My Guardian Vampire

20

EPILOUGE


Gerard helped me into my house, carrying me bridal-style with me holding onto my crutches. I was able to walk on my own, but the crutches were for if I ever felt dizzy, and Gerard was holding me because...he was Gerard.

My dad didn't mind Gerard, as long as he didn't show any sign of affection towards me when my dad was in the room. And since it was Gerard I was dating, my dad got pissed off a lot.

My mom, of course, didn't like him at all, seeing as he made me happy.
But we ignored her, and made sure we were kissing or snuggling or laughing whenever she came into the room.

A few nights after I had come home, Gerard had a surprise for me.

"Hey, Ali," Gerard said, not looking at me. Both my parents were out, and Gerard and I were watching TV on the sofa, relaxing.

"Yeah?" I asked, looking up at him. He continued to not look at my face, shifting his gaze from the TV to my hands, holding them and rubbing them in thought. I waited patiently for him to continue.

"You know the band doesn't live here, right?" I looked at him; the thought had never even crossed my mind. It made sense, probably why I had never seen him before. I wondered what he was getting at. I thought about it for a moment.

My stomach dropped, me feeling suddenly sick.

"You're leaving...?" I asked softly, trying to gulp down the bile rising in my throat. Gerard looked at me for a moment before shifting his gaze back to my hands before answering, every second killing me.

"I didn't say that," he said, and I felt like crying, not understanding what he was talking about.

"What do you mean then?" I said, choking up. He looked at my panicked expression, worry crossing his face.

Then, he laughed at me.

"Ali, please, I didn't mean for this to sound sad, I'm not heading in that direction at all..." he said, smiling. I didn't say anything, my face warped with confusion. "The band and I bought a house..." I stared at him wide-eyed.

"You did what?!" I asked, choking in amazement. This was totally unexpected.

Gerard nodded, watched my expression, amusement playing on his angel face.

"Its a kind of old house, really cool. The people we bought it from gave us a great price, and we all decided it would be a good choice, it’s really a beautiful house..." he trailed off, still studying me. I was still amazed, my mind working slowly.

"You're...staying?" I asked, my heart lurching. Gerard nodded slowly, unsure of my expression.

"Yeah...uhm, I hope that...well, I hoped you would have liked us to..." he asked, looking away from me, out the widow. I hugged him tightly, not caring that the sudden movement cause some pain from my still healing body. Gerard looked down at me, relief extremely apparent on his face. He kissed me, a long kiss that set my heart on fire. After a few moments I forced myself to pull away, hitting him on the arm. He pouted.

"I can't believe you bought a freaking house! I'm not going to even ask right now where you all got that kind of money..." I said, and he grinned.

"Good, because I wouldn't have told you even if you did ask," he said, and I stuck my tongue out at him, folding my arms and glaring slightly. He laughed kissing me on the cheek.

"So where is the house anyways?" I asked, leaning against the arm of the couch, looking at him. He looked away, towards the TV.

"Oh, you've probably seen it once or twice before... It's a big ol' house, down at the point by the water..." he grinned, raising his arm to protect himself as I hit him.

"You bought my point house?!" I asked, leaving him laughing at my hysteria. He stood up, grinning and walking away. I threw a pillow at him, but to my disappointment he walked away unfazed.

"Yupp," he said casually, coolly strolling out of my living room into the hallway, coming back a few moments later with jacket in hand.

"We're going out tonight," he said, handing me the jacket.

I laughed. "Where?"

"Don't you worry about that," he said, and I smiled. He picked me up and brought me to the car, opening the door skillfully with his foot and putting me inside.

"Am I ever going to walk again?!" I exclaimed. Gerard was being ridiculously protective of me.

"Nope," he said smiling, walking to the driver's side of the car. I rolled my eyes, sighing.

I looked in the back of the car.

"Oh you did not bring those," I moaned. Lying there were my crutches, the things I had come to hate.

"Hey, don’t talk about me that way," Frankie said, sitting in the back seat, scaring the shit out of me. I hadn't even seen him there. He grinned widely, making me unable to stop myself from laughing.

Gerard entered the driver door, snapping the seatbelt in with a small click.

"Oh, hey Frankie," he said, starting up the car. I looked at from Frankie to Gerard.

"You didn't know he was in here?" I asked, and Frankie grinned even wider.

"Nope, Frankie just kind of shows up when he wants to. You get used to it." Gerard said simply, turning around and backing out of the driveway. I looked questioningly at Frankie.

"Yup, and that’s why Gerard loves me," Frankie said, and gave Gerard a kiss on the cheek. I stared at both of them, laughing. Gerard laughed too, turning back around and wiping off his cheek.

"Like I said, you get used to it," he said, shifting into gear and giving it some gas.

"Awww, Gerard, don't be that way," Frankie pouted. It continued like this down the highway, thankfully leaving me with a distraction, so I didn’t watch the woods. I wasn’t ready to cross that bridge of into memory lane yet. We pulled into the high school parking lot.

"What are we doing here?" I asked, totally mystified. Gerard and Frankie got out of the car, and my door was suddenly opened. I unbuckled my seat belt, and then long arms wrapped around me, picking me up.

"I wanna walk!" I pouted childishly, but then realized Gerard wasn't the one holding me.

"Aww, you don't like me no more?" Rob asked. I squealed loudly, hugging him. He laughed, carrying me to the building. He set me down once we were inside.

"I can walk you know," I said, and Rob ruffled my hair, laughing. I looked around, smoothing out my hair slightly. There were instruments, and a crowd...

"Ah, it’s a concert!" I yelled, and Rob laughed at me again. "Yup, and I'm glad you could make it," he said grinning. I laughed at his grin, but strangely I no longer felt my heart stutter, only be happy as if he was another friend. Rob hugged me, and I beamed, happy as never before, realizing where my heart was now.

Gerard was on the side of us, clearing his throat and folding his arms impatiently. Obviously their previous meeting had not been forgotten, as Gerard was being blatantly hostile to Rob. Rob looked towards Gerard, narrowing his eyes, the feeling obviously mutual.

I looked at Gerard, sticking my tongue out at him.

"Don't be such a bully, Gerard," I chided. He nodded and walked away, but not before one last death glare at Rob.

"So you and the creep, huh?" he asked, looking now at me. I nodded, grinning sheepishly. Rob sighed. "Hey, whatever floats your boat. I'm just glad you’re happy," Rob said, and I hugged him tightly once again. "You better come to every one of our shows, or I'm coming after you," he said, laughing. I broke the hug, sticking my tongue out at him.

"And if I don't?" I asked, and Rob lightly picked me up, causing a scene as I screamed and kicked and laughed. He brought me over to Gerard, who was setting up. Surprisingly they were going first; usually that spot was reserved for the newer or suckiest band. Gerard stood up, unable to help from smiling at the sight of us. Rob handed me over to Gerard. I was quiet now, folding my arms in defiance of this little trade-off. Rob bowed, and Gerard laughed, doing the same with me in his arms. Rob left without a word, going back towards his band, surrounded by teenagers as they sold merchandise.

Katy, Grace, and Casey, were here, all helping the band set up, or talking to people in the other bands. Brittany, on the other hand, was (of course) making out with Frankie at a table. People looked at them disgustedly, but they didn't care, just going at it like bunnies. I held back my laughter, continuing to glare at Gerard.

Gerard set me down, leaving me still glaring. He kissed me once, laughing as he walked off to set up the microphone. It was literally a foot or two away, but I stayed there in contempt. Katy bounced over to me, her face flushed and glowing with happiness. She hugged me, causing me to laugh.

"Hey Gytha," she said. Gytha was a nickname we called each other, something we made up so long ago I have no idea where it came from.

"Gytha..." I said, glaring at her, a hidden message conveying between the two of us. I knew the cause of happiness was Bob, and eventually after a moment or two of us staring at each other, I gave into our mental fight, sighing.

"All right, I approve," I said, and she laughed. Gerard had been kneeling on the floor, watching all this.

"Gytha?" he asked, raising an eyebrow in a questioning amusement. Katy laughed, but then turned.

"Call her or me Gytha and you die," she said, and for a moment Gerard actually look scared, causing me to snicker, unable to hold in the happiness I had for my protective cousin. "Only a Gytha can call a Gytha Gytha," she said proudly, resting her hands on her hips.

"Yes ma'am," Gerard said, turning away and quickly hurrying off. Katy leaned over to me smiling.

"I approve also," she said, grinning, and I grinned back.
Bob came up from behind her, out of nowhere, hugging her tightly. She yelped out of surprised, blushing madly as he laughed, kissing her on the cheek. I giggled lightly, Bob staring at her as she continued to blush.

"What do you approve of?" he asked, smiling. I laughed.

"Bye Gytha," I said, beginning to turn around. Casey was there with Ray, holding hands. I hugged her, both of us squealing. We she had visited me during my recovery, both of us saying out apologies.

"Who's Gytha?" Ray abruptly asked, and I turned back around, Katy rolling her eyes. I could tell she was thinking "not again." Gerard came back, staring at the happy couples, beaming widely and taking my hand.

"You did not just ask who Gytha was," I said, putting on a serious face.

"Uh oh Ray, you better run..." he laughed. Gerard had my crutches in hand, and I glared at them. I grudgingly took them, starting to feel a little tired already.

Gerard kissed me on the mouth, causing me to blush embarrassedly as Katy laughed at us.

"Why do you like her?" someone suddenly whined loudly, surprising me. I turned around, slightly leaning on my crutches out of habit. A girl was standing there, with obviously dyed blonde hair, a revealing yellow blouse and a short skirt. Even though it had started to turn towards spring, it was definitely too cold for that.

The summer would be too cold for that kind of skirt.

I didn't have to look to know that Casey, standing next to me, was thinking the same exact thing as me.

'Whore whore whore whore whore!!' I almost laughed aloud, missing having this kind of connection with her, it had been way too long. Casey was no longer pale, or a bitch for that matter.

She really had been sick, and apparently Ray was a very good...doctor.

"Excuse you?" Katy asked, and I smiled widely.

It was on.

"I wasn't talking to you," the whore snapped, who I mentally named Ms. Priss. I began to wonder, not for the first time, why these preppy whores went to a rock concert. And seeing the way she was advancing on Gerard, I knew the answer.

This was going to be fun.

"Can I help you with something?" Gerard said, cocking an eyebrow. This was holding up the whole show, something I'm sure Ms. Priss loved. She was now next to him, touching his arm.

"Oh, Gee, don't you remember me? I went to one of your concerts a long time ago..." Gerard looked at her for a moment, then a look of remembrance crossed his face, causing him to grin.

"Oh, right, you're the stalker chick," he said, and I laughed. Stalker-Priss narrowed her eyes at me, and I grinned widely.

"Oh, Gee Gee," I said, putting my free hand to my chest dramatically. Gerard blushed slightly at the nickname.

"Hey, whore, I think he'd take me over some fat ass gimp on crutches any day," she said, and a chorus of "ooh," came up from the crowd, people laughing.

Me the whore?

"BITCH!" Frankie and Brittany yelled simultaneously, causing me to laugh loudly.

"Well I wasn’t going to embarrass you, but you brought this on yourself," I turned slightly towards Gerard. "Gee-Gee, you want to decide?" I asked, smiling confidently. Gerard cringed at the name but nodded, pausing for a moment.

He turned to Priss, and put his forehead against hers.
"What?!" I hear Mikey yell, and I was as stunned as he was.
Gerard then pushed Priss down to the floor, her falling with a surprised 'oof!'

"Get out of my concert," he said, and I stared at him. Someone tried helping her up, but she swore at them, getting up and storming angrily through the door. Gerard turned to me laughing. "Scared you for a second, didn't I?" he asked proudly.

I whacked him in the shin with both of my crutches. Katy laughed as he grabbed his leg, cursing in pain.

"Don't do that to me ever again!" I said, smacking him on the shoulder as he cursed. Eventually he fully stood up, apologetic with his shoulders slightly hunched. He looked at me with large eyes, staring at me sadly as he pouted.

He looked ridiculous, and I couldn’t help but laugh and kiss him as my heart warmed over.

"Sorry," he said, smiling now. I smiled right back at him.

"There's gonna be a punishment, you know," I said laughing slightly. He looked at me questioningly. "Gee-Gee..." I stated, smiling.

His face took on a look of horror.

"Noooooooo!" he yelled, causing me to laugh even more.

"Gee Gee..." Mikey said quietly, sticking his tongue out and mocking his brother. Grace laughed, hugging him and kissing him on the mouth once. I suddenly realized I had no idea if they knew what they really...were, but that wasn't really my place to ask, not here, not now. Gerard looked like he was going to hit Mikey.

"No hitting Mikey, Gerard," I said, frowning. Then I corrected myself. "Gee Gee, I mean." Gerard pouted again, so I kissed him. Once we stopped kissing I looked at his face; all traces of the pout were gone, and instead a large grin was there, making him look like a little kid, setting my heart ablaze with happiness.

I shook my head slightly, grinning. He grinned back, leaning in close.

"What?" he asked quietly, and the rest of the band separated and took their places.

"Stupid vampires," I said teasingly, and he snarled, kissing my neck quickly before leaving and going to his mike. My four friends and I walked to the side, letting some of the other people have a chance up front, letting them get closer to our boyfriends, our killing machines.

I grinned, still high off the kiss from Gerard, watching the band begin to play. I watched Gerard saunter up to the microphone like so many weeks before, my heart catching up in my throat, stopping me from laughing. He was such a good person, no matter what he thought. Watching him, my heart was totally filled up with a love, something I would never be able to describe, not even to myself. He closed his eyes for a moment, repeating that same line.

"We are..." he started, suddenly opening his eyes, making my heart leap. "The New London Fire!!"