I brought Gerard with me outside to find a place to smoke. I didn’t want to leave him alone just yet. I had a feeling that if I did, they would beat him worse. I found a place near the softball field that was out of the line of sight of the school. It was behind their dugout. We plopped down on the ground, him watching me with a strange look on his face. “Want one?” I hold one up for him.

With a smirk, he took it, “Thanks, princess.”

I rolled my eyes, “Will you please stop calling me princess?”

He shrugged, lighting the cigarette in his hand as I did. The pair of us sat in silence as we smoked. The reality of what I just did came to the forefront of my mind. I was done in this school. I defended Gerard Way and threatened Kurt and Jason. The group who I called friends would come for me. I could already hear the names they would throw at me. Emo, traitor, slut, and even more. The boy next to me seemed to notice my uneasiness, “Do you know why they decided to beat me up?”

“Because they’re assholes,” I reply, flicking away the butt of the cigarette.

“There’s that,” he chuckled, shaking his head. “But they did it because I defended you.”

I raise an eyebrow, whipping around to look at him, “What? You defended me? How?”

“Jason wanted to fuck you,” he explained, waving his hands around as he did. “So, he was talking about drugging you at the next party to do so. I was in the bathroom stall as they were talking about it. I came out and told them if they did that, then I would go to the police. They didn’t like that.”

I stared wide-eyed at him. I couldn’t believe he defended me. “I thought you hated me,” I whispered more to myself.

“Hate is a strong word,” he snickered. “Let’s just say that I didn’t trust you. That would be more accurate.”

I frowned, looking away towards the ground. I began to pull the grass, “I’m sorry I didn’t stand by you guys this morning. I can’t imagine how you guys felt.”

Gerard sighed, leaning on the brick wall, “Look, you know I am the bluntest out of the group. It didn’t feel good when we saw you standing by the same people you were horrified of the day before. But you helped me out when I needed it with your reputation at stake. I’d say, at least by me, you’re forgiven.”

I couldn’t hold back the smile that came to my lips. The most hard-headed boy I’ve ever met forgave me. It was a fucking miracle. I looked in the direction of the school, nerves building up in my stomach at the thought of returning. I knew that those two had already told everybody of our little encounter. I was just glad that we didn’t have cheer practice today. “How about we skip the rest of the day?” I suggested.

His eyebrows rose, “Are you sure you want to do that?”

Nodding, I lean back, “I can’t face those people today.”

He shrugs, “Alright then. I’ll text the guys and let them know where we are.”

The nerves that were pestering me started to fade slowly as he said that. I was glad that he wanted to skip as much as I do. I could tell that he was going to be a great friend. He was just someone I had to crack open first.

---

“Veronica?”

I was met with questioning glances as Frank, Mikey and Ray made their way to where Gerard and I were hiding. I glared at him slightly, realizing that he didn’t tell them that I was with him. “What are you doing here?” Frank tilted his head. “Not that I’m not happy you are, but I thought you chose them?”

I looked at all of them, Mikey’s stare hardening as our eyes met. His eyes moved away from me to the ground. Sighing, I explain to them what had happened earlier. I described how Kurt and Jason were beating up Gerard, how I ended up standing in his defense, and how we ran back here after that. The boy next to me confirmed my story, even adding in a few details I had failed to mention. Frank wrapped his arms around me, pulling me in for a tight hug, “I’ve got your back. I promised you that and I will not back out of that.”

My eyes trailed back to Mikey, whose gaze softened at hearing my story. There was even a trace of a smile on his lips. “Me too,” Ray said with a quick nod.

I let go of Frank, looking between the Way brothers. One who started off hating me and the other started off giving me a chance. It almost switched completely. “This is going to suck for you,” Mikey stared intently. “Are you sure you want to go through with this?”

I nodded. I was tired of being a coward. I wanted to live my own life without the pressures placed on me. I wanted to be me. I looked at these brave boys in front of me. They were always the ones who were unafraid to be themselves unapologetically. I want to be more like them in that way. It will be an uphill battle, but I was ready to shed my old self and leave her behind.

With my agreement, Mikey grinned, “Then I’ve got you too.”

“You already know I do,” Gerard smirked. “I owe you for today.”

“Speaking of that,” Ray turned to him. “Let’s get you cleaned up. You look like shit.”

He rolled his eyes in response, “Well, I just got beaten up so of course, I would look like shit. Get with the times, Ray.”

I giggled softly as we began to walk to the Way house. Sadly, this meant that we had to enter the school parking lot. There were students lingering, making me grow anxious as we walked through the lot. I noticed people looking over, murmuring to each other. I had never experienced this before and it made me feel small. The boys seemed to sense my insecurity.

I was caught off guard by Frank and Mikey each looping their arms around mine, linking us together. Frank winked at me as we walked. I turned to see Ray and Gerard walking behind us, nodding encouragingly. I turned my gaze over to Mikey. Kind, beautiful Mikey. He was the first one besides Frank to extend a hand to me, making me feel welcome. He caught me staring, sending a quick smirk in my direction.

I knew that I was going to face the harsh realities of high school in the morning, but as of right now, I was with friends who would stand by me.

Notes