Frank on a Leash

"Aw, come on, Frank, don't turn all angsty and goth like me." Mikey poked Frank in the arm hesitantly after saying that. They were sitting on one of the benches that Sonic had conveniently placed outside for those unfortunate souls who didn't have a car. It would have been a nice place to people watch if Mikey didn't have reservations about that very thing. He didn't like to watch people because it seemed an invasion of privacy to him, not to mention that he didn't find people all that interesting. Just Frank. And, *gasp*, Frank had barely said two words the whole ten minutes they had been there, absent-mindedly nibbling on some of the french fries in Mikey's plate. His own chicken sandwich was left untouched in his plate.

"Hm?" Frank mumbled. He'd fallen into a stupor some time back, once again surprised by Mikey's voice when it rang out among the usual unimportant sounds of birds, cars, and people yelling their orders into the boxes. He looked up at Mikey, who seemed to be studying him intently. Almost worriedly. His eyebrows were scrunched up in the middle of his forehead and his mouth was sealed tightly. Frank could tell he was biting the inside of his jaw. The last thing Frank wanted was for Mikey to be worried about him. "Sorry, I just got caught into one of those long stares where you're not really looking at anything. It was pretty interesting, if I do say so myself. That leaf changed colors," Frank said, pointing to a random leaf that caught his eye. He nodded when Mikey looked to where he was pointing, then back at him.

"Okay. For a moment I thought the goth-ness had taken you over," Mikey said, being completely serious but playing it off as a joke. He sighed and looked down at the table they were sitting at. This whole experiment--the goth-ification of Frank-- was making him on edge. It had worked too well. The clothes and makeup looked natural on Frank. He was stunning in the burlesque and dark attire, and Mikey didn't like it. He didn't want Frank to be goth. He's supposed to be that little ball of sunshine in Mikey's life, while he is the downer, the broken one. If Frank breaks...he doesn't know how to fix him.

Frank didn't want that silence to go on, not when he knew Mikey was worried. He tried to strike up a conversation, so he said, "Mikey, do you read manga?"

Mikey smiled slightly and nodded. "Ch, they are my one true love. I like Trigun, Dragon Ball, DBZ, Yu Yu Hakusho, G Gundam, and Zoids," he said, holding up a finger for each one he named off. Sometimes he took pride in being a nerd, like right now. He loved manga, there was no way to hide it. Frank noticed that this was a topic that Mikey could get excited about, so that meant they could actually have a conversation for once instead of Frank doing all the talking while Mikey nodded when he needed to.

"I like Loveless and Chibi Vampire," Frank said proudly, knowing he was about to get shit for it. At least, he always got shit from Bob and Ray for it, since they were the kind of mangas one could find in Shojo Beat!, which was the feminine version of Shonen Jump.

"Hmmm...Loveless..." Mikey broke out in a little grin. Of course Frank would like the cute mangas. He was cute. "I'm not surprised, really." He shifted a little in his seat, resting his chin in his hand. Frank picked up one of Mikey's french fries and flicked it at him.

"Grr, what's that supposed to mean? I have excellent taste in manga, thank you very much, Michael," he said indignantly, using Mikey's full name because he knew it would annoy him. He found that now he and Mikey were talking, his appetite had returned in full. He picked up the chicken sandwich from his plate and greedily went to devouring it. "Mmmm....hey Mikey.." he began with a mouth full of food.

"Frank, chew your food or you'll choke." Mikey assumed the protective role, which made Frank re-think his previous theories about their friendship. Mikey cared enough to make sure that Frank didn't choke. The very thought made him smile, that Mikey cares a little bit about him. He still wonders how it got to this point, how he lost his two best friends but gained...something more. Someone who he needs and who needs him back, otherwise they would both be alone in the world. He'd never really been in a give/take relationship like this before. It took a lot of careful thinking, unfortunately, because he had to worry whether he was being too cuddly, whether Mikey was happy, and all these other thoughts that threatened to annihilate his over-used brain.

When Frank had chewed his food, leaving no remnants of his chicken sandwich, he opened his mouth to show Mikey. Mikey wrinkled his nose in a way that Frank found cute. "There. Now, as I was saying, if I get a Sonic Blast, will you help me eat it? Of course, if you don't I'll force-feed you anyway, but I thought I'd be nice and ask." He grabbed another french fry and hit Mikey's shoulder with it. When Mikey narrowed his eyes in a weak attempt to look angry with Frank--something that was impossible, really--Frank offered him a sweet smile.

Only Frank could look so perfectly innocent, so untouched by all the evil things that inhabit this earth, while sitting there in complete black and slightly provocative clothes with his face painted stark white and dark purple. His hands were clasped loosely in front of his face in a prayer-like stance with his chin resting on his knuckles. That sweet little smile remained on his black lips even after Mikey's scowl disappeared. Without it, he had a completely blank face. Like a mask, Frank noted. It's like his face was coated in porcelain to keep its eerily beautiful flawlessness.

"Well....I'm gonna go get a Sonic Blast. Which kind do you think I should get? How 'bout Reese's? Those are good, right?" Frank asked. He pushed himself to his feet even as he was speaking. Mikey nodded, not really interested in what kind of ice cream Frank got. That wasn't the important part anyway. He watched Frank get up and prance over to the order box a few feet away, smiling slightly at his behavior. Frank poked the button in an overly childish way, and when the voice came over the speaker asking what he wanted, he put his chin in his hands and made a 'hmmm' sound. Like he hadn't just two seconds ago decided what he wanted.

"Um...well, which is better, M&Ms or Reese's?" Frank asked the box. At least it wasn't as bad as when he tries to talk to Mikey's radio. He gave a little squeak of excitement when the box answered.

"Well, personally I like the Reese's, but it's up to you sir."

Frank nodded. "Okay. I want a Reese's Sonic Blast, then please. Wait...how'd you know I was a boy? Can you see me?"

Mikey began to crack up. Frank obviously didn't get the fact that he had a rather deep voice, or maybe he just underestimated everyone's ability to hear. Frank cocked an eyebrow back at Mikey, who was bent over the table trying to control his laughter. It felt like he was going to go into one of his fits of insane laughter over something that wasn't that funny.

"Hey, don't laugh at me, Mikey! You arse..." Frank let go of the button to hurtle himself at his friend, which ended with both of them sprawled out on the hard concrete of the sitting area. Frank threw his arms triumphantly in the air at his thrilling ability to take down someone a foot taller than him. Okay, not really a foot, but he likes to exaggerate to make himself feel important. (And it works brilliantly). "Yeah, teach you to laugh at me," Frank muttered menacingly, but his thunder was taken away by the fact that Mikey's frail body was still trembling with his silent laughter. "Hey," he protested, his fingers wrapping around Mikey's wrists.

Mikey looked up at Frank, who was trying to pin him down, and gave him a cheesy grin. "You impossible little dork!"

Frank wrinkled his nose. "Oh, now he talks. And it's only to call me a dork. You're mean. Maybe I won't share my ice cream with you, and you'll starve!" Frank exclaimed, finally able to slam Mikey's wrists down on the ground above his head. He gave a cry of triumph. "Booyah, Mikey, I'm stronger than you!"

Mikey smirked underneath him, and in the blink of an eye their positions switched. Frank was squirming under Mikey's firm hold.

"Oh! Stronger than mwah! Pft, obviously," Mikey said, chock full of sarcasm. He was exuding confidence at successfully flipping Frank until reality came flooding back to him and he realized, *gasp*, he was on top of Frank! It as times like this he adored the white face powder that successfully masked his pint-tinted cheeks.

He slid off of Frank's body and stood up, absent-mindedly brushing off his clothes to hide his nerves. Frank was undoubtedly disappointed when Mikey stood up. He took the hand Mikey extended to help him up, and decided to make a joke to play off how much he missed the body weight (all 90 pounds) that his friend crushed him with.

"Pft, dude, we would pwn at robo-fighting."

"Robo what?" What the hell did that have to do with anything? Sure, Mikeywas obsessed with liked robots, but still...

"It's a sport where all you have to do is sit on your lazy bum and play with a controller. And since I'm obviously a dork, and you wold break if you played a real sport, we'd be good at robo-fighting. Duh Mikey. Geez, I thought you were supposed to be smart," Frank said, shaking his head sadly.