Somebody That I Used To Know

“Dude, cheer up. It’s not that bad!”

Ray’s deep voice broke the silence, earning a glare from Gerard. It was the first day back after a glorious two months off, and Gerard wasn’t in the mood for Ray’s optimistic attitude. They had survived their first year of high school without suffering any major physical or psychological trauma, but it didn’t mean he had to like coming back for his sophomore year. The only thing that made school bearable was Ray and Frank, who stuck by his side during lunch and the few classes they shared. Gerard knew it could be much worse; they were unnoticed by the hostile jerks of the school and deemed inoffensive to the majority of the student population. There was the occasional name calling and shove but overall they were left well enough alone. They could get into parties without any problem and nobody got any shit for talking to them. They did well enough academically to get by in class without bringing attention to themselves. Their experience so far hadn’t been a travesty but Gerard would still rather be anywhere else than outside the bright yellow building that loomed over him.

“Yes it is Toro. Yesterday we were free. Now we’re back, to be forced into confined classrooms that do nothing but shove preapproved bullshit down our throats in order for us to become what the government deem ‘productive members of society’ who work shitty job to pay shitty taxes to pay a shitty government. We have no free will and any attempt to think outside the narrow box they create is punishable, because having an opinion that contradicts the status quo is labelled as insolent or trouble making. The real question is, can it get any worse?”

Ray shook his head, his smile faltering slightly. It was way too early in the day to get into a heavy discussion that would involve using his brain.

“Whatever man. We better go before the late bell rings.”

They dumped their stuff in their lockers before finding their home room. They took two seats at the back of the room, evading notice from the rest of their peers. Gerard already knew his schedule unlike Ray, who was staring at the paper in front of him with concentration.

“Please tell me you have Mr White for creative writing as well for first period” Ray begged with pleading eyes.

“I’ve got Ms. Clarke for literature, then art and algebra.”

“Shit man, do we have any classes together this semester?” Ray asked, handing his schedule over to Gerard, who scanned it quickly with unblinking eyes.

“We’ve got American history and gym” Gerard informed him monotonously.

“Damn it.”

The classroom door slammed shut, silencing the room immediately.

“Alright, let’s just get this over with, shall we?”

Mr. Finn sauntered over to his desk, neatly placing his books on the wooden table. The majority of the girls let out some form of giggle when he straightened his tie, facing the class looking as defeated as they felt. His youth, good looks and friendly demeanour made him one of the more approachable members of the faculty as long as it wasn’t first thing in the morning.

“Let’s get to the point. You guys know all the rules by now. You have your schedules, you know how they work. You got any questions, concerns or problems you go to the guidance counsellor. This is your home room for the rest of the year, be here on time or I will give you a tardy slip. The quicker everybody ticks off the attendance sheet, the quicker we get out of here-“

Mr. Finn stopped when principal Hudson walked in, with a new student in tow. All eyes were on the small raven haired girl, who blushed furiously under the scrutiny.

“Mr Finn I’m sorry to interrupt. Everyone, this is our new student Madeline McCarthy. I’m sure I can rely on at least one of you to volunteer to help her find her way around for the next few days while she settles in.” she spoke warmly to the students, whispered a few words to Mr. Finn and walkied out of the room.

“Okay Madeline, just take a seat anywhere for the moment” Finn waved a hand around carelessly. He picked up the attendance sheet, leaving Madeline looking around the room like a deer caught in headlights. Her large blue eyes were widened in panic, embarrassment creeping up on her with every passing second. Gerard struggled internally at the sight. He never drew attention to himself but the girl looked like a lost puppy and there was an empty seat beside him. All it would take was for him to raise his hand a little to get her attention. His hand twitched in a silent sign that he should bite the bullet and do it. He geared himself to lift his hand when she finally saw him. The feeling that engulfed his chest was nothing he had ever felt before. Gerard didn’t believe in the concept of love at first sight until that moment. The strangest part of it was he was certain that she felt it too. The embarrassment had left her, relieving her cheeks of their pink hue. Her frightened eyes relaxed though her shock was evident. Gerard nodded, giving her the silent approval she was waiting for. The moment lasted no more than a couple of seconds, but it felt like a lifetime had passed. Her body visibly relaxed when she finally slumped into the chair, sinking down as far as she could to avoid the few remaining stares. By next lesson everyone would forget about her. More than anything Gerard wished he was one of those guys that had the balls to talk to girls. It was a talent a few of his fellow class mates had that made him jealous. It was nothing to them if a girl told them to get lost, for them there were plenty more girls to try. Gerard just couldn’t find it within himself to push the self consciousness away and brush off any rejection he received. It stopped him from putting himself out there to meet new people, just like it stopped him from opening his mouth and introducing himself to the new girl who was probably looking for someone to help her out.

He counted the remaining minutes left until he would be forced to leave the room, the pressure he felt to man up increased with every tick of the clock. Time wouldn’t stall for him, and before he knew it the bell dismissed them from Mr Finn’s presence. The teacher bolted out the door before any of the students had stood from their seats. Gerard couldn’t do anything but watch with regret when Jessica walked over to Madeline, offering her a hand to shake. Gerard stood up slowly, grabbing his bag and listening to the brief conversation the girls shared. Jessica offered to show Madeline around for the rest of the day, earning a grateful smile and a ‘Thanks’. What struck Gerard the most was Madeline’s accent. It wasn’t American but he couldn’t place it.

“C’mon Gerard, we need to go” Ray interrupted Gerard’s snooping.

Gerard followed Ray out of the room, glancing over his shoulder one last time at Madeline who was too busy showing Jessica her schedule to pay him any more attention. The next few hours passed by slowly the way they did when it was the first day back. All the classes were conducted in the same fashion. The teacher would walk in, spend fifteen to twenty minutes giving out handouts and explaining the curriculum for the semester ahead. Then they were told to ‘talk amongst yourselves quietly or whatever else you want to do as long as you stay seated’. Gerard used the time to think about Madeline. She was in his literature and algebra class, giving Gerard ample time to memorise every detail about her he could see. He wasn’t the kind of guy to get crushes, but for some reason this girl was stuck in his head. She was a novelty, something new that he had yet to put a label on and it intrigued him. She was pretty but she didn’t exactly stand out from the crowd either. Her clothing, a pair of jeans, chucks and a non-descript top didn’t mark her out as fitting into any sort of crowd. She didn’t wear any jewellery and her makeup was barely there, if not nonexistent. Her taste in music, films or any hobbies she might have weren’t given away like it was with so many people. Gerard, with his dark clothes, stencilled sketchpad and band logos covering his possessions, was clearly into grunge and punk rock. Ray, with his rock t shirts was clearly a metal head. Even Frank, their friend who was mysteriously missing on their first day, had a punk vibe about him. The preps and jocks had an attitude that made them easily spottable from a distance. Even the general population of the school gave something away about themselves in some shape or form. They dye their hair to bring out their true personalities or they sign up for extracurricular activities but, one way or another there was something small that gave Gerard enough knowledge to put a label on them. This girl didn’t give him any clue as to what kind of person she was what her tastes were, if she was a nice person or not. She was an enigma and there was nothing Gerard loved more than solving puzzles.

“Dude, wake the fuck up!” Ray nudged Gerard with a sharp elbow to his delicate ribs.

“Fucking prick” Gerard glared at Ray with anger.

“Dude, the lunch bell went two minutes ago! Let’s go already” Ray ignored the insult, grabbed his bag and waited for Gerard to do the same.

They walked to the cafeteria in silence, quickly spotting the table they frequented the year before. Gerard smiled when he saw Frank sitting at the table, eating his lunch as though he hadn’t missed his first morning of school.

“Are you trying to get detention on the first day of school?” Gerard asked, sitting opposite Frank.

“Yup. Gotta do something to stand out, you know, so I figured detention before the lunch was a good way to get noticed.”

“Did it work?”

“Nope.”

Frank looked truly disappointed that he had managed to avoid getting caught. Ray shook his head in exasperation but he knew better than to say anything.

“I heard there’s a new girl. Any of you seen her?”

“She’s in our homeroom.” Ray told him before Gerard could.

“Is she pretty?”

“Yeah, but Gerard was drooling over her earlier so I wouldn’t try anything.” Ray’s smirk was evil, delighting in humiliating his friend.

“I was not drooling over her” Gerard spluttered defensively, cheeks turning red.

“Was he doing his whole creepy staring thing?” Frank’s mischievous smile light up his eyes.

“Fuck off!” Gerard hissed venomously.

Frank just laughed, his giggles girlishly high pitched. Gerard’s glare only resulted in Frank laughing harder and louder, wrapping his arms wound his middle when Gerard’s face grew redder with rage.

“Can I ask what you’re on? Whatever it is, I want some of it”

The voice came from behind Gerard, who jumped in his seat in fright. His torso snapped around to find the source of the voice. His face blanched when he saw no one other than Madeline standing behind him, a cafeteria tray in her small hands. Her tone was full of confidence, all traces of her earlier shyness were gone. Her gaze was steady, unabashed and on Frank. There was a trace of a smile of her lips, revealing little dimples that only added to her adorableness in Gerard’s opinion. Gerard could see her eyes were a shocking blue colour, so bright and shining with intensity.

“Skittles. Do you want some?” Frank offered, startling Gerard from his staring and holding his opened packet out to share.

“What a stupid question. Of course I want some.”

She didn’t wait for an invitation to take the last seat at their table, which was beside Gerard. His hands started to sweat in panic. He wasn’t prepared for her to take the initiative like this. He didn’t plan what he should say, what questions to ask or how he should act around her. His brain stopped working, all thoughts banished from his mind while she settled in the plastic chair next to him.

“I’m Frank” Frank introduced when Madeline reached forward to grab a handful of skittles from the bag.

“I’m Madeline.”

She popped the candy in her mouth before she offered her hand for a handshake. Gerard couldn’t deny the little bite of jealousy he felt when Frank shook her hand, his smile wide and full of charm.

“This is Ray” Frank pointed to his left “That’s Gerard.”

“Nice to meet you guys. I hope you don’t mind me sitting here, Jessica kind of ditched me after Algebra.” Madeline inquired, though she didn’t seem too interested in their opinion.

Gerard was about to respond with a reassuring answer when Frank cut across him.

“That depends.”

Madeline wasn’t prepared for the forthright statement. The shock was quickly shaken off, replaced by a steely glare in Frank’s direction. His expression was neutral, not giving her any hint on how to respond.

“On what?”

“Your musical taste, favourite movie and your overall coolness rating.”

“Nirvana, The Smiths, Metallica and U2; The nightmare before Christmas, although I love Tim Burton movies in general; And if I were to judge on a scale of one of ten, I’d probably be a zero ‘cos I have no idea what ‘coolness’ is.”

“Then its fine” Frank shrugged, shoving more skittles in his mouth.

“Where are you from? I can’t place your accent.”

Those were the first words Gerard ever spoke to her. He swore her cheeks flushed a little when she looked at him. Or maybe it was just wishful thinking. He kicked himself for starting their conversation off on such an obvious question. She was probably sick of explaining herself to people, the last thing she would want to do was talk about who she was and where she came from.

“It’s Irish. The real one doesn’t sound like the one they use in the movies.”

“That’s a big move.”

Way to go, Captain Obvious.

“My dad got a big job with some stupid company. Uprooted the whole family last month for a bigger pay check.”

“That sucks.”

“It’s not so bad now.”

This time she did blush, her cheeks heating up like his own.

“Aw, that’s so cute!” Bandit exclaimed, taking a bit of her pizza “How long did you wait before you asked her out?”

“I didn’t ‘ask her out’. We met up that weekend under the pretence of showing her around the neighbourhood. By Monday it was obvious we liked each other, so we just…kinda started dating.” Gerard explained, leaning back on the couch with a low groan.

“You said you dated all the way through college? So you went to prom together and stuff?”

“We did everything together. We went to all the school dances together, we graduated together. We picked colleges in New York so we could live together.”

“Your parents didn’t mind?”

Gerard smiled.

“My parents didn’t. Her parents on the other hand, they were pissed. They said we were too young to live together, that we shouldn’t settle down so young. They said we’d get sick of each other, or that we’d get pregnant. Then Madeline found a small apartment going for cheap rent. When she pointed out it would be cheaper than living in dorms they caved, and that it was safer to live with me than with random strangers they caved in.”

“What was it like, living with her?’

“It was great. We got along like a house on fire. We fought occasionally but, when we did they were short lived. She put up with my shortcomings, and I dealt with hers. Overall we complimented each other. Sometimes, she would just randomly say ‘I’m so happy, I could die and I wouldn’t care’ even though we were living in a apartment the size of a closet and could barely afford to eat half the time. I felt the same way.”

“You sound like you were in love” Bandit spoke hesitantly.

“I was. We were.” He corrected himself.

“What happened, then?”

Gerard sighed.

“It wasn’t one thing that went wrong. Sometimes the little things build up, you know?”

“Not really, but it doesn’t matter. Tell me how it ended!”

“Not as well as I had hoped. I never intended for things to end the way they did.”

Notes

Hey guys,

Here's a new chapter for my lovely readers. I hope you enjoy, and if you can spare a few seconds leave some feedback or subscribe. Both are great.

Lyra