-Gerard's POV-
Frank is starting to get better, physically that is. His bruises may have head, cuts turned to scars, but he's still emotionally fucked. He's started to be woken up from nightmares about his father. I still think it's messed up that a person could be so cruel to their own child. He's a disgusting man, a no good monster. The only good to ever come from him is Frank. He deserves the very worst in prison. But Frank is safe now and we should put our focus on that. I need to be optimistic for Frank, despit what I actually feel. Frank needs me to be positive for him to keep him from thinking much about the past. Fortunately, things are beginning to fall into place, for Frank that is. But as for the rest of us, it's still one big work in progress.
As for me, my life is nothing like it used to be. I still have to go to school, my mom said so. Even though I'd much rather stay at the hospital with Frank. But even school isn't the same. Bert, he's acting so strange. He' snot antagonizing me, he's not even trying to. He'd pass me in the halls without so much as a glance. Well, it's not that I want him to bully me, it' sjust that I don't understand why he isn't. Maybe he's just had a change of heart. But then again, he's fucking Bert McCracken, he'll never change, not for the better. It doesn't make sense to me. I'm confused. Why is nothing normal anymore?
Today at lunch, I'm sitting at my usual table alone. And I"m just watching Bert, as if staring at him would figure out all of my questions. He looks angry, but that's nothing new. The part that's odd is how he actually looks... almost guilty in a way, like he's done something he shouldn't have. I'm curious to know what's making him that way. I watch him closely and try hard to concentrate. I'm so focused that I nearly jump out of my chair when someone touches my shoulder. I gasp loudly and spin around. It's Ray. "H-hey Gerard, mind if I... sit with you?" He asks. I open my mouth and stutter a bit. "I... I um, I guess so," I say. He smiles and takes a seat beside me. "Thanks, so how are you doing? Are you and Frank okay?" He asks. I raise an eyebrow and nod a little bit. "Yeah, fine, but why, not to be rude, but why exactly are you talking to me?" I ask.
Ray shifts a bit and laughs nervously. "Well... I just thought it would be nice to catch up with you. And I noticed that you were sitting along so I though I'd keep you company. How's Mikey by the way? I haven't talked to him in forever," he says. That grabs my attention. "How long exactly has it been since you guys last talked to each other?" I press. Ray looks at me funny, then chuckles. "For almost a hear, I guess," he says. No way, no fucking way. Ray doesn't lie, that means that Mikey has been, he's been sneaking around behind my back and using Ray as an excuse. "Ow wow, that has been a long time then," I say. Dammit, I'm so pissed at Mikey right now, it's not even funny. This is not okay, I'm definitely going to have to call him out on this.
"I wish Mikey and I were still talking though, I really miss him, "Ray says. I turn around to look at my little brother. How long did he think he could keep this up? He should have known that the truth would come soon enough! I look back at Ray and smile. "Yeah, you were good for him," I say. Ray's looking at Mikey now too. I want to scream at my brother. I never thought he'd lie to me about who he's hanging out with. But then again, I'm afraid for him. If he's not with Ray when he says he is, who is he with? Who is so bad that he can't tell me that he's with them? "Gerard, do you think I should start talking to him again?" Ray asks. This comes to me as a bit of a shock. "I... I don't really have that say. That's between you and Mikey," I say. He nods, then smiles. "I guess that's a good point. I gotta go, bye Gerard, it was nice talking to you," he says. And as quick as he showed up, he's gone.
I sigh and look back at Bert's table. He's not there. I become alert and aware in case he's after me. As I'm scanning the lunch room, it catches my attention and it makes my stomach lurch. I've found him. He's talking ot my little brother. I don't know what he's saying, but I have a bad feeling about it. Is he who Mikey is hanging out with? Is he the one who's hurting him? I stand up quickly and slowly approach that table. The closer I get, the more I see the way Bert's talking to him. He looks sort of rude and pushy. I don't like it. I reach the table, Mikey sees me. The look in his eyes is unlike any kind I've seen in him before. I don't even know how to describe it. He just looks so empty. "Bert, get the hell away from my brother. Now," I spit. Right away, Bert starts laughing.
He spins around and smiles fakely. "Well hello Gerard, I haven't seen you in a while. How have you been?" He asks. Like he actually cares? I clench my jaw and glare. "Just get away from Mikey," I say. I look at Mikey, he's glaring at me now. "Aww, really? We're having a nice conversation here and it's not polite to just walk away in the middle of it," Bert tells me. Mikey's friends are watching with wide eyes. I want to fucking scream. "I don't fucking care. I don't trust you being around him," I hiss. He's getting on my last nerve. "Well ouch that hurt Gerard, it really did. I can't believe that you don't trust me... and after all of those fun times that we've had together too," he says.
Before I can say anything back, the bell rings. I growl and turn around. Whatever Bert was saying to Mikey, I'm gonna know about it. Now that I'm pretty sure it's Bert who's hurting my brother, it's going to end. But I guess since I don't know for sure, I can't quite do much yet. I just have the worst gut feeling about it. Mikey can't be being hurt like this, it isn't fair. Sure, Mikey can be an asshole at times, but he's never done anything to deserve any sort of pain. Bert will pay, but if it isn't him, I'm not going to rest until that mutherfucking bastard is hunted down. I know that this is going to be one hell of a battle.
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After school I drive right to the hospital to see Frank. I've missed him so much, today has been emotionally exhausting. I get to his room and let a smile ease my face when I see that he's asleep. He looks peaceful in hsi sleep, as if everything is at peace with him. But I know better than that, because when I get closer, I see his eyes moving around rapidly in his sleep. He's having a nightmare. I've always wondered if he could see anything in his sleep, while he would dream. It's an interesting thought. Though I can't think too much about it now, Frank starts to thrash and writhe from whatever is going on in his dream. I put my hands on his shoulders and gently shake him, saying, "Frankie, wake up honey! Wake up, it's okay!" Tears roll down his cheeks, causing some to spring up in my eyes.
"Frank! It's okay! Will you please just wake up?!" I say. I shake him a little faster and he sobs and wimpers, then mumbles, "D-Dad stop it, stop sha-shaking me!" I instantly let him go. I sit on the edge of the bed and take his hand. "Baby please wake up, it's just a nightmare. It's okay," I say loudly. Frank whimpers and shakes his head. He's crying more and it's breaking my heart. "Frank, baby, it's Gerard, wake up!" I say louder. His eyes shoot open and he gasps. "Gee? Oh my god!" He sobs loudly without really moving his jaw. I reach forward and cup his cheek. "It's okay, it's over now," I tell him.
Frank sits up and clutches the thin hospital blanket tightly in his fists. The look on his face says everything about his nightmare. He's terrified righ tnow. I'm not exactly certain about what he was dreming of, but of course I had my guesses. Whatever it really was, it must have been bad. "Frank... are you alright?" I ask softly. He frowns and pauses for a minuted. "Yeah, I'm okay now," he whispers. I kiss his temple and smile. "Good." I say. He nods and grabs my hand. "Hey Gee?" He says. I hold his hand back and say, "Yes baby?" He reaches up and tugs at the gear on his jaw. "When can I take this off? It's driving me crazy," he tells me. I laugh a little and shrug, shaking my head. "I don't know baby, I'm not a doctor," I reply.
"Actually, your jaw has healed much faster than expeced, Frank. You should be able to take it off in a couple of days," someone says at the door. It's Dr. Patel, the woman taht shows up at the most random of times. Frank smiles a little bit and sits up straigter. "Really? That soon?" He says. He holds my hand tighter and I give his a squeeze. "Yes, you've healed very quickly. You could probably even try walking now if you want," she says. Frank sits up even more and nods. "I want to try it," he says quickly. My eyes widen at his sudden decision. "Frank, are you sure?" I ask. He nods again and I swear I can see his blinded eyes light up. "Yes Gee, I'm sure. WIll you help me?" He asks. The way he sounds when he gets this excited makes me know that he knows what he's talking about. How could I even say no to that?

I stand up and let go of his hand. Dr. Patel and I help him si tso that his legs are dangling off the edge of the bed. "Are you ready, Frank?" Dr. Patel asks. Frank nods and reaches out with an open hand. "Gerard, take my hand," he says. I grab his hand and slowly, very slowly, we bring Frank to his feet. He wavers a bit, swaying slightly. I use my other hand to support the small of his back. He winces and shakes his head. "N-not there Gerard, that hurts," he tells me. As soon as he spoke, I move my hand away. "So sorry Frank," I say. He nods and instead, I move my hand to his shoulder. "Is this better?" I ask. He nods another time and it makes me feel better that I'm not hurting him anymore.
At a painfully slow pace, Frank takes a step forward. He's so hesitant, each move he makes is fearful, as if he's going to fall. "Frank, it's okay. We've got you, I'm not gonna let you fall down," I whisper softly into his ear. He leans into me a little bit and sighs. "This is harder than I thought it would be," he says. I chuckle a bit and squeeze his hand gently. "Yes, it's going to be a bit of a challenge, but the practice is the only way to be able to walk again," Dr. Patel says. Frank decides that he needs to stop, so we bring him back tot he bed and lay him down. The doctor leaves and it's just me and Frank again. "I think you did great," I say. He laughs softly and shakes his head. "I just never though that walking would be such a struggle for me," he mumbles.
I sit next to him and kiss his forehead. "I know Frank, I"m sorry. I really should have tried harder to keep your dad away from hurting you. I'm sorry," I say, my eyes beginning to water. Frank frowns and shakes his head another time. "I don't want to hear you blaming yourself, Gee. It wasn't your fault, trust me baby," he says. I blink a few tears away as I lace my fingers with Frank's. "I-I know, but if I had done more to protect you, you wouldn't be like this right now," I tell him, my voice trembling. Frank smiles and reaches out to touch my face, he finds it and stroke's my cheek. "Don't worry too much about it, I'm alive, which is more that I expected to happen. I'm healing, and healing fast, and I've got you right here. Everything is fine right now, so just relax for a moment," he says. Frank sits up and rests his head on my shoulder, and for a moment, I'm relaxed. For just a moment, everything is fine.
A while later, Frank's hands are playing with mine. Frank loves to play with my hands, he loves to study them. He loves to study any part of my body to get to know it better, to know me better. I let him do whatever he wants in that sense. He's got no way of seeing me with his eyes, so I allow him to see me with his hands and fingers. His face is toward mine, his brow furrowed and concentrated. "Gerard, why do you always wear long sleeves?" He asks. I look at him and say, "Well, because I like it, and I don't like my arms," I say. It's not a lie, long sleeves are great, and I really don't like my arms, but it's also because I don't want anyone to see my scars. "Well I'm sure your arms are fine, you never let me touch them," he says. Okay, I let him touch my anywhere but my arms. I don't want him to know about my cutting. He'd hate that.
"I just... I hate them, that's all,"I say, hoping he'd leave the topic, but I'm not that fortunate. "Gerard, how am I supposed to know what your arms are like if you never let me touch them?" He asks. I suck in a breath to speak, but Frank's already tog his hands up my sleeve, softly touching my arms. I hold my breath longer as he strokes the first scar. I watch his pale grey eyes as they flicker around nervously. He reaches up more, finding more of my scars. "Gerard?" He says, his voice cracking. I feel so bad, so guilty for him finding out about this. "Gerard, what is this? Your arms don't feel right, why is that?" He asks. I see the sadness in his eyes and it breaks my heart.
"Frank, I'm sorry, that's why I didn't want you finding out," I say. Frank shakes his head and keeps touching my arms. "No Gerard, I don't understand! I've never felt this before, why? What's making your arms feel like this?" He asks. I look at him, confused. He really didn't know what self-harm scars felt like? "Frankie... it's from uh... I cut myself, a-a lot. That's what you're feeling. The scars. And I'm sorry Frankie, I know it's wrong, but I need it." I say. Frank yanks his hands away very fast. "You what?! You hurt yourself, on purpose?! Why the hell would you do that?" He asks. He's trying to yell, but he can't yell loud enough. He's so angry, I knew he would be.
"Frank, I get that I need to stop, and I well... when I get it to actually hurt bad enough," I say, mumbling that final part. But he hears it. He instantly breaks down into tears. "When it hurts bad enough? Gee, you'll end up killing yourself before that happens. Just stop now! Quit before it destroys you. You're all that I have now, I need you! Baby, you don't need to hurt yourself over anything anymore," he says. I feel the tears in my eyes and I grab his hand, though he pulls it back quickly. "Don't try to get romantic with me, I'm not happy with you," he grumbles. I've never heard him so mad before, especially not at me. I don't like when he's mad at me.
Frank bites his lip and sighs. "I"m sorry, I just can't believe you could do something like this to yourself. It's not something I understand. Why?" He asks. I don't know what to say to him honestly. I swallow hard and say, "Sometimes I just feel like I... deserve it, I guess." Frank burst into a small laugh, which surprises me. "Deserve it? You've done nothing wrong, not that I know of. And I don't know what you could have ever done that would deserve that. You don't deserve this, you been the greatest thing in my whole life. Stop punishing yourself, you're fine," he says.
I wipe my eyes, which are pouring with tears. No on has ever tried to convince me that I shouldn't hurt myself. Everyone always tells me that I should. I look at Frank and grab his hand again. This time he doesn't pull away. "You're right Frank, I'll try to stop. But it's not exactly a thing I can quit cold turkey, it's like an addiction," i say. Frank leans up and kisses the corner of my lips softly. "I'll be here every step of the way, I wont give up on you, I promise," he says. I cup the back of his neck, pulling him in and kissing him. I can't fucking help it.
The kiss doesn't last long. One reason is because his gear gets in the way. The second reason is that there's someone at the door. I pull back and look at the person. He's a middle-aged man in a grey suit. His face looks as if he's seen someone's guts get pulled out. Homophobic, perhaps. "I... apologize for interrupting. I just need to speak with Gerard Way?" he says. I sit up and get to my feet. "Yeah, of course," I say. The man smiles a fake, forced smile. "Very well, could you step into the hall just for a moment?" He says. I nod, walking to the door way. I give Frank a small smile and the man closes the door behind he and I.
"Gerard I'd like to talk to you about where Frank is going once he is released from he hospital," the man says. I raise an eyebrow and lean against the wall. "What does that have to do with me? I'm a minor, I don't get a say in it," I say. The man nods slightly, then continues. "Yes, well you're the only person we know of that he's close to, so in this case we're allowing you to be involved. We don't have any foster homes that will take Frank in, because of his condition. And most of the orphanages that are close enough wont take him because he's already almost of age where he can live legally on his own. So we decided that if you and your family are willing, he is allowed to stay with you until he finds a place to stay on his own," he explains.

It takes me a moment for it to set in. But when it does, I can hardly think. "So you're saying that Frank is able to live with me?" I ask. The man nods as if I'm an idiot. "That... is what I said. Though we'll have to talk to Frank about it too because if he doesn't want to stay with you, we can certainly find an orphanage farther away. The decision is ultimately up to him. So I'm going to go, you can talk to Frank about this and we'll figure it out from there," he said. And with that, he left. I go quickly back into the hospital room and see Frank sitting there, just waiting. "What did he want?" He asks. I smile wide and sit by Frank and kiss him again. "He wanted to tell me that you can stay with me and my family! I mean, only if you want to. If you don't, you just have to say so," I say. Frank gasps a little and sits up. "Wow, really? I can stay with you? I mean, of course I wanna stay with you! Gerard this is great! I'll actually live with nice people! I don't have to go back home!" He said. He's crying now and I pull him into a hug. "Gerard... I'm so happy," he says. He's happy, and finally, I am too.

Notes

This chapter was originally supposed to be Gerard's POV and Mikey's, but I decided you guys waited long enough, so I'm just going to split the POV's into two chapters this time so I'm at least giving you something. I'm very sorry for the wait, I didn't expect to be so busy.