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"So, what did you say?"

"I had a parent-teacher conference."

"But, Quince, you don't have a kid."

"I know," Quincy grinned, taking a sip from her can of coke as she sat on the light brown couch with her feet up. "I don't want to be at that stupid blind date. No offense."



"So what did you say?"

"That my sister was pregnant and she was having the baby."

"Frank, you don't have a sister...let alone a pregnant one."

"Yeah, I know," Frank shrugged, taking a drag from his newly lit cigarette and leaning on the white railing of his friend's porch. "But blind dates are stupid. No offense, but I don't want to be stuck in one."

"None taken. But don't you think she was bummed out?"

"C'mon, Mikey. She doesn't even know me. She'll be fine and I'm sure it won't do any damage to her life."

Mikey sighed and shook his head, adjusting his white, thick-rimmed glasses. "I just think you should get out more."



"Don't you think he was a little disappointed?"

"Oh, c'mon, Gerard. What's-his-name --"

"Frank," Gerard pitched in, pathetically hoping that if she heard the name, she might be the least bit interested.

"Yeah, whatever," she waved off, dashing his tiny sparkle of hope in the process. "He probably doesn't care. It's not like he's been crushing on me for awhile so I'm sure he'll be able to sleep well at night."

Gerard leaned his back on the wall and took a drink from his water bottle, running his hand through his short, black hair. "I just think you should get out more. Y'know, live a little."

"I get out just fine," Quincy huffed, crossing her arms in mild outrage. Her huff was so full of force that it blew a few of the stray strands of her brown hair out of her face. "Anyway, he wouldn't have missed anything that would have happened."

"What do you mean?" he pressed, perking his eyebrow up in confusion.

"Well, his sister had a baby so he had to go anyway."

"Is that so?"

"Yep."

"Huh...that's...that's lucky," he mumbled, fiddling with the plastic bottle. "I'm just...uhh...I want something to eat. Want anything?" he asked, jerking his thumb in the direction of the kitchen.

"I'm good," she smiled, watching him nod and depart for the kitchen.



"Dude, I get out just fine," Frank protested, nearly dropping his half-smoked cigarette. "Anyway, I didn't do anything that shouldn't have been done. She had to go."

"What?"

"Quincy had to go to her kid's parent-teacher conference. Said she forgot about it so no harm done either way."

"Oh, yeah?" Mikey grunted, frustration setting onto his fragile shoulders. "I need to get a jacket; it's fuckin' freezing out here. Want yours?"

Frank laughed as he tugged on the black, leather jacket that was draped over his own body. "I got mine."

"Oh, right, right," Mikey muttered absentmindedly as he trudged through the threshold and into the warm house, hearing Frank hum quietly to himself.

The young Way brother was polluted with thoughts of annoyance as he ran upstairs and into his bedroom, not fully aware of what it was he was doing.

Did such a simple plan have to be so Goddamn complicated?

Did both of his friends have to be such sneaky liars?

The phone began to ring off the hook as he sat on the edge of his bed, his clouded head in his trembling hands. To his surprise, it was the one person he was thinking of calling and venting to.

"Mikey?"

"Hi, Gerard."

"Dude, turns out the two canceled on each other."

"I heard." He heavily sighed and began to play with the loose thread of fabric that was hanging off the end of his shirt. "What are we gonna do?"

"Get Frank to go to the store."

"Huh?"

"Get him to go to the store and...uhh...popsicles!"

"What? Gee, I know you're probably hungry right now but we kind of have to get these two togeth--"

"No! I meant get him to get you a popsicle from the 7/11 down the street, okay?"

"Really, Gee, if you're hungry --"

"Just do it, Goddamnit! And no, I'm not fuckin' hungry!"

Mikey chuckled silently, knowing he had his older brother annoyed. It was pure sibling nature. "Okay. I'll send him there now."

"Good. Fingers crossed."

"Yeah. Later." He placed the phone back on the cradle that was sitting on top of his nightstand and got up, grabbing his wallet on his dresser on the way out. As he reached the open front door, he found his friend standing beside a stamped out cigarette. "Uhh, Frank?"

"That's me," he smirked, turning around and stretching his arms out to his sides.

"Could you do me a favor?"

"Yeah, man."

"Could you go down to the 7/11 and pick me up some popsicles?" Oh, how stupid and random he may have sounded but he had to do what he had to do.

"Sure?" Frank agreed in more of a question, stepping down the steps of the lightened porch and onto the shadowed grass. "Is there a flavor you want?"

"Chocolate." Hey, he was gonna milk it for all it was worth. "Oh, wait!" Frank turned around and took Mikey's outstretched wallet. "Pay with my money."

He thought it was odd to be given a whole wallet instead of a bill or change but he took it nonetheless. He had witnessed Gerard's brother do more unusual things in the past. He did live with him for about a year. This was actually quite normal.



"Quince, I know you've had a long day and all but could you do me a favor?"

"'Course. What?"

"Could you run down to the 7/11 and get me a popsicle?"

She cocked her eyebrow up quizzically, surveying Gerard's uneasy, lopsided smile. "Gee, if you're hungry --"

"Fuck! I'm not fuckin' hungry! I just want a Goddamn popsicle!"

Quincy broke out in a fit of laughter, knowing that she had completed her mission in pissing him off for the day. "Just playing around, Gee. I'll get them."

"Thanks," he sighed, obviously relieved, before taking his wallet out from his back pocket. His eyes moved to the small picture of Frank in the inside flap before it darted over to his friend on the couch. Her head was down, slightly dozing off from the time on the clock. It was late after all and he kind of felt guilty getting her to run down the street for him. Without anymore hesitation, he discreetly slid the photo of Frank into the folded 20 dollar bill before handing it to her.

Her eyes twinkled as tears of fatigue crept to the surface when she yawned. Not long after, she had gotten up and headed for the door. "Want a fla --"

"Chocolate!" he called, hearing her giggle. Okay, so he was hungry. So sue him.

"See you later, Gee."

"Be careful! It's late!"



Frank strolled down the street, his breath visible in the frosted air as it mingled with the light from the street lamps. He was whistling a rather joyous tune, revamping the song "Nothing To Lose" by Billy Talent so it was upbeat and fun to dance to.

The sudden light thud in his jacket pocket made him curious after he did a little jump. His hand dug into the pocket and pulled out Mikey's thick wallet before flipping it open and going through the money. He would never steal from a friend. Never. He just wanted to know if he had enough money for a second popsicle for himself.

As he flipped through the bills, the picture of a girl around his age caught his eye. The photograph had her hair pulled back into a messy ponytail while Mikey fought to shove a slice of cake in her face. If it was in Mikey's wallet, it was a memory worth keeping. He must have held it to close to him to have it as the front photo. But at the bottom, it had something written neatly on it. Frank ran to the nearest street lamp and stood under it, squinting and reading whatever had been written.

Quincy's 24th Bday



She slowly shuffled down the street, reaching the store quickly since she Gerard lived pretty close to it. The motion detectors registered her and she walked in, finding the store almost empty.

Almost.

No one but the clerk and a man in a black hoodie by the popsicle freezers were inside, sending her a tiny shock of uncomfortable feelings. She never liked to be the only girl in the room for it would make her an easy target for kidnap or worse.

Bravely, she strode towards the freezers, nearing the guy who was hunched over it. She could pick up on him swearing profusely, the next profanity worse than the one before it.

"Motherfucking chocolate shit popsicle..."

She stood beside him, waiting for him to get what he needed so she could. He quickly noticed her and smiled faintly. "Sorry. Here, you go first."

"Thanks." She looked into the freezer, finding a dozen chocolate popsicles embedded in the ice. She wrapped her delicate fingers over one and tugged, the popsicle not moving from its spot. "Shit..."

"They're frozen together. I've been trying to rip them apart for a good fifteen minutes now. You might wanna get another flavor," Frank said kindly, recognizing her from Mikey's picture.

"Oh, but I can't. It's for a friend."

"Well, he's gonna have to wait awhile then."

The end of her lips twitched upwards. "He's hungry."

"Sounds like Gerard."

The smile was wiped off of Quincy's face almost as fast as it came. "Hmm?"

"Sorry, just a friend of mine," he answered. "His brother set me up on a blind date tonight and I didn't go."

"Oh, hah," she grinned. "Weird. Same thing happened to me."

"Yeah?" He was getting to her. He knew it. The only thing he didn't know was why he was doing it.

She nodded. "I canceled though. I told the guy I had a parent-teacher conference. Really, I don't have a kid."

Bingo.

"Is that so?" He laughed, knowing she was the girl he was meant to be set up with. "Who was the loser who lucked out?"

"F something," Quincy thought, forgetting the name. "Fred, Fake..."

"Frank?" he pitched in, grinning like a moron.

"Yeah! How'd you know?"

"I'm kind of that guy."

She arched her eyebrows, staring at him and squinting. "I don't get it..."

"Never mind," he said, shaking his head and looking around. "Screw it, I'm just getting Mikey vanilla."

Her expression changed into a smirk. "I'll get Gerard the same."

The two got their popsicles and paid, stepping out of the store and back outside. "Where're you headed to?"

"Down that road," she pointed. "Gerard's house."

"Oh, well, Mikey's down here." He nodded in the opposite direction. "See you around, I guess."

"Yeah. Bye."

The two walked their separate ways but Frank wanted to take his chance and end the movie-like story the right way. "I'm Frank, by the way," he called, his eyes watching her peek over her shoulder at him.

"I know."

"You do?"

"Yeah."

"How?"

She held up the picture that Gerard had slipped into the 20 dollar bill. "I got your picture. I'm guessing you already know who I am."

He nodded, his smile similar to a joker. "Let's drive them nuts again next time."

"What do you think we've been doing for the last 2 years?" she giggled, waving him off.

He laughed, knowing she was right. They had been driving the Way brothers insane for the last 2 years, always canceling on each other and finding an excuse. They had talked on the phone before, cooking up little plans on how to frustrate Gerard and Mikey but they had never met in person. This was their first time seeing each other.

So who was the better keeping things secret?

Beyonce and Jay-Z?

No.

Bonnie and Clyde?

Nope.

Frank and Quincy?

Oh, hell yeah.