Until You Met Me

Turning the business card that Poppy had given to him over in his hand, Gerard spared a glance up towards the closed bedroom door, listening to the muffled sound of voices from somewhere else in the house. He knew that no one would notice that he was missing for a little while. Since he and Molly had arrived at her parents’ house, everyone had slipped out of the living room at one time or another, and he knew that it was unlikely that his absence would be noticed immediately. The last time he had seen Molly, she had been being dragged onto another video call with a relative that he couldn’t place and he knew that it wasn’t something that she could get out of easily.

Shuffling back towards the headboard, he flipped the card over in his hand again before he shook his head, a slightly rueful smile pulling at his lips. He knew that Poppy had been right. Before he and Molly had started dating, he hadn’t hesitated to talk to her about anything and everything that crossed his mind, but he knew it had changed, and he knew when and why.

Poppy’s wedding had changed things. When Gerard had first felt his stomach twist at the sight of Molly smiling at him, he had started to hold things back, too scared of saying too much or saying the wrong thing, and whilst the fear of accidentally admitting his feelings for her had faded, the fear of saying the wrong thing hadn’t. He did it too often. When it came to Molly, and talking about what they were to one another, or what was happening in their relationship, he had a habit of saying the wrong thing, and it meant that he kept things to himself, too worried that, in trying to express himself, he’d say the wrong thing and Molly would end up hurt again.

“Gerard?”

Gerard startled at the sound of his name, but moved quickly enough to stuff the card that was in his hand underneath a pillow before Molly had opened the door wide enough to see him. “What are you doing up here?” he asked “I thought you were still talking to your aunt” he added.

Molly, who’d moved to close the door after herself, offered him a shrug as she padded towards the bed, slipping into the space next to him. “She’s talking to Pop and Felipe now” she answered “Besides, I thought I’d come and look for you. I was almost convinced that you’d sneaked out when no one was watching” she added, allowing her head to settle on his shoulder.

Gerard settled his head against hers, a soft laugh falling out of his mouth. “If I thought I could get away with it, I would have done” he mused.

Molly laughed, her hand settling on his stomach. “I’m sorry for all of the calls” she said.

“It’s fine” Gerard quipped, shrugging playfully so that Molly knew he was just teasing “It’s not like this is my first time. Last year, I think I saw you for an hour total before I had to leave for my parents” he added.

Molly scoffed out a laugh, but didn’t argue with him, allowing the room to fall quiet. Letting his smile fade a little, Gerard picked his head up enough for him to press a soft kiss against the top of Molly’s before he settled his head back against hers.

“Were you hiding?” Molly asked quietly, breaking the silence that had settled between them,

Gerard let out a quiet sigh. “Why would you think that?” he asked.

“Because you’ve been a little quiet all day” Molly replied as she turned to look at him “And because you’re upstairs in what was once my childhood bedroom and not downstairs with my parents who I know you love spending time with. You’ve got something on your mind, and you’re really terrible at hiding it” she added.

Gerard offered her a rueful smile. “I’m fine” he said.

Molly shook her head. “You’re being strange” she said “I know you really well, so I know what that looks like. What’s going on?” she pressed.

Gerard opened and closed his mouth a couple of times, trying in vain to find the right words, before he ducked his head, shaking it slightly.

Molly placed her fingers underneath his chin, gently coaxing his head back so that he looked at her again. “Gerard” she murmured “Whatever it is, just say it. It can’t be worse than the last time you had this look on your face” she added, a feeble laugh tumbling out of her mouth.

“It’s nothing like that” Gerard insisted quickly “I just...I want to talk about something, and I am not sure how to bring it up. I don’t want to say the wrong thing, which we both know I am really good at” he added, a bashful smile on his face.

“I’d like it if you just said something” Molly played along tentatively “Wrong thing or not” she added.

Gerard’s lips quirked ruefully before he dropped his stare to her hand, his thumb gently brushing over the ring on her finger. “No one asks about the wedding any more” he murmured gently “Not your parents, not mine. You don’t even do that thing where you try and subtly hint at something to get my opinion on it any more” he added.

Molly watched his thumb move back and forth over her ring, but didn’t speak, letting him continue.

“I know that I asked for things to slow down” Gerard said “And I am not trying to rush things forwards. I just...I am worried. We hit a huge bump a couple of months ago, and things feel OK to me, but you’ve stopped talking about us getting married completely, and it worries me. Am I missing something?” he asked, his eyes searching her face for a reaction.

Molly was quiet for a few moments, thinking over the question he had asked her, but before she could answer, the sound of her mother’s voice calling for the two of them reached them, causing Molly to glance over her shoulder. “We have to go” she said “Dinner’s ready. It’s actually why I came to look for you” she added before she climbed off of the bed.

Gerard wanted to reach out and stop her, but before he could, Molly stepped back towards him, pressing her lips to his briefly. “We’ll talk later, OK?” she murmured.

Gerard nodded, a faint lopsided smile on his face. “I really hope you’re not just saying that” he mused.

“I promise” Molly replied “But right now, we have to go downstairs. Can we just hit pause on this conversation for a couple of hours?” she asked.

Gerard hesitated for a moment before he nodded his head. “OK” he agreed.