The months passed sluggishly, until it was finally May. With the month came the stereotypical rain, as well as final exams for both Mikey and Frank, both of which dealt with the stress in his own way: Mikey locked himself in his room, the only evidence that he was still alive being the change of music leaking out from underneath his locked door; Frank turned to Gerard for help. They would lay in their pajamas all day, Gerard holding Frank and helping him study, rewarding him with less than gentle kisses when he got a question right.

When Gerard wasn't helping Frank study, he would call Ray— sometimes he would venture out of the house and to Ray's apartment, but those days were few and sacred— and help him work on the album.

Gerard and Fay both quickly came to the conclusion that they needed a third backup singer, mainly to scream. Gerard could scream, to a certain extent, but his voice would go up at the end, making Ray lose his shit and claim that Gerard sounded like a pterodactyl.

Then, they realized that they knew someone who could scream. Who was good at it. Who wouldn't be opposed to it. He would say yes, without a second thought.

Someone whose name was Frank Iero.

Frank accepted the offer as soon as it passed over Gerard's lips. He had been missing making music ever since Pencey Prep had broken up in November, and jumped at the chance to even be in the studio at all.

Then came the matter of scheduling their recording session. Alex agreed to whenever they needed to, they could schedule, and Ray predicted that it would only take seven to ten days. He scheduled a block from May 15th to May 25th, just to be safe.

The first day, only Gerard, Ray, and Matt went to the studio, seeing as Gerard and Ray wanted to supervise Matt perform his drums. Frank and Mikey had their last day of finals scheduled on the 15th and couldn't come.

One me thing that was slightly annoying about the basement studio was the lack of an air conditioner. It got hot down there quickly, leaving Gerard to have to pull off his sweatshirt, which he despised doing in front of Alex. Mikey had been right— Gerard did have body issues. A bit of baby fat still clung to his stomach and hips, but he couldn't get rid of it. At least he had managed to grow out his tummy again, for Frank.

---

"See you guys tomorrow," Alex said the first day. Ray hugged Alex quickly, as did Matt and Gerard. "Oh, Gerard, I need to talk to you," Alex said quickly, grabbing Gerard's arm.

"You guys go on home," Gerard said, figuring that Alex wanted to discuss the music. Considering he had driven himself, he had a way to get home to Frank.

"Alright," Ray said and left, Matt following after.

As soon as the door at the top of the stairs closed, Alex pushed Gerard against an empty wall, pressing his wrists into the wall. Gerard could only make a sound of surprise, not able to say anything. What's going on? He asked himself.

His answer came in the form of Alex kissing him roughly. Gerard shrieked and turned his head to the side, hoping Alsx would stop. "Listen here, Way," Alex said roughly. "This is how this is gonna work: I suck you off, I stay away from Frank. Simple."

Is this what happened to my Frankie? Gerard thought, fearing pulsating through his body as Alex started to unzip Gerard's jeans. Was he forced into it?

A scream threatened to rip though his throat when Alex took him in his mouth. This wasn't right— this wasn't his Frankie baby. He instantly felt disgusting, like he needed to take a shower and scrub his body raw. Despite the feeling on betrayal, Gerard moaned, instantly regretting it.

Alex's hand worked in the bit of length he couldn't fit in his mouth, turning Gerard into a guilty, moaning mess. Alwx swiped his tongue across his slit, leaking pre-cum, and Gerard yelled his boyfriend's name.

"Are you gonna cum?" Alex purred, pulling his mouth off of Gerard's hard member. His hand continued to pump; Gerard felt as if he was made of Jell-O.

Thise words always made him all apart, and he bit his lip as he came, drawing blood. Alex helped Gerard zip back up, wiping the bit of cum off of the corners of his mouth. "Pleasure doing business, Gerard," Alex said and breezed upstairs.

Was I just raped? Gerard wondered. In any case, he's wanted to cry— he had cheated on Frank, the exact same way Frank had cheated on him, even with the same person.

I'm fucked.

Notes

Y'all are allowed to hate me.

Be the color of lightening.

xoøli