Making It Up

Gerard’s POV

I quickly threw on some casual clothes for the gig. I wondered what my mystery date would be like… tall? Short? Handsome? Funny? I had no idea
He did have tattoos though. I found myself licking my lips at the thought, and quickly distracted myself with eyeliner.
I looked in the mirror one more time before I went out. My hair was red as ever, recently dyed of course. I had wanted to look different, less recognisable, just in case… no, I couldn’t think about that. Eyeliner framed my eyes nicely, and my jacket covered up the worst of my scars. I’d have to take it off inside, but I’d work on that when I got to it. Over all I looked, well – nice. That was a big deal for me. I rarely thought I looked even human.
I set off to the bar in high spirits, occasionally checking my phone for texts from Mikey. Poor Mikey. He went mental after the news broke that I was in hospital after trying to end my life. He tried to kill frank… it’s probably wrong that I’m glad he failed. If frank was dead I wouldn’t be so god damn afraid right now. Still, the image of him no longer alive made me want to scream.
Patrick greeted me kindly when I arrived, along with a slightly tipsy Pete.
“Gerard! Hey man, we didn’t think you’d turn up” slurred Pete. Patrick rolled his eyes and cut him off with a kiss. I smiled. Cute.
“ignore him, he’s had too much to drink. Can I take your jacket?” Patrick asked. My smile faltered. I wasn’t ready for this.
“er, I, um, the thing… I… please don’t make me” I whimpered. Patrick seemed concerned, of course he was. He cared about me. Why I couldn’t tell.
“Gee what’s wrong?” he asked. I shivered a little. Fuck it. I had to tell him. If he hated me that was too bad.
“My arms are covered in scars.” I whispered. He looked at me for a long moment. As soon as our eyes met, he pulled me into a hug.
“It’s okay sweetheart, oh please don’t hurt yourself. You don’t deserve it. You don’t need to be ashamed okay?” he soothed me. I nodded, took a deep breath, and took of my jacket.
Pete gasped a little. Patrick was more subtle, but his eyebrows went up. They were disgusted, I was sure.
At least I was sure till they were both around me, hugging me. Pete started kissing down my scarred arms, planting his lips on the long silver lines. He must have been really drunk.
“it’s okay. You’re beautiful. Believe me” Pete whispered. And in that moment – I believed him.
Later on
I was laughing more than I had in years. Pete was hilarious, making my sides hurt with excessive laughter. I was so happy to have friends, friends who liked me, friends who accepted me. This was special. They actually listened when I talked, their eyes full of interest. So I opened up a bit.
I talked about my brother. I talked about being bullied in high school, and about my therapist who wore too much lipstick, and about reading comic books with Mikey when we were kids. And they listened to it all. The only thing I didn’t mention was Frank’s name. I couldn’t risk that.
“hey, It’s about time Ray! Come and join the party” Patrick yelled to someone behind me. Oh, their friend. Well I could handle that. I was doing well. I turned around.
Behind the man with curly brown hair was a short, pale figure.
A figure with tattoos and black hair.
Him.
Frank.
How. HOW. How did this happen.
Our eyes met for a long moment, his hazel orbs meeting my terrified features. His gaze lingered on my arms, and his eyes widened in … horror? Pride? He moved towards me, and I leapt from my chair and ran as fast as I could.
He had hunted me down. I had lost, all was lost. I had to die before he could hurt me again
This was the sign I’d been waiting for.
Sorry Mikey.

Notes

hey guys! so I've been working on bonus chapters for you lot and ally's next chapter is gonna be something special, so don't say we don't spoil you. and we answered your questions about mikey! yes we do read all the comments so please leave them. I check them regularly and they're the encouragement I need to actually, you know, do stuff. - ren xx