We went through an archway to reveal a semi-private long table completely full except for two seats opposite each other. Sitting round the table was everyone. Fucking everyone.
"Jesus christ Gerard."I said and waved at everyone. There was Linda, Claire, Lily, Mikey, Ray, Bob, Pete, Brendon, Ryan, Mr Stump, Miss Bellato, Di and a guy I didnt know.
"Sorry we're late everyone. Frank's took too long packing. Gerard rolled his eyes and pulled out a seat for me.
"Mmm hmm. Sure. Packing. Your hair says different."Mikey raised an eyebrow at us.

"Who cares. You're here now so lets eat. I'm fucking starving."Pete stood up.
"No wait we need drinks."Mikey pulled him down as Gerard clicked his fingers in the air. One second later a petite little brunnette waitress appeared with a notepad and a pen. It took a good ten minutes for everyone to decide on their drinks but we were finally all making our way to the food area.

"Gerard I cant believe you did this."I smiled as we dished up our food.
"Well you said you wanted a goodbye dinner so I got everyone that I could."Gerard smiled.
"Well its amazing. The perfect goodbye. Thank you."I smiled up at him.
"Anything for you."He smiled and moved to the seafood section. I fucking hate seafood. Or more, anything that used to be alive.

"Hey sweetie pie."Miss Bellato bumped hips with me.
"Hey Miss Bellato."I smiled.
"Frank. My name is Lindsay. Stop calling me Miss Bellato it makes me feel old."She chuckled.
"Sorry Lindsay. Liiiiindsaaaaay."Fuck. The giggles were back.
"What are you laughing at?"She raised an eyebrow at me.
"Sorry."I gasped and set my plate down,"I've got the fucking giggles again."
"Right... Well I'll leave you to it."She smiled and walked back to the table.

There wasnt much of a selection for me so of course I was the last to sit back down with a few measly chips and some salad.
"You havent got much Frank."Linda noted as I sat down two seats away from her.
"There wasnt much up there for me."I said glumly.
"Seriously? There is loads up there."Mr Stump said through a mouthful.
"Not for vegetarians."I muttered and stuffed a leaf of lettuce in my mouth.

"I didnt know you were a vegetarian."Ray, Di and Linda said in unison.
"At least you wont fill up on dinner. You can fill up on dessert."Gerard grinned. I smiled at him, already knowing what he meant by dessert.
"They have a really nice looking cheesecake."Brendon nudged me.
"Oooh I love cheesecake."I grinned. The thought of cheesecake made me eat my disgusting chips faster.

Everyone was laughing and chatting happily. Gerard was talking to Mikey. Ray, Bob and Pete were in a deep discussion about something. Ryan was talking with Di and Lily was talking with Linda. Claire was talking to the guy I didnt know and Brendon, shit, was talking to me.
"... okay?"He looked at me seriously.
"Uh... I'm sorry I wasnt listening."I smiled sheepishly.

Brendon sighed and shook his head,"I said, you have to make sure you hunt down The Smashing Pumpkins. They live in LA. You need to get their autograph for me. Okay?"
"Right right sure. Fuck yeah. Shit man, what if like, I get a job in a cafe or whatever and I get to serve them. Man that would be awesome."I sighed happily, chewing on a chip.
"Man I'm jealous. I'd give anything to be over there."Brendon sighed as well.

-time lapse-

Everyone had finished eating. I was stuffed and felt extremely sick. We were all talking about good times together and I was feeling okay, but I couldnt shake the sadness creeping up on me as the evening went by. It was close to midnight and Claire was currently asleep in Linda's arms.

"Attention everyone!"Gerard stood up and tapped his glass of coke,"I'd like to give a toast."Everyone stopped talking and looked at him. He immediately started blushing and looked away for a moment. He cleared his throat and looked up,"Almost everyone here knows Mikey and I havent had the easiest life exactly. Those of you I sort of knew from the house or the music lessons from Miss-"
"Lindsay."I found myself saying.
"What?"Mikey looked at me along with everyone else except for Lindsay who was grinning at Mr Stump.
"I uh she doesnt like Miss Bellato... Her names Lindsay."

"Right... Okay. Thanks Frankie... Um."Gerard's face flooded with confusion before clearing,"So anyway as I was saying... Those of you who I know from the orphanage or the music lessons from Lindsay, I love you. You've helped me and Mikey so much. I cannot thank you enough. Now, only one person here doesnt know Frank. And I'll introduce you all to him in a moment. I know that Claire has been keeping him entertained."Gerard smiled and made Claire giggle next to the guy.

"You guys all remember what I was like before I met Frank right?"Gerard looked around at everyone nodding,"So you all know how much of a blessing it was for Frank to sit next to me and try to talk to me. Linda had a bit of a helping hand but- man was I weirded out. Its not very often that someone as gorgeous as Frank sits next to me and tries to talk."Gerard was staring at me very intensely. It made me feel warm in all sorts of weird places.

"Mikey. You are the best brother. I know for a fact that I wouldnt be standing here right now if it werent for you. You have stood by me through everything. Put up with my complaints my- everything. Jesus, you put up with so much. Pete you have done the right thing in staying with him. You guys- fuck."Gerard had tears in his eyes,"I know, that three years may seem like a long time. But I promise you its going to fly by. And then Bob you'll be back from Chicago as well and we can go see Rob and we'll become one of the best bands this world has ever seen. Di, thank you for all the coffee. Its amazing fuck you're amazing."Gerard wiped tears away from his eyes and looked down,"Mr Stump. I- you- man. Why is this so hard?"Gerard turned away and took a few deep breaths.

I quickly got up and went round to comfort him.
"I'm sorry Frankie. I'm sorry guys."Gerard's voice was shaky and sad.
"Gerard its okay come here."I grabbed him and hugged him tightly,"Its gonna be okay. Like you said, we're gonna be back in 3 years. Its gonna fly by."I whispered. Gerard nodded and let me go. I sat back down and waited.

"Okay. Sorry about that eh em. So. Josh? Do you wanna stand up and say hi?"Gerard looked to the guy I didnt know.
"Hey everybody. I'm Josh. I was Gerard's therapist before I was replaced."The smile he gave to everyone warm and friendly. He sat back down and everyone looked back to Gerard.
"So Josh, he uh he was the first one I ever opened up to. He has helped me with so much. The only thing that pisses me off about him was that he left me with Jade. Fucking bitch."

A giggle burst out of me and made Gerard start giggling.
"Sorry. Continue."I smiled at him.
"Right. So. If you ever see Josh in the street, then I want you to say hi. Be nice. He saved my life. Everyone here saved my life in their own little way. Thank you. You all mean the world to me. And I'm gonna m-miss you all s-so m-much. F-fuck here I go again."Gerard rolled his eyes at himself as tears trailed down his face. I stared round at everyone and sighed. I didnt want to go. I would miss everyone too much. My eyes found Claire. She wasnt going to change her mind. She loved Linda. And she loved Lily. They weren't going to stay for me. I had to go. Fucking great. Now I was crying. I got up and went to Gerard again.

We just started sobbing on each others shoulder, clinging to each other desperately. I dont know how long we actually stood there for but at some point Mikey joined us. I let go and looked at everyone. Some of them were watching us but most were just looking at their drinks sadly.
"Hey everyone? Thank you all for coming tonight. It means the world to us. All of us."I smiled sadly at them all, tears sliding down my cheeks,"I used to hate... everything. The whole adoption system, the people at the orphanage but... Turning 16 was possibly the best thing to happen to me because it allowed me to meet all of you and it made it possible for me to get the greatest boyfriend. Ever. And I know we've had our ups and downs,"My eyes darted to Ryan's blushing face for a second,"But we got through them. With the help of you guys. So thank you. For everything. I love you all so much and I've barely known you three months."

"Guys I think we need to leave."Pete said loudly. We all looked round and saw people cleaning the tables and stacking chairs in the main dining area.
"Whats the time?"I sniffed.
"Its quarter to 1."Someone gasped.
"Oh shoot. We should get Claire home."Linda yawned as Claire snuggled further into Linda's jacket.

Within ten minutes everyone had said their goodbyes and Gerard and I were driving back to the house. Mikey and the others were going to see us off tomorrow morning.
"Thank you Gerard."I sank into my seat and closed my eyes.
"You dont have to thank me Frank. Tonight was awesome."Gerard sighed happily.

I could feel sleep taking over me already,"Mmm hmm. Wake me up when we get there."
"Sure thing. Love you."Gerard said quietly. I wanted to reply but I couldnt function properly I was so tired. And then I was gone.

-time lapse-

"Frank? Sweetie? We need to get up."Gerard sighed in my ear. I opened my eyes and immediately shut them again with a groan,"Come on Frankie."Gerard giggled. His hands snaked around my waist and pulled me closer to him. He kissed the back of my neck softly before patting my thigh.
"No Gerard come back. My back is cold now. Keep the other side of me waarrrrm."I croaked into my pillow.
He appeared in front of me and kissed me,"Frank. We need to have breakfast with everyone and then meet up with the girls and the guys."

My eyes flew wide open and I sat up,"Fuck. We're leaving today. We're really leaving. Oh my god."I put my hand to my forehead and looked around.
"Come on. We've got about 5 minutes to get ready."Gerard was already tugging on a pair of skinny jeans. I groaned loudly again to tell Gerard and the world how unfair it was not being able to sleep a little bit longer.

"I hate everything."I grumbled as I staggered around, pulling my clothes on.
"I know you do."Gerard chuckled and grabbed my hand once I was dressed. We went downstairs and both gasped in unison. There were goodbye banners everywhere and balloons and everyone was standing around the table grinning.

"You guys. This is amazing."Gerard was the first to go in. I followed close behind, immediately making a beeline for Sarah. She hugged me tightly and sat down. I sat down next to her with Brendon on my other side. Gerard was directly across from me again.
"Hey Steve?"Gerard said quietly,"I'm sorry for all the trouble I caused you."
"Nonsense. You were going through a whole heap of stuff."Steven shook his head at him as Taylor appeared with a stack of bowls and a huge steaming pot.

"Hey everyone! I have something to say!"Gerard stood up suddenly. Seems he was obssessed with making toasts. We all looked at him and waited,"Right. I love you."He pointed to Steven,"I love you and you and you."Taylor, Sarah and Brendon,"And I hate you. You and you."He pointed to Jack, his girlfriend and one of his other mates.
"Gerard stop it."I said quietly. That was really quite rude. Jack had ended up apologising.
"Fuck off. These guys were just as horrible to me as Cole was."Gerard glared at them then plonked back down.

The room was silent for a moment before Sarah burst out laughing. Brendon started giggling next to me. Before long everyone was laughing.
"You guys are dicks... I'm gonna miss you both so much."Brendon sighed. I smiled at him and dished up some porridge.

A half hour later I was hugging Brendon and Sarah goodbye then Steven and then Taylor with tears in my eyes.
"You guys better come back and visit us okay?"Sarah said sadly. I nodded and hugged her again.
"Frankie, dont forget. Smashing Pumpkins. Hell, fucking everyone."Brendon hugged me again as well.

"Best of luck guys. See you in three years."They all waved as we got in the car. Gerard pulled away from the curb and then the house was out of sight. I sighed and leaned against the cold window, staring out at the blurring lines on the road depressingly.
"Hey. Its gonna be fine. Okay?"Gerard's hand was on my thigh, warm and familiar.
"I know."I sighed heavily again.

In seemingly no time at all we were pulling up outside The Magic Bean where Linda's car was parked. No one was in sight this early in the morning. Gerard and I got out and walked inside.
"Hey guys."Mikey said sadly. A second later he was hugging Gerard, making him choke.
"Mikey- I cant breathe."He croaked.
"Sorry."Mikey sniffed. His eyes were red and puffy beneath his glasses.

We walked to the others who were gathered around two tables put together drinking coffee.
"Here Frank. Gerard."Di handed us a coffee each.
"Thanks."I mumbled. We pulled up a chair in silence.

"When do you guys have to leave?"Pete asked quietly.
"Few minutes..."Linda replied, equally as quiet. I looked up from my drink as Mikey let out a sob. Silently we all stood up and walked outside, clutching our coffees for warmth and comfort.

"You'll call every night?"Mikey asked Gerard.
"Of course. I'll keep you updated with everything. And Frank has a phone now as well so we can all stay in touch."Gerard sniffed. My face was soaked as I hugged Ray and Bob.
"Drive safe guys okay?"Pete said as he hugged me.

Gerard was still hugged Mikey last and was still hugging him after I had hugged everyone.
"Guys we really have to go."Linda said quietly. Gerard let go of Mikey and got in the car. I got in the car as well and somehow managed to find the strength to wave at them all from the window. Then we were driving away. Then they were gone. Just like that. Thats when I broke down into tears.

Linda was in the car in front of us but when she turned left, Gerard kept going straight.
"Gerard?"I sniffed.
"There is one last thing I need to do before we leave. Will you text Lily and tell her we're just taking a quick detour?"Gerard's voice was dead. I nodded and pulled my phone out. There was one message from Mikey.

yo. we're all at the bean and are just waiting on you.

I ignored it and text Lily what Gerard had said. By the time she text back saying to take the west motorway Gerard was stopping the car.
"Oh."I uttered as Gerard got out straight away. I quickly followed him and went to grab his hand,"You ready for this?"
"Yes."He said quietly. We walked down the street and through the alleyway into the forest.

Gerard led the way and slowed a few feet away from a stream. I stared at a tree I had only ever seen in drawings and held my breath. We reached the tree and stopped.
"Mum? If you're listening and you're here. I love you. I got the bastard. You can rest in peace its okay. We're all okay now. I miss you Mum... I'm sorry it took so long..."Gerard sobbed. I wiped the stray tears from my face and waited patiently.Gerard was leaning against the tree trunk, staring at the ground. A few minutes later he looked up and said,"I'm ready. We can go now."He took my hand and entwined our fingers together. We walked back to the car in silence. As we drove away slowly, Gerard looked out at his childhood home and blinked away a tear.

"I'm okay."Gerard whispered and held my hand. I nodded. We were okay. Everything was okay.