Frank was getting anxious. After the first five minutes of waiting, he had moved away from the bathroom window just to be safe, but he was wondering whether something had gone wrong. Why wasn't Gerard here yet? He reminded himself that the older boy hadn't specified a how long he should be waiting, but it did little to ease his nerves as he waited for Gerard's return. He shrunk back into his hood, less because of the weather, which was actually quite warm, and more because despite the lack of onlookers he was feeling self-conscious.

There was plenty of time to think, so Frank did. He thought about the alacrity with which he met Gerard's commands; he was so eager to please this near stranger. It was probably natural to look up to and seek approval from and older teen, but Frank understood that feeling. This was not the same. His adrenaline had been racing long before he was sent to climb out the window. He had been trying to control his excitement the whole bus ride to The Void, even before Gerard's accidental collision with him had sent his heart pounding.

Frank had had a 'girlfriend' (well, whatever it was at that age) when he was twelve, and he never felt this kind of excitement about her. Or any other girl, for that matter, so unle-

Oh… oh, no.

Frank was thrown into a flurry of thoughts, the likes of which he had pondered before but especially since he had met Gerard. First, he thought of the prettiest girl in his school, which he supposed was this one girl named Emily. She clearly had a really nice body, great curves, and a beautiful, delicate face. Then he tried to picture himself with her, properly with her. It was easy enough. He had to work with his imagination a little bit to really see it, but there it was.

Frank's next move was to picture himself with Gerard. Instantly, he envisioned himself on top of him, straddling the older boy's dark jeans. It was so simple, and he was so compelled to let his mind run free and progress the scene. It was much less forced than when Emily was in that same place. The scene with the handsome boy brought an untainted pleasure unlike imagining Emily; there was such a defined difference that it made Frank wonder.

No. Frank wasn't going to do this now. He needed to stay alert and finish Gerard's plan, whatever it was. Little did he know, he didn't have much longer to wait, for in the backstage lounge, Gerard was tucking the car keys into his waistband and turning to face the accusatory voice of Joanna, the girlfriend of one of James's crew - Gerard wasn't sure which one. He couldn't keep the gossip straight, and based on all the rumors that had buzzed around their high school, she may as well have been with all of them.

"You. Who are you?" Joanna prodded, and Gerard turned to face the girl with her hands running manically through her auburn hair.

The dumbstruck Gerard opened his mouth, hoping that he could think on his feet well enough to get out of this. Being recognized in The Void at all that night would be detrimental to his plan, but before he could utter more than the choked beginning of an excuse, Joanna cut him off.

"Oh, it's just backstage help," she commented to a friend, and then she simply walked away.

She and her crowd tormented me for four years. It's been two weeks since we graduated together, and she doesn't even recognizeme when I'm stealing her boyfriend's car keys. Gerard had never been more offended to not get caught. However, he wasn't so offended as to blow his cover, so he walked out the back exit with a placid demeanor to mask the thrill rising inside of him. He turned the corner down an alleyway, saw Frank, watched the boy's posture instantly relax, and gestured for the kid to follow him to the parking lot.

The black Dodge van was instantly recognizable. James drove it anywhere where he wanted to show off his band status, which was absolutely everywhere something was breathing. It, in turn, drove Gerard crazy. He stood for a moment by the driver's side, evaluating the vehicle as he waited for Frank to catch up to him.

"Frank," Gerard said decisively as he carefully unlocked the door, "wanna go for a ride?"

"S-sure," stammered Frank, answering before even thinking it through.

"Perfect."

The boys climbed into the front of the van, and Gerard pulled out onto the street.

Frank had to ask, "What did you do in there?"

"I got the keys to this car."

"This isn't your car?"

"This isn't my car."

"… I'm sorry, but I have to ask. Whose car is this?"

"This car, my dear friend, is the primary vehicle of the poor bastards who decided to fuck with me for a few too many years.

"Playing tonight," Gerard continued, "are some of my high school bullies. I guess bully is the right word. I've never had to explain this to anyone. Anyway, we are going to have some fun with this van."

"What are you planning to do?"

"You'll see… Aha!"

With that last comment, a supermarket materialized to the right of the car, and Gerard pulled into the parking lot.

"Okay, Frank," Frank's heart fluttered when Gerard used his name, "can you get me seven jugs of the discounted Miller's fruit juice and some tin foil?" Gerard handed Frank thirty dollars, and they passed through the automatic doors purposefully.

Seeing the massive size of the Miller's juice jugs, it occurred to Frank that he was going to need a cart. He went back outside to retrieve one, and when he came back into the store, he had lost sight of Gerard. Dutifully, he loaded the shopping cart with the seven jugs and got in line at the register right behind his commander who was in the process of purchasing a juice bottle of an entirely different brand.

"More juice for the plan?" Frank asked.

"No, this one is for me," clarified Gerard. Then, feeling he should elaborate, "Miller's is shit."

"Oh."

Once Frank had paid for the bizarre quantity of fruit beverages, Gerard posed a simple question.

"Are you ready?"

Frank nodded slightly, and on that signal, Gerard grabbed hold of the cart and sprinted out of the supermarket with a wild grin on his face. His companion followed close behind him, invigorated by the escalation of Gerard's energy. They loaded the juice into the back seat of the car, jumped inside, and drove away into the night. Gerard opened his personal juice bottle and began to sip it nonchalantly.

"You're pretty lucky Frank. You got into a van with a guy you hardly know without a second thought. If you ever try that again, just as a fair warning, not too many guys just want to buy some juice."

"You feel trustworthy. I mean, you're pretty young yourself."

Gerard suddenly grew somber. "Be careful with that trustworthy thing. I don't want to hear that you ended up getting hurt."

There was a brief silence that Frank soon burst with the looming question, "So what did these guys do to you?"

Gerard sighed. "All of high school they never left me alone. They spread rumors, occasionally beat me up a little. The usual stuff. They sort of helped me learn to hate myself, and I never want to go back to that."

"I get a lot of that too. My family isn't much help… I took a bus here. Just got up, walked out, and got on a bus, and they asked no questions. There isn't a place that really wants to have me, and I guess that's a lot of why I was willing to just get in the car with you are go wherever. When I get back to school, I'll probably just try to blend in long enough to survive the year."

"There was a moment in my life when I really wanted to kill myself," mused Gerard, "and there was one other moment when I was close to that. . . . But even in my most jaded times, I had some hope.

"Here is the thing," Gerard continued, "Life is very, very short, and you can choose to live it how you want. You can choose to dumb yourself down and not express yourself just so you can fit in, just so people won't dislike you. Or you can fucking live." He pulled back into The Void parking lot, and the wild grin flicked back onto his face. "Are you ready to get these assholes?"

Gerard grabbed the tinfoil, climbed into the back of the van, and proceeded to use it seal off leaks out of the back area where the band would be loading their equipment later. Then, he climbed onto the last row of seats, grabbed the first jug of juice, leaned over the seat backs, and began to pour its entirety onto the van floor.

Frank watched with a smile on his face. "You are brilliant!" he exclaimed and then held up the keys. "Mind if I do some work on the outside?"

"Go for it."

Gerard finished emptying seven jugs of juice into the back of the van, finishing with a solid inch of liquid swimming in the car; the containers were unceremoniously dumped into the driver's seat. He climbed out of the passenger seat door to see Frank's handiwork carved into the side of the car.

Revenge is a Bitch

"Hey, can I see the keys?" asked Gerard. Frank tossed them to him, and the older boy's tongue stuck out of his mouth just slightly as he added to the message a modest smiley face.

The two sat contentedly on the roof of a neighboring building for the rest of the night. They watched the juice pour out of the van like a magical colored waterfall, and they crouched down to hide from furious and bewildered eyes. This was a fantastic night, and so were all the other nights they spent together that summer in 1995.