I heard a knock on the door. Who the hell wants to see me!? Probably someone dropping off a package. I put down my pencil and ran downstairs. I opened the door. It was my brother, Mikey. "When's the last time you took a shower, you stink!" he said, walking in. "Nice to see you too." I mumbled. Mikey flopped down on my sofa and started at me. "What!?" I shouted after five minutes of my brother giving me the death stare. "You look really tired..." he said "Yeah, I didn't get to bed till three last night!" Mikey nodded. "So, why the fuck are you here!?" Mikey sat up. "No one has seen you in the last two weeks, other than your boss and the staff at your local Starbucks, what's been up!" Mikey spat out. I scratched my head. "I've got a deadline for a new comic. If my boss doesn't like it then I'm going to be sacked!" I felt a warm tear slide down my face. Mikey put his arm around me. "It's fine Gee, You'll be fine..." I sniffed. "Re..Really?" He smiled. "Your talented Gerard, that's why you got this job in the first place! Now can I see what you've been doing for the last two weeks?"
Mikey walked into my studio. "Wow" he whispered. I've got to be honest, the place was a tip. Some failed storyboards didn't quite make it into my wastepaper basket so scrunched up paper balls were nearly everywhere. Empty coffee mugs were all over my cluttered desk. And my desk itself... There was enough paper there to come from a whole tree. "It's a bit... messy..." I mumbled. Well, that was a massive understatement. My little brother managed to make it to my desk and started rummaging for anything comic-worthy. He pulled the frame I was working on before he came. "What's his name?" he pointed at the small, cute, eighteen-year-old boy with the weird faux Mohawk thing. "Umm..." I paused. I hadn't thought of a name yet! "Frank... Frank Iero..." I spat out. Were the hell did that name come from!? But somehow, it felt right. "Cool.." Mikey said, not even looking up. "This is a good start, where's the rest?" I was stunned. Mikey's a tough critic and normally just shrugs his shoulders at my work. "That's all I've got..." I looked down. "I was going to ask if you wanted to go out for coffee but that can wait!" he grinned. "You HAVE to do more! I'll go buy some food and shit while you work, I'll be back in an hour." And just like that he was gone.
I started drawing again. I drew the gang of boys again. "IERO" one of them said. "Your dead meat..." another shouted. "What, are you scared?" the biggest laughed. Frank was right up against the wall now. The group of idiots were forming a tight circle around him. I remember something like that happening. But Frank wasn't going to end up half-dead in a dumpster. "What did you say?" frank whispered. "ARE YOU SCARED!?" he shouted back. "You don't want to shout at me..." Frank replied. "Pshhh, what are you going to do!? Your not even half my size!" The group laughed. Then I drew a blinding white light and a blackout. "I'm sorry..." Frank's whispered after,head held low. All the boys were on the ground, knocked-out but not dead. Frank wouldn't kill anyone. He's a hero, not a villain! I smiled as I drew him putting his hood up and running away. I looked at my work. I had used five sheets of paper and none of them were in the bin (or on the floor). I got out an empty folder and slipped my work inside. I would colour it later, after I get some coffee, I thought. I placed it on the top of my bookcase, the least cluttered space in my studio. I smiled and walked downstairs. I sniffed my underarms. Mikey was right. I did really did need a shower.
