Give Me a Reason to Believe

"Awh, Gerard, pleeease, I don't want to go in there!" I begged.

"Come on. It won't be that bad, I promise I'll protect you. Don't worry, cuore dolce," he said softly, grinning.

GAH! ITALIAN! He speaks it perfectly... I melted.

I smiled gratefully and clung to his arm.

These haunted house cars held 2 people, so Gerard and I sat in one, Frankie and Bob sat in the one behind us, and Mikey and Ray sat behind them. We were the only ones on the ride besides a couple behind Mikes and Ray.

"Please remain seated, keep the designated seat belts on at all times unless in cases of emergency. If at any time you would like the ride to stop, simply press the "bail out" button located under your seat," said the carnie quickly, then added sinisterly, "We are experiencing some technical difficulties with this ride currently, so if this ride should stop, please remain calm and walk the remainder of the way. You will not be harmed... badly," He grinned evilly.

Oh shit. Something about that grin told me that it was definitely NOT a technical difficulty, and this ride WAS going to stop. Suddenly I was very grateful for Gerard and the boys.

The ride jolted forward and I gripped his hand. He stroked my hair and shh'd me. I felt a little better.

We were in a pitch black, very narrow, very hot little hallway. We were gliding along slowly, and the walls, the floors, the whole damn place was creaking. There were ghoulish sounds coming from behind the walls, but so far it was pretty unimpressive.

All of a sudden, the wall beside me made a huge screaming sound, mixed with some kind of electrical fuzz and a bright yellow light. I screamed at the top of my lungs and looked at it. It was a man in an electric chair, getting the life shocked out of him. I buried my head in Gerard' shoulder and nearly cried.

"Gerard, I want off. Please let me off, Gerard!! PLEASE LET ME OFF!" I begged.

"Shhh, it's alright, dolce, I'm here. I won't let anything get you," he said softly, with just a hint of amusement in his voice.

I gripped him tighter and pressed myself against him, hiding my head. He just stroked my back and comforted me.

Various frightening scenes and displays jumped out at us, and the cart began moving faster and faster. I was so fuckin scared...

Gerard had his arms around me the whole time, telling me it was alright, he was there, and none of it was real.

Then, all of a sudden... all of the lights shut off and the cart stopped abruptly.

I head a thud behind me and someone groaning.

Bob had banged his head on the metal bar on my seat.

We all began laughing at him, though it was a really nervous laugh, because we were all edgy and alert for something else to jump out at us. A red light went off overhead reading "Temporary Technical Difficulty. Please Proceed On Foot."

"G-Gerard, hold m-m-me. I'm sc-scared," stuttered Frankie.

Good old Frankie. He could always lighten the mood.

Gerard wrapped his arms around me and walked behind me, shielding me from anything and everything that may pop up. There were creepy demonic voices playing on a tape, and although it was slightly disturbing, it wasn't entirely "freaky".

"We're watching you."
"We see what you're doing."
"We know what you're going to do next."
"You can't see us."
"You don't know what we can do..."
"What we're GOING to do."

All pretty generic shit, not very scary, doesn't mean anything. We were all nearly at ease, until I was sure I heard,

"You can't protect her."

"Did anyone else hear that?" I asked, quite nervous.

"Hear what?" asked Mikey.

"..Nothing."

Gerard gave me a sympathetic squeeze and we kept walking.

I was just paranoid. I hadn't heard anything.

"You'll have to let her go soon. We'll get her."

"Oh, come on, you CAN'T tell me you didn't hear that!!" I said indignantly.

"Dolce, it's just a recording. That could apply to anyone. We're fine," said Gee soothingly.

I tried to calm down, but I was thoroughly freaked. I wanted to get the fuck out.

"Better hurry."

"Guys, I'm getting the fuck out of here!" I said shrilly, and detatched myself from Gerard. It wasn't the smartest thing to do, but I suddenly HAD to get out. I couldn't stay inside that place.

I began running lightly, and before I knew it a slimy hand grabbed onto my elbow. I screamed and thrashed at it, but three more came out and attatched themselves to my legs and other arm. I was screaming at the top of my lungs, kicking, thrashing, anything I could to get the hell away from these grasping hands.

I heard heavy footfalls, many of them, and was immediately relieved. It was the guys. Coming to rescue me.

I heard Frankie's loud wail and he pushed me as hard as he could forward. the hands on my arms let go, and I fell onto my hands. I could hear him behind me, clomping around and wailing some more.

"THATS RIGHT! STUPID PUSSY ZOMBIE HANDS! YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE BODIES! YOU'RE JUST A BUNCH OF HANDS! YOU CAN'T DO ANYTHING TO US! THE POWER OF SKITTLES COMPELS YOU!!!!" he screamed. Oh, someone's Lord.

I turned around, and realized he'd been stomping on the hands. Ah, Frankie. What a good guy.

...... We should probably stop him.

Ray and Mikey pulled him away and we all ran out the exit, breathless, me with tears streaming down my face, and the rest looking at me with laughter in their eyes.

I caught my breath and looked up at all of them. They had these expectant looks on their faces. I realized I'd been crying. I wasn't humiliated, but I felt a little foolish. Their smiles started growing.

"Oh, shut the hell up," I said with mock indignation.

They all burst out laughing, and Gerard came up and squeezed me.

"You are adorable," he said sweetly. He kissed my forehead and rubbed my back, "it's over now though. You needn't worry anymore, dolce."

I smiled back and kissed him softly. He was still a sweetheart, even if he did make fun of me.

After all, I had overreacted. At least a little.

It was about 10:30 by then, so we gathered around the clear area in the fair grounds to watch the fireworks. They went off every night at 11.

We sat down in a little group on the grass, talking about randomness as usual. Frankie had calmed down, so we were able to hold a decent conversation.

Not for long, though. The fireworks started about 10 minutes after we'd sat down. I guess I underestimated our time usage.

They were beautiful. Explosions of colors and sound. It was visual LSD.

Gerard held me close as we watched the gorgeous scene.

"They're amazing," I whispered.

"Not as amazing as you, il mio amore," he said softly into my ear.

"What does that mean?" I asked with a soft laugh.

"My love," he barely whispered.

My heart stopped.

"What?" my voice quivered.

"You heard me. I love you, Elena," he said.

His lips descended on mine, and his touch was as sweet as ever. His lips were persistent, parting my own shaking ones. As corny as it sounds, we became one in that moment.

It was certain.

I was his.

He was mine.

We were in love.

" I love you too, Gerard."

And as the fireworks above us crashed together again, our lips did the same.