Sequel: Did We All Fall Down, Well After All ›
We'll Fly Home, You And I
Chapter 13
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My eyes jerked open and I felt the heavy rise and fall of my chest. Did I have a nightmare? I glanced over at the clock. 5:16AM. I don't think I'll be able to go back to sleep. And how early do people wake up around here anyway? I turned on the light and decided to look around Mikey's room. Lots of posters, a cluttered collection of CDS and tapes. His bedspread was a brown while his sheets were camo. A bookcase full of comic books and thick books was on the opposite side of the room. Nerdish much? The small TV and Nintendo were across from the bed. I would have played with it, if I knew how to turn it on.
I got up from the bed and headed towards the kitchen for a glass of water. It took me three minutes to find out where the glasses were. I poured water into it from the faucet sink and gulped it down. A stream of light came up from Gerard's room. I placed the glass on the counter and headed down the stairs. When I knocked on the door, I heard a faint "Come in." The door squeaked as I opened and closed it. I noticed Gerard's room was much different than his brother's. Dark carpet and walls covered in small drawings and pages from notebooks covered in writing. His bed was unmade, batman sheets I noticed. He was at his desk at which more drawings and sketches and ripped and crumpled pages littered it. Thousands of colored pencils, markers, sharpies, and erasers were beside him.
"I didn't know you were an artist?" I said. He turned around at my voice.
"Didn't I tell you I did the drawing of the skeleton on the new CD?"
"Well, ya, but I didn't know you did more than that."
"I did the cover for the CD before that one, too. I went to an art school in New York. I draw mostly comic book stuff." He handed me a drawing of a man and a woman with their faces splattered in blood. Below it read 'Three Cheers cover.' "And here's a really cool vampire. I draw them a lot, but this one's my favorite." He gave me a large piece of paper covered entirely by a man with long, dark, raven hair in a very expensive looking suit with fangs bighting into his lower lip with blood flowing down his chin.
"The color is amazing. Have you always drawn?" I asked, lightly swiping my fingers over the picture. He nodded.
"Right now I'm working on a werewolf. I started it over two years ago. Guess I never got to finish." It was a detailed pencil sketch. I envied his talent. He put down all of his work and faced me fully. I was sitting on his bed. "What woke you up?"
"Bad dream? I don't know. I don't remember it."
"Hmm. Well that's good."
"Is it always this cold down here?" I asked, rubbing my hands up and down my goose bump covered arms.
"Only in late fall and winter. Here," he got up and walked over to the opposite side of the room to his closet and fished out a light blue blanket and draped it over my shoulders. I pulled it closer to me.
"This is really warm. Was it your baby blanket?"
"In a way, yes. My grandmother made it for me." I looked down to find his name embroided into the fabric.
"Helena?" He nodded. I wish I could have known her. I pulled the blanket over my head and took in the scent that drenched it. Gerard's scent. It was everywhere. A soft smell of cigarettes and vanilla. I don't know how he smelled like vanilla, but I liked it. Maybe it was his shampoo or whatever he washed his clothes with.
I sat there for a little over two hours, completely content lying in Gerard's bed, listening to his pencil scratch against the page. Every once an awhile he would stop and asked which color would look better and if he should add this little detail here, erase this there. He stood up and turned off the lamp on the desk, leaving us in complete darkness.
"Gerard?" I whispered. I felt a hand grab mine and he lead me towards the door and up into the kitchen. Mrs. Way was already up and cooking a large plate of eggs.
"Gerard, did you sleep at all last night?" she asked.
"No," he replied bluntly. She playfully rolled her eyes and went back to preparing breakfast.
"Hannah, would you like something to drink?"
"Can I have milk?" I asked.
"Sure. Gerard, get Hannah a glass of milk." I didn't like to be waited on, but I thought it would be rude to say that I could get it myself. So I just sat down at the kitchen table. Gerard soon joined me with my milk and his own mug of black coffee. "Mikey called. He said he wouldn't be able to come over until nine. Ray and Bob said they were just going to stop by for lunch."
"And Frank and Jamia won't even wake up 'til noon." Mrs. Way placed a plate of eggs and toast in front of Gerard and me.
"Thanks," I said,
"No problem, honey." I smiled. This is what my life was supposed to be like all along. Sitting down at a table, eating a real meal with sober people who didn't stare at you lustfully the whole time you were eating the sorry excuse of a meal you were given. "So how many days until you go on the Black Parade tour?" Gerard swallowed a piece of egg he was chewing on.
"A week and a half."
"Any interviews during that time?"
"Nope. We're completely clear of any media. As long as we stay inside. And I was thinking about changing my hair since Mikey's getting lasik eye surgery." I dropped my fork.
"He's getting lasik eye surgery? Why?"
"He just got over a really bad pit of depression and it's changed him a lot. So he wants to mirror that by changing his look." Wow. I just had a big change in my life.
"Can I change my look too? Can I get new hair with you?" My dull brown locks have always bothered me. They always seemed to clash with my blue eyes.
"Sure!" he seemed excited. "And Hannah," he put down his coffee. "I-I was wondering if I c-ccc-could," he stopped and let out a sigh, "adopt you." My eyes widened so large it was straining the muscles in my face, while I became subconscious of the pounding in my chest.
"W-what?"
_______________________________________________________________________
My eyes jerked open and I felt the heavy rise and fall of my chest. Did I have a nightmare? I glanced over at the clock. 5:16AM. I don't think I'll be able to go back to sleep. And how early do people wake up around here anyway? I turned on the light and decided to look around Mikey's room. Lots of posters, a cluttered collection of CDS and tapes. His bedspread was a brown while his sheets were camo. A bookcase full of comic books and thick books was on the opposite side of the room. Nerdish much? The small TV and Nintendo were across from the bed. I would have played with it, if I knew how to turn it on.
I got up from the bed and headed towards the kitchen for a glass of water. It took me three minutes to find out where the glasses were. I poured water into it from the faucet sink and gulped it down. A stream of light came up from Gerard's room. I placed the glass on the counter and headed down the stairs. When I knocked on the door, I heard a faint "Come in." The door squeaked as I opened and closed it. I noticed Gerard's room was much different than his brother's. Dark carpet and walls covered in small drawings and pages from notebooks covered in writing. His bed was unmade, batman sheets I noticed. He was at his desk at which more drawings and sketches and ripped and crumpled pages littered it. Thousands of colored pencils, markers, sharpies, and erasers were beside him.
"I didn't know you were an artist?" I said. He turned around at my voice.
"Didn't I tell you I did the drawing of the skeleton on the new CD?"
"Well, ya, but I didn't know you did more than that."
"I did the cover for the CD before that one, too. I went to an art school in New York. I draw mostly comic book stuff." He handed me a drawing of a man and a woman with their faces splattered in blood. Below it read 'Three Cheers cover.' "And here's a really cool vampire. I draw them a lot, but this one's my favorite." He gave me a large piece of paper covered entirely by a man with long, dark, raven hair in a very expensive looking suit with fangs bighting into his lower lip with blood flowing down his chin.
"The color is amazing. Have you always drawn?" I asked, lightly swiping my fingers over the picture. He nodded.
"Right now I'm working on a werewolf. I started it over two years ago. Guess I never got to finish." It was a detailed pencil sketch. I envied his talent. He put down all of his work and faced me fully. I was sitting on his bed. "What woke you up?"
"Bad dream? I don't know. I don't remember it."
"Hmm. Well that's good."
"Is it always this cold down here?" I asked, rubbing my hands up and down my goose bump covered arms.
"Only in late fall and winter. Here," he got up and walked over to the opposite side of the room to his closet and fished out a light blue blanket and draped it over my shoulders. I pulled it closer to me.
"This is really warm. Was it your baby blanket?"
"In a way, yes. My grandmother made it for me." I looked down to find his name embroided into the fabric.
"Helena?" He nodded. I wish I could have known her. I pulled the blanket over my head and took in the scent that drenched it. Gerard's scent. It was everywhere. A soft smell of cigarettes and vanilla. I don't know how he smelled like vanilla, but I liked it. Maybe it was his shampoo or whatever he washed his clothes with.
I sat there for a little over two hours, completely content lying in Gerard's bed, listening to his pencil scratch against the page. Every once an awhile he would stop and asked which color would look better and if he should add this little detail here, erase this there. He stood up and turned off the lamp on the desk, leaving us in complete darkness.
"Gerard?" I whispered. I felt a hand grab mine and he lead me towards the door and up into the kitchen. Mrs. Way was already up and cooking a large plate of eggs.
"Gerard, did you sleep at all last night?" she asked.
"No," he replied bluntly. She playfully rolled her eyes and went back to preparing breakfast.
"Hannah, would you like something to drink?"
"Can I have milk?" I asked.
"Sure. Gerard, get Hannah a glass of milk." I didn't like to be waited on, but I thought it would be rude to say that I could get it myself. So I just sat down at the kitchen table. Gerard soon joined me with my milk and his own mug of black coffee. "Mikey called. He said he wouldn't be able to come over until nine. Ray and Bob said they were just going to stop by for lunch."
"And Frank and Jamia won't even wake up 'til noon." Mrs. Way placed a plate of eggs and toast in front of Gerard and me.
"Thanks," I said,
"No problem, honey." I smiled. This is what my life was supposed to be like all along. Sitting down at a table, eating a real meal with sober people who didn't stare at you lustfully the whole time you were eating the sorry excuse of a meal you were given. "So how many days until you go on the Black Parade tour?" Gerard swallowed a piece of egg he was chewing on.
"A week and a half."
"Any interviews during that time?"
"Nope. We're completely clear of any media. As long as we stay inside. And I was thinking about changing my hair since Mikey's getting lasik eye surgery." I dropped my fork.
"He's getting lasik eye surgery? Why?"
"He just got over a really bad pit of depression and it's changed him a lot. So he wants to mirror that by changing his look." Wow. I just had a big change in my life.
"Can I change my look too? Can I get new hair with you?" My dull brown locks have always bothered me. They always seemed to clash with my blue eyes.
"Sure!" he seemed excited. "And Hannah," he put down his coffee. "I-I was wondering if I c-ccc-could," he stopped and let out a sigh, "adopt you." My eyes widened so large it was straining the muscles in my face, while I became subconscious of the pounding in my chest.
"W-what?"
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