Take My Hand and Never Be Afraid Again

Suddenly we heard the sound of screams coming from inside the building and with excitement we quickly dropped our cigarettes and dashed inside to get a decent spot for the finale of the night, Blink 182. The opening chords to "What's My Age Again" started up and this time Gerard had my jump onto his shoulders, keeping a firm grip on my legs as we both sang along and headbanged to the music.

They played all of our favorite songs- "Mutt", "The Party Song", "Damnit", "21 Days", "The Rock Show" and so many others. Eventually Gerard let me down so we could all dance and mosh together. Laughing and singing along to every word we all let loose and had an amazing time. All good things must come to an end though and eventually they announced that they would be playing their last song, "First Date". I had been dancing mostly with Frank and Mikey for most of the time, but as the song started up, Gerard grabbed my hand and twirled me over to him, catching me and giggling as my hair whipped around my eyes and I fell into his arms. As we jumped around and made the most of the last bit of the show, Gerard stayed very close to me and at one point placed his arms around my waist, holding me closer as we danced. I blushed at first, slightly embarrassed and awkward, but eventually melted into him, enjoying the closeness.

It ended up being with sad hearts that we left the venue, but as we piled back into the car, sweaty and gross, we celebrated the fact that we were all staying at Gerard's that night and began to bicker back and forth about which horror movies we should watch. Frank and I argued our case that as the birthday adults we completely had the right to start off with The Nightmare Before Christmas because it was our favorite movie, too which everyone finally agreed after Frank and I began to both do the puppy dog pout directly in Gerard's face, enjoying the pained expression it caused him as he fought the feeling of pity.

When we got to Gerard's house I ran for the door, dashing into his room and then his bathroom. When you're friends with five boys and all of you are staying in one house, it's always best to try to get the first shower, which I took full advantage of, emerging after in shorts, thigh high socks and one of Gerard's long-sleeve shirts. My hair thrown up in a lazy bun, I stared at the pile of presents on the floor with Frank until all of us were once again in the room.

"I swear you two are like little kids. Fuck turning 18, I think you guys just turned 8." Ray stated, chuckling as he threw his presents at us.

"Oh, you love us, Fro-Man." Frank retorted, busy trying to unwrap his gift. Mine was already done and I squealed at the copy of Stephen King's Gunslinger comic book he had gotten me.

Frank had received some comics as well...in fact that's what everybody had gotten him, not that he minded. He was engrossed in them as I continued opening my presents. Bob had bought me a giant box of Jelly Beans (my favorite candy), and Mikey gave me a Dexter shirt and keychain. Last was Gerard's present, a long tube that I quickly recognized as one used for paintings or drawings. By the time the others had already started the movie, so Gerard and I were huddled up on his bed. My eyes lit up as I carefully opened it and drew the paper out. Upon unrolling it I found it was the portrait he had done of me that I had never had a chance to see. It was beautiful. Gerard had painted me as I had been sitting but had added his own touches. The light source he had used as his reference made my eyes sparkle as they looked off into the distance, my hair swirled around my shoulders and he had painted a crown of silver and diamonds in my hair. He had emphasized my features, my pouty lips shined in a deep red and my cheekbones were highlighted. He had only painted from below my breasts up, but had painted what I assumed would have been a full gown. The realization then struck me.

"You painted me as and elf." I whispered, tears shining in my eyes as I looked at him, delicately holding the paper as if I would ruin it. He smiled sweetly.

"You said you were a huge fan of The Lord of The Rings. I thought you'd appreciate it."

"Gerard....I love it. This is the most amazing thing anyone has ever given me." He and I were sitting super close now and I gently rolled the painting back up, putting it back in the tube for safe keeping. When I turned back to Gerard to give him a hug I was caught by surprise when his lips found mine. It was a gentle kiss, no more than lips brushing together, but my heart nearly exploded from it. He pulled away, looking me in the eyes, and then kissed me again, his hand caressing my cheek as he did so. After a couple of seconds he pulled away and whispered in my ear.

"Be mine?"

"Yes." So caught up in the moment, neither of us noticed Frank, who had turned towards us with a little box in his hand. Nor did we notice to look of disappointment on his face as he saw us, looked at the box and then tucked it into his pocket, turning away with a tear in the corner of his eye. We were in our own little world.

Notes

I'm sorry it's been so long and I'm sorry this chapter sucks. I don't really have an excuse, I just fail as a human being.

-Motor Baby