The Crumbling Pyramid

Rehearsals were ruthless all of March and into April. Anette and Gerard were getting home later and later at night, and they spent several evenings at her house going over lines, blocking, characterization, and watching each other. Gerard even spent the night a few times. But they wanted to make this show as good as possible. Especially Gerard, seeing as it was his last high school show he would ever do.

Everyone in the group grew closer and closer as spring passed. Anette and Mikey now sat by each other in all the classes they shared, and jokes were made daily about Frank and Anette and their marriage. Band practice was much livelier now that Anette and Hailey were making consistent appearances, and Terrence and Gerard seemed to be best of friends.

But despite how good life had been, terrible things still happened. Anette found this out one lunch as Mikey walked her up to her locker to get her History book before Gym.

"I mean, Hellboy's cool and all, but Batman's the best. I mean, who wouldn't want the fucking Batmobile as their car?" Mikey said as they turned down Junior Hall.

"The Batmobile is pretty cool," Anette agreed, but they stopped short as they got to her locker.

Across the white surface of her locker was the word "WHORE" in big red letters.

Anette bit at her lip, somewhere between fury and crying. "What the fuck...?" Mikey said, walking over to it and pressing his fingers to it. Red came off on them. "Fresh paint," he reported.

"This is the last... the last damn straw," Anette said, and she stormed off in the direction of the office. Mikey ran after her.

"So you're going to report him?"

"Damn right I am," Anette growled, stomping down the stairs, her long socks starting to slip down her legs.

"You think they'll do something about it?"

"They'd better."

They reached the office just as the bell rang. Anette had half the mind to just storm into Principal Morrison's office, but she didn't have to, because Morrison was talking to one of the secretaries.

"Principal Morrison, I need to talk to you," Anette said, trying to keep her voice calm.

"Yes, Miss Baker?" Morrison asked in her usual almost-mocking tone.

"Someone's vandalized my locker. They spray painted it."

"Oh dear."

"I think Andrew Callhart did it," she continued.

Morrison sort of sneered at that. "You do, do you? Why's that?"

"Because he hates me. Go ahead and ask him about it, but he'll probably deny it."

"What proof do you have?"

Anette hesitated. "I'm sure if you look through his stuff, you'll find red spray paint on him."

"Alright Miss Baker, I'll have a word with him," Morrison said. "Come with me."

She led a surprised Anette and Mikey down to the gym. The two teens exchanged glances of disbelief. Did Morrison actually believe them?

"Anette, Mikey, there you are! Why—" Coach Jordan started to say as they entered the gym, but Morrison cut her off.

"Jordan, I need to speak to Andrew Callhart for a moment."

"Of—of course. Andrew!"

Andrew walked over, looking at first confused and then irritated.

"Out in the hall, please," Morrison said, and they all walked out into the hall and closed the gym door behind them. Anette and Mikey leaned against one wall while Andrew took the other, and Morrison stood in the middle so she could look at everyone. "Now, Andrew, Miss Baker here seems to think that you vandalized her locker. Is this true?"

Andrew frowned. "No."

"May I see your hands please?"

He showed them to her - there wasn't a spot of red paint on his hands.

"And your bag? May I look though it, please?"

"Whatever you want, Principal," he said, sending Anette and Mikey a nasty look before going back in to get his bag. He returned moments later and handed it over to Morrison. She looked through it at length, but didn't produce any sort of paint from it.

"Thank you, Andrew. It seems Miss Baker was mistaken. You can go back to class now."

"Thanks," he said, taking his bag back, and smirked at Anette before leaving.

"Now, Miss Baker—"

"But Principal Morrison!"

"No buts. I thought you had gotten over your rebellious streak, but apparently not. I will not tolerate you trying to frame other students for your actions. You will clean off your locker before going back to class, and if anything like this happens again, I'm afraid I might be forced to expel you."

Anette's lips trembled as Morrison left, and she wrapped her arms around herself, trying furiously to hold back the tears.

"This isn't fair!" Anette finally cried out.

"No, it's total shit," Mikey agreed. "Come on, let's find a janitor."

"Mikey, you need to go back to class."

"Fuck gym, I hate that class. Besides, it'll go faster with two people."

He set his hand on her shoulder briefly, and they left for her locker together. There was a janitor waiting there for them, who just glared at Anette as he handed her some cleaning supplies and left. At least he had been kind enough to give them paint thinner instead of some other cleaning product that wouldn't have worked. And so Anette and Mikey got some paper towels damp with thinner, sat on the floor, and started scrubbing the red paint away.

"Thank you, Mikey," Anette said in a soft voice, her noise wrinkled from the putrid smell of the thinner. "You really didn't have to do this."

"Just say we're even now," he said. "You got my bag back, so I'll help you clean your locker."

"Well, at least both situations smelled bad," Anette said, and Mikey gave a small laugh.

"I bet so. His breath probably smelled like a wet Wookie."

"Or Gerard after a show."

They both laughed at that. The word was fading now.

"I'm sorry all this shit is happening to you," Mikey said after a few moments. "I mean, it seems like it just kinda started this year, you know? When you told him to back off at the theater."

"Andrew's been rude to me ever since I dumped him for Chase, but yeah, I guess it has gotten worse."

They didn't say anything else until the word was just a slightly darker spot on Anette's locker. You could still read it if you squinted, but at least it wasn't as noticeable now. Anette got her History book out of it and then they left to go give the paint thinner back.

"Thanks again, Mikey."

"No problem."

In History, instead of taking notes, Anette wrote down everything that happened and passed it to Ray and Gerard, who both wrote back saying they were sorry and they were sure that Andrew had done it, but they weren't sure how he had gotten away with it, because if there was one thing that Andrew Callhart wasn't, it was smart. That fact could easily have been gained when one considered his small vocabulary of insults.

"But I mean, are you sure it was him?" Gerard asked Anette as they walked to Acting together. "This sounds, like... planned and executed well."

"Who else?"

"Maybe he got someone else to do it for him. Or maybe... can you think of anyone else who has a grudge against you?"

Anette frowned. "Not immediately... I mean, it's kind of Rachel's style to do something like this, but I don't think she would unless Andrew asked her to."

"'Cuz from what it sounds like, Andrew didn't even know it happened."

Anette sighed. "Yeah, I guess you're right. We'll probably never know who it was, then."

After Acting, Anette was surprised to see that Ray had come and found her, Gerard, and Hailey right as class ended. "Guys, guess what?" he asked, practically bouncing up and down.

"What?" they all replied.

"I got an early graduation present from my parents. The piece of crap car is gone, and my parents got me a van! We can fit everyone in it, and it's actually pretty new and in good condition."

"Fuck yes!" Gerard cried, and he hi-fived Ray. "Dude, we need to hit the arcade then! We haven't been in ages!"

Ray's expression brightened even more. "Yes!"

"Gerard, we've got rehearsal all this week. I mean, we open next Friday," Hailey pointed out.

"Aww. Dammit. Crap." Gerard kicked the wall. "Okay, what about this weekend?"

"Sounds good to me. I'll text everyone," Ray said, and he and Anette left for their hallway.

"The arcade?" Anette questioned.

"Yeah. There's a huge complex next town over that has like, bowling and go karts and video games. So, so many video games." Ray looked a little dreamy just thinking about it. "But yeah, we used to go all the time, and then we got busy with band and Gerard with theatre and we haven't gone since summer."

"That sounds fun. I'll find out if I have to watch Terrence this weekend or not," Anette said.

"Good, 'cuz it is. I raged DDR last time."

"Well, you'll have competition if Hailey's coming. She's pretty good."

They sat down and pulled their work out. Ray and Anette worked together on their History assignment for a while before Ray said, "Hey, did you see that Prom's coming up?"

"I did," Anette said, flipping through the Cold War chapter. "The theme sounds okay. Flower Power Sixties will be... well, interesting. At least I can give Hailey cool makeup."

"You're not going? I though you'd be all over that."

"I would, but I don't have anyone to go with."

"Oh, well, I was thinking, since... you know, we can't really go with the people we like, that we should go together. As friends."

Anette looked up at him and smiled. "Sure. That would be fantastic, Ray."

"Great, 'cuz we wouldn't have to worry about drama or anything and I promise I'll keep my hands to myself."

"I'll try as well," she replied with a laugh.

"Cool. But... Anette?"

"Yeah?"

"Just wondering, but why haven't you asked Mikey out yet? I mean, you seem like the kinda person who... goes after what they want."

"I normally am." She pursed her lips. "I just... well, he's different. I can't quite figure it out, but I just can't flirt with him. It doesn't seem appropriate. Usually, I'd just flirt with a guy I like and bang, relationship, but... I don't think it works with Mikey. Now, if it was like, Gerard or Frank or maybe even you, I don't think I would have a problem with it."

"Gerard and Frank are flirtatious people, that's why," Ray said, a note of sadness in his voice. "And I'm not."

"But that's all you gotta do, Ray, is just flirt with him. He needs to wake up and see that you're there, that you're interested. I'm sure once Gerard sees that you want him, he'd go for you."

Ray sighed, shaking his head. "I dunno, Anette. Wanna trade?"

She laughed. "I wish. You know what Mikey likes, and I bet I could make Gee my puppy in a minute."

"Teach me your ways," Ray moaned, tugging at his curls.

She giggled and patted his shoulder. "It's not that hard. Just get close to him a lot. I mean, you already do unspoken favors for him, but like... smile. Hug him that extra second. Brush shoulders. And talk to him. Let him know you're thinking about him."

"You talk about it like it's so easy."

"For me, I guess it is. It just takes practice and some patience. It doesn't work on everyone, but I feel like it might work on Gerard. Or you could take Hailey's route. She literally walked up to Bob one night after rehearsal, said, ‘I want to date you,’ and kissed him. And you know the rest of the story."

"She's got balls."

"Yeup. Well, metaphorical ones."

Ray snorted. "Of course. Let's see... Mikey..." He tried to think of things to say to Anette about Mikey that Mikey wouldn't kill him later for telling her. "He's... well, when it comes to actual relationships, he's a bit of a wimp about it. He never asks anyone out because he's afraid of rejection."

"So he's shy."

"Sort of. He's not once he's in, but... getting there is his problem."

"So I should... what?"

"I dunno. Though, to be honest, he'd probably flip shit if you kissed him." When Anette bit her lip, he added, "In a good way. But he'd never let you know, of course."

"Of course." There was a pause. "He's pretty secretive then, I guess."

"Kinda, yeah."

"Okay, well... thanks, Ray."

"Yeah, thanks yourself."

-

Saturday came too slow for them. The remainder of the week was filled with late, arduous rehearsals, and both Anette and Gerard were mentally exhausted when Ray picked them up in his new van the morning they were due to go to the arcade. Everyone was piled inside - Hailey and Bob in the way back, asleep. Frank, Mikey and Anette were in the middle, and Gerard was up front with Ray, yawning as he popped a Metallica CD into the stereo to keep Ray awake. It was a good two hour drive to the arcade, but it was well worth it. They got there just a few minutes after it had opened, and after every bill they could spare was turned into a huge cup of quarters, they hit the games.

As Anette had predicted, Ray and Hailey were good DDR rivals, and Hailey barely ended up beating him after about ten very intense rounds on the hardest tracks available. They were both sweating like mad, so they sat out while everyone else raced on the Go Kart track, which Anette surprisingly almost won when some kid who was about eleven beat them. Gerard gave the kid a hi-five when it was all over.

They took a break for lunch and water before starting an air hockey tournament. Anette soon learned that the guys played cut-throat air hockey and to not feel bad when she scored. But Bob still ended up beating her, and it came down to Gerard and Mikey, who were going for several minutes at a time with neither one scoring, and who's thumbs and wrists were sore from getting the puck knocked against them so many times.

"THAT'S FOR DISSING HELLBOY!" Gerard yelled as he finally scored against Mikey, only to have Mikey score on him immediately.

"And THAT'S for saying Batman was inferior!" Mikey taunted.

The game went on for almost half an hour, the two brothers dissing each other's superheroes more and more viciously.

"Batman doesn't have any powers!"

"Hellboy's sidekick is a fishman. A fucking fishman!"

"Abe's cooler than Robin. And Batman's a total pedo!"

"Batman/Robin is the most canon gay pairing EVER!"

"Batman's a psycho!"

"Hellboy has horns!"

"They look cool!"

"So does the Batsuit! PLUS Batman has the Batcave and the Batmobile!"

"But Hellboy's got a tre—FUCK!" Gerard screamed as the puck sailed just past him and into his goal, ending the game. "Fuckfuckfuck!"

"HA! BATMAN RULES!" Mikey yelled, jumping up and down.

"THAT WASN'T FAIR! I WAS DISTRACTED!"

"THAT WAS TOTALLY FAIR!"

"Guys, chill," Ray said half-heartedly, but he was too busy laughing with everyone else.

"I'm gonna rage your ass at racing," Gerard swore, and he headed for the nearest racing game.

"No man, I'm shooting," Mikey said, and everyone split up to their favorite games. Frank went to race Gerard, Hailey found the Pac Man machine, and Bob went to go watch Ray play Pinball. Anette wandered around for a moment, wondering what game she should play, when she heard, "Hey Anette, you wanna play?"

Mikey was looking at her, holding a small, plastic sniper rifle in his hands.

"No, but I'll watch," she said with a small smile, and she sat down in a racing chair that was right next to Mikey's shooting game.

"Okay, suit yourself," he said, and he started up the game. Anette was rather impressed with how good he was. He hit nearly every target that was displayed, even keeping the game going for almost fifteen minutes.

"Wow. You're great, Mikey," she complimented after he hit what she considered to be a difficult target.

The game ended, he put in his high score, and said, "Thanks. I've been playing this one for ages. You wanna try?"

"Oh, well..."

"It's not that hard. Here," he said, handing her the fake gun and popping some more quarters into the game, "I'll show you how to play it."

"Alright," she replied, and stood in front of the screen, aiming the gun at it.

"So, you want to hit those red targets. Not the yellow ones though, those are civilians and you'll lose points."

"'Kay." Anette frowned, concentrating, and fired a few times, missing all of them.

"Here, so try holding it like this," Mikey said, adjusting her grip on the gun. "And just breathe when you aim."

His hands still on hers, she took a deep breath and fired. She actually hit it this time.

"So... yeah," he said a bit shiftily, letting go.

"Thanks," Anette said, handing him the gun back.

They stayed there until about eight when Ray said they had to head back. But they had gotten in a few games of bowling, some more DDR, and lots of junk food. The drive home was noisy with talk and laughter and music and grins, because quite honestly, it was the best day any of them had had in ages.