Breaking Hearts Has Never Looked So Cool

My heart jumped up into my throat as I saw Gerard looming towards me through the smoky room, flanked by all of the other guys.

“You were so amazing, you were so amazing!” screamed Annabelle, and she ran and literally jumped into Mikey’s waiting arms. Frank ordered a host of beers, apparently elated by their incredible performance.

“What did you think, Connie?” Gerard asked, sending shivers up and down my spine in the process.

“I think you were pretty good,” I said with a smirk, accepting my beer from Frank.

“Pretty good? We were fucking AWESOME!” yelled Frank, raising his beer to propose a toast.

“To us,” he said, “we are fantastic,”

We all burst into laughter and chinked our bottles together,

“Cheers,” we chorused.

“Yeah, you guys were really good,” said a voice from behind us.

“Oh, you’re still here?” asked Annabelle, through her teeth, looking meaningfully at me, and then to Gerard.

“Who exactly are you?” asked Frank rudely,

“My name’s Jason,” Jason answered, sticking out his hand,

Everyone eyed him fairly suspiciously, but he didn’t really seem to get the point.

“Are we going to stick around here or go and celebrate somewhere else?” I asked, pretending that Jason wasn’t there.

“Maybe we should go somewhere else,” suggested Annabelle brightly, looking darkly in Jason’s direction, “so we can have fun, just us,”

Just then a tipsy girl ambled over, with a silly, wide grin on her face.

“You were totally awesome,” she slurred at Frank, “when are you playing again?”

“I don’t know!” he said, looking slightly bewildered, “soon?”

“That’d be good,” she said, leaning close to him. His reaction was so comical that it was all I could do to hold in my laughter. He grinned happily at us as if to say ‘Look! I can too get girls!’ and then remembered that she was there, sitting on the stool next to him.

She whispered something in his ear and led him over to the table she was sitting at with some friends.

“I guess that means we’re staying here then,” said Annabelle, sounding disappointed.

I shook my head at her; I understood her desire to get Gerard and I together, but I was pretty sure that it was never going to happen – here or anywhere else.

“Another round?” I asked, seeing that everyone else had almost finished their beers.

“Oh no, let me get you a drink,” said Jason, physically stepping in front of me to intervene.

Mikey and Ray looked at each other with raised eyebrows.

“I’m really ok,” I said forcefully to Jason.

“No, I insist,” he persisted,

“It’s really ok,” I disagreed,

“Just one drink!” he said,

“I’m just here with my friends tonight,” I said pointedly, hoping that he would go away.

“At least let me get your number,” he said, holding his arms in an open gesture as if to say ‘come on, what’ve you got to lose?’

I was getting a little bit desperate. Ray, Mikey and Annabelle seemed to be chatting now, oblivious to my plight. I couldn’t even tell if Gerard was involved in their conversation or not.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” I said delicately, with every intention of going over to them. They were just a few centimetres away, but the music was too loud and the bar too busy for us to even notice each other.

“Come on,” he said, grabbing the top of my arm, “what harm could it do?”

“Take your hands off me!” I ordered in outrage,

He laughed, as though I should have been pleased to have him touch me, or pay any attention to me at all.

“You heard what she said,” said a deadly quiet voice close by, “leave her alone,”

It was Gerard. My heart flip flopped pathetically in my chest. ‘It’s not a gymnastics competition’ I told it inwardly.

“This isn’t anything to do with you bro,” said Jason, brushing aside Gerard’s comment,

“She’s my friend and she told you to back off, so yeah, I’d say its alot to do with me,”

My heart perked up; he had called me his ‘friend’ and ‘friend’ was not as good as ‘girlfriend,’ but a whole lot better than ‘acquaintance,’ or worse, ‘my little brother’s friend.’

“This is between me and her,” said Jason,

“Take your fucking hands off her, ok?” Gerard seemed to be getting a little bit more heated,

“Do you want to step outside?”

“Maybe I do!”

It was like a sequence from a dream, and the smoke all around made it seem more fantastical. Gerard’s jaw was set angrily as he strode over to the exit, followed by Jason, who had thankfully let me go now.

“Where are they going?” Annabelle asked me shrilly, dashing over, followed by Ray and Mikey.

“Yeah, Gee looked really angry,” said Mikey worriedly,

“I don’t know!” I said, running my hand through my hair.

Annabelle, Mikey, Ray, Matt and I ran to the exit where we saw Gerard and Jason standing opposite each other, each of them giving the other looks of pure poison.

“What’s going on?” asked Mikey, and his voice sounded shaky

Ray laughed at him, “it looks like they’re about to fight,” he observed.

“Over what?” Mikey asked curiously, for some reason quickly glancing at me.

“I’m trying to get this jackass to get the hell away,” Gerard explained,

“Who’re you calling jackass you prick?” demanded Jason, “I can try and fuck whatever chick I want!”

“Don’t talk about her like that!” barked Gerard, “she’s not an object, and you’re not coming anywhere near her,”

Before Jason could articulate a yelled response, Gerard punched him squarely in the eye, causing him to fall and hit his head on the floor.

“You’re fucking mental, man!” Jason whined, and when he saw that no one rushed to his defence, he hauled himself up and stalked away as best as he could, clutching his now black eye.

Gerard just looked at his retreating frame with pure venom written all over him.

“What’s going on out here?” asked Frank, now alone. He looked bemused at Gerard standing there looking seriously pissed with slightly pink knuckles, and all of us gathered around like the spectators we were.

“You just missed Gerard playing knight in shining armour!” said Ray happily,

“What?” asked Frank, scratching his head,

“Come in to get more drinks with us,” said Annabelle loudly, “and we’ll all tell you,”

Somehow she managed to herd everyone except me and Gerard into the crowded club, leaving us standing alone in the crisp night.

“Wow,” I said to break the somewhat heavy silence that had just settled over us,

“Do you think I’m a totally different person now?” asked Gerard, sitting down on the concrete.

I joined him wordlessly. “I think you’re a violent schizophrenic and I don’t want to be alone with you,” I said sarcastically.

He let out a peal of laughter and grinned at me,

“Thank you for getting rid of him for me,” I said admiringly, “no one’s ever fought over me before,”

He laughed again, “I find that hard to believe,” he said quietly, “but at least you’re prepared for future life now,”

I chuckled, and then shuddered.

“Jesus, why are you outside in a little top like that!” he asked, suddenly realising my attire. I had left my jacket inside. I was just going to tell him that, but he was performing the biggest cliché in the world by taking his jacket off.

“No, I couldn’t possibly,” I said carefully,

“I insist,” he said, draping it around my shoulders and making me shudder again in the process, purely by grazing my shoulder with his hand.

“Let’s get you home, kid,”