**Gerard POV**

Another day passed where we were all cooped up in this shithole. I was being escorted back to my cell after a quick trip to the nurse’s office for my withdrawal meds, and I got a quick peek outside to see it was still raining- again. I have to say, my first few months here may have been Hell, but they sure went a lot smoother than if my lawyer hadn’t added these meds to my plea deal. I’ve seen what can happen to those people, and it ain’t pretty. They clutch and claw at their body, as the poison slowly exits their body in any way possible. Inmates who writhe in agony on the floor, grabbing onto whatever cold surface they can find to counteract the fever slowly cooking their brains. Others just twitch, almost motionless on the floor, lying in a pool of their own vomit.

The methadone definitely helped a great deal, as well as the antidepressants they put me on, but I still had my fair share of symptoms when I first arrived. In the beginning I would just take my bedding and curl up in a ball next to the toilet, sleeping on the floor. I faced the wall and tried to deal with the smell; which got easier over time, although I was still forced to vomit on the floor if one of my cellmates were using it. It was not a very pleasant arrangement.

Nurse Becca really is a sweetheart. She’s an older woman, but she knows how to handle herself if any one of the guys ever came on to her or tried to hurt her. Feisty, too. I have a lot of respect for her, I really do. She takes care of me like I was her own child. She helped me with my dosage in order to find the one where I barely had any symptoms at all. She’d lost her son to a heroine overdose five years ago, and told me how we were a lot alike. He wanted to get clean too, but he couldn’t afford to get help.

I wanted to get clean, and I told her that too. I was being genuine; quitting seems like the only option for me at this point. Once I’m out of this place I can help my ex girlfriend, and we can have a life together. Start fresh, maybe in a different state, or country.

Or boyfriend. The thoughts crept back in my mind. Last night was a mess. Mikey wasn’t supposed to ask me that question- the deal was he was to tell Frank to kiss me. Mikey always asked me about my sexuality, I guess my girlfriend was always asking him questions on it because I wouldn’t fuck her. It’s not my fault- I was always high on something when I was with her, and could never get it up. Another reason I wanted to quit. I was getting tired of using my hand; I hadn’t gotten laid since I’d been here, and a few months before.

But I questioned myself all the same. I knew I liked girls; I’ve always had no problem and thoroughly enjoyed a good fuck with one. But ever since I met my best friend my senior year in high school, I’ve always questioned it. I developed these… feelings for him that I couldn’t shake, and I asked my therapist about it. He made a ‘suggestion’, and I flipped my shit. I stopped seeing him that day, and that’s when I met Lindsey. And my life has been shit ever since.

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It’d been raining for days, so the guards finally took pity on us and brought us to the Mess Hall, but it was different. They folded up all the tables and left a few in the corner. There were decks of cards, checkers and chess, and other board games I didn’t recognize. There was a TV with basic cable and a few chairs in the opposite corner. They did this every now and again, when it was raining hard. I heard this arrangement was much more common in the winter, though.

I spotted Bob; his back turned away from us. He was busy watching ‘Cops’ on the TV screen. Oh, the irony. I nudged Mikey and Frank over towards an empty table, snatching a deck of cards before they were all taken and setting up me and Mikey’s game. Mikey sat next to me, Frank situating himself on the opposite side of the table. I dealt out me and Mikey’s set, and had begun to give Frank his when he started waving his hand and calling out to someone- the weird kid he’s been talking too. I didn’t know his name, but him and his girlfriend would come over so the girls could bond over a needle. He would watch and make sure none of us killed ourselves. He used to be such a sweet kid, but after what happened, his whole demeanor changed. He came out on top, though. He developed a mind of sarcasm and sass, thanks to yours truly. Frank’s mentioned him a couple times, and how he still hasn’t said a word since they’ve started ‘communicating’. I sighed. If only he knew.

I dealt out the remainder of Frank’s hand and gave out a set to his friend, and we started our game. Mikey was having a lucky game, kicking all of our asses once again. I swear the little fuck stacked the deck, even though I shuffled and dealt out the card.

“Hey, I was watching that!” Bob’s voice boomed over the TV. Our attention diverted from the game and too the confrontation fifty feet away. I saw he was standing over a young man. He looked some kind of Asian, older twenties, black hair, chink eyes, the works.

“Funny how you think I give a fuck. You’ve been watching for almost an hour, and Dateline is on. I heard Sam’s story is being told this time.” He smirked, looking around at others reactions. They all just hung their heads and stared at the ground, some looking around for something else to focus their attention on.

Our game stopped abruptly as Bob grabbed the base of the Asian’s chair and flipped it over, sending him crashing to the ground. I heard a nasty thud as his head slammed onto the concrete floor. We all just watched as Bob picked him up by his collar and shoved him towards the wall, smashing him into the vertical surface.

I saw Mikey turn away, covering his face. I grabbed both of his arms and pinned them behind his back, holding them together with my right hand. I held under his chin with my left, forcing his head towards the commotion. I could feel him struggle under my grip. It killed me to do this, but I showed no mercy.

“No, Michael. Watch.” I commanded. “You see this? This is what he does, this is what your friend does to people.” I emphasized the word friend, hoping he’d get the message.

“His eyes are closed.” Frank muttered, and I tightened my grip on Mikey’s chin.

“Watch.” I growled again. I looked at Frank, who just nodded his head. At least he was paying attention. I felt slight pity for the Asian, but this was exactly what Mikey needed to learn.

Bob switched his grip from the collar of his shirt, to the center of his neck as he slammed the asian into wall again and again. You could hear his skull crack multiple times, and see the grey walls being splattered more and more with the man’s blood and hair. A loud crack shot through the air, and the man went limp. He took his fist and crushed his nose once, before tossing the mans lifeless body to the ground. An alarm finally rang out in the Hall, and I knew I had to act fast. I looked at the other inmate next to Frank, who was already following procedure.

“Frank, Mike. Lay on your stomach, on the ground, hands on your head. Now.” I slid from my seat, following my own instructions before noticing that the two hadn’t moved. I grabbed Mikey by the back of his shirt and pulled him towards the ground. He fell out of his seat, landing on his side. I pushed his face into the cracked cement foundation, and he finally shifted his position to match mine. I looked up to see Frank do the same.

About ten guards rushed in yelling and screaming, and began forcing inmates against the wall and on the floor, grabbing and pushing them into the same stance we were in. I noticed Ray was among them. He quickly made his way towards us. Three guards were beating Bob into submission with their batons, while the others roughly shoved inmates back to their cells.

“Gerard, help me out.” Ray spoke with a soft voice. As much as he probably shouldn’t, he trusted me. I obliged, taking Mikey’s hands and softly turning them so they were comfortable behind his back.

“It’s just protocol, Mikes. Stay calm. He’s gonna put cuffs on you and bring you back to the cell. He might act rough, don’t take it personal.” He looked at me, the color slowly returning to his ghost-white face.

“Hey, hey. Don’t cry. Not a single tear, understand?” He nodded roughly. “Good, now slowly stand up.” I nodded at Ray who tugged lightly at the cuffs. Once Mikey stood up, Ray led him across the table and had me explain the same thing to Frank, who only scoffed and followed my instruction without hesitation.

“Shit, don’t have to tell me twice.” He muttered.

Ray took the both of them by the cuffs, one in each hand, and led them back to our cell. I laid back on the ground, with my hands on my head, and waited my turn. I glanced up and saw Frank’s friend looking at me too. I sighed.

“Look, Frank’s a good guy. If you still want to try and make friends here, Frank’s a good choice. But I’m leaving it up to you to tell him.” He nodded in agreement.

Two guards walked up to us, each forcing our arms from our heads to our back and slapping cuffs on us before leading us back to our little sliver of heaven.

Notes

Here's another chapter. since updates have kind of been slow. I can't wait until summer >.>
We're so glad you liked the previous chapter, and as requested, here's another Gerard POV.

Comment, Rate, Subscribe, Criticize. You know what to do~

Xoxo
-Hazel