She's All That

Penny stepped over the threshold, tossing her bag onto the floor. She glanced at the clock and noted the time; 12:32am. Walking into the kitchen, she noticed there were no dirty dishes in the sink, meaning Isabella hadn't eaten. Checking the trash, she searched for empty take-out cartons but found none.

Sighing, she brought her thumb and forefinger to her forehead. "Always trying to spite me, aren't you?" She walked up the stairs, stopping outside of Isabella's bedroom door. The light was on. "Isabella? Are you awake?"

____________

Gerard stirred against the side of the bed, pulling the source of warmth into his chest. The source adjusted itself, snuggling in closer to him. He popped his eyes open in response, looking down toward his chest. He brought his hand up to her face, removing a few stray hairs and placing them behind her ear.

"Isabella?"

"Oh, shit," Gerard muttered, shaking Isabella's shoulder gently. "Bells. Wake up."

Isabella groaned, closing her eyes tighter. "Five more minutes,"

"No. No more minutes. I gotta go now."

"Isabella? Open this door now, please."

Isabella bolted up, pushing her sketch books under her bed. "I-In a minute, mom!" She ran over to the window, unlocking the hatch and pulling it open. She ushered Gerard over and pointed to the ivory on the side of the house. "You can climb down, there. Hurry!"

"Are you crazy?" Gerard whispered, positioning himself in the window. He eyed the gap between his feet and the vines warily. "I could break my neck."

"Trust me," Isabella pleaded, glancing back at the door. "Just this once?"

He sighed, pushing himself down. "You owe me for this."

"Promise," Isabella nodded, closing the window. She checked her face in the mirror quickly, wiping away any smudged make-up. Composing herself, she walked over to the door and pulled it open, greeting her mother.

Penny quirked an eyebrow, eyeing her daughter suspiciously. "What took you so long?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing?"

"No," Isabella looked at her alarm clock, sighing. "It's after midnight, mother. I was sleeping."

"With the light on?"

"I must have fallen asleep with it on. I was going through my old sketch books and lost track of time. No big deal."

Penny walked over to the bed, bending down to pick up a discarded book. She looked it over with distaste. "I thought you were through with your drawing? That it was a phase you were going through."

"It's what I like to do, mom."

"Hm," She tossed it onto the bed. "Well, that won't pay the bills, darling. Have you ever heard of a Starving Artist?"

"Mother, please-"

"It's better you learn now, dear. Have you eaten? Are you hungry?"

"I'm fine."

"Well, do you need anything?"

Isabella shook her head, falling back onto the bed. "I just wanna go to sleep."

"Alright," Penny walked toward the door, pulling it shut with her. Flipping the light switch, she stopped in the doorway. "I'll see you in the morning, Isabella."

Isabella kicked her shoes off and groaned, covering herself with the comforter. Turning on her side, she slowly closed her eyelids.

Minutes away from sleep, a tapping sounded from the window. Isabella sat up slowly, eyeing the window. She quietly crept over to the window and pulled it open, peering out into the darkness. It was too dark to see anything. Maybe it was her imagination? Just her mind playing tricks on her.

Shrugging, she made to close the window when a hand reached up and grabbed her wrist, startling her.

"Shh. It's just me."

"G-Gerard?" Isabella breathed. "I thought you left? What are you doing here?"

He laughed lightly, "You know, just hanging out." He pulled himself up a little, just enough for her to see his face. "I forgot to ask you something."

"What?"

"Do you wanna come over tomorrow? After your mom leaves?"

"To your house?"

"Yeah. Try and be there around 2."

"Okay," Isabella nodded. "For what?"

Gerard flashed a toothy grin, "Band practice."

"Band practice?" Isabella smiled, cocking her head to the side. "You have a band?"

"It's just something we do to pass the time. Just until I get to art school." Gerard lowered himself out the window again, holding himself up with his elbows. "I'll have Abby swing by and get you, okay?"

Isabella nodded. "Yeah. I can't wait to see New Jersey's best band tomorrow," she laughed quietly, poking him in the shoulder. "I expect you to dazzle me with your greatness."

Gerard giggled, "You'll be dazzled, alright, Bells." He brought his gaze up to meet hers and smiled shyly. The way the moonlight hit her eyes made them shine beautifully. An almost crystal blue color. She was mesmerizing; He could stare at her forever. But, reality came back into his thoughts and he cleared his throat, pulling himself down the side of the house and onto the ground. Casting his gaze up toward the window, he waved slightly, beaming up at her. "I'll see you tomorrow, Bells."

"See you," Isabella waved, laughing quietly to herself as she watched the raven haired boy run off into the darkness.