Break Apart Her Heart

**Khorie’s POV**

Khorie was leaning up against the side of the car, her green eyes on the house across the street. Where he was. Mikey was next to her, running a hand through his light brown hair. Her sister, Ray, and Frank had already gone inside. Though Frank hadn’t seemed too happy about it. Well, neither did Dani. She had heard her twin complaining about having to do a project with the hyperactive guy, and she kind of felt bad for the both of them. Their English teacher sure did know a thing about torture.

“Are you sure he’ll say yes?” Khorie asked for the millionth time in the last ten minutes.

“Yes Khorie! Geez. I’ll go talk to him, and then I’ll call you, okay? We’ll figure it out. Promise. Don’t worry your pretty little head over this, okay?” Mikey said, giving her a reassuring smile before gently kissing the top of her head. With one final wave, he left their driveway and crossed the paved street to his own house.

Sighing, Khorie made her way into her own home. Already she could hear bickering coming from the dining room. Deciding to stay way clear of that area, she made her way into the kitchen, only to find Ray rifling through the cabinets. He turned at the sound of her footsteps, a sheepish smile on his face. Not that any of the guys were uncomfortable making themselves at home. They’ve been around the Stuarts for five years now, and they were quite able to get their own damn food.

“Escaping the insanity?” she asked, smirking as she opened the fridge.

She heard Ray sigh heavily. “Those two just don’t stop. It’s been nonstop bitching since we got here. It’s getting on my last nerve,” he said, his brows furrowed together.

Khorie shrugged offhandedly. “You know, you don’t have to put up with it. I’m sure that Dani will survive one afternoon without you, Fro. Seriously. Plus, they need to learn a lesson. They need to learn that you’re not always going to be there to play referee. I’m going over to the Way house in a bit. That way, they’ll be all alone.”

Ray stared at her incredulously, his brown eyes wide. “And you’re positive that Dani’s not going to commit murder? Because I sure as hell don’t want to visit her in New Jersey State Penitentiary.”

She chuckled, shaking her head. “She may dislike Frank, but I doubt she’ll kill him,” she said, rolling her eyes.

He nodded before reaching up and grabbing a bag of chips. Using his free hand, he reached over and ruffled her hair, giving her his trademark smile. It shone all the way to his eyes, making him look like an innocent child. “You’re probably right. I’ll catch you later then, Khor.”

“See you, Toro.”

She turned back to the fridge just as the phone rang. Khorie slammed the fridge door shut, practically running into the living room, where the cordless phone was resting on the cradle. She didn’t even have to look at the caller ID to know who it was. She picked it up, hitting the ‘talk’ button before placing it to her ear.

“Yo, Way. What’s going on?” she asked, sitting down on the couch heavily.

“He said yes! And he doesn’t even mind if he’s not getting paid! Although I’m sure that you’re going to insist, aren’t you?”

“Of course I am. I couldn’t have him teaching me his art without paying him. It just wouldn’t seem right. Did he say we could start today? I’d really like to get a start on it.”

”I don’t see why not. Get your cute ass over here.”

Khorie tilted her head back, laughing at him. She wasn’t sure what it was, but she found it absolutely hilarious whenever Mikey complimented her. Probably because he didn’t seem the type to call a girl ‘cute’ to her face. Well, he only really did it to her because he was so damn shy, but that was besides the point. It still made her laugh her ass off.

“Be there soon, gorgeous,” she replied before hanging up the phone.

She ran down the hallway towards the dining room and poked her head in. Dani was sitting at one end of the small rectangular table, Frank at the other. Mass amounts of papers was strewn against the wooden surface. Pens and pencils were in random places and Khorie instantly wondered if they had gotten anything done. Besides getting on each other’s nerves, that is. They were glaring heatedly at each other, both of their lips pursed.

“Right. Well, I’m going over to Mikey’s. Be good. Don’t kill each other,” she said. She was about to duck back out when she heard an indignant cry coming from her sister.

“What?! You’re leaving me here with him?! ALONE?!”

She put a thoughtful expression on her face for a few seconds before nodding. “Um. Yeah. Have fun!”

With that, she turned, grabbed her bag, and ran out of the house, ignoring the cries of protest from the both of them. She made her way across the street and, without even knocking, entered the Way household. She knew that Donna wasn’t there yet. She didn’t get home till around six in the evening. Not that it would’ve mattered anyways. The Way house was just as much as her home as it was the guys’.

“Khor! We’re in the kitchen!”

A smile came over her face as she walked into the kitchen. However, it became strained when she saw Gerard leaning against the counter, a steaming cup of coffee in his hands. He looked as though he had just woken up. His shaggy black hair was a disaster and his hazel eyes looked a bit dull. Adorning his legs was a pair of black pajama pants covered in deep grey skulls. His plain white t-shirt was wrinkled and had a small coffee stain near the hem. He looked like hell. But at the same time, there was a comfortable appeal to him that Khorie couldn’t help but stare.

“You want a cup?” Mikey asked, gesturing towards the coffee maker.

She nodded simply before setting her bag on one of the kitchen chairs, pulling out her notebook and drawing utensils. She heard the clinking of porcelain on tile, and then Gerard was right beside her, gesturing towards her sketchbook.

“Do you mind?” he asked simply, arching a brow.

Khorie shook her head as she sat her pencil case on the wooden table before moving over to Mikey. He handed her her cup and she proceeded to add sugar and creamer to it. She stirred her coffee with a spoon as she watched the man flip through the pages, every now and then stopping at a particular one to admire it for a few seconds before continuing on. She bit at her bottom lip, suddenly feeling naked, exposed.

Drawing was her life. All her heart was poured into those pages. And now, he was looking at them, inspecting them. She felt self-conscious. Mikey noticed it and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder, giving her a small smile. She returned it, glad that he was there. He knew how much it meant to her, knew how much of her heart and soul was put into those drawings.

“These are really good,” Gerard said, finally closing the cover of it before setting the sketchbook onto the table.

Her face went a deep crimson color. “Thanks,” she muttered.

“I really can’t accept your money though. I don’t mind helping you out,” he said, giving her a pointed look.

Khorie shrugged. “I don’t mind. I insist. Please.”

He said nothing, only returned to his cup of coffee that was situated on the counter beside her. His arm brushed against hers and she felt her face grow even more heated. She was fucking pathetic. She was blushing over some guy. A school girl crush, was what it was. Nothing more, nothing less. And she was acting like it was a big deal that he touched her. Accidentally. She was so ashamed of herself.

“Well, this is where I leave you two. I’ll be in the living room, if you need anything,” Mikey said, grinning at her as he made to leave the kitchen.

She sent him a pleading look, begging him to stay with her. However, he merely smirked before exiting. She narrowed her eyes at the empty space where he had previously stood as she took a sip of her coffee. It burned going down her throat, but she didn’t care.

“I guess we should get started,” Gerard said quietly, gesturing towards the table.

Khorie nodded and went to sit down. He pulled up a chair next to her, sitting his coffee down. She followed suit, then grabbed one of her drawing pencils. He picked up a piece of paper and one of her pencils, then began slowly drawing a human form. She watched him take careful strokes, his brow furrowed in concentration. Every now and then, his tongue would poke out of the corners of his lips, obviously lost in what he was doing.

Her green eyes would flick up towards him, then down to the paper, then back up to him. She was sitting so close that she could smell him. The scent that was wafting off of him smelled of cigarettes, coffee, and some unfamiliar cologne. It smelled oddly appealing, although she wasn’t fond of smokers. Their knees were touching underneath the table, and she could feel the warmth radiating off of him.

It took him the better part of half an hour to finish the drawing. About halfway through, she began to realize that she knew the subject. Herself. He perfectly depicted the roundness of her cheeks, the way her brows arched finely. Her hair fell around her shoulders in a perfect mirror image of the real thing. He was fucking good at this. Amazingly good. And she was jealous as all hell. With a flourish, he signed his name at the bottom before handing it to her.

She took it gingerly, not wanting to smudge any of it. He gave her a sweet, lopsided smile as he watched her look over it, clearly in awe. She could tell that he didn’t think it was that good, but that he was taking joy in seeing her so awestruck about it.

“It’s not that hard, Khor. Your turn,” he said, his voice slightly scratchy, probably from all the cigarettes he had smoked.

She let out a groan. “Gee, I can’t do this.”

“Yes you can. Seriously. Just…don’t think about it. Just draw. It’ll come to you,” he said, nodding in encouragement.

Sighing, Khorie grabbed her sketchbook. She put her feet on the edge of her seat, leaning her legs against the table. Khorie placed her book on her legs so that he couldn’t see. Scrunching up her brow in thought, she poised her pencil over the empty paper. And then, the image flitted through her mind. Almost furiously, she began scrawling lines. Gerard watched her intently, sipping at his coffee.

After forty-five minutes of hasty drawing, she was done. She sighed heavily as she looked over her work. She didn’t like it. It was good, yes. But she knew that she could do better. The eyes were slightly lopsided, and the fingers were slightly deformed. It looked stupid. Tears welled up in her eyes as she slammed the cover shut. She was so frustrated with herself, so irritated. Why couldn’t she just fucking draw it? She could draw anything else, but why couldn’t she draw humans? It couldn’t be any harder than the animals that constantly showed up in her work, could it?

Khorie let out a low growl and threw her notebook across the room. It hit one of the cabinets, then landed on the floor with a resounding crash. A tear cascaded down her cheek as she placed her face into her knees, wrapping her arms around her legs. All was silent in the Way household. She heard Gerard stand and walk across the kitchen towards her notebook. She swallowed hard, trying to get the lump in her throat to go away. But it wouldn’t. It seemed to be stuck there, glued to her throat.

“Khor.”

Gerard’s soft voice next to her made her jump. She felt his hand go to her shoulder, then heard the familiar sound of the notebook being placed on the table. And then, his arms were around her, holding her close. Her shoulders shook with her soft sobs. She wasn’t normally one to get so upset, but she was just so damn frustrated. All she ever wanted to do in life was to draw, but she couldn’t seem to get humans right. And it pissed her off.

“Shh. Khorie, it’s okay. It’s just a drawing,” he said, his voice soothing as he ran a hand over her hair. She buried her face into his neck as he rocked them back and forth, comforting the upset girl.

After a few minutes, he pulled away, giving her a small smile as he placed a finger underneath her chin, making her look up at him. She knew she probably looked like hell. She always did when she cried. He wiped away a stray tear with his thumb. Most guys sucked at comforting girls, but Gerard seemed to have it down pat. And for that, she was glad. She was already starting to feel a little better. But it was his next words that really took the cake.

“It’s okay. You wanna know why? Because I’m going to help you. I promise you by the time that I’m done, you’re going to make my drawings look like shit,” he said, giving her the familiar crooked smile.

She chuckled, shaking her head. “I doubt that, but thanks Gee.”