My Favorite Part Was Dying

Gerard sighed as he slipped into a seat at the back of English class again. Mr. Perez wasn't in the room yet, and only a few students were getting seated. Everybody else was noisily talking outside in the hall, taking advantage of the six-minute passing time between classes. One of Jonathan Andrews friends took a seat next to him. Gerard glanced at him questioningly but didn't speak. He couldn't remember his name, Stephen Something.

"Cry, fag, cry. You're brother's dead, you're gonnna fry. Cry, fag, cry." Stephen whispered into Gerard's ear. Gerard stiffened in his seat, not daring to move for fear of losing his temper again and punching someone else. He heard a click behind his ear and felt a sudden heat. Stephen had lit a lighter right underneath Gerard's hair. Gerard quickly grabbed the collar of his jacket and put it against the back of his head to snuff out the embers that were eating away at his hair.

"What the fuck?!" he shouted just as Mr. Perez entered the room.

Oh, fantastic! Gerard thought dryly as Mr. Perez made his way over to him. He couldn't defend his outburst without ratting out Stephen. And if he did tell on him, he was sure to receive a severe beating before the week was over.

"Excuse me? Mr. Way why do you feel the need to use profanity in my classroom?" Mr. Perez asked. Gerard stayed silent, he had no answer to give.

"I want you to go down to Guidance." Mr. Perez said.

* * *

Gerard sat silently, once again in the tiny plastic chair in the guidance office. Mrs. McKenna seemed to be waiting for him to say something. The two of them sat opposite each other, not speaking for moments that seemed like hours.

"Jared, your behavior has been unacceptable in the past two days." she finally spoke.

"Gerard," he corrected again. Mrs. McKenna pursed her lips and fell silent for a moment.

"Why did you shout that word out?" she finally got right to the point. Gerard sighed, knowing that staying silent wouldn't yield any results. He was filled with an annoyed sense of anger that needed to be exercised. He no longer cared about consequences, he opened his mouth and began to speak, enjoying the look of horror on her face that began to deepen with every word he said.

"Well, I was really frustrated, cause I left my heroin at home. Which means there's no way I can sneak off to the bathroom during a passing time to shoot up. And I knew I was really gonna need a bit of a fix today so I just kinda yelled out. I'm sorry."

McKenna was unable to speak, it seemed. Her mouth had dropped open and she just stared at Gerard.

"Oh, God. I was kidding!" Gerard finally said.

"That is not something to joke about!" she spat out.

"What can I say, I have a shitty sense of humor. And I also need a haircut now since the back of my head is singed."

"W-what?"

Gerard turned around and pointed to his hair, uneven and burnt.

"And how did that happen?" her tone was accusing. After his crack about doing drugs she probably thought he got high and set it on fire because it would be 'funny.'

"It happened when I screamed 'fuck,' I don't shriek swears in the middle of a classroom on a daily basis." Gerard said coldly.

Suddenly, something behind Mrs. McKenna caught his eye. A figure forming silkily behind her chair. A moment later, there stood Mikey, as solid as though he were just another person in the room. Gerard's eyes widened slightly.

"Shh. Act normal. She can't see or hear me. And we don't wanna get you chucked in the loony bin. Although with what you just said a minute ago, she'll probably be recommending it for you. Little druggie." Mikey said quickly. Gerard stifled a laugh. Mrs. McKenna noticed.

"Young man, this is no laughing matter!" she said loudly. This whole situation was obviously grating on her nerves.

"You're absolutely right," Gerard said, his voice mocking seriousness. Mrs. McKenna's brow furrowed a bit in anger but she didn't say anything. Gerard watched as Mikey leaned forward and started messing with her hair, moving strands about, out of the bun they were in. Mrs. McKenna ran her hand through her hair, scratching at her scalp. Gerard couldn't stop himself, he burst out laughing. Mrs. McKenna began to speak, but Mikey drowned her words out.

"Let's get the hell out of here. There's no way to wriggle out of the mess you're in now. We might as well make the most of it. Plus, I can't stay too long, and I don't wanna spend my time in guidance."

Gerard nodded, picked up his bag, and walked straight out of the small office without so much as a glance back at Mrs. McKenna.