Hello, Angel

Apparently, it does not look good to your teachers when you are a brand new student and you’ve been skipping classes your first three days.

And apparently, it is against the school rules to laugh at an assistant principal when he tells you such things.

And apparently, these things will get you suspended for a couple of days.

But I didn’t know any of this, of course.

“Why didn’t you lie to them?” Claire asked as we drove over to Ray’s house.

It was a Saturday, so Claire figured it would be a good day to ‘regroup’. I had put a good fight not to go, but then Frank gave me his ‘I-know-you-find-Gerard-attractive-and-think-you-are-just-trying-to-avoid-the-situation-at-hand’ smile, and I quickly silenced myself and allowed Claire to push me into the backseat of his car.

“It’s kind of hard to lie to a man who has a stack of pink cut slips and is waving them in your face, threatening to expel you,” Frank interjected, getting off at Ray’s exit.

“But, that happened to you,” I looked questioningly at Frank, and he just grinned. He had been suspended for a week longer than I had.

“Yeah, I know.”

“If only you two would just learn to be good kids,” Claire tusked, shaking her head.

“We are!” Frank and I both said at the same time, then looked at each other in the rearview mirror. He wiggled his eyebrows at me, and I redirected my focus onto the passing trees. They would blur after a few seconds, and then come back into focus as he slowed the car down and eased it into the driveway.

Claire swung the car door open and stepped outside, pulling her jacket closer to her. It had become chillier within just a matter of days, the frost on the lawn beginning to look more like snow.

I took of my seatbelt and lay down across the backseat, not wanting to go in.

I could picture everyone already in there, Mikey and Rachel cuddled up on the couch with cups of coffee watching the news, Gerard in the armchair smoking his cigarette, casually laid back, Ray in the kitchen complaining about Gerard smoking, and Jen just sitting at the kitchen table, laughing at Ray complaining. They were so happy without me. I was happy crawling into myself and sleeping in the back of Frank’s car. Why wouldn’t the earth understand?

“Sarah, come on,” Claire whined, bouncing on the balls of her feet. “Frank, you two are practically the same person. You get her to come in.” She turned around and headed through the front door, leaving Frank staring at me through a dirty glass window.

I squeezed my eyes tightly shut, trying to block out any sunlight. The red and orange danced behind my eyelids, and caused a slight burning sensation. I heard Frank open and close the car door by my feet and opened my eyes to see him laying on the car floor beneath me.

“I can’t believe you,” I muttered, turning over so I could look at him as we talked.

“What?”

“You’re lying on garbage.”

He looked at the dirty carpet and scrunched his nose. “It’s better than nothing.”

I nodded and closed my eyes again, only to feel a sudden poke in my side.

“Frank,” I whined, rubbing the spot of skin he violated.

“We need to go in. I need a coffee and a smoke.”

“I don’t want to.”

“I know you don’t.”

“I’m not going to.”

“But you know you want to see Gerard.”

I opened my eyes to see his knowing grin. He was now sitting up, his chin resting on the seat of the bench.

“I really don’t.”

“You’re lying.”

“So?”

“Sarah,” he whined my name, his voice squeaking slightly; “I want to go in and listen to the Misfits. I want my cigarette.”

“But, it’s so much more comfortable in here,” I nestled my face into the cushion of the seat. It smelled like cigarettes and mildew. It was slightly revolting, but better than going in the house.

“We don’t need to go in. We can stay out here and listen to the Smashing Pumpkins.”

“That’s it!” He shouted, kicking the car door open. “I will not tolerate that band name in my car!”

“Fine!” I shouted in fear as he grabbed my leg to drag me out, “The Descendents! We can listen to The Descendents!”

“Too late,” he pulled my out and I fell onto the drive way with a thud. “You already made your suggestion. We’re going in now.”

I mockingly glared at him from my seated position, my hipbone throbbing in my led from the fall.

“Fuck you, Frankie.”

“See? If you made a suggestion like that I might’ve been more apt to agree. We could’ve stayed in the car all day.” He offered me a hand and helped me up.

“Don’t get smart.”

He shook his head as we headed inside.

“I thought we already established that I wasn’t up to your intellect by the whole ‘gooder’ thing?”

“Frank, gooder isn’t a word.” Jen was sitting on the stairs and texting, not even bothering to look up at us. She flipped her cell shut and gave me a warm smile. “Good morning, Sarah.”

I smiled back and followed Frank into the living room, the smell of smoke and stake coffee instantly waking me up. Just as I imagined, Mikey and Rachel were curled up together on the couch, Ray was in the kitchen with Claire, and Gerard was smoking a cigarette in the arm chair. But something was off.

There was a girl sitting in between his legs, resting her head on his knee.

“Hey Frank, Sarah,” he nodded his greeting to us. The bandage was gone from his nose, and the bruises under his eyes were only a dull red now.

“Hello, Franklin,” the girl said, not bothering to look up from the TV. All I could see was the back of her head. Her hair was wavy and blonde, carelessly thrown into a loose bun. I was resenting the back of her head more than anything right now.

“Katherine?” Frank’s eyes widened. The girl’s head spun around to look at him. She gave him a toothy smile, the space between her two front teeth ridiculously cute. She had blue eyes and freckles lightly dotted her nose.

“Don’t look so surprised to see me,” She scrunched her perfectly turned up nose in disgust.

“I...I’m not.” He said, sounding slightly embarrassed.

“Good then. Why don’t you and your friend sit down?” She stated, as if she owned the place. Frank sat down below Mikey and Rachel, and I mimicked him, pulling my knees up to my chest.

“Her name is Sarah,” he retorted, annoyance lacing his tone.

“No need to get testy, Frank. I’m sure she didn’t really mind,” she coldly replied.

Oh, but I did. I hated how she treated Frank as if he was below her. I hated how she was so confident in herself. I hated how she was running her hand up and down Gerard’s leg. I hated that stupid, dreamy look she had on her face. I hated mostly how she and Gerard looked so content with each other.

“Who the fuck is she?” I whispered to him, trying to keep my voice as low and calm as possible.

“She is one of Gerard’s ex’s. She cheated on him, then broke up with him to be with the guy.”

“Why is she here then?”

Just then Claire appeared in the doorway, coffee in hand. Frank snapped his fingers to get her attention, and her head shot over. He pointed at Katherine and gave her a questioning look. She responded by shaking her head, obviously disapproving, and crossing her fingers.

“They’re back together,” he whispered, then groaned loudly, slouching back into the couch.

My breath caught in my throat slightly, “But I thought-“

“I thought he liked you, too.” Frank shook his head, looking puzzled by the situation.

Katherine stretched out on the carpet, a tattoo on her lower back showing beneath cotton t shirt. I saw Gerard’s eyes fall on it and a smirk spread across his lips.

I felt like I was going to be sick. This wasn’t right.

“So, I’m having a party tomorrow night.” She announced, sitting up.

Jen reentered the room and snorted. “What makes you think we want to go?”

Gerard shot her a look and then gave an apologetic smile to Katherine. “When is it?”

“Whenever. My parents are leaving for Portugal tomorrow, and me and the girls thought it’d be a good idea.”

‘The girls and I,’ I mentally corrected.

“Who are the girls?” I politely asked.

She looked at me as if I had five heads, “They’re my friends, Sarah. I have friends other then these people, you know.”

“I think we’re going to pass on that party,” Mikey interjected, pulling Rachel closer to him. “We kind of already had plans.”

“Well, suit yourself. But Rich from the lacrosse team is bringing three kegs.”

“Frank,” I whispered, “I don’t really want to-”

“We’ll be there,” Claire interjected, her eyes lit up like candles.

I wish people would listen to me sometimes.