Immortality Means Never Dying

But why am I so scared? Gerard can't kill me...right?

"It's all your fucking fault," he said in a manic, almost amused voice.

"Wh-what are you talking about?" I choked.

"It's not her fault, Gerard," Frank said. Gerard took one last step forward so that there was hardly any space left for me to breathe. He held my face in his hands and stared into my eyes. I felt myself weaken under his gaze. But I shook it off. I couldn't fall into his deadly trance.

"If...if you would've never jumped into that lake," Gerard began, "Frank would've never tried to save you. And Mikey would've never met Stacy. And no one would be dead."

Dead?

"M-Mikey's...Mikey's not-"

"Yes, Jane," Gerard said softly. "He's dead. I've had too many people I love die..."

"I-I'm so sorry, Ge-"

"He's dead and it's all your fault!"

He forced my head against the wall. Hard. I groaned at the stinging pain.

And it wouldn't go away.

"Gerard, don't hurt her," Anne Marie said softly.

"Mikey's not really dead..." Ray said.

"Gerard, get away from her," Frank said.

"You know what they said to me?" Gerard went on, ignoring everyone's comments. My eyes wanted to close from the pain in my head but they were locked to his. "They said they were gonna experiment on his body, Jane. Experiment. You better thank fuck Frank didn't let me too near them or they would've killed me too. Oh, wait. You don't care."

"Gerard...I-I don't want Mikey de-"

He brought his hands down from my face and around my neck. Tightly. Choking.

"Gerard, don't!" Anne Marie yelled.

"Let go of her, Gerard!" Frank yelled.

Gerard wasn't letting me breathe. I brought my hands to his wrists, trying to pull him away, but failing miserably. My bottom lip quivered. I coughed.

"Ge...Gerard..." I choked.

"Immortal girls can't die?" Gerard said, as if it were a joke. "I know Stacy proved that fact wrong!"

I watched as Frank pulled Gerard away and threw him on the floor.

"Just calm the fuck down!" Frank said to him. I slid down the wall to the ground, my eyes closed.

"Jane, are you okay?" Frank asked softly.

I coughed, still regaining my ability to breathe. I opened my eyes softly and smiled as Frank kissed my neck.

"Frank, do you love her?"

We all looked up at Anne Marie. I stole a glance at Gerard. He was a few feet away, hugging his knees and staring at me sadly. I could swear I saw a tear on his cheek.

Can vampires cry?

"Of course I do," Frank said softly. I was surprised by what he'd said but let him hold my hands anyway. Anne Marie's eyes went wide.

"I think you're mortal, Jane," she said, her eyes bright and her smile...too wide for my comfort.

"Can I kill her, then?" Gerard asked. I didn't let myself look at him.

"Of course I'm not," I said. I felt light-headed and my chest was tight. I coughed again. Frank held me close to him almost defensively.

"Someone get me a knife and some kind of...plastic container," Anne Marie said suddenly. My eyes went wide.

"My brothers dead and you can only think of the girl that made it possible," Gerard said angrily. Ray walked over to him and attempted to comfort him. He wrapped an arm around Gerard and they whispered to each other. I could swear I saw another tear.

Almost immediately, Bob left the room. He returned with a small plastic container and...

The knife Stacy had used on herself the very first night we were ever in this apartment.

"Give it to Jane," Anne Marie instructed Bob. Bob obliged. I held both in either hand and stared at Anne Marie. "Cut yourself."

"Are you insane?" I asked her.

"No, you're mortal. Do it. If you're so sure you're not, you shouldn't be scared."

Almost immediately, I held my left wrist over the container and cut, a little too deep, into my skin. I let out a yell. The blood poured and the pain stung without going away.

"It's love, Jane," Anne Marie said. "It makes sense. 'The hardest thing to find. The greatest way to live. You'll die with what you get, but only if you give'? Love breaks the spell. The witch died for love and she wanted us to feel the same! Stacy was right! It's ironic, isn't it?"

I ignored her and paid attention to the four hungry stares I received. Frank pulled my wrist toward his mouth. He licked away some blood and then sucked on the cut. I groaned and tried pulling away, but it didn't help. Bob was the first to reach for the container and literally drink my blood from it.

"It can't be, Anne," I breathed.

"My name is Marie."

"I'm not dying..."

"You're mortal," Frank said. He looked up at me with wide green eyes. "And I'm going to ask you this one more time...do you want to die?"

This time I knew for sure. "No."

Frank smiled. He licked my wrist and then reached up and whispered in my ear. My eyes went wide. I closed them. I felt too weak to keep them open.

"Don't even think about it," Bob warned. He must know what Frank had suggested.

"I don't know, Frank," I said softly. Every word took away my breath and I felt faint.

"You have a choice and you have to make it before it's too late," Frank whispered carefully.

"Frank...Mikey and Stacy are dead," I breathed. I couldn't take it anymore. I could barely breathe. The oxygen that made its way into my lungs burned like acid. "I...I don't think..."

"Can I kill her?" Gerard asked. "Please?"

"This means you love me," Frank said to me coyly, ignoring Gerard. I smiled helplessly.

"This means I love you," I said. He pressed his lips softly against mine and I sighed.

"Sure," I said. His eyebrows went up.

"Yeah?" he said. I nodded.