Ghosties Aren't Always Bad

I fucking hate this house. It's old, it's ulgy, and not to mention it's possibly the creepiest house I've ever seen. The paint is chipping off in huge chunks. The front window is busted out. The floor boards creak and groan when you move around. The roses that line the walkway are wilted, their once blood red petals faded to shades of sickly looking black and grey. Fallen petals line the ground in a thin layer of death. You know those old cliched horror movies that everyone's seen, the ones with the house on the hill that no one dares to come within five miles of, that always seem to have a dark cloud hanging ominously over them? Yeah? Well, I kid you not, this house does. It never goes away. It's like a permanent fixture. Creepy right? But despite all that, here I stand, a ratty old duffel full of clothes in one hand and my beloved guitar case in the other while my parents stand next to me, a look of pride on their faces as they gaze up at our new house. Their repeated reassurances that it just needs 'a little work' bouncing around my brain. HA! Yeah right. I have no clue what possessed them to move us out of our nice house on the other side of town to this dump, but here we are. JOY!! (Note the sarcasm.) I suck in a deep breath and heave my duffel higher up on my shoulder and head inside.

"Just pick whatever room you want, hun." my Mom calls out from somewhere behind me.

I just grunt in response. I climb the few steps onto the rickety old porch and kick the front door open with the toe of my scuffed up converse. It swings open with an eerie groan. I roll my eyes at the typical horror movie scene set out in front of me. None of the lights are on yet so the only illumination comes from the light seeping in from the open door behind me, casting my shadow on the wall in front of me, and from the dirty windows scattered around the various rooms. I just shake my head and head up the stairs to my left. Turning when I reached the landing, I accidently hit the banister with my guitar case. I hear a crack and spin around just in time to see half the railing go tumbling down the stairs to land with a crash at the bottom. "What a dump." I mumbled to myself. I carried on in my search for my new room, peeking past the open doors as I move down the hallway, keeping a commentary going in my head as I passed each different door. "Nope. Too small. Too many windows. Bathroom. Yeah right, like I'm sleeping in there. Geeze, this house has a ton of rooms." I was about ready to give up and set up shop in the bathroom. I mean, I could use the tub as a bed right?

I was standing in front of the last door in the long hallway, which, unlike the rest, was closed. I tried the door knob, it was unlocked but the door wouldn't budge. I set down my bags, rubbed my hands together much like an evil genius would, grabbed the door and pulled.. Hard. I put all my body weight into it and with a resounding crack the door flew back, sending me straight to my ass with a harsh thud. I sat there for a moment, staring at the dark hole that was now visible. Standing up I rubbed my sore bum and took a few cautious steps towards the new opening. It was easy to see what had been holding the door closed now that it was open. Someone had nailed it into the door frame, from the inside. 'That's weird' I thought to myself. I felt around for a light switch and when my fingers came across the small button, the naked bulb that flickered to life left me blinking in it's harsh light. I was met with a steep set of stairs.

Leaving my bags forgotten behind me, I headed up. And up. I was surprised when these stairs didn't squeak and groan with each step I took like the rest of the house seemed so keen on doing. As I stepped up onto the last step I heard something scurry past my feet. I jumped about a foot in the air, then mentally faced plamed myself for it. Being scared by what was probably a cute little harmless mouse.

"Mother fucker."
I muttered to no one in particular. Without the fear of being attacked by unseen rabid rats, I finally took in my surroundings. Everything was covered in a thick layer of dust. I swiped my finger over the nearest surface, pulling it back to see the pale tip was now dark grey. I scrunched my faced up in disgust and wiped my finger on my ripped jeans.

The room wasn't huge but it wasn't tiny either, really, it was the perfect size for me. There were two windows, one on the far wall across from me and the other was sat in a little nook on the wall to my left. There was some boxes piled up in one corner and a tall dresser standing against the wall next to them. A few feet to my right was another door, I assumed it was the closet. No bed. But that was okay. We brought the mattress I had from our old house and there was no way I would've slept on a bed that had been left in here for God knows how long anyway. It smelt a bit stuffy and I made a mental note to see if the windows would open. I stepped in a little further and felt something crunch under my shoe. Picking up my foot, I saw a now broken pair of glasses. I leaned down to pick them up and inspect them. They had black and white frames and pretty small lenses. I wondered who they belonged to. Walking forward I sat the glasses down on the small stack of boxes. There were some old posters hanging haphazardly off the walls. Ripped in places and faded in others. Upon closer inspection, I couldn't help the grin that spread over my face as I recognized some old band posters with the occasional horror movie poster thrown in. Whoever wore those glasses had great taste in music and movies. There were also some drawings of random things hanging here and there. One that really caught my eye was hanging next to the window. It looked familiar and I realized why as I remembered the faded roses out front. The detail was amazing. A single blackened petal, floating slowly to the ground from a blood red rose. A tear drop barely hanging onto a thorn. It was beautiful. I hadn't realized I had been staring until I heard the floorboards creak behind me. Spinning around, I was met with my mothers smiling face.

"Find your room?" she asked.

"Yeah, I think so." I replied, in some what of a daze.

"Good." she smiled, "Your Dad went to the store to get a window to replace that broken one downstairs, don't want any uninvited visitors. Dinner will be ready soon."

"Kay. Thanks" I said.

With that she turned and headed back down the stairs, which I noticed creaked with each step she took. I followed behind her to get my things that I had left when my curiosity got the better of me earlier. No creaks, squeaks, groans, or moans. Hmm, wonder what that's about. Maybe it's a weight thing. I'm not saying that my mom is fat or anything, but I am quite a bit smaller than she is. What can I say. I'm short. Sue me.

Pushing the strange stairs from my mind I grabbed my duffel bag and guitar case before turning and heading back up. I tossed my bag 'o' clothes onto the floor, only to be met with a plume of dust that came spiraling up. I coughed and waved my hands frantically around my face trying to dispel the stupid lung irritant. Setting down my guitar case, a lot more gently than my duffel of course, I stumbled over to the closest window and shoved it open. I quickly stuck my head out a drew in a few deep breaths of the fresh, dustless air. I turned around and jumped back as I saw something flash, but when I turned, there was nothing there except the small stack of boxes. Stepping closer, I noticed something was askew. It took me a second to realize what it was but when I did my brow furrowed in confusion. What the fuck? The glasses. They were gone. I spun around, looking at the ground and behind the boxes. They were just gone. Poof! Vanished. Wwweeeeiiirrrrrddddddd. I could have sworn I put them there. I jumped when I heard my Mom calling for me from somewhere downstairs. Walking over to the door, I poked my head out and yelled a "What?!" down the stairs.

"Dinner's ready. Come on down." I heard faintly.

I couldn't tell where she was yelling from but figured it was probably the kitchen. Following the smell of food, it was pretty easy to find. I had only been inside the house once before this when my parents had made me tag along to help them move some stuff. I had pretty much pulled the rebellious teenager thing and sat in the kitchen with my iPod and phone all day. Mom and Dad had been coming out here almost every weekend to work on the house and the kitchen looked almost new. It was a far cry from the broken cabinets and scuffed linoleum that was here last time. I took my seat at the table across from my dad who looked all sweaty, probably from putting the new window in, as my mom sat the homemade pizza on the table. Everyone grabbed their slices and went about chewing happily. The only sound being the smacking of lips and the occasional slurping as someone took a drink. Until dad decided to break the silence.

"After we finish, will you help me bring in the mattresses from the truck?" He looked at me expectantly.

"Yeah, sure." I mumbled around my bite of oh so delicious pizza.

Not being a man of many words, he nodded his head and went back to eating in silence. I guess I take after him.

"I'll see if I can't get some of that dust out of your new room while you guys do that." my Mom spoke up from her spot. "We would have done it already but we couldn't get the door open. We were gonna work on that this evening." "How did you get it open, by the way?" she asked me.

"Umm, I just yanked on it. Really, really hard." I said with a laugh.

"Brute" my Dad mumbled, and I couldn't help but laugh.

I am pretty strong for such a midget.

"Somebody had nailed it to the door frame from the inside." I explained.

"That's weird. I wonder why someone would do that." my Mom said.

I just shrugged. Dad and I finished up with dinner and headed out to the truck that was parked in front of the house. A shiver ran up my spine as we passed the wilting roses, goose bumps erupting along my arms. I shook it off as just a cold chill and scurried along the walkway to the truck. One by one, we carried in the two mattresses and two sets of box springs. After that we grabbed the bed frame for my parents bed and the bed sheets and other blankets. We brought my mattress and box spring up to my room after Mom came down claiming that it was now dust free. That was just something I would have to see to believe but as we stepped into the room I was proved wrong. The powers of the all mighty mother never ceased to amaze me. We put my makeshift bed beneath the window across from the door. Once we had it situated, I flopped back, bouncing a bit as my body hit the mattress. I heard my dad chuckle and I sat back up to look at him. He spun around in a small circle, taking in the room much like I did when I first came up here. It definitely looked a lot better now that the foot of dust that had covered everything was now gone.

"I think your mom and I should have got first dibs on this room." he said with a laugh.

"Too bad, so sad" I shot back.

He grumbled something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like "stupid teenagers" before heading back downstairs. Laughing, I stood up and grabbed my duffel from the floor and tossed it on the bed before moving over to the dresser. I pulled open the first drawer and started stuffing in the t-shirts haphazardly . I continued the routine until I had all my clothes stuffed in except my jeans, jackets, and nicer shirts. Those were going in the closet. Pulling open the closet door I grabbed the hangers that were hanging on the rack and took them over to the bed to start hanging my clothes. In no time I was finished and had hung the last pair of jeans.

As I was closing the door, something caught my eye up on the top shelf. I could barely see it, thanks to my ridiculously short height. Standing on my tippy toes, one arm on the rack for balance, the other stretched high above me, I was able to get my fingertips on the object and scoot it off the shelf into my hand. It was a picture frame that held the photo of two smiling boys that looked to be about my age. One had light brown hair peaking out from under a grey beanie, with black and white framed glasses that were barely hanging onto the tip of his nose. Wait.. black and white framed glasses, just like the ones that I found earlier, just like the ones that disappeared. Woah. Freaky stuff. Tearing my eyes away from the smaller boy, I turned my attention to the obviously older of the two. He had black hair that hung around his pale face and bright hazel eyes. His wide smile showed of a mouthful of tiny teeth. It was contagious really. I felt my lips pull up into a smile of their own at the happiness that seemed to radiate off the two. I could tell they were brothers just by the resemblances in their faces. They looked alike but totally different at the same time.

I jumped about a mile in the air when I heard a loud crash behind me. Spinning around I saw something dart across the room and then the stack of boxes went tumbling down. The top one opened up, spilling out it's contents across the floor. It was just a whole lot of art supplies. Pencils, pens, note pads, paint and brushes. That kind of stuff. I bent down and picked up one of the notebooks, stacking it atop the picture frame to get a better look. I flipped it open to see more drawings like those on the walls. Except these seemed more personal to me. Smiling faces of people I didn't recognize jumped off the page. They were all finely detailed, looking almost like black and white photographs. Then, out of no where, the notebook slammed shut and flew across the room, the pages fluttering as it zipped through the air, leaving me wide eyed and my heart beating out of control.

My trembling fingers lost their grip on the picture frame and it went tumbling to the ground with a crash. The frame landed face up, the glass over the smiling faces shattering into thousands of tiny shards. A strangled cry rang out through the room, piercing my eardrums like the shattered glass from the floor had embedded itself into my head. My hands flew to my ears, trying to drown out the sound of the tortured cries as they came, one after another, until they seemed to fade into one long, earsplitting scream. I fell to the ground, a dull throb from hitting the floor starting up in my knees but it was nothing compared to the pain in my head. Finally, the screams turned to cries, and then the cries turning to whimpers. The pain in my head slowly subsided only to be replaced by an aching pain in my heart from the broken sobs that rang through out the room. Cautiously removing my hands from my head, I looked around myself, the frame was still laying in front of me but the picture was now gone. I glanced up as I heard yet another defeated sob.

Sitting in the little nook beneath the window was a boy. I sucked in a breath as the realization of who it was hit me. It was the boy from the picture. The one with the contagious smile filled with tiny teeth. His head jerked up when he heard me. His pale face was tear stained, his black hair was messy and fell around his face in crazy tangles. His hazel eyes were blood shot, the red making the green of his irises stand out even more than I thought should be possible. Even though his eyes were shiny with tears, they looked dull and lifeless. Completely different to the happy glow you could see in the picture, the picture he was clutching to his chest like his life depended on it, like it was the last thing on this earth that he had. I sat there, frozen to the spot by his lifeless gaze. My heart felt as though it was trying to break out of my chest. His hand came up to brush away the tears as they fell, not doing much good as fresh tears replaced each one he managed to wipe away.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, his voice was barely more than a whisper.
I almost thought I was imaging things, that I was asleep and this was all just an insane dream brought on by this horror movie house, until he spoke again.

"Answer me!" his voice was louder this time and I could feel the anger radiating off of him.

"I.. I.. Uh... We.. Live h-here." I stuttered out, my voice shaking almost as much the rest of my body.

"No. What are you doing up here? Touching my things? How'd you even get in here?" he asked, glancing around the room, sad eyes falling on the doorway that led down the rickety old stairs. He sounded calmer now, not as angry.

"T-the door. It wouldn't open at first so I j-just pulled real hard." I whispered.

He sighed and looked down at the picture in his hands. Somehow I found the courage to move and I crawled forward, not even realizing that I was shredding my hands on the broken glass until his head snapped up, his eyes burning with hatred.

"Stay away from me!" he shouted. I jumped and sat back on my heels, just watching him. Hazel eyes dart from my face to my hands and back again. His face softens as he takes in the damage I have just done.

"You hurt yourself." he said, his voice was so sad and filled with grief.

"I'm o-okay. Really." I say, looking down at my bloody hands. I looked back up to see that the boy had moved out of his crouched position under the window and was now sitting a foot away from me. He scooted a little closer and I cringed back, remembering how angry he had been only moments before. He sighed and tried again.

"It's alright. I'm not gonna hurt you any worse than you already have." he said.

He reached for my hand and I gasped as soon as his pale fingers came in contact with my palm. His skin was like ice and his touch was lighter than a feather. I could barely feel it. My eyes widened as I glanced at his face. His brow was furrowed in concentration as he examined my injured hand.

"Why are y-you so cold?" I asked.

He ignored my question, didn't even acknowledge that I had spoken. Bringing his other hand up, he gripped a small piece of glass that was lodged in my hand. His nimble fingers pulling it out with only a little pain. I scrunched my eyes up and drew in a shaky breath.

"Sorry." he mumbled.

He continued his search for glass until he was satisfied with that hand before moving to the other. Pulling out little tiny bits and a few larger ones that had tears forming in my eyes. The only sounds were my shaky breathing and his mumbled sorrys every time I would gasp in pain.

"I think I got it all out but you'll still need to bandage it for a while." he said, not meeting my eyes.

"What's your name?" I asked quietly. I didn't want to make him angry again.

His eyes flicked up to mine. Those hazel orbs seemed to stare into my soul as he searched my eyes for something. I'm not sure what.

"Gerard." he mumbled before moving away from me completely.

"I'm F-Frank." I said, wishing my voice would quit trembling.

He reached out for the picture that he had left laying on the windowsill, a small smile crossing his face as he glanced down at it. He carefully stuck it inside his jacket pocket before tuning to face me.

"You should get out of the glass before more gets stuck in you." he said as he sat down on the floor beneath the window, hugging his knees to his chest and propping his chin on them.

I nodded and carefully stood up. I took a few shaky steps towards him before sitting back down. My legs didn't feel stable enough to keep me on my feet.

We just sat there, staring at one another. It felt like we were having a silent stand off, trying to figure each other out without actually using words. I couldn't stand it any longer. I had to say something.

"That's your brother in the picture isn't it?"

A sad smile flashed across his face.

"Yeah. His name is Mikey. He was my best friend."

"Was?" I asked. "Did he die?"

I regretted the words as soon as they were out of my mouth when Gerard's face darkened and his eyes filled with tears. His reaction pretty much answered my question.

"No."

Okay.. Maybe it didn't answer anything.

"I did." he said softly, pulling his knees impossibly closer to his chest and tightening his arms around them like he was trying to hold himself together.

"Oh." I said, nodding my head like an idiot for a second before what he said sunk in. "Wait.. What?" I asked. My voice sounded strangled, like something was wrapped around my throat.

"I'm dead. A ghost. Whatever you wanna call it." he said, voice flat and cold.

"Woah." I breathed. "That makes total sense." I mumbled, more to myself than to him.

"How? Did you die, I mean?" I asked.

"Everyone thinks I killed myself." he said. He lifted his head and met my gaze with his.

"But.. You didn't?" I questioned.

"No. I was murdered."

"Woah." That's all I could say. I mean, what do you say to that. It's not every day I speak to ghosts with horrific pasts. It's not like I have experience in these kinds of things.

"Yeah.. Woah." he laughed bitterly.

"I'm sorry. It's just I don't converse with ghosties on a regular basis. I'm not sure what I'm doin' here." I said, looking down at my still bloody hands. At least they weren't actively bleeding anymore.

He laughed and it sounded genuine. I smiled and laughed a little too, his laugh, like his smile, was contagious.

"Ghosties. Nice." he said still laughing.

"Shut it" I muttered. " I think I'm in shock or something." I brought my hand up and swiped it across my brow, careful not to smear blood across my face. I didn't want to look like I had just committed a murder or anything.

"Oh you'll be fine." he said with a smile. "I'm sorry I scared you earlier. It's just, the stuff in this room, it's all I've got left ya know? I didn't want anything to happen to it. And then the picture frame broke and it was my brothers and.." he trailed off.

"It's okay. I understand." I said with a small smile. He smiled back at me.

"Go get those bandaged up. I'll be here when you get back." he said while pointing at my hands.

I nodded and stood up. With one last glance at Gerard, I headed down the stairs.

"Mom?" I called out as I headed towards the kitchen.

"In here!" she called back.

I rounded the corner into the kitchen and there she was, putting things away in the various cabinets.

"I need a little help with something." I said as I watched her put a pan under the stove.

"What's that, hun?" she said as she turned around. I held up my bloody hands and she stopped
short when she caught sight of them.

"What did you do?!?" she screeched while rushing over to my side.

"Just broke some glass then tripped and fell on it. It's no big deal. I just need some bandages or
something." I said with a sigh. "It doesn't really even hurt."

"What are we gonna do with you. I swear." she mumbled as she rummaged around looking for the stuff she would need to fix me up.

She cleaned and bandaged my bloody hands and I headed back upstairs, her 'be careful' warning floating around behind me. Stepping into my room my eyes were immediately drawn to my bed where Gerard was sprawled out, his head propped on my pillow, his eyes closed like he was asleep.

"Hey." he said, startling me.

"Hey." I replied.

He sat up a bit and smiled my way. I'm glad he isn't the same mad ghostie that he was earlier.

"Come sit down. I won't bite."

I smiled as I made my way over to the bed and sat down next to him.

"Can I ask you a question?" I asked.

"Shoot."

"Why are you hanging around here if you're a ghostie?"

"Well, honestly, I keep hoping my brother will show up here. And then maybe I could tell him what really happened to me. I know he thinks I killed myself. Truth is, I actually thought about it a couple of times, that's what made my murder seem so believable. But I could never go through with it because I knew it would leave Mikes here all alone. I couldn't do that to him no matter how bad things got. And now he thinks that's what I did. I'm afraid he hates me now for leaving him. After my dad died we were all each other had."

"Wow." I said. "Where is your brother now? Your mom?"

"After I was killed, Mom just couldn't handle it here. She packed up and moved out. Took Mikes with her.That was like two years ago I think."

"So you've just been sitting here for two years, waiting for Mikey to come back to the place his brother was killed?" I asked.

"Well I had no clue where they went. I figured I would have more of a chance seeing him again here than in any other place." he said defensively.

"Why can I see you?" I asked, kind of stupidly.

"Huh?"

I looked down at my hands. "Aren't ghosties supposed to be like, see through or something?" I brought my bandaged hand up to touch his cheek. He flinched back for a second and then held still as I touched his chilled skin. "And I can feel you. Ghosties aren't supposed to be solid right?" I asked, letting my hand drop back into my lap.

"I guess I've just had time to practice." he replied smartly.

"Oh." I sighed and fell back against the bed. What an exhausting day.

"What if I help you find your brother? If you could tell him what happened to you, or at least that you didn't kill yourself, would you be able to move on?" I asked.

"Maybe. I like to think so at least."

"Alright. Tomorrow. I will start the search for Mikey."

"Why are you helping me?" he asked, looking down at his lap.

"Because I can see how bad it's hurting you to know that your brother thinks you just left him. I wanna help you make things right with him." I said, looking directly into those hazel eyes of his.

"Thank you." he whispered. His voice sounded thick with tears.

I nodded my head and let my eyes slip closed, letting the darkness take over until everything was black. I dreamed of never ending rose petals in different shades of red, black, and grey. It was peaceful.

The next morning I woke up absolutely freezing. I sat up and looked around the room confused for a moment before I realized it was because Gerard was laying next to me, close enough that I could feel the chill from his skin radiating off of him. I grabbed the extra blanket that someone had put at the end of my bed and wrapped it around myself, trying to keep my body from shivering. He sat up as well and looked at me sheepishly.

"Sorry. You're just so warm."

"It's alright. I can't imagine being as cold as you are all the time. I'd do anything to keep warm." I
said.

He let out a small chuckle.

"So.... Where should I begin my search for the illusive Mikey?" I asked him.

His face went all thoughtful, his brow knitting together as he thought about it. He tapped his fingers against his lower lip.

"Probably the high school. He would be a senior this year. I don't know how far Mom would have moved them though so he might not even be in town anymore."

"Alright. I start school tomorrow but I can ask around today."

"Thanks again." he said as I stood up and headed over to my dresser to find some clothes for the day.

"Don't thank me yet." I said.

I just pulled out whatever my hand happened to land on first and headed to the bathroom to change. Once that was done, I walked over to the foot of the stairs and called up to Gerard,

"I'll be back soon."

"Don't worry about me. I'll be right here." he called back.

I made my way downstairs and stopped in the kitchen to talk to my mom before I sat out on my search.

"Mom?"

"Yeah sweetie?"

"Do you know what happened to the family that lived here before us?" I asked.

"Um.. Not really. I just know that the mother just decided to move one day. Never sold the house.
The city took over it since no one was living here and decided to sell it because they thought the woman skipped town. Your dad probably knows more." she said.

"Alright. Uh, thanks." I said as I headed out of the kitchen, ignoring the odd look I knew I was receiving from my mother.

I found my dad in the living room, mumbling about stupid electronics. He was trying to get the TV plugged in, and apparently it wasn't working out so well for him.

"Hey Dad?"

"Yeah?" he grunted.

"You know where the family that lived here before us went?"

He leaned out from under the tellie for a moment to look at me before he answered.

"Uh.. I've heard rumors that the oldest boy killed himself because the step dad was abusing him or something and then the mom packed up and left with the younger son. I think they moved across town. Close to where we used to live."

Gerard's dad was abusing him? No wonder he thought about killing himself. I couldn't imagine going through that.

I was pulled out of my thoughts by my dad asking why I wanted to know. I skirted his question and asked one of my own.

"So the younger son would probably be going to the same high school I will be?"

"I'd say so. If he's still in school. That's pretty much the only high school around here." my dad
replied.

"Thanks Dad." I said.

He just grunted again as his reply and went back to grumbling about the tellie. I smiled at my Dad's lack of vocabulary and sprinted up the stairs back into my room. Gerard was sitting on my bed, leafing through my lyric book.

"Hey!" I shouted, startling him. He dropped the book into his lap as I lurched forward to grab it.

"Why are you going through my things!?" I half yelled.

He looked at me with wide eyes, surprised by my outburst.

"I'm sorry. I just found it and I started reading and they were really amazing and I couldn't stop and
I'm sorry!" he rambled.

I clutched the book close to my chest. My lyrics were really personal. They weren't for anyone to read but myself. I understood now where Gerard was coming from when he was so angry when we first met. I had been going through something that was as personal to him as my lyrics were to me. Taking a seat on the bed next to him I laughed at the nervous smile he shot me. A ghost, scared of me. What are the odds of that actually happening?

"It's okay. I'm sorry I yelled." I said looking over at him.

"I'm sorry for looking without your permission but those are amazing just so you know." he said,
meeting my gaze.

We smiled goofily at one another for a moment before Gerard looked away, but not before I noticed the light red blush that spread across his otherwise pale cheeks.

"Thanks." I mumbled. "I think your brother lives on the other side of town. My dad has heard
rumors about what happened. He said your step dad abused you?" I questioned.

"Yeah. He used to hit me." Gerard replied quietly. "But that's great that Mikey is still in town. That
means he will probably be at the school."

He didn't seem to want to talk about his step dad and I didn't want to push him so I just left it
alone. I couldn't wait for tomorrow to come so I could find Mikey. The rest of the day I only left my
room to use the bathroom and to get food. Gerard and I talked the whole time, from planning how I
was going to get Mikey to come back to his old house, to music, movies, things we liked, and disliked. The day seemed to drag on and go by really fast at the same time. I had asked Gerard as I was putting on my Pj's if ghosties had to sleep. He said that he didn't guess so but he did because it made the time pass by quicker. I couldn't argue with that so I just climbed into bed and shut my eyes. I felt him lay down beside me on top of the covers.

"Goodnight." I whispered.

"Night. " came his quite reply.

The next morning I woke up and quickly got ready for school. I said bye to Gerard and he wished
me luck. I headed out to meet the bus after saying bye to Mom. The day flew by. I didn't pay much attention in any of my classes because I was too busy trying to listen in to random conversations hoping to pick out Mikey's name somewhere. I was about to give up hope. It was the last class of the day and I arrived a bit early. The room looked empty when I first stepped in but in the very back corner, there was a boy, with black framed glasses, and a grey beanie. It was him. I was sure of it. I walked down the isle of desks and took a seat right next to him. He glanced up, a confused look on his face.

"Hey. I'm Frank." I said.

"Mikey." he replied.

I spent the next hour talking to Mikey. Getting to know him and talking about everything under the
sun. It was easy because he is exactly the type of person I would hang out with. I didn't ask anything too personal yet because I didn't want to scare him so I just kept it casual for now. We got scolded by the teacher for talking during class. I got made fun of for hanging out with the loner emo kid, but we didn't care. I was happy to have found Mikey and him be so completely rad and he seemed happy to just have someone that wasn't making fun of him that it all worked out. When the final bell rang we headed out to the car park were we exchanged numbers and he got in his car and I waited around for the bus. I couldn't wait to get home and tell Gerard that I had found his long lost brother.

When the bus finally stopped in front of my house I practically flew up the drive, through the house
and up to my room with a screeched 'Mom, I'm home!' as I went. I slid to a stop next to my bed where Gerard was perched, a note book in his lap as his hand flew across the page sketching out whatever was in his head.

"I found Mikey!" I almost yelled.

"WHAT?!?" he screeched, jumping off the bed. His arms were around me within seconds in the tightest, coldest, bear hug I had ever received. I hugged him back just as tight, and if I held on a little tighter, a little longer than socially acceptable then who cares/

"I can't believe you found him! Thank you, thank you, thankyouthankyouthankyou!!!"

He was practically vibrating with energy. I had never seen his smile so big. Not even in the picture
that stayed in his coat pocket at all times. The rest of the night was spent much like yesterday.
Working on our plan to get Mikey back into his old house. We decided that I would hang out with Mikey as much as I could, which was fine with me, and then ask him if he wanted to hang out at the house. I wasn't to tell him where I lived. Gerard said he wouldn't come here if he knew.
The next week was spent with me not leaving Mikey's side except when we had different classes and coming home to tell Gerard all about it. He would sit on my bed a listen with wide eyes and a small smile on his face much like a toddler would during a bedtime story. I was excited for Gerard.
He was finally gonna get to set things right with his brother.

The day finally came when I was gonna ask Mikey to stay over at for the weekend. I texted him before school to ask and he replied with an enthusiastic hell yeah. I told him to catch the bus and I'd borrow my dads truck so he didn't have to drive all the way over here. I said goodbye to Gerard and he wrapped me in a tight hug before I left. We had grown quite close over the last week.

"I'll be home soon. And so will Mikey." I said as he unwrapped himself from me.

"I'm so nervous." he whispered.

"Don't worry. Everything will be fine." I said with a smile.

Gerard surprised me by pecking my lips, short and sweet and icy cold. I felt my face flame and looked away quickly, praying he hadn't seen. He nodded his head and smiled sheepishly at me. I headed downstairs and grabbed the truck keys off the rack in the kitchen. Dad never cared if I took the truck to school, so I didn't even bother with asking. Once I arrived I waited outside for the bus so Mikey and I could walk in together. He finally climbed off after everyone else and gave me a one armed hug before we headed up to the school. The day seemed to drag by insanely slow. I just couldn't wait to get home and reunite the brothers. Finally the last bell rang and I felt my heart speed up in anticipation for what was soon to happen. We walked out to the car park and hopped into the truck. Mikey turned on the radio and fiddled with it, looking for a good station to listen to. Finding a suitable one he sat back in his seat. We rode in relative silence until we turned into my street. I saw Mikey stiffen from the corner of my eye. I glanced over to see a pained expression on his face.

"You okay, man?" I ask, already knowing what the answer was.

"Yeah. Just bad memories here ya know?" he said, flashing me the fakest smile I've ever seen.

I just nodded and kept driving. When I pulled up in front of my house I heard Mikey suck in a breath. I felt bad for him. Being at the house that his brother died in had to be hard on him. I smacked the happiest smile I could muster on my face and climbed out. Glancing up at the window to my room I saw Gerard's face peaking out from behind the curtain. My fake smile quickly turned into a real one at the look of pure joy on his face.

"You comin?" I asked over my shoulder as I headed up the walk. The wilted roses lining the walk that used to give me the creeps now gave me a sense of comfort. I smiled slightly to myself as I thought of why.

"Uh.. Y-yeah. I'm comin." Mikey replied from somewhere behind me.

He grabbed his duffel of clothes from the bed of the truck and followed me up the walk, glancing around nervously. We get to the top of the steps and headed down the hallway towards my room, almost there before Mikey stops.

"I.. I-I'm sorry. I c-can't do this. I can't b-be here." he sounded on the verge of tears and I felt my
heart breaking for him.

I glanced over my shoulder to see Gerard sitting on the top step, tears streaming steadily down his face. Stepping closer to Mikey, I wrapped my arms around him in a tight hug. After a second I felt his arms wrap around my middle, his head falling down onto my shoulder as his small frame shook with heart breaking sobs. I held him until he calmed down a bit and straightened up, wiping his eyes he mumbled a watery apology. I brushed him off with a small smile.

"There's someone up there who really wants to see you." I said.

He gave me a confused look. "What are you talking about?" He asked, anger in his voice.

"Just please. Come up here with me for just a second. It'll all make sense then."

"Fine." he said, sounding defeated.

I headed up the steps and Gerard quickly moved out of the way, wiping his eyes furiously with the back of his hand. I shot him a reassuring smile which he returned as he went to sit by the window I had first seen him under. Mikey came to stand beside me. He looked mad and sad and lonely all at the same time.

"I don't see anyone here." he grumbled irritably. I rolled my eyes at his impatience and stepped
back so that he could see Gerard, standing nervously by the window. I watched as his eyes went wide and his mouth dropped open much like a fish would.

"G-Gee??" he whispered.

"Hey Mikes." Gerard said with a watery smile.

"I-I thought you w-were dead. Y-you killed yourself. I was a-at you funeral. I watched them put you in a hole!" with each word, Mikey got louder and louder, his voice, his whole body shaking uncontrollably. I stepped over and closed the door so my parents wouldn't hear. Gerard hurried forward, wrapping his sobbing baby brother in his lean arms.

"I am dead, Mikes. But I didn't kill myself. You really think I could do that to you?" he said as he pulled away to look the taller boy in the eyes. "I could never leave you here alone. I love you too much for that, bro." He wrapped the still crying Mikey tighter in his arms. I stepped back into a corner. Trying to make myself scarce. I wanted to leave, but I couldn't bring myself to move, to break the spell that seemed to be cast over the room as soon as Gerard's pale fingers touched Mikey.

Slowly, Mikey calmed down enough to stand up on his own and pulled away from his brother. I couldn't see his face but from the love I saw shining in Gerard's eyes I figured his face must have been just as happy.

"If you didn't kill yourself.. That means.." Mikey's voice cracked as he realized what really happened. "No.. He didn't." And I lost it. Just like that. Gerard had never told me how he was killed, or who had done it, but those three, seemingly innocent words made everything fall into place for me.

"Y-your step dad. He d-did this to you?! How could he. That monster!" I was raging.
Gerard unwrapped his arms from Mikey's small frame and wrapped them around me, effectively stopping my pacing that I hadn't even realized I had started.

"Frank." he said quietly, "You gotta calm down.. Shh.."

I took a few deep breaths and tried to calm myself down. I saw Mikey staring at me over Gerard's shoulder.

"You knew." he said. "The whole time and you knew. Why didn't you tell me sooner?!" his voice was getting louder with each word again.

"I'm sorry Mikey." I said, throwing my hands up in defeat as I stepped away from Gerard's cool embrace.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner but what would you have done if I had walked in that first day a said 'Oh hey Mikey! Yeah I know your name. I also know your dead brother! He sent me to find you so he could tell you he was murdered!"

I was all but screaming now, completely hysterical. I felt Gerard wrap his arms around me again and I felt my anger seeping away. I watched as Mikey's eyes soften and he steped forward wrapping his arms around me as well so that I was pressed between the two brothers. I sighed and let my head rest on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry." he whispered. "Your right. I would have thought you were some freak messing with me
like the rest of them."

"S'okay" I mumbled.

After a few more moments we all pulled away and I felt a shiver run down my spine from being pressed against Gerard for so long. He laughed and grabbed my hoodie from my bed before handing it to me.

"The ghostie thing makes him cold." I explained to the confused looking Mikey who was standing in front of me rubbing his arms. I grabbed a blanket off the bed and handed it to him. He took it with a smile and wrapped it around his shoulders.

We all piled onto the bed and I watched as the brothers caught up on the past two years. No one wanted to talk about the elephant in the room which was how Gerard had died and that was okay with me. Honestly, I don't think I could handle that story. They talked and talked, their happy laughs putting a smile on my face. Eventually I fell asleep to the sound of their animated voices, leaning against Gerard's side, my feet propped up in Mikey's lap. Despite waking up and needing more blankets, it was the best night of my life.

The rest of the weekend was spent mostly in my room. Mikey and I darting downstairs only for the bathroom and food. Only leaving Gerard for those two necessities. He didn't want to leave the attic room and risk being seen by my mom. I learned so much about the two of them and the close relationship they shared. I never wanted this to end. It was like we were our own little family hidden away from the rest of the world. But of course reality had to rear its ugly head and the weekend came to a close. Mikey would be going home after school and then it'd just be me and Gerard again. As much as I liked that thought, I knew I would miss Mikey being around twenty-four seven as much as Gerard would. We were all sitting on my bed, Mikey strumming idley on my guitar as we talked. Out of nowhere, something suddenly popped into my head.

"Gerard?" He lifted his gaze from his sketch book to meet mine.

"Hmm?" he mumbled.

"Weren't you supposed to move on? You know, once you told Mikey what really happened? That's why you were still here right?" I asked. I don't know where that thought came from. Honestly, I
never wanted to have to say goodbye to him. Gerard and Mikey were probably the best thing to
ever happen to me.

He thought about it for a moment and I saw the pained expression that crossed Mikey's face. He
didn't want Gerard going anywhere either.

"I guess not. But I don't care about moving on anymore. I don't want to go anywhere. I finally have
my brother back and while I may not have a real body or really be able to go anywhere I have him."
he flashed an award winning smile at Mikey who returned one just as bright. "And I have you." He said turning to gaze at me. My heart stopped in my chest, and I felt the blush creeping up my neck but there was nothing I could do to stop it. Mikey scoffed, rolling his eyes.
"He so wants your dick Frankie Boy." He says in that special monotone he uses when cracking a joke. Gerard aims a punch a Mikey's shoulder and mumbles something under his breath that I don't quite catch but Mikey laughs and sticks his tongue out.

"I have everything I need right here," Gerard begins again, "And I have you to thank for that. Why would I want to be anywhere else?" His smile was better than anything I have ever seen in my entire life and I felt my heart kick into overdrive.

"I love you guys!" I said with a laugh.

Mikey sat my guitar down, already knowing what was coming after spending so much time with me, and I launched myself at him, wrapping my arms tightly around his neck.

"Can't breath!!!" he gasped out and I loosened my grip with a chuckle. I felt cold arms wrap around my back and knew Gerard had joined the hug. I couldn't help the smile that spreads across my face, or the shiver that runs down my spine when I feel Gerard's freezing lips press softly just behind my ear.

"Cold! Cold! Coldcoldcold!!" Mikey screamed, jerking away from Gee's cold arms. Gerard giggles and squirms around until he can reach the blanket thrown across the foot of the bed, and tosses it across the three of us. Mikey wiggles away and leans back against the wall. When I go to move away as well, Gerard just tightens his arms around my waist and who am I to argue with a ghost? I just pull the blanket higher around my neck and settle in, ignoring the gagging faces Mikey seems so keen on making.

This is the way I hope my life stays forever. The three of us, laughing and cracking jokes. With Gerard smiling at me with his tiny teeth. And sneaking innocent kisses when he thinks Mikey isn't looking. And Mikey trying to squirm away from Gerard's cold fingers, somehow always managing to smack me in the face in the process.

My best friend and my ghostie. They're all I ever needed. Ever will need.