The Opposite Of Attraction Is Pushing Away, and We're Definitely Not Doing That
Chapter 11
GERARD
“That’s what this is about? Your sketchbook?” Hayley whispered violently at me when she found me sitting on the floor of the library, reading the first comic I just happened to pick up.
I sighed and put the comic down on the floor beside me. “No, it’s not just about my sketchbook.”
“Then what is it about?” She said as she crouched down to be eye-level with me.
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Well too bad, we’re talking about it.” How could I explain to her that I feel I can’t tell anyone what’s going on inside my head? That she’s my best friend, but I keep secrets from her?
“Hayley, please.” I begged. I don’t know what I was begging for exactly, maybe I was hoping she’d understand without me having to say anything, but I put more emotion in those two words than any other thing I had said in the last few days.
“Fine.” She sighed and sat down next to me. She absent mindedly started playing with my hair, twisting the too-long strands around her fingers. “We should re-dye your hair.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah. It’s been black for too long. You need some color.”
“Well, while I’d love to have you mess up my hair today, but I have work, so I’ll have to take a rain check.”
“Mm, but you’re not feeling well. You can’t go into work if you’re sick.”
“Hayley Williams! Are you suggesting I skip work?” I mocked surprise. We both knew Rick would be fine with me skipping a day occasionally as long as I made up the time over the weekend.
“That is exactly what I’m saying.”
That was exactly what we did. I called in “sick” to work, throwing in a bad fake cough so that Rick knew I was just taking a personal day, and we waited in the car for my brother and his boyfriend.
Mikey came to the car and slid in the back seat mumbling something about Ray getting a ride with someone else. I gave Hayley a knowing glance and after the ten minute talk it took to get from the school to our house, we found out that Ray had dumped him. Mikey was heartbroken. He said he just wanted to be left alone to deal with it by himself for a while, so we dropped him off, and we headed over to Hayley’s place.
I don’t go over to her house very often anymore since her and her mom moved in with her step-dad and his son. That being said, I always forget how clean it is. Her mom is a designer, so of course, it always looks nice, but it always surprises me for a second.
We put our backpacks in Hayley’s room because I was too stupid to think of asking Mikey to take mine into the house and we head to the hall bathroom. Hayley ran the sink while I took off my shirt so I wouldn’t get dye all over it, and after a brief wash, she bleached out my hair.
It was weird to look in the mirror and see my normally black hair now an unnatural blond.
Hayley grabbed an ashtray and two cigarettes from the box her step-dad kept in his office, and we headed out on her back porch to talk and smoke while we waited for my hair to be ready to dye.
“You know, I was never told what color you were dying my hair.”
“It’s a surprise.”
“Oh, surprise is my favorite color.” I replied sarcastically.
“Shut up.” She giggled.
“Make me.” I winked and we laughed. We joked around a bit more and I finally was beginning to feel okay again. After a while, Hayley went back to the bathroom to get the dye ready and I stayed outside finishing my cigarette. I turned around thinking I had heard her shuffling around in the house, but instead I saw him. Of course, he was here.
Frank Iero, my personal stalker.
And in his hand was my sketchbook. I was pissed.
I snubbed out the cigarette and stormed into the house.
“Gerard!” He seemed surprised.
“You filthy liar! I knew you had it. Give it back before I kick your ass.” I seethed.
“Woah, what’s going on?” Hayley asked as she entered the living room. “Frank? Pete what’s-“
“We were going to give back Gerard’s sketchbook so we headed to his store but he wasn’t there so Frank and I walked home I didn’t think you would be bringing him home today or we would’ve gone somewhere else.” Pete rushed out.
“Okay,” I said slowly. “Just give me my sketchbook and give us some space and we’ll be good.”
Frank handed over the sketchbook and Hayley and I retreated into the bathroom. I flipped through the pages to find almost everything still looking just fine, except a few of the pages were ripped out.
I raged out of the bathroom and went to find Frank, Hayley worriedly following me.
“Iero! Where are they?” I demanded when I found the two of them still in the living room.
“Where are what?” He asked as if he were oh-so innocent.
“The drawings! Where are the drawings?”
“They should be in your book.” He tried to act nonchalant, but failed to hide his shaking hands.
“Well, they’re not. And guess who had them last.”
“I don’t have your fucking drawings!” He was getting angry now.
“I don’t either so I guess we have quite the dilemma here, don’t we?”
“They’re just drawings, Gerard. Calm down.” Hayley tried to soothe me.
“Just drawings? Just drawings!” I repeated. “They’re not ‘just drawings’ Hayley!”
“Gee, come on. Chill, and let’s get back to dying your hair. ‘Cause I’m not letting you walk out of here looking like that. Then you can storm off back to your house, okay?” Hayley replied.
I took a deep breath. “Fine.”
We walked back to the bathroom when a thought occurred to me. “Wait, why are they in your house?”
“Pete’s my step-brother, remember?” She seemed annoyed.
“Oh! I though his name was Parker or something.”
“Parker?” She laughed. “What kind of a name is /Parker/?”
“It’s a name for people who like to go to the park?” I playfully guessed.
After a while of dying and then letting the dye sit, she finally rinsed my hair out.
“Let me see! Let me see!” I bounced up and down like a toddler. She rolled her eyes before telling me she wasn’t done yet. I fake pouted and she began to work on cutting and drying my hair.
“There, now you’re done.” She concluded. I jumped out of the chair I had been sitting in and turned around to face the mirror.
Red. Really red.
It wasn’t bad, just different. Not something I would have chosen for myself.
“Do you like it?”
“Yeah, it’s really bright.” Really bright was an understatement. It looked like I was a human beacon. But I like to think it suited me.
“Good, I’m glad. Now you have a choice. Stay here or go home.”
“Umm,” I started as I put my shirt back on. “I should head back; make sure Mikey’s okay, y’know?”
“Yeah, that’s fine. Give him a hug for me.”
“I will if he’ll let me.” I replied as I headed down the hall to grab my stuff.
As I passed by one of the doors in the hallway, I heard a loud bang. I paused and backed up.
“Sorry, I didn’t know your bed moved.” I heard a faint voice say from behind the door, probably Frank’s.
I heard what was probably Pete mumble something in the form of a question. I was about to walk off when I heard Frank’s answer.
“I don’t know. He’s really attractive, I can’t deny that, but it’s Gerard. I can’t be crushing on Gerard.” I ran down the hallway as fast as I could, grabbed my stuff, and headed out the front door as fast as I could without so much as a “goodbye” to Hayley.
“That’s what this is about? Your sketchbook?” Hayley whispered violently at me when she found me sitting on the floor of the library, reading the first comic I just happened to pick up.
I sighed and put the comic down on the floor beside me. “No, it’s not just about my sketchbook.”
“Then what is it about?” She said as she crouched down to be eye-level with me.
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Well too bad, we’re talking about it.” How could I explain to her that I feel I can’t tell anyone what’s going on inside my head? That she’s my best friend, but I keep secrets from her?
“Hayley, please.” I begged. I don’t know what I was begging for exactly, maybe I was hoping she’d understand without me having to say anything, but I put more emotion in those two words than any other thing I had said in the last few days.
“Fine.” She sighed and sat down next to me. She absent mindedly started playing with my hair, twisting the too-long strands around her fingers. “We should re-dye your hair.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah. It’s been black for too long. You need some color.”
“Well, while I’d love to have you mess up my hair today, but I have work, so I’ll have to take a rain check.”
“Mm, but you’re not feeling well. You can’t go into work if you’re sick.”
“Hayley Williams! Are you suggesting I skip work?” I mocked surprise. We both knew Rick would be fine with me skipping a day occasionally as long as I made up the time over the weekend.
“That is exactly what I’m saying.”
That was exactly what we did. I called in “sick” to work, throwing in a bad fake cough so that Rick knew I was just taking a personal day, and we waited in the car for my brother and his boyfriend.
Mikey came to the car and slid in the back seat mumbling something about Ray getting a ride with someone else. I gave Hayley a knowing glance and after the ten minute talk it took to get from the school to our house, we found out that Ray had dumped him. Mikey was heartbroken. He said he just wanted to be left alone to deal with it by himself for a while, so we dropped him off, and we headed over to Hayley’s place.
I don’t go over to her house very often anymore since her and her mom moved in with her step-dad and his son. That being said, I always forget how clean it is. Her mom is a designer, so of course, it always looks nice, but it always surprises me for a second.
We put our backpacks in Hayley’s room because I was too stupid to think of asking Mikey to take mine into the house and we head to the hall bathroom. Hayley ran the sink while I took off my shirt so I wouldn’t get dye all over it, and after a brief wash, she bleached out my hair.
It was weird to look in the mirror and see my normally black hair now an unnatural blond.
Hayley grabbed an ashtray and two cigarettes from the box her step-dad kept in his office, and we headed out on her back porch to talk and smoke while we waited for my hair to be ready to dye.
“You know, I was never told what color you were dying my hair.”
“It’s a surprise.”
“Oh, surprise is my favorite color.” I replied sarcastically.
“Shut up.” She giggled.
“Make me.” I winked and we laughed. We joked around a bit more and I finally was beginning to feel okay again. After a while, Hayley went back to the bathroom to get the dye ready and I stayed outside finishing my cigarette. I turned around thinking I had heard her shuffling around in the house, but instead I saw him. Of course, he was here.
Frank Iero, my personal stalker.
And in his hand was my sketchbook. I was pissed.
I snubbed out the cigarette and stormed into the house.
“Gerard!” He seemed surprised.
“You filthy liar! I knew you had it. Give it back before I kick your ass.” I seethed.
“Woah, what’s going on?” Hayley asked as she entered the living room. “Frank? Pete what’s-“
“We were going to give back Gerard’s sketchbook so we headed to his store but he wasn’t there so Frank and I walked home I didn’t think you would be bringing him home today or we would’ve gone somewhere else.” Pete rushed out.
“Okay,” I said slowly. “Just give me my sketchbook and give us some space and we’ll be good.”
Frank handed over the sketchbook and Hayley and I retreated into the bathroom. I flipped through the pages to find almost everything still looking just fine, except a few of the pages were ripped out.
I raged out of the bathroom and went to find Frank, Hayley worriedly following me.
“Iero! Where are they?” I demanded when I found the two of them still in the living room.
“Where are what?” He asked as if he were oh-so innocent.
“The drawings! Where are the drawings?”
“They should be in your book.” He tried to act nonchalant, but failed to hide his shaking hands.
“Well, they’re not. And guess who had them last.”
“I don’t have your fucking drawings!” He was getting angry now.
“I don’t either so I guess we have quite the dilemma here, don’t we?”
“They’re just drawings, Gerard. Calm down.” Hayley tried to soothe me.
“Just drawings? Just drawings!” I repeated. “They’re not ‘just drawings’ Hayley!”
“Gee, come on. Chill, and let’s get back to dying your hair. ‘Cause I’m not letting you walk out of here looking like that. Then you can storm off back to your house, okay?” Hayley replied.
I took a deep breath. “Fine.”
We walked back to the bathroom when a thought occurred to me. “Wait, why are they in your house?”
“Pete’s my step-brother, remember?” She seemed annoyed.
“Oh! I though his name was Parker or something.”
“Parker?” She laughed. “What kind of a name is /Parker/?”
“It’s a name for people who like to go to the park?” I playfully guessed.
After a while of dying and then letting the dye sit, she finally rinsed my hair out.
“Let me see! Let me see!” I bounced up and down like a toddler. She rolled her eyes before telling me she wasn’t done yet. I fake pouted and she began to work on cutting and drying my hair.
“There, now you’re done.” She concluded. I jumped out of the chair I had been sitting in and turned around to face the mirror.
Red. Really red.
It wasn’t bad, just different. Not something I would have chosen for myself.
“Do you like it?”
“Yeah, it’s really bright.” Really bright was an understatement. It looked like I was a human beacon. But I like to think it suited me.
“Good, I’m glad. Now you have a choice. Stay here or go home.”
“Umm,” I started as I put my shirt back on. “I should head back; make sure Mikey’s okay, y’know?”
“Yeah, that’s fine. Give him a hug for me.”
“I will if he’ll let me.” I replied as I headed down the hall to grab my stuff.
As I passed by one of the doors in the hallway, I heard a loud bang. I paused and backed up.
“Sorry, I didn’t know your bed moved.” I heard a faint voice say from behind the door, probably Frank’s.
I heard what was probably Pete mumble something in the form of a question. I was about to walk off when I heard Frank’s answer.
“I don’t know. He’s really attractive, I can’t deny that, but it’s Gerard. I can’t be crushing on Gerard.” I ran down the hallway as fast as I could, grabbed my stuff, and headed out the front door as fast as I could without so much as a “goodbye” to Hayley.
Notes
I'm really sorry this took so long, but here's the next chapter! We have very little school this week, so I hope we'll be able to get the next chapter up soon.
But anyways, comment, subscribe, and all that jazz.
Stay Alive, Sunshine
-Bluebell
I miss this story :( Are you okay?
9/20/16