Stereotype

That afternoon, Frank sat on his bed with his legs crossed, mentally recapitulating the day. In his hands was his old lion plushie Sammie. The toy had been a gift from his grandma Lillian when he turned three, and they had been inseparable for years. As he grew up he had, at some point, stopped carrying Sammie everywhere, but the little lion had remained a very important part of him. Reaching out for it was like a reflex action for Frank whenever he got lost inside his head. Regardless of what was going in there, brushing Sammie's mane with his fingers helped him think and kept him concentrated. There wasn't much hair left after twelve years, but Frank still tugged at the short tufts or wrapped the tail around his finger sometimes.

Next to Frank lied Marina, humming some familiar melody. Frank could tell she was bored; he knew that any minute now she would ask him why he had invited her there if he wasn't going to talk. Then Frank would once again try to explain that he simply liked her company, even when he didn't have much to say. Silences were never uncomfortable with Marina. Not to Frank at least; Marina was more impatient.

He felt his friend shift around and huff before her head landed on his shoulder. Frank rested his own head on hers, exhaling loudly.

"What's wrong, short thing?" Marina asked at last. The way Frank could feel her voice reverberating inside her head was lulling. He might fall asleep if he stayed like that for too long.

"Nothing, just tired."

"Oh, come on! That's what you always tell your parents when you don't wanna talk. Won't work with me, Frankie..."

Frank chuckled, making Marina shake with him. "I know, but it's true this time. Busy day, not enough sleep. Sorry I'm not too chatty."

"But Fraaaank, I'm bored!" she protested, collapsing back down with a thump. None of them said anything else for a while.

When Frank turned his body to check what Marina was up to, he was alarmed to see that she had Merlin the giraffe in her grip, strangling it; twisting its long, delicate neck with her cruel hands. Merlin was another one of Frank's favorite plushies and it also matched his bed cover pretty well -maybe due to the fact that giraffes and zebras got along famously. People were not allowed to mess with Merlin. Not even Frank's best friend.

"Stop that!" Frank shrieked. "Give it back!"

Marina grinned teasingly, tightening her grip on the toy's neck. "I gave it to you, so..."

"That gives you no right to torture it, woman! Give it back!" Frank let go of Sammy and jumped on his friend, trying to snatch the giraffe off her hands. The girl was quicker, though, and rolled on her stomach, trapping Merlin under her weight.

Lying across Marina's back, Frank dug around, wanting to sneak his hands between her and the bed to rescue the plushie. He knew it'd tickle, which was a plus. Marina giggled like mad and pushed at him, but didn't give up.

"Gimme Merlin, bitch!" Frank joined in with the giggling.

"Th-then stop mopping around, you diva!"

"I wasn't!"

"You...you weren't talking!" Marina breathed out with difficulty. "And get off me!"

"Okay." Frank lifted himself off her, panting some. "There's actually something I need your help with. But first..." He extended his right hand.

Marina gave the giraffe back and Frank quickly attended to it, massaging the neck to readjust the stuffing. "You poor baby."

"You know it's not real, don't you?" The girl laughed. Frank just glared. "So? I'm waiting."

"James Dewees invited me to a costume party this Saturday," Frank gave out.

"Like...with all the older boys?"

"Yep."

"Before Christmas?" She frowned.

Frank gave a lazy, slow nod. "He said they were painting the house around Halloween."

"And you had this to tell me and were playing comatose instead?" Marina delivered a blow to Frank's head.

"Fuck! Will you stop hitting me in the head?" Frank regretted saying something when he got a second blow, this time to his arm. "Stop hitting me altogether! I was going to tell you once I finished thinking about other stuff. The invitation to the party happened last."

"You're weird," Marina stated. "Already decided that you're going to the party, then?"

"Of course!"

"You think your parents will let you?"

Frank hadn't had time to think about it, so he took a few moments before replying. The answer came easily. "Pretty sure, yeah. Ray will most probably be going too. Besides, my mom will say yes out of guilt, with all the shit she's been doing and saying lately."

"Yeah, you're right. So let me guess: you need help with your costume?"

"Exactly! Please, dear Mar?"

Marina puckered her lips in concentration, her eyes not looking at anything. "Frankenstein?"

"Too obvious," Frank replied instantly.

"A mummy?"

"Unpractical."

"Vampire?"

"Completely. Unoriginal." Frank had trusted her friend to come up with cool, innovative ideas. That was a big disappointment. "Come on, Mar, you can do better than that!"

"You haven't thought of anything so far, so I'd say shut up and let me keep thinking," she threw back. She was right; Frank had no comeback. "Mmm...werewolf? That one's not that common, and sounds good for Winter.."

"Mar...don't take it wrong, but why limit myself to Halloween-themed costumes when it's not a Halloween party?"

"Well, it's like a delayed one..."

"Still not Halloween!"

"Okay, okay! How about...some superhero? There are a lot to choose from..."

"I'd most probably find someone dressed like me. And I won't go as some rather unknown, shitty one to avoid that!" 

"You get on my nerves, you know that?" Marina looked up at the ceiling, grunting. "Robot? Cowboy? A fucking banana?"

Frank shook his head. "Sorry..."

"Wizard? Sailor? Michael Jackson? A...damn bee?" she continued to suggest options.

"A bee? You serious? What am I, five?"

"Certainly acting like one..." Marina mumbled, then said louder, "You know? I give up. I better come back tomorrow when you've slept and stopped being a bratty princess."

Frank couldn't argue. Honestly, he had begun to annoy even himself. Nothing sounded right; everything seemed like a bad idea. He couldn't picture any of all the costumes Marina had mentioned on him. His tiredness had something to do with that negativity, no doubt. But he had to admit there was something else. "Sorry, Mar. Please stay? I'm just...this makes me nervous, you know? All those guys, somewhere that's not the school, probably drinking..."

Marina had been headed for the door, but returned to the bed and sat down. She caressed Frank's hair. "But Gerard and some of the other nice guys will be there, right? And James is awesome too, you said."

"Yes but...fuck, I hate those assholes so much. When James was telling Gerard and I about the party, Steve appeared and he said..." Frank paused. All of a sudden, remembering that moment had given him some inspiration and he couldn't let it go. "I know! I fucking know what to wear!"

"What the...?"

Impulsed by his unexpected idea, Frank grabbed his jacket in one hand and took Marina's wrist with the other. He dragged her out of the room, down the stairs and to the living room, where he stopped to tell his dad that he would go to Marina's house for a while. It was a blessing from the Heavens that his mom wasn't home to ask her usual series of questions. All his dad said was, "Have fun! Call me if her mom's busy and can't bring you back, okay?"