"Millicent, or maybe just Illi" Chapter 2

[A/N: i'm really glad you guys have been enjoying this fic so far!! all of the positive feedback is much appreciated! i WILL admit that the first chapter was written two-ish weeks ago, which is why the second chapter came out so "quick". i guarantee you that updates won't be this fast after chapter 3 (which IS being worked on by the time i'm posting this). thank you guys so much again :) -PATCH]

In the rare moments away from the old brick buildings that made up the boarding school, the quartet of geeks, freaks, and otherwise absurd typically found themselves at someone else’s house.

Sometimes it’d be the McMillins’ humble abode, sometimes it’d be the Ieros’ larger estate, and it was almost never Ray’s house because...he liked his space to be entirely his.

But the four of them had found themselves at an old elementary school playground by Illi and Mikey’s house this time around, the chill of autumn not quite settling into the air, leaving them without coats and with Frank in his typical baggy shorts that he wore outside of school. It was the weekend, they could wear whatever they wanted.

Illi was personally sporting a band shirt for some obscure project in the local scene—the red graphic clearly screen-printed onto the black fabric—and a pair of ripped baggy jeans to go along with it.

Mikey had on his typical hoodie and skinny jeans, both items making anyone suspect that he was shopping in the women’s section for these clothes...which he was.

Ray had chosen to wear much of the same as Illi, although he had managed to get a grass stain on his brand new jeans already. He sat there quietly scrubbing at the greenish-brown spot while the others chatted.

Illi and Frank had their backs toward the larger play structure on the playground, not a child in sight despite the nice weather and the time of day. Mikey had his legs dangling from one of the rock climbing walls attached to the playground, sitting at the very top of it as he looked down on everyone else. He was occasionally checking his phone, perhaps even more so than usual, though nobody noticed all that much.

They hadn’t really discussed homecoming since Tuesday, when Illi had been showing off her new comics and casually getting accused of making a self-insert while doing so. It had lingered on most of their minds, however, especially Frank’s.

He wasn’t the type for school events, finding himself disgusted by the amount of rules put in place and even more put-off by how clean everything had to be. Clean music, clean clothes, and a clean gymnasium with an even cleaner set of faculty waiting to bust anyone who smelled remotely like they had drank before coming in.

But the idea of the school dance lingered still, nagging at him, much like his mother had before he left the house, something about...well, he hadn’t been paying enough attention to remember what exactly.

Before he had let himself settle too far into his mind, he felt a light bump against his arm, looking up to see Illi nudging him about...he hadn’t remembered that, either.

“Hm? Sorry, stayed up late last night, kinda spaced out there…” Frank grumbled, clearly trying to brush off the fact that he had zoned out thinking about who exactly would make him believe in spending the money to go to a stupid homecoming dance; the very girl that was bugging him about it now.

“Jeez, you’re all sorts of tired today. What, need me to carry you back to my place?” Illi teased, a grin tugging at her lips as she leaned obnoxiously close. Frank, of course, shoved her away, hoping the blush that dusted his cheeks was seen as embarrassment and not fluster.

“Anyways, I was asking you about who you’d wanna bring to hoco. Y’know, since you brought it up first.”

“Really? It’s enough money to bring myself, I don’t think I could afford to pay for anyone else’s ticket.”

Illi rolled her eyes, leaning back against the wall with a small huff. She bit back a small remark, her eyes trailing up to where her younger brother was fidgeting with the rugged sleeves of his well-loved hoodie.

“Mikey, if you were gonna bring anyone to a school dance, who would you bring?”

The younger McMillin paused his fidgeting, taking a moment to push his glasses further up on the bridge of his nose before clearing his throat, avoiding eye contact as he muttered.

“Oh, you know...not really anyone that piques my interest. I wouldn’t bring anyone with, either.”

“But you said you’re going, right? You don’t go to school dances unless you have an incentive, I know this by now.”

“Food can be an incentive. And hanging out with you guys, of course.”

“Hey, who was that girl you were talking with after you got out of psychology?” Ray piped in, looking up from the grass stain he was working obsessively on, which had surprisingly lightened as result of his scrubbing.

The other two whipped their heads around to look at Mikey, who was now currently wishing he had stayed home today instead of allowing his sister to drag him out to the park. He adjusted his glasses again, a clear sign that he was trying to keep a neutral expression.

“Just someone asking me for notes after class, that’s all.”

Illi laughed incredulously, now clawing her way up the rock climbing structure to sit next to him, her old sneakers squeaking against the knobs and other shapes that jutted out from the base of the slanted wall. She grinned even more, exclaiming as she settled herself down next to her brother.

“That’s such a bullshit excuse, I don’t believe that for a second! Who was she, is she anyone we’d know? C’mon, spill!”

Ray and Frank joined in on the small burst of laughter that came from Illi, causing Mikey to shrink into himself that much more. He let out a small groan, taking off his glasses to rub his eyes as he explained himself. Though he didn’t need to say that much, the name that fell from his lips gave as much of an explanation as any of them needed.

“Her name is Agnes…? Agnes Lane? I dunno, she sits next to me in psych, and she’s like...one of the only girls that doesn’t go after me, and—“

“Wait, waitwaitwait— haunted Agnes? Like...the girl who lives in the haunted house on the other side of town?” Illi asked, tilting her head as her eyes widened. She looked over at Ray “What did she look like?”

“Uhh...blonde, but her roots looked all grown out. And she had this bag, it’s covered in all these pins with goth stuff on them?”

“Holy shit, Mikey’s got the hots for the one girl people think is freakier than Illi!” Frank cackled, toppling himself over in the process. He didn’t notice the glares shot at him by both of the McMillin siblings, though Mikey seemed exponentially more embarrassed than anything else.

“Shut up, she’s not a freak or anything like that. She’s...quiet, maybe a little off-putting at first. I got her number, so…”

“Oh my god, dude, you’re totally gonna ask her out to homecoming!”

“Jesus Christ, Frank, can I talk to a girl without making people think I like her as more than a friend?” Mikey snapped, falling backwards to lay on the floor of the castle to hide himself away from the rest of the group, even if his legs were still dangling off of the edge.

“I mean...she does seem nice, at least. I think she’s a year ahead of him, and she seemed almost...normal when she was talking to him, too.” Ray added, crossing his arms as he recalled seeing Mikey and Agnes talking outside of their class.

“Okay, so Mikey possibly has a date, but...that leaves the three of us. I’m fine going as a trio, honestly, unless the two of you have better plans?” Illi looked down at Frank and Ray, both of them shrugging dismissively before the three of them came to the silent conclusion that they’d all be going together...for now.

A cell phone vibrated against the wooden floor of the play structure, causing Mikey to sit up and grab his phone, squinting at the small screen briefly before reaching for his glasses to put them back on. Illi snorted to herself quietly, crossing her arms as she leaned over her younger brother’s shoulder to try and see what the text said. She was met with a sharp push away by Mikey, causing her to reach over and steal his phone.

“Hey!” Mikey shouted, stumbling to get up as Illi had already sprung up from her spot, running to the other side of the castle. Mikey managed to get up, chasing after her as the two of them shouted at one another.

Frank watched the two siblings, crossing his arms as a small smile tugged at his lips. He glanced over at Ray, seeing that he had gone back to scrubbing at the grass stain in his jeans once more. He rolled his eyes, his gaze shifting back to Illi for a moment.

He thought to himself, his mind going back to the single thought of her, Ray and himself all going together as a trio. Though it seemed like a nice, neutral idea that didn’t leave anyone out, maybe he could just...go with Illi?

He could propose matching costumes, too. Frankenstein’s monster and his bride...that idea made him equally cringe and chuckle to himself. I mean, it’s a nice pun, but—

“Hey, did you hear me? I said that the text wasn’t from ghost girl, Mom wants us to bring you guys back so we can order pizza for dinner tonight. You’re staying over, right?” Illi interjected, her hair falling into her face as she leaned down to look Frank directly in the eye from where he sat. He blinked a few times, seeing that Mikey and Ray had already started making their way back to the McMillin residence.

“Uhh...yeah. Yeah, ‘m staying over.” Frank finally grunted, dusting himself off as he stood up, accidentally bonking his forehead against hers in the process.

The two of them laughed quietly, mumbling their respective apologies before quickly trying to catch up to the other two, who had started discussing what movies to watch for their sleepover tonight.

Frank stole another glance at Illi, looking away just as fast as he accidentally met her gaze. He could hear her snort from beside him, and it only made the idea of homecoming gnaw at him that much more. He still had a month and a half to think it over, and he’d much rather spend tonight messing around with his friends and possibly stay up until the sun rose again.

After all, it was the weekend. They could do whatever they wanted.