Changes

Mikey groaned as his mother called him and Gerard downstairs for dinner, but rushed to the kitchen all the same. Donna hated to be kept waiting. As they sat down at the table, he and Gerard shared pained looks. Day after tomorrow, winter vacation began. Two days into their winter break, the Annual Way Family Christmas Bash would take place. It wasn’t really called the Annual Way Family Christmas Bash, but Mikey felt that a party as corny as that deserved a corny name (even though he wasn’t exactly a rockin’ host himself). Gerard agreed.

Their parents however, did not. Every year, they received the same lecture on how it was a family occasion and that the boys should feel lucky to be given an opportunity to spend a day with their relatives. The boys felt the opposite of lucky and were in fact mentally preparing themselves for the riot act as they stared apprehensively at their plates.

Their fears were confirmed when their father sat down to his chicken and began, “Gerard, Michael, you two should know by now that in a few days, it will be Christmas.” Mikey bit his lip to keep from groaning. Gerard choked on his water. “Now, we usually have the Christmas party at our house, but this year, we’re doing something a little different.” Mikey stared. Gerard was contemplating whether or not to drink his water again. They both began to pray that they would not be forced to go to Uncle Albert’s for Christmas. But Donald just beamed at them. “This year, we’ll be skipping the reunion and going to the Poconos for your winter break!”

Instantly, Mikey’s face brightened. “Seriously? We’re going to the mountains?”

“Yes, we are,” his mother answered, heaping his plate with chicken. “One of your father’s clients has a condo there, but he won’t be able to make it this year. We talked about it,” she glanced at her husband, “And decided that it would be good to get you boys away for a little while. Besides,” Donna rubbed Mikey’s arm “We could all use a break.” As she said this, she noticed the bruises and scabs. “Michael! What happened to your arm?”

Mikey pulled his arm away. “It’s nothing, Ma. Just a kid in school.”

Donald looked skeptically at his younger son. “Nothing? Your body looks like it’s been through a World War!” He looked at Gerard. “Did you know about this? Why didn’t you say something?”

“Of course Gerard didn’t know about it! We barely see each other in school.” Mikey bit his lip, feeling a compulsive need to protect his brother, even if it meant blatantly lying to his parents.

Donna was still worried. “Well do you want me to--”

“Mom. Leave it.” Mikey hoped to God that his parents would stop giving him the third degree.

She was quiet, but still seemed unconvinced. “Gerard, you’ll take care of Mikey, right? You make sure no one picks on him.” He nodded curtly. “Good boy. Now, hurry up and finish your mashed potatoes. We have to get packing if we leave day after tomorrow!” Donald smiled enthusiastically in agreement.

Gerard dropped his silence. He couldn’t just silently go along with it; he had to say something. “Dad, to be honest, I’m not really…thrilled.” He found three pairs of eyes goggling him. “About the trip,” he clarified. Maybe his parents wouldn’t take it the wrong way. Maybe they’d understand that he needed to be at home.

Donald’s smile faded. “Gee, we thought you’d be excited. You’re so close to your brother now, and his friend too.”

Gerard sank back into his chair. “You couldn’t have told me sooner? I have stuff to do, you know.” Yeah. Stuff like getting drunk all by himself and drawing gory comics to hang all over the school.

“What stuff?” his father asked him, clearly trying to stay patient.

Gerard shrugged his shoulders. “You know. Just stuff.” Mikey didn’t like his tone one bit. He thought his brother would be excited too! He thought just once, he’d be able to actually spend time with his brother.

Their father’s eyes flashed, always a warning sign. “I could have told you sooner and I would have told you sooner if you weren’t always shut up in your damn room!” he all but thundered. His wife gently rubbed his arm, trying to calm him. “I’m sorry,” Donald mumbled. “We’re trying to do something for you. For once, Gerard, just once, be our son. I haven’t seen him for the last six years.”

The dinner table was silent but for the clattering of forks against plates. Mikey kept his eyes down, making sure no one noticed that his glasses were beginning to fog up. The chicken has smelled delicious just minutes before. It was Mom’s Magic Recipe and Mikey’s favorite. But just then, it smelled dead. Suddenly, he wasn’t so hungry anymore.

Choking down a few more spoonfuls of potatoes, he excused himself when he couldn’t take it anymore.

“Hold on there, Michael.” His father motioned for him to sit back down. “We didn’t tell you the best part.” Gerard rolled his eyes. Their mother smiled like a Crest Kid.

“Mikey,” she all but squealed, smoothing his hair over, “Frank is coming with us!” For once in their lives, neither Way brother had anything to say.

Gerard walked at snail-pace behind his brother on their way to Frank’s house the next morning, not half as eager as Mikey was. Not that he minded that Frank kid, but having him there would just make things harder. Sneaking beer with Mikey around? No problem. He’d been doing it for years. But that Frank was something else, he always watching, always observant. That kid would make one hell of a cop. Or a mafia hitman.

“Gee!” Mikey called over his shoulder. “Come on!” His brother was inching along like he was being dragged off to his execution or something. And honestly, Mikey wasn’t feeling very sympathetic. If Gerard didn’t want to have fun with him, fine. But he wasn’t going to mope around for a whole week just because his older brother was being a dick. He’d moped around enough last night.

Even as Frank came running towards them, shoes untied and tie askew, Mikey still didn’t understand what Gerard’s problem was. He shook it off. He’d make Gerard enjoy the trip. They always had fun on vacations when they were little. Why not now?

“Mike!” Frank screeched into his ear. “Dude! Did your parents tell you?”

Mikey high fived his best friend. “Yeah! This is going to be so awesome. There’s going to be snow everywhere!” Frank grinned maniacally at this thought. He loved snow. And he loved playing in the snow with Mikey. It had been their ritual since…forever, practically.

Gerard rolled his eyes as the freshmen chattered away about ice skating and dumping hot chocolate on each other’s heads. Why did Mikey have to be so into this? Well, sure, it would be fun. But now it just made Gerard feel worse that Mikey would be having a blast and he wouldn’t. It’s not that he didn’t want to. He just couldn’t. Sighing, he stuck his hand in his wallet and felt the twenty-dollar bill resting there. Today’s beer money. Rob would have a fresh supply in his locker.

Gerard wouldn’t be able to buy any. He was saving up to get some drinks in the Poconos. God knew he’d need to be drunk to get through it all. Hell, he was drunk most of the time anyway. Gerard looked around frantically when he heard Mikey curse loudly. He saw his little brother on the ground, covered in mud.

“Come on, Mikey,” he said pulling him up. “Forget that asshole.” Mikey looked sadly from Frank to Gerard. Frank was covered in mud himself. Three losers. At least Gerard had people who liked his artwork. He and Frankie had nothing. Even Ray was too busy to talk to them.

“Thanks, Gee.” Mikey wiped off what he could before grabbing Frank’s hand and leading him into the building. “Gee?” Frank looked back as well. And there was Gerard, standing staring at a pretty girl with strawberry blonde hair. Mikey looked at Frank. There it was, in his eyes. He dropped his friend’s hand and continued towards his locker. It was going to be another long day at school.

“Hey, Mikey,” Frank hovered over his friend, stack of books in hand.

Mikey twirled his dial to lock it and turned around. “Yeah?”

“You want to come over tonight and help me pack?” Frank struggled to stay balanced as a fresh wave of jocks pushed him.

Mikey smiled. At least the day would have one highlight. “Sure Frankie.”

“Mikey, hurry up!” Frank grabbed his suitcase and dragged it towards the front door. Mikey stifled a giggle. That suitcase must have weighed as much as Frank did (it actually weighed more). Mike dragged his own suitcase behind him, wishing he actually had some muscle instead of just skin and bone and a head full of messy hair. They made it to the door when Frank’s dad decided it was time to stop the boys’ suffering. With the effort Mikey put into burning toast, Mr. Iero picked up both suitcases and brought them out to the driveway where the remaining Ways were waiting.

Donald cheerfully greeted Frank Senior and the boys climbed into the car, squashing Gerard to the window just as they took off down the road.

“Mikey,” Frank nudged his best friend not ten minutes later, “Move over! I can’t breathe!” The tiny teenager was lodged firmly between the Way brothers like a piece of spinach between two teeth. It was actually a very funny sight in a very sorry, pathetic way. Mikey, however, saw this as a prime opportunity to let the vacation fun begin, even though technically it had already begun at three in the morning when Frank woke him up with a series of blows from a pillow.

“Is that better?” he asked mockingly with a shit-eating grin on his face as he moved closer to Frankie, “Can you breathe now? Are you comfortable now?” Mikey continued to crush Frank against his older brother, who was glaring at them while they had their fun.

Frank did not push back. Uncomfortable as it was, it was the chance of a lifetime to be pressed up against Gerard. That man had the softest skin in the world. And his hair wasn’t bad either, even if he smelled of stale coffee. Frank looked at him, just to try and guess what his reaction would be. Perhaps Gerard would realize now that they were meant to be. Maybe he’d look into Frank’s eyes with his hazel orbs and whisper sweet nothings. Or maybe he’d simply shove Frank towards his younger brother and tell Mikey to stop dicking around.

“Mikey,” Gerard snapped, pushing Frank to the other side, “Stop dicking around! We haven’t been on the road for twenty minutes and you’re annoying everyone already.” Jesus, that kid seriously needed to learn that there was a time and place for everything. And four-hour car ride without any alcohol in Gerard’s blood was neither the time nor the place to act stupid.

Mikey looked at Gerard and stopped pushing Frank around. He hated being yelled at, but what he hated most was being yelled at by his brother. It hurt more than any punch or kick or chokehold ever had. He never yelled at Gerard. So why did Gerard always snap at him? Mikey smiled weakly and decided to let it go. After all, Gerard was a good brother. He always helped Mikey out, even if he got a little pissed off from time to time. Now was the time to enjoy a vacation with his family and his best friend.

Still, it seemed that Gerard got angry more often these days. Mikey sighed and rested his head against Frank’s shoulder, craning his neck to see the car’s digital clock. He sighed again. Three and a half hours to go. There was no way he and Frank could spend them in silence.

Frank was already grinning evilly, planning a surprise tickle attack on the skinny boy next to him. Mikey would never know what hit him. Frank tried to control his expression as he ruffled Mikey’s hair, pretending to be calm. Mikey had really soft hair. Frank was willing to bet Gerard did too. He felt his weapons in his pocket, smiling to himself. Soon. Not now, because Gerard would be annoyed and he couldn’t have that. But soon.

“Are we there yet?” asked an annoyingly chirpy Frank for the umpteenth time. He and Mikey had decided to take turns asking whether or not they were there yet at regular intervals and were grating on Gerard’s last nerve. Again. Those kids were either really brave or really stupid, because Gerard knew the look in his eye was a scary one.

“No, we’re not Frank. There’s still another two hours to go,” came the answer from the front seat, just as it had a few seconds ago. Mikey and Frank smirked at each other. Their game would never get old. Mikey asked again, exactly on time. His mother sighed and told him they weren’t. He grinned into Frank’s shoulder as the younger boy asked two and a half minutes later. It was hard to explain, but last year, these would have just been games. Fun little games. But for some reason, they seemed to mean something else to Mikey now. Nuzzling up against each other was just something he and Frank did; it was comforting and close. Eventually, they would push each other off when everyone pointed and laughed and called them homos. But Mikey realized then that even if someone laughed at them at that moment and called them queer, he wouldn’t have cared. Because being nuzzled against Frank was where he wanted to be. Frank was small and cozy and could be so incredibly…cute? At some moments, Frank Iero was Mikey’s one and only best friend. And other times, Mikey didn’t understand why, but he wanted just a little bit more. Damn puberty to hell and back.

“Dude,” a surprised whisper brought Mikey back to reality, where he had to take his head off Frank’s shoulder. “It’s your turn. You missed it already!” Frank held a watch up to his face. Mikey swatted it away.
Mikey looked guiltily at his own watch and corrected his mistake. “Are we there yet, Mom?”

Gerard couldn’t take it anymore. Those kids were getting unbearable. Before Donna had a chance to open her mouth, Gerard all but exploded. “No! No Mikey, we are not freaking there so shut the hell up!”

The silly grin on Mikey’s face was immediately replaced by the tiniest frown. He saw Frankie looking down at his shoes. He knew that look. It was the broody, what-am-I-gonna-do-now look that Frank wore when he knew he upset Mikey. But Mikey wondered for a moment if perhaps Frankie was worried that he upset someone else—Gerard. Gerard had calmed down though; he was staring out the window, quiet as a cat. Through the corner of his eye, Mikey saw Frank reaching into his pocket. Something was up. Frankie only did that when something was up.

Something really was up. Or rather, Frank was up to something. He kept his eyes averted as he slipped his hand into his pocket to grab the long, pink feather. Mikey would think he was just sulking; he would be in for quite a shock. Twirling the feather between his fingers, he slipped it from his right hand to his left as inconspicuously as possible. The only good thing about being small was that no one ever noticed. And Mikey certainly did not notice as Frank smiled cheekily, bringing the feather to the taller boy’s ribs.

Mikey jumped a mile when he felt it. He looked at Frank. “Frankie, what was that?”

Frank smiled back innocently. “What was what? I’ve been playing with my Transformer.” He held up a yellow plastic figurine—the distraction. Mikey was instantly trapped.

“Whoa. When did you get this one?” He took the toy from Frank and twiddled with it for a moment when he felt it again. “Frank, seriously. What was that?”

Frank raised an eyebrow; he should have won an Oscar. “That was a Transformer. You’re holding it. Here, press the button on the arm.” Frank reached over with the feather and tickled Mikey again and pulled it away quickly, but not quickly enough.

“Dude, I saw that,” Mikey reached behind Frank and grabbed his left arm, letting the Transformer fall to the floor and make irritating mechanical noises. “Give me the feather.”

“What feather?” Frank pulled his arm out of reach and leaned into Gerard, startling the senior, who glared at them before retreating back to his window. Mikey continued to grab at Frank as they both collapsed into a second fit of giggles. “No seriously,” he gasped, still laughing. “What feather?”

“That feather!” Mikey tugged at something only to realize that it was not in Frank’s hand and that it was not a feather.
“Let go of my hair, you moron,” Gerard growled. Thankfully, Mikey didn’t get upset this time. He kept laughing and Gerard couldn’t keep the smile from invading his features. For a minute, his freshmen friends—who was he kidding? —his only friends stopped being irksome and were actually entertaining. Perhaps he was adjusting to a lack of ethyl in his system. Or perhaps it was cute to see his little brother playing around.

Mikey, still giggling, dropped his older brother’s hair and decided to get revenge on Frank manually. With his fingers. If Frankie wanted a tickle fight, he was going to get a tickle fight. Mikey lifted his long fingers threateningly, one by one, and pounced upon his miniature best friend, who was again pushed back into Gerard who was slammed up against the window for the third time. This thought brought on a fresh wave of laughter just as Frank succumbed to his torture.

“Kids, don’t make me turn this car around,” came an imperious and slightly annoyed voice from the steering wheel.

“Don, they’re just kids.”

“I have no problem with the fact that they’re kids. But they’re acting like hyperactive monkeys!” Donald’s point was proven by the sounds of mirth echoing behind him and his wife.

Giggling an uncharacteristically high-pitched giggle, Frank began to gasp for breath as Mikey attacked him, feathers forgotten. He sighed in relief when Mikey sat back to catch his breath. “That was…the best tickle fight ever.”

Mike nodded as he saw Gerard still smiling at them. It was the best tickle fight ever. In fact, for the next two hours, the car ride wasn’t so bad either. It was actually fun.

And it only got better when Donna announced, “We’re here!”