Everybody's Got a Story

I hadn't realized I had dozed off until I lifted my head and looked around. Randall wasn't there. I looked at the alarm clock and saw that it was 7:30. I sat up and rubbed my eyes.
"Randall?"
There was no response.
I sighed and got up.
I went to the bathroom first then went to the kitchen.
I sighed when there was no coffee made. I changed the filter and made a new pot of coffee.
I pulled out my phone and called Randall.
'Hey.'
'Hi.' I said back, blankly.
'What's wrong, babe?' He sounded concerned.
'I just-' I rubbed my hand over my face and sighed. 'Never mind. It's stupid.'
'I'm sorry I left, babe. My mom needed me back home.'
'Don't apologize. It's okay.'
I felt so stupid.
'No. I should've woke you before I left.'
'Really. It's okay, Randall. I think I'm gonna see if Eric wants to hang out.'
'You sure it's okay?'
'Yes.'
'I'll see you in a little bit, okay?'
'Okay.'
'I love you.'
'I love you too.' I said quietly.
I hung up and smiled. I made my coffee and went into my room.
I opened my laptop and pulled up tumblr. I spent my time scrolling through it. I opened iTunes and played some music softly.
I set my laptop beside me and laid back down.

*3 hours later (Randall's P.O.V.)*

I unlocked the door to the apartment and walked down the hall. I didn't see Gerard in the kitchen so I made my way to the bedroom. I smiled at the site I saw.
Gerard was laying on his bed with his laptop playing an All Time Low song and his coffee mug cradled in his hand.
I walked up to him and gently took the mug from his fingers.
He stirred slightly, but didn't wake up.
I took the coffee mug into the kitchen and empty it out and rinsed it out with water.
I walked back to the room and turned the music off then the laptop. I laid down next to Gerard and ran my fingers through his hair. He slowly started to wake up and his eyes looked around.
He looked at me and smiled.
"Hi."
"Hey." I smiled back.
"When did you get here?"
"About 5 minutes ago?"
I continued to run my fingers through his hair.
"What did you do with your mom?"
"Helped her move some stuff to the attic."
"That's nice."
I could tell he was wanting to say other things.
"What's on your mind, love?"
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
"I know you look at me weird when you don't see me make a beeline for a car or even drive anywhere."
"What are you talking about, Hun?"
"I have epilepsy." His voice cracked. "I take medicine and it's controlled, but I still have seizures. Because lucky me. I'm not fucking normal!" He said sarcastically.
"Come here." I spoke and pulled him closer to me.
"I don't think I can deal with anything anymore."
"Yes you can, babe. You're the strongest person I know. And you're gonna get through this mental battle you're having with yourself and you're going to get better. Okay?"
He smiled slightly. "I'm gonna go call Eric." He said and stood up.
Gerard came back in the room shortly afterward and sat beside me on the bed.
"Are you gonna stick around to hang out with Eric?" He asked.
"Sure."
He smiled at me and looked down at his hands.
"Eric's not gonna be here til 12. Do you want to drive me over to my parents house?" Gerard asked.
"Yeah sure. Why?"
"I was gonna grab my tv and the Wii and bring it over here so I can put it in the living room."
"Okay."
"You don't have to bring me."
"It's okay. I want to."
"Well we should probably get going, because it's already 10:45."
"Okay."
We got into the car and were on our way. Halfway there I looked over at Gerard and noticed how still he was being.
"Gerard?"
He didn't say anything back.
"Babe?"
Still nothing.
"Gerard!" His body jumped and he looked at me.
"What's wrong?" He said, confused.
"I think you just had a seizure." I was well aware of what seizures looked like and how the person acted. My grandmother had epilepsy as well. It was difficult watching her go through it. I knew watching Gerard go through it would be even harder.
"Oh. Sorry."
"Don't apologize, babe." I said and grabbed his hand and squeezed it lightly. "Have you been taking your medication?"
He gave a guilty look toward me and said "No." Quietly.
"Babe. You know you gotta take that."
"I know." He said quietly.
I continued to hold his hand and look over at him every once and a while to make sure he was alright.
I smiled at him and he smiled back.
When we got to the house I got out of the car first and ran over to Gerard's side of the car. He smiled when I opened his door for him. "Thank you." He said.
We walked up to the door and walked in.
Jim's car was in the driveway, but Dani's wasn't.
"Hey Jim." Gerard said when we walked into the living room.
Yo Gabba Gabba was playing on the TV and we both laughed quietly.
"Why are you watching this?"
Gerard answered his own question when Ellie and Mandy came running into the room.
They both sat on one side of Jim and looked up at us.
"Hi Gerard! Hi Randall." Mandy said loudly.
"Hey, cutie. Hey, Elles." Ellie waved back shyly.
"Hey." I smiled back at them.
"What are you guys doing here?" Jim asked.
"Gonna grab the TV from my room and the Wii so we're not bored when we hang out with Eric."
"Have fun." Jim said.
"Thanks."
Gerard made his way upstairs and I followed slowly behind him.
"You get the TV and I get the Wii?" He asked.
I laughed and smiled.
"Sure, but you have to set it up when we get to the apartment."
"Fine." He smiled and picked up the chords for the system.
I grabbed the flat screen and we made our way downstairs. We put the system and tv in the truck and went back in the house.
We were on our way back upstairs to Gerard's room when Gerard almost bumped right into Charlotte.
"Oh hey Charlotte." He smiled.
"Hey." She said and cradled her son.
I walked past the two of them and decided to wait in Gerard's room while they spoke.

*Same time (Gerard's P.O.V.)*

"He's so cute." I said quietly and gently touched his face.
"Thank you."
"I should go though. Randall is waiting for me. I really do wish I could speak longer."
Without thinking. I leaned forward and hugged her, making sure to avoid Blake's face.
She took a second to react before she wrapped her free arm around me.
I pulled away and gave her one last look and looked at Blake again.
"He's good for you." She said and I smiled.
"Yeah." I whispered quietly then turned toward my room with a small smile still on my face.
I peaked my head in my room and Randall walked out.
"Come on." I said to him. We walked past Charlotte and I smiled at her one last time and said, "It was nice to see you again, Lotty."
"You too, Gerard." She smiled back.
"Bye."
"Bye."
We walked downstairs and said goodbye to Jim and the girls and went back to my apartment.
The drive felt long, but it was a comfortable silence.
Randall drove again.
When we got there it was 11:30. I opened my door and picked up the Wii and it's chords.
Randall got out and got the TV and we made our way up to the apartment.
I unlocked the door and we set the stuff on the floor in the living room. "Do you wanna move my desk in here for now?" I asked.
"Yeah that might be easier to set the stuff up."
"Alright. Let's get it and move it." We walked into the bedroom and looked at the desk. "Okay. Let me just put the books and C.D.s on the floor." I said and began picking the stuff up and putting it on the floor in the corner.
We watched grabbed one side of the desk and moved it to the living room and set the TV and system up.
"We also have to move the futon in here." I pointed out.
"It better be light." Randall laughed.
"It is." I laughed.
We into the room with the futon and went on each end of it. The room was empty beside it so nothing was on it or in our way. We lifted it and took it in the other room.
We set it down and I began plugging in the tv and system.
A knock came to the door and I pulled my phone out of my pocket. It was 12:13.
"Can you get that?"
"Yeah." Randall said and walked down the hallway.
I heard the door open and Eric's voice saying hello.
I heard the door shut and footsteps come back down the hallway.
I turned the tv on to check that I set up the cables correctly.
Thankfully I did.
I turned around and smiled at the two people in front of me.
"Hey, Eric."
"Hey, Jerry."
He came up to me and hugged me. "How have you been?"
"Good." I answered all too quickly. We all knew that, but I still smiled at him. "How are you?"
"I'm pretty good."
"So what do you wanna do?" I asked.
"We could watch a movie." Eric suggested.
I handed Eric the Wii controller. "You pick the movie. I'll make some popcorn."
"Good plan." He smiled.
I walked into the kitchen and put a bag of popcorn in th microwave and waited for it to finish.
When it was done I poured it into a bowl and made my way back into the living room.
"Okay. What are we watching?"
"Paranormal Activity 3."
"Alright." I said and handed Eric the bowl of popcorn. "I'll be right back then we can start this."
"Okay."
I went into my room and took off my jacket and put on a few bracelets instead. It was getting hot inside, but I didn't want Eric to know about the scars. He didn't know about any of them.
I put them on over the bandages and went back into the living room. "Took you long enough." Eric smiled, but I could tell what he said was a joke. I sat down between him and Randall and ate some popcorn. Eric played the movie and we began watching it.
We watched the whole movie with small talk about certain scenes and how fake certain parts were. We laughed and actually surprisingly jumped at some parts.
By the time the movie was over it was around 2 something.
"Dude. Do you guys wanna go get something to eat. I'm hungry as hell." Eric said.
"Yes." Randall said.
"Agreed." I laughed and stood up.
I stretched and Randall and Eric stood up as well.
Randall looked at me and smiled as he stood up.
"What?" I asked him.
"Nothing." He said and just smiled. He kissed me quickly, but softly and smiled.
"Where do you guys wanna go?" Eric asked.
"Doesn't matter to me." Randall said.
"Somewhere that is still serving breakfast." I said.
"Denny's or IHOP?" Eric asked.
"Denny's." Randall said.
"Yeah definitely Denny's." I laughed.
"Alright. My car or yours?" He asked Randall.
"We can take yours if you want." Randall said.
We all got into Eric's car and sat in the front. It had three seats so it was comfortable.
We put our belts on and Eric began to drive.
I sat in the middle, me being the smallest compared to the two football player sized boys next to me it was better.
I grabbed Randall's hand and held it. I laid my head on his shoulder. It was a 30 minute drive to the nearest Denny's.
Eric turned the radio on and played it quietly.
He continued to drive and we made our way to the restaraunt.
"Wake up, babe."
I rubbed my eyes and looked in front of me. We were parked in front of Denny's. I sat up fully.
"Didn't realize I fell asleep." I said and bit my bottom lip.
"It's okay. Let's go in. Eric's getting us a table."
I got out of the car and shut the door.
Randall grabbed my hand and we walked up to the door together.
"Are you okay?" He asked me.
"Yeah. Why?"
"You just seem a little off today."
"I'm fine."
"Promise."
"Yes."
"You have to say it."
"I promise."
He smiled and kissed my cheek.
A couple gave us a weird look, but I shook it off.
"Ignore them, love."
"I know, Randy."
He opened the door for me with his free hand and we walked in.
We found Eric at the table he chose.
We sat down at the booth across from him and he smiled at the two of us.
A woman walked up to the table and smiled at us and spoke. She said, "Hi I'm Tanya. I'll be taking your order today. What would you guys like?" I smiled at the country accent that showed deeply in her voice.
"Can I get some waffles with bacon and a coffee."
"Yes sir." She smiled at Eric. "And what about you two?"
"Uh can I get uh some chocolate chip pancakes and uh some coffee, please." I said quickly and looked down at the table.
I was still panicky around people and I didn't like talking to them or ordering my own food.
"Yes, sweetie." She smiled.
"How about you?" She asked Randall.
"I'll take the omelette with sausage and an orange juice, please."
"Alright coming right up." She smiled and went behind the counter.
"You could've asked me to order for you." Randall said.
"It's fine. Can you just hop up so I can go to the bathroom really quick?"
"Yeah." Randall gave me a worried look.
He stood from the booth and I walked quickly to the bathroom.

*5 minutes later (Eric's P.O.V.)*

"I'm gonna go check on him." Randall began to stand up.
"No. Let me. I haven't seen him in a while. Maybe I can talk to him."
"Alright. Good luck."
Randall sat back down and I made my way to the restroom.
I came in and I saw Gerard hunched over one of the sinks, splashing water in his face.
"Hey, Jerry. Are you okay?"
He just laughed and looked over at me through the reflection in the mirror.
He looked really pale.
I went up to him and patted his back.
"What's wrong?"
"Too many people." He said quietly. "Social anxiety. D-Don't like talking to people."
"Well someone from a 100 miles away could tell that, Jer."
"Haven't been taking my medication."
"Why not? You know you have to take that."
"I know. It just makes everything bad and-"
"And what?"
"Everything is already bad." He said in a whisper.
I pulled some paper towels out of the dispenser and handed them to Gerard.
"Come on. Dry your face off. We need to get back to Randall."
He accepted the paper towels and dried his face off. He looked at himself and sighed. I don't know what he was seeing, but it made me wonder.
He looked down and then back up at me.
"You ready?" He asked.
"Yeah."
We made our way back to the table and Randall stood up to let Gerard back into the booth.
"You okay?" Randall asked.
Gerard just shook his head yes.
The drinks had already been brought to the table and he silently drank his coffee.

*Gerard's P.O.V.*

I felt Randall's arm wrap around my frame and I leaned into his side.
It was the best way to calm me when I was panicky.
I looked at him and smiled. "Thank you." I whispered.
"So what have you guys been doing during break?" Eric asked us.
"We went ice skating with Sarah and her boyfriend, Caleb." I smiled.
"You let her have a boyfriend." Eric mock gasped.
I smiled at that and sipped some more of my coffee.
"She's old enough now."
Eric smiled back.
The woman named Tanya came back to our table and set our plates down in front of us.
She smiled sweetly and said, "Could I get ya'll anything else?"
"No thank you." I said.
"I think we're all good here." Eric smiled up at her.
"Alright. Just holler if you need anything." She smiled and left once again.
"Danny came back." I said quietly.
"He what?"
"He's been back for a few days now and I didn't know how to tell you and I wanted to tell you in person." I sighed and put my head in my hands.
"No. It's okay. I understand. Where is he now?"
"He's at my mom's house."
"Can we go over there after we're done here?"
"Yeah. Sure."
Eric ate his food quietly and by the time we were done eating, Tanya was walking back to the table.
"Would you guys like any desserts?"
"No thanks. We gotta get going." Eric smiled politely at her.
"Honey would you like a to go box."
I stuttered for a moment and looked down at my plate. I hadn't eaten very much.
I smiled and said, "Yes, please."
"Alright I'll be right back."
"You guys can go wait outside." I said sheepishly.
"Alright." Randall smiled and kissed my cheek. "You sure?"
"Yeah. Go ahead. I'll be out there in a minute."
Eric and Randall walked out and I waited for Tanya to come back.
She smiled as she walked up to me.
"Here you go, honey."
"Thank you." I said quietly.
"You don't talk much. Do ya?"
I shook my head 'no' and she smiled.
"Eat some more of those pancakes when you get home."
"I will."
"Have a good day."
"You too."
I held the box and left the restaurant.
I walked to the car and saw Randall and Eric both standing there waiting.
When Eric saw me he got into the car and immediately started it.
Randall opened the door and let me in first and then he got in.
We buckled up, because yes safety first.
We arrived at the house with little to no conversation at all.
Charlotte's car was still parked in the driveway and my mom's car was home now, but Jim's truck was gone.
We walked into the house and there was loud music playing. It was children's music.
We walked into the living room and saw Charlotte and Danny dancing with Mandy and Ellie.
Danny was holding Ellie while Charlotte was holding Mandy's hands and twirling her around the room.
Danny stopped when he saw us. He laughed and smiled.
"Hey guys."
His smile faltered when he looked over at Eric.
He looked back at Ellie and sat her down.
"I'll be right back. Okay. Then we can dance some more."
"Okay!" Ellie and Mandy said, excitedly.
We all walked into the kitchen and Eric looked at Danny with pure anger in his eyes.
"How could you just leave like that?"
"I'm sorry." Danny said quietly.
Eric crossed his arms and looked at the ground.
"Hey do you think I could talk to Eric alone for a minute?" Danny asked me.
"Yeah. We'll be in the living room when you're done."

*Danny's P.O.V.*

"Thanks."
They left the room and I looked at Eric.
I hadn't seen him in three years.
I knew him better then.
I suddenly felt horrible about coming back.
"Can you please look at me?"
He squeezed his eyes shut then looked up at me.
He didn't say anything.
I came forward and placed my hands on his biceps and looked at him.
"Listen to me. Please." I said and he continued to look at me expectantly. "I-" I didn't know how to start off with what I was saying so I just hugged him. "I'm sorry. Okay? I know there's nothing that will make up for what I did and the fact that I left, but-" I paused and pulled back to look at him. "I left for a good reason."
"And what was that?" He asked softly.
"Come up to my room with me." I said and smiled.
"Why?" He questioned me and didn't move.
"Just come on." I said and grabbed his hand.
He sighed and let me pull him along upstairs.
We walked into my room and Eric looked at it. i shut the door behind us and looked down.
"I haven't been in here since you left."
He blushed slightly when he looked down at our hands. Our fingers were still interlocked. I smiled and gently let go of his hand.
There were Polaroids scattered all over the floor of the people that I had met on my trip. I took pictures of them and organized them in the different states. They ranged from the friends I made to the people I worked for.
"What is this?" Eric asked quietly.
"These are all the people that brought me back to you." I picked up my camera and took a picture of Eric. I smiled. "I'm here now. I made it back to you."
"What do you mean?" He had a slight smile on his face.
I shook the picture and waited for it to develop.
"I wasn't leaving you. I was trying to find a better me for you."
Eric stepped forward and wrapped his arms around me.
"I missed you so much."
"You too." I said and kissed the top of his head.
He looked up at me. "What was that for?"
"For leaving you."
He kept looking at me and smiled.
I leaned down and kissed him on the cheek.
"And what was that for?"
"Because you're cute." I smiled.
We held each other in comfortable silence.
A light knock came to the door and I looked at Eric.
I looked back at the door and said, "One minute."
I kissed him on the lips and smiled.
I licked my lips and turned towards the door.
I opened it and was slightly surprised when I saw Mandy standing there.
"Hey Mandy." I smiled at the little girl.
"Hi." She waved at me. "Are you gonna come dance with us again?"
"Yeah." I laughed and turned back towards Eric. "Wanna go dance with them?"
"Sure." He blushed.
"Is that your boyfriend?" She asked me.
"Not yet, but maybe if we get him to dance first he will be." I whispered to her and she laughed.
She grabbed Eric's hand and started pulling him down the hallway. I grabbed my Polaroid camera and came running down the stairs after them.
The music was still playing like it had been before and now Eric, Randall, Gerard, Charlotte, Ellie, and Mandy were all dancing around the living room.
I sat on the sofa and started taking pictures of everyone. I laughed at how Mandy moved around everyone and the way she danced.
"Come on. My turn to take pictures. Go dance with him." Gerard smiled and glanced over at Eric who was currently holding Ellie and dancing with her.
I bit my bottom lip and stood up.
I handed him my camera.
I walked over to Eric and tapped him on the shoulder.
He slowly turned around and smiled.
He gently put Ellie down and she ran to Gerard.
I looked at Eric and bit my lip.
Mandy came up and looked up at me.
I crouched down beside her and she got close to my ear.
"Is he your boyfriend yet?" I looked up at him from where I was crouched down and said. "Not yet, kiddo. Not yet."
"Well you need to hurry up." She said and went back over to Charlotte to continue dancing.
I stood back up and looked Eric in the eye.
"She said you need to be my boyfriend." Eric blushed when I said this. "Are you gonna stay at Gerard's place tonight?"
"I dunno. I wasn't officially invited to stay the night."
"Well you know I live there too." I smiled.
"He let you live there?"
"Yeah." I smiled and held him closely. "We haven't got a chance to move my bed over so I slept on the futon the first night, but you're more than welcome to share it if you want."
"I'd love to." He continued to smile at me and blushed slightly.
"Alright."
We danced a little more then made our way over to Gerard and Randall.
"Did you get any good pictures?" I asked Gerard.
"Yeah. Snapped a few of you two lovebirds."
"Do you guys wanna head back to the apartment?" I asked.
"Yeah. Just waiting for you."
"Well I'm ready whenever you guy are. Let me just go shut my bedroom door really quick."
"Okay."
I ran upstairs and grabbed my jacket and scarf, quickly wrapping it around my neck.
I pulled the door shut behind me and made my way downstairs.
"You guys ready to go?"
"Yeah. Let's go."