The True Lies of the Once Fabulous Killjoys

Wrapped up in the covers, Frank lay asleep on the double bed. His hair had fallen across his face to shield his eyes. In the moonlight his bare shoulders where emphasised and appeared to glow. For the first time in a week a smile formed on Gerard’s lips. He watched Frank sleep for a few more moments before lightly shaking Frank’s shoulder.

Frank woke up with a start. He dragged himself up from his lying position and searched the room until his eyes fell on Gerard. It was clear that he was surprised to see him; his eyes were wide and his jaw had dropped ever so slightly.

“Gerard...”

Gerard held up the small bag grasped in his hands for Frank to see. “I brought you some clothes.”

Glancing at the bag, then back to Gerard, his eyebrows furrowed. “You drove fifteen hours just to bring me clothes?”

“Actually, Mikey drove,” Gerard smirked. He sobered when he saw the sad mistiness of Frank’s hazel eyes. “I miss you.”

“I love you,” Frank whispered, “so much. And I miss you. And I’m sorry... I just – I want things to be normal again.”

Gerard dropped the bag. He sat down on the bed and stared deeply into Frank’s eyes. Lightly caressing his cheek, he leaned in and kissed him lovingly.

He rested his forehead against Frank’s, mumbling against his lips, “I love you, too. I’m sorry for everything. Can you and I just be us again? Please.”

Frank pulled back, took Gerard’s face between his hands, and said seriously, “If you can forgive Lauren for her mistakes, then I can forgive you for yours.”

Sighing heavily, Gerard stroked cheek once more. “Okay – I guess I was a bit harsh with her... and you.”

Frank nodded weakly, taking Gerard’s hand in his. Just that little touch was enough to push all the hurt feelings away.

Gerard looked down at their joined hands, his smirk coming back. “Can I fix things with Lauren tomorrow? I have something – well, someone – that I want to do right now.”

Frank giggled and pulled Gerard to his lips. They had a long night ahead of them.



Bob was feeling guilty now as Lauren explained to them all about her past. He should have let her tell everyone when she was ready – if she was ready. Her eyes were sad the whole time and when she cried it felt like she was ripping his heart out. There was a time when they were best friends, when they could tell each other anything without fear of negative repercussions, and now he doubted she would ever tell him anything again. The worst part about the whole situation, he felt, was that he actually deserved what she would inevitably do to him.

“...and that’s it,” Lauren concluded, throwing her hands up in the air hopelessly. “I wanted you guys to hear all this from me. I’ve done some terrible things, but I promise I haven’t done any of that stuff since I found out I was pregnant.”

Ray plonked himself down on the armrest of the chair Lauren was sitting on. Giving her a sympathetic smile, he wrapped his arms around her in a sideways hug. Bob could see he’d forgiven her, but he supposed that Ray wasn’t all that angry in the first place.

“Well,” Lauren said, wiping away the last of her tears, “I guess I should give you a tour.”

They all stood up and followed Lauren around her little cottage.

“This, as you can see is the living room.” She gestured around the room they were in. They took a few steps through an archway into the kitchen where there were quaint little blue cupboards and white bench tops, a small table with three four chairs in the corner. “The kitchen slash dining room... obviously.”

“Nice,” Ray commented politely.

They walked back through the living room and up the adjacent hallway.

“To your left is the bathroom,” she pointed the first door. Pointing to the second door she told them it was Ben’s bedroom. “And that room straight ahead is my bedroom.”

“Didn’t you say Frank was in there?” Mikey asked. His eyebrows were knitted together in confusion.

Lauren shrugged. “I figured it’d be easier to have Frank in there, so I’ve been sleeping on the floor in Ben’s room.”

She led them back out to the living room.

“Now, for your accommodations,” she said. “I don’t have that much room, as you’ve seen, but we’ll be fine. Gerard’s obviously sorted out where he’s sleeping on his own.” She cast a glance back up the hallway to the closed door of her bedroom. “That couch is a pull out, so I guess, Ray, you and Bob can sleep there. As for you Mikey, we’ll put all the couch cushions together and you can sleep on the floor here. I’ll just go get you guys some blankets.”

Lauren disappeared up the hallway again, leaving the men alone in the living room. Seeing nothing else to do, Bob began removing the cushions from both the couch and the armchair. With Ray’s help he pulled out the bed just as Lauren returned with blankets.

“Oh, thanks,” she said to Bob when she noticed the sofa bed was set up already. She handed him two of the blankets she had. “I’m going to head off to bed. I’ll see you all in the morning.”

Bob, Mikey, and Ray settled themselves down on their temporary beds. Despite having no knowledge of the area, and their previous experiences being what they were, they felt quite comfortable in the quaint Idaho cottage. Perhaps it was the fact that it was Lauren’s cottage, or that Idaho was such a sleepy town, but whatever it was they were just happy that they were in a placed where they could sleep comfortably and peacefully.

“I can see why Lauren likes this place,” Mikey said casually. The other two muttered their agreement. “I‘m just hoping that she will let us help her out.”

“Same, but what are we going to do? She won’t take any money, won’t move in with us... there’s nothing else that we can do,” Ray replied sombrely.

Gerard wandered down the hallways at that moment. His appearance was dishevelled and he had that twinkle in his eye that everyone had come to recognise as his post-sex look.

“There’s one other option,” Gerard said quietly, his hand on his hip and eyes suddenly focussed. He’d heard their conversation from the bedroom. The other three men looked at him questioningly. “We move here, find a house close by, and keep an eye on her. We can babysit Ben so she can get a better job. And this way we’ll get to see her like we used to – everyone wins.”

“You’ve suddenly changed your tune,” Bob said, puzzled and a little irritated.

Gerard shrugged. “I was wrong. Frank’s made me realise what’s important.”

“I like the idea, I really do,” Ray said, before adding, “but what about the house? It was Lauren’s childhood home... would she want us selling it?”

“Cross that bridge when we come to it, I guess,” Gerard offered. He started back toward the hallway, throwing over his shoulder, “I’m going back to Frank, see you in the morning.”



The next morning Mikey was the first of the men to wake. He sat up on his makeshift bed, rubbed at his eyes, and looked around at his surroundings. He recognised a lot of the furnishings, he realised. They had been Lauren’s parents’ old furniture that had been put into storage shortly before the war had begun; she’d taken them with her when she left for New York. They suited the place well.

The sound of movement came from the kitchen. Mikey rose from the couch cushions and shuffled through to the cosy kitchen, where he found Lauren sitting at the small round table that was covered by a white lace overlay tablecloth. She offered him a small smile when he sat down opposite her.

“You’re up early,” she commented, taking in his mussed appearance. “Did I wake you?”

“No, I always rise early when I’m in a strange place – an old habit from the war coming back.” He took in what she was wearing; cream coloured blouse, floral knee length skirt, and white cardigan that was left unbuttoned. “You’re dressed nicely. Something exciting happening?”

“Only work – I try to look nice since I’m the first person the patients see when they come in to the clinic,” she informed him dryly. “I appreciate the compliment, though.”

Mikey continued to watch Lauren as she got up to take her crumb covered plate to the sink. He knew he shouldn’t, but he let his eyes wander up her figure, taking in the length of her tanned legs until they disappeared under her skirt, the curve of her hips that were just visible through the material, her brown hair that cascaded down her back. She turned around just his eyes reached her shoulders. He quickly averted his eyes to meet hers, hoping that she hadn’t noticed his lingering gaze.

“I’m leaving for work in half an hour, so I’ve got to get Ben ready. Will you and the others be fine here for the day?” Lauren asked politely.

“We’ll be fine, don’t worry,” Mikey replied. He thought about Ben for a moment, and what Lauren had just said. They were in Idaho to help Lauren, not that she knew that, and he had every intention of keeping true to that. “I can watch Ben for you if you’d like, so you don’t have to take him to work with you.”

“Well, okay... are you sure?” She looked guilty.

“I want to,” Mikey replied earnestly, because he did want to spend some time getting to know Ben. “When do you have lunch? I could bring Ben by and we could go eat somewhere.”

She seemed to think about it for a moment, before nodding her head. “I guess I’ll see you at the clinic at one then.”

Lauren offered him a smile as she left the kitchen.

“It’s a date!” Mikey shouted after her.

To his surprise she re-entered the kitchen, a stern expression on her face. “No, Mikey, it’s not.”