Categories > Celebrities > My Chemical Romance > The Seven Days of Christmas
On the First Day of Christmas
1 reviewMy version of what happened at Acoustic Xmas 2006. This is slash, so if you dont like it, dont read. I only own the storyline (which sadly never happened). Please read and review!
0Unrated
On The First Day of Christmas…
“Gerard, I’m nervous,” said Mikey.
“Hey, don’t be nervous,” Gerard soothed. He gently brushed the browny blond bangs out of the bassist’s eyes. He cupped Mikey’s chin, softly tilting the younger man’s head up until worried, hazel eyes met reassuring almost black ones.
“This is gonna be awesome. You’ll have a great time! People like us remember? That’s how we got to be this gig in the first place.”
“Yeah, you’re right,” Mikey gave Gerard the best smile he could considering his apprehension. Gerard took Mikey’s hand in his, and then used the hand cupping his younger brother’s face to bring them close as he planted a lingering, tender kiss on his lips.
There was a knock on the door. Gerard quickly dropped his hand from Mikey’s face as the door opened to reveal Frank holding all his bags.
“Why are you guys still in here? Your things are already sorted!” he asked. Neither Gerard nor Mikey wanted to give the real reason they had retreated to the bunk section of the touring coach, so they just let Frank continue.
“We’re all ready, so is it okay if we go check out where we’re staying now?” Frank was struggling to keep the excitement out of his voice, totally oblivious to the fact that the two brothers had obviously been talking privately and were still holding hands.
“Yeah, let’s go,” Gerard couldn’t help but grin at Frank’s enthusiasm. He gave Mikey’s hand a quick squeeze and followed the eager rhythm guitarist out the door and back into the main section of the coach were Bob and Ray were waiting.
“Ok, we’re sorted now.” Gerard said as he and Mikey picked up their bags. Ignoring Bob’s laboured “Finally!” and Ray’s “What, you guys are ready? For real!?” they all headed out of the coach and into the grounds of L.A.’s sixteenth Acoustic Christmas.
~*~
After sorting out room placing (Gerard and Mikey were sharing, Ray and Frank were sharing, and Bob was sharing with their tour manager, Brian Schechter) and furnishing their dressing room with all their junk, the band went to check out the stage they would be performing on later that day.
They chatted about nothing in particular as they walked across a field to get to the area where the stage was, but if you could’ve read their thoughts, this is what it would’ve sounded like:
Gerard: I wonder whether it’s gonna be big enough for a cannon to shoot black confetti?
Bob: I hope there’s a platform for the drum kit so Frank gets on my bass drum again.
Mikey: God I hope I get to meet Billy Corgan…
Ray: Maybe if I straighten my hair for tonight it won’t get in my eyes as much. And Frank might notice…
Frank: If I pay Ray a bit ore attention onstage maybe he’ll pay me more attention offstage…
But since no one there was able to read the minds of the others, they just focused on their conversation, which had turned to Transformers.
“Megatron is definitely the best,” Gerard said.
“No, Optimus Prime is ‘cos he’s the one trying to save the world!” Ray argued.
“Exactly! Ray, you’re so boring. I vote Megatron,” Frank declared. “What about you two?” he continued, looking at Mikey and Bob.
“I’m not fussed about your toys,” Bob said. Then seeing the pleading look Ray was sending him he added “It’d have to be Optimus Prime.”
“What?!” Gerard exclaimed. “Right, come on Mikey, Megatron needs you!”
“Hey you guys, it looks like someone’s already up there,” Mikey interrupted, stopping and looking up at the stage. The others all looked too, and sure enough there were people moving round on there.
“Aww!” Frank pouted. “Someone got here before us!”
“It’s ok Frankie; we can still have a look around.” Ray teased, false sympathy evident in his voice as he patted Frank consolingly on the shoulder.
“God Ray, you’re so patronising” Bob sighed.
“Let’s go and say hi.” suggested Gerard. The others nodded their agreement and they continued towards the stage.
They followed Gerard onto the stage and saw that there were four men there, one standing towards the back of the stage air drumming, two conversing animatedly, and one examining the front of the stage closely, muttering to himself. He was the first to notice the presence of the My Chemical Romance members. He straightened up and turned to them, and as he brushed his long brown fringe out of the way to reveal an extremely handsome face with piercingly blue eyes, Mikey got the distinct feeling he’d seen him before. Gerard stepped forwards.
“Hi, we’re My-” he began
“-Chemical Romance,” the man finished in a lazy drawl, smiling crookedly. “I’m a fan.” Hearing voices, the other three men on the stage went to stand by him.
“We’re 30 Seconds to Mars,” he said, gesturing to the men by his side.
“Yeah, I’ve heard of you. I like your music,” said Ray.
“Awesome! Thanks!” the man said, baring perfect pearly whites.
“Eh…” Bob began, fidgeting uncomfortably. “Not to be rude, but I have no idea who you are…”
“Oh right, yeah! Well, this is Matt Wacher, he plays bass,” the man indicated the man standing closest to him.
“Tomo Miličenić, our lead guitarist,” Tomo nodded.
“My older brother Shannon, who plays drums,” the man who had been air drumming smiled.
“And I’m Jared Leto, the lead singer and rhythm guitarist,” Jared finished.
“Nice to meet you! We’re Bob, Frank, Ray, my brother Mikey, and I’m Gerard,” Gerard addressed Jared, Shannon, Matt and Tomo. His eyes narrowed when he saw Jared’s sweeping gaze linger on Mikey.
After this brief introduction, Bob started a fascinating conversation with Shannon about drums and Ray and Frank went to talk to Tomo and Matt about their video for The Kill, leaving Gerard and Mikey with Jared. Suddenly Mikey had a ‘eureka’ moment.
“That’s where I know you from! You’re the guy from Chapter 27! The actor, Jared Leto!” he said. Jared grinned.
“Yup, that’s me. What did you think of the film?”
“The acting was great, but I wasn’t so keen on the actual plot,” Jared smiled handsomely, saying.
“I’ll take that as a compliment. The plot was very controversial, I wasn’t sure whether to go through with it or not, but it got some good ratings…”
Gerard stopped focusing on the conversation at this point. Mikey had watched Chapter 27 on one of the movie nights he used to have regularly. Gerard hadn’t thought the plot sounded very interesting, so he’d spent the whole time drawing instead. All he knew was the film was based on John Lennon’s death.
And that Jared Leto was in it.
The same Jared Leto that had been looking at his Mikey. Bastard. The thing is; Gerard wouldn’t have minded if it was someone else. His relationship with Mikey was just extended brotherly love really. Sure, his little brother could be irresistible at times, and he gave a fucking good blowjob, but they only screwed each other because they were close and there was no one else. And whilst Mikey was damn good looking and Gerard was attracted to him, if his brother had found someone right, Gerard was only too prepared to back off and be happy for him.
But not Jared Leto. Mainly because he was an actor and who, from what Gerard had heard, had already dated all the current Hollywood’s-Flavours-of-the-Month: Scarlett Johansson, Cameron Diaz and Lindsay Lohan. He would probably fuck Mikey once and then move on to the next good looking person he saw.
Gerard forced himself to pay attention to what Jared and Mikey were saying. Jared had switched on his charm and now the conversation was filled with attractive smiles, laughs, occasional winks, and every now and then casual touches, as Jared and Mikey talked about how the KROQ Acoustic Christmas differed from other gigs.
“What really strikes me is that they provide accommodation. I mean it may only be a motel round the corner, but it’s still unusual.” Jared was saying.
“Maybe they can afford it because we’re all playing free and they’re a really big radio station.” Mikey suggested.
“Yeah, but letting us stay for up to a week after, I’ve never come across that before.”
“What?” Gerard asked, interested now.
“All the bands can stay here until next Sunday free. You probably haven’t been here long enough for anyone to tell you that yet. So are you guys gonna stay?” Jared paused, then looked directly into Mikey’s eyes and put his hand on the younger man’s shoulder. “It’d be great if you did. We could hang out. I’d really like us to be friends.”
Mikey had opened his mouth to agree when Gerard interrupted.
“Hey guys, we should go back to the coach and see what stage effects we’re allowed.” he called to his bandmates.
“Oh, you’re allowed anything that can fit on the stage. We’re having cannons that are gonna shoot white confetti!” Jared informed him happily. Gerard’s eyes flickered from the other vocalist to the enchanted Mikey in frustration.
“We should still go,” he said firmly.
“But Gerard,” Jared whined, “There’s still 7 hours left when all the bands have free access to the stage! Saosin don’t even start playing till 5-” Gerard shot Jared a fierce glare, stopping him mid-sentence.
“Coming, guys?” his voice was now almost threatening. Bob, Ray, Frank and Mikey exchanged bemused glances, but they knew that when Gerard’s voice got that only-just-there steely tone, it was best to do what he wanted. Reluctantly they said goodbye to the 30 Seconds to Mars members they were talking to, then followed their pissed-off lead singer away from the stage.
See you then Mikey!” Jared called after them. Mikey turned round to nod and wave and smile and maybe even blush prettily. As soon as he had turned back, though, Gerard fixed the unfortunate Jared Leto a glare of pure venom before continuing to walk away with his band.
Back at the coach, the rest of the band turned on Gerard.
“Why did we have to go?”
“Me and Shannon were getting on great!”
“What’s up with you, man?”
Gerard sighed, looking at them.
“I just thought we should get our effects sorted now we know what we’re working with, okay?” With that he walked into the front section of the coach where Brian was, leaving them curious, confused, and annoyed at being lied to.
~ * ~
“SCREAM FOR ME L.A.!!!” Gerard yelled as the final chords of The Sharpest Lives faded out, and as always, the crowd went absolutely insane. Apart from the incident of Frank kicking Ray hard in the knee, it had actually gone quite well. Especially considering they hadn’t had any stage effects, Gerard reflected. Instead, he had encouraged the crowd to have a confetti war with the leftovers from 30 Seconds to Mars’s set, which had worked well.
“This song’s our last, then we’re getting the fuck outta here!” he shouted jokingly, but truthfully. He looked to the side of the stage and his face clouded over when he saw Jared standing at the side of the stage watching. Jared noticed Gerard looking at him and offered a smile. Gerard shot him a death glare in return.
“FAMOUS! LAST! WORDS!” he screamed, and then he looked away from Jared and began the song that would end My Chemical Romance’s set.
“And I know that I can make you stay
But where’s your heart? But where’s your heart?
But where’s your…
And I know there’s nothing I can say
To change that part, To change that par,
To change…”
Jared watched as the heavy part kicked in and the band thrashed around with everything they had to give. When Shannon came up behind him and tapped him on the shoulder, Jared reluctantly turned his head away from the band to look.
“Hey.”
“Hi,” Jared turned back to watching Mikey playing.
“Enjoying the show?” Shannon asked.
“Fuck yeah. Oh Shan, isn’t he just so adorable?” Jared breathed.
“Who?”
“Mikey. The bassist,” Shannon looked at Mikey, smiling gently.
“He’s pretty cute, yeah.” Shannon conceded.
As usual, when the band came offstage they were soaked in sweat and grinning like maniacs. Mikey caught Jared’s eye.
“We’re just gonna shower off then we should hang out, yeah?” he called. Jared nodded, smiling.
“Been working your magic, little brother?” Shannon teased. Jared could only beam smugly in response.
About 10 minutes later Jared and Shannon caught up with Mikey outside the 30 Seconds to Mars dressing room.
“So, enjoy the set?” Mikey asked, bubbling with post-show excitement.
“Hell yeah! It was amazing! I couldn’t help but notice the lack of stage effects, but still, you guys have so much energy onstage, it’s awesome!” Mikey blushed lightly at the compliment.
“Hm, Gerard decided we didn’t need any in the end. But thanks. You know, you’re pretty good onstage too. You have this… presence. It’s great!”
“Well thank you very much. Did you watch our set earlier or something?”
“Yeah, it was-” Mikey broke off as Gerard appeared behind him, wrapping his arms around his younger brother’s waist.
“Shannon. Hi.” Gerard smiled over Mikey’s shoulder, completely ignoring Jared. He turned his attention back to Mikey.
“Mikes, dressing room, now.” He bit Mikey’s earlobe gently. “We have Billy Corgan all to ourselves.” Mikey’s eyes lit up, and the two brothers said a hurried goodbye then rushed off. Shannon turned to Jared.
“One seems to like you and the other seems to hate you. Just how long have you known those guys?” he asked.
“Since about 10 this morning,” Jared replied, his best actor’s smile in place. Shannon shook his head resignedly.
“Come on little brother, I want to catch Incubus’s set.” The two men turned and headed back to the stage, both absorbed in their own thoughts.
~*~
Back in the dressing room one of Ray’s, Bob’s, Frank’s and Mikey’s wishes were coming true, and Gerard’s for the second time. Billy Corgan was a man highly respected by all of them, and they were having the time of their lives exchanging tales from the road and piss-throwing stories.
After a while they left the dressing room to go and watch AFI’s set. There they had an absolute blast moshing to songs, being mobbed by fans, and generally enjoying life.
At the other side of the audience, Jared, Shannon, Matt and Tomo were making their way out of the crowd. They had met up to watch Incubus’s set, but Shannon and Tomo didn’t like AFI, so they were all going back to the dressing room to hang out.
Now, for different people, ‘hanging out’ means different things. For some people it’s meeting their friends in the local park to mess around, and for some people it’s watching a movie with whoever’s available. For 30 Seconds to Mars, hanging out meant sitting or lying down, playing on various games consoles, and talking about whatever was new. Today it was Mario Kart and My Chemical Romance.
“So what do you guys make of them?” Matt asked. He suddenly panicked and swore as his kart came perilously close to the edge of the track. He leaned to the left and titled his controller violently but it was no use and his vehicle fell off. There was silence for a minute as they all fought for fist place then later Tomo’s kart shot past the finish line in first place, closely followed by Shannon’s, who was a second ahead of Jared. Matt came in last.
“I like them.” Tomo replied. “Ray seems really nice, even though his hair is slightly ridiculous.”
“Bob’s great. We were getting along well.”
“Both Ray and Frank were really easy to talk to,” Matt added. “Not that we had long to talk to them, thanks to darling Gerard storming off. You were talking to him Jared. Do you know why the left?” he asked.
“I wasn’t really talking to Gerard. Me and Mikey were talking and he was just listening. He started paying attention when I told them we were allowed to stay. Then I asked them if they were going to hang around and he took off.” Jared mused.
“Didn’t he say they were going to sort out stage effects?” asked Tomo.
“Yeah, but then they didn’t have any in the set… maybe he’s just a bit antisocial.”
“God knows.” Matt finished. Apparently God did know, and he had come down to earth in the form of Shannon.
“Come on Jared, isn’t it obvious?” Jared shook his head. “Matt and Tomo couldn’t know because you haven’t told them yet, but you were flirting with Mikey for the entire conversation. Gerard was just trying to protect his little brother from having his heart broken by you. And don’t ask why you’d break his heart, you’re an actor. Actors and heartbreak go hand in hand.” There was a pause following this revelation, during which Tomo and Matt switched their curious gazes from Shannon to Jared, and Jared started at Shannon, dumbfounded.
“I guess that would explain why he kept glaring at me… but how did you know I was flirting?” he demanded.
“Brother, I’ve lived with you for nearly all my life.” Shannon replied. “I can read you like a book. And I assure you that I would’ve been over there stopping you if Bob hadn’t told me he was the only straight one in the band. You should really check whether guys are gay before you try to hit on them, you know.”
“Never mind that,” Matt interrupted. “You like Mikey?”
“Well yeah. He’s so cute and he looks so innocent, but I’ll bet you anything he’s not.” Jared smiled secretively. Matt frowned a little, saying,
“Yeah, he’s cute. But I thought you’d go for Gerard.”
“Same!” agreed Shannon. “You always go for someone fiery in a relationship. Mikey seems too… gentle for you. And Gerard’s good looking as well, which I know you value highly.” Jared turned to Shannon, looking interested.
“Gerard, eh? You do have a point. He is attractive, and it’s so hot when he glares at me…” Jared trailed off.
“Right, who’s up for another race?” Tomo asked. He, Matt and Shannon continued the game, leaving Jared to lapse into thoughtful silence.
~ * ~
My Chemical Romance were relaxing in their separate motel rooms. They had watched the Foo Fighters’ set and then Bob and Frank had wanted to catch up with Dave Grohl, but Gerard insisted they went back to their rooms to ‘unwind’.
“Besides,” he had said, looking first at Ray, then at Mikey. “I think we have a few problems that need ironing out.” So they had all separated off to their rooms; Bob and Frank wondering what Gerard was on about, Mikey feeling nervous, and Ray silently thanking Gerard for his brilliance.
“You know,” Frank said after he and Ray had gone into their room and shut the door. “I think poor Gerard’s finally cracked. I mean, dragging us back to the coach to get effects which we never used, and now saying we need to unwind? You don’t think he’s turning hippy, do you?” Frank stopped when he saw Ray lying on one of the beds, face serious.
“Frank, we need to talk.” He said. Frank flopped down on one of the beds and got comfy.
“Okay, go.”
“What the hell did you kick me for? It didn’t physically hurt or anything, but have I done something to offend you? I don’t get it!” Ray burst out.
“So it does work,” Frank smiled to himself.
“What works?”
“My theory. If A pays more attention to B onstage, then B pays more attention to A offstage.
“Frank, that sounded way too intellectual to be you. Are you saying you want more attention?”
“To put it in simpler terms,” was Frank’s reply. The two men thought quietly for a moment.
“Attention?” Ray enquired.
“You know, like taking to me? You haven’t been doing that much lately.”
“You haven’t been talking to me a whole lot lately either.”
“That’s cos…” Frank took a deep breath. “That’s cos I don’t ever know what to say to you!”
“Me neither!” Ray enthused. They both realised what they had said and collapsed into an embarrassed silence. A while later, Ray tenatively spoke.
“I want to give you attention Frankie; I just don’t know what I can do without making a complete retard out of myself!” Frank smiled and went to sit next to Ray.
“I know what kind of attention I’d like you to give me…” Frank said in a sing song voice. Ray turned to look at him.
“Oh? And what’s that?” Frank smiled at Ray and leaned close to him, kissing the older man on the lips.
Two more wishes had just come true.
~*~
In the room next door, Gerard and Mikey were having a discussion about a little something that had been bothering Gerard for most of the day.
“Gee, why do you hate Jared so much?”
“Because he was flirting with you!”
“And that’s a crime now? Don’t you think you’re being a bit overprotective?”
“No!” Gerard defended himself. He sat down on the sofa in their room and sighed. “I’m just being plain old protective. I don’t want you to fall for someone who will mess you around and then move on to the next thing he sees that breathes and talks!”
“You don’t know he’ll do that.”
“Mikes, he’s an actor who’s already had Lindsay Lohan and Cameron Diaz. It’s how he lives.” Mikey sighed.
“Well, you don’t have to worry. I’m only interested in him from a friendly point of view. And that means that you don’t have to bite on my ear in public. It’s like yelling “INCEST!” to anyone who happens to be listening!”
“Yeah, I know. You’re just so hard to resist, Mikey.”
Mikey smirked and sat down on Gerard’s lap, putting his arms around his older brother’s neck.
“You know it.” He murmured teasingly, closing the gap between them to give Gerard a light kiss. Gerard put his hand round the back of Mikey’s head and tangled his fingers in his brother’s hair, keeping them close. He kissed Mikey full on, biting on his younger brother’s bottom lip, then slipping his tongue into Mikey’s mouth.
They stayed making out for a while, all thoughts of Jared Leto happily forgotten.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Beta’d by Michiko
“Gerard, I’m nervous,” said Mikey.
“Hey, don’t be nervous,” Gerard soothed. He gently brushed the browny blond bangs out of the bassist’s eyes. He cupped Mikey’s chin, softly tilting the younger man’s head up until worried, hazel eyes met reassuring almost black ones.
“This is gonna be awesome. You’ll have a great time! People like us remember? That’s how we got to be this gig in the first place.”
“Yeah, you’re right,” Mikey gave Gerard the best smile he could considering his apprehension. Gerard took Mikey’s hand in his, and then used the hand cupping his younger brother’s face to bring them close as he planted a lingering, tender kiss on his lips.
There was a knock on the door. Gerard quickly dropped his hand from Mikey’s face as the door opened to reveal Frank holding all his bags.
“Why are you guys still in here? Your things are already sorted!” he asked. Neither Gerard nor Mikey wanted to give the real reason they had retreated to the bunk section of the touring coach, so they just let Frank continue.
“We’re all ready, so is it okay if we go check out where we’re staying now?” Frank was struggling to keep the excitement out of his voice, totally oblivious to the fact that the two brothers had obviously been talking privately and were still holding hands.
“Yeah, let’s go,” Gerard couldn’t help but grin at Frank’s enthusiasm. He gave Mikey’s hand a quick squeeze and followed the eager rhythm guitarist out the door and back into the main section of the coach were Bob and Ray were waiting.
“Ok, we’re sorted now.” Gerard said as he and Mikey picked up their bags. Ignoring Bob’s laboured “Finally!” and Ray’s “What, you guys are ready? For real!?” they all headed out of the coach and into the grounds of L.A.’s sixteenth Acoustic Christmas.
~*~
After sorting out room placing (Gerard and Mikey were sharing, Ray and Frank were sharing, and Bob was sharing with their tour manager, Brian Schechter) and furnishing their dressing room with all their junk, the band went to check out the stage they would be performing on later that day.
They chatted about nothing in particular as they walked across a field to get to the area where the stage was, but if you could’ve read their thoughts, this is what it would’ve sounded like:
Gerard: I wonder whether it’s gonna be big enough for a cannon to shoot black confetti?
Bob: I hope there’s a platform for the drum kit so Frank gets on my bass drum again.
Mikey: God I hope I get to meet Billy Corgan…
Ray: Maybe if I straighten my hair for tonight it won’t get in my eyes as much. And Frank might notice…
Frank: If I pay Ray a bit ore attention onstage maybe he’ll pay me more attention offstage…
But since no one there was able to read the minds of the others, they just focused on their conversation, which had turned to Transformers.
“Megatron is definitely the best,” Gerard said.
“No, Optimus Prime is ‘cos he’s the one trying to save the world!” Ray argued.
“Exactly! Ray, you’re so boring. I vote Megatron,” Frank declared. “What about you two?” he continued, looking at Mikey and Bob.
“I’m not fussed about your toys,” Bob said. Then seeing the pleading look Ray was sending him he added “It’d have to be Optimus Prime.”
“What?!” Gerard exclaimed. “Right, come on Mikey, Megatron needs you!”
“Hey you guys, it looks like someone’s already up there,” Mikey interrupted, stopping and looking up at the stage. The others all looked too, and sure enough there were people moving round on there.
“Aww!” Frank pouted. “Someone got here before us!”
“It’s ok Frankie; we can still have a look around.” Ray teased, false sympathy evident in his voice as he patted Frank consolingly on the shoulder.
“God Ray, you’re so patronising” Bob sighed.
“Let’s go and say hi.” suggested Gerard. The others nodded their agreement and they continued towards the stage.
They followed Gerard onto the stage and saw that there were four men there, one standing towards the back of the stage air drumming, two conversing animatedly, and one examining the front of the stage closely, muttering to himself. He was the first to notice the presence of the My Chemical Romance members. He straightened up and turned to them, and as he brushed his long brown fringe out of the way to reveal an extremely handsome face with piercingly blue eyes, Mikey got the distinct feeling he’d seen him before. Gerard stepped forwards.
“Hi, we’re My-” he began
“-Chemical Romance,” the man finished in a lazy drawl, smiling crookedly. “I’m a fan.” Hearing voices, the other three men on the stage went to stand by him.
“We’re 30 Seconds to Mars,” he said, gesturing to the men by his side.
“Yeah, I’ve heard of you. I like your music,” said Ray.
“Awesome! Thanks!” the man said, baring perfect pearly whites.
“Eh…” Bob began, fidgeting uncomfortably. “Not to be rude, but I have no idea who you are…”
“Oh right, yeah! Well, this is Matt Wacher, he plays bass,” the man indicated the man standing closest to him.
“Tomo Miličenić, our lead guitarist,” Tomo nodded.
“My older brother Shannon, who plays drums,” the man who had been air drumming smiled.
“And I’m Jared Leto, the lead singer and rhythm guitarist,” Jared finished.
“Nice to meet you! We’re Bob, Frank, Ray, my brother Mikey, and I’m Gerard,” Gerard addressed Jared, Shannon, Matt and Tomo. His eyes narrowed when he saw Jared’s sweeping gaze linger on Mikey.
After this brief introduction, Bob started a fascinating conversation with Shannon about drums and Ray and Frank went to talk to Tomo and Matt about their video for The Kill, leaving Gerard and Mikey with Jared. Suddenly Mikey had a ‘eureka’ moment.
“That’s where I know you from! You’re the guy from Chapter 27! The actor, Jared Leto!” he said. Jared grinned.
“Yup, that’s me. What did you think of the film?”
“The acting was great, but I wasn’t so keen on the actual plot,” Jared smiled handsomely, saying.
“I’ll take that as a compliment. The plot was very controversial, I wasn’t sure whether to go through with it or not, but it got some good ratings…”
Gerard stopped focusing on the conversation at this point. Mikey had watched Chapter 27 on one of the movie nights he used to have regularly. Gerard hadn’t thought the plot sounded very interesting, so he’d spent the whole time drawing instead. All he knew was the film was based on John Lennon’s death.
And that Jared Leto was in it.
The same Jared Leto that had been looking at his Mikey. Bastard. The thing is; Gerard wouldn’t have minded if it was someone else. His relationship with Mikey was just extended brotherly love really. Sure, his little brother could be irresistible at times, and he gave a fucking good blowjob, but they only screwed each other because they were close and there was no one else. And whilst Mikey was damn good looking and Gerard was attracted to him, if his brother had found someone right, Gerard was only too prepared to back off and be happy for him.
But not Jared Leto. Mainly because he was an actor and who, from what Gerard had heard, had already dated all the current Hollywood’s-Flavours-of-the-Month: Scarlett Johansson, Cameron Diaz and Lindsay Lohan. He would probably fuck Mikey once and then move on to the next good looking person he saw.
Gerard forced himself to pay attention to what Jared and Mikey were saying. Jared had switched on his charm and now the conversation was filled with attractive smiles, laughs, occasional winks, and every now and then casual touches, as Jared and Mikey talked about how the KROQ Acoustic Christmas differed from other gigs.
“What really strikes me is that they provide accommodation. I mean it may only be a motel round the corner, but it’s still unusual.” Jared was saying.
“Maybe they can afford it because we’re all playing free and they’re a really big radio station.” Mikey suggested.
“Yeah, but letting us stay for up to a week after, I’ve never come across that before.”
“What?” Gerard asked, interested now.
“All the bands can stay here until next Sunday free. You probably haven’t been here long enough for anyone to tell you that yet. So are you guys gonna stay?” Jared paused, then looked directly into Mikey’s eyes and put his hand on the younger man’s shoulder. “It’d be great if you did. We could hang out. I’d really like us to be friends.”
Mikey had opened his mouth to agree when Gerard interrupted.
“Hey guys, we should go back to the coach and see what stage effects we’re allowed.” he called to his bandmates.
“Oh, you’re allowed anything that can fit on the stage. We’re having cannons that are gonna shoot white confetti!” Jared informed him happily. Gerard’s eyes flickered from the other vocalist to the enchanted Mikey in frustration.
“We should still go,” he said firmly.
“But Gerard,” Jared whined, “There’s still 7 hours left when all the bands have free access to the stage! Saosin don’t even start playing till 5-” Gerard shot Jared a fierce glare, stopping him mid-sentence.
“Coming, guys?” his voice was now almost threatening. Bob, Ray, Frank and Mikey exchanged bemused glances, but they knew that when Gerard’s voice got that only-just-there steely tone, it was best to do what he wanted. Reluctantly they said goodbye to the 30 Seconds to Mars members they were talking to, then followed their pissed-off lead singer away from the stage.
See you then Mikey!” Jared called after them. Mikey turned round to nod and wave and smile and maybe even blush prettily. As soon as he had turned back, though, Gerard fixed the unfortunate Jared Leto a glare of pure venom before continuing to walk away with his band.
Back at the coach, the rest of the band turned on Gerard.
“Why did we have to go?”
“Me and Shannon were getting on great!”
“What’s up with you, man?”
Gerard sighed, looking at them.
“I just thought we should get our effects sorted now we know what we’re working with, okay?” With that he walked into the front section of the coach where Brian was, leaving them curious, confused, and annoyed at being lied to.
~ * ~
“SCREAM FOR ME L.A.!!!” Gerard yelled as the final chords of The Sharpest Lives faded out, and as always, the crowd went absolutely insane. Apart from the incident of Frank kicking Ray hard in the knee, it had actually gone quite well. Especially considering they hadn’t had any stage effects, Gerard reflected. Instead, he had encouraged the crowd to have a confetti war with the leftovers from 30 Seconds to Mars’s set, which had worked well.
“This song’s our last, then we’re getting the fuck outta here!” he shouted jokingly, but truthfully. He looked to the side of the stage and his face clouded over when he saw Jared standing at the side of the stage watching. Jared noticed Gerard looking at him and offered a smile. Gerard shot him a death glare in return.
“FAMOUS! LAST! WORDS!” he screamed, and then he looked away from Jared and began the song that would end My Chemical Romance’s set.
“And I know that I can make you stay
But where’s your heart? But where’s your heart?
But where’s your…
And I know there’s nothing I can say
To change that part, To change that par,
To change…”
Jared watched as the heavy part kicked in and the band thrashed around with everything they had to give. When Shannon came up behind him and tapped him on the shoulder, Jared reluctantly turned his head away from the band to look.
“Hey.”
“Hi,” Jared turned back to watching Mikey playing.
“Enjoying the show?” Shannon asked.
“Fuck yeah. Oh Shan, isn’t he just so adorable?” Jared breathed.
“Who?”
“Mikey. The bassist,” Shannon looked at Mikey, smiling gently.
“He’s pretty cute, yeah.” Shannon conceded.
As usual, when the band came offstage they were soaked in sweat and grinning like maniacs. Mikey caught Jared’s eye.
“We’re just gonna shower off then we should hang out, yeah?” he called. Jared nodded, smiling.
“Been working your magic, little brother?” Shannon teased. Jared could only beam smugly in response.
About 10 minutes later Jared and Shannon caught up with Mikey outside the 30 Seconds to Mars dressing room.
“So, enjoy the set?” Mikey asked, bubbling with post-show excitement.
“Hell yeah! It was amazing! I couldn’t help but notice the lack of stage effects, but still, you guys have so much energy onstage, it’s awesome!” Mikey blushed lightly at the compliment.
“Hm, Gerard decided we didn’t need any in the end. But thanks. You know, you’re pretty good onstage too. You have this… presence. It’s great!”
“Well thank you very much. Did you watch our set earlier or something?”
“Yeah, it was-” Mikey broke off as Gerard appeared behind him, wrapping his arms around his younger brother’s waist.
“Shannon. Hi.” Gerard smiled over Mikey’s shoulder, completely ignoring Jared. He turned his attention back to Mikey.
“Mikes, dressing room, now.” He bit Mikey’s earlobe gently. “We have Billy Corgan all to ourselves.” Mikey’s eyes lit up, and the two brothers said a hurried goodbye then rushed off. Shannon turned to Jared.
“One seems to like you and the other seems to hate you. Just how long have you known those guys?” he asked.
“Since about 10 this morning,” Jared replied, his best actor’s smile in place. Shannon shook his head resignedly.
“Come on little brother, I want to catch Incubus’s set.” The two men turned and headed back to the stage, both absorbed in their own thoughts.
~*~
Back in the dressing room one of Ray’s, Bob’s, Frank’s and Mikey’s wishes were coming true, and Gerard’s for the second time. Billy Corgan was a man highly respected by all of them, and they were having the time of their lives exchanging tales from the road and piss-throwing stories.
After a while they left the dressing room to go and watch AFI’s set. There they had an absolute blast moshing to songs, being mobbed by fans, and generally enjoying life.
At the other side of the audience, Jared, Shannon, Matt and Tomo were making their way out of the crowd. They had met up to watch Incubus’s set, but Shannon and Tomo didn’t like AFI, so they were all going back to the dressing room to hang out.
Now, for different people, ‘hanging out’ means different things. For some people it’s meeting their friends in the local park to mess around, and for some people it’s watching a movie with whoever’s available. For 30 Seconds to Mars, hanging out meant sitting or lying down, playing on various games consoles, and talking about whatever was new. Today it was Mario Kart and My Chemical Romance.
“So what do you guys make of them?” Matt asked. He suddenly panicked and swore as his kart came perilously close to the edge of the track. He leaned to the left and titled his controller violently but it was no use and his vehicle fell off. There was silence for a minute as they all fought for fist place then later Tomo’s kart shot past the finish line in first place, closely followed by Shannon’s, who was a second ahead of Jared. Matt came in last.
“I like them.” Tomo replied. “Ray seems really nice, even though his hair is slightly ridiculous.”
“Bob’s great. We were getting along well.”
“Both Ray and Frank were really easy to talk to,” Matt added. “Not that we had long to talk to them, thanks to darling Gerard storming off. You were talking to him Jared. Do you know why the left?” he asked.
“I wasn’t really talking to Gerard. Me and Mikey were talking and he was just listening. He started paying attention when I told them we were allowed to stay. Then I asked them if they were going to hang around and he took off.” Jared mused.
“Didn’t he say they were going to sort out stage effects?” asked Tomo.
“Yeah, but then they didn’t have any in the set… maybe he’s just a bit antisocial.”
“God knows.” Matt finished. Apparently God did know, and he had come down to earth in the form of Shannon.
“Come on Jared, isn’t it obvious?” Jared shook his head. “Matt and Tomo couldn’t know because you haven’t told them yet, but you were flirting with Mikey for the entire conversation. Gerard was just trying to protect his little brother from having his heart broken by you. And don’t ask why you’d break his heart, you’re an actor. Actors and heartbreak go hand in hand.” There was a pause following this revelation, during which Tomo and Matt switched their curious gazes from Shannon to Jared, and Jared started at Shannon, dumbfounded.
“I guess that would explain why he kept glaring at me… but how did you know I was flirting?” he demanded.
“Brother, I’ve lived with you for nearly all my life.” Shannon replied. “I can read you like a book. And I assure you that I would’ve been over there stopping you if Bob hadn’t told me he was the only straight one in the band. You should really check whether guys are gay before you try to hit on them, you know.”
“Never mind that,” Matt interrupted. “You like Mikey?”
“Well yeah. He’s so cute and he looks so innocent, but I’ll bet you anything he’s not.” Jared smiled secretively. Matt frowned a little, saying,
“Yeah, he’s cute. But I thought you’d go for Gerard.”
“Same!” agreed Shannon. “You always go for someone fiery in a relationship. Mikey seems too… gentle for you. And Gerard’s good looking as well, which I know you value highly.” Jared turned to Shannon, looking interested.
“Gerard, eh? You do have a point. He is attractive, and it’s so hot when he glares at me…” Jared trailed off.
“Right, who’s up for another race?” Tomo asked. He, Matt and Shannon continued the game, leaving Jared to lapse into thoughtful silence.
~ * ~
My Chemical Romance were relaxing in their separate motel rooms. They had watched the Foo Fighters’ set and then Bob and Frank had wanted to catch up with Dave Grohl, but Gerard insisted they went back to their rooms to ‘unwind’.
“Besides,” he had said, looking first at Ray, then at Mikey. “I think we have a few problems that need ironing out.” So they had all separated off to their rooms; Bob and Frank wondering what Gerard was on about, Mikey feeling nervous, and Ray silently thanking Gerard for his brilliance.
“You know,” Frank said after he and Ray had gone into their room and shut the door. “I think poor Gerard’s finally cracked. I mean, dragging us back to the coach to get effects which we never used, and now saying we need to unwind? You don’t think he’s turning hippy, do you?” Frank stopped when he saw Ray lying on one of the beds, face serious.
“Frank, we need to talk.” He said. Frank flopped down on one of the beds and got comfy.
“Okay, go.”
“What the hell did you kick me for? It didn’t physically hurt or anything, but have I done something to offend you? I don’t get it!” Ray burst out.
“So it does work,” Frank smiled to himself.
“What works?”
“My theory. If A pays more attention to B onstage, then B pays more attention to A offstage.
“Frank, that sounded way too intellectual to be you. Are you saying you want more attention?”
“To put it in simpler terms,” was Frank’s reply. The two men thought quietly for a moment.
“Attention?” Ray enquired.
“You know, like taking to me? You haven’t been doing that much lately.”
“You haven’t been talking to me a whole lot lately either.”
“That’s cos…” Frank took a deep breath. “That’s cos I don’t ever know what to say to you!”
“Me neither!” Ray enthused. They both realised what they had said and collapsed into an embarrassed silence. A while later, Ray tenatively spoke.
“I want to give you attention Frankie; I just don’t know what I can do without making a complete retard out of myself!” Frank smiled and went to sit next to Ray.
“I know what kind of attention I’d like you to give me…” Frank said in a sing song voice. Ray turned to look at him.
“Oh? And what’s that?” Frank smiled at Ray and leaned close to him, kissing the older man on the lips.
Two more wishes had just come true.
~*~
In the room next door, Gerard and Mikey were having a discussion about a little something that had been bothering Gerard for most of the day.
“Gee, why do you hate Jared so much?”
“Because he was flirting with you!”
“And that’s a crime now? Don’t you think you’re being a bit overprotective?”
“No!” Gerard defended himself. He sat down on the sofa in their room and sighed. “I’m just being plain old protective. I don’t want you to fall for someone who will mess you around and then move on to the next thing he sees that breathes and talks!”
“You don’t know he’ll do that.”
“Mikes, he’s an actor who’s already had Lindsay Lohan and Cameron Diaz. It’s how he lives.” Mikey sighed.
“Well, you don’t have to worry. I’m only interested in him from a friendly point of view. And that means that you don’t have to bite on my ear in public. It’s like yelling “INCEST!” to anyone who happens to be listening!”
“Yeah, I know. You’re just so hard to resist, Mikey.”
Mikey smirked and sat down on Gerard’s lap, putting his arms around his older brother’s neck.
“You know it.” He murmured teasingly, closing the gap between them to give Gerard a light kiss. Gerard put his hand round the back of Mikey’s head and tangled his fingers in his brother’s hair, keeping them close. He kissed Mikey full on, biting on his younger brother’s bottom lip, then slipping his tongue into Mikey’s mouth.
They stayed making out for a while, all thoughts of Jared Leto happily forgotten.
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Beta’d by Michiko
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