Categories > Celebrities > My Chemical Romance > Homeless
Realization.
3 reviewsGerard wakes and returns home with his newly made friend. Secrets are uncovered and the homeless man is no longer homeless.
1Moving
A/N Lost internet because of Hurricane Sandy. At least I got to write this! Expect some twists ;D Please R&R!!! (i get more motivated when you do so I shall write more ;P)
Gerard woke before he opened his eyes. He heard the scattered footsteps of children and adults coming from what seemed like a hallway. Laboring, he finally opened his eyes. Gerard pushed himself up to sit on the bed he was lying on. He groaned and lightly felt the back on his head that he soon found was covered in bandages. Upon contact, his head burned in pain and Gerard winced. Attempting to distract himself from the pain, he observed his surroundings. He was in a small bedroom with taupe walls. There were large water stains spread across the ceiling caused by flooding on the roof. The room itself didn’t seem too enticing, but with all the decorative paintings and children’s drawing hanging on the wall, Gerard felt safe, like in his childhood room, before teenage angst crept its way into his life. The sheets and blankets he was under, though a little tattered, smelled slightly of detergent and were covered in olive green designs of leaves and flowers. The pillows also smelled of fragrant detergent, but were inadequately stuffed and a little holey. Finally, last to observe in the room, was Michael, standing the corner of the room the left of Gerard.
“Mikey...” Gerard said. Michael’s right eye was swollen shut and blackish blue and his face had scattered purple and blue bruises. He held a cloth to his lip, and after revealing what was underneath, Gerard saw that his lip was badly split and still bleeding. Michael smiled.
“You know, no one called me Mikey. Ever. The only reason why I told you I was Mikey was because I thought- I thought that maybe I could start over when I met you. I didn’t have any friends at the time, being an orphan and just a “freak” in general and you didn’t seem to know me so I thought that if I changed my name a little, you would maybe be my friend,” Michael said. Gerard was flustered. Why was Michael so beat up and why was he talking about that? What happened? Where were they? Recognizing the confusion on Gerard’s face, Mikey explained,
“After that mugger knocked you out and split open your head a little, he tried to shoot you. I was pretty surprised. Usually muggers just have the gun to scare people, but he was really going to shoot you. I tried to smack it out of his hands, and well…” Michael pointed to his injuries on his face. Gerard was awestruck. He couldn’t express how grateful he was to Michael. Despite his gratitude, the only thing Gerard could say was,
“Where are we?” Gladly, Michael answered,
“We’re in my orphanage. I carried you here. This is where I grew up. In fact, this used to be my room. Of course there were bunk beds and I shared my room with three other kids, but they were never there for long though. They were always adopted. I was never adopted.” Gerard sensed the hurt in Michael’s voice. Unsure of what to say, Gerard awkwardly played with the bandages on his head. Michael was an orphan? After long moments of silence, Gerard murmured,
“I don’t think you’re a freak.” He heard Michael sigh from his position in the room before he said,
“We should probably get you home.” Gerard cursed. He had forgotten about his family.
“What time is it?” Gerard asked.
“It’s about 1 in the afternoon,” Michael said pointing to the analog clock on the wall above the doorway. Hurriedly, Gerard threw the covers off of him and attempted to swing his legs over the side of the bed until his vision doubled and his head spun.
“You shouldn’t move so fast,” Michael advised as he approached Gerard to help him up. Just then, Gerard realized he was only in his boxers. Unfazed by this, assuming they were soaking wet and had to be taken off, he asked,
“Where are my clothes?”
“I threw them in the dryer a while ago. They should be ready,” Michael said. “Wait here. I’ll get them from the basement.” Michael left the room, closing the door behind him. Gerard sat slumped on the edge of the bed, the insides of his wrists facing upwards. He was still bewildered by the fact that this homeless man was the same teenager that had helped him home when he was hurt. The scars on his wrists seemed so hopelessly inescapable on his pale, white skin. Lost in thought, Gerard was surprised when Michael opened the door with his dry clothes in his arms. After handing them to Gerard, who had quickly tried to hide his scars from Michael, even though he knew that he had already known about his attempt at suicide. Gerard slowly pulled on his jeans and t-shirt and slipped on his coat, feeling his coat pocket out of habit to see if his keys were still there. Surprisingly, after tumbling around in a dryer, they were still there. He slipped into his shoes that were lined up by the side of the bed.
“Okay, let’s go,” Gerard said. Gerard followed Michael out the door, shuffling. They walked through the hallway of bedrooms. Children of all ages ran from room to room shrieking and squealing as they played. Others were silently sitting in their rooms entertaining themselves with whatever they had in hand. Gerard watched the children run around, smiling at their blissful ignorance of what happened outside of this seeming “paradise” and how Gerard’s bandages were proof of how horrible the world really was. Finally, after thanking the orphanage director for housing Gerard for some time while he was injured, the two men went to walk back to Gerard’s house. The sky remained cloudy from the rainy day before. The ground was shiny with water and streams were forming by the side of the road leading to the gutters. The orphanage was close to the park that Gerard and Bandit had gone the day before. The two of them walked in silence, their heels scraping against the concrete sidewalk. Gerard felt Michael put his hand on his shoulder. He looked up at him. Michael was holding the umbrella Gerard had lent him the day before.
“Thank you,” Michael said gratefully. Gerard smiled weakly and took the umbrella from him. All of the sudden, Gerard’s vision flashed with black spots and his head was shooting with pain. He knees gave way from under him and he ended up crouched on the ground. Michael quickly lowered himself to Gerard’s side and asked,
“You need to take a break?” Gerard groaned in pain and insisted,
“No, I need to get home.” He couldn’t imagine how worried Lindsey might be. Michael offered his hand to Gerard. Gerard grasped it and lifted himself up from the ground. They both slowly walked towards Gerard’s apartment complex, taking small breaks as they went.
As they got closer to Gerard’s apartment, they noticed flickering police lights in front of the building.
“Oh, no…” Gerard mumbled under his breath. Under his weak condition, Gerard tried as hard as he could to walk as fast as possible without collapsing. Michael followed close behind. Gerard, head spinning now, slowly made his way up two flights of stairs, Michael supporting him all the way to the top. When they finally reached the top, they hurried to Gerard’s apartment door. Gerard reached into his pocket and grabbed his keys and inserted it into the lock. With a soft click, Gerard pushed the door open. He found several policemen searching his apartment, and more comforting and questioning his wife. Bandit was nowhere to be found. Lindsey was on the verge of tears pleading the policemen any way she could to find her husband. Gerard stood in the doorway, taking everything in until he heard Lindsey cry his name. Before he knew it, his wife’s arms were wrapped around him. As she cried on his shoulder, Gerard watched the policemen gather their equipment and file out the door. After Lindsey calmed down a little, though she was still crying, she started scolding,
“Where were you?! I thought – I thought, I don’t even know! I just – I was so scared.” Gerard didn’t know how to answer. How could he explain everything that was going through his mind in just a couple of days? Instead of giving a direct answer, he introduced Michael, who was standing awkwardly in front of the door.
“This is Micha- Mikey,” he corrected himself, “He, uh, he saved my life basically.” Lindsey grew confused. Who was this man? How did Gerard know him? She decided to ask later. For now she was grateful towards the unknown man.
“What happened to your head?” Lindsey asked, lightly touching the bandages around her husband’s head. Gerard explained the situation to Lindsey. Towards the end of the story, Lindsey was appreciative towards Mikey beyond words. He really had saved her husband’s life. Smiling at Mikey, she grabbed Gerard and pulled him into the kitchen. Whispering, she said,
“He really saved your life?”
“Of course. Why would he lie?”
“I don’t know, I just- who is he?” Gerard rubbed his neck and admitted,
“Well he’s a homeless man who was there at the right time.” Gerard told himself that he had not lied, but simply did not include the whole truth. He wasn’t able to talk about his dark past at this moment.
“Wait, is this the man you gave the umbrella to?”
“Yeah, Bandit and I passed by him on our way home and he was just standing outside in the rain so I just gave him out umbrella. We were almost home anyway. Where’s Bandit?”
“At mom and dad’s house,” she quickly changed the subject back, “But why were you outside at 10 at night?” Gerard struggled to make an excuse,
“I- uh- I just wanted to go for a walk.” Gerard knew that this excuse would in no way trick Lindsey. He was right. Lindsey didn’t believe a word of it, but didn’t question Gerard. Whatever he was hiding they would deal with later.
“Gerard, we can’t let him stay here if that’s what you were thinking. Don’t get me wrong, I’m really grateful that he saved you and all, but I- we don’t really know him. I’m not comfortable with keeping him here. I’m sorry.” Gerard wish he could counter Lindsey with the fact that he did know Mikey, but that would lead to talking about his past.
“Alright…” Gerard mumbled and went to go back to Mikey. Mikey was now leaning against the wall next to the door, picking at his gray shirt. Gerard had not noticed before, but Mikey’s clothes and appearance in general was never in horrible condition. Granted, his clothes were old and worn-out but he usually seemed to be clean-shaven and his hair was surprisingly clean. He approached Mikey and said,
“Well, I have to thank you again for saving me. I would love to offer you our house but as you can see,” Gerard motioned around his apartment, “we don’t really have enough room to spare. I really wish I could, but I---- Actually, I know someone who would let you stay in their house.” Mikey countered,
“No, it’s okay. I like staying outside.”
“It’s getting really cold. It’s gonna be winter soon. Besides, the person I’m taking you to is a really nice guy.” Reluctantly, Mikey agreed to go with Gerard.
“Okay let’s go.” Gerard went to the kitchen to tell Lindsey where they were going. Unenthusiastically, Lindsey allowed Gerard to go.
“Pick up Bandit, please!” Lindsey yelled from the kitchen as they stepped out the door. Gerard responded with an okay. Mikey followed Gerard down to the garage under the apartment building. Gerard did own a small white Honda Accord, but he tried not use it when he was able to walk outside. After all, everything he needed was close to him: work, groceries, general stores and much more. Gerard only used his car during the brutal winters that hit New Jersey, but since the place they were going was in northern Jersey, they needed to use the car. Gerard unlocked the car doors and both of them slipped inside the car. Gerard started the car and pulled out of his parking space and up to the road. He carefully drove through the narrow streets until he reached Lindsey’s parent’s house. Telling Mikey to stay in the car, he ran up to the house and rang the doorbell. He was greeted by Bandit and her grandparents. After exchanging a few words of concern, Gerard and Bandit walked back to the car. Gerard opened the back seat and placed Bandit in the azure car seat. After strapping her in, Gerard closed the backseat door and returned to the driver’s seat and started the car. Once navigating through the houses and small towns, Gerard finally pulled onto the New Jersey Turnpike.
“Where exactly are we going?” Mikey asked.
“This little town called Ridgewood,” Gerard responded.
“In northern Jersey?”
“Yeah. Don’t worry though. The guy is really, really nice. You can stay with him as long as you like. He can help you with finding a job and a place to live, too. He’s pretty rich and can definitely afford it.” Gerard could tell that Mikey was becoming a little uneasy and started to fidget in his seat. Gerard realized he was being selfish. Had he even once thought about Mikey’s point of view? Maybe he really did like living on the streets. He pulled the car over to the side of the highway and faced Mikey.
“I’m sorry. I never really took in to account what you really wanted. Would you really rather stay in Belleville? I mean, if it’s what you want, I can just take you back.” Mikey started to laugh.
“Gerard, I would love to have a roof to live under, but I just feel bad taking advantage of someone I’ve never even met before.” Gerard sighed in relief.
“You really don’t have to worry. I’ll visit a lot, too.” Gerard drove the car back onto the Turnpike and maneuvered through the traffic. After long minutes of silence, Gerard decided to ask something that had been on his mind for a while,
“If you don’t mind me asking, what- uh- what happened to your parents?” Mikey sat in his seat and pondered for a moment about what he would say.
“Well, I wasn’t even one year old, and I was dropped off at the orphanage. I didn’t know it though. It was the orphanage policy. They didn’t want the kids to be affected negatively. But, of course, I snuck around, being the stupid curious kid I was; I was ten at the time and I found my file. I shouldn’t have been so curious,” Mikey suddenly cut himself off. Gerard supposed he needed to collect himself. After calming down, Mikey continued,
“I started searching my file and I found- I found out that my parents died in a car crash and, and on top of that, I had an older brother. I don’t really know what happened to him other than the fact that our grandparents took care of him. They insisted that they couldn’t take care of two kids, especially a baby, so they only took my brother. It meant nothing to me at the time. I was still young, but as I grew older, I just felt so useless. I ignored everyone, assuming they all didn’t want me just like all the couples that come to adopt and my grandparents who took my brother instead of me… So yeah, that’s my life story. I couldn’t bring myself to do anything after that. That’s why I’m just a useless homeless man. I wish I could’ve gotten help, but the orphanage couldn’t afford any sort of medical help for the kids except for the yearly checkups.” Mikey seemed a little happier now that he had expressed his feelings probably for the first time, but Gerard seemed to have become tense and somewhat angry. His hands gripped the rubber-like steering wheel rhythmically moving them up and down making squeaking noises.
“Gerard?” Mikey said, a little confused. Gerard’s mind churned with disagreeing statements battling against each other. Based on Mikey’s story, all facts leaned towards Gerard being Mikey’s brother. Gerard’s childhood house had not been far from the orphanage. His parents died in a car crash and his grandparents took care of him. Everything started to piece together in Gerard’s mind. This could not be a coincidence. Finally, Gerard asked,
“Mikey, what’s your last name?” Mikey was uneasy and unsure of why Gerard had become so tense all of the sudden. He reluctantly revealed his surname,
“My last name’s Way.”
“Fuck!” Gerard slammed his foot on the breaks. The cars behind him honked angrily and drove around Gerard’s car. Gerard pinched the bridge of his nose and inhaled dramatically. He cursed again.
“Gerard!” Mikey exclaimed, turning around to see if the cars behind them were all right. He then noticed Bandit sitting in her seat, terrified from the sudden stop and clutching her seatbelt straps. He was surprised she didn’t make a sound when Gerard stopped the car. Clearly, this little girl was stronger than she seemed to act. Gerard lightly stepped on the gas again and kept driving down the highway.
“Gerard, what? What’s wrong?” Mikey asked. Just like Bandit, he grew a little alarmed by Gerard’s actions. Gerard mumbled an imperceptible answer and gripped the steering wheel a little harder. They sat in silence until they arrived at their destination. Bandit sat in silence.
~~~
Gerard pulled into a wide driveway to a large dark fawn colored house. The house itself was practically a mansion with at least 6 bedrooms. It was made entirely of well-kept and lacquered wood. The style was very modern, with slanted roofs and large, tinted windows. The double doors in the front of the house were covered in detailed carvings. It seemed to be the house of someone who would never fathom to be anything less than perfect. Yet, this was not the case. Toys were scattered across the yard and on the front door hung a wooden sign with the words “The Ieros” painted in sloppy letters, most likely by a child. Gerard opened the car door and went to the backseat to get Bandit. Mikey stepped out of the car and followed Bandit and Gerard on the path to the front door. The path stretched through a small garden with beautiful fall flowers and a miniature waterfall. As Mikey looked around the lawn, he saw multi-colored leaves resting on the ground, sometimes fluttering in the wind. Looking up, he gasped at the swirls of colorful leaves that adorned the brown trees. The trees grew up to 70 feet tall, mostly maple, and were definitely one of the most beautiful things Mikey had seen in his entire life. He had never really left Belleville with the exception to the few fieldtrips the school could afford. Before he knew it, they had reached the front door. It was bigger than Mikey had expected from the view on the driveway and much more intricate with the carvings. Gerard pressed the doorbell and inside the house, they could hear the bell resonate through the walls. Just as soon as the bell rang, they heard multiple dogs yelping in excitement. Muffled yelling from inside penetrated through the doors. Mikey only heard the person yelling at “Mama” and “Sweet Pea” to sit down. Evidently, these commands had not been effective because the dogs kept on barking at the door. Eventually, one of the front doors opened just a crack. A small head of a black little dog was squeezing through the crack, just to be pushed back in by a hand. Then, a man’s head popped through the door. He was obviously struggling to keep the dogs in the house, but he managed to say,
“Gerard! Man, I haven’t seen you in a while! Here, let me just get these damn dogs out of here.” The door closed again and Mikey found himself smiling at the eccentric scene and looked at Gerard. His face fell immediately when he realized that Gerard was dead serious staring at the door. Mikey looked back at the doorway concentrating on the carvings instead of wondering what was wrong with Gerard. Suddenly, he felt a tug on one of his pant legs. He looked down to see a hopeful Bandit. She waved hello at Mikey and motioned for him to crouch down. Mikey lowered himself and out of the corner of his eye, he saw Gerard glance his way, then immediately look back at the door. Bandit whispered into Mikey’s ear,
“What’s wrong with Daddy?” Mikey shrugged and stood back up. The door opened again. This time, there were no dogs, only a man. He wasn’t very tall, Mikey guess about 5’4” and from the skin he could see, he was covered in tattoos. Just at glance, Mikey liked the scorpion tattoo he had on the left side of his neck. He wore a dark blue slim fit t-shirt and a pair of tattered light-blue jeans. His hair was cut short, close to the scalp. His eyebrows were carefully arched over his eyes in perfect shape. His lips were on the thin side, a pale pink color. His jaw was wide, giving him a tougher look, but his eyes told a different story. They were light brown with flecks of hazel and gold. They gave off a sensitive radiance, but Mikey knew they could become intense and menacing. Overall, this man seemed to be harmless, but with a backstage personality.
“How are you, Gerard? Bandit? Who’s this?” the man asked. Bandit squeaked in delight.
“I’m Mikey. I’m a- a friend of Gerard’s.”
“Cool. Cool. Come on in guys.” He waved them all inside. Inside, two girls about the same age as Bandit came running over. They were visibly twins. One of them wore light blue denim overalls with a pink t-shirt. The other wore a dark blue skirt and a light green long sleeve t-shirt.
“These two are my beloved offspring, Cherry and Lily. I have another one, Miles, but he’s sleeping,” the man introduced to Mikey. The foyer to the house was wide open and beautifully designed. Straight ahead, through an open doorway was their living room. Mikey could see from where he was standing that one wall of the living room was completely glass, revealing a vast backyard. On their right was a wooden staircase covered in an elegant light brown carpet. A woman, most likely the man’s wife came descending from them. She wore a pair of jeans a black short-sleeved t-shirt. He hair was dark brown and shoulder length. She wasn’t skinny, but she was far from fat. She just seemed like a happy motherly type of woman who was generous to all people. Mikey couldn’t help but smiling upon meeting her. Her smile outshone most of the smiles he had seen before. It revealed true happiness and joy unlike the masking smiles he usually saw or received from the depressing street of Belleville.
“This is Jamia, my wife,” the man introduced. Jamia waved at her guests. “Lastly, I’m Frank Iero. I own everything here, as far as the eye can see,” Frank joked, motioning around the house. “What can I do for ya’?” Gerard forced a smile, the tension still visible in his eyes, and asked Frank is they could speak in the kitchen. Frank agreed, a little puzzled, and followed Gerard into his kitchen. Jamia approached Mikey and asked,
“Are you one of Gerard’s friends?” Mikey fumbled over his words,
“Uhh… yeah, sorta.” Jamia smiled and led Mikey to the beautiful living room.
“Cherry, Lily, why don’t you go get your toys and play with Bandit here?”
Bandit had followed Mikey and Jamia into the living room and had now plopped herself onto the carpet in the middle of the living room.
“Hey, Bandit! How are you?” Jamia sang. Bandit smiled with all of her white baby teeth and responded,
“Good!” Cherry and Lily soon returned with a bucket full of oversized Legos and a small bag of assorted toys. They both put their treasures on the floor in front of Bandit and started to dump them on the floor. Jamia asked Mikey,
“You want something to drink?”
“Sure… uh, can I have some water?”
“Of course,” she said as she stood up to go to the kitchen.
Inside the kitchen she saw Gerard sitting at the table head down with Frank comforting him, his hand on his back. Frank gestured for Jamia to hurry up, not meaning to be harsh. Jamia rushed to get a glass from the cabinet and filled it with water. She left the room to allow Gerard and Frank privacy.
“Gerard how can you be absolutely sure he’s your brother?” Frank asked gently. Gerard didn’t answer for a while, but he eventually sat up. His eyes were slightly red, but were filled with ferocity and desolation.
“You know how I was raised by my grandparents right?” Frank nodded. “Well, Mikey grew up as an orphan and he found out that his, our, parents had died in a car crash.”
“Gerard, um, lots of people die in car crashes,” Frank said.
“Let me finish. So in the orphanage, Mikey found out that he had a brother, me, and that our grandparents had taken me, insisting that having two kids was too much and left Mikey in the orphanage. I’ve met him before in my life, too. We went to the same school because the orphanage was in Belleville. On top of all that, his last name is Way. It’s really weird. Only now I remember little memories of having a baby brother. I never remembered before.” Frank’s eyes were wide with surprise and disbelief.
“Oh my god…” Frank said under his breath. Gerard explained how he had recently met Mikey on the street. How he had saved his life.
“So that’s where you got your bandages and why his face is all beaten up?”
“Yeah, and I feel like the least I can do is give him a place to live, but I don’t really have room in my apartment and I can’t afford for him to stay with us. I really hate taking advantage of you, but could you maybe let him stay at your house and maybe help him find a job?”
“Gerard, of course I will. He can stay as long as he likes,” Frank said. “Does he know you’re his brother yet?”
“No, I was going to tell him now,” said Gerard.
“Okay let’s go get him.” The both of them walked into the living room. Mikey and Jamia were talking, seeming to get along well together.
“Mikey, can you come with us?” Gerard asked. Mikey looked up at Gerard. The urgency in his voice caused him to jump up from his seat on the couch. He followed Frank and Gerard into the kitchen. Upon entering, Mikey saw that it was just as amazing as the rest of the house. Like the house, it was more modern, filled with metallic materials. The cabinets were made of dark mahogany with silver handles. All the appliances were made of the same silvery metal and in the middle of the kitchen was an island with a second sink and six tall chairs surrounding it. Gerard and Frank sat on one side of the table, Mikey sat across from them.
“Mikey, I’m sorry I acted out in the car. I need to tell you something. I’m- I’m your brother.” Mikey started to laugh, but stopped once he saw the seriousness on both Gerard and Frank’s face.
“Remember how you told me about how your parents died in a car crash and you’re your brother was taken in by your grandparents but you were left in an orphanage?”
“Yeah…”
“Well, my parents died in a car crash and I was raised by my grandparents. We both went to the same school, meaning that we both grew up in Belleville. And… and my last name is Way, too.” Mikey gasped and murmured something to himself in disbelief. Gerard was his brother?
“Frank said you can stay in his house and he’ll help you get a job, too.” Mikey still couldn’t speak. This meant Gerard was the only family he had ever known in his life. As guilty as Mikey felt, all of this felt unfair. Just because he was too young for his grandparents to take care of him, he was just thrown away. Why did Gerard get to have a home with loving guardians? Nonetheless, Mikey was grateful he finally had a blood relative. He had a brother. Mikey looked up to Frank and Gerard. Gerard wore a sympathetic look on his face and Frank was smiling. Since he was little, Mikey had never felt so supported. Being in an orphanage meant that there were dozens of other children to be taken care of. Mikey was never a priority to anyone. After Mikey had learned to feed and take care of himself, he was expected to take care of the other children. He was never taken care of since, and now he had a brother, Gerard, and he seemed to genuinely care about Mikey. Frank seemed like a kind person, too, for someone who he had met just minutes before. All he could say was,
“Thank you… So much.”
“Hey, no problem. It’s my pleasure,” Frank said. “In the meantime, I think you guys should get a blood test. Just so you can make it official.” Mikey nodded, but Gerard said,
“I hate needles…” Frank snickered.
“Gerard, is your irrational fear really worth not knowing if Mikey’s your brother or not?”
“Yes,” Gerard scowled. He really hated needles. The fact that a thin piece of metal was being inserted into his skin and muscles and tissue made him sick. He shivered at the thought of the needle breaking while inside his flesh. Frank laughed. He was just messing with Gerard. All they had to do was swab the inside of their cheek to find out.
~~~
While sitting in the living room with everyone else, it should have been a serious scene, but Gerard and Mikey seemed to be completely comfortable with joking around and being friendly with each other. It seemed as if they were brothers all along. Gerard asked,
“Frank, how’s the band?” Mikey asked,
“You’re in a band?” Frank laughed,
“Yeah, I’m in My Chemical Romance.”
“What?! My Chemical Romance? That’s, like, one of the biggest bands right now!”
“Ha-ha, thanks. I’m the singer and rhythm guitarist.”
“That’s so cool. I always wished I could be in a band. I saved a lot of money growing up and bought a bass for myself, but it didn’t really work out. I never was that ambitious as you can tell,” Mikey remarked, “I don’t know where that bass went. I didn’t really take anything with me when the orphanage legally had to kick me out when I was 18.”
“Well, I have a bass here somewhere. You can use it anytime you want,” Frank stated. “Oh, I have to show you your room. Follow me.” Gerard and Mikey followed Frank upstairs, leaving Jamia to watch the kids. Halfway through the hallway, Frank suddenly stopped and peeked through a door. The inside of the room was light blue with a crib pushed against the far wall. A mobile above the crib slowly rotated, tinkling a quiet tune as it moved. Mikey saw from where he was standing a small figure of a baby sleeping under a blanket. He glanced at Frank and saw him smiling, his eyes soft with adoration. Mikey loved children. Though he took care of them when he was little and frequently got frustrated or angry at them, they grew on him and he always felt sad when they were eventually adopted, not because he was jealous, but because he had taken care of them for the longest time. He knew he would not be adopted after he became older than 3. After that, he would not be deemed as “cute” anymore. They moved on through the hallway quietly. The walls were covered with old wedding pictures and pictures of their children. Each one seemed perfect in every aspect. The subject, the lighting, the aura of the picture itself. Finally, they reached the bedroom at the end of the hall. The inside was like any other generic bedroom. The walls were a dark olive green color, a queen sized bed in the middle of the room with gray floral covers and pillows. A print of a simple Monet painting hung above the bed. An analog clock hung from the opposite wall. On the far side of the room was a dark brown set of drawers.
“It’s not the best room, but it’s the only clean one right now,” Frank chuckled, “The other ones were mini studio kinda things but I’m moving it all into the basement. Maybe you can help sometime.”
“Oh, that would be awesome. I’ve always wanted to know how all that stuff worked.” After showing Mikey his room, Frank asked,
“You want the grand tour?” Mikey responded,
“Sure!” He loved Frank’s house so far, the interior design and style of the house really intrigued him. Frank took them up another staircase to a loft area. The ceiling was slanted down and was completely made of glass, revealing their backyard. The dark green grass, speckled with red and orange leaves stretched about 500 feet out from them. There was a wide patio below them complete with a set of chairs and table, a fireplace, and a barbecue. Next to the patio was a rectangle pool covered with a dark blue tarp. The yard was surrounded by a thickly wooded area.
“Your backyard is beautiful,” Mikey complemented.
“Thanks, I installed the pool a couple years back when we redid the patio.” Frank walked over to the other side of the room.
“I love this room a lot. I just come up here to relax a lot of the time. There’s sot of a mini kitchen over here. There’s a couple of burners here, a mini fridge, a coffee maker and I have the cabinets stocked with tons of snacks,” Frank grinned. You’re welcome to come up here any time you want. Try out the massage chair.”
“Wow, I don’t know how to thank you. I mean, taking me in is one thing, but all this?”
“Ha-ha, well that’s what you get when Frank Iero gets ahold of you,” Frank quipped. “There’s an empty bedroom there, if you want to take it. It’s not very well maintained, I haven’t cleaned it in forever, and it’s kind of small, but I can fix it up if you want.”
“No, that’s fine. I don’t want you to go through any trouble”
“Hey, Mikey, you don’t have to be polite. I’m a regular guy. I won’t talk down to you or anything. We’re both human and I think we’re both equal. Just because our financial situations are different doesn’t mean we aren’t the same.” Frank friendlily grasped Mikey’s shoulder and led him and Gerard back down the stairs again. They reached the first floor were they found Jamia playing with the children on the living room floor. The walls echoed with shrieking laughter.
“Well, I think I’m going to leave now. I have work tomorrow and I can’t risk being late. I think you guys are gonna get along pretty well,” Gerard nodded to himself. Frank was such a different character. He was so short and one might say, adorable, but he was just so energetic, friendly, and warm-hearted. Frankly, Gerard thought, no pun intended, Frank was just too small to fit that much personality in him. Mikey was in good hands. “Bandit! We have to go now. Say goodbye to everyone!” Bandit reluctantly stood up from her play circle and hugged Jamia, Cherry and Lily goodbye. The twins waved goodbye as Bandit scampered towards her father.
“Daddy’s all better!” she commented as she ran into her father’s arms. Gerard smiled widely and faced Frank and Mikey. He was melancholy about leaving his just discovered brother, but Gerard reminded himself that he would be in good hands, better than his own, so he had no reason to be sad. Gerard stepped forward to quickly hug Frank thank you and goodbye, a small gesture commonly made between people, but when he went to hug Mikey, they lingered for a split second and Gerard knew that Mikey did not want to leave his older brother as well. Regret filled Gerard as he thought about begging Lindsey to let Mikey stay with them. No, Gerard thought, Mikey will be better off here. Gerard smiled goodbye. Bandit bid farewell to Frank and the father and daughter stepped out of the house a little lighter and less burdened than they had come in.
A/N In this world, My Chemical Romance is bigger than it actually is, more popular. Let's compare it to... Green Day, or possibly some pop singer that is known in every damn country in the world. So that's why Frank is so rich. Usually someone in a band like MCR wouldn't be that filthy rich. hehe. yep. Rate & Review if ya like it ;D
Gerard woke before he opened his eyes. He heard the scattered footsteps of children and adults coming from what seemed like a hallway. Laboring, he finally opened his eyes. Gerard pushed himself up to sit on the bed he was lying on. He groaned and lightly felt the back on his head that he soon found was covered in bandages. Upon contact, his head burned in pain and Gerard winced. Attempting to distract himself from the pain, he observed his surroundings. He was in a small bedroom with taupe walls. There were large water stains spread across the ceiling caused by flooding on the roof. The room itself didn’t seem too enticing, but with all the decorative paintings and children’s drawing hanging on the wall, Gerard felt safe, like in his childhood room, before teenage angst crept its way into his life. The sheets and blankets he was under, though a little tattered, smelled slightly of detergent and were covered in olive green designs of leaves and flowers. The pillows also smelled of fragrant detergent, but were inadequately stuffed and a little holey. Finally, last to observe in the room, was Michael, standing the corner of the room the left of Gerard.
“Mikey...” Gerard said. Michael’s right eye was swollen shut and blackish blue and his face had scattered purple and blue bruises. He held a cloth to his lip, and after revealing what was underneath, Gerard saw that his lip was badly split and still bleeding. Michael smiled.
“You know, no one called me Mikey. Ever. The only reason why I told you I was Mikey was because I thought- I thought that maybe I could start over when I met you. I didn’t have any friends at the time, being an orphan and just a “freak” in general and you didn’t seem to know me so I thought that if I changed my name a little, you would maybe be my friend,” Michael said. Gerard was flustered. Why was Michael so beat up and why was he talking about that? What happened? Where were they? Recognizing the confusion on Gerard’s face, Mikey explained,
“After that mugger knocked you out and split open your head a little, he tried to shoot you. I was pretty surprised. Usually muggers just have the gun to scare people, but he was really going to shoot you. I tried to smack it out of his hands, and well…” Michael pointed to his injuries on his face. Gerard was awestruck. He couldn’t express how grateful he was to Michael. Despite his gratitude, the only thing Gerard could say was,
“Where are we?” Gladly, Michael answered,
“We’re in my orphanage. I carried you here. This is where I grew up. In fact, this used to be my room. Of course there were bunk beds and I shared my room with three other kids, but they were never there for long though. They were always adopted. I was never adopted.” Gerard sensed the hurt in Michael’s voice. Unsure of what to say, Gerard awkwardly played with the bandages on his head. Michael was an orphan? After long moments of silence, Gerard murmured,
“I don’t think you’re a freak.” He heard Michael sigh from his position in the room before he said,
“We should probably get you home.” Gerard cursed. He had forgotten about his family.
“What time is it?” Gerard asked.
“It’s about 1 in the afternoon,” Michael said pointing to the analog clock on the wall above the doorway. Hurriedly, Gerard threw the covers off of him and attempted to swing his legs over the side of the bed until his vision doubled and his head spun.
“You shouldn’t move so fast,” Michael advised as he approached Gerard to help him up. Just then, Gerard realized he was only in his boxers. Unfazed by this, assuming they were soaking wet and had to be taken off, he asked,
“Where are my clothes?”
“I threw them in the dryer a while ago. They should be ready,” Michael said. “Wait here. I’ll get them from the basement.” Michael left the room, closing the door behind him. Gerard sat slumped on the edge of the bed, the insides of his wrists facing upwards. He was still bewildered by the fact that this homeless man was the same teenager that had helped him home when he was hurt. The scars on his wrists seemed so hopelessly inescapable on his pale, white skin. Lost in thought, Gerard was surprised when Michael opened the door with his dry clothes in his arms. After handing them to Gerard, who had quickly tried to hide his scars from Michael, even though he knew that he had already known about his attempt at suicide. Gerard slowly pulled on his jeans and t-shirt and slipped on his coat, feeling his coat pocket out of habit to see if his keys were still there. Surprisingly, after tumbling around in a dryer, they were still there. He slipped into his shoes that were lined up by the side of the bed.
“Okay, let’s go,” Gerard said. Gerard followed Michael out the door, shuffling. They walked through the hallway of bedrooms. Children of all ages ran from room to room shrieking and squealing as they played. Others were silently sitting in their rooms entertaining themselves with whatever they had in hand. Gerard watched the children run around, smiling at their blissful ignorance of what happened outside of this seeming “paradise” and how Gerard’s bandages were proof of how horrible the world really was. Finally, after thanking the orphanage director for housing Gerard for some time while he was injured, the two men went to walk back to Gerard’s house. The sky remained cloudy from the rainy day before. The ground was shiny with water and streams were forming by the side of the road leading to the gutters. The orphanage was close to the park that Gerard and Bandit had gone the day before. The two of them walked in silence, their heels scraping against the concrete sidewalk. Gerard felt Michael put his hand on his shoulder. He looked up at him. Michael was holding the umbrella Gerard had lent him the day before.
“Thank you,” Michael said gratefully. Gerard smiled weakly and took the umbrella from him. All of the sudden, Gerard’s vision flashed with black spots and his head was shooting with pain. He knees gave way from under him and he ended up crouched on the ground. Michael quickly lowered himself to Gerard’s side and asked,
“You need to take a break?” Gerard groaned in pain and insisted,
“No, I need to get home.” He couldn’t imagine how worried Lindsey might be. Michael offered his hand to Gerard. Gerard grasped it and lifted himself up from the ground. They both slowly walked towards Gerard’s apartment complex, taking small breaks as they went.
As they got closer to Gerard’s apartment, they noticed flickering police lights in front of the building.
“Oh, no…” Gerard mumbled under his breath. Under his weak condition, Gerard tried as hard as he could to walk as fast as possible without collapsing. Michael followed close behind. Gerard, head spinning now, slowly made his way up two flights of stairs, Michael supporting him all the way to the top. When they finally reached the top, they hurried to Gerard’s apartment door. Gerard reached into his pocket and grabbed his keys and inserted it into the lock. With a soft click, Gerard pushed the door open. He found several policemen searching his apartment, and more comforting and questioning his wife. Bandit was nowhere to be found. Lindsey was on the verge of tears pleading the policemen any way she could to find her husband. Gerard stood in the doorway, taking everything in until he heard Lindsey cry his name. Before he knew it, his wife’s arms were wrapped around him. As she cried on his shoulder, Gerard watched the policemen gather their equipment and file out the door. After Lindsey calmed down a little, though she was still crying, she started scolding,
“Where were you?! I thought – I thought, I don’t even know! I just – I was so scared.” Gerard didn’t know how to answer. How could he explain everything that was going through his mind in just a couple of days? Instead of giving a direct answer, he introduced Michael, who was standing awkwardly in front of the door.
“This is Micha- Mikey,” he corrected himself, “He, uh, he saved my life basically.” Lindsey grew confused. Who was this man? How did Gerard know him? She decided to ask later. For now she was grateful towards the unknown man.
“What happened to your head?” Lindsey asked, lightly touching the bandages around her husband’s head. Gerard explained the situation to Lindsey. Towards the end of the story, Lindsey was appreciative towards Mikey beyond words. He really had saved her husband’s life. Smiling at Mikey, she grabbed Gerard and pulled him into the kitchen. Whispering, she said,
“He really saved your life?”
“Of course. Why would he lie?”
“I don’t know, I just- who is he?” Gerard rubbed his neck and admitted,
“Well he’s a homeless man who was there at the right time.” Gerard told himself that he had not lied, but simply did not include the whole truth. He wasn’t able to talk about his dark past at this moment.
“Wait, is this the man you gave the umbrella to?”
“Yeah, Bandit and I passed by him on our way home and he was just standing outside in the rain so I just gave him out umbrella. We were almost home anyway. Where’s Bandit?”
“At mom and dad’s house,” she quickly changed the subject back, “But why were you outside at 10 at night?” Gerard struggled to make an excuse,
“I- uh- I just wanted to go for a walk.” Gerard knew that this excuse would in no way trick Lindsey. He was right. Lindsey didn’t believe a word of it, but didn’t question Gerard. Whatever he was hiding they would deal with later.
“Gerard, we can’t let him stay here if that’s what you were thinking. Don’t get me wrong, I’m really grateful that he saved you and all, but I- we don’t really know him. I’m not comfortable with keeping him here. I’m sorry.” Gerard wish he could counter Lindsey with the fact that he did know Mikey, but that would lead to talking about his past.
“Alright…” Gerard mumbled and went to go back to Mikey. Mikey was now leaning against the wall next to the door, picking at his gray shirt. Gerard had not noticed before, but Mikey’s clothes and appearance in general was never in horrible condition. Granted, his clothes were old and worn-out but he usually seemed to be clean-shaven and his hair was surprisingly clean. He approached Mikey and said,
“Well, I have to thank you again for saving me. I would love to offer you our house but as you can see,” Gerard motioned around his apartment, “we don’t really have enough room to spare. I really wish I could, but I---- Actually, I know someone who would let you stay in their house.” Mikey countered,
“No, it’s okay. I like staying outside.”
“It’s getting really cold. It’s gonna be winter soon. Besides, the person I’m taking you to is a really nice guy.” Reluctantly, Mikey agreed to go with Gerard.
“Okay let’s go.” Gerard went to the kitchen to tell Lindsey where they were going. Unenthusiastically, Lindsey allowed Gerard to go.
“Pick up Bandit, please!” Lindsey yelled from the kitchen as they stepped out the door. Gerard responded with an okay. Mikey followed Gerard down to the garage under the apartment building. Gerard did own a small white Honda Accord, but he tried not use it when he was able to walk outside. After all, everything he needed was close to him: work, groceries, general stores and much more. Gerard only used his car during the brutal winters that hit New Jersey, but since the place they were going was in northern Jersey, they needed to use the car. Gerard unlocked the car doors and both of them slipped inside the car. Gerard started the car and pulled out of his parking space and up to the road. He carefully drove through the narrow streets until he reached Lindsey’s parent’s house. Telling Mikey to stay in the car, he ran up to the house and rang the doorbell. He was greeted by Bandit and her grandparents. After exchanging a few words of concern, Gerard and Bandit walked back to the car. Gerard opened the back seat and placed Bandit in the azure car seat. After strapping her in, Gerard closed the backseat door and returned to the driver’s seat and started the car. Once navigating through the houses and small towns, Gerard finally pulled onto the New Jersey Turnpike.
“Where exactly are we going?” Mikey asked.
“This little town called Ridgewood,” Gerard responded.
“In northern Jersey?”
“Yeah. Don’t worry though. The guy is really, really nice. You can stay with him as long as you like. He can help you with finding a job and a place to live, too. He’s pretty rich and can definitely afford it.” Gerard could tell that Mikey was becoming a little uneasy and started to fidget in his seat. Gerard realized he was being selfish. Had he even once thought about Mikey’s point of view? Maybe he really did like living on the streets. He pulled the car over to the side of the highway and faced Mikey.
“I’m sorry. I never really took in to account what you really wanted. Would you really rather stay in Belleville? I mean, if it’s what you want, I can just take you back.” Mikey started to laugh.
“Gerard, I would love to have a roof to live under, but I just feel bad taking advantage of someone I’ve never even met before.” Gerard sighed in relief.
“You really don’t have to worry. I’ll visit a lot, too.” Gerard drove the car back onto the Turnpike and maneuvered through the traffic. After long minutes of silence, Gerard decided to ask something that had been on his mind for a while,
“If you don’t mind me asking, what- uh- what happened to your parents?” Mikey sat in his seat and pondered for a moment about what he would say.
“Well, I wasn’t even one year old, and I was dropped off at the orphanage. I didn’t know it though. It was the orphanage policy. They didn’t want the kids to be affected negatively. But, of course, I snuck around, being the stupid curious kid I was; I was ten at the time and I found my file. I shouldn’t have been so curious,” Mikey suddenly cut himself off. Gerard supposed he needed to collect himself. After calming down, Mikey continued,
“I started searching my file and I found- I found out that my parents died in a car crash and, and on top of that, I had an older brother. I don’t really know what happened to him other than the fact that our grandparents took care of him. They insisted that they couldn’t take care of two kids, especially a baby, so they only took my brother. It meant nothing to me at the time. I was still young, but as I grew older, I just felt so useless. I ignored everyone, assuming they all didn’t want me just like all the couples that come to adopt and my grandparents who took my brother instead of me… So yeah, that’s my life story. I couldn’t bring myself to do anything after that. That’s why I’m just a useless homeless man. I wish I could’ve gotten help, but the orphanage couldn’t afford any sort of medical help for the kids except for the yearly checkups.” Mikey seemed a little happier now that he had expressed his feelings probably for the first time, but Gerard seemed to have become tense and somewhat angry. His hands gripped the rubber-like steering wheel rhythmically moving them up and down making squeaking noises.
“Gerard?” Mikey said, a little confused. Gerard’s mind churned with disagreeing statements battling against each other. Based on Mikey’s story, all facts leaned towards Gerard being Mikey’s brother. Gerard’s childhood house had not been far from the orphanage. His parents died in a car crash and his grandparents took care of him. Everything started to piece together in Gerard’s mind. This could not be a coincidence. Finally, Gerard asked,
“Mikey, what’s your last name?” Mikey was uneasy and unsure of why Gerard had become so tense all of the sudden. He reluctantly revealed his surname,
“My last name’s Way.”
“Fuck!” Gerard slammed his foot on the breaks. The cars behind him honked angrily and drove around Gerard’s car. Gerard pinched the bridge of his nose and inhaled dramatically. He cursed again.
“Gerard!” Mikey exclaimed, turning around to see if the cars behind them were all right. He then noticed Bandit sitting in her seat, terrified from the sudden stop and clutching her seatbelt straps. He was surprised she didn’t make a sound when Gerard stopped the car. Clearly, this little girl was stronger than she seemed to act. Gerard lightly stepped on the gas again and kept driving down the highway.
“Gerard, what? What’s wrong?” Mikey asked. Just like Bandit, he grew a little alarmed by Gerard’s actions. Gerard mumbled an imperceptible answer and gripped the steering wheel a little harder. They sat in silence until they arrived at their destination. Bandit sat in silence.
~~~
Gerard pulled into a wide driveway to a large dark fawn colored house. The house itself was practically a mansion with at least 6 bedrooms. It was made entirely of well-kept and lacquered wood. The style was very modern, with slanted roofs and large, tinted windows. The double doors in the front of the house were covered in detailed carvings. It seemed to be the house of someone who would never fathom to be anything less than perfect. Yet, this was not the case. Toys were scattered across the yard and on the front door hung a wooden sign with the words “The Ieros” painted in sloppy letters, most likely by a child. Gerard opened the car door and went to the backseat to get Bandit. Mikey stepped out of the car and followed Bandit and Gerard on the path to the front door. The path stretched through a small garden with beautiful fall flowers and a miniature waterfall. As Mikey looked around the lawn, he saw multi-colored leaves resting on the ground, sometimes fluttering in the wind. Looking up, he gasped at the swirls of colorful leaves that adorned the brown trees. The trees grew up to 70 feet tall, mostly maple, and were definitely one of the most beautiful things Mikey had seen in his entire life. He had never really left Belleville with the exception to the few fieldtrips the school could afford. Before he knew it, they had reached the front door. It was bigger than Mikey had expected from the view on the driveway and much more intricate with the carvings. Gerard pressed the doorbell and inside the house, they could hear the bell resonate through the walls. Just as soon as the bell rang, they heard multiple dogs yelping in excitement. Muffled yelling from inside penetrated through the doors. Mikey only heard the person yelling at “Mama” and “Sweet Pea” to sit down. Evidently, these commands had not been effective because the dogs kept on barking at the door. Eventually, one of the front doors opened just a crack. A small head of a black little dog was squeezing through the crack, just to be pushed back in by a hand. Then, a man’s head popped through the door. He was obviously struggling to keep the dogs in the house, but he managed to say,
“Gerard! Man, I haven’t seen you in a while! Here, let me just get these damn dogs out of here.” The door closed again and Mikey found himself smiling at the eccentric scene and looked at Gerard. His face fell immediately when he realized that Gerard was dead serious staring at the door. Mikey looked back at the doorway concentrating on the carvings instead of wondering what was wrong with Gerard. Suddenly, he felt a tug on one of his pant legs. He looked down to see a hopeful Bandit. She waved hello at Mikey and motioned for him to crouch down. Mikey lowered himself and out of the corner of his eye, he saw Gerard glance his way, then immediately look back at the door. Bandit whispered into Mikey’s ear,
“What’s wrong with Daddy?” Mikey shrugged and stood back up. The door opened again. This time, there were no dogs, only a man. He wasn’t very tall, Mikey guess about 5’4” and from the skin he could see, he was covered in tattoos. Just at glance, Mikey liked the scorpion tattoo he had on the left side of his neck. He wore a dark blue slim fit t-shirt and a pair of tattered light-blue jeans. His hair was cut short, close to the scalp. His eyebrows were carefully arched over his eyes in perfect shape. His lips were on the thin side, a pale pink color. His jaw was wide, giving him a tougher look, but his eyes told a different story. They were light brown with flecks of hazel and gold. They gave off a sensitive radiance, but Mikey knew they could become intense and menacing. Overall, this man seemed to be harmless, but with a backstage personality.
“How are you, Gerard? Bandit? Who’s this?” the man asked. Bandit squeaked in delight.
“I’m Mikey. I’m a- a friend of Gerard’s.”
“Cool. Cool. Come on in guys.” He waved them all inside. Inside, two girls about the same age as Bandit came running over. They were visibly twins. One of them wore light blue denim overalls with a pink t-shirt. The other wore a dark blue skirt and a light green long sleeve t-shirt.
“These two are my beloved offspring, Cherry and Lily. I have another one, Miles, but he’s sleeping,” the man introduced to Mikey. The foyer to the house was wide open and beautifully designed. Straight ahead, through an open doorway was their living room. Mikey could see from where he was standing that one wall of the living room was completely glass, revealing a vast backyard. On their right was a wooden staircase covered in an elegant light brown carpet. A woman, most likely the man’s wife came descending from them. She wore a pair of jeans a black short-sleeved t-shirt. He hair was dark brown and shoulder length. She wasn’t skinny, but she was far from fat. She just seemed like a happy motherly type of woman who was generous to all people. Mikey couldn’t help but smiling upon meeting her. Her smile outshone most of the smiles he had seen before. It revealed true happiness and joy unlike the masking smiles he usually saw or received from the depressing street of Belleville.
“This is Jamia, my wife,” the man introduced. Jamia waved at her guests. “Lastly, I’m Frank Iero. I own everything here, as far as the eye can see,” Frank joked, motioning around the house. “What can I do for ya’?” Gerard forced a smile, the tension still visible in his eyes, and asked Frank is they could speak in the kitchen. Frank agreed, a little puzzled, and followed Gerard into his kitchen. Jamia approached Mikey and asked,
“Are you one of Gerard’s friends?” Mikey fumbled over his words,
“Uhh… yeah, sorta.” Jamia smiled and led Mikey to the beautiful living room.
“Cherry, Lily, why don’t you go get your toys and play with Bandit here?”
Bandit had followed Mikey and Jamia into the living room and had now plopped herself onto the carpet in the middle of the living room.
“Hey, Bandit! How are you?” Jamia sang. Bandit smiled with all of her white baby teeth and responded,
“Good!” Cherry and Lily soon returned with a bucket full of oversized Legos and a small bag of assorted toys. They both put their treasures on the floor in front of Bandit and started to dump them on the floor. Jamia asked Mikey,
“You want something to drink?”
“Sure… uh, can I have some water?”
“Of course,” she said as she stood up to go to the kitchen.
Inside the kitchen she saw Gerard sitting at the table head down with Frank comforting him, his hand on his back. Frank gestured for Jamia to hurry up, not meaning to be harsh. Jamia rushed to get a glass from the cabinet and filled it with water. She left the room to allow Gerard and Frank privacy.
“Gerard how can you be absolutely sure he’s your brother?” Frank asked gently. Gerard didn’t answer for a while, but he eventually sat up. His eyes were slightly red, but were filled with ferocity and desolation.
“You know how I was raised by my grandparents right?” Frank nodded. “Well, Mikey grew up as an orphan and he found out that his, our, parents had died in a car crash.”
“Gerard, um, lots of people die in car crashes,” Frank said.
“Let me finish. So in the orphanage, Mikey found out that he had a brother, me, and that our grandparents had taken me, insisting that having two kids was too much and left Mikey in the orphanage. I’ve met him before in my life, too. We went to the same school because the orphanage was in Belleville. On top of all that, his last name is Way. It’s really weird. Only now I remember little memories of having a baby brother. I never remembered before.” Frank’s eyes were wide with surprise and disbelief.
“Oh my god…” Frank said under his breath. Gerard explained how he had recently met Mikey on the street. How he had saved his life.
“So that’s where you got your bandages and why his face is all beaten up?”
“Yeah, and I feel like the least I can do is give him a place to live, but I don’t really have room in my apartment and I can’t afford for him to stay with us. I really hate taking advantage of you, but could you maybe let him stay at your house and maybe help him find a job?”
“Gerard, of course I will. He can stay as long as he likes,” Frank said. “Does he know you’re his brother yet?”
“No, I was going to tell him now,” said Gerard.
“Okay let’s go get him.” The both of them walked into the living room. Mikey and Jamia were talking, seeming to get along well together.
“Mikey, can you come with us?” Gerard asked. Mikey looked up at Gerard. The urgency in his voice caused him to jump up from his seat on the couch. He followed Frank and Gerard into the kitchen. Upon entering, Mikey saw that it was just as amazing as the rest of the house. Like the house, it was more modern, filled with metallic materials. The cabinets were made of dark mahogany with silver handles. All the appliances were made of the same silvery metal and in the middle of the kitchen was an island with a second sink and six tall chairs surrounding it. Gerard and Frank sat on one side of the table, Mikey sat across from them.
“Mikey, I’m sorry I acted out in the car. I need to tell you something. I’m- I’m your brother.” Mikey started to laugh, but stopped once he saw the seriousness on both Gerard and Frank’s face.
“Remember how you told me about how your parents died in a car crash and you’re your brother was taken in by your grandparents but you were left in an orphanage?”
“Yeah…”
“Well, my parents died in a car crash and I was raised by my grandparents. We both went to the same school, meaning that we both grew up in Belleville. And… and my last name is Way, too.” Mikey gasped and murmured something to himself in disbelief. Gerard was his brother?
“Frank said you can stay in his house and he’ll help you get a job, too.” Mikey still couldn’t speak. This meant Gerard was the only family he had ever known in his life. As guilty as Mikey felt, all of this felt unfair. Just because he was too young for his grandparents to take care of him, he was just thrown away. Why did Gerard get to have a home with loving guardians? Nonetheless, Mikey was grateful he finally had a blood relative. He had a brother. Mikey looked up to Frank and Gerard. Gerard wore a sympathetic look on his face and Frank was smiling. Since he was little, Mikey had never felt so supported. Being in an orphanage meant that there were dozens of other children to be taken care of. Mikey was never a priority to anyone. After Mikey had learned to feed and take care of himself, he was expected to take care of the other children. He was never taken care of since, and now he had a brother, Gerard, and he seemed to genuinely care about Mikey. Frank seemed like a kind person, too, for someone who he had met just minutes before. All he could say was,
“Thank you… So much.”
“Hey, no problem. It’s my pleasure,” Frank said. “In the meantime, I think you guys should get a blood test. Just so you can make it official.” Mikey nodded, but Gerard said,
“I hate needles…” Frank snickered.
“Gerard, is your irrational fear really worth not knowing if Mikey’s your brother or not?”
“Yes,” Gerard scowled. He really hated needles. The fact that a thin piece of metal was being inserted into his skin and muscles and tissue made him sick. He shivered at the thought of the needle breaking while inside his flesh. Frank laughed. He was just messing with Gerard. All they had to do was swab the inside of their cheek to find out.
~~~
While sitting in the living room with everyone else, it should have been a serious scene, but Gerard and Mikey seemed to be completely comfortable with joking around and being friendly with each other. It seemed as if they were brothers all along. Gerard asked,
“Frank, how’s the band?” Mikey asked,
“You’re in a band?” Frank laughed,
“Yeah, I’m in My Chemical Romance.”
“What?! My Chemical Romance? That’s, like, one of the biggest bands right now!”
“Ha-ha, thanks. I’m the singer and rhythm guitarist.”
“That’s so cool. I always wished I could be in a band. I saved a lot of money growing up and bought a bass for myself, but it didn’t really work out. I never was that ambitious as you can tell,” Mikey remarked, “I don’t know where that bass went. I didn’t really take anything with me when the orphanage legally had to kick me out when I was 18.”
“Well, I have a bass here somewhere. You can use it anytime you want,” Frank stated. “Oh, I have to show you your room. Follow me.” Gerard and Mikey followed Frank upstairs, leaving Jamia to watch the kids. Halfway through the hallway, Frank suddenly stopped and peeked through a door. The inside of the room was light blue with a crib pushed against the far wall. A mobile above the crib slowly rotated, tinkling a quiet tune as it moved. Mikey saw from where he was standing a small figure of a baby sleeping under a blanket. He glanced at Frank and saw him smiling, his eyes soft with adoration. Mikey loved children. Though he took care of them when he was little and frequently got frustrated or angry at them, they grew on him and he always felt sad when they were eventually adopted, not because he was jealous, but because he had taken care of them for the longest time. He knew he would not be adopted after he became older than 3. After that, he would not be deemed as “cute” anymore. They moved on through the hallway quietly. The walls were covered with old wedding pictures and pictures of their children. Each one seemed perfect in every aspect. The subject, the lighting, the aura of the picture itself. Finally, they reached the bedroom at the end of the hall. The inside was like any other generic bedroom. The walls were a dark olive green color, a queen sized bed in the middle of the room with gray floral covers and pillows. A print of a simple Monet painting hung above the bed. An analog clock hung from the opposite wall. On the far side of the room was a dark brown set of drawers.
“It’s not the best room, but it’s the only clean one right now,” Frank chuckled, “The other ones were mini studio kinda things but I’m moving it all into the basement. Maybe you can help sometime.”
“Oh, that would be awesome. I’ve always wanted to know how all that stuff worked.” After showing Mikey his room, Frank asked,
“You want the grand tour?” Mikey responded,
“Sure!” He loved Frank’s house so far, the interior design and style of the house really intrigued him. Frank took them up another staircase to a loft area. The ceiling was slanted down and was completely made of glass, revealing their backyard. The dark green grass, speckled with red and orange leaves stretched about 500 feet out from them. There was a wide patio below them complete with a set of chairs and table, a fireplace, and a barbecue. Next to the patio was a rectangle pool covered with a dark blue tarp. The yard was surrounded by a thickly wooded area.
“Your backyard is beautiful,” Mikey complemented.
“Thanks, I installed the pool a couple years back when we redid the patio.” Frank walked over to the other side of the room.
“I love this room a lot. I just come up here to relax a lot of the time. There’s sot of a mini kitchen over here. There’s a couple of burners here, a mini fridge, a coffee maker and I have the cabinets stocked with tons of snacks,” Frank grinned. You’re welcome to come up here any time you want. Try out the massage chair.”
“Wow, I don’t know how to thank you. I mean, taking me in is one thing, but all this?”
“Ha-ha, well that’s what you get when Frank Iero gets ahold of you,” Frank quipped. “There’s an empty bedroom there, if you want to take it. It’s not very well maintained, I haven’t cleaned it in forever, and it’s kind of small, but I can fix it up if you want.”
“No, that’s fine. I don’t want you to go through any trouble”
“Hey, Mikey, you don’t have to be polite. I’m a regular guy. I won’t talk down to you or anything. We’re both human and I think we’re both equal. Just because our financial situations are different doesn’t mean we aren’t the same.” Frank friendlily grasped Mikey’s shoulder and led him and Gerard back down the stairs again. They reached the first floor were they found Jamia playing with the children on the living room floor. The walls echoed with shrieking laughter.
“Well, I think I’m going to leave now. I have work tomorrow and I can’t risk being late. I think you guys are gonna get along pretty well,” Gerard nodded to himself. Frank was such a different character. He was so short and one might say, adorable, but he was just so energetic, friendly, and warm-hearted. Frankly, Gerard thought, no pun intended, Frank was just too small to fit that much personality in him. Mikey was in good hands. “Bandit! We have to go now. Say goodbye to everyone!” Bandit reluctantly stood up from her play circle and hugged Jamia, Cherry and Lily goodbye. The twins waved goodbye as Bandit scampered towards her father.
“Daddy’s all better!” she commented as she ran into her father’s arms. Gerard smiled widely and faced Frank and Mikey. He was melancholy about leaving his just discovered brother, but Gerard reminded himself that he would be in good hands, better than his own, so he had no reason to be sad. Gerard stepped forward to quickly hug Frank thank you and goodbye, a small gesture commonly made between people, but when he went to hug Mikey, they lingered for a split second and Gerard knew that Mikey did not want to leave his older brother as well. Regret filled Gerard as he thought about begging Lindsey to let Mikey stay with them. No, Gerard thought, Mikey will be better off here. Gerard smiled goodbye. Bandit bid farewell to Frank and the father and daughter stepped out of the house a little lighter and less burdened than they had come in.
A/N In this world, My Chemical Romance is bigger than it actually is, more popular. Let's compare it to... Green Day, or possibly some pop singer that is known in every damn country in the world. So that's why Frank is so rich. Usually someone in a band like MCR wouldn't be that filthy rich. hehe. yep. Rate & Review if ya like it ;D
Sign up to rate and review this story