Mikey's scream made me jump practically out of my skin. I looked over at him with an accusing glare, and he smiled sheepishly. "Dude, it's Jaws," I said incredulously. "Hey, it's a scary film!" His tone shot higher in self-defence. I rolled my eyes and snuggled back into Gerard's side. We were all curled together in the Way's living room, lights out, and Jaws playing on the screen. I sat practically on Gee's lap, with Frank sat on the floor, leaning on the sofa by my feet, Ray sprawled on the carpet and Mikey on Gee's other side. The room was illuminated suddenly by the front windows. "Dad's home," Gee announced lazily, not shifting. Sure enough, the sound of a key in the lock rattled down the hall, and a moment later Don stepped in. To our surprise, another person followed him. The second figure flicked on the light, and we all jumped up. "Mom!" Mikey yelled, and ran over to give her an excited - but gentle - hug. Donna grinned and returned her son's embrace, then accepted similar hugs from the rest of us. "Damn, it's good to be home," she sighed, breathing in deeply as if she was taking in the air of her home. Her wide smile was contagious, we were soon all grinning at one another as we caught Donna up with the recent events she'd missed - there wasn't anything of real importance, but she seemed to enjoy the return of normality. She was soon settled on sofa, surrounded by us like her little followers. Don called out for pizza, and we talked well into the night. Laughter filled the air almost constantly. Eventually, Frankie and Ray had to head home, with promises to come back tomorrow and spent Sunday with us, too. Soon after, Mikey also excused himself, yawning hugely and hugging his mum tightly before he left, and tugging my hair playfully as he walked past. I thought I saw Gerard's face change at that. I could have sworn his lips tightened. I studied his face but saw no other evidence, so I brushed it off. Probably just me being paranoid, right? Yeah, all in my head. I leant my head against his warm chest, and felt his tense muscles relax after a second or two, and his arm slipped around my waist. I then noticed Donna, her eyes were on us with a knowing expression that confused me. She glanced at her husband. "Don," she said sweetly. "Could you get my bag from the car and put it upstairs, please? Itbhas my toothbrush and my nightgown in it." Don left the room, and the minute he was gone Donna sat back, arms folded, staring down at us. I squirmed under her gaze, and felt Gee's discomfort, too. "When?"she asked. We glanced at each other, and she laughed. "Don't pretend. When did you do it?" I was still lost. "You know," she prompted. "IT." Realization hit me and I blushed furiously. I saw Gerard get it, too, a second later, and he cried, "Mom!" She laughed again, triumphantly. "You didn't think you could hide it from me, did you? You should have known better. So, I'm guessing last night, since last time I asked you were in the clear." Gerard and I just stared, exchanging looks at each other and trying to figure out when the hell Donna Way developed superhero psychic powers. This earned yet another laugh, and she said "You kids just be careful, okay. Gerard, you got yourself a keeper here, alright? Treat her right. And for God's sake, don't make me a grandma for another few years." Before we could say anything more, Don returned and the subject dropped. Donna continued as if the conversation had never happened, her manner just like before. Gerard and I excused ourselves to bed pretty quickly after that. We went down to Gerard's basement room, and he sat on his bed, rubbing his hands over his face. "My mother..." he groaned. "...is a fucking genius." I giggled and pushed his arms open, sliding into his lap. "Yes, she is," I agreed. "But it could be worse. She could go all raaaar and kick me out for pulling moves on her son." He laughed and slid his arms around me. "I suppose," he said quietly. I studied his face. There was something wrong, I could tell by his eyes. I put a hand on his jaw and lifted his face to look into his eyes. "Please tell me what's wrong," I said quietly, staring up at him. He ran his fingertips across my cheekbone, sighing "There's nothing wrong," his voice was soft. I scowled at him. "Gerard, that's a lie and we both know it." He groaned. "Kriss, just please let it drop, okay? I'm fine." And he slid me gently off his lap, sitting me back on the bed and getting up abruptly. He grabbed his pyjamas and went into the bathroom. I dressed myself while he was absent. Something was wrong, very wrong with Gerard, and I wasn't sure what. He'd been fine this morning, up until that little jealousy thing while we were out. But he'd seemed to get over that pretty quick. I was still mulling it over and dressing when he came back in, so he caught me topless. He muttered an apology, caating his eyes down. I laughed a little, trying to lift the mood. "You've seen it all before," I said lightly. He d idn't say anything, he just stepped over, kissed my cheek, and then lay down in his bed, curling up and facing the wall. I studied his still form for a moment, before getting into my own bed, wondering what the hell was eating at my boyfriend.

Notes

I'm ill, guys :( and I got exams next week, that's why I've not been writing. I've also been kinda stressed over other stuff, related to my counselling, so I'm a little bleugh. But, here's an update for you lovelies, and I hope you like it. The whole idea behind writing this was to show that bad things can and will get better, and to be honest, it's dragged out longer than expected. But yeah, there's a while to go yet. I thought I'd mix it up by having Gerard go through some of the aforementioned bad things. Don't hate me! Oh, and I haven't proofread this, due to my killer headache, so I apologize for any spelling errors.