Chapter Two

Ryan looked up at the towering building in front of him and tried to remember exactly why he'd agreed to this. It had seemed like such a brilliant idea yesterday. Not that he'd had much of a say in whether he came or not. He was standing at the grand entrance to 'St Michael's finishing School and College for Boys' and really wished he wasn't. The two huge wooden double doors in front of him were over two meters tall and summed up Ryan's idea of the school perfectly. You have to work hard to get in, you'll be perfectly safe while you're here...but we can keep you out just as turned around and looked down the long drive and watched his chauffer driven car, and his only connection to the outside world, drive round the corner. He picked at his shirt, he'd been force dressed by Helena that morning.

"Ryan?" said a voice from behind him. He turned around again to see one of the large doors was open. A man of medium height and build was holding the giant door with some form of hidden muscle. He beckoned Ryan inside.

"Your bags will be sent to your room, don't worry. Now- do come into my office." Ryan put down one of three large suitcases that contained enough clothes to last him the rest of his life and followed the man inside. They turned into an alcove that had two chairs either side of a door. One of the chairs was occupied by a boy of about 17 who was holding a bloody nose. The man shook his head and opened the door.

"I'll be back to talk to you in a bit Benji." he said happily walking into the room. The boy nodded after him and looked Ryan up and down as he passed. He stepped into an office that was completely opposite to Farro's. It was all Burgundy leather chairs and bookcases. There was a decanter and a bottle of brandy on a small coffee table. Ryan looked around and half expected the man, who he now realised was the headmaster, to produce a pipe and start to regale him with stories of the war.

"Sit down Ryan, I'll be over in a second" said the authoritative man, gesturing to a corner of the office.

Ryan sat on one of the armchairs and watched as the headmaster strode over to his large desk and picked up a file. As he walked back towards him Ryan realised that the man was only five or so years older than him. He hadn't noticed he was so young- the attitude he put across was one of someone double his age. Ryan caught sight of a sign on the desk he'd missed earlier. 'Patrick Stump- Headmaster of the Year' He cast his mind back to yesterday when he'd been sitting in a chair having his hair cut by Helena and tried to remember if she'd mentioned a Patrick when she was bombarding him with information about the school.

"Patrick is the Headmaster of St Michaels's and also the Wing supervisor for the students in their last year. So you'll see him a lot. He's the youngest Headmaster the school has ever had, he left, did a degree in Philosophy and came straight back when he discovered there was a vacancy. He encourages all of the boys to call him Patrick. Mystery sexuality, one of everyone's favourite questions to ask him. I know it's not part of the mission- but do find out. Oh...and...what are your views on hair dye?"

Ryan chuckled as he remembered her description of the man in front of him. Patrick raised an eyebrow and Ryan shook his head.

"Long story" he explained. Patrick smiled and sat down next to him. He spread out the file and turned to Ryan.

"Welcome to St Michaels! I'm Patrick, I'm sure we'll be the best of friends! While you're here I hope you'll join the bridge club! " It was a few seconds before he cracked up, giggling like a girl. He was wiping tears from his eyes as he faced a scared looking Ryan.

"Sorry, Simple pleasures," He rubbed his face with his hands and sat up straighter. "Anyway- I'm Patrick, You're Ryan. I hope you'll enjoy your time here at Mike's and that you'll get on with all of the other boys. I'm sure you will. You look like a good kid." He glanced down at the sheets of paper and continued. Ryan did a double take and re-evaluated Patrick. He could see why he was popular with the students; he clearly had a sense of humour.

"From your file I see you're taking Music, English and Art with Electronics as your Optional. An interesting and nice choice. You have the same timetable as two other boys in your year and one of them will show you round today and help you settle in."

Helena had told Ryan about the subjects he was taking and he agreed with her that they'd picked the right choices for him. Electronics was his cover for the amount of equipment he had to bring in for all of the surveillance. He remembered the look on her face when she explained that, for a year, she was officially his mother and that Farro was his father. Ryan had to drop the surname of Ross and become Ryan Farro. Patrick poked him and thrust a plastic bag into his hands.

"I've got a couple of things to give you- a house tie and a key to your room; you'll share with someone else in your house. There aren't enough rooms in the actual building of Mike's for all of the years so Upper 2nd live in a separate building on campus. As I'm sure you know- there are five buildings that make up Mikes. The main building that we're in now that has the English, Maths and French and classrooms in it, as well as my office. The Art block that is one large art studio and combined gallery, The Drama studio and theatre which has Music classrooms upstairs, the lecture hall and finally U2 block where you'll be staying that has a common room, a small library and a kitchen as well as eight rooms upstairs, each with two beds."

Ryan nodded and mentally reminded himself to tell Helena that all her information was accurate so far. There was a light knock on the door and it opened to admit a guy about Ryan's age. Ryan took in his appearance; he could see black converses that bled seamlessly into black skinny jeans. A belt buckle shaped like a guitar protruded slightly from underneath a black button down shirt that hugged his chest. He was wearing skeleton hand warmers and his long fingers rested lightly at his sides. His hair was cropped short apart from a fringe that would have covered one eye had it not been tucked behind one ear. The guy was certainly attractive, thought Ryan. Helena had been encouraging him to think like a girl all of yesterday and he could see the appeal of the slim hips and legs that they guy in front of him had. Frank waved and bit his lip, Ryan noticed a lip ring.

"Hey Frank" Said Patrick from next to Ryan, Frank walked over to them and executed a complex handshake with the headmaster that involved a lot of fingers before dragging Ryan upright. "Be nice to the new kid Frank, fill him in for me and I'll see y'all later" Patrick added, affecting a Texas twang.

"I'll be nice Patrick, there's only so much I can do when everyone else is in lessons you know." Frank replied and took Ryan by the hand. He snatched the plastic bag from him and dug around with a look of concentration on his face. He pulled out a green tie triumphantly. "NO WAY! You put him in Omega? Brendon is going to be pissed!" Frank said with delight. Patrick shrugged and pushed Ryan and Frank towards the door.

"Get out, both of you. I'll see you at the U2 meeting later." He shut the door behind them. The minute he'd gone Frank was bouncing up and down, Ryan thought he and Helena would make a good couple, if Frank wasn't gay- which statistically- he probably was.

"Wait 'til I tell the guys! Oh this is going to be soooo entertaining when Brendon finds out!" Ryan had absolutely no idea what was going on and he put an arm out to stop Frank bouncing.

"Frank, dude? Little help?" Frank turned and faced him. "Only...I uhh...have no idea what the hell you're on about."

Frank smiled, "Sorry, we haven't had a new kid in two years, the whole year is kind of excited to know what you're like- me included," He stuck out a hand. "Frank Iero, resident midget with attitude, at your service." He did a mock bow. Ryan took his hand and shook it sombrely; he thought he was going to get on with Frank.

"Ryan Farro, new kid and all round loser." He replied. Frank giggled and pulled him into his second hug of the day. Very feminine, Ryan noted.

"Ok Ry, here's the deal. I could show you round the school which you'll see tomorrow anyway- or we could go over to our dorms and sit in the common room while I tell you everything there is to know about people in our year, and social etiquette in general, catch my drift?"

Ryan nodded, He'd seen pictures of all of the rooms anyway- what he really needed was the inside information on the students that only Frank could give him. Frank grabbed his hand again and led him outside, they passed a couple of classrooms with small classes inside. Ryan thought he saw an English class and a French class- although Frank was dragging him past them so fast that they may as well have been lessons on how to butter a piece of toast. Mmm...toast. Ryan hadn't eaten since yesterday's 3am half bagel and everything was reminding him of food.

The grounds that Ryan could see were dotted with oak trees and the grass was scattered with flowers like confetti. Frank walked backwards down the gravel path all the while talking to Ryan about how good the food was. Apparently the kitchen was always fully stocked and you could just eat what you want provided you try to eat three meals a day that were sort of healthy. By the time they reached the building that Ryan was going to call home for the next year he knew the exact recipe for a tuna and whipped cream sandwich and what to avoid if you didn't want your ass kicked by people who are protective of their food.

The building was just like a miniature replica of the main mansion, red brick with large wooden doors. When Ryan stepped inside he stepped straight into the common room, there were clusters of burgundy leather sofas and armchairs around a couple of little tables. There was a fireplace on one wall and floor to ceiling books on another, at the back of the room a large staircase rose to the floor above, it twisted and turned forming a balcony over the room before disappearing above the ceiling to what Ryan supposed was where the bedrooms were. To one side of the room was a set of double doors that Frank led him through. They came into a dining room with a long table in the centre and another small door off to the side, this door lead to the kitchen which it transpired was teenager's dream. Four coffee machines, cupboards full of the four main food groups; sugar, salt, fat and caffeine. Frank grabbed a bag of crisps, chucked Ryan a chocolate muffin, and they went back out to the common room.

"So." Said Frank as they collapsed on a sofa by the fireplace. "Welcome to the Upper 2nd wing of the school, the best place- obviously. This is where our year eat, sleep, party, study, crash and fuck." Ryan winced at the last word and Frank sat bolt upright. "Well shit, I forgot to ask you- are you gay, straight, bi, omni or pansexual? Or something we haven't had at this school yet?" Frank looked at Ryan with such a grave expression that Ry suspected his very future depended on this answer. He paused before answering.

Helena had given him one last piece of advice before he'd left,

"Proclaim you are straight as much as possible- St Michael's boys will love a challenge and if you want to befriend people to make the mission easier, let them take you on as their new project." He'd tried to tell her that he was straight anyway, so it was immaterial. She's said that once she was through styling him he'd look in the mirror and he'd be so hot he'd be questioning even his own sexuality. There was no reasoning with Helena. Ryan had avoided mirrors all day and still had no idea what she'd done to him.

"Very straight." He told Frank, looking him in the eye with as much sincerity as he could manage. Frank raised his eyebrows in shock.

"Really? Huh...my gaydar is clearly malfunctioning." Frank zoned out and stared at Ryan for a minute. "But you're straight? The guys are going to love you" Frank shook his head. "Ok- so straight guy, this is how the cliques work here. There are thirteen people in our year now, you included. You can pretty much split us into two groups, the Band crew and the Popular guys...and Bill. The Band crew are Me, Gerard, Mikey, Bob, Ray and Spencer. We're all in the school band which is imaginatively called The Band. Brendon hangs around with us sometimes but not much. He generally stays with the popular crowd."

Ryan made a face, his experience with anyone popular had not been good. He was always the weird kid in the corner. Frank laughed and grimaced.

"Yeah, the popular guys are Alex, Gabe, Brendon, Jack and Pete, they think they run the school. Finally there's William Beckett aka Bill... He's normally found in the Art block, high. High either on weed, or on a ladder. He needs the ladder for his most recent art project inspired by The Beatles which features a large wire tree and a lot of orange paint. That guy is in a clique of his own." Frank giggled. The Beatles? Ryan raised an eyebrow. Maybe this Bill guy didn't sound too bad after all.

"Is there anyone I need to uh...look out for?" Ryan asked.

"Not really- All of the Band crew are really cool, watch out for Bob though. He'll hit you if you mention cameras or Paninis. Most of the popular crowd are okay, Alex is scum though. Typical spoilt rich kid. Brendon Urie is kind of an enigma, don't even try."

That was the last thing Ryan wanted to hear. He'd been hoping that either Alex or Brendon would be one of the people he'd naturally talk to and that it would be easy to befriend them and get information. Maybe that had been a bit too much to hope for. Although, this was only from Frank's point of view. It could be that Brendon was a perfectly normal person and he'd just mortally offended Frank in another life.

"An enigma?" He asked hesitantly.

"Yeah, Brendon isn't an easy person to figure out, he's kind of friends with everyone and no one. He's got a lot of power from his father but he doesn't need it. He's amazing at music and he's all dramatic and confident. If he's pissed off he can be a bit of a dick, but he's a nice enough guy. He switches friendship groups a lot." Frank had a guarded look on his face that made Ryan think he wasn't telling him the whole truth.

"Frank...what aren't you telling me?" said Ryan, poking Frank in the ribs. Frank swatted his hand away and had the good grace to look guilty.

"To tell you the truth? Brendon is probably going to hate you for life." The bottom dropped out of Ryan's stomach.

"What have I done? I haven't even met the guy yet!" Ryan complained. Frank shook his head and pulled out Ryan's green house tie.

"There are four houses here at St Micheal's, Omega, Sigma, Theta and Delta. They're all really ancient and some maths teacher came up with the idea like a thousand years ago. There used to be inter house competitions and stuff, but now the only use for them is deciding who rooms together. You always share with someone in your house." Frank pulled at his Yellow tie with disgust. "I'm in Sigma house with Spencer and Ray- I share with Spencer, we all thought you'd be put in Sigma with us and that you'd share with Ray because there are only three of us. I'd forgotten there were only three in Omega as well."

Ryan nodded, this made sense so far. Helena had mentioned the houses. Each bedroom had two single beds, there were eight rooms in U2 block therefore 16 beds which divided into a max of four people in each house. He still had no idea how this affected his non existent relationship with Brendon.

"Let me break it down for you" Frank said. "I room with Spencer Smith, Ray Toro has his own room because he's a left over, Jack Barakat shares with Pete Wentz as they're the only two in Delta. There are four people in Theta; Gerard Way who shares with Bob Bryar and Mikey Way who shares with William Beckett. In Omega there's Alex Gaskarth who rooms with Gabe Saporta. That leaves Brendon Urie, who up until now has never shared anything in his life."

Ryan looked helplessly at Frank who shrugged.

"It wasn't your choice, Patrick decides what houses people go into. You'll either get on really well, or he'll spend every waking moment making your life miserable. Brendon doesn't share well and he's had his own room for over two years so I'm betting on the latter. You're lucky we've all only been moved into U2 for a week- no one's had a chance to really personalise their rooms yet."

Ryan nodded and then grimaced. "How am I supposed to break it to him that he's rooming with the new guy for a year?"

Frank sighed and looked at his watch. "Upper 2nd finish lessons after lunch as we only take three subjects. We get three hours in the evening to work on our Optional. Everyone normally eats lunch over in the main school- so I reckon as it's about 3pm...Everyone will be back soon to start on their optionals, I'll have to abandon you and head over to the gym. Brendon will find out soon enough when he goes upstairs and sees your name has been added to the door and your twelve thousand bags have been shoved in his room. Oh, and Patrick called a win meeting after lunch today anyway- he wants to introduce you."

Ryan nodded again and thought back to the days of standing in front of a class in middle school and saying his name and his favourite colour to about 30 other people. In this tightly knit community who had known each other for years it was probably going to be a little bit different.

There was a growing roar from behind the two large wooden doors at the entrance and suddenly they burst open to admit hyper students. Ryan wanted to melt into the sofa as 11 pairs of eyes found the new kid.

Wrote this whilst listening to The Young Veins. Forever a Ryan Ross fangirl. R&R!