Unitl I Break

Back to the future ness.......)

Gerard awoke the next morning more groggily than the last. It didn’t help that Seville ha woken him at eight in the morning.

“Hello, gorgeous,” said sweetly as she sat kneeled on his floor looking up into his incredible hazel eyes.

Despite whatever he had been feeling, Gerard forced a smile, “What time is it?”
“five after…” she said loftily

“five after eight,” she rose, walking over to Gerard’s closet, which she began rummaging through.

“Why am I up at this ungodly hour?” Gerard said rolling back over into his pillow.

“Oh shut up Gee, it’s hardly ungodly and you’ve got business to do?

“Huh?”

“Frank’s on his way over he called this morning said he needed to talk with you.”

Gerard sat up confused, what did Frank need? What would he say? These thoughts ran through him until they were rudely interrupted by Seville, “Well go on get your ass showered… gross,” she added pulling out an odd colored olive colored shirt, sniffing it, then throwing it to the side, “I’ll try and find you something, well something that doesn’t seem to be culturing a colony of disease on it.”

As Gerard jumped in his shower he could hear Seville still humming about his room. He still couldn’t work things out in his own head. It just didn’t make sense; why was she here. During the tour she was his best friend, they hung out together, they joked together, they partied together, then she disappeared.

He had loved her, but she would never know that, he didn’t even know that when he had had the opportunity to address it, he was too busy trying to woo other girls on the tour, ones that he should have known only wanted to be with a rock star, ones that could never care for a B-rate band member. No Molli, had never done that for him, and their relationship hadn’t even survived the tour. Amidst his thoughts Gerard noticed that the humming had ceased he turned to look out the open bathroom door.

“Holy shit!” Gerard shouted, “God Damn Ville why do you gotta be so damn creepy all the time?”

“We can’t all be mysteriously alluring,” she said running her free hand down her side as she was leaned against the door frame, her other hand holding a towel.

“So I was thinking that you need to get outta this place if your gonna do this an..”but she was cut off

Pausing his showering once more, “Whoa, Ville I’m not gonna go to some ….”

But she beat him too it, “ Nor do I think you should, I just think it’d be easier for me to help you if you didn’t have any distractions, if you came and stayed with for a while it’d be easier to help you.”

“Umm Ville I’m not going to Ohio,” he said with a smile on his face and in his voice.

“Dude! How could I work for a record company from Ohio? I got an apartment in NYC now, yeah im pretty much the shit, you don’t have to say it I know you know it.” She said laughing.

“And I thought I had issues…” Gerard said turning off the shower head. He stepped out of the glass doored shower, soaking wet and buck naked.

“Some things will never change,” Seville said shaking her head while laughing.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” he said wrinkling his face. She handed Gerard the towel and walked away; shouting back at him,

“I laid some clothes out for you on your bed and there’s left over breakfast on the counter if you want it.”
Gerard dried off his hair and wrapped the towel around his waist and went to get dressed. What could he say, she had great taste, just like everything else about her he thought. She had laid out for him a pair of jeans, new jeans that he definitely hadn’t recalled the purchase of, a black smiths shirt, one of his favorites, and a black velvet blazer, too, still adorned by a tag. Beside them a note which read, a fresh outfit for a fresh start…. Heart Ville.

Seville had gone back downstairs, she needed to finish packing up a small bag she had brought with her for the week. Just as she rolled her luggage to the front of the house the doorbell rang.

Frank.

He didn’t know she was there; Mr. Way was the one that had spoken to him that morning. What would he say? Frank had become one of her best friends during the tour, but she had abandoned everyone that night. Would he hate her? Would he be able to understand? All these toughts went flying aobut her head as she went to answer the door.

He stood there at the door looking down at his feet, his hands held behind his back. He was wearing his favorite black beanie, a burgundy rugby shirt, and dark khaki shorts. He looked up as she opened the door a look of total surprise sweeping over his face.

“Hey Frank” she said, unsure of her words as she spoke them.

The look of surprise faded from his face now a light sympathetic smile, “how ya been doll?” he said pulling her into his warm embrace.

For this much she was grateful, “Better,” she replied, “I’m doing better.”

With this Gee came bounding down the stairs, “Hey Frank.”

Frank released Seville and pulled his friend into a burly hug, “I was worried about you man.”

Seville heard Frank mumble into Gerard’s shoulder, “I was worried about me too man.” Gerard replied back.

“You boys want something to drink? Coffee?Pop?Water?”

“Oh man coffee,” said Frank. “Oh yeah Java would be great Ville.” Gerard said.

Seville headed off into the kitchen while Gerard and Frank took seats in the living room, “So what’s up man?” Gerard began.

“Well I just wanted to come talk to you about Matt…”

“Yeah, yeah, we have to make this happen. Have you talked to Bob yet?”

Seville reentered the room bearing three coffee mugs, “you still take yours black right Frank?”

“Dude how did you remember that? You always were way too good.” He said sipping his hot drink carefully . Seville, unsure where the conversation was something she should interrupt, handed Gee his coffee and turned to return to the kitchen when halted in her tracks by Frank, “what? Do I have cooties?” Frank asked.

“no Frank, cooties would be the least of your issues,”

“Well then where are you goin?”

“Well, I , I didn’t wan…”

“To sit by me, I get it. Fine go then…” she shrugged and began walking away again. “Get your fine ass over here…” Frank commanded, and Seville took up a seat in a chair facing Frank beside the couch in which Gerard was seated.

Frank began again, “ no we haven’t said anything to Bob. We were gonna wait and see what Matt had to say. “

Seville’s ears perked up at this; she hated that bastard Matt, he was a grade A asshole in her book, he wasn’t about the band or the music, he was about using the music to get ass and use women. As Seville lingered on these thoughts, the conversation continued to unfold around her.

“Are we sure about Bob?” Gee asked, “I mean everybody’s okay with the idea of him playing with us right?”

“Yeah Toro and Mikey are totally game, but if we’re gonna do this it has to go down now, otherwise things with Pelisser are just gonna get worse.”

At this Seville snapped back into reality. Did the just say what she thought they had? Were they actually going to get rid of Matt?

At that moment Gerard’s phone rang, “hello? Oh hey Ma…” donna was clearly in a chatting mood, Frank and Seville could hear her from across the room going on about some adorable curtains she had seen . “Ma, Frank’s over can I call you back?” Apparently, she wasn’t okay with that idea as Gerard stood and took the conversation into the kitchen, where several, “yes ma” s could be heard as he paced back and forth.

Frank was the first to break the awkward silence that had developed between himself and Seville, “So…” he said attempting to generate conversation.

A ploy which apparently did not work so well as Seville replied, “…sew buttons.”

Frank smiled, “I missed you,”

“Same here Frankie boy, it’s been too long.”

“It has, it has,” he said calmly. Finally giving up on formal conversation Frank set his empty coffee mug down on the table for him,

“Seville where the hell did you run off too?”

shocked that Frank had been so forward, though knowing she ought to have expected it; Seville stammered for words,

“I mean the one night we were all having a great time talking about how we should never lose touch, then you go and disappear.”

“Frank, I, I just needed time, I mean that was one hell of a summer, a summer that I’m still not fully over.”

“What was there for you to get over?” And then it hit him, like a ton of bricks; she had loved Gerard. Why had he not realized it before? He who normally prided himself on being pretty observational, had totally and completely failed to put two and two together.

He sat back more calmly in his chair rubbing his face in his hands, “Gerard.” He said with finality. Seville dropped her head sadly. How had he not noticed? They were always together, fighting with one another, flirting with one another, holding hands. Hell she was all he ever talked about, but how had they not realized she felt the same way.

“He broke me that night, Frank, it was too much…. And .. and…. Seeing him like this… like this now just kills me. I know nothing will ever come of this and I don’t want it to, but I can’t bare to watch him piss his life away, piss your lives away; not like this.”

“So that’s why you left?”

“That’s why I left,”

“And that’s why you’re here now?”

“That’s why I’m here now.”

They sat a few more moments in silence, Frank still trying to take what he had just realized in. “Seville I don’t think he knew what he was doing,”

“Save it Frank, I’m over it.” It came out of her mouth with a bitter taste, she hadn’t meant for it to seem so cold but she probably would never actually be over it. She had fallen for him, she ahd fallen hard and fast; she thought that he was on the same ride until she walked in on him with some girl that had been hanging around for a few days. He was a musician; she should have known better, she had no one to blame but herself. Feeling stupid and alone; she left. Running from her issues had worked for her in the past, she didn’t know why it wouldn’t work again.

Gerard came back into the room and sat in upon the couch once more. “Mothers,” he said shaking his head.
Frank and Seville forced smiles, “I’m gonna ask Bryar then, tonight okay?”

“Wait!” Seville shouted, interrupting and nearly spitting her drink all over, “Bob Bryar?!??!”

“You know him?”

“Yeah I know him, that guy freaking rocks, I worked with him while I was in Germany, he’s sill over there right?”

“He’s back for the week but yeah, I think he’s still on the Project revolution tour, what about it?”

“And you want him to replace Matt?”

“Yeah….is there something we should know?”

“Oh no, I just think he’s awesome that’s all and damn is he talented, well I mean you guys have heard him of course…he just wails.”

“Well, actually we didn’t even know he played until Brian told us about two weeks ago.”

“Wait, so you’ve never even heard him? Oh man…”

“Oh man what?” asked an enthused Gerard.

“No offense to Pelisser, but Bob pwns.”

The boys’ eyes lit up at this , hearing that this may be a good fit, that bob might work out, after all they had complete faith in Seville’s judgment.

“Listen I gotta get going I gotta meet Brian to go talk with Matt,” Frank said as they all rose and made their way to the front door.

“I’m glad you’re gonna be okay man,” Frank said while hugging Gerard, who replied, “I will be.”

“Damn straight you will be.” Said Seville, who was now taking her turn hugging Frank goodbye. As she did this he pulled her in closely, whispering into her ear so that Gerard would be unable to make out his words, “you’re the only one that can save him now.” Frank pulled away slowly, turning to address Gerard, “If you need anything,” though his words were directed at Gerard who nodded in understanding, Seville understood that Frank’s words were meant for the both of them.

Frank continued, “anything at all, just raise that damned bat signal high in the night sky and I’ll be there!” he shouted sprinting from the doorway into his rusted red olds and driving off in a furry.

As Gerard and Seville stood watching him from the door Seville noticed, once again, the tremble of Gerard’s hand; a shake that had slowly progressed over the previous night. And once again she took his hand subtly in her own,” Come on let’s go pack the rest of your stuff,” she said leading him by his hand back upstairs to pack whatever belongings he had not too reminiscent of the troubled past months.