The Beginning of the End

"So where are we going?" I asked poking his cheek.

He swatted my hand away and pointed straight ahead of us. I didn't see anything but an empty street and closed stores. Maybe he pointed to the sky and we were going to go to the park or something.

I shrugged, keeping my pace with his.

"Okay close your eyes," Gerard instructed.

I jumped by his sudden statement. He laughed at my jitteriness. I punched his arm and closed my eyes anyways. I heard a few doors open followed by a whoosh of wind.

Although my eyes didn't open, I noticed the lights around me dim. The sun's rays weren't shining against my eyes any more. I took a guess, thinking he took me inside a building. That would explain the sound of doors. It didn't explain why I heard sweeping noises though. Where are we, a janitor's convention?

"Okay open your eyes," Gerard whispered to my ear.

I opened my eyes, having to blink a few times so they could re-adjust to my new surroundings. From what my eyes could see (the entire room was fairly dark), we were in a theater. It looked like one of the theaters built back in the 1800's or something.

It was very simple too. There was the black and sleek stage all the way in the front of the theater. Burgundy curtains hung on the sides of the stage. The rest of the space was for the seats just like in an auditorium.

"So where is it you've decided to take me?" I asked.

"Well, this is sort of a theater. You don't seem like the other teenage girls so I was hoping you'd enjoy this," he explained, his eyes shifting from left to right.

"That sounds cool actually."

"I knew you weren't like the other girls!"

"I don't know if I should be offended or happy about that," I laughed.

"It's definitely good."

There was that sweeping noise again. What was that? I began walking down the aisle, the noise grew louder and louder the closer I walked towards the stage.

I was on the edge of the black stage, seeing a group of men and women with those huge janitor brooms in their hands. They were staring each other down, dancing with their brooms and creating a rhythm with it.

Gerard walked up to me placing an arm around my shoulders. I watched in amusement at the men and women playing around with their brooms. I liked how they could incorporate dancing with inanimate objects. At the end of their performance, I laughed and clapped my hands loudly.

One of the women turned around. She smiled and walked towards us.

"Hi Gerard," she greeted giving him a nod. "And hi to you too my dear. Did you like our performance?" she asked turning her head to me.

"I really did! That was so cool!" I complimented. That was by far as entertaining as I could imagine. Who finds enjoyment out of watching people sweep? I guess I do now.

"Mrs. Twain, can I play for a little bit?" Gerard asked, scratching the side of his neck.

"Oh sure! I had my husband fix your guitar already so it should play perfectly as it did before," Mrs. Twain told him.

Gerard smiled, climbing up on stage. Next, he pulled me up and led me to the back of the stage. The other men and women gave us both friendly looks. They looked curious. Well I was too.

I sat down in a seat along with the other men and women while Gerard walked off stage somewhere. I wondered what he was looking for and what he was doing. Was he talking about his guitar I saw that day?

He walked back out with a red and brown marbled guitar. That definitely was the guitar he showed me when he played that song that he made for me. I felt my heart beat faster and butterflies swarm around in my stomach.

He grabbed a chair from the side of the stage and sat down in front of all of us. Mrs. Twain gave me a quick smile before looking back at Gerard.

Clearing his throat and testing out his strings, Gerard began to sing. I had never heard him sing, I've only heard and seen him play guitar. His voice wasn't too deep or too high-pitched. Although it was somewhat higher for a male singing voice, it was a treat for the ears.

"Hold on little girl
Show me what he's done to you
Stand up little girl
A broken heart can't be that bad
When it's through, it's through
Fate will twist the both of you
So come on baby come on over
Let me be the one to show you

I'm the one who wants to be with you
Deep inside I hope you feel it too
Waited on a line of greens and blues
Just to be the next to be with you"

I felt my spine tingle and my eyes tear at the beginning lyrics to that song. I hadn't heard it in a while. I never understood the meaning of the song until now. The broken heart was my broken heart. I'm not going to be cheesy and say it was over Erik, because it surely wasn't. My broken heart is over my father I never knew. I have a lot of resentment for him but I also wish that I could meet him just once. Do I look like him? Does he ever think about me? Does he regret hurting mom like that? How can he stand to live knowing he left her at her most vulnerable state when she was pregnant?

As I listened to Gerard sing the chorus, I realized that song directly connected to me. He didn't make up the song but he did a good job at finding the perfect song.

He wants to be with me and he hopes that I feel the same way. He wouldn't be able to deal with it if he finds out that I don't see him the same way he sees me.

By the looks of the way he's singing and how much effort he's putting into his singing, I must be really important to him. I hadn't noticed until this moment how important he is to me in return.

I don't want to say Gerard has replaced the place of Erik but that's what is happening. Erik isn't here to help me when I'm having a horrible day, a horrible teenage life, actually. Gerard is here instead. He may not be the best at calming me down but he does try. That's all that really matters.

The song finished much to my dislike. The men and women walked away soon after, giving Gerard praise for his singing. He placed the guitar down gently against the chair he was sitting in previously and walked towards me. I was the fool that was still sitting down.

Gerard knelt down in front of me, staring into my eyes. I gulped. I think I know what he's going to do next.

"Lilly, I really care about you. I want you to be happy. Will you be my girlfriend?" he asked, a bright hope in his eyes.

My conscience and my thoughts were battling with each other. While my conscience was screaming at me to say no because it knew that I had the great potential to severely hurt Gerard, my thoughts were selfish and wanted to say yes so I could be happy and feel loved.

"Yeah," I finally answered.

"Oh my god thank you!" he screeched, standing up on his knees and kissing me. He stopped immediately.

Great, I just got my first kiss with him and I didn't even know it was going to happen. To hell with it, you only live once. I pushed myself forward, forcing my lips back to his.