Help Me Tame This Animal I Have Become

*Frank’s POV*
“Gerard, that’s the guy you told me about from summer camp?” Mikey asked, his pitch growing higher as he asked his question.
“Yup,” Gerard answered casually, popping his “p”. Mikey looked at me, then Gerard, back to me, and back to Gerard again before running off to another room and slamming the door.
Gerard chuckled, “He probably went to get his asthma inhaler.”
“Oh, he has asthma?” I asked, a bit concerned.
“No,” Gerard answered, making me giggle. After our laughter died down , we stood together in an awkward silence.
“So, um, can I sit?” I asked, wondering when his host skills would kick in.
“Oh, right, sure. Um, we can go to my room,” he offered.
“Okay,” I followed him up the stairs to the only bedroom on the second floor. Once inside, I instinctively walked over to the bed, prepared to sit down.
Gerard panicked and pulled the chair out from his desk. “Sit here.”
I frowned, but complied. I watched as Gerard carefully sat on his bed, making sure to sit on the pillow. Weird. I looked around his room at the walls. They were blank but they had pieces of tape stuck to them and some spots were lighter than others. My eyes fell to the desk next to me. On it was an issue of Fangoria, one that looked very familiar.
“So that’s where it went,” I thought aloud.
Gerard chuckled, “Yeah, I kept it.”
“You know, I went crazy for about a week after I got home looking for that,” I teased.
He shrugged, “Sorry.”
“No big deal.” I also noted the collection of comic books on his desk. “I didn’t know you collected comic books.”
“You also didn’t know I have a brother,” he stated.
“No clue. I mean, you didn’t tell me. I guess I know now, though. You think he’ll be okay?”
“He’ll be fine,” Gerard stated. “I gave him all the juicy details when I got home that summer. He’s probably just freaked we’re in the same room together.” I nodded. “Speaking of which, how in the world did you end up here with Mikey?”
“Well,” I explained. “He came to my job at the music store and we got talking about music. He learned that I’ve never heard of Smashing Pumpkins so he took me here to listen to them. Oh, and on the way here I told him about our summer.”
“He asked you about butt sex, didn’t he?” I nodded. “He would do that.” We stared at each other for a few moments before Gerard smiled widely. “That’s the shirt you wore the day we met, right?”
I smiled too, “Yeah. It’s my favorite.” It was silent. “So,” I began, trying to start an interesting conversation, “Had anyone better yet?”
Gerard’s smile dropped slightly and looked down at his bed sheet. “Nope, haven’t had sex since.”
I gaped at him, “No way, really?” He nodded. “Wow. Well I have, plenty of time. Not one person has been as good as you.”
“Thanks,” he said, still staring at his sheet. He actually began picking at the threading.
“Well, five years is a long time without sex. I could help with that,” I tried to seduce him.
“No, thanks,” he declined, not bothering to look up.
“Okay,” I said a bit defeated. “Well, we barely know anything about each other. We can start there.”
He finally looked up and smiled a bit, “That sounds good.”
“Okay, let’s start with age. How old are you?” I prompted.
“Twenty-two. You?”
“Twenty-one. Where are you from?”
“Here in Belleville. You?
“Newark. Any other siblings?”
“Just Mikey. You?”
“Only child. Parents together or divorced?”
“Happily married. Yours?”
“Happily divorced. Favorite color?”
“Black. You?”
“Pink. Favorite superhero?”
“Love them all. You?”
“Batman. Like music?”
“Used to. Don’t listen much anymore. You?”
“Oh, I love music. I could go on forever talking about music, really. I love the Misfits, Black Flag, Iron Maiden, even Michael Jackson,” I enthused, a wide smile plastered on my face.
Gerard nodded before asking another question, “Do you like art?”
“I do. I think it’s as important as music.”
Gerard gave me a sad smile, as if remembering a lost love, “I used to love it too. But I stopped.”
I frowned, “Why?”
He shifted on his pillow, “Reasons.”
“Like?” I pushed.
He continued shifting, “Just reasons, Frank.”
“Sorry.”
He nodded. He definitely changed from when we met.
“I think I’ll find Mikey now so he can show me that band,” I announced. Gerard nodded again. I got up, walked to the door, and opened it. I gave Gerard a final glance before venturing into the house to find Mikey.
I had to figure out what was up with this kid.