Ahahaha. So this is a little of the ridiculousness I was talking about
here I wrote this weekend.
Everything starts before they even go on break, just random crap in the middle of the night when none of them can sleep. The whole thing feels very slumber party to Frank, or at least what movies tell him they're like, but that might be because they're all in their bunks with the curtains open.
They're the right kind of comfortable and tired that tends to lead to things like talking about movies and playing stupid road games. He's pretty sure if Gerard wasn't so tired there'd be make-overs and hair braiding going on too. Ray's totally a sucker for Gerard's big, sad eyes, and Bob and Mikey are prime targets now that they've let their hair grow out.
Ray's the one to ask, words a little hard to make out around a yawn. No one answers right away, thinking about all the things they're going to have time for now. Two years worth of time, which isn't really a lot of time in the business.
Not when they'll be headed back into the studio in a few months. Not with all the interviews and other promotional stuff in between. Not when it's them.
Frank knows saying they're taking a few years off is pretty much a lie because they'll be doing something before then. Maybe a secret show here and there, or some kind of amazing opportunity they wouldn't have gotten a few years ago, and might not get again.
Bob clears his throat. “I was thinking about working on my solo project.”
That startles a laugh out of Ray, and after that it's like the floodgates opening or something, everyone talking about the plans they have for the break. Side projects, trips to places they've been to but never had the chance to be the pain in the ass tourist at, and best of all, down time with their families.
“I'm going to sleep for a month,” Mikey says.
Ray laughs. “Oh my god you guys. Sleep. In actual beds.”
They all take a moment to think about that.
Frank stares at the bottom of bunk above him and feels a stupid smile spreading over his face. “Showers.”
Bob snorts and Frank can't really make out what he says over Gerard's indignant squawk, but it's not all that hard to figure out. Especially when Ray sides with Bob, and Mikey takes Gerard's side of things. Frank stays out of by pretending he can't hear them, which, no. That's not really possible with them trying to talk over one another and laughing like idiots.
Frank grins to himself because he's going to miss the whole endless road trip thing they have going, but it's going to be nice to have the ground stay still under his feet for a while.
It doesn't occur to him until later that Gerard never said what he was going to do.
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A few weeks into the break Gerard calls and leaves a message on Frank's voicemail, and Frank. Okay, Frank knows Gerard's an excitable guy. They all do. They even have a system with specific levels of excitability, but Gerard's message is completely off the scale.
He's not finishing his sentences, and he's not even forming coherent words. The excited squealing sort of makes that difficult. Frank gets that, he really does. He's seen it countless times before from their fans, but this is Gerard. He can squeal and talk at the same time.
Frank hurries his ass over to Gerard's place, and isn't prepared for what he sees when he rings the doorbell and Gerard answers.
“Uh.” Frank squints, and the thing on Gerard's shoulder sits up, tiny little nose twitching. “There's - “
“I know!”
Gerard's beaming at him even though it's the middle of the night and there's a rat on his shoulder.
Frank clears his throat. “Is that a - “
“It's a hamster!” Gerard's still beaming, and Frank is seriously confused.
“A hamster.”
Gerard nods, and snags the sleeve of Frank's jacket to drag him inside, the stupid little hamster on his shoulder watching Frank with its beady, beady little eyes. Gerard doesn't let go until they're in the living room.
There are bags everywhere, and sitting in the middle of the living room is a big wire cage with even more hamsters. One's running in the little wheel. Frank's a little impressed at how damn fast the little guy's going - his tiny little feet are a blur - and the rest of the hamsters are sort of lounging around.
“I just got them today, aren't they amazing?”
Frank looks back at Gerard, and the hamster's still on his shoulder.
Watching Frank.
It's huge, or maybe that's just the totally crazy fur it has going on because he's pretty sure hamsters aren't supposed to be the size of a softball.
Gerard scoops the hamster off his shoulder and shoves it at Frank. “Hold him! He's awesome!”
Frank doesn't want to drop the stupid hamster, so he cups his hands and looks down at it when Gerard coaxes it onto Frank's hands. The little guy sniffs at his fingers, waddling around and checking things out or whatever it is hamsters do.
Gerard's standing right next to him, and he can see Gerard's big, stupid smile at the corner of his eye.
It's not like Frank hasn't seen it a million times before, it's just. Usually when he sees it there are other people around, and this time there aren't, so it's a little different. Even if Gerard is just smiling at his stupid hamster.
“Oh, cool. He likes you,” Gerard says. Frank realizes that the thing is more fur than hamster when Gerard leans in to pet it, and his fingers go through a million feet of fur before actually touching hamster.
Frank shakes his head and tries to hand the hamster back, but Gerard turns and heads over to the big cage.
“Come over here and meet the rest of them,” Gerard says. Like they're at a party and he wants Frank to meet the other guests.
Gerard waves him over, and Frank goes because it's not as though he has anything better to do.
There are two more hamsters sitting at the mouth of a little plastic cave at the bottom of the cage. Gerard reaches in and they come out to see what all the fuss is about, little noses twitching and sort of falling all over one another.
The new hamsters have the same coloring, and one's seriously kind of scrawny. They look like they might be the same breed, but it's not like Frank's a hamster expert or anything.
“They were the last ones of their litter left, and I couldn't separate them,” Gerard says with a helpless smile.
Frank rolls his eyes and cranes his neck to get a look at the big one with really light fur. It's sitting by itself on a platform near the top of the cage while the other one runs its little heart out in the wheel.
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Ahaha. *facepalm* That is all there is at this point. TBC?