Will You be the One to Save Me?

I was then distracted by the grumbling in my stomach. Chuckling, I rose, glancing at myself in the mirror. A blue tinge flooded my left cheek, but that’s not what caught my attention. It was her eyes. This girl’s eyes were not mine. No, my eyes were not that dark or guarded. The eyes that stared back into mine, they were his. I stared as “Lost in you” began to play. Blinking, the eyes vanished, returning my dull green orbs. Suddenly, I wasn’t so hungry, only tired. I was craving sleep. Sleep I knew I wouldn’t be getting. Overwhelmed by lethargy, I did not even remove my shoes as I collapsed on my bed, letting my eyes drift shut.

‘Darkness. All dark. So dark. Where am I? It’s cold. Am I falling? I’m falling. I-I can’t breathe. What’s happening? I’m in a cage. A cold, dark, glass cage. Somebody. Somebody help me. I’m drowning.’ *tap* ‘Who’s there? No one. It’s not real. Only the darkness’ *tap. Tap…tap* ‘Still there? Where are you? Will you help me?’ *tap. Tap…Bang!* I jolted out of my fitful sleep.

“What?!” I scanned my room, my eyes finally landing on my window. “The tree…?” I stood and padded slowly to the window. The shadow of the tree loomed menacingly. Sliding open the thin pane of glass, I was running on pure adrenaline. ‘Nothing….?’

“Hiya!” Frank sprang up in front of me. I slapped a hand over my mouth, falling to the ground and choked back a scream that was building in my lungs.

“Jesus Frank! What the hell? You damn near gave me a heart attack!” I tried to calm my heart rate from a million miles an hour back to something reasonable. Frank perched on the tree limb, grinning like a maniac. He truly terrified me just how much fun he was getting out of this. “How…How do you know where I live?” He shrugged.

“Come on. We’re going out and Gerard wants you to come.” ‘That name.’ I slowly stood up.

“We’re doing what?”

“Come on! You’ll see!” Frank disappeared down the tree. I slipped my sweater over my head and grasped the limb closest to my open window. Adrenalin rocketed through my slight frame. It felt…exhilarating. It wasn’t until I was in the branches that I realized I was afraid of heights. My muscles froze and I felt helpless. “What are you doing?” Frank asked me from the ground. My lack of response must have annoyed him quickly, seeing as how, in 30 seconds, he was on a branch right next to my own. “Are you afraid of heights?” I nodded, teeth clenched and jaw aching. A maniacal laugh tore from the teens lungs. “Ray.” I didn’t like the sound of his words. “You ready?”

“Yep!” Ray called back. There was a smile in his voice. ‘Oh shit.’

“Are you ticklish?” Frank asked evilly, earning a sidelong glance from me. He grinned evilly before assailing me, resulting in me losing my grip and plummeting to the earth. I didn’t have time to scream before I landed on Ray, forcing us both to the ground.

“Oof!” I held my shoulder for a minute before Ray aided me up from the ground. “Frank, you ass. I’m gonna kill you.” I snarled through clenched teeth. He held his hands up, defeated, while he chuckled.

“You can try sweet thing. You can try.” With that, he pulled out a cigarette, turned on his heal, and headed off towards the grave yard.

“You okay?” Ray asked. ‘What a sweet heart.’

“Yeah” ‘No’ “My shoulder just hurts a little is all. I’ll be fine.” ‘Lies’ As we slunk through the yards of neighbors I began to wonder about Frank’s path. “Frank? Why aren’t we on the side walk?”

“Street lights.” He said it like it was the most obvious thing ever. I watched the glow of Frank’s cigarette. While the smell was repulsive, the light captivated me. Suddenly, said light disappeared and my footsteps faltered. Ray touched my shoulder, gently guiding me like a lost child.

“Don’t worry. You’re safe. I swear.” I relaxed into those words, so muck like a harbor to me. I was this feeling that told me how scared I truly was. “This way.” Ray lifted a curtain. ‘Curtain? Where are we?’ A soft glow illuminated the end of the passage from which a soft murmur escaped. Ray’s guiding hand never left my shoulder, gently urging me forward into the dark.

“Ray, I’m scared…” I whimpered. It was pathetic sounding, really, and it disgusted me. What about this terrified me so? Perhaps, no, definitely, it was the pale boy who I knew waited there for our arrival. This recognition is what terrified me.

“Don’t worry Samantha. You’ll be fine.” Ray whispered. We approached the end of the passage. Another curtain was pulled aside, allowing us entrance into a large, club like room. No music filled this hall. Only the low voices of the black clad bodies created a low drone, like that of bees buzzing off in the distance. It was almost calming.

“Ray! Sam!” I turned to see an energetic Mikey wave us over. That boy was so sweet, it calmed my strung-out nerves. Frank had joined Gerard and Mikey and was now attempting to snag Gerard’s drink, jumping up and down in a futile attempt. The smirk on Gerard’s face was by no means comforting and I felt all of my muscle’s tensing up. His dark eyes caught my figure and he handed Frank the drink who promptly downed it.

“Ak! Nasty.” Frank whined.

“He gets the same thing every time. Why do you always ask for it?” Mikey asked, seemingly annoyed by his friend’s antics.

“Collins.” My eyes locked onto Gerard’s. His dark orbs gave me the feeling of drowning. “Ready for some fun?” He smirked and I shivered. “Come on guys. We have work to do.” In one fluidly graceful movement, Gerard turned on his heel and headed out the way I had just entered.

“Hey,” Mikey came to my side. “You look nervous. What’s up?” I hesitated. Should I tell him the truth? I decided that would be best. Secrets don’t make friends.

“Your brother…He-he scares me. And I barely know you guys and I’m going out with you in the middle of the night.” I kept my voice low, praying Gerard didn’t hear me. Good Lord only knows how he’d take that one.

“Well, Gerard asked Frank and Ray to come get you, so he doesn’t hate you. Gerard’s just…damaged.” Mikey’s voice trailed off as his brother came to a halt. Confused, I gazed up at the looming house. A gasp escaped my lips.

“Jackson’s house…?” Gerard grinned evilly.

“Frankie? You got that knife?” Frank pulled out a switch blade. “Good. Get to work.” As Frank turned to the car to slice the tires, Gerard turned to Ray and Mikey. “Camera?” They held up to digitals. “Go. Collins. You come with me.” I blinked and Gerard grabbed my hand, pulling me after him.

“Where…where are we going?” My voice was small, pitiful.

“Revenge, sweet thing.” Gerard stopped in front of Jackson’s Camaro he kept parked out back. “This things got and alarm, so we need to Jimmy the lock.” He pulled out a strip of wire.

“Wait. Use this key.” On my key ring, there was a key to Jackson’s car. One he gave me last year after he asked me out and I stupidly said yes. Gerard cast me a weird glance that I couldn’t place before accepting the key. His hand brushed mine, raising goose bumps on my arms and sent my heart into a sprint. The key clicked in the lock. We were in. Tossing my key s back at me, Gerard began destroying the Camaro.

“Carve up the seats. Use your keys,” he said quietly, glancing around the still yard. I did as I was told, not wanting to ignite the anger I knew resided within this boy. I had never been one for revenge, but I won’t lie. It felt good getting back at that dick. “Alright, let’s move before we get caught.” We met the other guys up front and sprinted down the street, adrenalin pumped through my veins. I never recalled feeling so alive, or running so much either. I couldn’t suppress the bubbly giggle that escaped my burning lungs. Two blocks later and Gerard collapsed on a random lawn. We all fell around him as my laughter quickly worked its way around to all of the boys who had collapsed beside me.

“That’ll piss him off,” I panted, supporting myself on my elbow. I surveyed the panting bodies. Frank was face down and spread eagle. He, quite honestly, looked dead. Mikey’s glasses were askew and his mouth hung open as he gasped for air. Ray looked akin to Cousin It with his hair covering his face. I chuckled low before my eyes fell on the figure of Gerard. His pale skin seemed to glow under the light of the moon. His ebony hair fell across his face and his left arm covered his eyes as his chest rose and fell to the beat of his slowing breaths. He seemed relaxed, less cold and cautious. To be perfectly honest, he was beautiful. Like and incubus of legend that called out to girls, bringing them to their impending doom. How can this angelic form be real? Surely he would vanish with the light of day. Such beauty should not be allowed on this planet. I was lost in my own minds wanderings.

“Liking what you see, Collins?” Gerard’s arm shifted and he stared up at me from under it. Flecks of green were visible in his smoldering eyes. Heat rose in my cheeks, yet, I could not bring myself to look away. I was trapped in his gaze. It was similar to a bird being stared down by a snake, unable to move due to the fact that she is paralyzed in fear of the creature in front of her. Gerard smirked, the left side of his lips pulling up as he sat erect, releasing me from my spell. “Let’s get you home, Collins.” Gerard stood and offered me his hand. After a moment of hesitation, I accepted and took his hand, against the pulling in my gut that told me to run like hell and get away from this evil angel that stood before me. He aided me as I rose to my feet. “I’ll take her home. The rest of you do whatever.”

“Alright. By Sam,” Mikey said, still on the ground. I was shocked still, to hear someone other than my father use that pet name. Ray parted his hair and waved to me, not wishing to rise yet from the ground.

“Later, Sammy.” Frank had sat up and winked at me with his classic, ‘too cool for you’ smirk. Gerard just rolled his eyes at his eccentric friend.

“C’mon Collins.” I turned to follow the pale boy to the building I called my home. I appraised the mysterious figure that ghosted in front of me. He truly seemed to be of some supernatural origin. Inhuman.

“Do I scare you Collins?” The quest that leaked from his lips was so abrupt, it took me by surprise and my footsteps faltered.

“I…you…you, how can I put this, you intrigue me. I’m not sure how to feel around you. Your…your eyes. They’re different every time I see you. I can tell that they are hazel but it seems as though they go black when you become agitated. That terrifies me. I feel like I should run, but I can’t pull myself away.” My voice trailed off as he cast a glance over his shoulder.

“So I do scare you. I heard you and Mikey right then.” The color drained from my face and my feet faltered yet again, nearly resulting in my face connecting with the ground.

“You…you heard us?” Gerard wheeled on me, a fierce gleam in his darkened eyes. I shrank back into the shadows in an attempt to hide from his wrath.

“Yeah, I heard you. Clear as mother fucking day.” Gerard was releasing all of his pent-up emotions, and it was terrifying. I felt so small. I took a step back, my eyes wide in fear. This look registered something in Gerard, because he froze and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Sorry…” he muttered. “I haven’t been sleeping.”

“I…I think I’ll walk myself the rest of the way home.” I said in a small voice. This pale boy’s agitation still clouded the clear night air, tainting it into a darker hue. I was unaware anyone could hold back that much anger without breaking. He had been hurt, that much I could tell. Gerard’s dark eyes glanced at me before nodding in agreement.

“Sure. You’re almost there anyways.” Gerard stuffed his hands into his pockets and stared at the ground. Goosebumps raised on my arms as I passed him, causing me to clutch my arms against my chest. “Hey,” he said as I passed him. Turing just enough to see him, I saw his eyes still down cast. He raised them to meet mine briefly. “Make sure you’re always with one of us tomorrow.” It wasn’t a threat, but more of a word of caution. I nodded, then proceeded with my rout to my house, looming at the end of the street. His eyes never left my back. The click of the key in the lock was an ominous sound, foreboding. It resembled a gun cocking. As I shut the heavy door, I caught a glimpse of Gerard under a streetlight, glowing and staring intently at me. That darkness that enveloped me as I shut the door was almost comforting, like a dark shroud, holding me away from harm. I padded up to my room and fell on my bed, my eyes quickly closing.