Ignite These Somber Flames

At first, it wasn't easy to be Frank's friend. We stood in line at the Buzz Lightyear Astro Blaster ride; his hands stuffed in the pockets of his jeans and mine crossed over my chest. He stared at the ground; fiddling with his lip ring. Frank rocked back and forth on his heels. I tried to look anywhere but at him.

"So…" he mumbled, "what are you doing these days?" His words came out slow, as if he found them as he spoke.

"Photography," I replied shortly. Frank stared at me, the look in his eyes told me to expand more. I shifted my body weight, uncrossing my arms. "I have a website now, well really it's more like a blog. I also freelance."

There was a subtle twinkle in his eye. I hadn't noticed but for a flashing moment, it was there. "You've always been amazing at it," he smiled. I couldn't help it; I smiled back at him. I caught myself and crossed my arms over my chest. "What about painting?"

My heart dropped. My face fell for a brief moment, and Frank caught on. "You're not painting anymore? You were amazing though. I-" Frank stopped talking; his mouth hung open. Before he could continue the thought or for me to ask, we were seated in our car. We both picked up the laser guns as the lights flashed on the dashboard and a sound was made. Our scores set to zero.

Frank grabbed a hold of the stick shift, spinning the car to place him in a better spot to hit the targets. My strategy was to go for the diamond and inverted triangle targets-they were worth more points. I watched Liam play this game a few times in the past to pick up on strategy. There was a hidden target in the middle of Zurg's chest plate. Except, Frank saw me miss a bunch of times that he spun the car around, getting into perfect position. He managed to hit the correct spot and his score jumped to 150,460. Mine was stuck at 23,730.

"Again?" Frank asked as we got off the ride. The wait time was only 10 minutes. We hadn't heard from the others.

"Fine," I huffed. We got back on. This time, I decided to spin the car the whole time. Around and around we went as Frank would twist and turn, hitting the targets.

"Are you going to stop it?" Frank laughed as we started to lose track of which way was right or left.

"Nope," I smiled despite getting dizzy. This time the score was lower, I only had 4,610 points and Frank had 25,890 points. We barely managed to exit the ride without making a big fool of ourselves. Frank found our two photos on the computers they had and emailed them to Liam.

While on the ride, Frank got a text from Gerard saying they were waiting in line at Star Tours. We weaved through the line until we found the boys inside the building. Audrey was not with them. "Hey you two," Gerard greeted us. "Where've you been?"

"Buzz Lightyear," Frank told him.

"Who won?" Mikey asked.

"Frank did." "I did." We said at the same time. Our eyes quickly met for a second before we turned our attention back to the boys. "Where's Audrey?" I asked Liam.

"She went into one of the gift shops," he told me.

We boarded our little space ship, buckling in. The combination of Astro Blaster and Star Tours had me at my limit. As we exited the ride, I took a seat on a bench. I held my head in my hands as I hunched over. The world was spinning and I had a very nauseating feeling building in the pit of my stomach.

"You okay?" Liam sat next to me; his hand rubbed my back. I shook my head. Everyone circled around us, trying to stay out of the way as people passed by us.

"We should head over to Space Mountain before our fast pass time is up," Mikey pointed out quietly. The boys shot him a look and gestured back toward me.

"It's okay, go ahead," I mumbled. "I'll just sit here while you guys go. I'll find Audrey or something." I didn't bother looking up at them. My eyes were fixed on the wear and tear of my boots. I was doing my best to focus on only one thing. Gerard, Ray, and Mikey headed towards Space Mountain. Frank and Liam continued to hover. "Go, I'll be fine-"

"I'll stay with her," Frank offered. Liam raised his eyebrow at him.

"You sure, man?" Liam asked. Frank nodded his head. "All right," Liam sighed as he stood up and trailed after the others.



Frank watched as Liam caught up to Gerard, Mikey, and Ray. They weren't difficult to spot. Ray's Afro could be spotted from anywhere. He looked back down at Marlowe, still hunched over.

"I'll be right back," he told her. He left without further explanation. Frank walked to the nearest food stand. Frank ordered two bottles of water. He walked back to Marlowe; she looked better. She sat up straight, her eyes scanning the crowds of people for Frank. He had spotted her first. He smiled as his eyes landed on her. She finally spotted him, relief settling in her face.

"Here," he said, extending one of the waters to her. She mouthed thank you and twisted off the cap.

"Audrey met the boys at Space Mountain," she informed Frank. "It's just us until they finish." Frank nodded his head, drinking some of his water bottle. "Thank you…again," she said.

"Any time," Frank smiled. "Should we go get food while we wait?" Marlowe nodded her head.

The pair wandered around, looking at all the food joints around the park. They decided on the Jolly Holly Bakery Café. Frank ordered black coffee and a Chocolate Mousse Brownie. Marlowe on the other hand ordered a Cappuccino and a Raspberry Rose Mickey Macaroon. They sat in the patio area, overlooking Sleeping Beauty's Castle.

Frank set down his brownie, a mouthful of chocolate stuffed in his cheek. He had a nasty problem of chewing with his mouth open. "Frank," Marlowe rolled her eyes at him, sipping at her cappuccino. "Chew with your mouth close," she groaned in embarrassment.

Frank gave her a cheeky grin. "My bad," he laughed as he swallowed. He took his first sip of his coffee. "So painting?" he attempted to ask casually. "What happened?"

Marlowe shrugged her shoulders. "I just got really busy with photography that I haven't had a chance to paint." Marlowe lied. Frank bought her lie though; he simply nodded his head. He wasn't satisfied with her response but there wasn't more Frank could say. They had only been back in each other's lives for two days. Frank didn't think there was room for him to start critiquing the way she chose to live her life.

Marlowe could sense something going on in Frank's mind. "What's next for you guys?" she asked, genuinely curious how the band was doing. Marlowe had been their first fan, even before Frank joined My Chemical Romance. Even though they hadn't spoke in four years, Marlowe started to grow curious how the band was doing.

"We release an album in October," Frank said. "The end of this week we play a show in San Diego before we head back home. We have a few shows lined up on the East Coast before our album release."

Everyone else showed up just as Frank and Marlowe were finishing their coffee and desserts. They decided to order food as Frank and Marlowe sat quietly, waiting for them. When they finished, everyone walked into Adventure Land again, deciding to ride Indiana Jones again per Frank's request. While in line, Audrey and Marlowe left to grab a snack together. They returned with Pineapple Dole Whip.

"Where did you get that?" Frank asked, watching as Marlowe ate.

"I want one," Gerard announced with a sour look on his face.

"Gimme me a bite," Frank demanded. Marlowe didn't have an opportunity to offer or deny any to Frank. He snatched it out of her hands and ate half of it before Marlowe got it back.

"Frank! You pig!" she yelled. She slapped him on the arm. "You owe me another one!"

"I was starving!"

"We just ate," Mikey laughed.

"I only had coffee," Frank frowned.

"Unbelievable," Marlowe shook her head; she couldn't help it but laugh a bit.



After lunch, we walked over to California Adventures. We spent a few hours sitting down at one of the restaurant. The boys drank a couple of beers. I continued to have water while Audrey ordered a few glasses of wine. When we finished up, the sun was beginning to set. Mikey had been quite all day, smiling while he talked about zombie movies with Ray, Liam, and Frank. He never suggested where to go next or argue about where we headed next. He went with the flow. But as we got up to leave, Mikey spoke up.

"I want to go on Grizzly River Run," he said. He lifted his head out of the California Adventures map.

"What?" Audrey and I looked over at him with wide eyes.

" Let's do it," Frank grinned.

"I'm down," Gerard agreed.

Both Ray and Liam nodded their heads in agreement. Audrey and I exchanged glances. Audrey shrugged her shoulders with a smile. She looked up at Liam. "You'll give me your jacket if I get cold, right?"

"Sure thing, babe," he smiled back.

Gerard wrapped an arm around my shoulder, "I want to sit next to you!" He cheered. Gerard jokingly put some of his weight on my shoulder.

"Yay," I muttered sarcastically.

The line had not been short. It was a summer day but I figured once the sunset, the line would die down. That was not the case. We waited 45 minutes before we were sitting in the raft. Mikey next Ray, who sat next to me, with Gerard to my right, Audrey on the other side of him, and Frank and Liam next to Audrey and directly across from Gerard and I. There was an empty seat between Gerard and Audrey.

The way it worked out: Frank and Liam walked away completely dry, barely a drop of water on them to their dismay. Mikey and Ray had a few splashes on them and their shoes were soaked. Audrey just had a water stain on the ripped knee of her jean.

"Oh man," Gerard chuckled, water dripping from the ends of his hair. It ran in little streaks down the edge of his nose and face. "Just our luck," he continued to laugh as he looked at me.

Goosebumps covered my bare limbs. My white dress was practically see-through. I had enough sense this morning to wear white spandex underneath my dress. My bra was nude at least. My denim jacket was soaked through, clinging to my skin tightly and itching me. I peeled it off, exposing my arms to the early evening breeze. My eyes shot toward Mikey, "just so we're clear: I hate you. You are disowned from the family."

Gerard jokingly gasped, making Mikey laugh. Both boys shook their heads at me. The group headed back towards the Little Mermaid ride. Liam wrapped his arms around Audrey after he gave her his jacket. Ray trailed behind them, with Gerard and Mikey leading the pack. Frank strolled quietly next to me, a good amount of distance between us.

It turned into a foot in a matter of seconds once Frank could hear my teeth chatter. His eyes landed on the goose bumps covering my skin. "Here," he said lowly; no one heard him except for me. He outstretched his black jacket toward me. I took it without a second thought. It felt extremely warm compared to my freezing body temperature. It wasn't enough, my teeth still chattered but it was better than nothing. I hugged it tightly, doing my best to stay warm. Frank was right next to me, wrapping his one arm around my shoulder, pulling me close to him. I originally opened my lips in protest but instead I responded quite differently. "Thank you." I slipped gently out of his grip, not wanting to offend him but my eyes darted to Audrey's back. I looked back up at Frank and smiled. "The jacket is enough, thank you," I lied.

It took a few rides for me to be mostly dry. We stood in line for Tower of Terror for an hour, talking about the missed years between us. Liam and Audrey seemed to have known most of the details, but everything was new to me. They talked about their second album, how they gained a following, and each show was better than the last one. Frank stood next to Gerard and Ray, with a toothy grin as they retold the countless stories of Frank's reckless behavior on stage.

Frank would show a few scars here and there that he obtained from his own stupidity. "And he kicked Gerard in the balls once!" Mikey laughed from next to me. "For apparently no reason." This story appeared new to Liam and Audrey as well. All three of our eyes bulged out of our skulls.



"Marlowe!"

"Marlowe!"

I ignored Frank and continued to scream. "Marlowe, it hasn't even started," Gerard pointed out. The cage took us up and I screamed even more. I gripped onto Gerard's arm tightly, hiding my face in his arm. The cage stopped and the doors of the elevator opened. We were facing a mirror and a light flashed.

"Wave good-bye to the real world," a deep voice said. Everyone was laughing as I continued to scream. As the doors closed the elevator immediately dropped, causing more than just me to scream this time.

The elevator went up again, going higher. We were at the top, looking out. We could see all the way to Disneyland. Gerard was waving and a flash went off before we dropped back down again. At one point, I didn’t know if the elevator was traveling up or down. But the end didn't come soon enough. We arrived back at the starting point once there was a glass shattering sound. The elevator doors opened, revealing the cast member again. "Your rooms are now ready," he smiled at us. "Please exit to your left."

We walked back to Disneyland in time to catch the firework show. We stood near the railroad station in the front of the park. We could barely see the castle but that didn't matter once the fireworks began to go off. We had a perfect view of them.

I could barely keep my eyelids open. I wrapped my arm around Gerard's, leaning my head on his arm as he guided me back to the bus after the grand finale. Although the bus ride was short, I managed to fall asleep on his shoulder. He poked me awake once we pulled up into the parking lot.

The group was silent as we piled into the van. Ray offered to drive and Gerard took shotgun. Liam and Audrey sat in the middle. I slid in first in the back, then Frank, and finally Mikey. I didn't make it to the freeway without falling asleep on Frank's shoulder.