Chap 3: A Day of Remembrance...

We walked into Starbucks and Frank and I walked straight over to an empty table. Meanwhile, Mikey and Ray stood in line to get coffee.

"Sorry about this..." said Frank quietly.

"About what?" I asked.

"About Mikey and Ray...I didn't know they were going to be here."

"I don't care...they're your friends right? Why can't I meet my own brother's friends?"

"I know they've been wanting to meet you..."

I looked at him shocked. His friends wanted to meet me? Mikey walked over to the table and sat down with a coffee tray in his hands.

"Where's Ray?" asked Frank.

"Uh...bathroom." replied Mikey.

Frank nodded and stood up.

"Kate, you wanted a cocoa and bagel right?" he asked.

"Yeah Frank...thanks." I replied as he walked to the counter.

Mikey sipped his coffee and adjusted his glasses from the tip of his nose...to closer to his eyes. I just looked out the window.

"So your Frank's sister..." stated Mikey.

I looked over at him and nodded. He smiled and sipped his coffee.

"I work with Frank...well more like intern with him at the Eyeball Records House."

"Intern?" I asked...I didn't know Frank worked there.

"Yeah...how old are you?" he asked.

"I'm 16..." I replied.

"So..you're about...4 years younger than Frank...."

I nodded and looked back out the window, when Frank walked over with his coffee, my cocoa and 2 bagels.

"Here you go..." he said, placing the cocoa in front of me.

"Thanks...." I smiled as he sat down in between Mikey and I.

"Hey guys..." said Ray, sitting down on the other side of Mikey.

"Hi..." said Mikey, handing him a coffee.

"Thanks..." replied Ray.

At that moment a man with a growing mustache and a beard walked through the door.

"Matt!" Ray waved.

The man walked over and sat down.

"Hey guys!" he said.

"Where's Gerard?" asked Mikey.

"Oh...feeding the meter outside." replied Matt.

The guys nodded when another man walked in. He had black dyed hair. He walked over to the table when Mikey stood up and hugged him. They both sat down when there was a loud crash, followed by a rumble.

"What was that?" asked Frank.

We all stood up and walked outside. People were screaming...crying...you name it. I'm not gonna lie, I was scared. Frank put his hand on my shoulder, when I felt all five guys around me.

"Oh my god..." came Gerard's voice and he pointed up into the air.

We all looked up. Down the street, falling debris, flames, and who knows what, was falling from one of the Twin Towers. A man ran by and Gerard stopped him.

"What happened? What crashed into the tower?"

"A plane! A plane!" the man yelled.

I looked at Frank to see him looking at me with a worried face. Matt and Ray both had shocked faces, while Mikey just kept shaking his head.

"Frank...I wanna leave..." I said, turning towards him.

"I agree...we're gonna head home." said Frank, turning towards his friends.

"We're going to follow you out." stated Gerard.

When Frank and I got into the car, Gerard and the guys got into their's which was parked behind Frank's. As we pulled out, another loud rumble followed by an explosion occurred. We both looked out the window to see another plane crash into the other tower. It was 9:03 am...not even 17 minutes after the other crash. I was starting to feel uneasy.

"Frank...please hurry home." I groaned.

"Just don't think about it, I'll get there as fast as I can."

*30-45 minutes later*

Pulling into the driveway made me feel relieved. I got out of the car and began to walk into the house, when the rest of the guys showed up. They all got out and followed Frank and I into the house. My Dad, Grandpa and Great Uncle were sitting on the couch in the living room. Mom walked into the hallway when she saw us. Automatically, her expression turned from anger and worry to complete relief.

Chap: 2 : The City...

Waking up on the floor, was really uncomfortable. I yawned and reached for my laptop. As I waited for it tot boot up, I got up to freshen up in the bathroom. I brushed my hair and washed my face. I walked back to my laptop and opened it, while sitting on the floor. That's when I began to type:

Dear Diary,

It's Tuesday. September 11th, 2001. It's about 6:45 am and my brother Frank came home last night. He also brought a surprise...a tattoo! If Dad ever sees it...he'll kill him! Other than that, I'm happy that he's home. I'm gonna go now cuz he's still asleep. Until next time...

pce&luv K.Iero

I closed the laptop when I realized Frank tossing and turning.

"Kate?" he groaned in a whisper.

I stood up and looked down at him.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"Can I have some of that cream?"

I nodded and walked into the bathroom. I grabbed the cream from the cabinet and walked outside of the bathroom. Frank sat up and looked at me.

"Here..." I said handing him the cream.

"Thanks...so what are you doing today?" he asked.

"Um...nothing really...why?" I curiously questioned.

"Well...I'm going into New York...wanna come?"

I never gave up an opportunity to New York. It was a day off from Jersey. I nodded excitedly.

"Good...be ready by 7:30ish. I wanna leave before our parents get up."

I nodded and got up to get ready.

*35 minutes later...around 7:20am*

I walked down the stairs, grabbing my hot cocoa and sweatshirt on the way out the door. I walked out to the car to see Frank waiting. I reached the car and got in.

"Ready?" he asked.

I nodded and buckled my belt. He started the car and pulled out of the drive way.

*30 minutes or so later...about 8:00am*

Arriving in New York, wasn't the first time I had been there with just Frank. He used to take me there all the time so we could go shopping. This time though, he had some business to attend to. Meanwhile, I was going to shop around a bit. We parked in front of one of the record stores, which was down the street from the Twin Towers. We walked into the store and I wet straight over to one of the aisles. The aisle I walked down had records by Anthrax, Slayer, Smashing Pumpkins...bands like that. As I walked over to one of the sections, there were only two people standing in front of it. One of them had an afro type hairdo..the other was skinny and had thick rimmed glasses.

"Excuse me..." I said quietly.

"Oh...I'm sorry..." said the man with the afro.

"It's okay." I smiled.

"Mike, what time did you say your brother had to work until?"

"Um...he said he's going to leave early..." replied the guy with the glasses.

I continued to look at the cds when Frank came over.

"Hey Kate...ready to go?" he asked a little irritated.

"Um...yeah, I just wanna pay for this cd..." I replied.

"Hey Frank! Whatsup?" said the man with the glasses.

"Oh...hey Mikey! Noting...just taking a day in the city with my little sister..." replied Frank, putting his hand on my shoulder.

"Nice...Ray and I are just waiting for Gerard to get out of work. We're going to meet Matt at Starbucks. You're welcome to join." Mikey smiled as Ray nodded.

Frank looked at me.

"It's up to Kate..." he said.

"It's cool..." I smiled weakly.

"Alright...let's head over now." said Mikey.

We walked up to the counter so I could pay for the cd that I wanted, which happened to be by Iron Maiden. We walked out of the store and all got into Frank's car. I sat in the passenger seat while Mikey and Ray sat in the backseat. We drove up the street and parked in front of Starbucks. We all got out of the car and walked in.

Chap 1: The Bond Of Brother and Sister

It’s the year 2001…September 10th, 11:51pm…to be exact.

Dear Diary,

A lot has been going on lately…with my brother and parents that is. He’s been going out more often than usual, which I guess is understandable considering he will be 20 next month. I don’t know, my brother and I used to be so close, but now with my parents telling him to go to college and to get a job…it’s just different. I don’t know where he goes at night…or who he’s with. I just want him home so I can hang with him more. I just wish my parents and him can get along. It just sometimes sucks living here in Jersey…I can’t go out and hang with my friends without being home before the streetlight comes on. It just sucks! But I gotta go now…I hear footsteps coming.

pce&luv K.Iero

“Kate?” came a male whisper.

I slowly lifted my head up towards the small ray of light coming from my door.

“What?” I whispered back.

“Can I come in?”

I slowly sat up and turned on my lamp that was on my bedside table. When I looked back towards the door, there stood a little over 5 foot young man in a black hoodie and jeans. It was my brother, Frank.

“Yeah, what’s going on?” I asked.

He slowly walked in and closed the door quietly behind him. He then walked over and sat on the edge of my bed. He looked like he was in a little bit of pain, but then again it was dim in my room.

“Mom and Dad are asleep?” he asked.

“Yeah…Frank…what’s going on with you?” I asked again.

He then slowly removed his hoodie to reveal a giant red mark on the side of his neck.

“What is that?” I asked somewhat loudly.

“Shhhh….will you?” he scolded.

“Sorry…” I said, quietly.

“I got a tattoo…” he answered, grimacing a little.

“A tattoo? Dad’s gonna kill you!” I whispered angrily.

“Well…can you not tell him?” he asked.

I nodded and got up.

“Where are you going?” he questioned.

I walked into the bathroom and came back into the bedroom.

“I’m gonna help stop the irritation.” I replied, slowly rubbing some cream onto his neck.

He grimaced in pain, but didn’t move. I finished applying the cream and went to wash my hands.

“Are you going to stay the night?” I asked, coming out of the bathroom. “Or are you going to…”

I stopped suddenly. Frank was passed out on the end of my bed. I rolled my eyes and sighed. I walked over and picked him up to put him under the covers of my bed. I then grabbed my extra pillow and comforter to place them on the ground. I sighed one last time before I shut off my lamp and went to sleep.