Did We All Fall Down?

*Emma's POV*

I sat at a large table, sipping a hot chocolate, waiting for My Chemical Romance to arrive. At 2:53 they walked in. I waved at them and they came over.

"You're early," Ray said.

"So are you," I responded.

They took seats around the table I was at.

"So how are you?" Gerard asked.

"Um, good. You guys?" Great, awkward small talk, I thought as I spoke.

Thankfully, after a few moments we had moved on:

"But seriously, I wanna meet those rats," Mikey said.

"Okay, if you wanna visit my apartment, they're home, just waiting for some company." I said.

"Seriously?" Frank asked.

"Yeah, why not? Unless you guys have to get going." I said.

"No, we've got time. We did a lot of work on the new album so now we can relax." Bob told me.

"Alright, let's go, can you guys follow my truck?"

"Yup," Gerard said. Together, we left Starbucks and headed to our cars. They all piled into a gray van and waited for me to drive out of the parking lot. Fifteen minutes later we arrived at my apartment building.

I opened the main door for them. "It's on the second floor," I said as I headed toward an elevator. They followed me inside, then down the hall to my apartment: 203. I unlocked the door and held it open for them.

"Welcome to my humble abode, excuse the mess." I said with a proper British accent.

"You call this a mess? You should see my place," Frank confided. The others laughed in agreement.

"Hang on, I'll get the rats. Sit down," I gestured toward the old futon in the living room/kitchen area. They sat and I went to my room to get Stuart and Rizzo out of their cage. I came back with two large beige rats on my shoulders.

"Holy crap! Those things are huge!" Frank said nervously. I laughed and offered them the rats.

"They don't bite, they're just fat-asses." I told them. "But watch out, their nails are sharp." Mikey held out his hands for one. I handed him Stuart.

"Aww, you're so cute!" he told my rat in a high-pitched voice.

"Okay, how do your teachers not notice these giants waddling around in your bag?" Frank asked skeptically.

"Beats me," I said. I handed Rizzo to Frank.

"Oh - okay," he gulped. He relaxed after a moment, when Rizzo started to lick his fingers.

"It tickles!" he squealed. We all burst out laughing.

"Can I see him, babe?" Gerard asked Frank.

"Babe?" Does Frerard actually exist? Oh my God, I hope so! That'd be so adorable! I smiled to myself. I didn't ask though, not wanting to pry.

"So which one is which?" Bob asked me as Mikey handed him a rat.

"You have Stuart, Gerard has Rizzo."

"Stuart, like Stuart Little? And Rizzo like the rat from the Muppets?" Ray questioned.

I nodded, "Yeah, I tried calling Stu something else for a while, but it just didn't stick."

"What did you try calling him?" Gerard asked.

"Um, Scabbers... like the rat from the Harry Potter series. But then his nickname would be 'Scabby' or something. Plus the rat in the series turned out to be a murderer pretending to be a pet... So I figured I'd better change it." I explained.

"Good thinking, didn't want to jinx it." Mikey said as he petted Stuart in Bob's lap.

"So these guys make good pets, huh?" Frank asked.

"Yes, definitely. They're very sweet, they get attached to you. They'll sit around and watch TV on your lap or shoulder. They're some of the most inexpensive pets to keep. I got the cage for free from a friend. And the bedding isn't outrageously priced. The food is cheap too, and the rats themselves are like six bucks at the pet store." I said.

"Six dollars?!" Bob asked.

"Mm-hm. They're just like little dogs that don't bark or need to be taken out for walks in midwinter. The only downside is they usually live for only three years or so."

"How old are these guys?" asked Gerard.

"About a year." I answered.

We sat around my apartment for two hours talking about random things. By the time the guys had to go Stuart and Rizzo were hyper from all the attention. I put one on each of my shoulders and walked the guys to the door.

"Well, thanks for coming." I said.

"Thanks for having us meet Rizzo and Stuart," Mikey said, smiling.

"No prob-- shit!" Stuart had crawled off my shoulder and down my shirt, scratching up my... chest.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow." I said as I pulled him out, incredibly embarrassed.

"Damn, that's one horny rat!" Frank exclaimed. We all burst out laughing.

"See you guys..." I said, blushing profusely.

"Yeah, we'll see you soon." Gerard said, grinning. I waved as they walked down the hall and into the elevator. I closed the door and held Stuart in front of my face. I glared at him as he wiggled his nose and whiskers innocently.

"Bad Stuart! No groping your owner, especially not in front of her idols! It's awkward." I told him as though he were a misbehaving child. He sneezed and jumped onto my shoulder. I put the two of them back in their cage.

"Oh wow... Well that's something that doesn't happen every day." I sighed to myself.