Come On Angel, Don't You Cry
Chapter 2
The drive to New York City was surprisingly quiet, considering who was in the car with me. Charlotte sang along with the radio, seeming to know that I was in no mood for conversation. At one point, somewhere in southern Connecticut, she reached over, and took my hand.
"We'll find them, Koko, just you wait! I mean, the city is only a twenty minute train ride from Belleville." I looked at her hopeful face through my dark sunglasses.
"What if they don't want to be found, Bubbles? What then?" Charlotte laughed.
"You are hysterical, Angel! Here," she said, rummaging around behind her, and pulling something from the pocket behind my seat, "read this." It was a copy of Rolling Stone, dated almost two weeks prior. "Page 26," Charlotte told me, and I flipped through the pages until I found it.
There, staring back at me, was a large, color photo of Mikey and Ray. Immediately, tears leaped into my eyes as they scanned their familiar faces. It was several minutes before I could tear my eyes away from Mikey's face, so strongly was I reminded of his brother. Finally, I managed to read the headline: My Chemical Romance's Mikey Way and Ray Toro Tell Of Their Plane Crash Ordeal. I glanced up at Charlotte, who was looking back at me, eyes full of sympathy.
"Read the circled part," she said, and my eyes turned back to the magazine, scanning down the page until I saw the large, red circle.
I ask how the rest of the guys are dealing with everything that has happened, and Ray and Mikey are both silent for a moment, before Mikey finally speaks.
"They're not doing so well, actually. Ray and I came home to the loves of our lives, which has helped a lot. So, if they read this, or anyone out there knows Charlotte Lawson or Victoria Taggart, please, have them get in touch with us. Frank and Bob are frantic to know if they're ok."
"And what about Gerard? By now, I'm sure everyone has seen his plea on TV for this Angel to contact him," I ask, and it is not hard to see the look that exchanges between Ray and Mikey. Ray clears his throat.
"Devastated. She called our PR firm, the day after we got back, but they hadn't heard of her before, and they threw away the number she left. He hasn't eaten or slept. So Angel, if you see this, please, get in touch. Come to a show, or e-mail us, or just leave a comment on our MySpace, anything. If you don't want to talk to him, we won't make you, just get in touch so we can tell him that you're ok."
I turned to Charlotte again, shaking slightly.
"He went on TV, looking for me?" I asked softly, tears now falling freely down my face.
"He did. You'd have seen it, if you weren't so stubborn about the whole TV or mentioning his name thing," she replied.
"I didn't know," I whispered. "Charlotte, I HAVE to see him."
"You will, don't worry. Tori and I are working on it. I mean, all three of us called their PR firm, and basically got blown off, so as far as I'm concerned, that avenue is dead. We left a message on their MySpace from Tori's page when we saw that. It just said, she's looking for you, she misses you, and she needs you, and we're bringing her to NY. We signed it Bubbles, so they would know it was really us. We haven't gotten a response yet, but we're hopeful, and we have a few other ideas too. That's why I lied to your parents," Charlotte said. I looked up again in surprise.
"You WHAT?" I demanded.
"I lied to your parents," she repeated, laughing. "I AM an actress, remember! I mean, Tori and I did just sign a lease on an apartment, but we can handle the rent by ourselves, and we plan to use the third bedroom as a spare room/office. We didn't honestly figure on having you with us for long. You'll be off with him before long."
"Bubbles, you sneak!" I cried, laughing now for the first time in months.
"All is going according to plan!" she cried, laughing maniacally.
Before long, the familiar New York City skyline came into view, and again, thinking of the last time I had seen it, tears came to my eyes. I could plainly remember the pressure of Gerard's hand holding mine as we sat in the plane from the USS Ronald Reagan, watching the line of coffins being wheeled across the tarmac. Charlotte looked over at me, eyes filling with concern.
"Don't think about it, Angel. It just makes it worse," she said, warningly, as though she knew well what she was talking about. I nodded, and she took my hand, squeezing it tightly as her black Ford Focus made it's way through the streets of New York. Soon, we had pulled into the basement parking garage of a large building in the East Village. We parked, and got out of the car, Charlotte helping me lug my bags towards the elevator. I had packed light, trying to cut out all reminders of my life before the crash, more importantly, of Zara.
"16th floor," Charlotte cried cheerfully. "This is us!" We walked down the narrow hallway, and before long, we stood in front of the door to 1604. Charlotte fumbled with her keys, extracting the right one, and moments later, the door swung open, accompanied by a loud shriek.
"Oh my God, Angel!" cried Tori, rushing across the light and airy living room to meet me at the door. She wrapped her arms around me and my bags, and held me there for a long time, her chest heaving, maybe from her tears. I couldn't tell, I couldn't see her face.
Tori had gotten Chinese take out, and once I had gotten settled into the small, corner bedroom, quickly making the white Ikea murphy bed my own, we sat down to eat in the cheery living room, as Shrek told his story from the TV. We didn't really watch, we were too busy talking.
"So I enrolled in school for this fall," Tori said. "I'm going to do pre-med."
"Really?" I asked. "It's incredibly hard, so be warned."
"Well, I remember how you were out there, so in control of everything, and always knowing what to do, and I wanna be like that, so... I'm up for the work," she replied, and a lump formed in my throat as I smiled at her.
"You'd never know that now, looking at me, would you?" I asked. Charlotte laughed.
"Well, since you brought it up... Yeah, you look like shit," she said, and I couldn't help laughing as well.
"Thanks so much, Bubbles! Great to know!" I replied.
"Don't worry, by Friday, you'll look killer, I promise," Tori said.
"Which reminds me," Charlotte said, struggling up from the white leather couch, and rummaging through her purse. She extracted an envelope, and offered it to me. Tentatively, I accepted it.
"What's this?" I asked.
"Your parent's money. Three thousand dollars. I'm not keeping it, and it looks like you might need some new, well, ALL new clothes." Charlotte tugged at the sleeve of my beat up, gray hoodie as she spoke, and I cocked an eyebrow at her.
"Seriously," Tori said, "you won't be here two weeks, why would we keep their money? Besides, you wanna look good when he finds you, don't you?"
"At the very least, you wanna look SLIGHTLY healthy," Charlotte added.
"You're one to talk," I muttered at her under my breath.
"Yeah?" Charlotte said, with some spirit. "Hey, at least I didn't spend the last two months hiding in my parent's house." I rolled my eyes at her, and she laughed.
"ANYWAY," Tori said, drawing our attention back to her. "I have this week off. Char has rehearsals every day but Friday. So, one or two days this week, Angel, you and I will go shopping, and on Friday morning, I booked us into my spa for the day. Cause we have a plan. Here, look at this." She handed me a folded newspaper from the coffee table, with a large, red circle drawn around an ad: My Chemical Romance, Friday, August 17, 2007, Madison Square Garden. Under that, ticket info.I looked up at the girls.
"Oh my God," I whispered. Charlotte's eyes immediately lit up, and she looked immediately like her old self, cheerful and alive.
"The point is, we go to this show on Friday night. I went out and bought tickets yesterday. Don't you see? We just have to get to the front, and get him to see us!" Immediately, I felt my spirits rise, something that hadn't happened in months.
"What are you rehearsing for, by the way?" I asked Charlotte, changing the subject.
"The Producers. On Broadway. Just a small part, I'm a tap-dancing Nazi," she said, laughing. It was something I could completely see Charlotte doing. "But enough changing the subject. Are you in for Friday, or should we give your ticket away?"
"Not on your life!" I replied, and the three of us laughed again.
"We'll find them, Koko, just you wait! I mean, the city is only a twenty minute train ride from Belleville." I looked at her hopeful face through my dark sunglasses.
"What if they don't want to be found, Bubbles? What then?" Charlotte laughed.
"You are hysterical, Angel! Here," she said, rummaging around behind her, and pulling something from the pocket behind my seat, "read this." It was a copy of Rolling Stone, dated almost two weeks prior. "Page 26," Charlotte told me, and I flipped through the pages until I found it.
There, staring back at me, was a large, color photo of Mikey and Ray. Immediately, tears leaped into my eyes as they scanned their familiar faces. It was several minutes before I could tear my eyes away from Mikey's face, so strongly was I reminded of his brother. Finally, I managed to read the headline: My Chemical Romance's Mikey Way and Ray Toro Tell Of Their Plane Crash Ordeal. I glanced up at Charlotte, who was looking back at me, eyes full of sympathy.
"Read the circled part," she said, and my eyes turned back to the magazine, scanning down the page until I saw the large, red circle.
I ask how the rest of the guys are dealing with everything that has happened, and Ray and Mikey are both silent for a moment, before Mikey finally speaks.
"They're not doing so well, actually. Ray and I came home to the loves of our lives, which has helped a lot. So, if they read this, or anyone out there knows Charlotte Lawson or Victoria Taggart, please, have them get in touch with us. Frank and Bob are frantic to know if they're ok."
"And what about Gerard? By now, I'm sure everyone has seen his plea on TV for this Angel to contact him," I ask, and it is not hard to see the look that exchanges between Ray and Mikey. Ray clears his throat.
"Devastated. She called our PR firm, the day after we got back, but they hadn't heard of her before, and they threw away the number she left. He hasn't eaten or slept. So Angel, if you see this, please, get in touch. Come to a show, or e-mail us, or just leave a comment on our MySpace, anything. If you don't want to talk to him, we won't make you, just get in touch so we can tell him that you're ok."
I turned to Charlotte again, shaking slightly.
"He went on TV, looking for me?" I asked softly, tears now falling freely down my face.
"He did. You'd have seen it, if you weren't so stubborn about the whole TV or mentioning his name thing," she replied.
"I didn't know," I whispered. "Charlotte, I HAVE to see him."
"You will, don't worry. Tori and I are working on it. I mean, all three of us called their PR firm, and basically got blown off, so as far as I'm concerned, that avenue is dead. We left a message on their MySpace from Tori's page when we saw that. It just said, she's looking for you, she misses you, and she needs you, and we're bringing her to NY. We signed it Bubbles, so they would know it was really us. We haven't gotten a response yet, but we're hopeful, and we have a few other ideas too. That's why I lied to your parents," Charlotte said. I looked up again in surprise.
"You WHAT?" I demanded.
"I lied to your parents," she repeated, laughing. "I AM an actress, remember! I mean, Tori and I did just sign a lease on an apartment, but we can handle the rent by ourselves, and we plan to use the third bedroom as a spare room/office. We didn't honestly figure on having you with us for long. You'll be off with him before long."
"Bubbles, you sneak!" I cried, laughing now for the first time in months.
"All is going according to plan!" she cried, laughing maniacally.
Before long, the familiar New York City skyline came into view, and again, thinking of the last time I had seen it, tears came to my eyes. I could plainly remember the pressure of Gerard's hand holding mine as we sat in the plane from the USS Ronald Reagan, watching the line of coffins being wheeled across the tarmac. Charlotte looked over at me, eyes filling with concern.
"Don't think about it, Angel. It just makes it worse," she said, warningly, as though she knew well what she was talking about. I nodded, and she took my hand, squeezing it tightly as her black Ford Focus made it's way through the streets of New York. Soon, we had pulled into the basement parking garage of a large building in the East Village. We parked, and got out of the car, Charlotte helping me lug my bags towards the elevator. I had packed light, trying to cut out all reminders of my life before the crash, more importantly, of Zara.
"16th floor," Charlotte cried cheerfully. "This is us!" We walked down the narrow hallway, and before long, we stood in front of the door to 1604. Charlotte fumbled with her keys, extracting the right one, and moments later, the door swung open, accompanied by a loud shriek.
"Oh my God, Angel!" cried Tori, rushing across the light and airy living room to meet me at the door. She wrapped her arms around me and my bags, and held me there for a long time, her chest heaving, maybe from her tears. I couldn't tell, I couldn't see her face.
Tori had gotten Chinese take out, and once I had gotten settled into the small, corner bedroom, quickly making the white Ikea murphy bed my own, we sat down to eat in the cheery living room, as Shrek told his story from the TV. We didn't really watch, we were too busy talking.
"So I enrolled in school for this fall," Tori said. "I'm going to do pre-med."
"Really?" I asked. "It's incredibly hard, so be warned."
"Well, I remember how you were out there, so in control of everything, and always knowing what to do, and I wanna be like that, so... I'm up for the work," she replied, and a lump formed in my throat as I smiled at her.
"You'd never know that now, looking at me, would you?" I asked. Charlotte laughed.
"Well, since you brought it up... Yeah, you look like shit," she said, and I couldn't help laughing as well.
"Thanks so much, Bubbles! Great to know!" I replied.
"Don't worry, by Friday, you'll look killer, I promise," Tori said.
"Which reminds me," Charlotte said, struggling up from the white leather couch, and rummaging through her purse. She extracted an envelope, and offered it to me. Tentatively, I accepted it.
"What's this?" I asked.
"Your parent's money. Three thousand dollars. I'm not keeping it, and it looks like you might need some new, well, ALL new clothes." Charlotte tugged at the sleeve of my beat up, gray hoodie as she spoke, and I cocked an eyebrow at her.
"Seriously," Tori said, "you won't be here two weeks, why would we keep their money? Besides, you wanna look good when he finds you, don't you?"
"At the very least, you wanna look SLIGHTLY healthy," Charlotte added.
"You're one to talk," I muttered at her under my breath.
"Yeah?" Charlotte said, with some spirit. "Hey, at least I didn't spend the last two months hiding in my parent's house." I rolled my eyes at her, and she laughed.
"ANYWAY," Tori said, drawing our attention back to her. "I have this week off. Char has rehearsals every day but Friday. So, one or two days this week, Angel, you and I will go shopping, and on Friday morning, I booked us into my spa for the day. Cause we have a plan. Here, look at this." She handed me a folded newspaper from the coffee table, with a large, red circle drawn around an ad: My Chemical Romance, Friday, August 17, 2007, Madison Square Garden. Under that, ticket info.I looked up at the girls.
"Oh my God," I whispered. Charlotte's eyes immediately lit up, and she looked immediately like her old self, cheerful and alive.
"The point is, we go to this show on Friday night. I went out and bought tickets yesterday. Don't you see? We just have to get to the front, and get him to see us!" Immediately, I felt my spirits rise, something that hadn't happened in months.
"What are you rehearsing for, by the way?" I asked Charlotte, changing the subject.
"The Producers. On Broadway. Just a small part, I'm a tap-dancing Nazi," she said, laughing. It was something I could completely see Charlotte doing. "But enough changing the subject. Are you in for Friday, or should we give your ticket away?"
"Not on your life!" I replied, and the three of us laughed again.
I just want to let you know that I just reread this and the original story, and I'm sitting here crying like a sap...again! XD It is a great story. I love it.
8/6/14