Oh Baby Let Me In

December 31st, 1999
Wednesday;night

"I don't really know, I hadn't thought about it yet."

Mikey huffed, and shook his head. I threw a cheesy grin in his direction, lifting the hamster in my hands up to my face, nuzzling it into my cheek as the little creature squeaked in my ear. "What?"

He rolled his eyes, motioning to the hamster. "Without a name, your hamster has no character!" He lowered his accusing finger, before turning his head slightly. "Do you even know if it's a he or a she?"

I stopped petting the hamster's soft fur, the small patch of white on the top of it's head the softest, before cradling it in my hand belly up. "I don't know, I can't tell."

Mikey crinkled his nose and I laughed, pushing the animal towards him. "You tell me, Mikes."

"Ick, you sick fucker!" Mikey laughed, pushing himself off the couch, almost tripping over himself as he knocked into the hamster ball on the ground. I smiled up at him as he disappeared into the kitchen, throwing my legs up into his vacated spot, letting the small ball of fur to wander around my stomach.

New Years Eve.

It was currently 9:48 at night, and I was spending it sitting around my house babysitting my little cousin while my Mom went out with her sister and friends. She had given me the option to stay home and make Mikey watch seven-year-old Hannah, or go out like she was, with my own friends.

It did sound tempting; Ray was having a party over at his house with people I hadn't seen since before I left for college, but decided against it last minute.

I knew Mikey was capable of watching Hannah; she wasn't hard to take care of at all. Like any other kid, all they wanted was something to do; even Mikey could do that.

But when Mikey said that Frank was going to be over too, I decided that I'd rather be here then at some party.

I smiled slightly as Hannah bounded into the living room, Frank following slowly behind her. His hands were tucked into the pockets of his jeans, his eyes on the ground.

Hannah is a really good kid, but she can get a bit demanding at times. Usually I was the one to entertain her when she was over, and I had been at the beginning of the night until Frank showed up a few hours ago. He was someone new, and because she's never seen him at my house, she figured she would be the kind host and show him around. He looked reluctant as she snatched his hand and pulled him around the house, pointing out all of the rooms and who slept where, all except my room, because she knew that she wasn't allowed down there.

Last time that happened, she found my paint, and to this day I still find little spots where she had flung all the different colors.

"Gerard," Hannah spoke, squeezing herself in between the table in front of the couch, and the couch itself, blocking me from watching Times Square on the TV, putting her small face right up to mine. Her long brown hair fell into my face, so I blew air out of my mouth, making it fly in all directions and getting a laugh from her.

"What's happening?" I asked, wrapping my free arm around her small body, pulling her down to sit on the small space left on the couch. She maneuvered her body so she could turn around but still stay seated, and pointed to the hamster that was trying to bury itself into my shirt. "Switch with me."

I craned my neck a bit to look around her head at the TV, the volume low enough that I could barely hear it. "Switch what, babe?"

"The hamster. I get the hamster, and you can have Frank," she spoke, turning her head to smile at Frank, before looking back at me. My eyes moved to Frank also, his eyes a bit wide now that he heard his name being said. I raised my eyebrows, smiling slightly before nodding. "Alright, but you have to be gentle with the hamster."

Hannah rolled her big brown eyes, before scrambling for the animal on my chest. "I know, Gerard." She paused, turning to look at Frank once more, before leaning down, her mouth right next to my ear. "I think Frank is sick," she spoke, rather then whispered, but when she moved to look at him once more, he looked down at the ground like he couldn't hear her. I watched him pull his lip ring into his mouth as Hannah leaned down once more. "He hasn't said anything all night, so maybe he doesn't feel good. You should make him feel better, Gerard."

Frank's head shot up at the last line, and by that time I had a smile plastered on my face. His cheeks flushed bright red, almost matching the sweatshirt he's worn everyday for the last week or two, and let a small smile grace his own lips before going back to pulling at the piece of metal in his lip and avoiding my eyes.

Hannah pulled away from my ear, turning to make sure Frank wasn't listening, before nodding, "Deal?"

I laughed lightly, nodding my own head.

"Deal."

++

Another thing about little kids; they never keep their deals.

It was now an hour away from the New Year, and I had no hamster, and no Frank.

Mikey had broken out the caffeine about a half hour ago, and in the span of a Mountain Dew and three small bags of M&M's, Hannah had taken the hamster in it's little exercise ball, as well as Frank into Mikey's room, and had locked me out.

"You can't come in without the password, Gerard!" Hannah giggled from the other side of the wooden door, Mikey's voice following with a "Yeah!"

"Grow up, Mikey!" I slammed my palm on the door, wanting to scare Hannah a bit just to make her realize that I didn't find this as funny as she did. But as her joyous laughter filled the bedroom once again, I realized that she didn't take the threat the right way. She just pounded back.

"What happened to our deal, Hannah?" I spoke, leaning against the door, my forehead resting against where the doorframe meets the door. My hand stayed on the doorknob, twisting every few seconds to see if it had been unlocked.

I heard her huff from the other side of the door, before shuffling was heard. I moved away from the door when I heard the knob jiggle, and seconds later it opened. The three of them made their way out of the room, Hannah leading with the hamster in it's ball clutched in her hands. Completely blowing off the question I asked her seconds ago, she grinned, pushing the ball into my hands, and spoke. "Mikey's gonna make us popcorn! And then we're gonna watch TV and sleep in the living room instead of his room!" She lunged forward to connect herself to my waist, avoiding the hamster that I held in my arms. "Are you gonna come Gerard? To our sleepover?"

I raised an eyebrow, looking over at Mikey who stood in the doorway, laughing silently, head shaking back and forth. Frank also had a small smile on his face, hands still tucked in his jeans, as he looked down at the small child attached to my hip.

"I might just do that in a bit, how does that sound?" I ruffled her hair, and pulled her arms off of me, pushing her towards Mikey. "Go set up the living room and get ready for bed, alright?"

She was off down the hallway, Mikey getting pulled behind her before I could even finish my sentence.

"She's a bit over the top, huh?" I laughed, turning my head towards Frank, earning a smile and a small nod. "Quick, if we get downstairs before she sees us, Mikey'll have to suffer with her 'till she falls asleep."

Taking my chance, I reached over and grabbed Frank's hand with my free one, and pulled him down the hall. Quietly making it to the kitchen without being seen by the two lugging the pull-out bed from the couch, we made our way downstairs. I let go of his hand as we descended the stairs, thankful that there wasn't the usual stuff littering them.

Yes I, Gerard Arthur Way cleaned my room. Fascinating, isn't it?

I switched on the lights at the bottom of the stairs, quietly admiring my handy work as I moved to my desk across the room. I set the hamster's ball down next to the cage, turning my head to see Frank standing awkwardly by the bottom of the stairs, eyes flying all around the room. One hand was wrapped around his middle, as the other pulled at his lip ring, and I couldn't help but grin. How fucking adorable was this kid?

"You can sit down if you want," I said, motioning to my bed, clean sheets and all and the chair next to me at the desk. "Wherever you want. I thought maybe we could actually do those art lesson things we've been talking about?"

Removing the top of the ball, I reached in and pulled out the hamster, thankful that Hannah didn't kill it or anything, pulling the top off of the cage and setting it--He? She?-- inside.

Turning quickly, finding Frank standing next to my bed, looking at the drawings I had pinned by my headboard. "Frank? Is my hamster a boy or a girl?"

He turned to look at me, that small smile he's had on a lot tonight still on his face. He opened his mouth, shutting it after a few seconds. But then he pulled a hand out from his jeans pocket, where they seemed to be almost all night, and held up his hand to make it look like he was writing.

"Oh! Yeah--hold on a second," I stumbled over my words, moving to open my desk drawers to find a pencil. Grabbing my sketch book off of the top of the desk, I moved over to him, sitting down on the bed, motioning him to do the same, before opening to a clean page.

He sat down almost in slow motion, his eyes darting around once again, and I could tell he was nervous. My cleaning had apparently been up to par, his possible presence here in my room the only reason I cleaned it in the first place.

How sweet am I?

I handed him the pencil, which he took shyly along with the notebook.

When he gave it back, I almost squealed.

boy

I shot up from the bed, moving to the cage sitting on my desk, and leaned down to eye level with the hamster that was drinking out of the little water bottle connected to the side of the cage. "My little boy!"

Frank laughed out loud, his head was shaking back and forth as I turned back to him. "Don't laugh at me! I'm affectionate towards those that I like, alright!"

That only made him laugh more, though I did find a tinge of red gracing his cheeks once again.

A loud bang came from the top of the stairs, and soon a beam of light came into the room caused by the kitchen, and Mikey stomped down the stairs.

"You are not going to leave me up there with her when she's had this much sugar--why the fuck is this room so clean?" Mikey rambled, almost out of breath when he got to the foot of the stairs, his glasses falling down his nose, but he quickly pushed them back up.

I grinned and jutted my thumb in the direction of the cage on my desk as I moved to sit back down next to Frank, who had the pencil pressed to the paper, tracing over and over the one word that he had written a few seconds ago. "It's a boy, Mikey!"

Mikey twirled his pointer finger around in the air, rolling his eyes. "Yippee. Now come back upstairs?"

"You're the one who fed her all of the sugar baby brother, you get to deal with her," I smiled, pointing behind him to the stairs.

Mikey groaned lightly, head falling to the side, eyes closing. "Whatever. You're obnoxious. Frank, come on; lets go entertain her until she passes out or something."

Frank looked up from the paper, eyes a bit wide, shaking his head. I probably looked as surprised as Mikey did at Frank's answer. I figured he would go with him, but I suppose he's had enough of Hannah for one day.

"You--uhh, want to stay down here then?" Mikey stuttered, pointing around the room. Frank nodded, and moved his eyes back down to the page.

"Mikey! I can't reach the microwave, and I really want some popcorn!" Hannah appeared at the top of the stairs, and package of unopened popcorn in her small hand.

I pushed myself up from the bed, gripping Mikey's shoulders and turning him around to push him up the stairs. "Have fun."

"Gerard--"

"He's fine, Mikey," I assured him.

"No, no I think he will be, too. I'm still curious as to why your room isn't a fucking mess," he laughed, almost tripping up the stairs as I followed him up them, hand on his back.

"Can't a guy clean? Jeez, what's up with that?" I laughed, almost nervously, because Mikey would be one to put two and two together and figure out why I did it.

"Not you, Gee. I know you too well," he smiled, and I rolled my eyes as I pulled the door at the top of the stairs closed.

I sighed quietly, shaking my head before bounding back down the stairs.

Frank was still in the same spot, the pencil resting on top of the sketchbook that sat on his lap. "So," I spoke, sitting down sideways next to him, leg tucked underneath myself. "Do you have anything you really want to learn to draw?"

Frank didn't move his head, or shrug his shoulders. He simply shifted the sketchbook into my lap and folded his shaking hands in his lap, his teeth clicking against his lip ring.

My eyes dropped to the paper in my lap, and I don't think I've ever smiled so big.

i really wish i could talk to you

"Frankie--"

I was interrupted by stomping from the floor above me, and the volume of the TV in the living room, that was turned up all the way to high, blaring the sounds of fireworks and people cheering. I let my eyes fall to my bedside table that held my alarm clock.

12:00

I smiled as Frank noticed the time also, his face matching his--my--sweatshirt once again that night. I cleared my throat quickly, afraid if I didn't do this RIGHT NOW, I would chicken out.

I leaned forward and let my lips brush against Frank's burning cheek. I let out an airy laugh, moving so my lips were resting next to his ear, forehead resting against his head.

"Happy New Year, Frankie."