Let Me Be The One To Save You

Exams were over, summer had begun and I had my best friend by my side. I wasn’t sure what Gerard and I were really, I mean we had kissed a few times but neither of us seemed to want to label it as anything. He had yet to mention when he was heading back home, in fact he seemed unwilling to go without me and had started harassing my mother about it at every chance he got. After two weeks of this it was safe to say she was a teensy bit annoyed with his childlike behaviour.

“Please Miss Johnson, I look after her real good,” He pushed out his bottom lip and looked at her with those puppy dogs I couldn’t deny.

It seemed my mother was finding it hard to resist them too. She rolled her eyes up to the ceiling and muttered, “God give me strength,” before turning back to the innocent looking teen standing before her. “Did your mother never put some manners on ya little divil?” She turned to me, a smirk on her face, “Ya coulda picked someone who was less of an amadán C.”

His face screwed as he got confused yet again. My mother and I were always using Irish words and lots of slang around Gerard and he kept getting confused.

“Sure isn’t he from the back of beyond? If he lived Ireland he’d be one of them culchies,” I giggled at his expression as my mother just stared at him in mock disgust.

“I shan’t be having any culchies in my house, amach, amach,” She began flicking a towel at him and Gerard began quickly backing up not sure what was going on.

“A Mham, b’fhéidir go bhfuil sé t-am a stopann muid seo?”

She turned to look at me before agreeing, “Ceart go leor, ach bhí sé an greanmhar.”

We laughed and Gerard scowled looking like a child who resented being left out of the joke, which I guess he kind of was. I stood up and hugged him, “Sorry Gee, it’s just natural for us to speak in Irish and use stupid slang terms. We don’t mean to offend you.”

He shrugged out of my embrace and tried to act casual about the entire, “S’all good, it doesn’t bother me.”

I raised an eyebrow and was going to tell him that it obviously did bother him but I was interrupted by my mother.

“Ciara, I actually have a surprise for you and Gerard.”

I spun around to face her. She stood before the cooker with a huge grin on her face and two plane tickets in her grasp, “You’ve been working so hard since you returned home that I wanted to get you a gift. You’re going back to Jersey.”

I gasped and my hands clapped together in delight, “Oh my God! Really? For how long?”

She shrugged and smiled, “For however long you like.”

A girly squeal escaped my throat and I ran up to my mother to embrace her. This was amazing; I would never have been able to pay to return to Jersey if it wasn’t for her. “Thank you Mum.”

“It’s fine a bhabóg, now go pack.”

I didn’t need to be told twice and I scurried up the stairs with Gerard behind me.



“I can’t believe I’m back,” I stood outside Newark airport, dropped my bags and just twirled in a circle. I didn’t care that I was in the way of people leaving the airport, or that they were glaring at me. All that I cared about was that I was back where I should be. I was finally home.

Gerard hailed a cab and in no time at all we were back in good ole Belleville. I all but jumped out the door and ran down the familiar streets, drinking it all in. It was so good to be back. So good to be back amongst the grey buildings I had once loathed.
I turned back to Gerard and grabbed the hand that wasn’t carry a suitcase, “C’mon Gee, let’s go get coffee.”

He chuckled a little and his eyes lit up as I pulled him through the familiar streets that led to our coffee shop.

The bell jingled as we entered and that familiar mop of blonde hair was bent of a comic book.

“Lucas!” I exclaimed excitedly and ran up the young man to hug him tightly. “I’ve missed your coffee.”

At first he tried to push me away, obviously not recognising me with my now truly faded purple hair. But then, as I squirmed away from his hands, a smile lit up his face, “Ciara?”

I nodded my head and smiled up at the coffee shop worker, “I missed you Luke.”

He kissed my cheek and pulled me in for another hug, “Missed you too. Can’t believe you’re back, no one told me,” He pouted. “I’d like to have been told like… God!”

I giggled and ordered mine and Gerard’s usual. As I waited for the drinks I looked around the quirky coffee shop, noting that little had changed. Mine and Gerard’s couch was still there, the one behind the bookcase, and that’s were Gerard was currently sitting. He looked tired and I felt bad for keeping him up all through the flight, but I’m too nervous on planes. I hate sleeping on them.



Two coffees later and Gerard was looking a lot more alert. It was crazy how we could spend every waking moment together for over two weeks and yet never ran out of things to talk about.

“Y’know,” Gerard started, his hand was holding mine and he was running his thumb across my knuckles in a way that was almost soothing. “You’re the only reason I kept coming here at the beginning of the school year.”

I looked at him in slight shock, “Wha- why?”

He smiled a little, “When you moved here Ray rang me up to tell me all about the cute girl who lived across from him. He was sure there was something bothering you and he wanted us all to be friends.
“After I saw you sitting in your window seat looking forlorn I decided I’d make it my mission to see you smile.”

I gasped and heat flooded my cheeks. My eyes dropped from his, “So you did see me that morning.”

He laughed in that way that makes it sound like the tinkling of little bells, “Yeah I did. You were so embarrassed.
“Anyway, the first day I saw you in here was actually complete coincidence. I came in to get a coffee; this had always been Matt’s favourite haunt. He used to sit in the exact spot you always do. When I saw you were sitting here too I thought it was a sign that we should be friends. After that I came here every morning just to see you, to try and work up the courage to talk to you.”

I knew I should probably be a little creeped out that he had essentially stalked me for a while, but I just couldn’t. Instead I found it sweet that he had gone to so much effort just to make friends with me because he wanted to see me smile. It made me feel all warm inside like a little girl with a hopeless crush on the older boy who lived down the street.

“Gee, you are so fricking adorable sometimes!”

He smiled and pulled me in for a short kiss, “So are you Sugar.”