Chapter 3
So in the end I did get used to the move. My room was decorated the same way it was back in Jersey and things were working out. Madison and I hung out all the time. I was sitting in my room one day trying to find something to do. Madison was out with her mom and wouldn't be back for another hour. So how could I occupy myself for an hour? I got off my bed and walked over to my bookshelf and found a photo album. I grabbed it and sat in a little alcove by my window. I opened the book and looked at the first picture. It was a picture of me and the guys. Wow, it'd been forever since I'd talked to them. We talked a lot for about a year after the move, and then we just kinda fell apart. I lost their numbers, they lost mine. But I guess that's just the way it is. I continued to flip through pictures and tears started to well up in my eyes. I really missed them. Just as tears were about to fall, my door burst open and Maddie walked in.
"Hey. You alright?" she asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine. It's nothing." I said getting up and putting the book back on the shelf.
"Well, good. You know, you need a boyfriend." She said.
"I do not need a boyfriend." I stated with my arms crossed.
"Come on, you're 21, Spencer. You officially need a boyfriend." Maddie argued. I flopped onto my bed, but she quickly pulled me back up. "Come on, we're gonna go shopping and get you something to wear on a date." She said.
"But I don't have a date."
"Not yet. But once people see your new outfit, maybe you'll get one. Now get dressed. I'll be in your living room." she said leaving my room. I sighed and walked into my closet. I came out wearing black skinny jeans, a The Used tee, my black Chucks, and a black zip-up hoodie. I walked to my bathroom and quickly straightened my hair and put on dark eyeliner and some mascara. I put on some jewelry and left my room, grabbing my wallet on the way out. I walked into my living room and saw Maddie getting up and heading for the door.
"You sure are eager." I said as we walked down the front steps and to my car. She had walked to my house since it's only a few blocks away.
"Well, it's already late in the day, and I don't want to be out real late." She said.
"Like time has ever mattered to you." I said sarcastically as I climbed into the car and put on my seatbelt. She climbed in and started the car. As we drove into town I flipped through the stations until I found one that played The Used. I loved those guys.
"So, where would you like to go?" she asked me as we pulled onto a street filled with shops.
"I don't care. All the stores around here are good, so it doesn't matter much to me." I replied. She parked in front of one of her favorites stores; Ralph Lauren. We got out of the car and walked into the store. When I first moved here, it was awkward to come into this store considering the way I dressed, but now nobody cared. I even became friends with some of the workers. There weren't many people in the store today.
"Hey, Ash." I said hopping up onto the counter next to a cash register.
"Hey, Spencer." She said reaching up and hugging me.
"How's the business treating you today?" I asked.
"Ugh, it's like a ghost town in here. I just wanna go home." She replied rolling her eyes.
"Spence, come tell me what you think of this one." I heard Maddie yell from the dressing rooms.
"I'll be back." I said hopping off the counter and walking to the back of the store where the dressing rooms were. She walked out of one of the doors wearing jeans and a green polo shirt.
"So, what do you think?" she asked. I looked over her outfit.
"It's nice. The shirt brings out the color in your eyes." I replied.
"Thanks. I'll be right back." She said smiling as she walked back into the dressing room. She tried on a few more outfits and bought all of them. It was then my turn to pick the store. We walked into Hot Topic and I started browsing through the shirts.
"Hey, Spence, I'm gonna go get a Frappecinno." She said heading for the exit. She had never liked this store. I nodded and continued browsing. She left the store and made a right. She wasn't really paying attention and walked into someone causing them to drop their coffee. She looked up to see a guy with straight blondish brown hair and black glasses.
"I am so sorr- hey, I know you. My cousin talked about you all the time!" Madison said in realization.
"Oh, she's a fan. That's cool." He replied smiling.
"Umm, not exactly." She said. He gave her a confused glance. "Come on." She grabbed his hand and pulled him into Hot Topic. They walked back to the shirt section and Madison 'accidentally' pushed the guy into me and walked away.
"Oh, sorry. I-"he stopped abruptly and looked at who was in front of him.
"Sp-Spencer?" he asked. I looked up.
"Mikey?" I screamed as I jumped into his arms and hugged him tightly. He hugged me back and when we broke out of the hug, Maddie grabbed my arm and pulled me close to her.
"You owe me." She whispered in my ear. "Well, I'm gonna go get that Frappecinno now." she said aloud and leaving the two of us.
"Who is-"Mikey started.
"My cousin." I replied.
"Ah. Oh my fucking God, it is so good to see you!" he said suddenly pulling me back into a tight hug.
"I know, it's been forever! So, how have you and the guys been?" I asked excitedly.
"Good. Yeah, we've been good. I mean, we got signed." He said. I stood and gaped at him. "Yeah, My Chemical Romance is an official band now." he said smiling.
"How long have you guys been signed?" I asked.
"Almost a year." He replied.
"That's so awesome." I said pulling him into another hug. "So, I mean, are you here alone, or with a girlfriend, or something?" I asked.
"Nah, I'm not here alone. The guys are back at Starbucks." He said.
"What? Everyone else is here?!" I screamed. He smiled at my excitement.
"Yeah, yeah. We can go see them if you want." He said already knowing my answer.
"Yeah! Let me just buy this shirt real quick. It's the last one." I said as we walked over to the cashier. A guy rang up the shirt.
"That'll be 19.89." he said. I went to grab my wallet when Mikey handed the man a crisp twenty dollar bill. I smiled at him as the guy handed Mikey the change and gave me the bag. The two of us left the store and headed for Starbucks. It was only up a couple blocks.
"Thanks for the shirt. I'll pay you back." I said as we walked.
"Don't worry about it. It's fine." He said. We finally made it to Starbucks and walked inside. I loved this Starbucks. There was an upstairs for people that came with a bigger group. We headed up the stairs and Mikey went first. Gerard had his back to the stairs and Mikey put his finger up to his lips signaling for the guys not to say anything. They all nodded without looking suspicious to Gerard. Mikey smiled and told me to wait on the stairs until he sat down. Mikey walked around the table and sat down across from Gerard.
"Hey, you get enough fresh air?" Gerard asked.
"Yeah, plenty." Mikey said smiling. That would be my cue. I walked up behind Gerard and put my hands over his eyes. I looked at the rest of the guys and they just gaped. It was so good to see them again. Gerard's hands flew up to mine and he pulled them off and whipped around.
"Spencer!" he screamed as he grabbed me in one of the tightest hugs I've ever received. I laughed as he picked me up off the ground and spun me around before setting me back on the ground.
"Miss me?" I asked smiling.
"Only a hell of a lot!" he said hugging me again. Man, I missed him…and his hugs. The other three shot up and Frank grabbed me in a hug.
"Spencer, I missed you so fucking much!" Frank said.
"Oh my God, I can't even explain how much I missed you guys." I said hugging Ray and then Bob. I sat down next to Gerard and Ray offered to go get me a coffee. I gladly accepted and was so psyched to be with the guys again. Ray came back with my coffee and we just sat and talked for what seemed like forever.
"So, are you guys dating anyone?" I asked.
"Yeah." Bob and Ray said at the same time. I smiled and looked at the other three.
"You guys aren't dating anyone?" I asked shocked.
"Nope. But what about you? Are you still single?" Gerard asked.
"Yup. I don't need a guy. I'm perfectly fine on my own." I said. Then my phone rang. "Hello?" I asked into the phone.
"Where are you?!"
"Chill, Maddie. I'm at Starbucks." I replied.
"Starbucks? I just went back to Hot Topic to find you and you weren't here! Where are you in Starbucks?" she screamed.
"I'm upstairs. The guys are here." I said happily.
"Oh really? All of them?"
"Yeah."
"Is it alright if I come and chill with you guys? I may not fit in, but I'm totally bored." She said.
"Sure. That's fine. I'll see you in a few." I said hanging up the phone. "Maddie's gonna come hang with us." I said to the guys. They just nodded and we continued to talk. Frank had one leg crossed over the other on the table with he hands behind his head, leaning back in his chair as we talked. Maddie walked up the stairs and Frank just stared at her. I mean, she was gorgeous. Not really paying attention to his balance, since his attention was all on her, Frank fell backwards onto the floor.
"Oh my God, are you ok?" Maddie asked as she rushed over to him and helped him up.
"Yeah, ye-yeah. I'm fine." He said brushing himself off and sitting back down. She sat next to him.
"I'm Maddie, by the way." She said sticking a hand out towards him.
"Frank." He smiled as he shook her hand. Gerard and I just looked at each other and shared a knowing smile.
After a while the seven of us headed back to my house and watched some movies and ordered pizza. It was getting late and Maddie said she needed to go home.
"I'll walk you." Frank offered.
"Um, ok. Let's go." She said. She gave me a hug and waved to the guys before the two headed out the door. The rest of us just went up to my room.
As they walked Maddie shivered and Frank took off his jacket and gave it to her.
"Thanks." She smiled as she put on the jacket.
"No problem." He smiled back. As the two walked they talked about everything. As they were walking Frank took Madison's hand in his. She leaned in closer to him as they walked up her front walk. Frank let her hand go once they were at the door.
"Thanks for walking me home." Madison said smiling.
"Sure." Frank said. They just stared at each other and Frank leaned in and kissed her. At first she kissed back, but then she quickly pulled out of the kiss.
"Frank, we can't do this. Really, it's not you." She said seeing Frank's hurt expression. "I…I have a boyfriend. I'm sorry." She said.
"Oh. No, don't be sorry. It's fine." He said. She took off his jacket and handed it back to him.
"Thanks again." She said.
"Yeah." Frank replied as he walked back down her front walk and down the sidewalk. Maddie stared after him feeling bad. She shouldn't have kissed him. She slowly entered her house and went upstairs to where her boyfriend was sleeping peacefully in her bed. She got changed and slowly laid down next to him. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close and she fell asleep thinking about Frank.
Frank pulled a cigarette out and lit it as he walked. He threw his jacket up on his shoulder and took a long drag from the cigarette. After about a half hour on a walk that would normally only take ten minutes, he walked up my front steps and into my house. He heard music coming from upstairs and he slowly trudged up them and entered a door on the far right; my room. As he entered he saw Mikey sitting at my laptop going through music and playing random songs, Ray and Bob going through my closet looking at all my clothes, and finally his eyes rested upon Gerard and I lying on my bed. My head was on Gerard's chest and he was running his fingers through my hair and Mikey, he, and I talked. Frank plopped down on the end of my bed and sighed. I quickly sat up and crawled over to him.
"Frank, what's wrong?" I asked. Ray and Bob came out of my closet and Bob had on one of my hats.
"She has a boyfriend?" he asked in a small voice.
"Yeah, his name's Ryan, why?" I asked.
"I kissed her." He said.
"What?" I nearly screamed. Mikey turned around in his chair and Gerard sat up at my scream.
"But, she kissed me back. That makes no sense." Frank said sitting back up and looking at me.
"She kissed you back and then after you kissed she told you she had a boyfriend?" I asked.
"No! I mean, she started to kiss me back, but then she pulled away and said she had a boyfriend." Frank stated.
"Oh. You're lucky Ryan wasn't awake." I said getting up and walking over into my closet to make sure that Ray and Bob didn't destroy it and to get changed.
"Why? I mean, it's not like he was there or anything, right?" Frank yelled to me.
"Uh…he lives with her." I yelled back. I heard someone fall off the bed. Probably Frank. He walked into my closet as I was putting on a pair of sweatpants. We changed in front of each other all the time in high school, so none of us cared anymore.
"He lives with her?" Frank asked gaping at what I had just told him.
"Umm, yeah? What, she didn't tell you?" I asked.
"No! We talked about every other fucking thing, but I guess the fact that she had a boyfriend and that he lived with her just slipped her mind!" Frank said storming out of the closet. I quickly changed my shirt and followed him. Frank threw himself onto the bed face down next to Gerard. I sat down on the edge of the bed and rubbed his back.
"Hey, it's gonna be ok." I said.
"Yeah, sure it is." He mumbled sarcastically.
"Look, you guys can stay here tonight if you want." I said to the other guys. They nodded happily. Frank sat up and wrapped me in a tight hug.
"Thank you." He whispered into my shoulder.
"For what?" I asked.
"For just being a great person and a great friend." He said hugging me tighter. I hugged him back and the others just watched. Frank would be ok, but I would definitely have to talk to Maddie about this.
So it was now 2:00 in the morning and we were all on sugar highs. Because even though we all could drink, we decided not to. Which is good, but then again…you really shouldn't give people like us too much Coke. That's not good. So, as I was saying it was 2:00 in the morning, we were all on sugar highs, and we were playing Guitar Hero.
"Spencer, I am gonna kick your ass!" Frank said as we started a song.
"Yeah, in your dreams!" I said. We were half way through the song and I was completely killing Frank. He dropped his guitar and started mercilessly tickling me as he pulled me to the ground. "Cheater!" I screamed in between laughs. I started fighting back and that's when Frank called for backup.
"Gerard! Help me out here!" he yelled. Gerard got off the bed and joined Frank in tickling me.
"Ugh! You bastard! And to think I trusted you!" I yelled jokingly.
"You've known me how long?" he asked.
"Since high school." I replied laughing due to Frank tickling my stomach.
"And you trust me?" he asked tickling me.
"Ah! Mikey! Help me!" I screamed. Mikey was sitting at my computer just watching the whole thing. He got up and walked over to the three of us and grabbed me under my arms and pulled me out from under the two boys. "Thank you." I said standing up.
"Aww, Mikey! Why do you have to go and ruin our fun?" Frank asked.
"Because it's three in the morning!" Mikey replied tiredly. Frank and Gerard's head both whipped around to the clock which indeed, read 3:00.
"Oh." Frank and Gerard said in unison.
"Hope you guys don't mind sleeping in your clothes." I said knowing that I had nothing for them to wear. But just to make sure, I walked into my closet to check for anything. "So where's everyone sleeping?" I asked. I walked back out of the closet empty handed to find that Mikey, Gerard, and Frankie had occupied my bed, Ray was on one of my couches, and Bob was on the other.
"Ahh, your bed's comfy." Frank said.
"Ook. I guess I'll just sleep on the floor." I said.
"You don't have to do that." Gerard said.
"Then where am I gonna sleep?" I asked.
"Across the three of us." Mikey answered for him.
"I guess that could work." I said laying over the three of them with my head on Frank's stomach and my legs on Mikey. And somehow the four of us fell asleep like that. And truth be told, Frank's stomach makes quite a good pillow.