Everyone Learns Faster On Fire

Very soon, February turned into March and March turned into April and the band were back in the studio working on recording their third album, which they had decided to name ‘The Black Parade’.

The ice between Frank and Gerard after Valentines day had thawed, but Gerard still refused to tell Frank that he had started drinking again. He couldn’t. Alcohol made him so much happier and carefree, especially in times when Frank wasn’t around. And he couldn’t bring himself to tell him that he was in fact the man that drove him to become addicted again.

It was the brightest and warmest morning of the year so far. The April showers that had been dominating much of the weather forecast recently seemed to have been postponed for now, so Gerard had called Frank up pretty early and suggested that they walk to the studio together, rather than using their cars.
Gerard had called at the Iero apartment a little earlier than he had intended, and as they were running ahead of time, they decided to take a slight detour through the park nearby. Hand in hand, they took in the sights of the delicate pink and white blossom falling from the trees and talked about mundane things like rising gas prices and the contestant they wanted to win American Idol, the pleasing little things that most couples talked about. They didn’t care that little kids pointed at their dark clothes, tattoos and dyed hair, asking their mothers why two men were holding hands or kissing. They didn’t care that the group of teenagers smoking pot under a tree yelled ‘fags’ when they walked past. This was the most perfect morning either of them had experienced together yet. Gerard thought it was so great to get their relationship out in the open and show the world how beautiful his man was.
They exited the park via the intimidating cast iron gates which looked like they were out of a horror movie and turned a corner into the street in which the recording studio was located. Frank noticed three familiar cars parks in the distance, signalling that they were the last band members to arrive.

“So,” Frank said airily, swinging Gerard’s arm back and forth and they walked. “Do you have any plans for tomorrow night?”

Gerard let out a low, mischievous laugh. “Are you suggesting something Iero?”

“Well, maybe…Jamia’s out for her friend’s birthday…I’ve got a free house for a few hours if you‘re interested?” Frank almost laughed at himself. It was like being a teenager again. It reminded him of all the times he announced having a ‘free house’ over the weekend at school, for his friends to come over and drink themselves stupid while his mother was away.

“And a free bed?”

“You betcha.” Frank winked cheekily, causing Gerard’s heart to melt into mush.

Gerard smiled. “I love the way you think, babe.”

“Hey! Maybe I thought it, but you said it out loud.”

So it was sorted then. Gerard was to come round just after 7 and stay until about 11, which was the time he predicted Jamia would be home by. Frank wished he could stay all night. If only they had a spare bedroom or something. But that would be way too suspicious, Jamia would want to know why he would rather sleep in the other room without her.
They walked into the building together, saying hello to everyone they met along the way and finally descending the staircase into the practice room where My Chemical Romance always sat and wrote in together.
The room was in the basement of the building and had very little light. It was a fairly large room, but only had two light tubes fixed to the ceiling, and one of them sometimes flashed due to not being replaced in a while. But the band liked it that way. The darkness reminded them of being on stage, and when they practiced in front of their manager or producer, they liked to think that they were playing to thousands of fans in a mammoth football stadium.
When they entered, Ray and Bob were sitting on plastic chairs in the far corner of the room, sipping from cups of coffee, and Mikey was fiddling with the strap on his bass that just would not stay put. Frank and Gerard walked over to their two friends sitting on the chairs, saying their hellos. They watched as both Bob and Ray’s eyes grew wide, staring at them in confusion.
They had forgotten that Mikey was the only other member of My Chemical Romance to know of their relationship, and it looked like Mikey had kept it that way but not saying anything.

“Er…Why are you holding hands?” Bob asked, raising an eyebrow comically.

Frank looked down at their tangled fingers and shrugged. “Why not?”

“We thought you would’ve known by now, or at least assumed.” Gerard said, squeezing Frank’s palm. “Me and Frank are together. Isn’t it obvious?”

Ray put his coffee down on top of the amp beside him. “You never told us. Since when?”

“Since like…” Frank thought, counting the months off in his head. “…November. Seriously, you had no idea?”

They couldn’t believe it. All the times they had been kissing on stage, backstage, visiting each other’s rooms and bunks on tour…and they didn’t realise what had been going on? Even some of the fans had caught on, writing fan fictions on the internet and making banners to take to shows.

“Well, to be honest, I did have some of my suspicions.” Bob said. “I mean, there was that time where we stopped at a service station and me and Frank went on those computers. I could’ve sworn I saw him read something about telling someone else how you feel or something. And then a few days later, I may have caught a glimpse of you two kissing in the bathroom on the bus, but I thought I might’ve imagined it because I hadn‘t slept too well.” He turned to Mikey, who was concentrating awfully hard on the rebellious bass. “Hey Mikes, did you know anything about these two?”

Mikey gave up, pulling the strap away all together and coming over to join in the conversation. “Yeah, Gerard told me that he liked Frank when we were touring in Europe last year. I gathered that you knew, but I didn’t really want to say anything because I swore that I would keep it a secret.”

The group were silent for a few moments, as if they were taking it all in. Gerard, Frank and Mikey couldn’t believe that they hadn’t realised. Ray and Bob couldn’t believe that they hadn’t been told. But at least it was all out in the open now.

“So, are you happy for us then?” Gerard asked, breaking the awkward silence and snaking an arm around Frank’s waist, pulling him closer.

Ray and Bob nodded in unison, wearing what looked like forced smiles.

“Yeah, sure.” Ray said, getting up from his chair. “Now, are we gonna get to work?”