Roses are Red, Black Eyes are Blue

The guys were already setting up in the basement when Anna and Frank arrived. Frank instantly made his way towards the makeshift stage and began tuning his guitar, leaving Anna by herself on the couch. Anna noticed that the atmosphere in the room was oddly very serious and as soon as everyone was set up they began playing without a word instead of cutting up like usual.

Once the first song was finished, Gerard and the rest of the guys looked towards Anna anxiously. Not really sure what they were wanting, Anna just smiled uneasily and gave a thumbs up.

“Come on, Anna, you gotta give us more than that. This is important; we have two weeks to get ready. We need any feedback you might have,” Gerard said, frowning deeply.

Anna watched the guys stare at her expectantly and she felt confusion wash over her. “I think I’m missing some information here,” she replied hesitantly, “What’s in two weeks?”

Everyone on stage quickly looked towards Frank who was scratching the back of his neck sheepishly.

“Um Anna, by the way, we managed to score a gig in two weeks. We’re going to need you to give us as much constructive criticism as possible at practice. Kay, thanks,” Frank said quickly with a big goofy, innocent grin.

Everyone rolled their eyes and Gerard acted like he was going to throw the mic at Frank. “You had one job dude. All you were supposed to do today was tell her. You see her more than anyone else,” Gerard teased, pretending to be upset.

Frank held up his hands defensively. “I’m sorry, I kinda got distracted today,” he replied and his gaze quickly went from Gerard to Anna and back again.

Gerard shook his head and turned back to Anna, “Whatever, let’s just get back to work. Anna, what I need you to do is really listen to the song. Listen for anything that you might think was a mistake or might need to be changed and let us know. Frank says you’re really good with music, so we’re counting on you. Ok?”

Anna nodded, feeling slightly pressured suddenly, but happy that she can finally be useful in her friend’s band. The boys decided on the next song and then quickly jumped back into practice, Anna listening intently.

******

After a few more songs, Gerard announced it was time for a break, and everyone began setting their instruments down and turning off amps. Anna stood from the couch and signaled to Mikey, who quickly looked over to Frank retreating up the stairs before walking over.

“What’s up, Anna?” Mikey asked, smiling at her.

“I need to ask you and your brother for a favor,” Anna said, biting her bottom lip nervously.

“Sure, hold on a sec,” Mikey replied and looked over at his brother who was starting up the stairs, “Hey G, wait up. Come here.”

Gerard turned and saw the two standing by the couch and looked up the stairs skeptically before walking towards his brother and friend. “What do you need?” he asked casually.

“I need a favor,” Anna started, watching his face to gauge whether she should bother continuing or not. When she noticed that he was still waiting, she continued, “This guy in my English class wants to go out for some pizza this weekend, and he said that I can invite some friends so it won’t seem like a date, because I don’t want it to be a date. I was wondering if you two would go with me.” Anna finished her rambling explanation and question quickly and watched the two guys for their response.

Gerard and Mikey shared a look for a moment and focused back on Anna. “Shouldn’t you be asking Frank? He’s your best friend, so won’t he be upset that you didn’t ask him?” Gerard asked, feeling uneasy and like he’s being put in a dangerous situation.

Anna looked at the floor and tugged on the bottom of her uniform shirt nervously. “I did ask him. I asked him today at lunch and we got into a fight about it. He thinks that it’s going to be Brandon all over again, even though I told him that we were just going to be hanging out as friends. I don’t want to go by myself, but I really do want to make more friends. I’m not good at making and keeping friends, so I’m trying to work on that.”

Gerard and Mikey shared another look, and then Mikey placed his hand on Anna’s shoulder and bent down to catch her gaze. “Of course we’ll go with you. We gotta meet this guy to make sure he’s good enough to call you his friend,” Mikey said, smiling.

Anna sighed in relief as Gerard ruffled her hair. “One thing though,” Gerard said, looking serious suddenly, “Because of how Frank’s been reacting to this kind of stuff, we probably shouldn’t tell him that you’re actually going to be meeting up with this guy. It will just set him off again.” Anna nodded and bit her lip, thinking about how bad she is at keeping secrets. “Alright, well I’m going to go get some food before we start practice back up,” Gerard said, dropping the seriousness from before and leading them up the stairs.

******

Saturday arrived and Anna was pacing around her bedroom, waiting for Gerard to pick her up. She had changed maybe three times before settling on a pair of black jean shorts and a British flag t-shirt with a dark grey vest over it. She started with her hair up in a bun, then down around her shoulders, then back up into a ponytail, before finally just putting it into a loose braid over her left shoulder. It would be an understatement to say that she was nervous.

A car horn sounded from below and Anna looked out the window to see Gerard’s beat up car waiting on the curb. Anna ran down the stairs and grabbed her bag before running out the door and into the car.

Gerard chuckled as he pulled away from the curb. “Someone seems excited to get going,” he teased and glanced at Anna.

Anna grimaced and fidgeted with her bag strap. “Not really,” she replied, “I actually really just want to get this over with. I’m not really good at this kind of stuff.”

“What? You’re nervous?” Mikey asked and Anna turned to look out the window so he couldn’t see how right he was.

Gerard chuckled again and shook his head. “There’s nothing to be nervous about, Anna. It’s not like it’s a date or anything. And Mikey and I are here for you in case anything happens. So just relax and have fun. We need to do something to break you out of that shell of yours.”

Anna smiled weakly but continued to fidget despite her friend’s comforting words.

******

The group arrived at the pizza place and filed out of the car and through the door. Anna looked around for Kevin as her two friends argued over what kind of pizza they wanted.

“Hey Anna!” someone shouted and Anna looked to her left to see Kevin and a girl sitting at a booth near the window.

Anna noticed the brothers behind her stopped their fighting and she glanced back to see their attempt at intimidating expressions. She rolled her eyes and led the way to the booth, sliding in after Mikey so that she was sitting between the now serious brothers.

Kevin smiled at Anna and his smile weakened a bit as he looked over her two friends. “Um, Anna, this is my sister, Kaylin,” Kevin introduced and the girl next to him smiled politely and gave a slight wave.

Anna smiled back and motioned two the boys next to her. “Mikey and Gerard Way,” she introduced simply.

Kevin smiled and stuck his hand out for a shake. “Nice to meet you, I’m Kevin,” he said and waited for a moment while neither of the brothers made a move to shake his hand, so he cleared his throat and smiled nervously at Anna who returned the nervous smile.

The group was quiet and the atmosphere was awkward until after the waitress took their drink orders and walked away.

“Are you two twins?” Mikey blurted out, narrowing his eyes and looking between the siblings in front of him.

Kaylin smiled and nodded, breaking the tension with her soft smile and replying, “Yup. Not many people can tell though because we’re not identical. I think the only thing we have in common is our noses.”

Mikey smiled back at the girl in front of him and said, “I always wanted a twin. Do you two ever have those freaky twin moments that people are always talking about?”

Kaylin and Kevin laughed together and both replied at the same time, “Not really,” which caused them to look at each other quickly and then begin laughing again.

And just like that the tension melted and the group began discussing what pizzas they wanted to get, what bands they liked, and what shows they watched. Half way through her second slice of pizza and a discussion about comic books that Gerard and Kevin realized they both loved, Anna noticed that she was actually enjoying herself. She couldn’t help but think, however, that the day would be even better if she could have gotten Frank to agree to come along.

After the pizza is long gone and all conversation topics that the new friends could think of had been exhausted, Anna, Mikey, and Gerard said their goodbyes to the twins and made their way back to Anna’s house. Anna smiled as she looked out the window, feeling content because she made not one new friend, but two.

“So Mikey, my verdict is a yes, how about you?” Gerard broke the silence with his question and glanced at his brother through the rear view mirror.

Mikey nodded and smiled, “Yeah, he’s got my approval. He’s got a cute sister, too.”

Gerard smiled and rolled his eyes as Anna laughed at Mikey. “Well then, Anna, there you have it. Kevin has our approval. He has been deemed fit enough to be your friend,” Gerard stated with a hint of finality in his voice.

Anna rolled her eyes and shook her head, a smile fighting its way onto her face. “You two are ridiculous.”

Gerard smiled over at her and looked back at the road. Suddenly Gerard’s expression became more serious as he said, “Anna, Frank told me about the fight you two had about Kevin. I know you two made up and stuff, but it feels like things are a bit strained between you two lately. You know he didn’t mean what he said, right?” Anna nodded, looking out the window and trying not to replay the fight in her head. “Frank adores you Anna, way more than you know, and he just wants to look out for you. He’s just not the smartest or most patient person out there. I just want you to know that he feels awful for what he says and I think you should give him another chance.”

Anna turned and looked over at Gerard, kind of confused. “I’m not mad at him anymore, Gerard. I forgave him when he apologized later that day. Does he think that I’m still mad at him or something?”

“No, I’ve just noticed the tension between you two recently. I thought it was about the fight.”

Anna shrugged and looked away, thinking about how strange Frank had been acting. She sighed and shook her head. “I don’t know, I kind of feel like Frank and I are drifting apart. Lately he’s been kind of odd and distant. I mean, we’ve been getting closer together since I met him, and then suddenly this week he just pulls away and we’re back to square one. To tell the truth, I think he’s getting tired of me, that’s why I wanted to make new friends so badly, because I’m pretty sure I’m going to lose Frank and I don’t want to be alone again.” Anna explained as she stared at her hands.

Gerard and Mikey shared a look through the mirror and all was quiet in the car until Mikey spoke up. “Anna, like Gerard said, Frank absolutely adores you. I don’t think you’d be able to get rid of him even if you wanted to. But if something does happen, Gerard and I are always here for you. We’re your friends now too and that’s not something that’s going to go away so easily. Ok?”

Anna looked over at him and his brother and smiled weakly, nodding and replying, “Ok.”

“Well, this is your stop, little miss.” Gerard said as he pulled up in front of Anna’s house. “We’ll see you later. And remember, today never happened. We don’t need Frank throwing a hissy fit or anything right before the gig.” Gerard joked as Anna nodded and smiled, waving good bye as she made her way up the driveway.

Gerard pulled away from the curb and Anna let herself into the house, heading up the stairs and to her room to start studying so it would seem like she stayed in all day when her dad came home.