Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

"Let's get you to a doctor. You look like shit, Gee."

"No, just close the curtains, Mikey. Fuck, all that sunlight."

Mikey closed the living room curtains, but what sunlight? It was overcast and drizzling occasionally.

Gee threw himself down on the old ratty couch and flung an arm over his eyes. His thick black hair spilled over the couch cushion.

"Water." Mikey said. "Dad always says drink water."

"Sure," Gee grunted. Mikey went into the tiny kitchen. He had to search for a clean glass. Hell, when was the last time Gee did some dishes? He cleaned out a cup he found on the counter. It looked like it had soda in it about a week ago and it had dried in the bottom. Ugh. Mikey hated Gee's single room apartment. He was such a mess, always too busy with something else to pick up. Mikey would rather have Gee come visit him or meet somewhere else. God, even Toro and Frankie were neater than this!

He brought Gee the clean cup of water. Gee sat up enough against the couch to drink it. He made a nasty face at it. The black hair fell in a mess around his face. It had been cut to frame his face at ear level but it was now down to his jaw.

"Tastes funky," Gee complained.

"I cleaned the cup, you fucking slob. It should be fine."

Gee shrugged and made himself drink a bit more.

"Yeah, funky."

"Seriously, Gee." Mikey sat on the other end of the couch. Upwind. Christ. Mikey shook his head. He smoothed his blond hair down. It was too long to lie flat properly. He needed a haircut as much as Gee.

"Gee, I'm sorry but you look awful and you can't take care of yourself."

There were dark circles under Gee's eyes and he just looked…sick.

Gee set the water down on the thrift store coffee table and lay back down, arm over his eyes again. Mikey stood up and wandered around the small living room.

"It looks like you haven't been writing or painting or anything. You sure as hell haven't been to practice for weeks. Toro's gonna yell at you and chew your ass out. Frankie…"

Mikey didn't know what to make of Frankie's reaction to Gee's disappearance and illness. Weird. But Frankie was always weird, so…

"Take a shower and then we're going to the doctor."

"Oh, just let me sleep. Damn, you're a bossy little brother."

"Fuck you, too." Mikey pulled out his phone, found the number for their family doctor and waited on hold. He sat back down on the couch and shoved Gee's feet out of the way.

"Go take a shower," he waved the phone, "while I wait." Gee whined pathetically. "GO, or I'm calling mom instead."

"Son of a bitch," Gee replied but he started moving.

"Don't talk about your mom like that," Mikey smirked. They both giggled. An old favorite joke. Gee made it to the bathroom and the water turned on. Finally, the receptionist picked up the line.

"Hey, It's Mikey Way, can I bring my brother in today? Yeah, I dunno. He looks like shit. Hold on."

Mikey banged on the bathroom door.

"Hey, dimwit, you got a fever?"

"No, fuck off."

"No, he says no fever. But he's pale, paler anyways, tired, light hurts his eyes and head. Yeah, he's had migraines before but not like this. It's different. It's been going on for weeks."

"Hey, dimwit, your head hurt? like that last migraine?"

"No, it only hurts when you're talking," Gee shouted over the water. Mikey smiled at that. Gee wasn't dying if he could keep insulting Mikey creatively.

@

"There was this girl…"

"Oh my god, you and a girl?" Mikey stopped pacing the exam room.

"Shut up, who are you to talk?"

Mikey pressed his lips together, annoyed.

"Mmmm," was all he replied crossing his arms over his chest.

"Fine, you and this girl…. ?" the doctor prompted.

"I woke up the next morning and felt like this."

"When was this?" the doctor asked.

"Mmm, three weeks ago? What's today?"

"Monday the 11th, you ass," Mikey replied.

"This girl? You know her? Did you use protection?"

"Ugh," Gee didn't say anything.

Mikey sat down in the one chair and rubbed his eyes.

"Ok. We'll test for STI's too." The doctor made a note on his computer.

"It wasn't like… " Gee trailed off. "Never mind," he looked down at his sneakers.

"Ok, so. You've been ill for three weeks at least. No fever though. Tired, photosensitive. Nausea? Vomiting?"

Gee nodded. "I can't eat very much. Crackers, soda. Everything else is….bad."

"Not you're usual migraine?"

"Nothing like it," Gee said quietly wishing he could sink into the ugly tile floor and disappear.

 "Could be a stomach virus. Three weeks is a little long, though. Go on down the hall to the lab and give them this."

The doctor checked off a bunch of boxes on the form.

"Blood and urine samples. I'll call you when the results are ready. Try your migraine meds if you haven't already. Just in case you get lucky."

Ugh, why had the doctor used that phrase?

Gee tried not to puke right there. Needles, blood and humiliation. Fantastic.

Mikey stood up and pulled Gee up by his arm.

"Come on, Fainting Beauty." He took the form from the doctor.

Gee sat in the chair with a bucket between his knees as the tech drew the blood sample. Mikey had a hand on his shoulder. Gee was simultaneously grateful for his brother and annoyed. Good that he was here. There was only one other person Gee would have wanted here for this. But no, he sighed. Never mind.

Gee pulled the brim of his hat down over his eyes. Mikey watched him pull out the sunglasses and put those on too. Well, at least the doctor was working on it. Mikey stuffed Gee into his old car and took him to the nearest Starbucks.

"Mikey, I can't eat."

"That's fine, we're not here to eat."

"What the fuck?"

Mikey dragged Gee inside and made him sit at a tiny table next to Toro and Frankie.

"Oh fuck," Gee groaned as he saw them and sat down.

Toro put a hand on his shoulder. "Why didn't you say you were sick, you stupid bitch?"

Gee snorted and almost laughed. He was just too tired, though. Toro treated him like a little brother, much like he did with Mikey. He liked it. He'd missed it these three weeks. Why hadn't he called Toro?

Frankie watched him over his cup of coffee. What the hell had he done with his hair while Gee wasn't watching? Gee couldn't decide if it was super cool or just super weird.

Mikey came back to the table and gave Gee a small cup of water and a piece of banana bread.

"It's the simplest thing they've got," Mikey shrugged. He sipped his hot black coffee. He drank it straight and scalding hot.

Gee sipped the water and didn't immediately gag. Good start. He crumbled some of the bread between his fingers.

"What's wrong?" Frankie finally spoke up.

Gee shrugged. "Don't know yet." He put the tiniest crumb of bread in his mouth and swallowed. It tasted funky, like the water, but it stayed down. Maybe one crumb at a time.

"We're going back to pick up some clothes and then he's staying with me," Mikey told them.

Gee looked up quickly.

What? They hadn't talked about that.

"Yeah, stupid. You're not staying alone anymore and I'm not staying at your place." Mikey glared at him. Yeah, he knew Mikey wasn't going to stay at his place.

Frankie caught Mikey's eye. "You'll call us if you need anything? Right? You're not that stupid?" He jerked his head at Gee but his eyes sparkled and there was something soft in his expression.

"Yeah, I'm not such a bone head," Mikey replied.

Toro nodded. "Yeah, just call. Anything you need."

Toro pulled out a hair band and tied his long, curly hair back out of his face.

"Hey guys, I'm sick, can you stop insulting me? I'm too tired to fight back." He pushed the crumbs around his plate. Toro patted his shoulder. "No, sorry bro."

Frankie kicked his boot under the table.

"Uhmph," Gee said. Frankie flicked his lip ring at Gee with that look in his eyes. Gee thought it was Frankie's very special and personal version of Fuck You, just for him. Gee dredged up enough energy to laugh at Frankie. Crazy bastard. Lip ring, nose ring, and so many tattoos that Gee wanted to cry thinking about the needles.

"Come on. Lets go." Mikey stood up abruptly. He wrapped up Gee's bread and stuffed it in a pocket. Frankie was alarmed at Mikey's sudden movement. Toro stood up and hugged Gee.

"Go get some sleep. Call me, Mikey." Toro said over Gee's head.

Frankie gave a half hearted wave as they left.

Mikey nodded and dragged Gee out to the car.

@

Mikey pulled out the hamburger and sat it on the counter. Gee wasn't hungry but he was. He'd make several burgers to eat over the next few days. He wiped down the counter and got everything ready then decided to go to the bathroom before he started.

Gee had a little energy when he woke up so he wandered around Mikey's place. Neat freak. Gee laughed to himself. Yeah, he knew he was a mess and Mikey wasn't really a neat freak, just neater. But that was most of the world that was neater than Gee. He didn't really care. His water glass was nearly empty so he took it into the kitchen to refill.

There was an interesting smell in here. Strange. He followed it to the open package of hamburger. That smelled good. The banana bread had been kinda ick. Mikey must be making burgers for himself. He was a decent cook and made a bunch of stuff then froze it. Sometimes he gave frozen stuff to Gee so he didn't accidentally starve.

Gee was faintly hungry. Hmmm. Of its own accord, one hand ran a finger through the red juice and fluid pooled at the side of the package. He licked the finger and shivered. Hungry.

Mikey came in behind him. "Don't mess with that. I'm gonna cook it." He pushed Gee out of the way.

Oh. Gee dropped his hand. Good thing Mikey hadn't seen that. He already knows I'm weird enough.

"Right," he said and got out of the way. He sat at the little kitchen bar and watched. As Mikey cooked, the good smell changed into something icky. Gee felt nauseated again but he didn't want to leave and be alone in the living room. He thought about opening a window to get rid of the smell but it was fucking raining again.

Mikey sat down next to him to eat when he was done cooking. Gee couldn't watch. Yuck.

"Find the crackers?" Mikey asked.

"Yeah."

"Eat any?"

"Uh."

Mikey sighed.

"I can't. Ok. I tried."

Mikey nodded. "Anything else we can try?"

Gee chewed on his bottom lip. He had a weird idea. He opened up the pantry and moved the cans around. Fucking alphabetized. He shook his head. And people thought he was weird. Beef stew. He held up the can for Mikey.

Mikey made a surprised face but just shrugged and said, "Try it if you want."

Gee drank the broth and left the vegetables.

@

"Jesus, wake up!" Mikey pinched Gee.

"Stop it! I was awake all night."

"Yeah, I know," Mikey bitched.

"I'm an artist. We have weird hours."

"Yeah, well you weren't doing any art." Mikey picked up the sketch book and flipped through it. Gee scowled ferociously at him. He hated people looking without asking. A few weeks ago he would have jumped up and grabbed it back. Today, he sat on Mikey's couch and bitched.

"Put it down. That's rude and you know it."

"Yeah, well there's nothing new to see." Mikey dropped it on the end table next to the pencils.

Gee crossed his arms over his chest. "I couldn't think of anything."

Which wasn't true. He'd only thought of one thing. That girl. He had resisted the urge to draw her but he couldn't think of anything else. He stood up and put on the sunglasses. He went to the window and pulled the curtains.

"Still hate the light?"

"Yeah, that hasn't changed."

"Well, at least you can drink the broth."

Gee picked up his cup of beef broth. It was plain. No salt, no herbs, nothing. It had also gone cold. Ick. He took it back to the microwave and reheated it. He leaned against the counter and sipped it. It was something at least. It didn't quite do it for him. It was missing something. He couldn't put his finger on it. It needed to be stronger? Richer? A little thicker.

"Oh. The doctor called while you were gone, Mikey."

"Yeah? What did they say?"

Gee blushed like a teenager caught with his hand up some girl's skirt behind the gym.

"I'm clean. All my tests were weird and they don't know a damn thing." He covered his face with the cup, drinking a little more.

"Huh," Mikey said. "You don't do anything normal." He grinned at Gee and they both shrugged.

"Yeah, nope." Gee agreed.

Mikey sobered up. "I don't like it."

Gee shook his head in agreement. "No, that's not so good." He finished the broth and set the cup down. Mikey stared hard at him. Oh. He picked up the cup, washed it out in the sink and put it in the dishwasher.

"You can learn," Mikey said sourly.

Gee gave him his worst grumpy look as he went back to the couch and lay down. He put his arm over the sunglasses, over his closed eyes. The light still seemed to seep through. It made him cross and irritable and his eyes hurt slightly.

"Let me sleep, Mikey. You can bitch all you want tonight."

@

That night he drew her. Why not? Why was he resisting?

She was striking, not pretty. People stopped to look at her a second time. Stormy blue-gray eyes. What color was her hair? He struggled to find the right words and he struggled with his pencils to get it right. She'd had it pulled up into a messy bun, that's what the girls called it, with bits straggling along the side of her face and a few trailing down the back of her neck.

Despite what Mikey and the doctor thought, he hadn't slept with her. He wasn't quite sure what had happened, but he was pretty sure it wasn't that. He'd had a few one night stands. He'd brought people home a few times, gone home with them. He knew what that felt like, looked like the next morning. No, they hadn't. He had woken up with all the same clothes on and there was no evidence anywhere in the apartment.

No, he'd felt like hell though. Hot, tired, thirsty, headache, nausea, just about every kind of misery. Bad drugs? Bad trip? His wrist had hurt and he found two red round wounds scabbed over with some dried blood around them. Really weird. He didn't like needles. He wouldn't have done any drugs with needles. If he had, he'd done a fucking awful job of it. They were healed with nothing to show for it by the time Mikey had dragged him to the doctor.

He couldn't get her eyes right. There was something delightfully wicked in their expression that he couldn't capture.

He dreamed of her.

@

"I'm going home."

Mikey didn't like it. He continued to tune the bass and didn't say anything.

"I know, I'm not any better but then I'm not any worse."

Mikey started the bass line of their first and oldest song. Mikey frequently picked songs to play to express something he couldn't say in words. This song was misery, fear, devastation, confusion, a lot of confusion when the world didn't make any fucking sense. Mikey was confused and didn't know what to do about it. Yeah, well me too.

Sometimes he hated that song. He hummed along. That one fucking awful day that wrecked the whole world, made the country go crazy for years. That song that led him directly, step by step, to here.

Mikey stopped suddenly. "Ok, go home. But you swear on the Rosary that you will go to practice twice a week and the studio on Wednesdays."

"During the day?" Gee complained.

"Fuck," Mikey sighed. "We can practice at night but the studio time is during the day. Ask Toro and Frankie. I don't care. Ask the studio, but I bet any time at night is already booked."

@

Gee lay on the couch in their practice room. He could hear Frankie tuning Pansy nearby. He was hovering nearby, in fact. It made Gee nervous and was reassuring at the same time. Toro and Mikey were having a, discussion, about the bass line for the song they were working on tonight. They were quiet, trying not to bother Gee with it, but the tone of their voices was slowly getting closer to an argument.

"Ok. I'm ready!" Frankie announced in a falsely happy 'Let's go team!' kind of voice. Gee snorted, huffed and nearly choked. He looked up from under his arm at Frankie. Frankie winked at him. Mikey and Toro couldn't see it. Gee tried to breathe and wipe off his stupid smile before anyone noticed. Frankie flipped that crazy lip ring at him. Gee flipped him off.

Gee hauled his pathetic and tired ass off the couch. He started to say ok lets get this over with. He stopped. That would piss them off.

"Let's get started." He wanted to go home already.

@

He dreamed of her while he slept that day. He woke up feeling awful again, like that night he had met her. All the same symptoms. He was so thirsty. He staggered out to the kitchen to heat up some broth. As he pulled at the microwave door his wrist hurt. He stopped the motion and peered at his wrist. Well, fuck. Two more of the round scabby wounds had appeared. He finished pushing the buttons on the microwave then stared at the wounds.

What the fuck? Was there some critter in his apartment chewing on him while he slept? If so why didn't he wake up? That had to hurt. They didn't hurt now if he was holding still. It was pulling hard on the microwave door that had irritated them.

The microwave beeped and he pulled the cup out. He stood there drinking it but it didn't make him feel any better like it had last week.

He had an idea. He had a plan and it was kinda disgusting. The idea had come to him standing in the grocery store looking at the fresh meat refrigerator. He finished the broth to no effect. None of his symptoms improved.

He hated everything to do with needles and blood and medical crap. Yet, here he was staring at the package of raw hamburger. He tentatively dipped a finger in the juice, closed his eyes and licked it off his finger. He sighed with some relief. That's what he wanted. That was good, not quite perfect but so much better than the broth. He shook his head in disgust. What the fuck was wrong with him?

He pinched off a bit of the raw meat and made himself swallow that. That was ok. He couldn't remember ever trying raw hamburger before so he had no basis for comparison. It wasn't quite as good as the liquid but at least it was something he could eat besides broth and crackers. He should be losing weight eating next to nothing but no. He looked the same. His clothes fit the same. The scale said the same thing.

Fuck, he should get rid of that thing. It fucked with him just like the drugs and shit. Well, maybe after he got over whatever illness this was. He was curious to see if he would eventually lose weight, not eating like this.

He drank the liquid then nibbled on the hamburger. The headache subsided. The nausea faded despite what he was doing. Weird. His thirst disappeared. He was edging towards feeling normal. He packed it up and put it back into the refrigerator. He was struck by a thought as he closed the door. He leaned his forehead against the door. Fuck. It would be better if it was warm.

@

"Mikey, meet me at the lab tomorrow. They want to do more tests. Nine am."

Gee would be miserable out in the day but it was late spring. The sun rose earlier every day and set later every day making it hard for Gee to do anything outside of his apartment.

"Nine? I can't Gee. We have that meeting with the contract lawyer. You're supposed to be there, too."

Oh, he'd forgotten when he'd made the lab appointment.

"Go to the lab," Mikey said, letting him off the hook. "Call Frankie or Toro." Mikey hung up. He should use the calendar thing on his phone.

@

Frankie sat next to him in the lab waiting room. Gee loved going places with Frankie. It was a fucking riot. Everyone stared at Frankie. Frankie loved it. Gee shook his head. Why did he love it? Gee hadn't a clue. He could all but feel Frankie vibrating in amusement.

The younger people thought he was cool as fuck. The older the person got, the more disapproving their stare. The place was packed so there were plenty of people for Frankie. Was that a new ear piercing?

Frankie had tattoos almost everywhere. He was working on having them everywhere. Everywhere. He had that adorable lip ring, a nose ring and some earrings.

The hair. There weren't words to describe it. One side was buzzed short and bleached white. The other side was long and black. It looked…very Frankie.

He had ripped black jeans and heavy boots. The jeans were tight and low on his skinny frame. The pink belt was too funny. Today, he had a tight t shirt tucked into the jeans.

The whole presentation made everyone uncertain if he was gay or not. Frankie loved to jerk people around like that. Gee had fallen into the habit of helping and playing along.

They called his name and they both went back into the lab. Gee grabbed Frankie's hand and held on hard.

"Keep breathing," Frankie whispered. Well, you got your wish, stupid, Frankie's here with you.

The tech checked his name and birthday then tied on the rubber band thing. He turned away and Frankie handed him the trash basket. He didn't even have to ask.

The tech was talking to him but he tuned it out and simply watched Frankie. He was getting used to the hair cut and maybe it was growing on him. He flinched as the needle went in and he stupidly turned to look at it.

Oh. The thick red blood was being sucked into the tube. Oh, that was pretty. He licked his lips. The tech switched tubes. Gee stared through all six tubes. Six? What were they doing with all that? He was faintly hungry and thirsty. The tech finished and wrapped his elbow with that stretchy tape stuff. He looked over at Frankie. Frankie was gaping at him, mouth open slightly and wide eyes disbelieving.

"Uhm, ok. Let's take you home, Gee." Frankie kept hold of his hand as they walked back through the waiting room. That got them more disapproving stares from the older people. Gee tried hard not to smirk but didn't do a very good job.

Frankie drove him home and offered to come up and keep him company for a while. Frankie didn't mind the mess as much as other people. Gee told him no thanks, I'm just going to sleep. The sunlight was giving him a headache despite the hat and sunglasses. Frankie flipped the lip ring but it seemed more thoughtful and worried than fuck you this time.

"I'm ok, Frankie. Or at least no worse. Go on home."

Frankie responded with a half hearted smile, not sure that he believed Gee.

"Alright," he sighed and got back in the car. "Call me? If, I dunno, whatever. Ok?"

"Don't fuss, mom," Gee tried to joke but Frankie didn't laugh. He bit his lip, waved and drove off.

Gee let himself in the apartment. It smelled good. He followed his nose to the kitchen. He had left a package of hamburger out on the counter. Good, it was warm.

@

Frankie had a key. Gee hadn't answered the phone for two days. Frankie was closer than Mikey so he agreed to go check for Mikey. The apartment was dark. It was well past sunset and all the street lights were on. The other apartments had lights on. Was Gee asleep? Had he forgotten to plug in his phone? Frankie's mom was always messing up the volume on her phone and missed lots of calls and messages. It could be so simple.

Gee could be dead on the floor, illness, accident or… Frankie tried not to think about the third option. Frankie was well aware that his best friend wasn't what you'd call stable. He might have done something rash in a fit of depression.

Frankie peered into the window but the curtains did a good job of keeping him out. He sighed and ran his hand through the long hair on the right side. Damn. he pulled out his key ring and found the right one. It was easy to find even in the gloom. It was the bright pink Barbie key that Gee had picked out. Funny Gee, very funny. Frankie didn't feel like laughing.

He unlocked the door and pushed it open.

"Gee?" he called quietly. Well, that wouldn't do. He cleared his throat and tried again. "Gee. Where are you?" There was no answer and no lights. Frankie flipped the switch by the door. Only one under powered light came on. The living room was gloomy, the kitchen and hallway dark.

Frankie checked the kitchen first. The light didn't work in there at all. A little light came in the window, enough to tell the room was deserted. There was no body lying on the floor. Ok, good start Frankie told himself.

He went back to the living room and into the hallway. That light didn't work either and there was no window. Frankie went down the hall carefully with one hand touching the wall.

"Gee! Damn it answer me!" He was really getting nervous. If Gee was just asleep wouldn't he have woken up by now with Frankie calling for him? The stress Gee caused him sometimes made him sick to his stomach. Like now. He passed the bathroom. He could see in well enough, it had a small night light on. No body in the bathtub. Thank God.

Bedroom. The light switch didn't work. Of course not.

"Gee!" he all but yelled. Some one stirred on the bed. Finally! Frankie made his way quickly but carefully across the room. The floor was covered in boxes of comic books. It was a mine field.

"Gee, can't you at least shove these up against the wall?"

Frankie knelt at the side of the bed. If Gee was ok, he'd stop bitching about the boxes. I swear I will, just be ok. Frankie told his rebellious stomach to shut up, now was not the time. He pushed the long messy dark hair away from Gee's face.

"Come on, Gee, wake up." He shook Gee roughly. If it was drugs, he had little hope of waking Gee. He couldn't remember if Gee kept any Narcan. Probably should. He found Gee's wrist and searched for a pulse. He couldn't find it. Damn, Gee, don't be dead. His hand certainly wasn't warm. Frankie pushed away panic. He'd seen Gee move in the bed less than a minute ago.

He searched for the pulse at the neck. He couldn't find that either. He moved his fingers around searching. He'd never been good at this in the First Aid class. Don't panic. Don't puke.

Gee's eyes opened suddenly. Frankie fell backwards on his ass. He went sprawling into a box of books.

"God damn it!" he cried out in surprise. Gee hissed. Frankie stopped trying to get up.

"Gee? Talk to me Gee," his voice shook. His chest was too tight and he couldn't breathe right.

Gee blinked several times. "Frankie?" it was only a whisper but it was proof of life. Frankie heaved a deep sigh.

"Fuck, Gee, you scared me to death," he tried to make a joke out of it but his voice still shook with surprise.

Gee sat up on the edge of the bed. "Frankie," he stated.

"Yeah, Gee, it's me." He scrambled to his knees and knelt in front of Gee. "What's wrong Gee? Tell me whats wrong."

Gee lifted a hand to Frankie's face and ghosted his fingertips across his cheek, hardly touching.

"Frankie, you shouldn't have come." Gee sounded terribly sad. Was it one of his depressive episodes?

Gee's hand went up to the shaved hair and ran his fingers across it. The feel made Frankie shiver. He swallowed hard. Gee was going to be the death of him some day. He had no idea what he was doing to Frankie.

"I can't decide if I like it," Gee whispered. He put his hand down but raised the other to run his fingers through the long dark hair.

"Gee. Gee. Stop. Tell me what's wrong." His voice was shaking now for another reason. His chest was still too tight.

"You should leave, Frankie." Gee put his hand down but his eyes were intense and searching Frankie's face

"Jesus, Mary and - " Frankie started to swear.

"SHUT UP SHUT UP!" Gee yelled right in his face and recoiled away from Frankie.

Frankie stared at him appalled. What the hell was wrong with the man? Drugs. They made people weird. Drugs. Let it wear off or call 911?

Gee leaned back towards Frankie. He cupped Frankie's face with his hand. Frankie almost flinched away.

"You should leave," Gee stared into his eyes. In the gloom Frankie couldn't make out the color. He knew they should be hazel, not quite green. He thought he saw them shine red, reflecting light like a cat. "You should leave," Gee repeated.

@

Frankie woke up in his car, in his driveway, in front of his house. He was groggy and confused. He opened the door, staggered a few paces away and then threw up.

God damn, was he drunk? Hung over? How did he get home? Had he been out at a bar?

The front door opened and his girlfriend was standing there. She came down the steps and knelt down next to him. "What the hell happened to you, Frank?"

"I don't remember." He sat down on the pavement.

"Damn it, Frankie you drink too much."

"I don't remember," he repeated. She stood up and dragged him with her. She took him inside and got him into to bed to sleep it off.

I don't smell like alcohol he thought fuzzily before he fell asleep.

@

A few hours later his phone was ringing. It was Mikey's ring tone. It was some stupid pop song they all hated. It stopped. It started again a few seconds later.

Frankie flopped over and found it in the pile of clothes at the side of the bed. Leaning over the side of the bed had been a bad idea. He lay there disoriented for a minute. When the phone rang again, he answered it.

"Fuck! Frankie! Where the hell have you been? I've been waiting hours!" Mikey yelled at him. "Is he ok?"

"I don't know," Frankie said, voice hollow and uncertain.

"What? What the hell? Did you even go over there?"

Frankie could hear Mikey picking up his keys and going out the door. "I'm going over there now."

"I think I went over.”

"You think? What is wrong with you? Drunk or high? You sound stupid."

"Neither," Frankie replied confused. Mikey started his car. He switched the phone to speaker so he could keep yelling at Frankie.

"I went over there," Frank tried really hard to remember. "I went in."

"Yeah, come on Frankie figure it out. Stupid street lights," Mikey muttered. "Stupid speed limit."

"Is he fuckin' alive?"

"Yeah, he was." Frank clung to that memory.

"I can slow down and not get a ticket or arrested for felony speeding?"

"Yeah, slow down," Frankie advised.

He could hear Mikey sigh.

"Ok, you found him, then what?"

"We talked?" Frankie wasn't sure about this part. The memories got fuzzier and fuzzier until they disappeared.

"You're not sure? What is wrong with you?"

"Not really," Frank admitted.

"Jesus fucking christ," Mikey muttered.

"Your mother would smack you for saying that."

Hmmm, maybe maybe not. She'd be mad, though.

"Then what? Come on, Frankie, pull it together. Speak up I can hardly hear you."

"I don't remember anything after that." The fuzzy memories he did have were kinda weird and disturbing. He remembered Gee's hand in his hair, on his face. He remembered shaking, not in fear at the touch, shaking with something else he didn't want to name.

"I woke up at home in the car," he told Mikey

"You lost hours?"

"Yeah, hours and hours."

"Shit," Mikey said.

Ten minutes later Mikey pulled into Gee's apartment complex. It was dawn and the sky was red.

He pulled out his key, teenage mutant ninja turtles. Gee could make anything a joke. The door was unlocked though. He went into the gloomy living room.

"Gee, where the fuck are you?"

"He was in the bedroom," Frankie said. Mikey dropped the phone in surprise. He'd forgotten it. He picked it up and strode into the bedroom.

"Wake the fuck up, Gee," he said loudly to the sleeping figure on the bed.

Gee muttered, "Go away," and waved a hand at him.

"No, sit up."

"You're a pain in the ass," Gee said as he sat up.

"God, you look awful," Mikey told him.

Gee muttered cross and irritated, "Shut up."

"Get up, get dressed. I'm not leaving until you do." He stomped out of the room back to the living room. He took the bass he kept here off the wall and sat down with it. It would keep him from freaking out over how bad Gee looked.

Gee came out a few minutes later dressed in different clothes. He laid down on the couch and covered his eyes with his arm. Mikey inspected what he could see of Gee's face. It was incredibly pale. His lips looked too red against the pallor.

"What the fuck is wrong with you? Drugs? Alcohol? Depression? Schizophrenia?"

"I don't know," Gee groaned.

"Let's go to the hospital."

"No."

"Go to the hospital," Frankie said, still on the phone. Mikey jumped having forgotten again about Frank.

Gee took his arm off of his face.

"Frankie?” Gee asked in alarm.

Mikey held up his phone for Gee.

"Oh." Gee put his arm back. "You ok, Frankie?"

"Yeah, Gee. I'm home." He swallowed and lied. "I'm ok."

Gee sighed in relief. "Good, good," he said faintly.

Mikey stood up and put the bass away. He grumbled off into the kitchen. He was hungry. There had to be something safe to eat. But then the smell hit him. Something was rotting.

He checked the trash can. Yeah, that was it. He couldn't tell what it was in there and didn't look any closer. He put the can outside the back door. Later.

Gee was getting weirder every year. The success of their first album wasn't helping. Mikey changed that thought; it was making things worse.

He opened the refrigerator and stopped still. It was mostly empty. Gee usually had three months of dead left overs. Mikey never ate any thing in there. Now, it just had a few packages of meat. Hamburger, steak, chicken. He closed the door. He'd go to a drive thru place on the way home.

He went back to the living room and sat on Gee's feet.

"Get off," Gee squirmed.

"Mom wants you to go to church this weekend."

Gee groaned. He had a difficult relationship with the church.

"Go or she'll murder you," Mikey advised.

"Fine. What day is it?"

Mikey rolled his eyes. "Friday. Where's your phone? Why didn't you answer?"

Gee shrugged.

"Frankie. I'm gonna hang up and call Gee's phone."

"Ok," Frankie said and hung up.

Mikey called Gee's phone and found it on the floor near the bed. He plugged it in with the cord at the end of the couch. The cord was long enough that he could drop the phone on Gee's chest.

"Answer it next time, dimwit."

"Ok, ok," Gee muttered.

"And be at church at nine. Or else." Mikey peeled Gee's arm away from his face. What the hell was wrong with him?

@

Mikey inspected Gee walking towards him in the church parking lot. He was fifteen minutes early. The hat was stylish and went well with the cool jacket. Gee had an interesting sense of style when he bothered. Under the sunglasses, he still looked like death warmed over.

Gee stopped at the curb.

"Mom inside?"

Mikey nodded. "Yeah, she'll be pleased to see you."

Gee bit the inside of his bottom lip.

"Yeah, well, until she gets a good look at me."

"Yeah," Mikey agreed, "then you're gonna have a problem." Mikey turned away and strode towards the church doors. Other people were drifting by them and entering. He looked back.

"Come on, don't be a baby. She won't actually murder you. Not in church, anyways."

Gee didn't smile or laugh. He did take a few steps forward. It looked like he was struggling to walk, forcing himself to move each part and advance forward. Mikey watched confused. What was wrong with him now?

Gee pressed forward, determined to make progress. As he got closer to Mikey it got harder. He stopped at the first step up to the doors. They were the last people left outside. Gee tried another step but fell to his knees.

"Fuck, Gee, what's wrong?" Mikey knelt down next to him.

"I can't," Gee whispered, "it's like. Like crawling through honey. I can't move." He took a deep trembling breath. "I'm gonna be sick."

Mikey stared with his mouth open slightly.

Gee coughed and heaved but his stomach was empty.

On his hands and knees at the steps of the church he begged, "Mikey, take me home."

@

Mikey took Gee home. He had to mostly carry Gee to the car. Mom would be pissed with both of them but he'd deal with that later.

Gee flopped on the couch. Mikey put the hat on the coffee table. Mikey stayed all day. He played his bass to keep busy. He found some blank sheet music and scribbled ideas on it. Practice tonight.

Gee hardly moved.

Mikey called Toro while sitting in his car in the parking lot.

"Yeah, he's not coming tonight. Whatever it is, it's worse."

"I'm coming over," Toro said. "Be there about seven. Be there, Mikey."

Mikey hung up. He had stuff to do but he wasn't going anywhere. He went back inside and picked at the bass. He couldn't settle down to any one thing or song. His mind meandered all over the place and his fingers followed.

Gee woke up as the sun faded. He sat up on the couch and listened to Mikey. He was always playing, practicing. He felt he needed to catch up to Toro and Frankie. When Mikey had started playing, those two were already amazing musicians.

He just listened until Toro knocked on the door.

Toro stood over Gee.

"You look like hell," he pronounced.

"Yeah, so everyone says. Thanks."

Toro sat down in the arm chair. He spilled out of it. He stretched out his long legs and crossed them at the ankles. Even sitting he was taller than the back of the chair. At six foot two, or something unbelievable, furniture never fit him.

Frankie let himself in. He paused in the doorway and peered in cautiously. He flicked the lip ring nervously several times before deciding to come in and close the door.

Mikey saw Gee stop breathing as Frankie entered. Not good he thought. They stared at each other as Frankie put his back to the door and leaned against it slightly.

Gee coughed. "Uh, so, practice here tonight or …uh what?”

"No," Toro said, "all we have is Mikey's bass. Let's drag your sorry ass out to practice."

Gee groaned and flopped back on the couch.

"No," he said flatly, simply. There was no room to argue.

Mikey stood up and hung the bass

"Yes. Now, come on."

Toro stood up. "Come on, little bro. Get your ass up." Toro had the right to call anybody little if he wanted. Toro put out a hand to Gee's shoulder to pull him up.

Gee slapped him away and hissed, "No!"

Toro shook his hand. "Fuck, Gee, calm down."

From Frankie's vantage point he saw Gee's eyes gleam red for a moment. He put his hand on the door knob. He was ready to bolt. It was all too much. Gee being sick, being weird, those eyes, his own messy emotions. He felt queasy. Of course, he did. He also wanted to stay and help. But how?

"Gee, come on. Calm down and go out with us," Mikey coaxed.

Gee jumped up. "No, damn it, leave me alone. No, get the fuck out," he yelled.

Toro backed up several steps taken off guard.

Gee pointed at the door. "Get the fuck out now," he said in a commanding tone. He glared at Toro while keeping his arm pointed at the door.

"Fine, fine," Toro muttered, "kill your damn self." He turned and strode to the door. He frowned at Frankie who moved and let him out the front door.

"Christ! Gee, that was rude!" Mikey complained.

"SHUTUP!" Gee yelled and took several angry steps towards Mikey. Mikey saw the flash of red in Gee's eyes and stepped back, stumbling in surprise.

"What the hell!"

Gee laughed, full throated and hysterical.

"What the hell!" Gee repeated.

"Come on, Mikey," Frankie whispered, "let's go."

"Yeah," Mikey said confused and disoriented. "Yeah," he backed up through the door.

Gee calmed down as he watched Frankie push Mikey out the door.

"Why'd you come back?" he asked quietly.

"I don't know." Frankie's voice shook, all of him shook. He knew why but couldn't say it. He bit his lip instead of flicking the ring.

"Tell me how to help, Gee. I just want…" He swallowed. "I just want to help." He changed what he'd been about to say. Mikey was still close enough to hear. He hadn't gone far down the porch.

"I don't think you can help, Frankie." Gee’s voice was so sad Frankie's heart started to break. He took an unintentional step forward.

"No! Don't!" Gee cried and fled down the hall. The bedroom door slammed. Frankie took a few miserable breaths then turned and left with Mikey. He locked the door behind him, as if it would keep Gee safe inside.

@

Frank sat in Mikey's car at a McDonald's parking lot. Whatever Mikey was eating, it smelled awful. He didn't bother to order anything; he'd wait until he got home. He rolled the window down further.

"Cold," Mikey complained.

Frankie ignored him. He rested his head against the side of the car.

"You saw something," he said quietly. It wasn't a question. He was sure. Mikey cut his eyes towards Frankie then back to his French fries.

"Yeah," Mikey nodded, "his eyes kinda glowed red for a few seconds. I must be nuts." He shook his head to clear out his crazy thoughts.

"No, I saw it too. Both times."

"What?" Mikey asked sharply.

"When I went over to check on him for you. I saw something." He pressed his lips together into a thin flat line of unhappiness. He let his left hand fiddle with an earring.

"What exactly did you see?" Mikey packed up the food and put it in the back seat. Thank god, the smell started to abate.

Frankie made his voice strong and firm. "His eyes glowed red for a bit. And I woke up at home. No idea how I got there." He let go of the earring and chewed on a nail.

"Fucking weird," Mikey said.

"Yeah." Frankie agreed. Understatement.

"And he, uhm." This part was weird too but he'd noticed something. "He started yelling at me when I swore, Jesus, Mary and Joseph."

Mikey turned in the seat to stare at him. Frankie stared at the holes in his jeans. "He did it again when you said Christ. He started yelling."

Mikey nodded slowly, that was true but made no sense. He stopped staring at Frankie. It wouldn't help, he was clearly freaked out enough. He tapped his fingers on the steering wheel.

"Frankie. This morning. We went to church."

"Yeah?"

"He didn't go in. He sorta collapsed on the steps. He couldn't make himself go in or something."

@

Gee stayed up for hours pacing or drawing. He drew her over and over. Every angle he could remember. Every expression.

He wore himself out and slept for an hour. When he woke up there were the two round bloody wounds, on his neck this time.

@

They left Gee alone for almost a week. They all worried. Toro worried about their music. Mikey worried about his older brother. Frankie worried about everything

Frankie put the bottle back in the cabinet. It would just make his stomach hurt. Why did he have it anyways. He took it back out again. He poured it into the sink.

He wanted to go back. Idiot. He had so many reasons not to go. Only a few to go back, but they were compelling. He barely slept. He ate even less as his insides hurt more than usual. He smoked too much. He worked in his little home studio but didn't make much progress.

Bored and irritable he played through the old album. He stopped at one particular song.

You're stupid and crazy, he told himself. It's a joke, a fucking joke. Gee liked to tell stories. They were all bored of relationship songs so they told stories. How many zombie songs were there ? How many… he couldn't think it. It was a joke. A story.

He got up and put the guitar away. He went into his bedroom and looked through his jewelry box. No, not there. He'd hung it up. His mother had given him a necklace with a crucifix on it for confirmation. He put it on, simultaneously feeling stupid, crazy and better.

@

Mikey just showed up on Frankie's doorstep. Frankie shrugged and let him in.

"What's up?"

"Have you heard from him?" Mikey asked.

"No, you?"

"No." Mikey paced around the living room. "He doesn't answer."

A minute later Mikey asked, "Wanna go back over there?"

"Mmmm," Frankie said torn. "He keeps warning me away."

Mikey stopped pacing to look searchingly at Frankie. He hadn't mentioned that before. Mikey could guess at why Gee would warn off Frankie and why Frankie hadn't mentioned it before. Damn them, he thought sadly.

He went back to pacing. That was more useful than harassing Frankie. Mikey stopped suddenly and turned back to Frankie.

"A crucifix? Really? Frankie."

Frankie crossed his arms and glowered at Mikey.

"Fine." He opened his phone and called Toro. Toro picked up right away.

"What?"

"What are we gonna do, Toro?" It was second nature to ask Toro that. Gee was too excitable. Frankie too nervous and Mikey never felt like he knew what he was doing.

God, it took four of them to make up a real human being. He could hear Toro tapping his fingers on something. Mikey followed the rhythm effortlessly.

"I want to go over there and strangle him," Toro said calmly.

Mikey snorted and Frankie repressed a giggle.

"Well, that's not new or helpful," Mikey replied wryly.

"I don't know," Toro admitted, which shocked Mikey. "We don't know what's wrong with him."

Mikey turned to look at Frankie's necklace.

"You know," he held Frankie's gaze. "Last time I was there, he only had raw meat in the fridge." Frankie's face drew up in disgust and fear.

"Toro. Come over here. There are some things Frankie and I need to tell you."

@

"His eyes glowed red? You know, you sound crazy."

Mikey and Frankie both nodded.

"Ok, good," Toro fumbled, surprised by their acceptance of his statement.

"Ah, hmm, I didn't see anything."

"You'd just left," Mikey told him, "when I saw it."

"Ok, I want to see this for myself."

Mikey and Frankie glanced nervously at each other but it wasn't an unreasonable request.

"Alright,” Mikey found his voice. "Let's meet up over there."

@

Frankie leaned against his car smoking and staring at Gee's apartment. This was stupid and maybe dangerous. He put his other hand to the crucifix. He wasn't sure he believed anymore. Would it work if he didn't believe?

Toro and Mikey waved him over. He dropped the cigarette and stepped on it with his boot. Why not?

Mikey opened the door with his key. It was dark inside and he flipped the living room light switch. The same underpowered light came on. Toro stood behind Mikey. Frankie hung back on the porch telling himself he wasn't terrified. He also wasn't sure what he was more afraid of Gee or Gee.

"Gee!" Mikey called out.

Mikey stepped forward and looked around. The smell nearly gagged him. Then he saw the small furry body lying next to the coffee table. There was a small pool of liquid around it. Mikey put a hand over his mouth and looked away quickly.

"Fuck," Toro said over his shoulder.

Frankie didn't come in and look. The smell told him enough.

"Gee?" Mikey called again not sure he wanted an answer anymore.

Gee came out of the bedroom slowly. Mikey thought he glided almost graceful as a cat. He came down the hallway towards them.

Gee glanced up at them. Mikey saw his eyes reflect red in the dim living room light.

"Fuck," Toro said again.

"Why? Can't you just leave me alone?" Gee whispered. "I don't want to," he glanced at the pathetic animal, "hurt you."

Frankie tucked the crucifix under his shirt then pushed in between Toro and Mikey.

"Gee," he said when he got to the front. Gee closed his eyes, "Nooo," he moaned.

"Tell me, Gee. What's wrong? Tell me. Never mind them. Tell me."

"Haven't you guessed yet?"

Gee glided forward. "Frankie…."

Mikey and Toro backed up but Frankie stood still and waited for Gee.

"I think I know," Frankie could barely whisper. He was afraid, afraid of so many things. Afraid of Gee. Afraid of what he felt for Gee. The two things couldn't coexist inside his body.

"Tell me I'm wrong. It's not possible."

"Oh! It's possible." Gee moved forward slowly to Frankie. When he was close enough he tilted his head so Frankie could see the two bloody wounds on his neck.

Frankie closed his eyes no no no no.

Mikey gasped and Toro said fuck a third time.

Frankie opened his eyes to see the nightmare of pain on Gee's face. Frankie let out a small sob.

"What do we do, Gee?"

Gee stepped closer. His expression changed from painfully sad to hopeful. Frankie stopped breathing. Don't look at me like that! Frankie thought his heart would stop.

"Come with me, Frankie." He raised his hand to Frankie's cheek. He caressed it lightly.

Gee's eyes widened in shock, clearly showing the red in them. He hissed and pulled his hand back.

Frankie blinked and Gee was twenty feet back from him, down the hallway.

"Frankie! How could you?" Gee cried. He turned and fled into the bedroom. There was a crash of breaking glass. A chill spring breeze went through the apartment. Frankie didn't hear anything but he knew Gee was gone.

He sank to the floor and wrapped his arms around his knees.

@

They spent the rest of the night at Toro's place. He herded them all home. He fed them. He put out blankets and pillows for them on the couch and spare room.

Mikey was bemused. Toro was such a mother hen when things went wrong. He did this when one of them was sick or hung over or well, worse sometimes. He sat with Frankie at the counter and watched. Toro even kept Frank-safe food on hand.

He handed them plates.

"Eat. Sleep. We'll talk in the morning."

Frankie nodded and ate slowly. Mikey just went with it. There was no arguing with Toro like this.

@

After breakfast, Frankie looked at Toro's collection of guitars. He picked one out. He looked back over his shoulder.

"Can I?"

"Yeah," Toro said agreeably.

Frankie sat down with it and started to play.

He played but he was thinking. The crucifix had worked. He didn't know who was more surprised him or Gee. Did it work because he believed, if only half halfheartedly? Did it work no matter what he believed?

If it worked then Gee really was…

No. Despite what he'd seen the past several days, no. He shook his head. It was crazy, impossible.

He realized he was playing progressively sadder songs. Mikey and Toro stood in the kitchen watching him, clearly discussing him. What did it matter if they knew now?

He was sure Mikey knew. At Starbucks, when Frankie had started to flirt with Gee, Mikey had jumped up suddenly and hustled Gee out the door.

Frank knew Mikey didn't care if Frank was gay or bi or fancied pink unicorns. He cared about the band. He cared about Gee. He didn't want anything besides friendship between them all. It was safer that way, smarter.

"What's wrong with him?" Toro asked. "I mean besides," he waved a hand around, "this?"

Had Toro not noticed? Mikey wondered. It wasn't his place to say. Toro must be so used to Gee and Frankie that he hadn't seen when the pretending, just to fuck with people's heads, had turned real.

"He's taking this hard," Mikey didn't lie.

Toro accepted that. They went to go sit with Frankie. He didn't look up but kept playing.

Toro said, "We should go back during the day and check the place out. We might find something."

"Bring a shovel," Mikey said. "We'll burry that animal."

Frankie shuddered. "Ugh," he said under his breath.

"I doubt he's still there," Toro said.

Mikey nodded sipping at his coffee. "Noon?" he asked wanting to have a lot of light and plenty of time.

"Yeah," Toro agreed. "Go home and meet there at noon?"

Mikey and Frankie didn't answer. They weren't leaving.

"Ok. I'll find some extra towels for showers. We all smell funny."

@

Frankie waited outside. Toro and Mikey went inside with a garbage bag, gloves and a shovel. They went behind the apartment building which was up against an empty lot covered in brush and a few trees.

Toro dug a neat hole and Mikey put the poor critter in it. They looked at Frankie.

"What?"

"You have the crucifix," Mikey said.

"What's that got to do with anything?"

"Say something for the poor thing," Toro encouraged him.

"Oh, you two are stupid. It doesn't make me holy or something."

They kept staring at him looking nervous and worried.

"Fine." He gave them his best scowl though, brows drawn, lips pursed and eyes narrowed. Idiots.

He stepped up to the little grave. He took hold of the crucifix.

"I'm sorry." Suddenly, there were tears in his eyes and his voice was thick. "If animals have a heaven, you deserve to go."

He turned away and took several steps. He let go the necklace and shoved his hands in his pockets. He rubbed his eyes.

"Ok, then," Toro cleared his throat. "Let's find Gee's window and have a look." Mikey led the way. He spent the most time here and had no trouble finding it.

There was glass all over the ground. Mikey stopped short and started looking for foot prints. None of them knew a damned thing about tracking but the ground was muddy and soft from the recent rain.

Mikey found several prints leading into the vacant lot. It looked like Gee had fled straight ahead. The ground dried out and no longer held prints a novice could find. It didn't matter much, though. Ahead of them was a wrought iron fence they couldn't cross. Behind it was a cemetery.

@

They trudged back to the apartment. Enough of the smell had dissipated so that Frankie could enter. They searched the place.

There were no more dead animals, thankfully. The meat in the refrigerator was quite old. Mikey found Gee's most recent sketch books by the bed. He flipped through them then brought them outside to show the others. No one wanted to stand around inside.

"This is the last one I saw a few weeks ago. The second half is all this girl." Mikey passed it around.

"Ok?" Toro asked quizzically.

"Gee said this all started with a girl. He met a girl and woke up the next morning feeling sick."

Mikey showed them the second book. It was completely full of sketches of her. The same girl.

"Well, that's got to be her for all the good it does us," Toro said.

"Yeah, well, look at the last page, Toro."

"Oh." He showed it to Frankie. It was a drawing of the cemetery behind the apartment building.

Mikey chewed on his bottom lip and stared at Frankie. He stared intently, gripped by indecision, until Frankie said, "Dude! What?!" The hard look in Mikey's eyes dissolved.

"Toro, wait out here a minute, ok."

Toro shrugged.

"Follow me, Frankie." Mikey led him back into the apartment. Frankie followed him into the bedroom. He went around the bed to the nightstand. He opened the drawer and removed another sketch book.

"Sit down, Frankie."

"Uh, ok." Frank sat on the edge of the bed.

Mikey handed him the book. "I found this. It's yours."

Frankie raised his brows in confusion. Before he could say anything Mikey put one finger to his lips. He shook his head and left Frank alone in the room without another word.

Baffled, Frank opened the book. He stuffed his fist in his mouth to keep his cry inside.

Every page was a different sketch of him.

@

Frankie took it home and hid it in his studio. Nobody messed with his stuff in there. He played for hours, anything that came to mind.

His phone rang and he remembered he hadn't been checking his messages. He picked it up and scrolled through them. Shit, she was pissed with him. Then she was worried. She'd called Mikey and Toro, hah and Gee. Oh hell. Toro had lied for him saying Frankie had passed out at his place. He'd make Frankie call her soon. Everything's cool.

Thank Toro, Frankie owed him a bottle of his favorite whatever-he-wanted. He had a story. Great. He'd call her and compared to what he'd been doing the past few days, it couldn't be that hard.

@

Toro thought better with a guitar in his hands just like Frank and Mikey. Gee thought while singing or drawing. He'd probably never watch Gee wander the halls humming under his breath again. Or scream out during Headfirst for Halos. Toro loved Gee's screaming on that one. It was fucking funny.

Well, what now, Toro?

The cemetery, he told himself.

Yeah, that sounds creepy and dangerous. What if you actually find him?

And what if you find the girl? I bet you she's even more dangerous.

He started playing Vampires just to be obnoxious.

You have a sick sense of humor, Toro. He snickered at himself.

Seriously, what now? Let Gee and the girl roam around free doing God knows what?

Buffy the Vampire Slayer, you are not. Now that was really funny! She was cute and effective. She had her crew and a Watcher to help her…

Hmmm. Well now.

@

Toro met Frank and Mikey on the steps of the church at ten am. They stood there on the steps in the sunshine feeling wrung out and foolish. How could you believe in dark supernatural things in the spring sunshine? It made Toro feel silly.

Frankie looked like he'd hit a whole new level of stress. Toro wondered if Frank had eaten since Toro made him dinner…when was that? He was thin verging on gaunt. Stress made his stomach problems worse. We'll go feed him after this Toro thought.

Mikey stood there in those boots smoking. He looked gayer than Frankie. Toro shook his head. What was with these two? Straight as far as he knew but they dressed gay as fuck. Toro mentally apologized to gay people everywhere for putting Frank and Mikey in their space.

He was only four years older than Frankie and it felt like a lifetime occasionally. He got to be the older brother, father and the voice of reason while they screwed around like they were still teenagers. Joy. That's why they were here.

"Are you done? Can we go in?"

Mikey dropped the cigarette and stepped on it.

Toro led the way inside. It was pretty. He'd been here once or twice with the Way family when he couldn't get out of it for Christmas. They spread out looking for a priest. And there was one coming towards them.

"Can I help you?"

Yeah, what was he supposed to say? He hadn't thought about this part. Good job, Toro.

"We have an unusual spiritual problem, Father Heath," Mikey saved the day. He even knew the fellow's name because this was his church and that's why Toro had chosen it. I need more sleep.

"Is there somewhere private we can talk, Father?" Toro asked.

"Certainly, follow me." He led them out of the church and into the administration office. He pulled out some keys and opened up a small conference room. He ushered them in and indicated seats for them.

Toro was back to feeling silly again. Father Heath closed the door and sat down at the table with them. Toro had to admit it was private.

"What can I help you with, my friends?"

All three of them looked away. Toro looked up at the ceiling. Frankie inspected his nail polish. Mikey stared at those weird boots. Toro sighed. Joy.

"We've experienced some very strange things lately. We'd like your opinion and possibly your help. You know Mikey Way, I think. Why don't you start at the beginning Mikey?"

Hah, have fun with that Mikey.

"Oh, uhm." Mikey looked like he was going to panic and bolt out the door. Ok, now Toro felt bad for him. Sorry, man but you were there at the beginning.

"Ok, so my brother met this girl… " he told his tale while staring at his boots. Father Heath was polite and listened quietly even as things got weird.

Toro wondered how often he heard really weird stories, real and not. When Mikey was done he looked over at Frankie. Frankie was still picking at his nail polish.

"I went over there to check on him," Frankie started hesitantly. He seemed to find his voice after a few sentences and he got a little louder and more confident. He carefully edited out the painfully personal parts.

Toro was impressed with the Father's ability to listen to their foolishness. He listened tapping his pen slowly on the table. Eventually, Toro had to give his version of the story. He felt silly again. He went back to staring at the ceiling when he was done.

Father Heath sat back in the chair and folded his hands in his lap.

"Interesting. What proof do you have?"

Oh, Toro sighed and wanted to smack himself

Mikey reached into his satchel and handed the Father several sketch books. He flipped them open to the pictures of the girl. Frankie pulled out his crucifix and set it on his chest.

"I don't suppose you've heard of this sort of thing before?" Toro asked hopefully oh please say yes please say yes please say yes.

Father Heath nodded. "This sort of thing is covered in the Seminary. I haven't seen one personally."

Oh bummer, Toro thought, well that was too much to ask, to find someone experienced on their first try.

"Do you think she, ah, they might actually be… ?" Toro had yet to say the word out loud. He was past feeling silly now and into feeling crazy.

"Unfortunately, I think it is possible they may be vampires," Father Heath said calmly.

Toro was close enough to Frankie that he heard a low quiet miserable sound from Frankie. Mikey and the priest didn't seem to notice.

"What do you want to do?" Mikey asked tentatively. Mikey put the sketch books back into his satchel.

"The standard remedy is a wooden stake through the heart," Father Heath said. "Beheading and complete immolation are also options according to Church recommendations."

Frankie gripped the table with both hands. Toro thought he looked pale and green at the same time. Perhaps he should find the room's trash can. Toro wasn't surprised by Frankie's reaction. This was his standard response to too much stress.

@

It was late. Frank didn't want to lie down. He didn't want to get undressed or lie there alone in the dark.

His girlfriend was gone. She was pissed and was making a point. She was too busy for him right now. He missed her. The house was lonely. Whatever his problem with Gee was, he missed her. Ok. Point made.

Frank's phone rang.

He held completely still. It was Gee's ringtone. He checked the phone. Yeah. It was. Oh, damn. His hands shook and he dropped the phone. The sound stopped.

He picked it up and checked again. It had been Gee's number. Hadn't Mikey taken Gee's phone with him? He couldn't remember for sure.

It rang again. He dropped it again. Oh, fuck. He picked it up. He pressed the green accept button.

He didn't say anything.

He didn't hear anything.

He could hear himself breathing painfully. He could hear the blood pounding in his head. He swallowed and licked his lips. Oh, god, he was so dumb.

"Gee?" He barely whispered.

He heard something move through the phone. Someone was there.

"Gee?" he said a tiny bit louder. His heart was going to pound out of his chest. He squeezed his eyes shut.

"Please, talk to me." The words were barely a sound. The phone clicked off.

He sat down on the floor staring at the home screen. He was so queasy. He should stand up and go to the bathroom and not puke here on the carpet.

The text message app beeped. Oh, damn, what now? He pressed the icon. He nearly died.

I'm out front.

Oooh no no no Gee no.

He turned the phone off. This can't be happening. A minute later it beeped again. He jerked in alarm.

Please.

Frank stood up in a daze. He went to the front window. He couldn't see anything outside in the dark with the light reflecting off the glass. Frank reached over to the light switch panel. He fumbled with the switches and then just flipped them all off.

Frank closed his eyes and let them adjust. He sucked in a breath. He had forgotten to breathe. Frankie opened his eyes and looked out. The porch was empty and so was the yard. The street was quiet and empty.

Cars were parked in driveways. Streetlights were on every so often down the sidewalk. It looked normal. There was a fluttering movement under the tree across the street.

Oh, fuck. He sucked in another huge breathe and held it. A shadow moved under the tree's shadow. He wanted to hit his head on the glass. He let out the breath. The shadow moved towards the nearest streetlight. It stood there on the edge of the light.

Oh, no. He rested his forehead on the cool glass. He was too frightened to close his eyes and hide. The figure took another step into the light.

It was Gee shaped. It stood the right way. There was something distinctive in how he stood. Frankie would know it anywhere.

No no no Gee don't do this to us.

His chest hurt. He took a breath and that helped. The phone beeped.

Frankie.

Dear god, yes, he was going to torture both of them. He put his hand up to the crucifix at his neck and held on to it. Was it true they couldn't come in uninvited? There was no safe way to find out.

The phone rang and he jumped. Fuck. He answered it.

He had to breathe first.

"Gee?"

He could see the figure in the street light look up at him. The pale face watched him.

"Frankie," Gee finally whispered.

Frankie made some scared, sad sound that was almost 'Gerard.’

"I miss you."

Frankie bit his lip and several tears slid down his face. He took in a shaky breath. He rubbed the tears away and looked out. The pool of light was empty.

The floorboards of the porch squeaked. Frankie stumbled back a step. Gerard was standing in front of the window.

His hair was a wild mess around his pale face. Frankie stared. He couldn't move towards or away. Gee's eyes were bloodshot and red rimmed. There were dark circles underneath. Frankie could see well enough to know it wasn't the makeup Gee wore to creep people out. He didn't need it anymore. The familiar, beloved face didn't need it anymore.

Gee raised the phone. He couldn't seem to find anything to say. The line went dead. He was gone.

Between one blink and the next, he was gone.

Frankie sat down on the floor and shook. He gave in to the fear, the adrenaline, the pain. When it ran its course, he got up and went to the bathroom and was sick.

@

Frank fell asleep on the floor, leaning against the bathroom wall.

He ached all over when he woke up. He was too old to sleep on the floor. He picked up his phone. The log told him it was real. It wasn't a dream. He opened the message app and stared at it for a minute. He opened their group chat and deleted Gee from it. Only the three of them now. It hurt. That hurt. Almost as bad as last night.

He sent Toro and Mikey a message. It was only six something. It didn't matter.

Meet me at the jewelry store at ten. Be there or i will beat your ass.

He got up to shower and dress. He forgot to eat.

@

Frank had time to spare. He wanted to do two different things that he couldn't do together. He got Pansy and sat down in the pool of sunlight on the living room floor. He lay down with her. What was he thinking? That was sleep deprivation talking. He was fucking Frank Iero. He could play upside down.

@

Frank made them both buy crucifixes at the jewelry store. Toro wearing a silver necklace with the crucifix was hysterical. Frank laughed so hard he couldn't breathe. It was a little hysterical and Toro gave him a dirty look.

"You could wear a bracelet, instead," Frankie offered.

Toro looked like he wanted to hit Frankie.

Mikey, of course, found something stylish that rocked with his outfit.

Then Frank insisted they take them to the church and have a priest bless them.

Father Robert was perplexed but blessed all three crucifixes.

"We can cover the window this afternoon. Get some plywood and nails," Toro considered what they might need.

After lunch they went to the hardware store for supplies.

Standing on the porch of the apartment, even in the sunlight was disturbing. Mikey shook his head, grabbed his courage and opened the door. It was unlikely he was in there and it was early afternoon. They had hours until sunset. Mikey had checked and set an alarm for an hour ahead.

Toro and Frankie carried the supplies and set it all out on the porch. They had bought more plywood than they could possibly need since they had no idea what size the window was. They bought a hammer as well because no one wanted to go home and get theirs.

Mikey pushed open the door and flipped on the light. Only the one light turned on. The living room was empty. It still smelled. He went to the floor lamp and screwed the bulb in tight and it turned on. Mikey went around the apartment checking the light bulbs.

Toro cautiously walked down the hallway to the bedroom and stood in the doorway. The light switch didn't work. The window was broken. The floor was covered in boxes of books. The sheets were rumpled and the bed unmade. It looked the same as when they had left it.

He had worried animals or people would disturb the apartment. Should they clean the carpet? He had no idea. It would be nice if they never had to come back. The cops would come looking eventually. Maybe wipe clean everything they had touched? He went back to the porch.

"It's ok, Frankie."

Frankie nodded and put out his cigarette.

"Anybody see a step stool or ladder?" Mikey asked as he came out.

"I need one to fix the overhead lights."

"I'll look for one," Frankie said. He couldn't find anything. Gee was tall, well, taller than Frank, but the ceiling was eight feet. Not even Toro could reach the lights. Whatever. He gave up and went to help Toro.

Mikey searched the living room, then the kitchen and finally the bedroom. Toro and Frankie were putting up the plywood. Where was it? He went out to his car and checked in there and in his satchel. Had he taken it home already and forgotten? Where had he put Gee's phone?

@

That wasn't Gee under his streetlight. That was a woman. His heart rate sped up. A woman.

She was at the his front window. He stepped back, shocked. His body dumped adrenaline into his bloodstream. He was fully awake and alert. And queasy. The adrenaline meant to help protect him, made him sick to his stomach also. He put his hand to the crucifix. She smiled at him.

He'd know her anywhere. He'd seen so many sketches of her. She wasn't conventionally pretty. She was striking. You'd stop and look at her twice at the mall. You'd buy a magazine you'd never read to have the cover picture of her.

He couldn't make out her coloring in the poor light. He knew her eyes were stormy, blue gray. Unusual. Her hair… Gee had never settled on the right color. Every sketch was a little different. It was down loose in waves past her shoulders.

She licked her lips and his heart rate sped up further. It felt like a heart attack. His chest hurt. She knew his fear and was amused.

Surprise flickered across her face. She disappeared. There was a racket up on the roof overhead. Frankie stared up at his ceiling. What in hell? It sounded like cats fighting.

Silence.

Silence so profound it hurt his ears.

Every night creature held still, paralyzed by the knowledge that apex predators fought nearby.

His phone beeped. He closed his eyes briefly, trying to slow his heart before he really did have a heart attack. He looked at the message.

She wants you.

@

They went back to the church. Toro and Mikey had flipped out when Frankie told them Gee had come to his house. They'd shut up and turned pale when he told them about the girl. Their silence was more disturbing than their anger.

Toro had called ahead and made an appointment with Father Heath. They met in the same conference room. Toro immediately snagged the trash can and gave it to Frankie.

"More," Toro tried to pick his words carefully, "unusual things have happened. And we need to decide how to deal with it.” He indicated Frankie. "He can't live like this."

Toro and Mikey told the priest Frankie's account of Gee's and the girl's, woman's visit.

"Neither have visited the two of you?" Father Heath inquired.

"No." They both shook their heads.

Father Heath tapped his pen on the table. He fixed Frankie with a penetrating gaze. He was an excellent priest. Frankie wanted to crawl into the trash can and never come out. His Catholic soul was caught between his modern upbringing and Church doctrine.

"Why are they harassing Frankie?"

Frank couldn't answer. This was too much. He pleaded with Mikey using just his miserable, hazel eyes.

"You want me to say it, Frankie?" Mikey asked.

Frankie squeezed his eyes shut and nodded, holding on to the trash can tightly.

"Gee visited Frankie because they had a … relationship."

Mikey glanced at Toro who raised both eyebrows in an expression  of immense surprise.

Father Heath asked, "They were lovers?"

Mikey pursed his lips and turned back to the Father.

"Not yet," Mikey said quietly with a sigh. Frankie was impressed with Mikey's correct understanding of the situation. They hadn't been fooling him, for sure. Although, he may have guessed that because Gee would have told him within the month. Gee wouldn't have been able to or wanted to keep it from Mikey.

Toro studied Frank. He was surprised and curious how this had, almost, come about. He really must be dense. He'd have to think about it, later. He slowly nodded at Frankie. Alright. Now they knew why. He hoped that would help somehow. Time to get over his surprise and get on with the problem.

Toro could tell Frankie hadn't been eating or sleeping. He'd seen this before. Frankie's health had never been what you'd call robust. It was sensitive to stress and this was pretty stressful, being harassed by vampires, one that might be in love with him and another that clearly meant him harm.

For his part, Frankie sat up straighter, pulled his shoulders back and met Toro's eyes. He hadn't done anything wrong. No one had. They'd all been snared by fate.

Toro nodded at Frank and smiled. Some of the stress eased from Frank's eyes. They had worked together for years. Frankie nodded back and did his best to smile. They were cool.

"We need to get them to leave Frank alone," Toro told Father Heath as he turned away from Frank.

"It might just be possible to convince Gee to leave Frankie alone," Father Heath said. "Is he lucid enough to understand such a request, Frank?"

"I'm not sure. It's hard to tell. He doesn't say much and it's all pretty simple."

Frankie was deeply conflicted about this idea. He was frightened of Gee like this but also stupidly certain Gee wouldn't hurt him. He couldn't imagine never seeing Gee again. Frankie rubbed his eyes, at least he hadn't worn any make up to smear around and get in his eyes.

"I guess I can ask…"

"The other one, this nameless woman is a different problem. It's simpler. She wants to kill or turn you. Standard vampire. We have to kill her."

Frankie wanted to giggle hysterically. Father Heath said it so matter of fact, like it would be no more difficult than hunting a rabid animal.

Frankie knew better. He had seen how unbelievably fast she moved. She was cunning. He wasn't sure how human smart she was but she was predator smart.

"Mikey, did Gee ever describe her to you?"Frank asked.

Mikey thought about it. "No, he just said 'a girl.' There was no description." Mikey paused thoughtfully. "He never even said where or how he met her. Nothing."

"The usual method is to trap them, lure them somewhere that we have the advantage. Surprise them. Stake them."

Frankie couldn't imagine it. It sounded hopelessly naive. He shook his head no.

"You haven't seen how fast they move, Father," he tried to explain.

"It's been done before," he replied. "Lure them. Trap them."

Frankie didn't like the way he kept using the plural.

"Lure them with what?" Mikey asked suspiciously. He was pretty sure he knew the answer. Toro was alarmed suddenly.

Father Heath looked at Frankie.

@

Frank moved the furniture away from the front window. The couch was still close enough to easily lay his guitar on it. He moved everything off the front porch and into the garage. Then he put one of the plain wooden kitchen chairs next to the window, an invitation to sit, to stay, when he was supposed to ask Gee to leave. He put another chair for himself by the light switch, next to the window.

Frank stared at the window. I'm so fucking dumb. He wanted to know how well sound passed through that glass. He couldn't play on one side and listen on the other side. Even he couldn't be in two places at once, musically speaking.

Speakers. Yes, he had plenty, all large and hooked up, busy doing something else. It would be an electrical nightmare to move one out here. Headphones, ear buds. Fuck, he had every kind but not what he wanted. Mmmm, not true.

In the spare bedroom closet he found his suitcase. It still had stuff in it. He'd only taken out what needed to be washed. There it was, a little portable blue tooth speaker, decent for only being the length of his hand. He set it up on the chair inside. It took unreasonably long to get the thing to work with his phone. He hadn't had this much trouble with it while they were touring. He took a deep breath, blew it out. It's me, not the speaker. Start over. He got it to work the third time after he made himself calm way the fuck down.

He could hear it out on the porch. The volume inside didn't need to be very high. He could do that.

It was only noon. He set an alarm for sunset. He made himself sleep in the bedroom, on the bed, with all the curtains open in a pool of sunshine. He was so tired it didn't matter how bright it was.

He woke with a start to his phone alarm. Damn, he was hungry. It couldn't be put off any longer. He changed clothes and went out to the kitchen. He heated up one of the cup of noodle things. They were pretty bad for you but they didn't hurt and they stayed down.

He played, practiced, composed while he waited.

@

Frankie was staring mindlessly at the tree across the street when Gee arrived. He simply appeared under the streetlight near the tree. How fast did he move? Or did he fuckin' teleport? Christ. He put his hand to his necklace.

Breathe.

He waited for his phone to ring or beep. Nothing. Why not? Well. This wouldn't get them anywhere.

He sent a message. Come here, please.

He saw Gee check his phone.

There was a painfully long moment while Gee thought about it.

Gee was standing in front of the window. Frankie jumped up and fell off his chair. He sat up on the floor putting his arms around his knees. He tried to control his breathing.

Fuck Gee!

Sorry

He stayed on the floor so he couldn't fall off again the next time Gee startled him. He stared at his phone. He couldn't say the words so he kept texting.

They want me to ask you to leave

Frankie watched Gee read it and saw his shoulders fall. He leaned against the window like it was the only thing holding him up. Frankie couldn't see his face. He didn't need to.

They hope if you leave she'll follow

Gee shook his head.

It's too late for that, pause They want?

Yeah

What do you want?

Frankie stood and picked up his guitar. He sat on the chair and played. He'd gone through a million songs to find the right one. So many guitar pieces. So many songs, over used, trite, impersonal.

Frankie played Romance.

Gee stood up straighter, stopped leaning on the window and gazed intently at Frankie.

He didn't hear anything but he saw Gee say, "oh." Some of the misery on his face drained away.

Frankie finished the piece. It was beautiful and he loved it. Just like Gee.

Even if I could make myself leave, she would stay and hurt you

Why? What does she care about me?

To punish me

Punish you? For what?

She can't control me. she chose poorly. punish me for what I won't do

His gaze on Frankie was intense and nearly painful. His eyes reflected red in the light from the hallway. His expression hardened, determined and obstinate. Frankie knew it. There would be no changing his mind. Gee never budged an inch after that obstinate expression crossed his face.

Oh. What he won't do…

I won't hurt you

@

Frankie spent his days at the church. He sat. He prayed. He smoked. He helped out with small chores, 'cause why not. Mikey or Toro would come spend the night at his place every few days. The vampires wouldn't visit if the guys were there.

He went out with his girlfriend. He repaired their relationship as best he could. Frankie never spent the night at her place or let her stay with him. He was always locked in the house at sunset. It was a deranged lifestyle.

He had a crucifix in every room. He had a bottle of holy water in each, also. He looked like a religious nut. It might help and it couldn't hurt.

Frankie borrowed the second sketch book from Mikey. The second book had the sketch of the cemetery in the back. It wasn't actually a sketch. It was a map, a beautiful map that was even decorated along the edges in an old fashioned style. Where would they be hiding? Together or individually?

He called Father Heath. It seemed the priest had his own phone.

"Would they be together?" Frank asked.

"Together, or very close by, from what I understand. I'm in contact with an experienced…"

Frank snorted then laughed mirthlessly. "Vampire hunter?"

"Mmmm," Father Heath replied irritated.

"Why a cemetery? Assuming that's where they are, isn't that holy ground? Consecrated."

"No, not necessarily. A cemetery attached to a Catholic church? Yes, certainly. A secular cemetery administered privately or by the state? Maybe, maybe not," Father Heath answered.

"And all the crosses decorating the cemetery?" Frank wondered.

"The same answer. Most of them are decorative, not blessed or consecrated and not wielded by the faithful."

"Faithful?" This part worried Frankie. He didn't know what he believed anymore. He had slowly lost his faith over time. There was little left. He had watched Gee struggle painfully with his. Frank's had just melted away.

"A crucifix will usually work for anyone," Father Heath told him. "They work best if blessed and the holder believes."

"With enough faith, a person might drive out the evil. Stupidly dangerous. A stake is more reliable." Heath considered what he had learned from the expert.

"I've been empowered by our Bishop to perform an exorcism. The problem with that is the rite takes time. The vampire has to be restrained for awhile."

@

Golden Oaks Cemetery.

Funny, he didn't see any oaks.

I'm so dumb.

They opened at 10 am and he was there waiting. The receptionist was happy to provide literature. Yes, he was looking for his aunt. Oh, yeah, she has cancer. No, no, they have pretty good treatments these days but you know. She just wasn't having any luck. It was time to start thinking about what to do if the worst happened. She'd like to look at the pamphlet as she wasn't likely to come visit. Frankie was checking out places for her.

"Can I look around?"

"Sure, give me a minute and I can show you around for a bit."

"Great. I'll go wait outside." Frankie waited outside to smoke while the friendly older fellow locked up the office. George showed him around. Frankie learned a lot more than he ever wanted to know. He morbidly decided he was now ready to make his own end of life plans. If he got any dumber, he'd need them soon.

Frankie did his best to look upset over his aunt's illness and likely demise. It wasn't hard to look sad and pathetic. Eventually, he asked George the important questions.

"Do you mind if I sit here and smoke for a while before I go back to the hospital? I kinda need a break from that."

"Sure, I get it. Take some time."

"Anywhere I shouldn't wander?" Frankie pulled out his map.

George pointed out the south west corner. "This area's under repair. It would be best to stay out of there."

"Repair?"

"Vandals, sadly. Teenagers, smoking, drinking, doing drugs probably." He shook his head at the idea. "Probably those creepy Goth kids or something. Well, that's what the police think."

"They actually disturbing bodies?" Nasty, Frank shivered in the sunlight.

"No, just breaking into crypts and making a mess. They leave the remains alone. I'll leave you to relax a bit. Check out with me when you're done, ok?"

Frank sat and smoked for a while. Then, he ambled the wrong way.

-

Around noon, he ambled to the south west corner. How would he know the difference between creepy teenagers and vampires? Modern cemeteries didn't have a lot of places to hide. Frank found the right area roped off with warning signs, police tape too. There were several rows of stone things. Crypts? Frank searched the brochure. Double and single crypt mausoleums. Who knew?

He regretted pouring out that bottle of vodka now. He needed a drink.

Two of the things had been broken into. Frank didn't bother looking at the ground. It had been thoroughly trampled. They were certainly big enough for one or two people. Frank figured he could wedge himself through the broken roof. The woman wasn't any bigger than Frank. Gee was a few inches taller, but not much bigger.

Frank wasn't impressed with it as a daytime hiding spot. If he had a flashlight and crossed the ropes and tape… He'd need something to stand on but he would be able to see in there. In fact, the police and others must have looked inside. During the day or night? At night while they were gone?

It seemed insecure and risky to him. He wouldn't hide there. He would hide…oh.

Frank jogged to the front of the cemetery. He slowed to a walk, waved at George and walked calmly to the end of the block. When he was out of sight, he started running. He cut through the empty lot behind the apartment building.

Fuck Fuck Fuck

Frank checked his watch. 12:45 pm. He stopped to breathe in front of Gee's window. He needed to smoke less and exercise more. He inspected the plywood nailed up on the inside. It was askew, not nice and square like he and Toro had done it. Fuck. He had his keys. I'm so dumb.

Frank walked around the building to the front. He tried to walk at a normal speed, not hurrying and not lagging. He'd bet he still looked weird. He stopped in front of Gee's door. Barbie key. Why Barbie? Gee had just laughed.

Frank unlocked the door and pushed it open carefully. He reached for the light switch before stepping in. It didn't work. Hadn't Mikey fixed most of them except for the overhead ones? The curtains were drawn and it was fairly dark. Frank pushed the door open wider to let in more light.

Frank tried to breathe quietly, though he probably didn't need to. The couch was occupied. Great, just great. The cemetery was a false lead? A trap? Had they stayed there for a while then come back here?

Gee was asleep, or whatever it was vampires did during the day, on the couch. He slept the same way he had the last few days before he disappeared. He had sunglasses on and his arm over his eyes. Still not dark enough for him.

Frank eased back out. He locked the door and went home.

@

Sunset. The sun was down, but the sky was still warm with a riot of colors.

Frank's phone beeped.

She knows you were here this afternoon.

Fuck. Smell?

I'll be there soon.

Frank checked all the doors and windows. They were all closed and locked. He closed the curtains to everything but the single front window.

He waited. He played to pass the time. He picked the hardest pieces he knew to force himself to concentrate.

Gee materialized under the streetlight.

I don't know where she is.

Only moments after Frank read the text, she emerged into existence next to Gee. Frank couldn't hear anything but they were clearly arguing. She gestured toward his house. Gee shook his head and crossed his arms.

Better luck moving a mountain lady, Frank thought.

She got angrier as Gee simply stood there. She wasn't yelling but she was certainly chewing Gee out. Gee looked away from her, away from Frank. She reached out for Gee's shoulder, perhaps to force him towards Frank's house. Gee shrugged her off and took a step back. His arms were still crossed over his chest, refusing to look at her.

She decided upon a new tactic.

She was on Frank's porch. She looked in the window at Frank. He made the mistake of looking directly at her.

Frank walked to the door. He needed to unlock it. He'd go out and talk to her. She was so lovely. He should take off his necklace. He didn't need it. She wouldn't hurt him. He unclasped it.

Crash. Gee hammered at the door. It started to splinter under the impact.

Frank stopped moving and found himself sitting on the floor. The crucifix was in his hand, not around his neck. He was only a few steps from the front door.

@

She grabbed Gee and threw him down the porch steps. He rolled with it and disappeared into the neighbor's yard. Shadows flitted back and forth. He couldn't really follow what was happening. Unlike their first fight over his roof, this time they were utterly silent. This wasn't an angry argument. This fight was going to end the problem.

One of them skidded to a halt in the street flat on its back. Frank was pretty sure it was Gee. He was cradling his left arm. Gee was up and gone a second later, so fast Frank wasn't sure it had happened.

Two bodies crashed into the front window. The glass cracked crazily. Frank staggered back, surprised that it held.

Something slammed into the tree across the street. It shook madly under the hard blow. Frank thought he saw Gee standing in front of it. He disappeared into the deep shadow of the tree. A body was thrown out into the street, rolling, it came to a stop. It was smaller than Gee and the wrong shape. It didn't get up right away.

Gee was on it in the next moment. She fought against him ineffectually. Perhaps hitting the tree had actually hurt her. He hit her in the face and Frank heard the crack. The woman stopped struggling. Gee knelt down next to her. He struck her chest causing another crack in the crisp night air. He put both hands on her chest and split it open.

Ugh, Frank recoiled.

Gee reached in and ripped something out. He threw it away.

He stood up and staggered a few paces towards Frank. He slowed. Gee sank to the ground and fell over.

 @

Gee was battered and his arm broken. He was bleeding freely from a wound in his side. Frankie dropped the necklace on the ground. He sank down and pulled Gee into his lap. Frankie pulled his shirt up. It didn't seem to be stopping or healing.

"Shouldn't it heal, Gee?"

"Maybe not," he whispered weakly. "That took all of my strength. And I haven't. I couldn't."

He turned his face into Frankie's chest and Frankie could feel him shaking. Frankie made a wild guess.

"Only animals?"

Gee nodded against him. Oh. That moral refusal suddenly seemed a serious problem. Frankie pulled off his shirt and folded it over the wound. It slowed but didn't stop.

"Gee!"

"Gee," he repeated. "Here, Gee." He made Gee look at him. Frankie put his wrist to Gee's mouth.

The red in Gee's eyes brightened. Frankie steeled himself and closed his eyes. Nothing happened. Gee turned his head back into Frankie's chest.

"No. I won't."

Oh, dear god in heaven, Frankie thought to himself. Obstinate bastard. Oh. Oh, maybe….

Our Father, who art in heaven…

"Gee, I have an idea. I bet it'll hurt. You still might," he forced himself, "still might die."

Gee looked up at him, "What?"

"The crucifix. Something Father Heath said. A crucifix in the hand of a believer might drive out the evil," the words tumbled over each other and Gee just looked confused.

"I don't know. You still might die." Frankie looked down at his hand over the shirt. The wound was seeping slowly.

"If I could die free…"

Several tears slipped down Frankie's face to land on Gee's chest.

"Do it. I can't live like this. Don't let me die like this, Frankie."

Frank scrubbed both hands over his face. He sniffed and couldn't get any air.

"Ok, Gee. Ok."

He looked around for the necklace.

"Hold on."

Frank reached for it. As soon as he touched it Gee moaned. He coughed and curled up in Frank's lap. Frank dragged it to them. The horrible sounds from Gee increased in volume as the crucifix came closer. Frank hoped that meant it was working.

Frank clutched it in one hand and freed the other hand from under Gee. He pulled Gee's collar down and pressed the crucifix firmly to his chest.

Gee screamed. He thrashed in Frank's lap. Frank followed the motion as best he could, keeping contact.

Gee looked up at Frank, his eyes were bright, glowing red. He smiled cruelly and Frank could see the wicked fangs.

Oh, no you don't motherfucker.

"Our father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name…"

Frank recited the whole thing with all the passion he could muster.

"…deliver us from evil." The light receded as Frank spoke.

Frank saw a flicker of Gee under the monster.

"Again," Gee whispered.

Frank checked the wound as he nodded. Maybe it had stopped.

Gee is mine, you son of a bitch.

Frank repeated the prayer.

Alive.

He repeated it again.

He held the crucifix tight to Gee's chest. Gee shook and the light dimmed further.

Or dead.

Frank repeated it again.

Time stopped. White warm light. A question in his mind. Why is he yours? Frank's mind stumbled. A single word floated to the top of his consciousness. Love.

Frank felt an immense surge of approval.

Gee was repeating the prayer with him. The light was gone from Gee's eyes. Frank could see they were hazel again. Gee reached up to touch Frank's tears.

"Thank you," he whispered.

He went still.

Frank wept.

He wept as the other corpse turned to ash and blew away.

He wept as Gee turned to ash in his arms and drifted away on the wind.

Epilogue.

Frank sat in the pool of sunshine on his living room floor. He'd never take sunshine for granted again.

He was trying to decide what to tell the others. He'd come up with all sorts of half-assed lies. He was leaning towards telling them that he had convinced Gee to leave and Gee convinced her to leave with him.

There was a knock at the door. It was Sunday. Frank shook his head. The Jehovah's Witness people came around most Sundays. He didn't know why. He usually thought up some way to fuck with them.

He stood up and set Pansy on the couch. What to do this time? He really didn't have the energy.

He opened the door.

He couldn't breathe.

"Hi, Frankie," Gee smiled at him. Just visible under Gee's open collar there was a small cross burned into his chest.