Fickle Reticence

Gerard tries pressing the pillow into his head, but it’s no use. When Mikey gets talking, he really gets talking. The odd thing about it is that Mikey never talks that much, but right now he’s very effervescent.

“-but I did tell him. He’s so stubborn though. He never does anything anyone asks, and he never does the thing most beneficial to his agenda, if it requires listening to someone else. I told him that if he always puts things off like that then he will never have any free time, but does he listen to me? No. Course not, he just freezes my toothbrush and expects me not to torment him, but it’s not my fault he never does his homework on time! No it’s his fault. He’ll blame anyone but himself though. He’d probably find some way to blame me if he broke his foot or something.

“I mean that’s not to say I don’t like him, though I think it’s pretty unreasonable how little observations skill he has. He doesn’t recognize faces unless he’s seen you like forty times. He forgot my name after I’d known him for a week, you know. I don’t know what he stores up there in that head, it’s like he has absolutely no file storage for anything important, but he can tell you a whole bunch of useless trivia facts about Nintendo.”

“Sometimes it’s a mercy that you even talk at all, but then other times I feel like my brain is imploding,” Gerard mumbles.

“Oh shit sorry, I’m boring you, aren’t I? I mean it’s not like I can exactly complain about Frank to Frank. He set my alarm to 5 in the morning yesterday when I didn’t have a class until eleven. I don’t know why, but he looked so proud of himself. I feel like we’re at war, but neither of us want to do something so bad that it’ll make the other hate him. He froze my toothbrush though. Who freezes a fucking toothbrush?”

“I’ll freeze your toothbrush if I ever have access to it,” Gerard says.

Mikey frowns, “Well it’s good to know that I have you on my side.”

“Mmph, well I’m here to help,” Gerard answers, “Can we get lunch now? It’s nearly noon, and I’m starving.”

“Oh fine, if food is more important than your own brother then we can get food.”

“I have absolute faith that you’re going to keep talking when we get something to eat. You never seem to shut up when you get passionate like this. And when I say passionate I mean when you’re complaining,” Gerard says, pulling himself up from the bed.

“Fuck you,” Mikey says, and shakes his head. Gerard’s room already looks habituated, and if it’s possible it’s messier then Mikey’s room. Now granted, Mikey has an obsessive roommate who forces him to pick up every now and again, but Gerard is a pretty impressive mess maker.

Gerard’s got a single room due to the fact that there was no way possible to pair Gerard with someone of the opposite gender. Would’ve been kind of difficult. If Mikey’s a mess, then Gerard is mayhem.

Gerard pulls himself up and makes a point of walking out the door and letting it close in Mikey’s face.

“I do not complain that much,” Mikey says.

“What do you call it then?”

“Shut up,” Mikey says, when he can’t come up with an answer. Gerard won that one.

“So how has your first week back in America been?”

“I find it much easier to understand people. Though I got a little freaked out when someone said the word ‘fanny’ the other day,” Gerard says.

“I’m not going to ask,” Mikey says.

They step out of the building and into the cold weather. The sky is a shade of white that signals that there might be snow later. It’s colorless aside from the hint of some kind of sunlight behind the scattering of cottony clouds. It’s the kind of sky that is insanely bright, even though there’s no physical sign of the sun.

Gerard squints, and puts his head down, as per his usual stance. He never really needs an excuse to try to make as little eye contact with other people as he can.

~*~*~*~

Honestly he just wanted to finish eating so that he could get back to his room and finish the reading for his class on Monday. Frank is trying to learn from his mistakes. He doesn’t want to put things off anymore, and if he gets the reading done tonight, then he’ll have Sunday off, which is something he hasn’t had in months.

Frank grabs a quick lunch of an apple and a bag of chips. The apple is meant to counteract the chips, but he’s probably going to get something unhealthy later so it’s really doing nothing at all.

“Frank!” Someone says and Frank ducks his head down against the pillar as far as he can get. There is a reason he’s not in the cafeteria. It’s not an invitation to sit with him, it’s an invitation to get the fuck away from him.

“I’m not here, pretend you didn’t see me,” Frank says, trying to hide himself behind a textbook.

“Oh my, I wonder where Frank went, he was here just a moment ago and then he disappeared and was replaced by this textbook about Ancient Greek,” Mikey says, and then the textbook is lifted from his hands by a man who is already abnormally tall compared to Frank, but he’s even larger considering Frank is sitting down.

“Gimme,” Frank says snatching for the textbook, but it’s a week effort since his hands only come up to Mikey’s waste while he’s sitting.

“Why?”

Frank groans, “Just, ugh. Mikey, gimme! Gimme!”

“A man after midnight?”

“If you’re handing them out then sure, but I want my textbook. Mikey!”

“You’re so very persuasive, now all I want to do is give this textbook back to you,” Mikey says in a voice that is even more monotone than usual. “You, my friend, could be a hypnotist.”

“Yeah, just not a very good one,” Frank says trying to grab the textbook again, but he’s remaining very stubborn and hasn’t moved from his seat on the floor.

“How do you intend to ever get through life if you’re not even willing to stand up for a book?” Mikey asks.

“Standing is hard,” Frank complains, “and need I remind you who is in the best position to pull whose pants down at the moment. Me, if you hadn’t figured it out.”

He grabs Mikey’s ankle and tries to either pull Mikey to the ground or get him to relinquish the textbook.

“You were right, he is stubborn,” a voice says, that Frank ignores, and looks up at Mikey.

“Textbook Mikey, or I will show everyone in this room what color your underwear is,” Frank warns.

“You play dirty,” Mikey laughs, plopping the textbook back near Frank.

“Now go away! I was just in the middle of reading about Zeus shacking up with half of Greece. I’ve never known anyone with such little control of his own dick.”

“You haven’t truly met Mikey then,” the guy behind him says, and Mikey punches him in the arm. Frank peers over at him and assumes he’s the brother then. He’s good looking, not very noticeable with his head down like that though.

Gerard looks at Frank for the first time, and he’s a little surprised to realize it’s the guy who he scared off the other day. He doubts this Frank guy got a good enough look at him to connect that person to him.

“Oh, right sorry. Frank this is Gee. Or Gerard. Whatever,” Mikey says.

“I would love to chat, but I actually wouldn’t and that was a complete lie. Mikey you’re the one who told me to stop procrastinating! I am trying to do exactly just that. Wait no. I’m trying to not do that! You know what I mean.”

“You’re friendly today,” Mikey sneers.

“You’re a bitch today,” Frank says, not looking up, as he’s now trying to find the page in his book where he left off. Something about Zeus impregnating some chick, which is what most of the pages are about.

“He’s not wrong,” Gerard says, and Frank decides that he likes Mikey’s brother.

“Alright fine, but I’m stealing your apple,” Mikey says grabbing the little fruit sitting on Frank’s side, and then walks away down towards the cafeteria.

“What? Hey!” Frank shouts looking at the spot where his apple was a moment ago. He turns and looks around the pillar to see Mikey grinning at him holding the apple up to show him.

“I paid for that, asshole!” Frank calls after him, “you know I’m broke. Give that back!”

“Mine now!” Mikey shouts, and Frank growls but then stands up, collects his things and runs after Mikey. He will get his apple back, and if he doesn’t, he’s going to kill Mikey. Or make Mikey buy him a new one, but that seems like too much work, it would be more fun to just kill him.

“I knew that would get you up. You and your fruit,” Mikey says, apparently hearing Frank without even having to turn around to look at him running down the hall.

“Mikey,” Frank says, warningly stepping into the same stride with him, “Apple. Now.”

“Say please,” Mikey says patronizingly.

“For what. That thing cost me a buck, it’s mine, so hand it over,” Frank replies.

“Yeah but there’s never an improper time to use your manners.”

“Give me the fruit right now motherfucker or I will lock you in a secluded room without windows, and I will play Thong Song on repeat until your ears bleed, and you’re begging for mercy.”

“That was uncalled for,” Mikey says, “I never realized how much of a sadist you were.”

“I’m not messing around shitdick, I need my vitamin C.”

“I’ve gotta say, I never thought I’d hear the terms ‘shitdick’ and ‘vitamin C’ used in the same sentence,” Gerard says.

“My apple Mikeyway or you are looking at a future of Thong Song on repeat. You really want to risk that?”

“You’re a horrible person,” Mikey says tossing the apple up for Frank to catch.

“Thank you much. Fuck you, Mikes,” Frank says, “and see you later.”

“Yep see ya, Frank,” Mikey yells at him, after Frank runs back down the hall.

“Your roommate?” Gerard asks.

“No, he’s my dermatologist.”

“I like him,” Gerard says with a nod, “plus he puts up with you which is a hell of a feat.”