with me would also put a limit on my sneaking out. Everyone knew that I slept around and that, recently, the nights I'd spent fucking someone out-numbered those I spent alone. What the hell though - the new guy was just going to have to deal with it.

What made the whole thing worse was that I was also slightly scared of the guy. Or at least, of the idea of him. I mean, if he got kicked out for drugs, what sort of psycho would he be? I was terrified that he'd be the sort of dude who... well, anyone who knew what happened to me would understand my concern. Which made a grand total of two people - me and Phin.

I considered phoning the girl for a second, after all, the shop was empty, so John couldn't tell me off for ignoring customers. But then, she was spending the day with her boyfriend, who got very jealous. Not without good reason, admittedly (after all, Phin and I had made out, and uh, done over stuff in front of him), but he wouldn't appreciate me calling. And it's not like she'd be able to help me out over the phone. She'd probably sucker punch the new guy if he hurt me though, or better still, get Kyle to do it.

The option of phoning the girl was taken away from me anyway a second later, when I heard a car pull up in front of the shop. It was John's, which meant that I was about to meet the guy I was sharing the house with. I hopped off the counter, and moved over to lean against the wall, wanting to be able to see the new boy before he saw me. Then - at the very least - I'd be able to tell whether my concerns were justified or not.

John walked in first, swinging the door shut behind him to keep the heat out. It was early September, which meant that it was still stiflingly hot out. When I first moved here, the weather had thrown me off completely. In New Jersey, although the summers were hot, the winters were long and cold, and I couldn't understand why, even by November, people were still sunbathing on the huge beaches here.

It occurred to me that the new guy was also from Jersey, and wondered if he was feeling as thrown off as I had been.

"Listen," John was in front of me now - looking at me seriously, trying to get me to listen. "I know you're not too happy about Gerard moving in, but he's a good kid..." I zoned out after that. I felt a little guilty about it, but I was tired, and really didn't care what the man had to say about his nephew. It's not like he was gonna warn me if the dude was a rapist.

I didn't notice the door swing open, or register the kid walking in to the shop. I was trying to look like I was concentrating on what John was saying - it was the least I could do, considering the guy let me live with him.

Then the figure standing awkwardly to the side suddenly came to my attention, and I snapped my eyes over to him - guessing that it'd be my new house mate.

If so, clearly all my worries were pointless. The guy was only slightly taller then me, and skinnier. He was deathly pale, wearing eyeliner, and badly needed to wash his hair. When I caught his eye, the kid blushed furiously and ducked his head. I grinned at that. If he was going to try anything, I didn't doubt that I'd be able to get the better of him. Even so, it wouldn't hurt to keep my guard up for a bit. Plus, I'd always enjoyed winding people up.

John continued to talk to me for a few minutes. I shrugged and nodded when it seemed appropriate, but other than that, I'd given up all pretence of listening. He gave up soon enough, and walked back the the boy, motioning for me to follow.

I did so, smirking at the dark haired stranger and causing him to flush again.

"Right," John said in his matter-of-fact, this-is-how-it-is voice. "Gerard, this is Frank. Frank, Gerard."

"Yeah, I kinda guessed after you called him that." I turned my eyes back to the kid, keeping my sarcastic smile in place. He smiled awkwardly and waved. I looked him, unable to stop myself raising an eyebrow at how dorky he was acting. The guy dropped his hand immediately, flushed and ducked his head.

I smiled slightly at that. I'd be lying if I said the sadist in me wasn't enjoying Gerard's obvious discomfort. I was cute really, and though I did pity him a little, it wasn't enough to convince me to stop harassing me. Even if the guy was no threat to me what-so-ever, I really did enjoy winding people up. And considering how adorable looking this kid was, watching him squirm was particularly satisfying.

"Frank works here, and rents one of the rooms in my house." John continued, but not before rolling his eyes at me. Whatever – I’d already told him y opinion about his nephew living with us. I hadn’t had any say in the matter, but the man knew me well enough to realise it wasn’t just pure spite that made me hate the idea. I’m not sure if that was a blessing or a curse. I glanced at Gerard to he his reaction to that. His head had snapped up at John’s words, the flush in his pale cheeks only deepening. "You'll be seeing a lot of him."

There was an awkward pause, which the man conveniently ignored. The dark haired kid in front of me dropped his gaze again.

"Well boys," John continued. "Wait here, I'm just grabbing some stuff from the back then we'll head to mine." He walked away, disappearing into the back. Unsurprisingly, Gerard still had his head hung, but through the locks of his black hair, I could still see a faint pink tinge to his otherwise pale cheeks.

I walked forward towards him, unable to help myself. The urge to just make him that bit more uncomfortable was over-whelming. Plus I had to confirm to myself for sure that he wasn't going to hurt me. John not being here provided me with the ideal chance.

When I was right in front of him, I leaned forward and said "What's so interesting 'bout the floor then?" He jumped back, startled. In fact, he looked as close to a startled deer as it's possible to be for gothic human to be. At least I assume that's the impression that Gerard was trying to give off. Even if it wasn't, the pale skin, darkly lined eyes suited him. And would also ensure getting beaten up in school, if he was going to be as timid there as he was around me.

"N-nothing." He stuttered, tripping over his words. Yeah, I was gonna have no problems from this kid what so ever. He may attract a few himself, but there was no way in hell this shaken-up, nervous teen would be able to hurt me.

If only I had the foresight to know just how false that assumption would be. As it turned out, Gerard Way ended up hurting me more that I'd ever have thought possible.

But then, I'd deserved it.