My breakfast is going well until I hear shouting upstairs. I don't know who's yelling at who but I do finish my cereal quicker and then grab my jacket. I take my phone out of my pocket and text Gerard while putting on my shoes. -Hey, can I come over right now? Please?-

I step out the front door and start walking over. Gerard buzzes me. -Yeah, of course- It's been getting better lately, whatever went on between the two of them, they've slowly stopped yelling. They usually don't talk to each other which isn't right but it was better.

Before I right the doorbell, Gerard opens the front door and steps outside with his car keys in his hand. "Hey, what's going on?" he asks, walking toward me.

"They were fighting, I didn't want to be there."

He looks at me sympathetically. "Well, we can go do something else this morning." He puts his arm around my shoulder and we start walking off his porch toward his car.

"We not going inside?" I ask as he unlocks the doors with the clicker.

"No," he says dismissively. "Not...not today." It falls quiet when I don't know what to reply with. The two of us get inside, buckling up. As Gerard backs into the street, he brings up an idea. "There's a cafe in town that makes peppermint hot chocolate for the season and it's really good."

"I didn't bring money," I say.

"Well, I did so it's okay."

"You don't-"

"Shh, it's fine. It's literally 2 dollars."

I don't say anything else, we just sit in the car as he drives ahead. I don't know why we can't go inside his house but I don't question him. It's whatever. Besides, when we get to the little cafe in town, I forget about it. We sit at a table when we get our drinks and it warms my hands. There's whipped cream to cool down the drink and marshmallows melting down. A touch of cinnamon, peppermint flakes, and rich chocolate. It's quite delicious.

"How is it?" Gerard asks, setting his mug down after he takes a sip.

I cup the mug with both hands, warming my fingers. "It's worth the drive, thank you again for buying," I say.

"Don't mention it," he smiles. He picks the spoon back up, swirling it around in his cup, the metal gentle clicking against the ceramic sides. Is this technically a date? It's just us two together, he paid for me...I would totally call this a date if I could but I don't think that's what Gerard had in mind. Whatever, we live in a liberal and open-minded area. Just because we don't call it a date, other people would see it as one...maybe. Or I'm just crazy. I sit back in my chair, clasping my hands together. Gerard glances up at me through his bangs, raises his eyebrows. "You're still shivering, you cold?"

"I mean, it's December and I don't have the best winter clothes," I say, shrugging. "But it's fine. My hands are mostly cold."

Gerard nods along, continuing to swirl his drink, the whipped cream mixing in with the liquid. "Well, your hands are cold because the rest of you is cold. Your body is shutting down heat to your hands, saving it for the rest of you."

"Makes sense, I guess. I need gloves...and maybe a hat or a scarf. Or I just don't go outside."

Gerard chuckles lightly at my last remark. "Come here," he says, setting his drink to the side and taking hold of my hands. I freeze up, well, I am cold but I stiffen more than usual, when Gerard cups my hands around his, wrapping them around and bringing heat to them. "Damn, you are cold," he says. "You need a blanket."

"That sounds cozy right about now," I say. "Too bad I don't have one, guess I just have you."

Gerard's cheeks blush subtly, a smile forming on his lips. "Hope I'm good enough."

"You're better than good," I mutter. Oh, I said that out loud. Okay, refraining thoughts is a skill set I lack.

"Well, I best live up to your expectation," he mutters in return. Gerard locks eyes with me and holds my hands up to his lips. I force a calm over myself as he gingerly starts kissing my fingers. "That better?" he whispers, I feel his breath on my skin.

"I don't think so," I whisper. "Try again."

"Maybe I should just kiss you elsewhere."

"Maybe you should," I say neutrally, waiting for him to say something. Do normal guys talk like this to each other? I have no idea, being gay isn't exactly "normal" so I wouldn't know...yeah.

Gerard leans forward and my heart stops, thinking he's actually going to kiss me. But I realize he's just adjusting his chair. He shakes his head softly. "Not in public," he says jokingly.

"True true, don't need to deal with any problems." Gerard smiles at me but he is still holding my hands. Is he being serious? I kind of hate him for flirting with me like this. He knows I'm gay too so it's not like it's a "no homo" bounds. Unless he's put me in friend-zone or something. Whatever it is, I'm not complaining, at least, not right now. Best to change the subject though. "Still going to Hayley's?"

Gerard's eyes darken, his smile dropping. "Oh, f-crap," he groans, leaning back in his chair and closing his eyes in frustration. I sit back in my chair, worried he's upset. "I...I don't think I can, damn, I forgot that was today."

"Wait, why not?"

He shakes his head. "Just, I got a lot going on and, ah, yeah, I can't go anymore."

"Really?"

He shakes his head, fixating his eyes on the table. "I'm technically not supposed to leave right now but they're currently in the midst of other things. But I need to be home this weekend." I stare at him with puppy eyes and pout, not intentionally though. Gerard looks at me sympathetically. "Hey, we'll see each other Monday before school. And we can spend the morning together but I need to be home before lunch, okay?"

"I can't hang out at your place?" I ask. I don't like inviting myself over but I use it as a way to possibly figure out what's going on. Granted, he's not stupid, he doesn't elaborate anything.

"Not this weekend, there's too much and you don't need to worry about it." Gerard pauses and looks at me, his eyes saddening. "You look so upset, I feel bad."

"I'm not trying to make you feel bad, don't worry. At least we have the morning together."

"Yeah, what do you want to do?" he asks. "Any place you want to go?"

"Honestly," I say while sighing, "I kind of want to just sit in your car and just do nothing together."

"Hey, I like the sound of that."

After we finish our drinks, we put our jackets back on then hustle into the car. The two of us just goof around, reclining the seats all the way back and talking. It's mostly about movies and things we want to do together. Gerard wants to have massive Marvel movie marathon with me in the order of all the movies. I think that's a great idea because 1. hell yeah for superheros and 2. that's a lot of time with Gerard. We stop at Noddle's and Company to eat lunch and we play with the chopsticks. I notice him frequently checking his watch though, becoming slightly more anxious the longer we were out. Around 1, I suggest we start heading out, seeing his looks slightly paranoid. Whatever's upsetting him, I shouldn't keep him from it.

A little after three, I go to Hayley's house, double checking her address. But her house has a couple extra cars parked around it so I figure it's hers.

Patrick opens the door. "Hey, Frank," he says. letting me in.

"Hey." There's screaming coming from the other side of the house, and I can hear them yelling Brendon's name. "What's-"

"Oh, they're...it's hard to explain," Patrick says. "It's easier if I just show you." We head down the hall and go to her basement, which is rather nice. A couch in the corner, big television, Foosball table, dining area. Half the chairs are gone and moved to the center space. Hayley, Brendon, Lynn, and another girl are all lying together and sitting on the chairs.

"Hey, guys," I call out.

"Frank!" Brendon says, sitting up.

"Brendon, don't!" Lynn's chair falls backward and Lynn fails back.

"Oops," he says.

"What are you doing?" I ask while laughing.

Hayley sits up. "We're trying to do a human table," she says. I make a weird face at her and she starts giggling. "No, it's not as weird as it sounds."

"It's really not," the other girl says.

"Shh, it's fine," Hayley says. "So we have the four chairs placed in like a square. Then we all sit down on the side in like a clockwise pattern. When we lay back, our shoulders are resting on each other's knees are we're supposed to balance together and we could take the chairs out."

"That seems...complicated."

"Only because yahoo over there keeps messing it up," Lynn says.

"Well," Brendon says exasperated, "excuse me? Want Frank to replace me?"

Lynn looks at me while smirking. "I mean, he's really short so I don't think it'll work any better."

"Thanks, dear," I say. She giggles, covering her mouth with her hands.

"Try again?" the other girl says. Patrick and I watch as she, Hayley, Lynn, and Brendon sit on the chairs and then lean back, resting their shoulders on the other person's knees.

"You are really bony, Lynn," Brendon whines.

"And you're really heavy," she grunts.

"Ready?" the other girl says, straining while remaining balance. "Go!" Patrick and I quickly pull the chairs out and it works. The four of them stay upright and they all start screaming. Then Lynn and Brendon fall and the other girls collapse on top of them.

The four of them laugh while Patrick just shakes his head at them. "You guys are too extra for me," he says, walking over to the dining room table and coming back eating a stick of cheese.

Hayley sits up, catching her breath. "Hey, Frank," she says, standing up. She gives me a quick hug and then introduces me to her other friend. "So this is my friend Sarah Orzechowski. Sarah, this is Frank Iero."

The dark haired girl stands up and waves at me. "Hi," I say.

I've heard Hayley mention Sarah before to us. She's new to the school the same way I am. Granted, she's from California so not such a big jump. She and Hayley talk a lot and she wants to introduce her to us. I know Hayley told me Sarah doesn't really have a friend group but also she's alluded to wanting to set her and Brendon up together. I mean, I don't know how serious Hayley is but she's onto something that's for sure.

The six of us eat pizza at her dining room table. Even though four of us couldn't make it, it's still a lot of fun. While we're eating, Lynn and Patrick throw a napkin at each other playfully.

"Hey, Hayley, your birthday's coming up," Brendon mentions.

"Uh, don't remind me," she says sighing.

"Don't like your birthday?" I ask.

Hayley shakes her head. "No, it's not that. It's...kind of like how Amelia said it. I really like being 16 and you can only be 16 once, I don't want it to end yet."

Lynn looks at her. "But then you'll be 17!"

Hayley shrugs at her. "Yeah, but what's special about that?"

Lynn and Brendon immediately start singing. "You are the dancing queen! Young and sweet, only 17!" There's harmony ringing out as they hold the last note.

Hayley smiles at them and rolls her eyes. "Okay, you make it seem better."

"Your birthday is this month, right?" Sarah asks.

"Yeah, the 27th," she says. "I used to be the oldest in the friend group but Frank came along."

"My bad," I say.

"Most of us have birthdays in the spring," Lynn says. "Mine's in March. Then April has all the guy's beside Cody. Amelia and Jenna are like 4 days apart."

"My birthday is in April, too," Sarah points out. "April 27."

"Yo, birthday twins!" Patrick says, raising his hand.

"Hell yeah!" Sarah high fives him. "I guess spring is the emo season."

"Hey, guys, this is random but I have an idea," Brendon says, looking at his phone. "So there's this post that came up and it sounds really fun and I want to try it."

"What's it?" Patrick asks.

"So, it's a game called assassins," Brendon starts. Patrick looks at Brendon skeptically. "No, it's cool. So like we have like a random drawing like getting a deck of cards. Everyone gets one and whoever has the designated card is the 'assassin'. But no one knows who it is. Then we turn the lights off and walk around in the dark trying to survive. The assassin then goes around and he kills people by running his hand over their neck."

"Whoa, stop, this sounds terrifying," Patrick says.

"Yeah, that's what's cool!" Brendon says.

"Wait, so you just let them kill you?" he asks him.

"I mean, I guess? But it's fine." Patrick tilts his head, looking at him wearily. "No, anyways, you keep walking around and if you get killed, you lay on the ground. If someone stumbles across a body, they call body and rush to turn the lights on. Then everyone alive has to determine who's the assassin and have a trial."

"Oh, it's like Werewolf," Sarah says. "The card game with the villagers and stuff."

"I love that game!" Brendon says with a faint smile. "Yeah, my cousins and I play it all the time when we're over for the holidays. Yeah, this is like that game but we're walking around instead."

"This doesn't sound good," Patrick says.

"I think it's fun, we should try it," Hayley says.

After two more explanations of the instructions, we all stand in Hayley's basement spread out. We have to stay in the open area and try not to hurt anyone else. Hayley pulls out a deck of cards and grabs 5 number cards and then the ace of spades. The ace means your the murder. She deals out the cards and I get the seven of clubs. I'm not the assassin this time around. Hayley switches off the lights and it's completely black. Suddenly, I feel very afraid. "Okay, this is really dark!" Brendon cries out.

"No kidding, bucko!" I hear Patrick say from behind me. I start moving forward, my hands out in front of me.

"Guys, this is the Hunger Games!" I think Sarah or Lynn says. I think it's Sarah. I bump into somebody and immediately start screaming. "Oh my god, what's happening!" Sarah shrieks.

"Ah, oh my god!" I cry out, tripping backward. I scurry away from the direction Sarah was in but it's pitch black, I can't even make out her silhouette. "I actually feel like I'm going to die," I mutter.

There's a rustling in front of me and I hear someone gag out, sputtering. "What the hell?" Hayley screams. "Oh my god. Body!" There's a loud thud and I hear a shrill scream, which honestly sounds like Brendon.

Someone scampers over past me, shoulder checking me into the wall. "I'm sorry!" Patrick screams. He flicks the lights on and I see Lynn lying on the ground clutching her neck. Hayley is sprawled on the floor looking shocked and also laughing hysterically.

"I've been stepped on," Lynn mutters, still grasping at her neck. "And whoever touched my neck, that felt so weird."

"That freaked me out, it was really squishy and I fell," Hayley mutters.

"Oh, my apologies for having a squishy gut that's not supportive of your weight?" she groans. "Oh my god, I'm dead."

"Sarah's close to the body," Patrick points out.

Sarah looks at him gasping. "What? Dude, I was literally about to step on her when Hayley tripped before I did and started screaming."

"How'd you get over there?" I ask. "You literally stumbled into me like a minute beforehand."

"I thought you were the murder so I ran away when I bumped into you."

"Maybe Frank's the murder," Hayley points out. I glance at her. "I'm just saying."

"Let's be real, I don't think I could even reach Lynn, I'm too short." The others start laughing but I glare at them. "You know it's true."

"I don't think it's Frank," Brendon says. "And I didn't kill her."

"That's exactly what a killer would say," Sarah mutters.

Brendon shifts his jaw, glancing at her when she giggles. He rolls his eyes but chuckles. "Okay, so Frank's too far away, Hayley is the one who called the body and Patrick turned on the lights. I know I didn't do it and Lynn is dead so she obviously isn't the killer."

"Psych guys," Lynn calls out, flopping her arms heavily on the carpet. "I'm the assassin, I murdered myself."

Brendon snaps his head in her direction. "Wait, seri-"

"No," she giggles.

"Shh, you're dead," Hayley says, covering her mouth gently.

"So those four didn't do it and I know I didn't kill her so that means you did," Brendon says looking at Sarah.

"What? How do I know that you're not saying you didn't kill her just to frame me?" Sarah asks. "I didn't kill her. So that means you did." Brendon looks at her and laughs. "Unless..." Sarah glances at Hayley, "unless you called body to distract the fact that you are the closest one to the body because you killed her!"

"What? Why would I call body if I killed her?"

"To throw us off!" Sarah calls out.

"Yeah, like those CSI shows where the murder is the one to call 911!" Brendon says.

Sarah smiles at Brendon. "I was just about to say that."

Hayley stands up. "No, I didn't kill her, I literally tripped over her."

"They have a point," Patrick notes. He glances at me. "What do you think?"

"I mean, I don't think Hayley did it because she called body immediately after Lynn started making choking noises and she's not facing her the right way." I look at Sarah. Sarah is the person closet to standing behind Lynn. She's not directly behind her but off to the side. If she did kill her, it would be like she just slid over out of the obvious way. But she bumped into me right beforehand and she is on the same side of Lynn as I am. I don't think she would have killed Lynn, she wouldn't have had time to. So it makes sense Hayley would be it. "Actually, maybe Hayley did do it," I say.

"What?" she cries out. "Frank, I didn't kill her."

I wince at her. "I don't know."

"So who thinks Hayley did it?" Patrick asks. Sarah, Brendon, and I raise our hands. "Okay, I do too. Hayley, did you kill her?"

"No," she says, glancing at the rest of us.

"What!" Patrick asks. "Wait, we killed the wrong person?"

"Wait, what do we do now?" I ask.

"We have another round and the killer goes around again," Brendon says.