I have no idea how I managed to put that friggen cake together without waking up Gerard or simply losing my mind to frustration.

First I realised I forgot to preheat the oven, then I dropped an armful of things on the floor by accident which made a crashing sound that could wake the dead.
I swore my head off when I hit my head on a cupboard door and when I spilt flour on my pants.

Seriously, that guy sleeps like a rock, I have no idea how the band managed to wake him up when they were on tour. The bus horn maybe?

Well apparently the ruckus I was making wasn't as loud as a tour bus horn and he remained asleep.
Either that or was faking it really well because yes I've checked on him and he's been out cold every time.

The best part of my day so far was putting that fucking cake into the fucking oven.
Usually I have a lot of patience with cooking but I was under stress from having to call Dayna tonight.

She'd ask where I've been and what I've been doing plus I wasn't stupid enough to think she'd believe the lie I told her about my aunt and I moving.

My friend was a smart cookie and I knew that if I didn't explain some things she'd be calling my aunt directly and asking what the hell was going on.

Then my aunt would obviously clue on that I wasn't at a surprise art camp, she'd call my mum and she'd find out then everything would just completely unravel.

God knows what would happen after that but it wouldn't turn out well once my auntie, Mum and friend found out that I've been living with a missing rockstar because I saw someone get murdered.

Speaking of that I wonder who it was that got killed, they had to have been important with top secret files in the briefcase or something like that.
Maybe he worked for the FBI and was there for some secret mission that went wrong.

Ugh, I've been watching too many cop shows.

I need to go outside again, talk to some people, go back to work and get over this depression.
I don't know how I haven't gotten a call from Imigen telling me I'm fired but somehow I've still got a job.

On the other hand her nephew aka Hayden has called me a couple of times asking where I was not that it was any of his business.

When I asked Hayden how he got my mobile number he told me he'd spoken to Dayna and she'd given it to him so thanks for that bestie.

Basically he'd accused me of ditching work to hang out with 'Blondie' (as he liked to call Gerard) then I reminded him that I could do the same thing at work.

I gave him the same lie everyone else got, that I was at a surprise art camp the school had set up and I'd be back in a week and a half. He hadn't said he believed it but didn't say anything further and just hung up.

It would of been obvious to him that there was no such thing as a surprise art camp since Dayna was a sophomore like me and still in New York.

Now it was a simple matter of time until all my lies became unravelled, there were so many chances for it, it was a time bomb that could go off at any moment.

This was one of the rare times when I knew I didn't have one of my lies to back me up. I'd have to tell the truth eventually and god knows what would happen when I did.

Probably and infinite grounding from my Mum or auntie and if it was Dayna who found out I'd be dumped as a friend.
Then it was Imigen I'd probably be fired so I might as well start looking for a new job now.

Of course I was completely avoiding the subject of the mafia, I liked to pretend that if I didn't think about them they'd go away.
It's never worked for me before but it was the only hope I had.

Who knows how long they could be after me for, days, months, years, it's not like they gave me a notice informing of how long I'd have to keep my head down.

My guess is that one way or another I'm gonna have to see the police and get put in witness protection program or something as equally drastic.
Then what would become of Gerard?

He's actually killed one of them and now he's helping to hide me so he's got to be at the top of their list.
I didn't want him to be hurt because of me, he would have been completely fine if I just stayed out of his life.

I shouldn't have even agreed to go to the memorial with him or I could have at least waited outside. His friends were nice to me but they couldn't have appreciated how I lied to their faces about having seen him.

On the bright side at least the fans would have calmed down by knowing that he's been seen. The band will also have an easier time of finding him since they now know he has white hair.
Unless he happens to dye it another colour.

Hey maybe that with my hair now being black the mafia won't be able to find me at all.
It worked for Gerard with pretty much everyone including the police.

Nah, they'd gotten a good view of my face and knew where I lived.
Maybe I should just give myself up, let them know where I was so they could just kill me.

Once I was dead they'd leave my aunties place alone and Gerard would probably be okay, he's famous and they wouldn't risk killing a famous person.

There was the sound of someone shuffling down the hallway, snapping me out of my mind trip and bringing me back to reality.

I quickly grabbed anything suspicious of the bench and hid it in the cupboard under the counter before sitting at the breakfast bar, trying to look as innocent as possible.

Gerard came shuffling into the room, his hair ruffled and all over the place, making it obvious he'd just woken up along with his disheveled clothes.

"Oh hey." He mumbled, realising I was there and stopping, I looked up from my mobile and smiled at him, hoping he didn't think anything was up.

"Morning, did you have a nice sleep?" Yeah I spoke nothing like that normally, in most mornings you'd be lucky to get two words out of me without the help of food.

"Uh it was okay. I'm, I'm gonna have a shower." He said around a yawn before turning around and walking back down the half, leaving me to sigh, good he didn't catch me out.

But then again he could be waiting to jump out and say 'ah-ha' which I doubt even though I waited to hear the shower start before I moved.

From the time I'd spent with him I knew he took his time in the shower so I'd have at least half an hour to finish with the cake.

I put my cell on the bench and stood up, going over to the walk in pantry where I put the cooked cake to cool.
I would have been so fricken busted if he decided to go in there before having a shower.

It'd turned out much better than I though it would, apparently I'd had one of my good days.

Because I'd been smart enough to get everything I needs already the only thing I had to do once the cake was on the bench was retrieve the hastily hidden decorations.
I looked at the clock on the wall, it'd been cooling for nearly an hour so it should be fine now.

Pushing up the sleeves on my sweatshirt I grabbed a spatula and got to work.

~~~

I'm not cooking a birthday cake for anyone ever again.
It's too much pressure, you're afraid to get it wrong and there's a million and a half ideas going through your head at once.

I'm surprised I managed to settle on one thing, black frosting with red icing spelling out the words 'happy birthday.'

It was now in a cupboard setting while I was sitting on the bench drinking a cup of coffee and waiting for Gerard to get out of the shower.

There was no guarantee that I'd be able to but I was gonna give it my best shot to lure him away from sulking today. What I was doing wasn't just for him though, his mood had brought me down and I was hoping that if I could make him happier then I'd feel better as well.

There was the familiar sound of someone walking down the hall and I looked up to see Gerard running his hair with a towel, fully dressed and just out of the shower.

He mumbled something about coffee as he walked into the kitchen, heading straight for the machine.

"Gerard?" I tried to get his attention and he turned around, looking at me over a cup of coffee.

"Mmm?" That was basically all he said in response at it wasn't because he was drinking, he's spoke about that much since the incident at the church which he hasn't told me about in detail yet.

"Have you got anything on your schedule today?" I was gonna try to keep out of his room where he spent most of his time cross legged on the bed drawing or writing, I couldn't tell which.

"No." He already wasn't chatty so I knew it would be difficult to start a real conversation with him but I was gonna try anyway.

"I was wondering if you wanted to go to the local video store with me, get some movies, hang out on the couch. You know, just have a casual day." I shrugged, trying to pretend it was no big deal, he realised I knew it was his birthday right?

"Uh, sure." He stared at the bottom of his mug before putting it on the sink, noticing for the first time how many dishes were there, a product of my cooking.

At first I thought he was going to ask about it but instead he shook his head and walked towards the hall.

"I'm gonna get changed." He told me before disappearing and I stood up, planning to put everything in the dishwasher.

It only took me a moment and even when I'd finished Gerard was still off changing.

Deciding that I should probably give my hair a once over with a brush before we headed out I went to the bathroom.

My hairbrush was usually in the cabinet but it wasn't there today and it confused me, I could be very organised at times and would always know where something was when I put it in a certain place.

I looked around, checking all the possible places it could be, on the windowsill, in one of the draws, in the cupboard with the towels.
It wasn't anywhere to be seen and I was feeling confused, I must be going crazy.

I spun around, checking the room out from all angles and trying to guess where the hell it was, then a certain spot caught my eye.

The top of the bathroom cabinet.

It was very high up and I had to get up on the sink just to reach it with my outstretched hand.

My fingertips brushed something hard and smooth, I frowned trying to guess what it could me and ran my hand over it again.
Rectangular that's what I noted, it feels like its a box of some kind or maybe a container.

"Ugh." I grunted, stretching my arm as far as possible, grabbing the corner of the container and picking it up, it was heavy too.

I brought down the mystery container, looking at it curiously, brushing my hand over it.
Well it wasn't dusty so it's been used recently.

The wooden box looked like it was made from mahogany or maybe cherry birch, I don't know, I'm horrible when it comes to guessing stuff like that.
There was a strange pattern of swirls on it, carved into the wood at what looked like random.

A small latch kept the lid tightly shut but there was no lock on it so my brain didn't have any problems with the thought of opening it even though the object had been hidden.

"Lyx?" Gerard called out, making me jump and almost drop the heavy wooden container.

"I'm in the bathroom, I'll be out in a minute!" I replied before turning my attention back to the object in my hands.

I knew that I could be a human representative of 'curiosity killed the cat' but I really wanted to know what was in this friggen box.

My fingers went to the small latch, pulling on it and hearing an almost silent click.
I feel like Pandora opening the opening the mystery box.

Breathing faster in anticipation I lifted the lid and peered inside, now feeling a bit like Indiana Jones and there might be a booby trap about to go off at any moment.

My mouth opened slightly in surprise when I saw the contents, in a box that fancy it wasn't something I was expecting.

Razorblades?

Maybe one of the seven deadly sins about to fly out and attack me but razorblades?
The real kind too.

Why would something like that be in a box like this?
What's more is who on earth put this here, it couldn't have been Gerard, why would he need a box full of sharp objects like razorblades?

My mind instantly said shaving but these were just the blades, nothing else and the location of the container made it obvious it was supposed to be hidden.

In total there was six, all piled on top of a cloth sitting in the bottom of the wooden box.
For a moment I was tempted to touch them but knowing better I drew my hand away and closed the lid.

I should be getting to the video store with Gerard, he's probably wondering what the hell I'm doing anyway.

Being much more careful now I reached up and put the box on top of the cabinet once more.
Leaving it there I got down from the sink and went to the door, completely forgetting my original intention to brush my hair.

Gerard was standing in hallway, leaning against the wall with his jacket on and the hoodie pulled up.

"Ready?" I nodded, I was still practically in my pyjamas but I didn't care, it was still morning and Gerard was wearing almost the same thing.

I'd had a lot on my mind from the moment I woke up and realised it was Gerard's birthday but finding those razorblades had just heaped more thoughts upon me.

They had to belong to him because they certainly weren't mine and no one else ever came to the apartment.

That by itself hurt my brain but there was was thing in particular that niggled at the back of my mind and refused to give up.

One thing I'd noticed while looking at the box was a small mark on the lip of the lid.
I know I was overthinking it but I swear to God I saw a stain, a red one that was more than likely an overly familiar substance.

Gerard opened the front door for me, remaining silent.

If only I could put my finger on it.