The Ghost of You

Since Mikey had escorted Gerard and Michaela back into the house, the sky atop the woods had darkened. It had gone from baby blue to a beautiful sunset, bits of purple, pink, and yellow completing a nearly fluorescent orange canvas. A subtle silhouette of the moon, at its entirety on this day, shone through a cloud of pink, reminding Gerard that whether he could see him or not, Frank would be with him until he returned home to Belleville. If he decided he even wanted to go home… It’d make his life so much easier if Frank would just allow him to stay here with him.

“There you are!” Donald said as the three approached, seeming relieved.

“Your mother was getting worried,” Mr. Iero said straight to his daughter. Frank’s grip tightened, as it always did at the mention of his monster of a mother. “It’s time for supper. Head into the dining room, alright?”

Michaela smiled, nodding. “Thanks, Dad. We’ll be on our way.”

Upon entering the dining room, Michaela felt at peace. The dining room was always her favorite room of the vacation house. With its deep mahogany features and crimson red accents, it reminded her of medieval times, her favorite part of history. A grand chandelier hung from the ceiling, the sun shining on the dining table below, which was covered in family recipes Michaela was certain she would wolf down. There was always a chair missing from the table; Michaela only just discovered why.

At this thought, Frank tugged Michaela jerkily to the door closest to the back of the room, a different place from where she usually sat. As she took her seat, her vision blurred and came back from a different angle. Frank had sent her through one of his memories again. She was hoping this one would be less dreadful than the rest.

~~~
“This is really good, Mrs. Iero,” Gerard complimented glumly. Not being able to talk to Frank was really bringing him down. Back in Belleville, he couldn’t go a day without talking to his best friend, nevermind half of the summer!

“Why, thank you, Gerard!” Linda said a bit too noisily. “I’m sure that’s not the only thing around here that you’d deem ‘good.’”

Frank’s eyes flicked up immediately, staring at his mother in shock. Although it was tempting, he didn’t allow his jaw to drop. He just forced his gaze over to Gerard to see that he was looking at him uneasily, biting his lip in discomfort.

“Isn’t that right, Gerard?” That smile was back again.

“I... I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Gerard stuttered, blushing redder and redder with each word. The room then fell silent, leaving a look of relief on Frank’s face.

“Of course you do,” Linda continued, sparking up the conversation again. “Donna, have I told what our boys have done?”

Mrs. Way knitted her eyebrows together, confusion masking her face. “No, you haven’t. Is it bad?”

“The worst,” Mrs. Iero chuckled disapprovingly.

“Well, what is it, then?” Donald inquired, suddenly interested in the conversation. “Gerard, why don’t you tell us, son?”

Gerard tried to speak, but the words wouldn’t come out. No matter how hard he tried, the words kept getting stuck in his throat, escaping as squeaks attached to his tongue.

Having enough of watching his best friend suffer, Frank kicked his chair back angrily and calmly walked over to Gerard’s chair. Once he had approached him properly, he stared straight into his eyes, grabbing his face and kissing him messily on the lips, his tongue jerking around inside Gerard’s mouth and his hands resting firmly on his cheeks. Soft moans snaked their way out of their mouths, breaking the surrounding silence for brief moments. Gerard pushed Frank away after a few more passionate pecks, Frank’s upper lip lingering on Gerard’s bottom one for merely a second before Frank finally decided he needed to pull away.

Silence filled the room, the gasping having already stopped mid-kiss.

“We fucking kissed, alright?” Frank stated firmly as an attempt to protect himself and Gerard. “It’s no big deal. Get the fuck over it.”

Frank returned to his seat uneasily, adrenaline still rolling around his body, twisting and turning his insides until they were a knot in the bottom of his stomach.

Mikey coughed. “That’s… that’s it?”

“Excuse me?” Linda questioned, glaring at him.

“That’s all they did?” The words escaped Mikey’s mouth once again. “They kissed. Why is that so bad?”

“Michael, you’re obviously too young to understand…”

“No, I’m not, Linda!” Mikey began sternly. “I’m not eight years old anymore. I know what’s going on!”

“Mikey, let it go,” Donald muttered subtly under his breath.

“I won’t! I won’t let this go, Dad!” Mikey continued, becoming louder with every word. “I don’t know about you, but I don’t give a single flying fuck if my brother is gay! He’s the same person either way!”

“But he isn’t, Mikey,” Linda began firmly. “Don’t you understand? He’s… not normal”

“Gerard is still creative, he’s still inspiring, he’s still talented, and he’s still my older brother!” Mikey shouted, staring at Linda as if fire would erupt from his eye sockets.

The room became quiet, Mikey having gotten his point across. His beliefs were busy registering in their minds.

“And Frank is still his best friend, if not something more.”

“Don’t you dare say that about my son,” Linda growled, eyes growing cold, “He is a perfectly normal human being, even if Gerard isn’t!”

“I hate to disappoint…,” Frank began, a nervous rasp in his throat, “…but I’ve been attracted to guys since around the time I turned twelve. And so has Gerard. We came out to each other years ago.”

Gerard bit his lip, his face becoming a brilliant shade of scarlet now. Frank smiled at him, and Gerard smiled back, looking back at his younger brother, who winked at him. Gerard elbowed Mikey in his ribs, a hiss escaping from his mouth.

“I… I don’t want to talk about this anymore,” Linda finished, exiting the dining room and taking Michaela with her.

She began to cry and although Linda knew it was wrong, she had the urge to spank her infant child. From then on, she had promised herself that she wouldn’t hurt Michaela, however, because she might turn out to be like her disappointment of a son.
~~~

Her vision was back. “That certainly wasn’t pleasant,” she muttered to herself, adjusting her eyes to the scene in front of her. Gerard, Mikey, and she were the only people left in the room, thank God. While Mikey was looking at her as if she had two heads, Gerard seemed to understand that what she had just seen had to do with her brother. He smiled sympathetically, and she nodded at him to confirm his thought.

Frank rubbed her temples gently, guiding her to her normal seat. “Sorry,” he whispered, the words echoing through the whole room.

Mikey shivered. Michaela tried to contain her laughter.