"MIKEY! GET UP, YOU'RE GONNA be late!" My Mom called from downstairs. Mikey groaned from the bottom bunk. Both Mikey and I had been gone in France for the past two years, and so our return was a little unprepared for on my parents part. They hadn't finished renovating Mikey's room and hadn't started on mine yet, so the bed I was struggling to fit in when I was fifteen definitely did not fit a seventeen year old.

Coming home felt like such a weird experience to me, hearing English as everyone's first language and seeing people drive on the right side of the road was odd. I changed a lot in two years, I dyed my hair red and grew a couple inches, learned three new languages, and started drawing. Mikey did the same, save the drawing part. He learned bass instead, and our French hosts happened to have a son who could teach Mikey.

My mom was the same as I remembered and my dad had a bald spot, but they were both very excited to see their children after years away.

"Coming, Mama." He yelled back. I slid off the top bunk and threw on a band t-shirt from France that didn't have proper sleeves and skinny jeans. Mikey did the same and both of us ran down stairs for breakfast. I grabbed an apple and Mikey got a granola bar. We both grabbed our backpacks and ran out of the house to the bus stop. "I win," I panted. Mikey laughed. "I'll get you next time." I stuck my touché out at him.

Im France we both got more confident, and I hate to say it, but I forgot about all the drama of Belleville. The few kids besides us that were at the bus stop were gossiping, unsurprisingly.

"Did you hear the Way brothers are back?" One of them chatted. Mikey laughed. "Tell them!" I whispered to him in French. He mocking rolled his eyes. "We're right here, you know." He said calmly to girl who had spoken. She turned around sharply, taken aback by Mikey and I. "Holy shit!" She gasped. Her friend stared at us with wide eyes. "Glow up," she muttered. I laughed a little. Before we could continue, the bus rolled up. We all got on, and I opted to sit next to Mikey.

"Do you think Frank will still be there?" I asked Mikey in French. The language was still more comfortable for us than English, anyways. He shrugged. "Probably, but knowing Linda he's a gentle soul now. I wonder how she is?" I laughed a little. "Me too. Linda is great, I can't wait to see her." The kid on the seat opposite of us was looking at us curiously. He looked kind of small, especially compared to the tall kid next to him.

"I'm from France too! I'm an exchange student, My names Pete," he said, extending his hand to Mikey. He shook Mikey's hand, which really only made him look smaller. "I'm Mikey and that's Gerard." Mikey told him, and by now the tall kid next to him had turned to face us. "I'm Ray." He said in English. I smiled at him. "Can we sit together at lunch?" Pete asked Mikey. He nodded back eagerly, which I snorted at. Someone has a crush.

The bus dropped us off at school a little later and Mikey, Pete, Ray, and I walked in together. Mikey and Pete were both sophomores, while me and Ray were seniors. It turns out Ray is the one hosting Pete, which me and Mikey joked was brave of him. "You guys are real sassy, aren't ya?" He laughed. Mikey agreed. "Gee's a sass master. Kiss his sass. Sass King for president." Pete giggled at Mikey's revelations.

"Cmon, lets go to class." Ray said. "So, do you know Frank Iero?" I asked him. He nodded. "He's the Vice President of the D&D club, kind of shy, why?" I laughed out loud. "He's my ex boyfriend. Cheated on me, did drugs, the works." Ray gaped at me. "You were not! Sophomore year? Holy shit dude, you've changed!" I laughed. "Was it the accent or the hair?" He still looked at me in disbelief. "Maybe a bit of both. Dude, you totally gotta make him jealous!" I giggled and looked at Ray. "And why would I do that?" Ray shook his head. "You'll see, but only talk in French for a while. I've got a plan," he said. "Whatever," I laughed.

As it turns out, Ray's plan was one of revenge, claiming Frank had "crossed him" in a P.E. match or something weird like that- it was Ray, not much really made sense with him. Frank made Ray look ridiculous on picture day, and so he wanted revenge, which somehow included using his ex to make him jealous. Life is funny that way, isn't it?

So that's how I ended up sitting with Ray, Pete and Mikey at lunch, having loose conversation in French. "Make Frank jealous? Dude that's gonna be funny as hell-" Mikey started, "and be the perfect revenge!" Pete finished. Ray nodded. "That's the plan- are you down Gee?" I hesitated. Was it worth it? Yeah, okay, it was- "I'm in."

The day finished and me and Mikey made our trek to the café our mother ran, and the route just so happened to pass by Linda's house. "Mikey, want to visit Linda?" He nodded eagerly. We knocked on the door and it swung open almost immediately.

"Way brothers!" She cried, happy tears on her face. She pulled us both in a hug. She still smelled like cookies and old lady perfume, something she said "she could never get to go away. It was a part of working with old people." "Linda, how are you?" Mikey asked. She smiled, showing off her teeth.

"Oh, I'm absolutely fantastic. Better, now that my two favorite brothers are back in town! Why don't you come in! Frank won't be home for a while." We stepped in her home, not much had changed. The same old pictures of Frank were up, and only the furniture looked newer. "How was France? You'll have to teach me French! I'd love to go one day," she said dreamily. "It was lovely! Everything was so gorgeous and the language is lovely. Definitely had some of my best memories there." She nodded, setting up three cups of tea. "I hope Frank didn't give you any trouble today. Did you see him at all?" I shook my head. "No, I hung out with an exchange student and his host during lunch. Didn't get to acquaint myself with the people again." She nodded. "He's trying to go for president of D&D club. Got himself some big glasses, can you believe he hasn't grown an inch since ninth grade? Gosh, his height is definitely below average. He's like 5'1." Mikey and I giggled.

"I think in ninth grade, Mikey was what, 5'5? Tall kid, he's like 5'11 now." I said. Mikey nodded. "I look like a giraffe though." We all laughed. Linda set down the tea and joined us at the table. I sipped the tea, the familiar over-sweet flavor providing comfort. "So Frank dropped the drug scene?" She nodded, a dark look spreading on her face. "Trust me honey, I made him regret every mouthful he ever took. He even told me the worst mistake he ever made was letting you go, Gerard. He misses you every day."

Mikey glanced over at me. "Ray suggested I play hard to get or something- he wanted revenge I think." She nodded. "I'd be okay with that, I think he got off without as many consequences as he should have. I'll get you dirt on him." Mikey snorted and I chuckled. "Thank you, Linda."

A jingling of keys in the door made us all turn towards the door. In the doorframe stood a small person, wearing a hoodie several sizes too big for him. His hair was bleached on the sides and dark in the middle, and he still had his lip rig from freshman year. His most notable change however, were the giant glasses perched on his nose. They made his eyes look a bit bigger, and he overall looked smaller. He had several books and manuals in his arms and sticking out of his backpack.

"Mom, who's this?" Linda sipped her tea. "Mikey and Gerard." His eyes widened and he dropped his books. "Really? Which one is which- wait you went to France? Which ones French?!" Both of us snorted. Two years can change a person, for sure. "Bonjour, Frank." Mikey and I said. He groaned. We giggled.