These Are the Lies I Have Created

I stared at him, my eyebrows furrowing.
“Well, which is it?” I asked, gently sitting him up. Frank was hiding in the hot tub. “Gerard, I’m sorry!” He yelled when he realized that his singer was conscious again. Gerard wiped his mouth, giving out another series of coughs.
“I’ll be fine, shortie,” He directed towards Frank. He looked back at me.
“Thanks,” he said with a small smile.

I shrugged, “Don’t mention it,” I said and got up off my knees. I grabbed a towel and chucked it at Gerard, giggling when it landed on his head.
“Come on you bastard, I’m gonna go grab some lunch. I’d prefer it if you came, I wouldn’t want you to drown again.”
He glared at me but got up off the cement ground. “Where are we going?”
I shrugged, “I don’t know, fucking Chevy’s or something.”
Gerard nodded, “Alright, I’ll meet you downstairs in fifteen minutes?”
“Sure,” I tossed the used towel into the hamper on my way out the door and headed back to the room I was sharing with Shannon and Tomo.

“I thought you weren’t going to go swimming,” Tomo asked.
I shrugged, “I didn’t think I was going to either,” I said as I dug through the dresser full of clothes. I grabbed some jeans, boxers and some t-shirt that I had cut the sleeves off of. I hopped into the shower to wash the chlorine off and fifteen minutes later I was downstairs.

Thirty minutes later, I was still waiting. I pulled my phone out from my pocket and shifted through my contacts. I found Gerard’s number and called it. No answer. I tried not to think of the worst, but was he standing me up?
I shoved my phone back in my pocket and put my sunglasses back on my face before heading out onto the street. Maybe he was already at Chevy’s? That was high hoping, but I went there anyway. No Gerard, so I sat alone and ate my vegetarian taco.

When I got back to the hotel, Gerard was in the lobby looking frantic.
“Looking for your lunch date?” I asked, coming up behind him. He nearly jumped out of his skin.
“Jared!”
“That’s my name,” my eyes narrowed and I folded my arms across my chest.
“I am so-o sorry,” he began. “I was working on my comic book and I lost track of time and-“
I placed my hand up in front of his mouth to get him to stop talking. “Don’t worry about it,” I lied.

I walked away without another word and went back to my hotel room.
I flopped down on the bed and flipped channels. I eventually just ended up ordering some foreign movie off pay per view.
My phone buzzed – it was Gerard.
“Do you hate me?” I ignored it and went back to reading the subtitles at the bottom of the screen.

A few minutes later, my phone buzzed again, “Can I make it up to you?”
I sighed, grabbing my jacket, my phone and my wallet and walked out the door.
I jogged down to Gerard’s room and knocked on the door. He answered.
“How?” I asked.
“Uh, you wanna go see a movie? My treat?”
I shrugged, “Why not? What movie?”
“Phantom of the Opera? It’s playing down the street in like… 10 minutes?”

I agreed, and it was a good movie. Afterwards, he walked me back to my hotel room. I bumped the door open with my hip, “It’s kind of really fucking messy, but you’re welcome to come in.” Shannon and Tomo left a note, they were out eating dinner somewhere.
“So,” I laughed, “This is our room,” and I kicked my underwear that had been lying on the ground under a bed.
Gerard nodded, “Cool,” he laughed and stepped closer to me. Time slowed down and he pressed his lips against mine and all I kept waiting for was to wake up, but I didn’t.