Straight Through My Heart

The school day had gone on rather slowly, and I was more than ready for the meeting. Slamming my locker shut and spinning the combination, I walked towards the art room. I heard a person talking rather harshly, and turning the corner, saw one of the guys who had surrounded me earlier looking rather distressed as a older gentleman -- most likely his father -- scolded him. I looked away and continued past them, doing my best not to eavesdrop. "Derrick, you're grades are slipping. I didn't move your mother and brothers out here for you to fail. You pick your grades up or I'm putting you back into a normal school."

"Dad, you don't understand!" Derrick said, trying not to sound whiny. "There's a lot going on right now, and I can't concentrate well enough! If you'd take five seconds to talk with me normally instead of bitching, you'd know that!"

I gulped as I sped up, hoping they wouldn't notice me. Luck must have been with me then, because I was able to slide into the art room without so much as a glance from Derrick or his father. Seeing Mikey, I made my way over to him, noticing Gerard was nowhere in sight. "Where's big brother?" I asked, causing Mikey to look up from his book and meet my gaze.

"He went home early, just after lunch," he said, closing his book and crossing his arms. "He said he threw up just before he got to the classroom and said he was getting worse."

"That's a shame, man," I said, truly worried about him. As Mikey and I talked, my mind began to wonder if Gerard had truly gotten sick or if it was something completely different.

Time Elapse

Once Mikey and I got back to his place, the first thing I saw was a very pale face drenched in sweat. Walking over to Gerard, I knelt down beside him and felt his forehead. He was burning up. Standing up, I made my way to the kitchen and started looking for a large, deep bowl. "What are you doing?" Mikey asked, looking at me curiously as I pulled out a large pot and started filling it with tap water.

"Something my mom used to do before everything went to shit," I replied, grabbing a couple of ice trays from the freezer and walking back over to the sink. Dumping in the ice from both trays, I grabbed what was left of the paper towels on the counter and made my way carefully back into the living room to Gerard.

His eyes were barely open, but I could just make out the hazel-green edges. "I'm not up for eating, Frankie. I feel like shit," he said weakly, causing me to sigh softly.

"It's not food, Gee. It's something that might help make you feel a little more comfortable," I said, folding a paper towel in half long ways and dipping into the now ice-cold water. Squeezing out just a little bit, I pressed the paper towel to his head and heard him let out a sigh.

"That feels real good," he said, closing his eyes and lifting the corners of his mouth ever so slightly.

"Hey, Mikes," I said, causing Mikey to walk over from the movie bin and look at me. "I'd rather not use up these paper towels. Any chance you have a rag or a hand towel I could use?"

"Yeah. Be right back," he said, making his way upstairs. As I sat there with Gerard, I changed the paper towel with a new one just as the front door opened. I looked up and seen Gerard and Mikey's mother walk in, and she looked as if she were about to have a panic attack.

"What's wrong with him?" she asked, walking over to us and bending down beside me and Gerard.

"He came home just after lunch having gotten sick, and when Mikey and I walked in, he was sweating up a storm. I felt his head to find out he was burning up. I'm guessing his temp was at least 103," I replied, meeting her gaze. "So I filled up this pot with water and ice hoping to maybe make him feel a little more comfortable."

"Smart thinking," she said, a soft smile appearing on her face. "Though a rag or hand towel would be better."

"That's what he said, and that's what I got right here," Mikey said, appearing all of a sudden with a couple of rags. Handing them to me, I got one of them wet as Mikey hugged his mother and sat on the arm of the couch. "Do we have any Tylenol or something like that?" he asked, causing his mother to look up at him.

"In the upstairs bathroom medicine cabinet," she said, causing Mikey to nod and make his way back upstairs. "How did you know what to do?" she asked me suddenly, causing me to look at her with a bit of panic in my eyes.

"My mom used to do it when I started running a fever. It was the first thing that came to mind when I felt how warm he was," I replied honestly, not seeing any reason to lie. She obviously cared for her sons too much to be lied to. I almost wanted to cry.

"Well, I'm glad Gerard and Michael have a friend like you. Even if you've only known each other for a short time," she said, giving me a half-hug before standing up. "Are you hungry?" she asked as she made her way into the kitchen. "I'll gladly make you something."

"I'm not hungry. Thank you for the offer, though," I replied, dipping the rag into the pot again and replacing it.

"You know you're starving," Gerard said weakly, trying his hardest to glare playfully at me. "You're always starving after school. You're a fucking bottomless pit," he went on, laughing softly.

"Your mother does not need to know that," I replied, chuckling. "Get some rest, Gerard. It's the weekend, and I will stay as long as you like."

"Okay. I do feel a bit tired. Stay the night?" he asked softly, his eyes half-mast as he looked up at me.

"Sure thing, Gee," I said softly, brushing some hair from his face. "Just sleep, and I will stay right here with you."

He soon fell into slumber's arms, his breathing seeming to be semi-normal. I never stopped pressing the cold rag to his head, even as the rest of the household had gone on to bed. Although I was exhausted, my worry for Gerard only seemed to keep my awake. I was afraid that if I feel asleep, I'd awaken only to find out that he never would again.