The only Hope

Gerard’s pov:

I was up early. Hope was still sleeping. I kissed her on the forehead and covered her bare shoulders with the blanket.

I got out of bed and got dressed. I checked the time: 07:36. Fuck, everyone’s probably up already.

I went downstairs and saw Frank, Mikey and Ray sitting at the kitchen table.

Frank was the first to greet me. “Goodmorning sunshine!” I pulled a weird face at him.

Mikey sat back and pointed at me. “We actually wanted to ask you where you were, but then again… We already know. Or shall we say: we already heard.”

My eyes widened. They had heard us?

“Yep, we heard you guys.” Ray said, like he was reading my mind.

“Uhm…” I muttered.

Mikey jumped in. “Look, we don’t care where you put that dick of yours… But keep it in your pants when you are on duty, okay?” He sounded angry.

I looked at Frank, he was smirking. “Hey, don’t look at me. I was like ‘finally’!” He drank from his coffee. I smiled.

“No but Gerard, seriously dude? During your turn? Not cool bro, you put us all in danger!” Mikey sneered.

“Oh he had his turn, alright.” Frank was still smirking.

“Frank…” I smirked a bit, Frank and his innuendos. I turned to Mikey and Ray again. “I know, I’m sorry.” I sighed and walked over to the kitchen to make myself some coffee.

“Yeah, well… Sorry is not going to save our asses y’know…” Mikey stared at his coffee.

“It won’t happen again, I promise.” I said without making eye contact.

“Good.” Ray and Mikey said simultaneously.

Then we heard footsteps on the stairs. Now everybody, including me, was staring at a Hope, who had an extreme out-of-bed look.

She made her way down, scratching the back of her head, and stopped when she noticed everybody was staring at her.

The room remained quiet, until she dropped her arms to the ground and spoke up.

“Oh Jesus no, you guys heard us didn’t you?” She looked at Ray, Frank and Mikey.

They nodded.

“Oh we heard you, alright.” Frank was smirking again.

“Frank…” I said pulling a stern face. Frank is the only one who thinks his jokes are genuinely funny.

Hope had turned around and was walking upstairs again. She waved without looking.

“Call me when you are gone, so I can have breakfast without you guys staring at me.”

I laughed. Even when she was terribly embarrassed she’s still lovable.

Ray cleared his throat. “So, what’s the plan today? Visit Dr. D.? Patrol some? Get some supplies? Training? Name it.”

“Oh I think Gerard already trained last night.” Frank laughed his ass off now.

“Okay, that’s it.” I tried to suppress my grin as I pushed Frank off his chair. He was still laughing.

“Hey I can’t help it, you guys make it way too easy! Oh and Gerard, you’re lucky I just put down my cup of coffee.”

“Yeah, you’re right. I’m lucky…” I took his cup from the table and started drinking it.

“Hey!” Frank got up. “That my coffee, you bastard.” Frank said playfully.

“Well that’s what you get from making too many innuendos.” Mikey smirked.

Frank shrugged. “Meh, worth it though.”

Ray smirked, but then turned serious again. “I still didn’t get an answer.”

I drank Frank’s coffee and lowered the cup. “I think it’s time we visit Dr. D. again. I need a new map of Battery City and we need to get the latest news anyway, since he’s not broadcasting frequently anymore.”

Ray nodded. “Yeah, a shame, but I get it. That guy has to be really careful.”

Frank sat on his chair and shifted a bit. “So, are we bringing Hope along?”

“I think so, I mean… We can’t leave her here right?” Mikey looked at me.

“Well we could, but then we’d be taking a huge risk.”

“No, she’s coming along. Dr. D. has background information on almost everybody and I’d like to know a bit more about her.” Ray said, sipping his coffee.

“Hey, we can’t do that, okay? If you want to know more about her, just ask her.” I said bitterly.

“Are you sure she’s telling the truth?” Mikey agreed with Ray on this one. I sighed. No, of course not, but I did trust her.

“Okay, she can come with us, on one condition.” The guys all looked at me.

“She stays outside when we do the background check, I don’t want her to know.” They nodded.

Notes