Please Understand It Has To Be This Way (Barsexual)

"Which tie?" Gerard held up three ties in his hands. His eyes didn't blink. Gerard had already had the tie he wanted in mind. But Mikey was taking quite a while to turn to him and give his advice. "Mikey?"

"Huh?" Mikey's face was now out of the light that glowed from his laptop screen.

"Which tie?" The first tie Mikey saw was the plain red one. He didn't bother to look at the others because they didn't stand out.

"Well, the red one." Mikey insisted.

"Do you insist?" Gerard mocked his immediate response to the question.

There was a pause.

"I do." Mikey was now smiling back at his computer screen. If by now, dear reader, you haven't guessed it, and you must be told, Mikey was instant messaging a special someone. A special someone named Patrick.

Gerard tossed the other two ties onto Mikey's bed. They had the same taste and Mikey picked the one Gerard wanted. Which was actually kind of expected.

"You better pick those up...eventually." Mikey warned.

"How--?" Gerard looked over at Mikey who was still facing the screen. How'd he see that? "You're such a fucking dad." He mumbled.

"Donald?"

"Not my dad." Gerard chuckled at Mikey's referring to their father by his first name. Often, human offspring refer to their parents by their first names when the relationship is bitter. This is not the case for anyone in the Way family. Other than the occasional awkward silence that would be held by Donald whenever Donna would bring up the subject of MIkey's love life. This happened to be while Mikey was away, by the way. You know how women are...
And Mikey chuckled too, anyway.

It was quiet for a moment.

"When's he coming?" Gerard asked his brother. He was talking about Patrick.

"He's on his way."

"Taxi?" What a weird question for Gerard to ask.

"Yeah, actually. How did you know?" Mikey was a little bit creeped out by Gerard knowing
this. Was he pshycic?

"Well, he can't be on chat and driving at the same time. That's impossible." Gerard smiled.
Mikey laughed out loud. "Well, he's going to stay the night, for your information." Though it seems soon, it really was not. Mikey and Patrick had been on a number of dates that have been failed to be described to you to date. But now that it is clear that their relationship is moving smoothly and quickly, we can get on with the story.

And you're probably also wondering what Gerard is choosing out a tie for.
Well, there's a reason for all this hustle and bustle, good readers. Tonight was Donna and Donald's anniversary! Mikey, Patrick and Gerard were going to leave for a drive up to the parents' house, down in an even more suburban part of New Jersey. And Mikey intended on having his parents meet his new boyfriend. Yes, boyfriend.

"Oh. I still really want you to invite Lexi..." Mikey commented.

"But she's not my girlfriend." Gerard mumbled.

"You're going to ask her eventually, though." Mikey argued. "Please invite her. There's still
about an hour until we have to leave."

"I don't know." Gerard was undecesive. He wanted this to be Mikey's moment to show his parents who he shares a love life with and Gerard thought Mikey's love life was way more important that that of his own.

Mikey wanted someone to take the spotlight off of him, so that the attention was not completely on him and his lover throughout the whole night. It would work out fine if only he could get Gerard to invite Lexi.

"Please, Gee?"

"Fine." He sighed and quickly dialed her number.

The phone rang five times. And then her voice came, "Hello?"

"Lex," Gerard sang. He had begun to walk out of Mikey's bedroom and into the hallway of their apartment. "What's up?"

"Uhm, I'm just at home. What's up with you?" Lexi sat on her couch in her living room watching her favourite British film. A bowl of popcorn sat next to her, buttered heavily and almost gone. Tonight was Friday, if you would excuse a girl for being such a couch potato.

"What are you wearing?" Gerard whispered seductively. He shut the door noisily behind him, knowing that Mikey had no attention to pay to his conversation anyway. By now Lexi had paused her movie.

"My pajamas..." And now Gerard felt awkward.

"Oh." He paused.

"Gerard, why'd you call?" She asked, trying to change the subject. She felt kind of gross, having not showered yet, alone at home, pigging out.

"I actually wanted to invite you somewhere, but maybe it's not a good idea."

"No! Invite me, please. I've been home all day." Lexi glanced at the clock in her living room. It was six PM.

"Could you be ready in an hour?" Gerard asked.

"Yes," Lexi stood from the couch and turned off her television. She brushed a couple of crums from her lap and walked toward the towel cabinet to grab a towel. She could shower in fifteen minutes. Do her hair in thirty and find something to wear in five.

"Okay." Gerard thought for a second. "Try to wear something special."

Okay, maybe ten minutes.

"Are we going somewhere special?" A smile grew on Lexi's face.

"Yes." Gerard answered. "I'll pick you up in one hour."

Forty five minutes later, Mikey, Gerard and Patrick were on their way to pick up Lexi. It seemed a bit late for them to not already be at their parents' house but they would understand, right?

Wrong.

Though completely thrilled at the two guests that her sons brought along, Mrs. Way was very much less excited about them being almost a half hour late to dinner because it was Mikey and Gerard's responsibility to provide it. They picked up the finest Italian cuisine which included penne pasta and abnormally fancy shaped bread. Patrick had offered to carry a large amount of boxes that the food was being carried in, trying to make a good impression on Mikey's parents. And as Lexi finally realised that Gerard was introducing her to his parents she became nervous and felt almost betrayed because Gerard had not told her. She was not ready to meet Gerard's parents despite the amount of time that the pair had known each other and the affection they shared for each other.

In the middle of dinner after all had been introduced to each other and a hesitant hand shake was shared between Donald and Patrick Gerard announced shakily that Lexi was his girlfriend.

What? Lexi thought.

Gerard's parents looked at her with genuine disbelief in their eyes, though she didn't take notice because she was staring at Gerard in confusion. Gerard shuffled his chair closer to Lexi's and held her hand underneath the table. Their palms created a sweaty friction. Lexi was on the edge all through out dinner. All of this came to her by surprise. It annoyed her that Gerard didn't bother to tell her that they were going to meet his parents when they weren't even officially together yet. Lexi let go of his hand.

"I'm so surprised that you've both got someone to share with us tonight." said Donna as the couples were all sitting in the living room having cheesecake and coffee for dessert. "Really, you're all wonderful," she said as she leaned in closer to Lexi. Lexi smiled back at her trying not to be awkward. She could tell Donna was content with Gerard's new girl friend and was very pleased at how content she was.

Donald was socializing with Patrick and Mikey, asking Patrick about his aspirations and how is career was going. He was surprised to hear that Patrick had somehow made it in the music business, creating and producing, making an excellent amount of money for himself. Mikey was getting bored of speaking about these things with his dad, having nothing to add to the conversation. He watched Patrick adoringly as he spoke charmingly. Donald liked him.
"It's getting late." said Gerard as he stood from the couch where he sat, next to Lexi and his mother, but leaving enough space there for his own comfort. He stretched his arms wondering what time it was and feeling very sleepy. He loosened his tie and said "Happy anniversary, Mom and Dad." smiling sweetly down at his mother who immediately began collecting the plates that they had eaten from.

"I'll get those darling." Donald interuppted her and made her set down the dishes. "It was really very nice to have you all over tonight." He said, looking at Patrick and Lexi. A genuine smile formed on his face as he began to lead them on their way out.

Lexi grabbed Gerard's hand again, but he let go quickly to give his mother a hug and kiss ont he cheek. He returned immediately to Lexi, squeezing her hand reassuringly as if thanking her for being there too. They were soon lead out and on their way home.

Patrick and Mikey rode in the front seat with Mikey driving. They had to stop for car gas and Patrick went inside of the station with Mikey, paying for half of the amount it would take to fill up his tank. Mikey paid the other half and thanked Patrick for his generosity.
Inside the car, Gerard confessed to Lexi "Lex, I'm sorry I pulled that on you tonight. I didn't mean for it to go that far. But with Mikey and Patrick there as a couple...I kind of felt...odd. Anyway, I'm really sorry I did that."

"It's okay, Gerard." Lexi said, resting her head on his shoulder and sliding her arm behind his back, pulling him close. "I was confused about it at first but then I guess I kind of caught on. Your mom is really nice."

Gerard was silent for a minute, contemplating it and then he breathed in hard and shut his eyes, making Lexi uncomfortable.

"Uh, do you...want to be my girlfriend?" He said, hoping it wouldn't piss her off too much that he asked.

"Of course I do." She answered, reaching up and kissing his jaw line.

"Oh." Was all Gerard could say.