Wasted

Autumn raced up to Gerard and grabbed him by the back of his shirt. She pulled him off towards the side of the club and he didn’t put up much of a fight, due to the alcohol in his system. She dragged him outside and shoved him towards the brick wall.

“I’m so sick of this Gerard!” She exasperated and threw her hands up at him in frustration. The cold air hit her face and blew her hair away, fueling more of her adrenaline. The mixed signals, the cold shoulders the inviting conversations were all taking its final toll on her. She didn’t understand what ran through his mind half the time he spoke to her or what his intentions were and all she wanted were answers.

Gerard swayed and shifted from foot to foot drunkenly. Autumn opened her mouth up to speak but Gerard beat her to it.

“I’m gonna be sick,” he groaned and doubled over, letting the contents of his stomach splatter all over the ground.

Autumn grimaced down at the puking Gerard and turned away to breathe fresh air instead of the aroma of alcohol around him.

He fell back on his ass and grumbled to himself against the cold pavement.

“Jesus, fuck me, right?” Autumn muttered to herself and kneeled down to level with him.

The side door of the club swung open, letting out Ray into the cold night. “He’s drunk.”

Autumn raised her eyebrows and let out a sigh, “Yeah.”

“I saw you two arguing and I lost you for a minute but I came to check on you. I figured he was puking.” Ray stared down at Gerard who was busy clutching his stomach and groaning in pain. I looked up at Ray and spoke up, “He gets way too drunk sometimes and just goes off his rocker.”

“Yeah, you get used to it after a while. But shit, it’s never a pleasant sight.” He turned over and rubbed his neck, “I’ll get Mikey and load up the van with our shit.” He turned on his heel but Autumn piped up.

“I’ll just take him home. You guys are having fun. You shouldn’t have to call it a night just because Gerard can’t handle his alcohol.” Autumn didn’t exactly feel like dealing with a drunken Gerard but she needed to talk to him as soon as he could possibly sober up.

Ray raised an eyebrow and pointed over to Gerard, “You sure? I can just-”

Autumn shook her head and cut him off, “Yeah its fine. Can you tell Frank and the girls that I went home to help Gerard out?”

“Yeah okay. I’m pretty sure he’s done puking for the night.”

Autumn lightly smiled over at Gerard and nodded, “Okay. I’ll see you later then.”

“See ya.” Ray waved and walked right back into the club.

Gerard peeked up at Autumn through his hair and mumbled, “I don’t feel good.”

“Come on, I’m taking you home.” She pulled his arm over her shoulder and helped him up roughly.

“You’re not mad at me?” Gerard slurred and glanced down at her with glassy eyes.

She looked up and sighed, moving a few pieces of hair away from his face. “We’ll talk when you’re sober.”

It wasn’t until tonight that she realized how strong his addiction with alcohol was. Every time they went out his system always found its way back to the alcohol and he was always shit faced and ready to puke everywhere. Glancing at him from the corner of her eye on the way home, she noticed he had fallen asleep. His lips were slightly parted and his cheeks were resting under his palm.

She got to her apartment sooner than she expected and she groaned, dreading having to help him up the stairs.

“Gerard,” she spoke up and gently poked him, trying to wake him up.

He mumbled sleepily into his palm but didn’t budge. “Gerard!” She whispered harshly and poked him harder.

He groaned and his eyes stirred open, looking right into her green ones. “Come on, we’re here.”

He glanced around, taking in his surroundings and nodded dumbly before sitting up. “Where are we?”

“My apartment, we’re gonna get you cleaned up, come on.” She held out her hand for him to take. His clammy hand grasped hers quickly and she was glad he had his footing ready for the stairs.

“Do you think you’re going to throw up some more?” Autumn asked as she led him inside her apartment.

He shook his head and looked around curiously. He had never been inside her apartment and to his surprise it didn’t look like anything he expected. He imagined girly and classy decorations and the walls to be clouded with knick-knacks you would only find in a woman’s home.

But her walls were a pale red and only a few pictures of random things clung to her walls. The living room connected to the kitchen held a sofa with a television, a stereo and a small kitchen table. He knew she lived with her girlfriends but he didn’t expect it to be so tidy for three girls. Autumn watched him as he looked around, taking in his surroundings.

“Taylor’s a giant neat freak, that’s why it’s so clean.” She laughed lightly to break the silence and small tension in the room.

He looked back at her and stood awkwardly in the middle of the living room. “It’s nice.”

“Thanks.” He glanced back around and wondered why she brought him back here.

She could have easily taken him back to his place or even left him at the club. Autumn shifted nervously from foot to foot and the exact thought entered her mind. Why had she brought him here? She decided it was just her motherly instincts kicking in like they always did when a friend of hers was drunk. And they were starting to kick up again.

“Do you want something to drink?” She walked over to the kitchen and pulled out a glass and filled it with water before he could even respond.

“Thanks.” He mumbled and took it as soon as she handed it to him.

The apartment was quiet, their bodies barely making a sound and the awkwardness was hanging around.

Autumn looked over at the clock and read the late time. Tomorrow was Halloween and Frank’s birthday, she would have to be up early to surprise him with a cake, just like she did every year, even though you could hardly call it a surprise since he expected her every birthday morning on his doorstep with a cake she baked herself.

“I should probably get to bed then.” She spoke up and pointed towards her room, “you can take my bed, there’s aspirin on the bedside table.”

Gerard shook his head quickly and stood straighter, “No, I can take the couch.” His words were still slurring together.

Autumn shook her head and smiled slightly, “It’s fine Gerard, just take my bed. I’ll be fine on the couch.”

Gerard sighed and looked up at her, the drunken sleep clouding his vision and he stumbled towards the couch.

“No Fall.” He slurred and slumped down on the cushions, his head resting against the arm of the couch.

Autumn raised an eyebrow and questioned, “Fall?”

“You know,” he rubbed his eyes sleepily and looked up at her, “your name’s Autumn, like Fall.”

Autumn snorted back a small laugh and leaned against the couch, looking down at Gerard, “I’ll see you in the morning.”

He nodded dumbly and closed his heavy eyes.

-

Gerard’s eyes shot open but sleep was still heavy on his body. He looked around nervously forgetting where he was and wondering how he ended up on the unfamiliar couch. He trailed his mind back to last night but all that he could remember was the show he played. The walls he looked at were unfamiliar, along with everything surrounding the room.

Nervously he stood up and noticed he still had on his clothes from last night which reeked of sweat and alcohol. His eyes widened like saucers when he saw a brunette leaning over the kitchen, cooking breakfast and humming along to a tune in her head. The back of her head didn’t look familiar and he was even more nervous that she was dressed in a less than modest night gown.

He stepped forward apprehensively and cleared his throat to get her attention. She turned around swiftly, spatula in hand and her eyes wide. Gerard took her features in. She had big blue eyes slightly hidden under her fringe. Her lips quickly turned up into a smile and she spoke up, “Autumn’s getting dressed, she’ll be out here soon. Do you want some coffee?”

Autumn.

Autumn had brought him here but that still didn’t answer his question of why he even ended up here in the first place. He hadn’t seen Autumn since their dispute at Frank’s house over take-out.

Taylor raised an eyebrow at his quiet and awkward demeanor and pointed towards the coffee maker, “Help yourself.”

Gerard swallowed thickly and nodded, murmuring a small thank you and pouring himself a hot cup of coffee. He drank it quickly, letting the warm caffeine run down his throat to his lungs and wake him up.

Taylor went back to cooking breakfast on the stove and Gerard took a seat at the kitchen table. He noticed stray papers on the table, all scribbled down with what looked like notes and poems. Taylor saw him peeking at the papers and spoke up, “Those are Autumn’s rough drafts. Don’t let her catch you looking at em.” She laughed lightly and took a seat across from Gerard, her plate of food in front of her and cascading its aroma through his nose.

His head was pounding with a hangover and he wanted to get his fingers on a bottle of aspirin quickly.

“I know you’re confused as shit right now,” Taylor smirked and waved her fork at him. “Autumn brought you here last night, apparently you were drunk off your ass.” Gerard’s eyes widened as he took in the information pouring out of Taylor’s lips.

“She won’t tell us if you guys got frisky but I bet you’re willing to spill, eh?” Taylor cocked an eyebrow at him and grinned devilishly at him.

“Frisky?” His eyebrows furrowed as he questioned her, a puzzled expression on his face. Taylor’s grin fell and she rolled her eyes, “I’ll take that as a no.”

“Woke up our lovely guest?” Riley grinned over at Gerard as she sauntered into the living room towards the kitchen.

“Oh yes, apparently they didn’t get frisky.” Taylor chuckled and took a bite of her food.

Riley gasped and slammed the cabinet door shut, “How unpleasant.”

Gerard’s eyes flickered between the two of them, confused out of his mind and his cheeks were turning pink.
“I think we make him nervous,” Taylor spoke up as she noticed the color of his cheeks warming up.

Before Riley and Taylor could continue their obnoxious conversation between Gerard, Autumn strode into the room, shaking her wet hair off into a towel and smiling up at her company with a cocked eyebrow.

“Good morning.”

“Good morning you hot piece of wet just got out of the shower ass!” Riley exclaimed and rushed to her, showering her with kisses on the cheek. Autumn laughed and gently pushed Riley off of her, letting her towel drop to the floor.

Gerard sat across from Taylor and watched the room with a bewildered expression on his face. His mind was racing and pounding at the same time.

“Can I talk to you in my room Gerard?” Autumn spoke up to him, her expression calm and far from obnoxious like her two roommates.

He nodded and swiftly stood up from the table, earning a small giggle from Taylor. “We must have scared him off Riley.”

Gerard followed Autumn into the small hallway and was surprised when she let him into her room. Her room was a soft melon color with a full bed in the middle of the room. She had a desk with papers and books scattered across the top where her laptop sat. Next to her desk was her bookcase, stacked to the brim with books and her closet was across from it all, curtains covering it.

She turned around to face him, his eyes were tired and bloodshot with a hangover and she rushed over to her bedside table where the aspirin rested.

“Here,” she handed the bottle to him and he quickly downed them with his coffee mug still held tightly in his hands. Autumn smiled meekly at him and stepped back to take a seat on the corner of her bed. Gerard stood still and awkwardly by the door. He saw that her face was free of makeup but still radiant and glowing with her natural beauty.

“Did Taylor tell you why you’re here?” She broke the silence.

He nodded and rubbed the back of his neck nervously, “She said you brought me here because I was drunk off of my ass.”

Autumn nodded, “You threw up outside of the club.”

Gerard cut to the chase, the question that was burning in his head. “Why did you bring me to your apartment?”

Autumn looked down at her lap before flashing her eyes back up to him. “You pissed me off again last night,” she clicked her tongue and bit her lip, “and you said something that I needed to ask you about.”

Gerard’s eyebrows rose in confusion and he shifted on his feet, “What did I say?”

Autumn looked up at his hazel eyes and she just let it out, “You said you can’t like me.”

Gerard’s eyebrows furrowed and he tried to remember that memory but nothing came up. “Oh.”

Autumn sighed and stood up, “Look Gerard, I don’t know what the hell is going on between you and I. One second we’re okay with each other and the next you’re saying something to piss me off or acting like I’m an annoying leech on your back.”

Gerard’s mouth parted open in surprise and he ran a hand through his hair, “It’s not like that Autumn.”

“Then what is it? Because I swear I think you’re bipolar sometimes.” He looked at her and shook his head, letting out a sigh.

“It’s just the alcohol, don’t think anything of it.” He said dismissively and shrugged his shoulders.

Autumn’s eyebrows furrowed and she frowned, “Just the alcohol? The last time I checked, you were sober at Frank’s where you poked me about my weight.”

Gerard groaned and rubbed his hand over his eyes, “It’s not that a big of a deal.”

Autumn’s eyes almost popped out her head and she felt the heat rising in her spine. He was pissing her off again and he wouldn’t answer her questions sincerely, she could tell with the tone in his voice.

“You get drunk almost every night to the point where you don’t even remember anything. That’s not a big deal? You have a problem!” She spat harsher than she intended.

Gerard felt his breathing get stuck in his throat and his eyes were narrowed slits at her, “I don’t have a fucking problem.”

Autumn scoffed and crossed her arms over her chest, “I beg to fucking differ.”

Gerard shook his head and spat back at her, “You don’t fucking know me Autumn! Mind your own goddamn business and leave me alone.”

He opened her bedroom door and slammed it shut behind him. She felt her blood boiling and she could hear his heavy footsteps going to the front door and then she heard that door slam.

“Fucking prick!” She shouted angrily at the empty space in front of her.