Alone in My Mind, With You by My Side

It’d been about two weeks since he had asked me out. He had begged me to come back to school, so that he would have a partner for our English project, and I finally gave in. So, there I was again, standing in front of the courtyard of the school. I was anxiously glancing around campus when I felt arms wrap themselves around my waist. I smiled, and turned around to face him, wrapping my arms around his waist.

“I was afraid you’d bail on me,” he said softly. I just shook my head.

“I promised I’d show,” I replied, leaning my head against his chest.

“Well, how do you want to do this? Do you want to meet my friends, or would you rather go find yours?” He asked. I smiled at how considerate he was. I thought about how my friends might react, and shook my head.

“Let’s go see yours.” He smiled at me, grabbed my hand, and led me towards the back of the school where a group of guys were standing.

“Yo, what’s up, Gee?” A guy I recognized from Forensics greeted Gerard with a hi-five.

“Nothing much, Frankie,” he replied, pulling him into a bro-hug. “Guys, you know Aerona.” They all looked at me and waved. “In case you don’t know, this is Frankie.” He points to the guy from my Forensics class. “Ray.” A tall guy with a reddish-brown afro. “And, my little brother, Mikey.” He points to a skinny guy in glasses. I studied him for a moment, noting how different he looked now. I nodded slowly.

“Okay, so Frankie, Ray, and Mikey?” I repeated, checking that I got the information right. He nodded and smiled. Frankie gave Gerard a devious smile.

“So, are you this beautiful, dark princess of his that he’s been ranting about for the last few weeks?” Frankie asked, an amused smirk playing his lips. I glanced at Gerard, whose face was as red as could be. I couldn’t help but laugh.

“I suppose so,” I giggled quietly. Gerard playfully shoved Frankie, who then started a playful fist fight. I stepped over to Mikey and Ray. “So, how’ve you been, Mikey?” He looked at me. His eyes were filled with something. I didn’t know what, but it was a cross of fear, anger, and stress. He narrowed his eyes and looked away. I suddenly felt rather uncomfortable. It was almost as though Gerard sensed my discomfort, because he came over and instinctively put his arm around me. After a couple of minutes, the bell rang. I was glad because I wanted to get away from Mikey.

I was glad that I had Gerard in my first and fifth periods, but I was left alone to deal with coming back to school the rest of the time. In 3rd period, I was ambushed by Haley, who was pissed that I hadn’t bothered to talk to her in forever. In 4th and 6th, I had to deal with Josh, who was worried and acting all fatherly. I just counted the hours till school was over. As soon as it was, I ran to meet Gerard. I saw him, and I ran up and hugged him.

“That bad, huh?” He said, rubbing my back. I just held him. He just stood there, rubbing my back. I finally collected myself, and shook my head.

“I’m sorry. I’m just trying to adjust, and it’s just hard…”I apologized quietly. He just shook his head.

“Don’t apologize, baby girl. It’s okay. I understand. I promised that if you came back, I would be there for you, okay? I intend to keep that promise.” I nodded slowly and he pulled me into a tight hug. “I love you.” I felt myself freeze. I tried to open my mouth, but no words would come out.

“I… Wow… Gerard…”I stumbled over the words to say. He just shushed me.

“You don’t have to say it back. I’m just letting you know, Aer,” he said softly. I just held on to him even tighter, feeling loved and grateful for someone who understands me so well.