FicWad

Later that afternoon, Gerard grumbled to himself as he stalked up and down the aisles of the local pharmacy. His mom had sent him to pick up some more of Mikey’s damn nasal spray. He paused briefly when he passed the condom aisle, looking around nervously before ducking behind the shelves and picking up a box. He turned it over in his hands, he had never had much of a reason to buy them before, but maybe he would get lucky the next time Barbara showed up in his room unannounced… No. What was he thinking? Barbara looked at him as a friend, nothing more. He didn’t stand a chance to be with a girl like her.
A familiar voice suddenly caught his attention. He looked up to see Barbara in the aisle across from him, she was talking with another girl. Suddenly, she caught sight of Gerard and smiled. Shit. He thought, spastically flinging the box of condoms back onto the shelf, only to succeed in knocking ten other boxes to the floor. He put his arms out, trying to shove them all back into place, but they clattered to the ground at his feet. There was nothing left to do but make a run for it. Kicking several contraceptive boxes out of the way, he darted from the aisle.
“Hey, Kid! Where ya going?” Barbara laughed, as she sauntered over to him. “You’re just too smooth.” She said sarcastically, her eyes darting to the very pissed off employee who was now restocking the condom packages onto the shelf.
Gerard’s face twisted into an embarrassed grin as he scratched the back off his head nervously. “Ummmm, I’m just here for nasal spray.” He explained weakly, holding up the bottle of decongestant.
“I see.” She nodded, “Nothing like a little sinus relief and some protective rubbers to get your day going.”
He was mortified. He had to turn this conversation around. “Well, what’s up with the sunglasses indoors? Trying to start a trend?”
Her hand flew up protectively to the glasses that covered her eyes. “ Hungover as hell.” She shrugged cooly.
Just then, an older woman with a basket full of vitamins and ointments, shuffled by. She accidentally bumped into Barbara and her basket spilled onto the ground. Barbara knelt down to pick up the old woman’s groceries. They lady thanked her graciously and waddled away. As Barbara stood up, her glasses shifted on her face and she somehow managed to knock them off as she tried to reposition them.
“Holy shit!” Gerard exclaimed. “Barbara, what happened to your face??”
Her right eye was ringed with a nasty purple and yellow bruise, and he just now noticed how swollen her bottom lip was.
She didn’t even falter as she smiled mischievously, “Hit up a party last night after I left your place. Some bitch tried to start shit and we got into it.”
“You got into a fight?” Gerard asked worriedly. “You look like hell.”
Barbara ran her tongue seductively over her teeth, “You should see the other chick.”
She grinned broadly. She was a pro at lying. Ever since she was a small child, she had been able to whip out fibs at the drop of a hat. She could spin the most elaborate and realistic lie, without the slightest hesitation and had an uncanny knack for keeping her stories straight. Even the many occasions her mother had caught her sneaking into the house (completely stoned) at 4am, she had managed to sober up and give such a believable explanation that her mother was left with nothing to accuse her of. She did it so naturally that most of the time she even convinced herself that her stories were true. She did slightly regret lying to Gerard though. He was just so sweet and genuine, she knew he would never keep anything from her, but this was something that no one could ever know about. No one but her bestfriend.
“Oh.” Barbara smacked her forehead in a ditzy manner, desperate to change the subject. “Gerard, this is my bestfriend, Alicia.”
Gerard’s eyes darted from her, to the girl standing behind her. How long had she been standing there?
Alicia was a tiny girl with pale skin and short, choppy black hair that was styled to sleekly curve under her chin. Her bangs swooped heavily to the right and an army green beanie was pulled over her head. Her gray eyes were carefully smeared with black eye shadow that winged out on the sides, giving her a cat-like appearance. A small silver hoop was hooked through one of her nostrils and she wore dark maroon lipstick. Her face was sharp and angular, but not unattractive. A bulky denim jacket was draped over her small frame, contrasting with her very tight black pants. Gerard couldn’t help thinking that she and Frank would make a perfect couple.
“Nice to meet you.” He offered her a friendly handshake which she ignored stiffly.
“Or not…” He muttered to himself, “Well I’d better head home before Mikey dies from an allergy attack or something.” He lamely waved around his bottle of nose spray before turning toward the check-out counter.
“Wait!” Barbara grabbed his arm. “Alicia’s parents are out of town so we’re throwing a party tonight. You should totally come. It’s gonna be pretty sick.”
Gerard hesitated, he had a sneaking feeling that he wouldn’t exactly be welcomed there. It may have been the ‘go die in a hole’ look that Alicia was shooting his way, but he could’ve been wrong.
“Are you sure that would be okay….” He asked.
“Yeah! And Jim is going out with some of his buds tonight, so don’t worry about him.” Barbara exclaimed, nudging her friend. “So it’s totally cool. Right, Lish?”
“Whatever.” Alicia groaned, rolling her eyes.
“Sweet!” Barbara snatched a pen from the counter and began scribbling an address onto Gerard’s hand. “Drop in around ten o’clock. Bring some booze if you can get your hands on any, but I’m sure we’ll have plenty of it. If you don’t want to come alone you can bring your brother, I’m sure he’ll fit right in, but you have to be there.” She shot him the most sexual glance from under her lashes, “Don’t let me down, I’ll be waiting.”

Gerard burst into Mikey’s room, flicking on the light and tossing the nose spray onto the bed that Mikey was laying in. The scrawny figure made a few disgruntled noises and jerked the blanket over his head, exposing his skinny white legs.
“Mikes! Wake the fuck up! We’re going to a party!” He hissed, not wanting their mother to overhear him.
“No thanks.” Mikey mumbled into the pillow, “I don’t want cake.”
“Not that kind of party, Dumbfuck!” Gerard sighed, snatching the covers off of his brother. “A real party. With chicks and alcohol and loud music.”
This caught the younger boy’s attention. “We got invited to a house party?”
Gerard nodded excitedly.
Mikey jumped up, “How in the fuck did that happen?”
The older brother shrugged, “I ran into Barbara at the pharmacy and she invited me to her friend’s party tonight.”
Mikey balled his fists up and sank to his knees in nerdy triumph. “Yessss! We finally have social connections!”
Gerard huffed impatiently, “Don’t make me regret bringing you with me.”
Mikey snapped up, his hand flying into a saluting position, “Aye aye, sir. Embarrass thee, I shall not.”
Waving his hand dismissively, Gerard turned to walk out of the room. “We’re leaving at 10. Make sure you look presentable. I have to go find some beer.”