Sweet sleep, my dark angel

I climbed out of bed, my arms shaking as I held myself upright. This was the worst nightmare yet. I didn't think I would be able to wake up, yet something in me forced me to open my eyes and stare into the dark as I observed the shadows flitting around my room.

In a way, I'm glad I did wake up, but in another way, I still wanted to sleep, to see if I would finally be able to see the identity of my saviour. I was so close this time, the shadows moving just enough for me to see his pale skin, but not far enough for me to see his face.

My eyes flicked to the screen of my phone, squinting at the bright light that radiated from it. The numbers read 6am, and footsteps could be heard downstairs. I sighed, grabbed a pair of sweat pants and a t-shirt out of my bag and got changed before heading downstairs. John stood at the stove, his hands busy as he made pancakes, James sat at the table, his head in his hands and the steam from his coffee billowing around his face.
"Morning." I muttered as I pulled out the chair opposite James. His head darted up, confusion clouding his features as he looked at me.
"You're up early." He observed.
"I couldn't sleep." I replied, accepting the glass of orange juice John offered, tensing slightly as he rested his hand on my shoulder.
"Oh, well, if you don't feel up to it, we can go to the school later instead?" James suggested.
"Nahh. Don't want to put it off any longer than I really have to. I mean, who knows how much I could miss out on."
"Good point." Said John, pride in his voice. "Well, we should be leaving at about eight thirty, so if you want something to eat and then to have a shower, that would be amazing." I nodded and climbed to my feet.
"What you got?" I asked, looking towards the cupboards.
"Oh honey, you don't have to ask, just raid the cupboards and stuff if you're hungry. You live here too now." James said. "But, it depends what you want, if we don't have it, we'll add it to the grocery list.
"Well, I generally just have whatever the place had, so I have no idea." I muttered.
"Have pancakes." John smiled, grabbing an extra plate. I nodded and sat back at the table, my foot twitching in anticipation.

****

I stepped through the doors of the school, John and James hot on my heels. They directed me towards the administrators office, smiling and waving at a few of the teachers they saw. I ignored the stares from the students, pushing through them until I safely reached the double doors. When they had caught up, I opened it, standing away from the desk whilst James told the secretary who we were. The door was pushed open, a tall-ish guy with glasses stumbling through. "Again Mikey?" The blonde haired lady asked, tutting as she sat at her computer. "How many times are you going to lose your schedule?"
"Enough for Gerard to tell me not to ask him to learn it for me anymore." He chuckled, accepting the piece of paper he was offered. "Thanks." I watched as he left the room, taking in the guitar case clutched in his fingers.
"Hey, wait up." I called as I pushed through the door and grabbed his arm. "Did you say Gerard?" I asked. Mikey nodded. "Sweet, so...uh, you play guitar?"
"Bass."
"Does that mean they have music classes here, like, not orchestra but like, bands and shit?" I questioned.
"Yeah, why? You thinking of joining or something?" Mikey asked.
"Actually, it's the deciding factor of whether I come here or not." I explained, turning as James called my name. "They got band!" I called.
"I know, d'you wanna come here then?" He asked.
"Yeah." I replied.
"I gotta go." Said Mikey before he disappeared off into the crowd.

I grabbed the schedule the lady offered me, thanking her as I left the room, reading it as I followed John to the car. "So, I start tomorrow right?" I asked.
"Yeah, are you wanting a lift down or are you going to walk it?" He asked, stopping as he waited for James to catch up.
"I'll walk it. Don't see the point as it's just down the road. Thanks for the offer though." I replied, my head darting to the left as Gerard wandered out from behind the main building, smoke billowing from his mouth. "Gerard!" I called, his head snapping up as he heard me. he started heading in the direction, smiling softly when he came to a stop next to me.
"Hi Mr and Mr Carmichael." He said. "Hi Frank. What you doing here?"
"Gonna go to school here. What homeroom you got?"
"Uh, technically, Mr Belzicky, but how often I actually get here on time means I don't have homeroom." He chuckled. "Anyways, I've got art now, so we'll catch up tomorrow?"
"Yeah, sure." I muttered, smiling as he tripped over his own feet in a hurry to get to art.

"So how do you know Gerard?" James asked as he made lunch.
"I met him at the park last night." I replied, grabbing the mayo from the fridge and squirting some on my sandwich. "He looked cool so I spoke to him."
"He is really nice. In fact, the whole Way family is. We might invite them round for dinner, haven't done it in a while. How does that sound babe?"
"It sounds pretty good to me." John replied, poking his head around the door. "Just let me know when and I'll whip up my famous Chicken Parmesan and cheesecake for dessert. And for you Frank, we can do something meatless." I nodded and bit into the sandwich, wiping mayo from the corner of my mouth before grabbing a glass of water.
"How long have they lived here?" I asked, curious to know more about Gerard.
"Longer than we have. I think the boys were born in the hospital in the center so, their whole lives. I don't think the boys ever go anywhere else." James explained, searching through the fridge for something. "They generally spend time with their friends down the park but sometimes they just stay at home. The family goes through a rough patch every now and then. In fact, the boys haven't come to stay for a while, so it must be heading towards a bad time. John, keep an eye out for Mikey and Gerard will ya?"
"Sure hun. They know they are always welcome here." John replied, his chair scraping across the floor as he climbed to his feet.

****

I grabbed my guitar out of the case, resting it on my knee as I searched for a plectrum that wasn't broken. My hand landed on my misfits one, a smile crossing my lips as I remembered the concert. After tuning my guitar, I strummed out a couple of chords, the music flowing from the tips of my fingers, lyrics running through my mind.

I put my guitar down and rummaged through my backpack for my song book, writing down the lyrics as they came to mind, revelling in the silent bliss that had taken over my mind with the music. I could relax more in the slow and mournful tune that came from my guitar than I could with the noise of the memories flying around my mind.

Music was my escape, and I would never let that get taken away from me.

****

I heard a knock at the door and poked my head around the corner as John opened it, his face dropping as he saw who was on the other side. "Mikey, what's wrong?" He asked.
"Just, uh..." Mikey blanched, his face going pale.
"Is it your dad?" Mikey shook his head furiously from side to side. "What's wrong then?"
"Gerard...I tried to stop him, I just...I'm sorry." He whispered.
"Don't apologise, where did he go?"
"Ben's house. Apparently he wanted to teach him a lesson." I climbed to my feet and grabbed a jacket, my footsteps on the stairs causing John to turn around.
"I'll come and help." I muttered. Mikey smiled softly, his eyebrow raised as I looked at John, pleading silently for him to let me.
"Just be safe?" He asked. I nodded and followed Mikey out of the door.


"Why do you want to help?" Mikey asked as we walked down the street.
"I just do. I hate seeing people in trouble."
"But you don't even know him. I mean, sure, you've spoken to him but you don't know him well enough to want to help him." He explained, holding is hand up to point at a house. "That one." I nodded and marched to the door, my hand shaking slightly as I knocked.
"Hi, is Ben in?" I asked.
"Yes, he is upstairs with a friend at the minute, you might want to come back later." A woman I assumed was his mom said.
"No, I don't think I want to come back later, I want to see him now thank you."
"Second door on the left." She sighed before tugging the door open far enough for me to step through.

I stood outside the door, my hand resting on the handle, Mikey's breathing heavy behind me. Shouting could be heard inside the room, but the words were almost unintelligible, all blurring into one as we tried to pick out words. "What do we do?" Mikey asked.
"It's your brother, what do you think we should do?"
"Uh, I wanna go in. Wait out here for me?" I nodded at Mikey's request, standing back as he pushed into the room.
"What the hell are you doing here Way?" Shouted who I could only assume was Ben.
"For my brother." Mikey said bluntly, his voice sounding bored.
"Well, he's not leaving till I'm finished with him." Ben sneered, his hand hitting what sounded like flesh.

Notes

heya,

sorry about the shit chapter and the shit ending to the chapter, I just don't feel right....