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Mikey frowned at the piece of paper in front of him. He hated math; it was the only class guaranteed to give him homework on the first day of school. He absentmindedly hummed to himself, unable to focus.

The phone rang suddenly, making him jump slightly.

"I'll get it," he called to the rest of the house. He was thankful for the distraction; maybe he would be able to get some work done afterwards.

"Hello?"

"Mikey? Hey, it's Matt. Can I talk to G?" Mikey frowned at the tone of Matt's voice. It sounded like something was wrong.

"Sure, hold on a second..." Mikey called his brother's name, and Gerard immediately came running. "Phone for you."

Mikey didn't like the look on his brother's face as the conversation carried on. Gerard began to look more and more desolate with each sentence he heard. Eventually he had to sit down before he fell down.

"When?" he finally said. He listened to Matt's reply, and sighed deeply. "Monday of next week...got it. Looks like my little plan will have to be moved forward a few weeks." Mikey frowned slightly.

"What plan?" he asked his brother quietly. Gerard held up a hand for him to be silent, still listening to Matt's words. He suddenly cracked a smile.

"No, Matt, we can't blow up the school, much as I'd like to. I was planning that for our senior-year sendoff." Mikey's face went white. Suddenly he didn't want to know his brother's plot. Gerard's face fell once again. "But I guess we won't get that chance, will we?...No, I can call Frank and Ray and let them know. You probably have a lot of stuff to do....yeah...see ya." Gerard ended the call, nearly slamming the phone down on the counter. Mikey jumped at his reaction.

"Wh-"

"Don't ask," Gerard growled venomously, stalking out of the room. Mikey shrugged and continued trying to do his homework. He knew he would find out eventually.
-
"Why can't we tell him to slow down?" Frank asked Mikey, slightly out of breath. Mikey shot him a glare.

"You don't want to mess with him right now. Matt called him yesterday; I think something's wrong. He said he was going to tell you and Ray. I still don't know anything, though," Mikey said with a frown.

"He never called," Frank muttered, eyes darting back and forth between the Way brothers nervously. "I don't like being left out of the loop." Mikey took his glasses off and futilely cleaned them with the edge of his shirt.

"I hate when it rains; I can never see anything," he said as he held up one hand to block the falling drops.

"Windshield wipers?" Frank offered with a smile. Mikey scowled at him.

"You're not funny." Frank shrugged and walked in front of Mikey, helping block the rain just a little. They were still a good five strides behind Gerard. He was on the brink of running, staring furiously into the sidewalk as if the answer to his problems was mixed in with the wet concrete. Rain was starting to drip into his eyes, but he didn't care. His mind was elsewhere.

They reached school in another five minutes. A sickening feeling overtook Mikey as he realized his brother was going to walk through the middle school hallway today. That was bad enough on a normal day, but currently he was on the edge of slitting someone's throat. The thought had definitely crossed his mind.

He burst through the doors without even stopping to calm himself down. Frank and Mikey entered not far behind him, both with worried looks on their faces. The hallway was crowded with students and teachers alike. Gerard stormed on ahead, intent on finding some way to dispense his anger.

He tripped.

And landed face down on the tiled floor. He had never noticed the little black specks in the tile before; now they seemed to fill his vision. He tried to take a deep breath, but blood began to spill from his nose.

"I'm sorry," said a voice close by. Its owner picked up the backpack that had obstructed Gerard's path. He slowly stood, letting the blood run down his black shirt. He took fuller breaths in an attempt to slow his heart rate down to normal. If this kid wasn't sorry yet, he would be before the day ended.

"Are you okay? You're bleeding," the boy said in a concerned tone. Gerard closed his eyes. When he opened them again, the Death Glare had taken over his face. His eyes were wild and angry, rimmed with red that accentuated the look. A few charcoal threads of hair hung in front of his face, shining slightly due to the rainwater that coated them. He nearly snarled at the sandy-haired boy in front of him.

"Who are you?" he said in a low voice, trying to keep the growl out of his tone.

"Bob," the boy responded, suddenly worried. Gerard took a single step toward him, and he flattened himself against the lockers, completely hidden in the older Way brother's shadow.

"Bob, is it?" he repeated with a dark laugh. A sadistic half-smile graced his features. "I'll be seeing you after school, /Bob/." He glared at the terrified eighth grader for a second longer before continuing down the hallway. Frank followed him, while Mikey lingered behind. All eyes were on him.

"Way to go, Mikey, now look what you've done!"

"Yeah, your brother's gonna murder the new kid!"

"Why don't you just change schools so he'll leave us all alone?" There were several cries of agreement. Mikey hung his head sadly at their words, walking to his classroom despondently. Bob shrugged and followed him. They took their places at the table, the only people in the room.

"You should probably stay away from me," Mikey said with a sad sigh.

"Why?" Bob asked.

"Because hanging around me is like having a death wish. They're probably right; my brother's not happy with you. If I were you I'd fake sick and get out now." Mikey closed his eyes. Gerard would be angry if he found out his brother was trying to help one of his victims, but Mikey didn't want Bob to get hurt. He hadn't done anything. Then again, Gerard's victims usually hadn't done anything to deserve their punishments.

"I'll be fine. You'll see," Bob said with foolish determination, smiling. Mikey forced a smile, but inside he knew Bob was wrong. 'Oh well. At least his last few hours of life will be happy.'