So...Who Are You Again? My Chemical Romance? Never Heard of You.

"Shit!" I cursed, growing severely annoyed at hearing the infuriating, clinking noise blaring at me through the plastic guitar I held, as if reminding me, you suck! with every note I missed. I heard Frank do the same- It was a relief to know that he sucked at Guitar Hero, too. Frank and I must have looked ridiculous to the people working at Best Buy; we were the only customers, and all we were doing was playing the Guitar Hero display in the video games section. And it was kind of embarrassing too because we were missing practically every note...on easy.

"I can't even tell what song we're playing anymore," Frank said laughing, accidently letting go of a long note, then let out a groan of self-pity.

"We're playing-" I paused to listen to the music, but all I could hear was the stupid noise emitting from the game. You suck! You suck!

Suddenly, the frets drained off the screen and 'Song Failed' popped up, stretching across the screen as if we weren't aware of lack of abilities. I laughed, throwing my head back, finding amusement out of how incredibly bad we were. It was a spur of the moment idea to play the game displays in Best Buy- We just happened to walk by and Frank suggested it. Despite me mentioning my hindered abilities at video games, especially ones I hadn't played before, he coaxed me to follow.

"Damn, you'd think I'd be better at this since I play the guitar," Frank commented, shaking his head. He took a breath then added in a determined tone, "We're gonna have to pass at least one of these songs eventually."

"We've already failed four times," I reminded flatly.

"Then we're due for a win."

"I'm tired of this game," I complained, setting down the guitar. My ego could only take so may blows from unloving video game I attempted to like.

"Fine," Frank gave in while rolling his eyes and setting the toy guitar down next to mine. I glanced around the store, noting what else there was offered. We had already played some dumb Lego Star Wars game that I didn't even knew existed, and needless to say, I sucked at it. Next we had played a strange fighting game that made absolutely no sense to me, but Frank had a faulty controller that only accepted his commands about 1/3 of the time and I stuck to my faithful strategy of button mashing, so I actually won the two matches we fought. Frank's pride couldn't take anymore. He figured that he could possibly redeem himself at the Guitar Hero promo, psyching gamers for the third installment of the growing series, but that's when we learned Frank doesn't do Guitar Hero.

"I can play this song on actual guitar easier than this shit!" Frank had exclaimed to the game after our first failure, which only opened the gateway to three more.

"Let's play Karaoke!" I exclaimed upon seeing the display after setting the guitar down. Frank agreed with a laugh once he spotted the two karaoke mikes set up next to Guitar Hero. As I sifted through the song list, I didn’t recognize most of the songs. But I stopped on one in particular once it lit up that definitely stuck out in my mind, and judging by Frank's loud laugh when I chose it, I'd say he knew it, too.

"Yo, VIP, let's kick it!" the song started, as we smiled broadly, fully knowing that we wouldn't be able to keep a straight face. Our singing meters pulled up on the screen, cuing us to attempt to sing, or rather rap in this case, in key.

"Ice, ice, baby," we both chanted into our mikes, our voices cracking due to the uncontrollable laughter flowing through. After a couple of repeats, sounding ridiculous I'm sure, the game chose me to do the first verse.

"Collaborate and listen," I began, attempting to keep a straight face and stay on time with the beat. "Ice is back with my brand new invention, something grabs a hold of me tightly-"

I couldn't finish the rest because by that time, I was laughing to hard to even comprehend the words flowing by at a rapid pace. Frank, who had been suppressing himself, began openly laughing at me. The song continued, our laughter making the tone chart we were supposed to be following go crazy, the pitches landing everywhere.

"Turn off the lights and I'll glow," Frank began his line after the several lyrics I missed. "To the extreme I rock a mike like, wait- What?" Frank curled his lip, trying desperately to keep up with the rapid words. He shook his head decisively, then set his mike down before concluding, "Okay, no."

"That's probably for the best." I giggled, placing my mike down as well and letting the song run, much to the employee's pleasure I'm sure. We milled around for a couple more seconds, during which an obvious lull had formed.

"Do you want to go ahead and continue our quest?" Frank asked, chewing on his lip absentmindedly.

"Yeah," I agreed, and we began walking toward to entrance. The two employees loitering near the front watched us carefully as we walked by.

"After all that, you're not gonna even by anything?" one of them, a tall teenage girl with a scowl and her arms crossed, growled. We stopped, looking at them, as the second girl slapped the first in the shoulder. Frank took a couple steps to the cash register, and they two parted to let him by, taken by surprise; I continued standing there. I saw Frank pick up something off the stand then turn around.

"Batteries?" the tall girl asked skeptically, to which Frank grinned broadly. The girl shook her head judgingly at the strange choice and scoffed.

"Sheryl, don't you know who that is?" the other hissed over her shoulder as they walked around the register.

"A cheapskate?" Sheryl, I presumed, asked snidely, sending Frank a sour smile as she rung up the simple purchase. Frank blinked innocently, not affected by the girl's remark.

"That's Frank Iero," the other girl informed with wide eyes, sneaking obvious glances at Frank before adding, "He's famous."

After accepting payment, Sheryl put all her weight on one leg and held the batteries to the side with her elbow attached with her hip, as if she were carrying a tray. She had a disapproving look as she sized him up with judging eyes.

"Then why isn't he buying more?" she questioned. She still was talking to her co-worker, but it seemed her question was directed to Frank.

"I'm cheap." Sheryl rolled her eyes at Frank's excuse and jerkily shoved the batteries toward him. Frank politely smiled and shook his head. "You can have them."

Her jaw dropped as he turned to leave, causing me to stifle a laugh. She rolled her eyes again, carelessly tossing the batteries at the other girl, and muttered something about already needing a break as she left.

"You have a knack for making people mad," I observed with a smile as he joined me again. He shrugged, smirking as we continued to the automatic doors.

"W-Wait!" the nameless employee called. Our exit was cut short yet again when we stopped, looking to the girl who was now nervously cracking her knuckles. "C-Can I have a p-picture with you? I'm a really b-big fan."

Frank agreed with a broad grin. The girl probably nearly fainted from excitement as she made her way over with the same wide, excited eyes and twitching smile.

"I'm Isabelle," she introduced, pulling a blue camera from her purse.

"Nice to meet you, Isabelle." Frank stepped forward with a warm smile. I remained in the background once again- This girl didn't want to talk to me of all people.

"Carl!" she called to the third employee at the front who was nodding off as he leaned against the electronics counter. He flinched in surprise and jumped away from the counter, insisting repeatedly he wasn't asleep. "Can you take our picture?"

"I could just take it," I offered as Carl squeezed his eyes together in attempt to refresh himself before shuffling over. Isabelle turned to me with large eyes again, giving me the impression I did something wrong.

"You don't want to be in the picture?"

My jaw dropped and I tried to form words to say, but I just stood there astonished and speechless. Why would she want me there? Did she think I was famous?

"Sure she does," Frank spoke lightly for me, pulling me closer to them. Isabelle squeaked softly in excitement before handing her camera to Carl then standing next to Frank. I managed to pause my initial shock and smile for the picture we squeezed into. Carl sloppily threw the camera back to Isabelle right after the flash, barely giving her enough time to react.

"Dammit, Carl," she muttered, readjusting the camera she awkwardly caught then showed us the picture. I found the same smile creep back onto my face when I saw the picture that actually turned out very well. I couldn't believe it; I felt flattered and taken aback that someone wanted my picture just because I was with Frank.

"You're Lauren, right?" Isabelle asked, looking up at me, taking me by surprise again. "I've seen a couple interviews and read a couple places that you-"

"She's not Lauren," Frank interrupted in a low voice, his expression suddenly looking dark.

"I'm Julie," I said awkwardly.

"O-Oh," she stuttered, caught off guard at her wrong assumption. "What happened to Lauren?"

"She stabbed my heart with a dull pencil," Frank said spitefully with narrowed eyes. I wanted to give him props for the nice imagery, but decided it was inappropriate. A couple seconds of tense silence filled the air as Isabelle glanced uneasily from me to Frank.

"We should go," I said slowly before he could get too mad about the subject.

"It was a pleasure meeting you," Frank mumbled before turning and striding out the store.

"I'm really sorry," Isabelle apologized, looking positively horrified.

"You didn't know." I didn't want to tell her that it was all right, because that would be a lie. I just hoped that didn't send Frank and I back to square one.

"You two look good together," she said quickly, probably trying to redeem herself. "You're beautiful."

"Oh, I'm not-" I tried to explain.

"Don't be so modest," Isabelle insisted with an adoring smile. "You really are pretty, and I hope Frank is happier with you, which it looks like he is. Now, I've wasted enough of your time, it was nice meeting you."

I just stood there as the grateful fan walked away, not even able to muster a polite smile. I couldn't do anything, and I'm pretty sure she thought I was really dumb if she judged on my limited responses and reactions in the conversation. I wanted to correct her mistake, but all I couldn't find the simple words to form the sentence. Only one sentence ran through my mind- You two look good together.

I shook my head, trying not to think about it.

When I got outside, I found Frank leaned against the wall with his arms crossed, scowling at the ground. I walked the few feet toward him, trying to figure out a game plan in my mind.

"I thought I was past being mad," Frank grumbled before I had to think of anything.

"It's going to take some time to get over."

"No shit," Frank snapped. "I didn't need you to figure that out."

His words stung so much I physically flinched. I blinked a couple times; I had just now grown accustomed to him not yelling at me. He took a breath in when he realized what he said.

"Sorry," he said in a calmer voice, trying to manage his anger. I chose not to reply because once again, it would be a lie to say it was all right. This entire morning's joyous attitude was just a cover up, both of us unknowingly pretending there weren't any problems. It was a nice escape while it lasted.

"Do you want to just go back to the hotel?" I asked, not really in the mood for much else.

"No, I still need the fish," Frank reminded.

"Maybe it's just time to tell them about her," I suggested softly, thinking back to the reason he needed the fish in the first place. I obviously wasn't helping him cope with this very well.

"You saw how I reacted to some random girl." He paused and regretfully glanced to the entrance of Best Buy. "There's no telling what I'm going to do around them."

"Maybe they'll help you more than I can." My voice sounded so distant; I didn't know what had come over me. I just wanted to shrink into the background.

"You don't understand." He swallowed. "I remember everything. Her face won't get out of my mind. When I'm around the guys I keep stupidly thinking she's going to come in the room at any second, and it'll all go back to normal, and she won't be this wicked person she is now. But she still is...and I can't help but think it's because of me."

"What?" I yelled, finding my voice, trying to make sense of his regrets. "She's the one who cheated on you!"

"Maybe I wasn't around enough," Frank continued. "Maybe she thought I put the band before her."

"Maybe she's just a bitch who just didn't deserve you," I replied scornfully crossing my arms.

"We were together for so long and I just can't help but think that. What if-"

"Yup, you're right Frank. This is all your fault," I agreed bitterly, causing him to looking up in shock. "It's your fault you had to do your job, it's your fault that she chose to cheat on you, and it's your fault she changed her personality. I completely agree with you- it's all your fault."

Frank continued staring at me, my message finally sinking in. I hadn't lashed out at him before like that, but I just couldn't help it. He didn't need to be blaming himself for her mistakes- That would be the OPPOSITE of progress.

"Let's just go get a fish," Frank mumbled, kicking off from the wall. He shoved his hands in his pockets and began walking.

--

After at least 20 minutes of wondering around aimlessly, we found a small pet shop. Neither of us dared to say a word to each other on the way. This is how it should have been this morning; I don't know what delusion I was under to think anything to do with this situation was happy. Though still, I couldn't help but feel accomplished when I remembered that feeling earlier today while spending time with Frank.

"What're you smiling at?" Frank mumbled curiously, looking up from the ground at me. I quickly wiped the smile that I didn't even realize had shown off my face.

"Nothing."

“What’re you smiling at?” he repeated, with the same interest.

“Nothing,” I said again.

“Oh,” he stated, looking back to the ground discouraged, obviously feeling the same broken feeling I was. I pursed my lips, not wanting things to be like this between us.

“I was thinking about this morning,” I answered, finally giving into the silence, then added shortly, "It was fun."

“You wanna know something?” I looked at him inquisitively and he elaborated, “This morning I actually forgot about what Lauren did. I don’t even know how. I just woke up and remembered I was supposed to spend the day with you. When that girl, Isabelle, said something about Lauren was the first time today I remembered her. Then I got so mad because I wanted to go back to how I felt earlier.”

“It's still progress,” I said with a smile, trying to focus on the good.

“Yeah it is,” he realized, mirroring my grin. “You’re helping.”

I was helping? I sure didn’t think so, but if he said so, maybe I really was. I felt relieved suddenly, and the insignificant feeling I temporarily felt washed away. For some reason Isabelle’s words rung in my head again- You two look good together.

--

"Woah, is this guy dead or what?" Frank whispered with his eyes wide, poking a tank with a red fish floating on top. I grimaced at the lifeless fish.

"Let's not get that one," I said, turning away to look at a new isle of fish. Once we had started looking for fish in the pet store, all the previous tension seemed to dissipate, and it felt like earlier. I didn't want to mention anything to ruin it.

"Aw, but we can have so much fun with it," he continued with a laugh.

"I guess you're right." I shrugged my shoulders then added with a snicker, "After all, it can already play dead."

"We're horrible," Frank stated as we both tried not to laugh. After perusing the shelves of tanks a little more, Frank decided on a pretty blue beta fish. He paid the employee and we were soon back outside where the sun was shining down on us from its new spot far from the horizon now.

"Alright, now we can go back, I guess," Frank said, but instead of heading back, we both stopped in realization.

"Uh-" I stated, letting my jaw hang open in confusion. I had no idea where we were, and unless Frank sprouted a GPS, he didn't either.

"Let's just ask the guy in there for directions."

"A male wanting to ask for directions?" I raised an eyebrow.

"That is a cruel stereotype," he replied with narrowed eyes. I let out a short laugh and we went back into the store to the counter where the man looked up at us curiously.

"Did you forget something?" he asked politely.

"Well...We forgot how to get back our hotel," I offered with an embarrassed smile.

"Do you know where you're staying?"

Both our eyes widened when we looked at each other. That was a good question- Where were we staying? The man caught onto our ignorance.

"There's a Holiday Inn a couple blocks from here if you want to try there," he suggested.

"Yeah, Holiday Inn sounds right," Frank recalled slowly, looking up in thought. I didn't want to agree of disagree- I honestly had no input. How could I be so irresponsible to forget what hotel we were staying at?

The man gave us detailed instructions to get there, picking up on our lack of direction. We thanked him then were on our way again, turning in the appropriate spots...or so we thought.

"What the hell?" Frank objected in confusion as we stared at the sight before us. "This is a dump! How do you mistake a hotel for a dump?"

"Maybe he was trying to make a point that the Holiday Inn is a dump?" Frank bowed his head and looked at me disbelievingly as I flashed a cheesy grin. "Or maybe we were supposed to take a right back there," I mumbled in continuance.

"A right where?" he turned around, searching our surroundings.

"I don't know," I answered miserably, my voice cracking.

"Okay," Frank breathed, "don't panic. Do you have your cell phone?"

"No, I thought I was just going to eat breakfast so I didn't bring it." I held my breath when he dropped his shoulders, silently trying to convince myself that he wasn't about to say what I thought he was. Maybe he really was cheap and just didn't want to pay for his phone's usage.

"Me too," he said flatly. I let out a whimper as fate officially dubbed us lost. Frank ran a hand through his hair, worry beginning to set on his face. I tried calm myself down and figure things out in my head- The guys were bound to figure out eventually that their rhythm guitarist and half the contest winners were missing; it was just a matter of how they'd find us, or how we'd find them. There was no telling how long that would take, or even how.

I sighed, overwhelmed with the situation.

Fuck.