Pency Prep

“Hey,boss I’m going home’’ Ray called from the front desk as he grabbed his jacket and made sure everything was in order before he left. I think I should stop by Hot Topic to pick up a new shirt, Ray thought as he waved goodbye to Frank as he walked out of Pencey Prep and to the store next door.

Ray walked into Hot Topic as he looked around at his familiar surroundings of heavy music,band shirts and punk in general. Ray went right towards the band tees as was usual. “Need help?” Mikey grinned as he noticed Ray’s afro and walked over to him.

Ray turned around surprised and looked at Mikey stunned. “What are you doing here?” Ray asked, utterly surprised .

“I work here,” Mikey smirked and bit his lip. “How may I help you” Mikey said innocently but a little flirtatious and looked up at Ray.

He grinned. “Um, I was just browsing.” Ray kind of sucked at flirting, anybody would tell you.

“Well, if I can help you in any way, just ask.” He winked then went back to the rack he had been organizing.

Ray bit his lip and looked back up at the wall that had many band tees on it.Oh come on, that was a total opportunity there. Ray began mentally abusing himself, but finally came to a conclusion. “Hey, um, Mikey?”

The boy looked up, glasses perched on his nose. “Ya?”

“Would you um... Do you, uh...” Come on, Ray.

Mikey smiled. “Okay. Movie, Friday at seven.”

Ray looked at him, a bit shocked to say the least. “Ya.”

Mikey smiled and bit his lip walking back towards where Ray is. “Can’t wait,” Mikey grinned at him.

Ray quickly grabbed a Smashing Pumpkins tee of the rack and headed towards the cash register.

“Okay, that will be fifteen.” Mikey smiled at Ray as he scanned the shirt and put in a bag.

“Thanks, Mikey.” Ray nodded awkwardly as he waved and hurried out of the store and to his car..

~*~

Getting up early in the morning for work always sucked, anybody would agree, and it was no different for Ray the next day. He showered and got dressed in his new Smashing Pumpkins shirt, then drove to Pencey Prep.
The jolly bell of the shop rang as he entered. “Frank?! You here yet?!”

“ ‘Sup Ray!” The man called from the back.

Ray grinned and walked behind the front desk and sat his jacket down before walking over towards where Frank was. “So, um, something interesting happened yesterday...” He crossed through the doorway into Frank’s office.

“Ya?” Frank didn’t look up from the paperwork he was writing and editing.
“ I stopped by Hot Topic.’’ Ray bit his lip “Well... Did you know that Mikey works there?”

Frank nodded. “Sure. Gerard mentioned it.”

And in that moment, he appeared. Disheveled and long, red hair a bit tangled, Gerard looked into the doorway. His eyes became wide when he realized that Ray was already in the shop. Ray looked at Gerard and waved with a small grin on his face. Ray looked between the two men, seeing how tense they were, and nodded his head at Frank and stepped out of his office and went back to the front of the shop to watch the register and see if any customers came in.

Gerard walked... more like tripped... closer to Frank. “Do you think he, uh, realized?”

Frank shrugged. “It wouldn’t be the first time..” Seeing the hurt in Gerard’s eyes, he explained. “It’s not like that, okay? There was this guy about two years back when Ray just started and things kind of went the same way... But with you, it’s different, alright?”

Gerard nodded a bit. “Okay. Um... I should probably get to work...”

Frank nodded, almost sure that he screwed up with his wording, but turned back to the papers.

Gerard left the room and went through the store aisles looking for something to do.

Ray looked at Gerard noticing something was wrong but was snapped out of his thought by the ringing of the bell from the door. The tall, skinny kid brother of Gerard sauntered in, casually looking around, but then gave a small wave to Ray. Ray smiled back and waved as he walked out from behind the counter and quietly up to Mikey.

Along the far wall of the store hung a few guitars, maybe three basses, and has a few catalogs for drum sets to look from. Seeing a beautiful yellow bass, Mikey walked over to it, holding it gently and positioning his fingers along the frets and strings. Ray watched Mikey for a few seconds before walking up to him. Mikey was twiddling with a tune, smiling at the sound of the plucked strings, but Ray remained quiet, not wishing the music to stop.

After a moment, Mikey’s eyes flickered back, and he stopped playing. “Oh... hey.”

“Hey” Ray smiled as he clapped his hands in amazement at Mikey’s bass playing.

Mikey’s cheeks turned a flushed pink color at the praise. “I’m not that good.”
“Are you kidding? That was fucking awesome!”

“ Th-thanks” Mikey stuttered at the compliment and put the bass back on the rack.

Ray grinned, “I didn’t know you could play.”

“ I never played in front of anyone except for Gee before.”

“I think you need to play more often,” Ray chuckled, knowing he was right.

“ Do you play an instrument” Mikey asked after a moment of thought.

He nodded, “Guitar. Not very good at it though.”

Mikey looked at him, “Doubt that. Would you play something for me?”

Ray thought for a second as he looked around the shop then a the guitars.Ray looked over at Mikey nervously before grabbing a guitar off the rack. He pulled the attached strap over his head then let his fingers lie over the frets in a formation. Biting his lip, he pulled down a few strings, let the sound reverberate around the room. Mikey smiled as he watched Ray’s fingers glide over the fretboard to produce one of the most amazing sounds Mikey has ever heard.

In one moment of pure epiphany, Mikey stepped forward, his lips meeting Ray’s. Something even more unexpected happened however. Ray kissed back, his hand resting on Mikey’s back and pulling him closer.

After a few seconds of what could either be called hormonal imbalances or love, both men stepped back, eyes resting on each other.

“I-I’m sorry.” Mikey gulped, looking at the floor.

Ray grinned, “Don’t be. I’m glad you did.”

“But you--” And Mikey was swept into another kiss.

Ray grinned as he pulled back from the kiss,”Can’t wait for friday” Ray winked