Skin and Bones

“Come on, Gerard! It’s my turn!” Mikey jumps up and down on the bed behind us. I would laugh, but I’m too busy beating Gerard’s ass.

“You can switch with Frank in a…sec!” He exclaims the last word as I give him a good bang on the head with my club.

“But we’ve already switched twice! You’ve played the entire time!” Mikey’s whining voice is getting annoying. I’m gonna beat his ass when I’m done with Gerard – except it would be Mikey’s actual ass, unlike Gerard’s electronic ass. Heh – an electronic ass. Robo-cop go home.

“But it’s my game.” I hit the x-button.
“Fuck!” I won! Fuck yes!

“Wuhu!” I yell and raise my arms over my head, but I quickly bring them down again. When I look at the brothers faces, they don’t seem to have noticed my pain. Gerard’s glare tells me he hasn’t noticed.

“Yeah, yeah. Very good. Now give me a rematch,” he demands. I smirk at him and pull my best ‘oh, yeah?’-face.

“No! It’s my turn now!” Mikey whines and I remember my promise to myself earlier.
I turn around and face Mikey.

“Stop whining, you little shit.” I get up on my knees, but since he’s on his knees too – and on the bed – he’s still taller.

“I’m not whining, you little shit.” He smirks. Why did I bring up the little?
I get up to my feet and actually look down at him – slightly.

“You’re whining right now.” He squints at me – anger flaring up in his eyes. I only return the gesture.

“Guys,” Gerard sighs. Neither of us breaks the eye-contact. It’s like fighting for dominance with a dog – whoever breaks eye-contact first; loses.
“Let’s just watch a movie instead, huh?” I can’t help but grin at Gerard’s reaction. He’s never really been around for any of our fights, since most of them has occurred in Mikey’s room.
I can see that Mikey’s eyes have softened and that he’s about to crack too.
“Come on. Just let it go, will ya?” Now Gerard is the one whining. I let out a snort, before both me and Mikey break down into bellows of laughter. Mikey falls backwards onto the bed and I follow him – falling forwards. I press my face into the sheets and laugh.
“I’m putting on a movie,” Gerard says – sounding annoyed, yet amused. It sounds cute.
My laughter dies down, when I realize where I am. I’ve got my face pressed against the sheets – Gerard’s sheets!
I sniff in deeply and almost fall asleep at the pure happiness that runs through my body. My heart’s quick thuds keep me awake, though.

“Gerard! We saw this yesterday! And the day before!” Mikey’s whining again.
I sit up, punch Mikey in the arm and turn around to see what movie Gerard has chosen. The initial credits roll over the screen. I don’t recognize the names.

“But poor Frankie hasn’t seen it yesterday. Or the day before. Have you, Frankie?” Gerard smirks up at me from his spot on the floor – leaning against his bed – and my stomach jumps once. Or twice.

“Which is it?”

“Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride,” Gerard says proudly as he stretches his arms towards the TV as if to formally present the movie. I raise my eyebrows and look at the screen.
I see Gerard turning his head towards me out the corner of my eye. Puppet-like cartoon characters appear on the screen and I frown slightly.
“Don’t you like it?” I quickly look down at Gerard and see complete disbelief in his eyes. I smile.

“I don’t know. I haven’t seen it yet.”

“You’ve never seen Corpse Bride?” Mikey yells into my ear. I flinch away.

“Fuck, Mikey! Deafen me, why don’t ya!” I rub my ear for emphasis. Mikey shakes and bows his head.

“I’m disappointed in you, my friend.” His head whips up again – startling me.
“My poor, little, Burton-virgin friend.” I scowl at the ‘little’.
Suddenly Mikey brings a soft hand to the side of my face. I pull away from his touch.
“But don’t worry, I’ll be gentle.” I laugh in disbelief. Mikey’s got guts! Playing chicken with a gay guy?
I smile widely and grin.

“Hey!” Gerard says loudly and suddenly he’s on the bed and pulls Mikey’s hand away.
“He’s mine!” Gerard wraps his arms around my waist and buries his head into my chest – right against my bruise. I stop grinning.
Mikey’s facial expression changes and I can tell he’s seen my pain.

“Gerard,” he says firmly – trying to give his brother a hint. He doesn’t get it, though.
“Gerard, let’s watch the movie, okay?” Mikey keeps staring into my eyes as he says this. His voice is firm, yet monotonous.

“No, you’ll just steal him away,” Gerard says childishly, before he buries his head further into my chest. I grimace.

“Gerard!” Mikey grabs Gerard’s arm and rips him off of me. I miss his warmth, but not the pain.

“What the fuck, Mikey!” Gerard looks at Mikey as if he’s insane. I look apologetically at Mikey, and then down into my lap.
A long silence follows, in which I don’t dare to look up. I know the brothers are exchanging looks instead of words and I don’t wanna intrude.
After a while, the mattress moves.
“I’ll go get us some candy.” I see Gerard leave from the corner of my eye.
And then it’s silent again – very silent.

“I haven’t told him,” Mikey suddenly says and I look up at him. He looks concerned – worried.

“About what?” Mikey looks down at my chest, arms and lap, before he looks me in the eye again.

“About the bruises.” I want to look away, but for some reason I’m just caught in his eyes – in his empathetic stare. The surprising thing is; it doesn’t hurt. It feels good to get out – finally.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you.”

“It’s okay.” We stare at each other for a bit. The silence is calm and relaxing.
“When did it start? Why?” I glance down to think.

“About a week ago.” I look back up at Mikey’s dark eyes. The room only has one window.
“She started drinking.” Mikey frowns briefly.

“Again?” I look down gradually. Then nod.
“Why?”

“She found out I was gay.”

“How?”

“I told her.” That was my first mistake.
Mikey sighs. So do I.

“Do you think she’ll ever be okay with it?” I think for a second and draw in some deep breaths in the process.
Then I shake my head.

“I don’t know. I hope so, but anything I hope for never happens.”

“Gerard happened.” I look up at Mikey and frown. He just smiles back – his half-ass smile.
“You always wanted him. And now you’ve got him.” I’m taken aback. He knew?

“You knew?” He grins and turns his head away to laugh.

“You were always so obvious. Ever since you saw him.” He looks back at me and giggles. My face is burning with embarrassment. My ears are practically on fire.

“Why didn’t you ever tell me? Or help me?” I push him lightly – playfully.
His giggles die down and he lies back onto the mattress – folding his hands behind his head.

“Some things are just better figured out on your own.” I roll my eyes at his profoundness, but still shake my head at how right he is.

“Alright!” Gerard exclaims. I turn around to see him carry a big bowl filled with – what I assume is – nothing but candy.
“I’ve got Frank’s freshly baked cookies and muffins in all shapes and sizes, and I managed to snatch a bag of gummy bears out of mom’s personal cabinet.” He grins and puts the bowl on the floor. I’m pretty sure my face looks as red as a boiled lobster.