Hello Angel

Madeleine was absolutely not ready for the impending shock of the concert. She was screaming every word and the entire vibe of the show was so electric that it send shivers down her spine. They were her favorite band for a reason - and not because she suddenly found out she was related to two-fifths of it. The crowd moved around her as the music swelled and wound down, rocking unsteadily as the song came to a close.

She couldn't help but notice Gerard catching her eye and almost singing half the songs directly at her. Madeleine couldn't bring herself to meet his glance - this didn't feel real to her yet. He went from being this ethereal being on stage to an actual person that she would be meeting in a little under an hour. And Mikey too. The skinnier brother was rocking out on the bass, not even noticing that his older brother was fixated on Madeleine. She kept looking at everyone but Gerard, unable to process the wave of emotion overcoming her at that moment.

"This one goes out to our family. Not just this fuckin' amazing crowd right here, but our actual families." Madeleine's breath hitched and she felt her ears turning red. "It's great to tour and play for you guys, but never fuckin' forget what you have waiting for you back home." She looked up and Gerard was staring directly at her, smirking as he held the microphone to his lips and the band started to play Early Sunsets Over Monroeville.

Something snapped in Madeleine's head and she stared at Gerard. He hadn't broken eye contact with her, so she screamed the lyrics into his face. As the song ended he knelt, held out his hand and she reached for it, firmly interlocking Gerard's - her brother's - fingers with hers.
The crowd screeched and Gerard kept his eyes locked on hers for a little while longer before he stood up and announced the end of their set. They exited the stage and Maddie tried to get the attention of the security guard, but the one she had seen earlier was replaced by a different man.

"Sir? My mom said you'd pull me backstage?" she said, waving the guy over.

"I'm sure she did, sunshine. Everyone would like to go backstage."

"No, you don't understand. The singer's mom is my mom. She said she'd talk to you guys about letting me in."

"You got a VIP pass?"

"No, but..."

"Then no go, sunshine."

Madeleine was getting irritated. His pet names were royally pissing her off. "Go back and ask them. They'll tell you."

"Listen, just because you thought you had a moment with him on stage -"

Just as Madeleine was getting ready to jump the barricade herself, the initial security guard returned and opened the barrier for her.

"I'm sorry, was he giving you trouble? I thought I'd be back here before the show ended. Here, Mark, escort this lovely lady to the back where My Chemical Romance is hanging out."

With a shit-eating grin, Maddie flashed her pearly whites at Mark, who was beet red. "I'm sorry, nobody said anything about letting anyone through..." She ignored his apologies and spotted Donna who was waving her down. "Thanks, but I'm gonna go ahead on my own."

She jogged over to Donna, trying to mentally prepare herself for the next event. She was going to be calm and cool and collected and... Hell, she was ecstatic.

"Sweetie, come on over and meet the boys!" Donna called out. "Gerard, Mikey, get over here!" Madeleine was greeted by Donna's wide smile and across from her stood a beaming Gerard and Mikey.

"I'm sorry, I'm disgustingly sweaty right now. I wanna give you a hug but -"

Madeleine didn't let Gerard finish his sentence before she lunged and wrapped her arms around him. Mikey started laughing and came in from behind her, encircling his long lost little sister. "Good thing I took that vest off," Gerard laughed. "Girl's got a grip!"

"I'm sorry," Madeleine sniffed, wiping her tears (and consequently smearing her eye make up) on Gerard's black tee shirt. "I've just loved you guys for so long that this is all just so surreal to me." Gerard kept hugging her as Mikey moved back to give them both some room to breathe. Madeleine let go of Gerard and he motioned for them to go sit down.

"Let's talk." Gerard lit a cigarette and grabbed the cup of coffee he had abandoned before the show started.

"Tell us everything about yourself - we didn't get to learn about you from the internet." Mikey laughed as Madeleine shrugged sheepishly.

"I don't know what to say. I'm just... I'm just Madeleine. There's nothing really remarkable except for the fact that I woke up one morning and found out my entire life was... A lie?" Gerard laughed.

"Hey, if getting your life turned around entirely isn't a hell of a sign that you're on the right track..." She smiled at him.

"It's just fascinating like... For the past three years I've practically worshipped you guys and just now knowing that my biggest heroes and inspirations are related to me? It's mind blowing." Gerard couldn't stop grinning at her and she furrowed her brow. "What are you so smiley about?"

"I just remember when Mom was in the hospital and we got to see you for a little while before your adoptive parents took you away. And it's been so long. Mikey was too young to really understand and he wanted to have play dates but Mom told him you were living too far. You were probably too young to remember but for like the first two years they'd bring you to our place for holidays. Before you could really understand was going on."

"Really?" Madeleine was puzzled. She thought there would have been pictures or something. As if he read her mind, Mikey chimed in.

"We have loads of pictures of you as a baby, Gerard always tried to carry you around our house. The regular updates stopped coming in once you got to college but I guess Gerard recognized you instantly today."

Madeleine flushed. "I guess." She looked down at her feet before turning her gaze back to Gerard. "So you guys got to watch me grow up from afar, and I had to wait eighteen years to even hear about you? That's so not fair."

She was feeling really comfortable with the two of them. It was miraculous how easily they had fallen into conversation and jokes. Almost as if there was never a separation between them.

And out of the corner of her eye, she saw him. Frank was looking around for something to drink, drenched in sweat, and grumbling to himself. "You wanna meet the rest of the band?" Gerard asked, tossing his empty coffee cup into a trash can and standing up.

Do I ever.

Notes

tehe I got bored on the subway and wrote you guys a new chapter.