For some reason Gerard couldn’t get warm. He tossed and turned in his little bunk but no matter how hard he tried to fall asleep he couldn’t get comfortable. Tucking his hands behind his head he stared up at the bars that belonged to Ray’s bunk and sighed. The tour was almost over and every show they’d played no one had claimed the tickets he’d left at will call. He was beginning to think she was never going to show.

Taking a deep breath he threw the useless covers away from him and rolled out of his bunk. The snoring of his band mates was the only noise in that part of the bus so he grabbed his iPod and tiptoed to the door. Gently pushing it open he hopped off the bus and looked around. The parking lot was empty so he plugged his headphones in and glanced down at the iPod screen. It was almost midnight.

“Perfect time for a walk,” he muttered into the silence and made his way toward the sidewalk.

His walking mix lasted him nearly an hour before he paused midway through and stared at the iPod. Avenged Sevenfold was the album cover on the screen and Dear God was the song now paused. He looked up into the dark sky and sighed. Of course his iPod would play the favorite song of the girl he’d been thinking about for almost a month. He’d almost given up leaving the tickets at every venue but her teasing words still plagued him so he kept doing it.

“Soon,” he grumbled and shook his head. “Bullshit.”

Hitting play he returned to his aimless wandering, listening to the lyrics to every song and wondering how long it would be before he saw Dom again. He knew it couldn’t be too much longer before they ran into each other with the tour coming to a close, he just wanted to find her.

After a while he found himself back at the bus. The engine was running and the lights were on inside so he yanked the door open and stepped on to find the entire band awake, Frank standing closest to him holding his cell phone.

“—left the fucking thing here, goddamnit,” he was saying and Gerard rolled his eyes.

“Well I’m back now so you can stop digging through my shit,” he said and the group turned around.

“Dude, what the fuck?” Frank was the first to speak up, tossing the phone into his bunk.

“Where the hell were you? We’ve been trying to find you for, like, an hour,” Mikey chimed in.

“I just needed to take a walk,” he shrugged, pulling his headphones from his ears. “Think a little.”

“Yeah well, think a little on the bus we’re already late,” Frank shoved him and trudged back to his bunk.

“Sorry.”

“We just wanna get on the road as soon as possible, don’t take it personally,” Ray patted his shoulder and climbed up onto his bunk. “He’s cranky because I woke him up.”

Shrugging, Gerard rolled into his bunk, plugging his iPod back and resting his arms behind his head. He felt the bus jerk into motion and sighed loudly as it returned to the endless travel that consumed them while on tour. He lost track of time as the bus made it’s way toward their next show and eventually he fell into a fitful sleep. It wasn’t until he felt the bus jerk to a stop that his brother appeared, shaking him awake.

“Hey, Gerard, come on, we’re here.”

“Huh?” he opened his eyes and coughed when Mikey poked him again.

“We’re here. We just pulled into the hotel.”

“Oh… nice,” grabbing his backpack he trudged off the bus with the rest of the band, going through the motions of check in until he found the room he was sharing with Frank and collapsed into bed.

“I’m setting the alarm just in case,” he heard Frank mumbled through the covers over him and Gerard grunted. There was more shuffling and then the sound of the bathroom door closing. Gerard groaned into the pillow he’d brought with him from the bus and closed his eyes. He was still freezing and no amount of blankets would warm him up. Not even his favorite hoodie. So he returned his headphones to his ears and zoned out until sleep claimed him for the third time that night.

_______________________________________________________________________

“MCR! MCR! MCR!” The crowd was deafening to Gerard’s ears as he stretched backstage. Their opening bands had already finished, some even left, and the crowd was ripe and eager for their set. Amongst the pre-show jitters, Gerard had another feeling. He couldn’t tell what it was but it was a hopeful one.

Humming a little to keep his voice warmed up he went through the motions of his vocal warm up again to make sure he was still loose and ready to go on stage. Ray, Mikey and Frank were huddled together practicing; all three had their heads together and were enthusiastically strumming their respective instruments. He shuffled over and they stopped, Frank holding his arms out to pull him and Ray into a hug. Mikey joined and Frank said a few words of encouragement before they went through their final pre-show rituals- giving everyone a high five.

The lights were blinding when Gerard walked out onto the stage to a huge roar from the audience. He jumped right into the opening song, putting everything into his performance. He jumped around, shook his hips and made a few suggestive gestures before the lights dimmed and he took a second to look out over the crowd. He could clearly see the faces of the fans crushed up against the barrier a few feet away from the stage. He scanned the first row and his heart jumped in his chest. He knew those green eyes anywhere. She had finally showed up.

He almost forgot where he was while he stared at her. Her hair was tousled around her shoulders and she was wearing one of the older band shirts. Her makeup was heavier than usual, her eyes covered in dark kohl and her lips a bright red but she looked stunning. She winked at him and threw up the metal horns before joining in the happy cheers of the rest of the crowd.

“What are you waiting for, Gee?” Franks voice snapped him out of his shock on the dead mic and he moved back to center stage.

“Shit sorry,” he said into the live mic in his hand and he laughed. “What a fucking gorgeous crowd we’ve got tonight. Fuck!” he smiled into the lights again and the crowd screamed for him. He glanced over at the spot where he’d found her and grinned at her. She was propped on the shoulders of a random guy and she looked thrilled to be there. His confidence soared and he stood up on the speakers at the edge of the stage.

“Are you ready, Chicago!” he screamed.

“Fuck yes!”

“I can’t hear you. Are you ready, Chicago!” he called again to a deafening roar. “Then let’s fucking do it!”

Bobbing his head to the music he threw his heart and soul into his performance until he could barely move to walk back out onstage for the encore. His body hurt and his voice was going but he didn’t care. This performance had to be the best he’d ever given just for her. And he made sure it was.

Dom’s face hurt from smiling. She’d spent most of the show pressed against the barrier, her head hurt and her nerves were buzzing from the excitement. She enjoyed every second of the performance and it hurt to leave the venue without even telling Gerard how much she’d loved the show. The cold air outside the ballroom sent a chill through her against the heat still radiating from the hordes of people spilling from the doors behind her. She pulled on the sweatshirt she bought at the merch table and glanced around for a cab.

She felt bad borrowing Bob’s car so she held her arm out, hailing a cab and hopping in. She told the driver Bob’s address and watched with a sad smile as the venue disappeared from view. Her cell phone buzzed in her pocket and she groaned at the name on the screen. She wanted to answer it, so bad, but she had to ignore it to pay the cab driver.

“How was it?” Bob asked when she stepped through the front door.

“Amazing, you would’ve had a blast too, Hermit.” She teased and tossed her sweater on the kitchen counter. Bob scoffed and watched her grab a bottle of water form the fridge and lean against the counter.

“How come you didn’t stay?”

“Baby steps,” she sighed. “He knows where I am now. He’ll tell the rest of the guys and we’ll go from there I guess.” She shrugged.

“Really?”

Dom sighed. “And I’m fucking terrified.”

“You’re a coward. Just fucking do it,” Bob chuckled and shook his head. “Everything is such a project with you. Fuck.”

“Hey, don’t get pissy with me, this is hard.”

Bob watched her for a second before letting out a long breath. “Okay, sorry. I know you’re slowly getting there. Fine. But if he calls you, you better answer that fucking phone and meet up with him. I’m about to kick you out, bitch.”

Dom stuck her tongue out at him, “You love me too much.”

“Yeah you’re lucky. I’m going to bed.”

“Kay. Night,” she waved and took another long drink of water. Bob shuffled off toward the stairs and she waited for the sound of his door to close before letting out a long sigh. She bowed her head and took a few slow breaths before her phone began buzzing in her pocket again. Pulling it out she hovered her thumb over the answer button. She couldn’t avoid him forever so she hit answer only for it to go to voicemail before the call could connect.

“Fucking hell, man,” she grumbled when her phone chimed letting her know she had two new voicemails. Without second thought she dialed her voicemail to see what he’d left her and held her breath when the sounds of the concert hall filled her ear.

“Hey Dom. Where are you? I saw you tonight and I’m not fucking leaving until I see you okay. We have a bit of a break before the next city and damn it I’m gonna find you. I swear to fuck if you’re with Bob….” He trailed off and the noise from the fans outside filled his silence. “You probably are. Well, you can’t avoid me forever. I’m going to find you Dom.”

The phone clicked off and the voicemail beeped telling her she had one more message to check. She laughed when his cursing filled her ear and he demanded she call him back before hanging up.

“Wonderful,” Dom grumbled to herself tossing the phone on the counter. “Well, I’m going to bed,” she said and grabbed her sweater before shuffling up to her own room to fall asleep.

________________________________________________________________________

Gerard cursed at his cell phone. Of course she would just disappear after the show, it was so Dom. Shaking his head he dialed one more time and got her voicemail again. He left a quick voicemail demanding she call him back before rejoining the band in their dressing room. Frank looked up from Ray’s laptop and waved him over with a concerned look on his face.

“What?” Gerard mumbled, sitting on the arm of Frank’s chair.

“Dom sent us an email.” He pointed at the screen. “She was here tonight?”

Gerard frowned. “Yeah, I noticed her… when I paused, ‘member?”

“Oh shit,” Frank leaned back in his chair and stuck his thumb in his mouth, chewing the nail. “Well, she apologized for not sticking around.”

Gerard nodded, quickly reading the email. Dom had explained that she loved the show and couldn’t wait to see them face-to-face but she didn’t think that night was the best night to do so. Gerard scoffed and crossed his arms over his chest.

“Bullshit. If she’s here I’m not fucking waiting. I’ve waited long enough,” he yanked out his cell phone and marched out of the room. Mikey and Ray both looked up when he left, looking to Frank for explanation when the door slammed behind the lead singer. Frank shrugged and turned the computer so they could read the email as well.

“She’s been in Chicago the whole time?” Ray was the first to speak and Mikey nodded.

“Yeah.”

Both Frank and Ray turned to look at him but Gerard burst back into the room looking annoyed and tired.

“She won’t answer her fucking phone,” he tossed his into his bag and scowled.

“That’s all right, Mikey was just going to explain why he knew Dom was here and didn’t say anything,” Ray said, his eyes on Mikey.

Gerard rounded on his brother with wide eyes. “What?”

Mikey shrunk under the intense stares from the rest of the band and shrugged. “I’d called Dom’s cell and Bob answered. She said if I told you guys she’d be pissed so I promised I wouldn’t say anything until she was ready to tell you guys.”

“So she’s been with Bob the whole time? Why the fuck didn’t I think of that?” Gerard smacked his forehead. “Fucking idiot.”

“You should go over there,” Frank suggested.

“Yeah right, like Bob wants to see me.”

“Well you need to sort shit out with her, get her to come back,” Ray chimed in. “Or at least one of us should…”

“Fuck it,” Gerard shook his head, shoving his hair out of his face. “I’m not gonna keep forcing her. If she doesn’t want to see me now, fine. The ball is in her court. If I find her before then, cool. If I don’t, oh well.”

With that Gerard grabbed his stuff and made his way toward the door. “I’ll be on the bus. Hurry up I’m fuckin’ tired.”