Until You Met Me

Catching her stare drifting towards her phone again, Molly shook her head, forcing herself to refocus on the television screen ahead of her. She had spent too long staring at her phone. Since she had sent a text to Gerard, asking if he wanted to talk, she had caught herself staring at it more times than she would have liked, and she knew that she had to stop. The chances were that it wasn’t going to ring or buzz whilst she was staring at it.

She hoped that it would. Gerard had read the message that she had sent him a little while previous, and she hoped that the delay in his reply was just him thinking about what he wanted to say to her, but with time ticking past, she grew less sure that it was. She had sent the message hours previous. She had sat through a long dinner with her parents, and struggled to appear like it wasn’t weighing heavily on her mind, and still he hadn’t said a word.

Closing her eyes for a moment, she blew out a quiet sigh before she heard her phone buzz, something which startled her slightly before she snatched it up into her hand, her stomach dropping a little when she saw the text from Sofia, asking her opinion on a wedding thing. Opening the text, she typed out a reply before she glanced up at the clock, double taking the time. She hadn’t realised that it had gotten as late as it had.

Toying with the phone for a moment, she briefly contemplated staying up a little longer, still hoping that there was a chance that Gerard would show up, but she quickly decided that she had already waited long enough. He had had hours to say something, to decide to talk or to tell her that he needed a little more space, and the fact that he hadn’t spoke volumes.

Turning the phone over in her hand, she dialled Gerard’s familiar number and listened until it flicked over to voicemail. “Hey” she said softly “Sorry it’s so late. I guess I was wrong to think that we might actually figure this out tonight. I mean, you read my text, and I thought that that was something, but obviously not. I just...I thought I would call and ask you to give me some idea about what it is you want from me, because I think this would be a lot easier if I knew what you were thinking. I am sorry I didn’t tell you about the message from Tiago, and I am sorry I snapped, but you owe me an apology, too. I thought we could get this over and done with and put it behind us, but I guess...I guess I was wrong. If I don’t hear from you soon, I am going to take your silence as a break up and I will...I’ll actually get your spare key back to you somehow. Goodnight, Gerard” she added, letting out a sad laugh before she hung up the phone.

Blinking at the sight of the phone in her hand, she let it slip out of her grasp and down onto the sofa before she pushed herself up to her feet, padding towards her bedroom.

~#~
“Gerard?”

Gerard, who was focussed on the screen in front of him, jumped slightly at the sound of Lionel’s voice, his stare jumping up towards the other man who stood behind the sofa. It had been a happy coincidence. Gerard had wanted to get out for the night, tired of sitting around and thinking about how to fix things between him and Molly, and Lionel had been having a few of the team over to his place, and it meant that Gerard had been able to distract himself for a moment, something he hoped would benefit him and Molly in the long run.

He wanted to fix it. Almost as soon as he had left Molly’s apartment, he had wanted to turn around and try and fix things, but he knew that they needed the space. It could have easily gotten away from them. Both he and Molly had form for saying things they didn’t mean when they were annoyed with one another, but whilst he knew that they had needed to take a step back, he didn’t quite know what to do next. He didn’t know what to say to her. He had gotten too defensive and overreacted to Tiago’s text, and he didn’t know what to say to make it right. He was scared, and he didn’t know that he wouldn’t be scared again.

“Huh?” Gerard spluttered.

“You missed a call” Lionel answered “It was from Molly” he added.

Gerard dropped the console controller he was holding as he stumbled to his feet. “You’re sure it was Molly?” he asked.

Lionel nodded his head as he placed the phone into Gerard’s hand. “I caught it just as it stopped ringing” he answered.

Gerard let out a low curse as he pressed the phone to his ear, listening to it ring for a few moments before it flicked over to Molly’s voicemail, causing him to hang up and stare at the screen. Realising that she had left a message, he quickly opened it before he pressed the phone to his ear again, his face falling as he listened to Molly’s voice. “Text?” he muttered to himself “I didn’t get a text” he added.

Lionel, who was watching Gerard, grimaced slightly, something the defender noted with a frown. “Leo?” he asked.

“You got a text from Molly a while ago” Lionel admitted “I was watching that video on your phone, and I accidentally tapped the notification. I didn’t read it, but it...” he trailed off when Gerard let out another curse, pushing a hand back through his hair in frustration.

“I have to go” Gerard muttered.

“I’m sorry” Lionel said.

Gerard waved a hand, dismissing the apology, before he hurried out of the door. He just hoped that he hadn’t missed his chance to make things right.

~#~
Urgently knocking on Molly’s front door, Gerard pressed his ear against the door, listening for any sign of movement on the other side of it. It was late. When he had looked at the clock in his car, it had read a little after two in the morning, but he hoped that Molly was still awake. He hoped that he still had a chance to talk to her. Stopping knocking, he listened to the door for a few seconds before he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket, causing him to pull it out and stare at the message that Molly had sent him, telling him that the door was locked and was going to stay that way at least until the morning.

“I’ll just sit here then” Gerard called loudly “And wait. I’ll keep knocking, too. Really annoy your neighbours” he added.

For a second, nothing happened. Gerard couldn’t hear anything from inside the apartment, and his phone didn’t make another sound, but all of a sudden, the door swept open, causing him to stumble slightly before he looked up, finding Molly staring at him. “You’re an idiot” she muttered.

Gerard flashed her a tentative smile. “You knew that already” he quipped “Can we talk?” he asked.

Molly hesitated for a split second before she shuffled out of the doorway, allowing Gerard to step past her.