The Best Birthday Ever

Frank let his fingers run through his hair, and sighed to himself. Another year, another birthday, another nothing. Birthdays had lost it’s meaning to Frank - I mean, who cared about celebrating someone on the day that you should egg someone’s house and roll it in toilet-paper?
Not Frank’s friends, to say the least. But despite all this, Frank loved Halloween. He couldn’t help it. It was the best day of the year. Well, that was if he managed to ‘forget’ that it was his birthday.
So today, onFranks seventeenth birthday Halloween, Frank’s plans was to go out and have a good time with his friends.

… That was until something unexpected caught Frank’s attention. On the kitchen table were an envelope with Frank’s name on it. Weird. He never got any letters or anything, so as he opened the envelope carefully, trying not to destroy it, which he usually did, he wondered who this might be from.
Three minutes later he threw the envelope, that now was in unrecognizable pieces, into the trash. Why couldn’t he do anything right? But at least, he hadn’t destroyed what was inside of it. A card.
It was all in black, with three carefully drawn bats on it. He opened it slowly. Frank wasn’t sure why he made such a big deal out of it. Maybe it was the Halloween spirit that was getting to him, maybe his dreams were coming true; he would star in his own Horror Movie - but in real life. Maybe this card was the passage to something horrifying, yet thrilling…

“We want you, Frank Iero, to attend at your birthday party at eight o’clock at the Way’s household. Be there.

Xoxo, G”

The words were scribbled down in a way that you could call sloppy, but in Frank’s eyes it was artistic. It was Gerard. And they had thrown a birthday party just for Frank.

“YAY!” Frank exclaimed in a loud, high pitched voice. He didn’t even blush when his voice cracked in the middle of it. He was so happy.

His best friends were throwing him a party - on Halloween just for him. This year would be nothing like any other. He was so excited and happy that he could barely control himself.

-

Gerard, Mikey, Bob and Ray were setting everything for the party… Well, Mikey, Bob and Ray didn’t really bother. It was Gerard who was in charge, and he wanted this party to be something that Frank’d remember for a long time.
He had set everything just right; he had fixed fake creepy smoke, the right lighting (well, it was barely ‘lighting’…), and all the colors were mixed in black and orange. There were pumpkins everywhere and a large banderole that said ‘HAPPY BIRTHDAY, FRANK’.
Gerard loved theme-parties. And when he got to make them almost all by himself, it was even more awesome.

“Jeez, Gerard,” Mikey said. “Don’t you think you might’ve overdone it… just a tad bit?”

In Mikey’s eyes, Gerard overdone everything. Well, maybe not everything. Gerard didn’t care for his looks at all, and it showed. He had long, black, greasy hair and usually just wore what he had slept in. But tonight, Gerard had other plans. It was Halloween, and he would do something new this year; I mean, after a while he had to admit that being a vampire got kind off boring...

“This is important, Mikey!” Gerard exclaimed, looking right into his baby brothers eyes. “Everything has to be perfect.”

“We’ve never thrown him a party before, I think he’s already too excited to even care what it’s going to look like,” Mikey sighed.

“I swear I heard someone scream ‘YAY’ before,” Ray agreed. “And the only one I know who use that kind off excited squeal is Frank.”

Bob nodded.

“Oh, you guys suck,” Gerard grunted. “You should be proud of me for doing this.”

“Alright, Gerard, we’re proud of you, man,” Ray rolled his eyes.

“Okay, that’s it!” Gerard yelled furiously. “If you’re just going to be like that you can do it all by yourselves.”

Gerard’s hazel eyes burned through his three bandmates.

“Dude, you’re already done,” Ray reminded him.

“…. Fine! But don’t expect me to do anything else tonight!”

“Except for Frankie…,” Mikey mumbled quietly to himself.

“Oh, shut up, Mikey, you’re such a virgin,” Gerard said.

After that, Mikey was silent.

-

Frank (or should I say Frankenstein?) walked through Belleville in his costume. As if he would take the BUS! As many people as possible had to see his outfit. Halloween was awesome for one more thing than his ‘2 things that makes Halloween awesome’-list now, which were now this;

1) You get to egg people’s houses.

2) You have a good excuse to wear make-up.

3) I’M HAVING A FUCKING BIRTHDAY PARTY, GODDAMNIT!

He couldn’t believe that he was finally going to really enjoy his birthday. For the first time in his life!

When Frank saw the Way’s house, he couldn’t believe his own eyes. FUCK! It was like Christmas, but better; lots of lighting and pumpkins and a big fire on the garden! Everything, matched in Frank’s favorite colors: Orange and black.

When he knocked on the door, he realized that it was ajar, so he could just step inside of the house.
It was quiet and dark inside. No one screaming ‘SURPRISE!’ or a big birthday cake forced up in his face. Where were everybody?
That was when Frank saw that everyone was there. Lots of people, too. But they were all… stiff. They didn’t move, hell, of what Frank could make out they didn’t even blink. Frank didn’t know what to do. Would he move? Would he say something?

He saw a lumberjack, Wolverine, Sweeney Todd and Batman. That was what he could make out some people to be. But what the hell was this?

“Uh… guys?”

Music then exploded loudly through the house, playing The Toilet Song by Frank’s favorite band; The Bouncing Souls. He jumped and squealed, frightened. A fake mist appeared and small candles were lit. Who the hell could do that in such a short amount of time? (Was his ‘I’m in a horror-movie’-dream finally coming true?)

“Congratulations, Frankie,” a deep voice said as the music was quieting down. Frank swore he could hear some ringing in his ears still, though. “Welcome to your birthday party.”

“All right, stop being creepy, Gerard,” Frank found himself being the centre of attention, and it made him uncomfortable.

“Who’s being creepy?” Another voice laughed. “Okay, he’s already been scared now. Let’s party!”

And with that, everybody started dancing, and the music started to play again.

Batman walked up to Frank, and gave him a hug.

“Really, congrats,” he mumbled and gave Frank a long kiss on the mouth.

“Thanks,” Frank said, and had to bite himself in the cheek not to cry. “For everything. This is the best birthday of my life.”

“At least it’s going to be,” Sweeney Todd giggled.

The lumberjack and Wolverine came up to him, and Frank finally made out who everyone were. Gerard was Batman, clearly. Mikey was Sweeney Todd, Bob was a lumberjack and Ray was Wolverine… Yeah, imagine the sight of that.

“Shut up, Mikey,” Gerard growled. “And you don’t know if it’ll be awesome yet, now do you, Frankie?”

“Yes I do,” Frank assured him. “It’s been awesome since I saw that card…”

“Oh, those?” Ray grinned. “Yeah, well, our dear friend Batman here designed them.”

“I kind off figured…,” Frank replied, giggling.

“What?” Mikey sounded hurt. “Is it that impossible that anyone else of us would have any kind off drawing skills?”

“Oh, God, Mikey,” Gerard groaned.

“Well, yes,” Frank said bluntly.

“Okay - I’m not talking to you,” Mikey grunted.

“Oh, give him a break,” Bob cut in. “It’s his birthday, remember?”

Frank smiled, and gave Mikey, ‘Sweeney’, a hug. It was really, the best birthday, ever.