You Mean More to Me Than Words Could Ever Say
Chapter 8.
Mikey was out of sight. It was just Gerard, casually sitting on the couch, glancing at me with a calm and expected gaze. I fiddled with the zipper on my hoodie, looking from the floor to his eyes. He never took his gaze off of me. I felt myself becoming uncomfortable, but told myself to be calm and act normal. The way Gerard acted completely casual, I felt silly.
“What are you doing here?” I asked, looking away over to Mikey, who came down the steps.
“I live here. I’m Mikey’s brother.” realization hit me. Mikey did look like him, and they seemed a bit alike. The chances of this happening were rare, but it did.
“Oh, well,” before I could continue with whatever was going to come out of my mouth, an old lady walked out of from the kitchen.
“Ooh! Who is this?” she asked. She approached me as I walked over to shake her hand.
“Frank, I’m a friend of Mikey’s...and Gerards.” I said, unsure of my words. Gerard shot a glance over at me.
“How nice! They never mentioned you.” she said. Hmm, well, considering I hardly knew either of them. I didn’t even know their last name.
“I’m Elena, their grandmother, watching them while their parents are on a cruise. You can call me Ellen, Hellen, or stick with Elena, I don’t mind dear.” she said sweetly. I smiled at her.
“Here, here! Sit down!” She brought me over and sat me next to Gerard. I looked at him awkwardly. He seemed unbothered.
“Would you like anything to drink? Anything to eat?” I found myself vigorously shaking my head. I hoped she wasn’t one of the people who constantly tried to get you to eat, calling you too thin and saying, ‘Eat, you need to grow!’
“Alright, Frankie dear. I’ll be in the kitchen.” I nodded at her, saying thank you. Mikey was popping in a movie, and trying to get it to work.
“You’ll get used to her, she’s easy to love.” Gerard said. He smiled lopsidedly. It was the first genuine smile I’d seen him give to me. It was almost cute. I only smiled in response.
“Do you guys want any pizza before we start the movie? Then maybe play some video games? I want to wait till it’s dark.” Mikey said to us.
“Sure.” Gerard said. I only nodded my head. I knew pizza wouldn’t be good on my stomach.
When the pizza arrived at 2, Mikey and Gerard dug right in. Elena left for Bingo, leaving just us three. I cut a small piece, slowly eating it. They both gave me odd looks but didn’t say anything. I ate about three quarters before throwing the rest away, giving them both a reassuring smile. No one asked questions, and that was how I liked it. We didn’t know eachother enough anyway to ask personal questions.
We all played Halo for a few good hours, until it was about 5. The sun was already setting, considering it was September. Mikey decided it was a good time to put the movie in. As we all settled on the three seater couch, me in the middle, the movie intro began, showing it was the 1931 Dracula. Older movies are always better. We all goofed around, saying lines as the characters said them, but in a funny voice, trying to imitate them. Each time this happened, we all laughed. Gerard at one point said ‘Thats what she said’ at a line Dracula had. Mikey and I cracked up. Gerard’s not that bad.
Afterwards, Mikey put in the 1963 original The Haunting, not the newer 1999 one that came out a couple years ago. They both grabbed more pizza. I wasn’t really hungry. Mikey however poured me a coke, claiming I need to have something in me. I accepted. After a few sips, I realized how thirsty I was and downed the whole thing. They both chuckled at me, and then we all settled to watch the movie. By the end of it, it was nine o’clock, and we all were growing tired of just watching movies.
“We can jam.” Mikey said. I raised an eyebrow at him.
“You play an instrument?” I asked. He nodded.
“Yep, bass.” I almost jumped out of my seat.
“Holy mother fucking shit dude! Me and my friends are looking for a bassist!” I exclaimed. He looked as excited as I was.
“Really? Man...who are your friends?”
“Ray Toro and Bob Bryar.”
“I don’t know them.” he shrugged.
“Yeah, they’re seniors. Ray and I play guitar, and Bob plays the drums. They’re fucking amazing. We need a bassist and a singer.” I told him. He pointed to Gerard.
“Gerard can sing.” I looked over at him.
“No I can’t.” he said, shifting his eyes from Mikey and I. I was now curious. I wanted to hear him sing.
“Shut the fuck up, yes you can. Even grandma says you can. And we both know she knows what shes talking about.” Mikey said to him, sternly.
“I want to hear.” I interrupted. Gerard kept saying no but finally Mikey encouraged him. They led me into the basement, where there was a 2 guitars, a bass, and a microphone stand. Amps were everywhere. There were posters of sick bands, bean bags, CD racks, and music magazines. On one wall there was an impressive stereo. I was just realizing how much money they must have had.
“Holy shit.” I said. They both chuckled and Gerard patted my back.
“Welcome to our cave.” Mikey snorted and I looked over at him, smiling.
“Can I play a guitar?” I asked. He nodded.
“Of course. Hey, do you know the intro to Rise Above by Black Flag?” he asked.
“Of fucking course!” he smiled, picking up his bass as I grabbed a fender stratocaster, checking it was in tune. He counted to three and then we started. As I listened to our instruments clash perfectly together, I knew I wanted Mikey in the band. He was good. He helped complete the song, helped complete the sound of my guitar. His fingers didn’t slip once, and he always kept up pace. When we finished the intro, we both smiled at eachother. Gerard started clapping and we both laughed.
“Mikey, would you consider being in my band?” I asked him.
“Only if Gerard can too. It’s our dream to be in a band together.” I smiled over at Gerard, keeping my gaze on him.
“Well, lets hear him sing.”
Gerard got in front of the mic, deciding what to sing. He whispered something to Mikey, and then they both began. Mikey started playing a tune I didn’t recognise, and then Gerard started singing.
“You're not in this alone
Let me break this awkward silence
Let me go
Go on record
Be the first to say I'm sorry
Hear me out”
His voice was stunning, clear, and unique. He honestly was really good, better than I expected.
“And if you take me down
Or would you lay me out?
And if the world needs something better
Let's give them one more reason now
Now
Now”
I found myself entranced by his voice.
“We walk in single file
We light our rails and punch our time
Ride escalators colder than a cell”
He definitely needed to be part of the band. He had a talent. A voice that needed to be heard. Mikey's bass died down, until it was silent.
“Did you write that?” I asked Gerard. He nodded.
“Yeah, but its not finished.” I nodded.
“Well, your voice is incredible. Honestly. I’d be honored if you joined my band.” He smiled another genuine smile. The three of us played Astro Zombies by The Misfits, then went back upstairs. I was still ecstatic. I had a band. Mikey and Gerard grabbed ice cream sandwiches, tossing me one. I ate it, then had a slight stomach ache, but it wasn’t too bad. We all settled on the couch to watch another movie. This time Gerard chose, putting in the 1978 Dawn of the Dead. It was a personal favorite of mine.
X~x~X~x~X
Sometime later I woke up in the middle of the night. I didn’t realize where I was until I remembered I was at Mikeys. Guess I was spending the night. I opened my eyes, and froze. My head was on Gerards lap. I contemplated moving, but I didn’t want him to wake up and have an awkward conversation. So instead, I just layed there. I was shocked to find it was actually kind of comforting, and I found myself falling into a deep, easy sleep.
“What are you doing here?” I asked, looking away over to Mikey, who came down the steps.
“I live here. I’m Mikey’s brother.” realization hit me. Mikey did look like him, and they seemed a bit alike. The chances of this happening were rare, but it did.
“Oh, well,” before I could continue with whatever was going to come out of my mouth, an old lady walked out of from the kitchen.
“Ooh! Who is this?” she asked. She approached me as I walked over to shake her hand.
“Frank, I’m a friend of Mikey’s...and Gerards.” I said, unsure of my words. Gerard shot a glance over at me.
“How nice! They never mentioned you.” she said. Hmm, well, considering I hardly knew either of them. I didn’t even know their last name.
“I’m Elena, their grandmother, watching them while their parents are on a cruise. You can call me Ellen, Hellen, or stick with Elena, I don’t mind dear.” she said sweetly. I smiled at her.
“Here, here! Sit down!” She brought me over and sat me next to Gerard. I looked at him awkwardly. He seemed unbothered.
“Would you like anything to drink? Anything to eat?” I found myself vigorously shaking my head. I hoped she wasn’t one of the people who constantly tried to get you to eat, calling you too thin and saying, ‘Eat, you need to grow!’
“Alright, Frankie dear. I’ll be in the kitchen.” I nodded at her, saying thank you. Mikey was popping in a movie, and trying to get it to work.
“You’ll get used to her, she’s easy to love.” Gerard said. He smiled lopsidedly. It was the first genuine smile I’d seen him give to me. It was almost cute. I only smiled in response.
“Do you guys want any pizza before we start the movie? Then maybe play some video games? I want to wait till it’s dark.” Mikey said to us.
“Sure.” Gerard said. I only nodded my head. I knew pizza wouldn’t be good on my stomach.
When the pizza arrived at 2, Mikey and Gerard dug right in. Elena left for Bingo, leaving just us three. I cut a small piece, slowly eating it. They both gave me odd looks but didn’t say anything. I ate about three quarters before throwing the rest away, giving them both a reassuring smile. No one asked questions, and that was how I liked it. We didn’t know eachother enough anyway to ask personal questions.
We all played Halo for a few good hours, until it was about 5. The sun was already setting, considering it was September. Mikey decided it was a good time to put the movie in. As we all settled on the three seater couch, me in the middle, the movie intro began, showing it was the 1931 Dracula. Older movies are always better. We all goofed around, saying lines as the characters said them, but in a funny voice, trying to imitate them. Each time this happened, we all laughed. Gerard at one point said ‘Thats what she said’ at a line Dracula had. Mikey and I cracked up. Gerard’s not that bad.
Afterwards, Mikey put in the 1963 original The Haunting, not the newer 1999 one that came out a couple years ago. They both grabbed more pizza. I wasn’t really hungry. Mikey however poured me a coke, claiming I need to have something in me. I accepted. After a few sips, I realized how thirsty I was and downed the whole thing. They both chuckled at me, and then we all settled to watch the movie. By the end of it, it was nine o’clock, and we all were growing tired of just watching movies.
“We can jam.” Mikey said. I raised an eyebrow at him.
“You play an instrument?” I asked. He nodded.
“Yep, bass.” I almost jumped out of my seat.
“Holy mother fucking shit dude! Me and my friends are looking for a bassist!” I exclaimed. He looked as excited as I was.
“Really? Man...who are your friends?”
“Ray Toro and Bob Bryar.”
“I don’t know them.” he shrugged.
“Yeah, they’re seniors. Ray and I play guitar, and Bob plays the drums. They’re fucking amazing. We need a bassist and a singer.” I told him. He pointed to Gerard.
“Gerard can sing.” I looked over at him.
“No I can’t.” he said, shifting his eyes from Mikey and I. I was now curious. I wanted to hear him sing.
“Shut the fuck up, yes you can. Even grandma says you can. And we both know she knows what shes talking about.” Mikey said to him, sternly.
“I want to hear.” I interrupted. Gerard kept saying no but finally Mikey encouraged him. They led me into the basement, where there was a 2 guitars, a bass, and a microphone stand. Amps were everywhere. There were posters of sick bands, bean bags, CD racks, and music magazines. On one wall there was an impressive stereo. I was just realizing how much money they must have had.
“Holy shit.” I said. They both chuckled and Gerard patted my back.
“Welcome to our cave.” Mikey snorted and I looked over at him, smiling.
“Can I play a guitar?” I asked. He nodded.
“Of course. Hey, do you know the intro to Rise Above by Black Flag?” he asked.
“Of fucking course!” he smiled, picking up his bass as I grabbed a fender stratocaster, checking it was in tune. He counted to three and then we started. As I listened to our instruments clash perfectly together, I knew I wanted Mikey in the band. He was good. He helped complete the song, helped complete the sound of my guitar. His fingers didn’t slip once, and he always kept up pace. When we finished the intro, we both smiled at eachother. Gerard started clapping and we both laughed.
“Mikey, would you consider being in my band?” I asked him.
“Only if Gerard can too. It’s our dream to be in a band together.” I smiled over at Gerard, keeping my gaze on him.
“Well, lets hear him sing.”
Gerard got in front of the mic, deciding what to sing. He whispered something to Mikey, and then they both began. Mikey started playing a tune I didn’t recognise, and then Gerard started singing.
“You're not in this alone
Let me break this awkward silence
Let me go
Go on record
Be the first to say I'm sorry
Hear me out”
His voice was stunning, clear, and unique. He honestly was really good, better than I expected.
“And if you take me down
Or would you lay me out?
And if the world needs something better
Let's give them one more reason now
Now
Now”
I found myself entranced by his voice.
“We walk in single file
We light our rails and punch our time
Ride escalators colder than a cell”
He definitely needed to be part of the band. He had a talent. A voice that needed to be heard. Mikey's bass died down, until it was silent.
“Did you write that?” I asked Gerard. He nodded.
“Yeah, but its not finished.” I nodded.
“Well, your voice is incredible. Honestly. I’d be honored if you joined my band.” He smiled another genuine smile. The three of us played Astro Zombies by The Misfits, then went back upstairs. I was still ecstatic. I had a band. Mikey and Gerard grabbed ice cream sandwiches, tossing me one. I ate it, then had a slight stomach ache, but it wasn’t too bad. We all settled on the couch to watch another movie. This time Gerard chose, putting in the 1978 Dawn of the Dead. It was a personal favorite of mine.
X~x~X~x~X
Sometime later I woke up in the middle of the night. I didn’t realize where I was until I remembered I was at Mikeys. Guess I was spending the night. I opened my eyes, and froze. My head was on Gerards lap. I contemplated moving, but I didn’t want him to wake up and have an awkward conversation. So instead, I just layed there. I was shocked to find it was actually kind of comforting, and I found myself falling into a deep, easy sleep.
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Damn, updated 3 times today...!