Return To Me, My Love

The train ride into Jersey seems to pass by in seconds, Bert and I talking to and joking with William and his friends and when we finally get off the train we head for a nearby diner, still having two hours before the show so we get some dinner, me mostly pushing my food around as my nerves come back and take away my appetite. I finally get tired of it so I sit my fork down, and pick up my cup, sipping at my soda and Bert's hand slides across to rest on my thigh under the table, his body leaning into my side a few seconds later as he softly says "It's alright Gee." I nod, taking a deep breath and twenty minutes later everyone else is ready to go, all of us throwing in money to cover the bill before we leave, heading down the street to the venue and as we join the line the two girls in front of us recognise me, turning to talk and I say hi, quietly asking that they not draw attention to me and they smile and agree, continuing to talk to me until the doors open and we head in, the small venue getting fuller and fuller until I'm confident that Frank probably won't see me.

The opening band comes on its obvious they're nervous, the singers voice sounding off but the crowd seems to enjoy them, some kids singing along to their songs. Three songs in William taps me on the shoulder and when I turn to look at him I see another guy standing beside him, his arm around Williams waist and William smiles as leans in and says "I want you to meet my boyfriend, Gabe." I smile as I hold my hand out, Gabe reaching out to shake it and we all turn to focus on the band again, the noise too loud to try and compete over it to have a conversation. By the time Frank comes on I have relaxed again, none of the kids in the crowd seeming to notice I'm here and it fills me with confidence that Frank won't either. As the rest of the band fiddle with their instruments, making sure they're properly tuned Frank starts to talk to the crowd, thanking them for coming and I don't really pay attention to his words, my eyes taking in every detail of him, the way his clothes hang differently now like he's lost weight and his hair has grown out, curling around his ears and it almost reaches his shoulders now. I try to focus more on his face and it's hard in this lighting but even from this distance it looks like his eyes have lost that sparkle that I love. I start to feel guilty and upset as they launch into their first song and Bert steps around in front of me, his arms wrapping around my waist and his hands sliding down to rest over the top of my ass, ignoring all the dancing, moving bodies around us as he stares into my eyes, leaning in close to say "Gee its alright, just breathe" and I realise I was gasping for breath. "He....I know he's hurting and....." "Hey, you were too Gee, you did what you had to do. Frank is a big boy, he's on stage performing so he can't be that bad. Just relax and enjoy yourself." I nod, leaning forward to rest my forehead against Bert's as I take a few deep breaths and when I pull back his eyes dart to the side before coming back to meet mine, his face pulling into a smile as he leans in and pecks the end of my nose. I feel myself smile as he pulls away completely and once he's beside me again I glance up in the direction he was looking in and I see Andy, his face looking a little upset as he stands with another guy watching the show. "Oh I see my friend from work, I'm gonna go say hi" I tell Bert, gesturing to Andy and Bert looks over before looking back at me and saying "The baby faced one with the tattoos that's been eye fucking you since we got here?" I laugh before saying "What?" "That guy over there has been leering at you for the last half hour, why do you think I grabbed your ass? He looked like he might get rapey given the chance." "Oh my god that's kinda my boss" I tell Bert, laughing and Bert laughs too before I tell him I'll be back, pushing my way through the crowd until I reach Andy, reaching out to touch his arm as I come to stand beside him. "Hey" I greet him, offering him a smile and Andy flashes me a small, obviously fake smile as he says "Hey, enjoying the show?" "Yeah they sound good tonight, are you having a good time?" Andy glances over at me again, his eyes quickly dropping down to take all of me in before he says "You look good." "Thanks" I offer back, the conversation dying and just as I open my mouth to ask if he wants to go to the bar for a drink Andy leans in and says "Your boyfriend seems a little obsessive." "What?" I ask, my eyes snapping up to look at Frank but he's not looking in our direction before I realise what he's talking about and I glance over to see Bert staring at us. "Oh, he's not my boyfriend. He's just a friend, he knows how nervous I am being here." "Oh" Andy says, his eyes locking with mine and his expression suddenly changes, his face not so closed off and he leans in and says "You wanna get a drink?" "Sure" I tell him, letting him take my hand and lead the way to the bar.

Fifteen minutes later Andy and I have had a drink and I head back over to Bert and William, apologising for being so long and Bert leans in and says "I'm sure lover boy didn't mind you being over there for so long." I smirk to myself as I say "Are you jealous?" Bert's arm snakes around my waist as he steps around to stand in front of me again, his free hand coming up to cup my cheek as he stares into my eyes and says "Should I be?" "I don't know" I tell him, my smirk remaining in place and Bert's eyes flicker with something I can't quite put my finger on, his whole facial expression going a little darker and as he leans in closer Frank and the band launch into their next song, the guitar slow in the intro and a few seconds into it I realise what song they're playing, my eyes widening as Frank starts to sing the first line of Vermilion, Pt. 2 and when I realise he's changed the song a little for their cover, all the female references being male references and I know it's my fault he's singing such a slow, sad song. I pull away from Bert, my feet dragging me towards the stage and as I start to push my way closer through the crowd I realise what I'm doing and I stop, five people back from the front and Frank has his eyes closed, singing his heart out and as the song reaches the end his voice cracks, Frank stopping singing and turning his back to the crowd and the two guys singing backup take over, finishing the song as Frank stands back near the drum kit, his back still to the crowd and as I go to step forward, planning on going right to the front of the crowd an arm wraps around me from behind and Bert drags me back a little as he says "Are you sure that's what you want to do?"

Notes

I don't know if this will matter or not but Andy is Andy Biersack....not sure if you guys will care for the detail but I like to be able to picture what they look like so maybe I should have mentioned it before when he first came into the story