Mikey woke up with a pencil stuck to his face. He yawned and looked outside his window. Realizing that it was dark, he grabbed his phone and checked the time. Staring at the screen in disbelief. Could it really be two am? Did he really sleep that long? His stomach grumbled. He looked around seeing that a light was on in the hallway. Was someone waiting for him to get up?

Mikey walked quietly down the hall. Seeing that it was Gerard's room light that was on. He turned around after seeing that he wasn't even in there. He walked downstairs to the kitchen to maybe make some food before trying to go back to sleep for school that started in five hours.

"Mikey?" He jumped back and turned to see his older brother looking at him from the kitchen table. A sandwich was in his hand and a small flask was in the other. "What are you doing?"

Mikey held his hand to his heart as he tried to get his breathing back to normal. "You." He breathed. "Scared." He breathed, yet again. "Me." He said at last.

Gerard cracked a smile. "I'm just sitting here." He shrugged, taking another bite of his sandwich. Mikey looked at his other hand, giving his brother a questioning look. Gerard followed his gaze and smiled. "It's not alcohol if you're wondering." He said, Mikey raised his eyebrow. "It's the blood of my enemies. Makes for a great midnight snack."

Mikey smiled at the joke. "Sounds great." He said sarcastically.

Gerard finished his food and motioned for Mikey to sit down. "You hungry? I'll make you something and then we can have a cliche brotherly bonding moment." He joked.

Mikey nodded and went over to the table and sat down. "Why are you awake right now?" He asked.

Gerard opened the fridge and pulled out some food. He shrugged, "I'm used to being up at this time, I usually have some of my classes at night and I study for them at whatever time this is. Then, I sleep in late."

"Sounds healthy." Mikey commented.

"Oh it is," Gerard said. "So, how's my little bro doing in high school? Getting good grades? Making friends? Got a girlfriend yet?"

Mikey laughed awkwardly at the last question. Gerard looked at him. "I have okay grades, I guess. This year is really taking a toll on me. Frank and I met this kid who is too innocent to be hanging out with us so it's nice to have common sense once in a while. And for that last one..."

"Oh I don't want to be the one that has the gay talk with you." Gerard groaned, he looked back towards the sandwich he was making. "I'm gonna cut this short. You like girls? That's okay. You like guys? That's okay. You're confused? That's okay," he said.

"Just—" Mikey tried to figure out how to word his question. "How did you know you were gay?"

Gerard shrugged, giving a quick glance upstairs. "Sex and it—"

"Okay I'm gonna stop that there."

"No, just hold on," Gerard waved the butter knife in his hand around. "Part of it was that. I don't know how to explain it. You know how in romance movies, the main characters know each other after a day and just fall in love instantly?"

Mikey nodded.

"Yeah well that's bullshit. You really fall in love with someone once you realize that they understand you in a way that your best friend doesn't. When you can just feel comfortable being in their presence even when it's silent. Whoever you date should feel like a best friend, Mikey."

"Oh," Mikey said.

Gerard turned to him again. "I know Frank is your best friend and all but does he make you question your sexuality?"

Mikey's eyes widened. "No! No absolutely not, he's just my friend."

Gerard put the food back into the fridge. "Okay, just a question. You don't have to get all defensive on me."

Mikey rolled. "Are you dating anyone?"

Gerard laughed a bit. "There's this thing that people say. 'What happens in college, stays in college.'"

"So you're not going to tell me?"

"Nope!" Gerard said, popping the 'p'. He placed a sandwich in front of Mikey, smiling. "Careful, it's poison."

Mikey smiled and took a bite, almost immediately the smile faded. "We're joking that this is poison or are you really this bad at making food?"

Gerard turned around and looked at him. "Well I'm sorry that my skills in the kitchen do not impress you. It's either eat or starve to death."

Mikey rolled his eyes. "I need apple juice to wash this down."

"Oh please, insult me more."

"Make good food," Mikey said. "Maybe then I won't be mean."

"Damn you need a snickers. You're not yourself when you're hungry." Gerard commented. Earning a glare from his younger brother.

***

Pete was crying as his parents sat in front of him. He wasn't trying to cry but once he sat down, he felt all the emotions in his body flood out at once. "Pete..." his mother said, somehow causing him to cry more. She got up and sat next to him, wiping away the tears spilling down his face. "It's okay. You're okay."

Pete moves his mother's hand away from his face. "A whole semester. Will I even pass senior year? I can't just miss a semester of school and go back and act like I didn't miss that!"

"Pete, maybe this is a good thing. If warlock studies isn't your passion then with regular school you can get more career options. Before you went to that school, you wanted to become a writer, why don't you try and live a normal teenage life this year?"

"Because I'm a senior this year!" Pete cried. "Final exams this year guarantee if I get to go to college and get my masters in potions—"

"Pete, don't worry about that." His father cut in.

Pete looked at his parents with a shocked expression. "Are you two feeling alright?"

His father looked at him with a look that Pete could almost describe as pity. "Pete, you need to relax. Take this semester as a break from magic and maybe by the end of the semester you could maybe..." his mother cleared her throat, "decide if you want to stay here for your last semester."

Pete's jaw dropped. "Excuse me?" He asked. "No, I'm going back to finish my senior year. Why would you want me to stay here?"

"We miss you, Pete. Even when you're home for the summer, you never leave your room because your nose is buried deep in those books."

"Maybe because I find it interesting?" Pete answered. "When January comes around, Mr. Armstrong is going to take me back to school and I will be at the top of my class again. Everything will go back to the way it should be."

"Maybe the way it should be, isn't the best way."

_\|/_