And I'm Paralyzed

Mikey:

It was amazingly detailed, and the little details were the first thing that captured my attention. It made sense now that he had spent days in his room working on this. The overall picture was a boy crouched on the roof of a temple, only he had wings of the purest white. The rest of the picture was in blacks and grays. Barren trees stood near the temple, and small people stood all around it, gazing at the boy intantly. The temple was crumbling in places, as though it were old.

There was a full moon behind him, casting silvery light onto half of his face. I let my eyes wander to the form of the boy, realizing it was portrayed as me. Or, how he saw me. I noticed there was a cat balanced behind the angel-boy-me, it was black, and seemingly melted into the picture, except for vibrant hazel eyes. This was him.

Behind the temple, skulls were mounted on a pointed fence. One skull had a heart engraved into it and the initials M+G inside it. I felt so warm, even though it was a human skull he'd drawn it on. There were stars, most just flecks, but a couple shone, casting a glow onto the rest of the paper. It was like I was staring at the scene in front of me, as though I was there.

I also noticed some of the people had arrows and pitchforks, but they seemed not to be directed at the angel, but at the cat. The angel was protecting the cat from the persecution of the outside world. My heart throbbed as I realized what this was intended to symbolize. Me protecting him from the scrutiny of society. I knew he struggled socially, but not to the point where he feared people.

It was incredibly beautiful, indescribably so, that he would draw something like this. The fact that Gerard had to depend on anyone was something no one would expect, he was one of those people who kept their problems to themselves, but I felt oddly happy at the thought that he relied on my for some significant part of his life.

I rolled the picture back up and replaced it on his desk, looking around his room once. I noticed another pile of drawings labeled “Mikey” but I decided he wouldn't be pleased if he found me going through his perverted pictures.

Sighing contentedly, I returned to the living room, where Frank was curled up on my couch, drooling all over a pillow. I debated waking him, knowing very well he'd be pissed at me, but I decided he could sleep, sitting down next to him and turning on the T.V.

~

Gerard:

I sipped idly at my coffee, gazing at the wall as though it held some secret I could unlock with my eyes. I knew he'd sneak down to see it, I wondered if he'd figure it out, and if he did, what he'd think of it. Mikey never seemed to understand I was always a step ahead of him in the game. He thought I'd been careless in leaving the only picture I had that I wouldn't let him see out in the open, when it was all careful planning on my part.

Of course, him being under the delusion that he had cleverly found the picture would be quite interesting, I think. In all honestly, I was anxious to see how this played out. Possibly more anxious than when I admitted to him my feelings were unnatural. Well, the boy is full of surprises. I had been sure then that he would hate me, and it turned out he was developing feelings of his own for me. I didn't even know what to expect this time.

I grabbed my coffee, stood, and left the Starbucks, heading back to my house to see my brother and what he had to say. I was surprised by how cold it was outside, it was August, but... I walked quickly, feeling that feeling you have when you know you're in deep shit, but you don't wanna admit it to yourself.

“So, Way, where are you going on such a nice day? Aren't under the impression you have friends now, are you?” a nasally female voice sounded behind me. I kept walking, trying to push back the fear. I felt a hand close on my wrist and force me down on my knees. I looked up at the stilettos in front of me, up to the tight pants and the tube top to the face of a girl who isn't a girl at all, but a living monster.

She raised a perfectly plucked brown eyebrow at me and tosses her obviously dyed blond hair out, “Anything to say for yourself?”

I respond by attempting to stand. Her heel smashes down into my foot, causing me to cuss and fall back onto my knees. She smiled evilly, “Nothing at all, Gee-Gee? Well, this should be easy then. You know what I want and how to give it to me.”

I hissed shortly, not an impressive display against the she-devil herself. Her nails dug into my wrist, and she yanked sharply on my arm, pulling me to my feet. I was at least a head taller than her, and I thought maybe I could take her, but I had to outwit her first.

“Vanessa, I- you know I love you.” I exclaim, trying anything to get her to release me long enough for me to draw my knife.

She taps her chin with her index finger, “Hmm, I'll believe you when you purpose, Gerard, honey. Once you're done with this sick obsession with your own brother. Really, Gerard? He isn't even pretty. I don't understand why you waste your time with him when you could have anything you wanted from me.”

My body stiffens. I don't understand how she knows about these things, “That isn't any of your concern. Please, a couple more days. Please, Vanessa. You say you love me, then wait. Please wait.”

“That isn't acceptable, Gerard. And you know it.”

She only has one of my wrists. I quickly use the other to grab the switchblade I had in my pocket, flip it out, and press it against her throat. She looks at me nervously, but then laughs, “As if... As if the knife would hurt me, Gerard. Do you really want to hurt me when I have the capability and the cunning to take what you love most from you?”

I press the knife deeper into the tan skin on her throat, “Is that a threat?”

“You tell me.”

And she nimbly escapes my grasp, so quickly I don't see how. In a second, she disappears down a different ally, and then she's gone. Real fear pulses through me. Real fear, because what she said is true. She would have no regrets, feel no guilt, in killing Mikey just to further injure me.