I Never Told You What I Did for a Living

Later that day, I walked into Gerard's apartment. My headphones were in, and I was belting out the words to Ava Adore. I didn't even consider the possibility that someone was listening.

"Hey," Mikey practically yelled over my singing.

I yanked out my earbuds, flushing in embarassement.

"Continue," he grinned. "It was entertaining."

"Not in a good way," I replied as I set the iPod on the kitchen counter. "Where's Gerard?"

"At work."

"Work?"

"Yeah," Mikey gave me a slightly confused look. "He's got to pay for this apartment somehow."

I nodded, feeling guilty. "I should pay rent," I decided.

"You know as well as I do that he would never let you pay. Besides, this is only your second night here."

"Okay, fine. But if I stay more than a week, I'll pay. No matter what Gerard says," I added the last part as Mikey gave me a disbelieving look.

"Whatever," he shrugged. "By the way, we're having some people over later. I hope that's okay."

"Why wouldn't it be? It's not my house, I can't control who you have over and when."

"Just thought I'd check."

"Besides," I admitted. "I've been wanting to meet some of Gerard's friends for awhile."

"Oh, they want to meet you too," something about the way he said it made me feel uneasy. It must have showed on my face, because he quickly continued. "If they approve, which I can pretty much guarantee you that they will, you're officially Gerard's girlfriend."

"And I'm not now?"

"Well, you are, but not to them. Frank has to approve everyone. Hell, he had to approve of Ray before he would let any of us really hang out with him. But seriously, he'll love you. If he sees what I do when Gerard looks at you, he'll know there's something there."

As if on cue, Gerard came crashing into the apartment. The door flew open and made an outrageous racket as it made contact with the wall.

"Hey, Gerard!" Mikey called to him. "Tonight's the night!"

"For what?"

"The approval."

"No!" Gerard cried out as he threw his jacket over the back of a kitchen chair. "I don't need the approval. I'm totally fine without it."

"Frank will never let that slide."

Gerard sighed. "Sorry in advance," he apologized to me.

"Oh, it can't be that bad. Mikey says he'll love me," I was saying it more to comfort myself than him.

"Yeah, he'll love you. He just won't let you know that until you're ready to leave me."

Of course, I was starting to get more than a little bit worried by this point. I hadn't even met Frank and already he was going to make me want to leave Gerard?

Impossible, a voice in the back of my mind stated firmly. I'll never want to leave him. Ever.

When Frank and Ray arrived, I was practically shaking. After some quick introductions were made, Frank immediately started grilling me.

"Where are you from?"

"Around here."

"Are you from a respectable family?"

"Not really."

This continued for about a half an hour. Simple, straightforward questions, followed by even shorter answers.

"Are you in love with our little Gerard?"

This question caught me off guard.

"What?"

"Answer the question, Lily."

"That's enough, Frank," Gerard, who had been sitting with a protective arm around my shoulders, came to my rescue.

"It was just a question," Frank mumbled. "Okay, let me think..." he paused for a few moments as if trying to build suspense. "She seems okay. I guess I approve. But only because she was honest... as far as I could tell," he pulled a bottle of whiskey from behind him on the chair. "Let's celebrate!"

"You went through all that just for an excuse to drink, didn't you?" I accused, laughing.

He shot a sideways glance at me, then grinned. It was a childish, cute grin. "Oh, I definitely like her."

"You better," Gerard said. "Because she's here to stay."

I felt myself blush, and my stomach was overflowing with butterflies. We all did celebratory shots, and I once again was shocked by the burn as the alcohol flowed down my throat.

Ray was sort of quiet, but Mikey assured me that he would warm up to me once I'd gotten to know him better. Frank, on the other hand, never kept his mouth shut for more than a few moments. Shots kept getting shoved at me, and for some reason I couldn't turn them away.

Eventually, after a few hours of drinking and talking, Frank passed out on the couch. I liked Frank, he was nice once he got through interrogating me. There was some mystery about Ray, and I was determined to get him to speak to me more. But for that particular moment, I was too drunk to do much of anything.

I had never truly been drunk before, and I wasn't sure yet if I liked it. It was fun, sure, but all I'd ever heard were horror stories about hangovers. When I decided that it was time for bed, I was disappointed to find Frank snoring on my bed.

"Looks like you'll have to bunk with me," Gerard whispered from behind me, trying not to wake his sleeping friend. I noticed Ray was also passed out, but he was in the chair. Mikey gave us a slight nod as he went into his own room.

"Yup," I agreed. The two of us headed into Gerard's room.

He got me an old T-shirt out of drawer to wear for pajamas. As I tried to pull of the shirt I'd worn that day, I lost my balance and fell onto the wall. In an instant, Gerard was there, helping me up.

"Thanks," I looked into his eyes as he pulled the shirt off me. I leaned up and caught him in a long, sweet kiss. Wrapping my arms around his neck, I held him close to me as we continued making out. After a moment, he pushed me back slightly. His hands were on my bare shoulders and he ran his thumbs along my collar bone. My skin crawled with goosebumps, and I attempted to move closer to him.

"You're drunk," he said softly, moving to put the clean shirt on me.

Reluctantly, I allowed it.

"I'm fine," I protested, pulling off my pants from underneath the shirt.

He wrapped an arm supportively around my waist and guided me to the bed, where he folded back the covers and laid me down. I didn't resist, I simply did as I was directed.

I felt him slide into bed next to me, and I smiled when he draped his arm over me. My mind was still fuzzy from drinking, but I knew that he was spooning with me. I cuddled into the warmth of his body and fell asleep.