They spent the rest of the day curled up in Lilly’s apartment. Her roommate was on annual leave from work and was back in her home town for a couple of weeks leaving the apartment under Lilly’s care. This worked out great for Lilly, as her and Gerard spent the day watching TV, drinking tea and occasionally making out on the couch.

‘You’ve never heard of Father Ted?’ Lilly asked, feigning surprise and disgust as they took a break from a furious make out session.

‘Nope, I haven’t. Is it any good?’ Gerard replied casually, choosing to deliberately ignore her tone.

‘It’s only like, one of the best TV shows made ever. It’s freaking awesome. You know what, I’m gonna put it on now just so you see just how awesome it is.’ She spoke as she got up, walking over to the bookshelf that contained all her DVDs. She scanned the collection for a few seconds before she found it, gleefully exclaiming ‘There you are’ before she stretched up to grab it.

Clutching it tightly, she rushed over to the DVD player, turning it on and inserting the disc. She missed the amused smirk on Gerard’s face as she busied herself setting the DVD up.

‘Ok’ she said, grabbing the remote and returning to the couch. ‘Prepare to have your mind blown.’

‘Okay, but you’re the one that’s going to have to clean it up afterwards.’

‘Ha ha’ she muttered sarcastically, pressing play.

Two hours later, Gerard had a puzzled look on his face.

‘Well, what did you think?’ Lilly asked, tears in her eyes after she showed Gerard her favourite episode.

‘It was…meh.’

Lilly narrowed her eyes dangerously.

‘Meh? I show you one of the best TV shows ever and all you say is ‘meh? What is wrong with you?’ She exclaimed indignantly, shocked by his lack of appreciation for the much love TV show.

‘I mean, some of it is funny, the whole kicking the bishop up the arse thing is funny, but other than that it’s just alright.’

Lilly shook her head, as she turned on the dramatics.

‘I can’t be with someone who doesn’t appreciate Father Ted. I mean, it’s like saying you don’t like Star Wars, or The Lord of the Rings. Please tell me you like them?’

He looked at her as though she was crazy.

Which you totally are Inner Voice replied snidely, not happy at all with Gerard’s presence.

‘Of course I do. They’re classics; anyone who doesn’t like them has serious mental issues. This-‘he gestured towards the TV ‘-I just don’t get. The humour is very different from American humour.’

Lilly sighed.

‘That’ll teach me for going for an American’ she muttered, before Gerard playfully nudged her, making her lose her balance and fall over on the couch. Gerard quickly took advantage of the situation and crawled on top of her, covering her body with his.

‘Hey, there’s one thing Americans are really good at.’ He smiled as he pinned her arms above her head.

‘What’s that?’

‘Making out.’ He replied before pushing his lips to hers.

************************************************************

The comfortable silence was broken by the sound of Lilly’s stomach growling.

‘I need food.’ She stated, trying not to blush with embarrassment.

‘Me too. I vote for pizza’ Gerard replied, as he nuzzled into her neck before planting a soft kiss.

‘Okay’ Lilly replied, without moving.

‘Go get me pizza woman!’ Gerard mockingly ordered after a minute, giving her a slight shove.

‘Hey, that’s no way to speak to a lady’ Lilly shot back, feigning offence.

‘Since when are you a lady?’ Gerard asked with a raised eyebrow.

Lilly picked up the cushion closest to her before swinging it at him, hitting him square in the face. He giggled a shockingly high pitched laugh, which Lilly couldn’t help but laugh. She stood up and got her laptop which was on the coffee table just in front of them.

‘What toppings do you like?’ She asked as she loaded her browser

‘Anything really, I’m not fussy. Do you mind if I use your bathroom?’ He asked, and Lilly pointed out the direction before turning on her laptop.

She made a quick job of ordering food online, preferring to not have to talk to anyone over the phone. She quickly checked her emails, having neglected it the past few days.

When Gerard came back Lilly, Lilly was finishing up on the laptop.

‘I miss my laptop’ he sighed, as he sat down in the couch. ‘I haven’t gotten a new plug for it yet.’

‘You can use mine if you want?’ Lilly offered, handing it to him.

‘’Cool, thanks’ he said, as he gracefully took it from her.

‘I’m going to make more tea’ Lilly said as she stood up, grabbing their cups and walking into the small kitchen space.

She couldn’t help the little smile than appeared on her face as she boiled the kettle, as she enjoyed the feeling of clicking with someone in a way she hadn’t done in a long time. A very good looking someone too who was amazing in almost every way, which was an extra bonus. She took her time making the hot beverage, wanting to give Gerard space while checking… whatever he was checking. She knew she hated when people hovered over her while she was on her laptop.

She came in a few minutes later, placing the cups on the table before she looked at Gerard, who had a hard expression on his face now instead of the smile he had moments ago. He stared at the screen on the laptop as though it had wounded him, and Lilly felt a sudden pang in her chest as she fought the urge to pull him into a hug. Instead she went with a more cautious tactic.

‘Are you okay?’ She asked softly.

He looked up sharply, in obvious surprise to her presence.

‘Yeah, I’m fine’ he said dismissively. ‘Do you mind if I go outside for a smoke?’ He asked, standing up and acting very distantly.

‘No, go on ahead. Just go out the balcony’ she all but whispered, trying not to get upset. Something else had bothered him, it wasn’t personal she told herself as he walked out the patio door that lead to the small balcony.

She picked up the laptop with the intention of putting it away when she saw that Gerard had forgotten to close the browser he had used. Her eyes scanned the page quickly, knowing she shouldn’t but not being able to stop herself.She saw an email, marked from a ‘Mikey Way’, who she assumed was the brother he mentioned earlier.

Gerard,

I know you’re angry and you have every right to be, but I don’t know what more I can do or say to make it up to you other than to say I’m sorry. I never meant for it to happen, you know that. You have to believe me. Mom is going crazy with worry, just call her and let her know you’re alright. This situation has nothing to do with her and she doesn’t deserve to suffer for my mistake. Running away without telling anybody where you are is stupid Gerard, everyone is worried about you. Please Gerard, you’re my only brother , don’t let one mistake ruin our relationship.

I love you,

Mikey.

Lilly was stunned as finished the email, wondering what had happened to make Gerard run away from his family. She heard Gerard shuffle about outside as she quickly closed the browser and shut the laptop as she put it back where it belonged. Gerard walked back into the room just as the buzzer went.

‘I’ll just go get that’ she said, quickly making her way to the intercom by the door as she was thankful for the excuse to gain her composure and get rid of her guilt as she buzzed the delivery man up. She fetched her wallet out of her pocket, about to pull money out when Gerard suddenly stepped in front of her and grabbed it out of her hands.

‘It’s on me’ he said, as he quickly threw her wallet on the coffee table in the middle of room with accurate precision. He seemed to have composed himself, and he was almost back to his pre email-from-Mikey state, although Lilly could see his smile didn’t quite reach his eyes.

There was a knock on the door before Lilly could object, and Gerard quickly answered the door, paying the delivery man and taking the pizza. As they sat down on the couch in seemingly comfortable silence, Lilly couldn’t stop her mind from returning to one topic.

What was Gerard running from?

Notes

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