Never Again

I was a country girl, born and bred in the Victorian High Country. Snowy wilderness was in my blood, but there was something impersonal about the city that drew me to it - an irresistible appeal in the fact that no one knew in the city; no one cared.

When I left home I had vague plans of going to University and studying for a medical degree, but in my heart, I knew that my calling lay with the Underworld.

I spent my days working on my assignments but during the night, I roamed the darkened streets; occasionally dropping into a club to watch whatever fledgling band was hot for that moment.

The first year of my degree passed, before I realized that I couldn’t keep up with my life the way I was living it. I had to let go of something, and that something turned out to be my University studies.

I had a job working part time at a local pub in the music scene; weekend nights I would serve drinks and take orders for the kitchen. When I quit studying, I spent more time there.

I worked through the week as well, and eventually saved up enough money to rent a little place near the park. It was a nice place - quiet and peaceful, and only a short walk away from my favourite haunts.

I had few friends - I still talked to people I had met in high school, but I didn’t go out socially. It just wasn’t my thing.

From serving in the bar, I earned a little extra money as well - play money, as the friends I did have would often call it. With this, I went to concerts when I could - it wasn’t often, but earlier that year I had even saved enough to go see one of my favourite bands play a gig in Sydney.

More often, I went to local shows.

The night this story started, I was walking back home after a rowdy night at work. My clothes and I smelt like alcohol, and all I wanted to do was get home and have a nice, hot shower.

My path home took me past a row of dance clubs and pubs, where the street was lit up at night, and fights were common. I usually kept an eye out as I walked down this street, but tonight I couldn’t have cared less.

This was what led me to walking too close to the shop fronts, as a drunken form lurched out of an open door into me, aided by two burly-looking bouncers in leather coats. I didn’t even have the time to cry out as I overbalanced and started to fall. Luckily, a streetlight was nearby, and I grabbed onto it, stopping myself from hitting the ground.

The man who had been evicted wasn’t so lucky.

Before I even had a chance to think, I moved over to where he was lying prone on the ground.

“Hello? Can you hear me?” I shook him a little, hoping that I wouldn’t have to use any of the medical training I had remembered from my year at University.

A muffled sound relieved my fears, as the man mumbled incoherently. He moved a little, then was still. I turned him over, checking his breathing, and noticed that he had just passed out. That was a relief, at least.

I looked for his wallet, to find anything that would tell me his identity, so that I could get somebody to help him. At this point, I hardly even noticed that I was kneeling on a dirty sidewalk - I was in full medical mode.

Nothing mattered but to get the patient somewhere where he would be safe.

I finally found a drivers license in his wallet; no money left, of course, but at least I had a name. Squinting in the dim, foggy light, I read it out: ‘Gerard Arthur Way’

Gasping, I stared at the card, trying to figure out if this was all just a major coincidence that my brain was exaggerating.

No such luck. The license was American, and the hometown was listed as Belleville.
It had to be him.

I stared at the man lying unconscious on the concrete. Could this really be my musical idol lying drunk and senseless on the floor? It looked like him - as much as I could see, anyway.

I turned my back on him, having enough experience with drunken patrons to know he would be fine. I had to think. What do I do now? I couldn’t leave anyone, least of all Gerard Way, where he could get hurt.

It was medical protocol - the first thing learnt in med school - I had to help anyone who needed it, even if I wasn’t fully certified. But what was I to do? How could I help? I had no phone, because I didn’t take it with me to work, where it could be stolen, and all of the shops around were either closed or not even worth trying. There was no payphone.

The thought running through my head was ‘How did I get myself into this mess?’.
This sort of thing just didn’t happen in real life; it was the sort of coincidence that could only occur in stories.

Nevertheless, here I was, stuck on the side of the road with a drunken celebrity. What did I expect?

I started to pace along the pavement. It helped me to think, and right now, I needed all the help I could get.

Suddenly, I had an idea. It was stupid and ridiculous idea, but it was all I had. I walked back over to where Gerard was still lying on the ground, I was hoping that it was the right thing to do.

I was going to try to get him to my place, and wait until he woke up to find out what to do next. Like I said - stupid, but maybe just stupid enough to work.

I shook him gently, hoping he was conscious enough to try to stand up. If not, my plan was bust. Thankfully, he moaned and stirred. He was still on the ground, but maybe I could get him to hobble along - if I could just get him to move, it wasn’t far to my house.

I spoke quietly and calmly, hoping that his muddled mind would listen to a voice of reason.

“Come on, up we go. We’re just gonna stand up and walk right home...”

I slipped back into autopilot, as I pulled him up onto his feet and moved clumsily along. I was only just strong enough to hold him - being much shorter than he was, I was lucky that he was able to walk a little, with support.

We walked slowly and painfully down the road, somehow managing to cross it and pass through the park to my street.

I pulled him to the door and found my key, on the chain around my neck, unlocking the door just in time, as the full effect of the alcohol took over, and my guest fell through the door, in a drunken sleep. Wincing as he hit the floor, I went to move him, but changed my mind and made up a bed on the couch first.

Dragging him ungracefully along the floor, I managed to get Gerard onto the couch. He didn’t look to be in a comfortable position, but in his state, he really didn’t look like he cared.

I could feel the adrenaline wearing off as I wound down in the shower, and soon I started to worry about what was going to happen in the morning. What had I done? It all seemed like a big dream - or nightmare, anyway.

In the end, I decided it wasn’t worth fussing about, and I needed to go to sleep. I crawled into bed just before the sun started to rise on the other side of my thick red curtains. Tomorrow was going to be a big day.

Xxx xxx xxX

Alicia hadn’t moved a muscle, all through my telling of the story - her half-drunk coffee still sat on the table in front of her, slowly coagulating. As I finished telling of the first night’s events, she blew out a breath of air and laughed quietly.

“Wow… I’ve heard a lot of stuff - rumors and fact - about Gerard, but I never expected… So, he was just, like, some drunk you picked up off the street?”

I laughed as well, as I realized that that was exactly how it had happened.

“I guess he was… I never thought of it like that before.”

“I thought meeting Mikey at an average, run-down bar was lucky enough, but that… that’s completely nuts!”

“Yeah, and things haven’t got any simpler - in fact, after I met the rest of the guys my life started to get even stranger.” I smiled to myself, remembering the events of the next day. “The next day was the day that my life began to turn upside down…”