Injecting Music Into Your Veins

Raven's P.O.V.

"I know...I'll be a stripper for Halloween! No, a princess-stripper!" Frankie was deep in thought, half-naked, and drunk on the kitchen table. Even though it was July, he had forced himself to decide his costume now.

"How about you just be a crayon?" Ray answered, practically crying from his own drunken laughter.

"W-Why silly?!" He stumbled and Danny caught him.

"Because crayons can't talk!" Ray then fell over from his awful joke.

Frankie's face fell, as he stared at Danny. "But...Strippers can't talk either." He said this in all seriousness.

The room was silent before bursting into obnoxious laughter. Everyone continued their conversations in pairs. Mikey with his newly discovered girlfriend Alicia, Bob with Ray, and Danny with Frankie. Danny was trying to calm Frankie down by stroking his cheeks. Frankie's reaction was to poke Danny in as many places as possible. Typical.

A year and a half ago, I would have never known this type of happiness. This type of unexplainable, unconditional love. Gerard and his world had seemed to introduce me to something new: living. I loved life. I loved him. I finally belonged.

The familiar feeling of his hands slipped into mine under the table. He put down his beer and gave me the sexy, warm smile that screamed love.

Frankie's head flopped on my shoulder. "Ra-aven." He stopped to smile, his fuzzy pink tiara smothering his eyes. "Could you fix my crown?"

"Aw, Jesus Frankie." I giggled and pulled the crown further over his eyes. "Danny, tame your princess."

Frankie fell away the very second I was scooped into Gerard's arms.

"Shit!" My body immediately reacted to the surprise, but when I met his hazel eyes' lovely gaze, nothing else mattered. He plopped on the couch leaving me sprawled on top of him. I wrapped my arms around his chest as Grandma walked in the room. (I grew accustomed to calling her that after so long.)

"Frankie, get off the damn table." She winked at us, grabbing her car keys off the counter. Frankie giggled, and fell off the table a second time, landing in Danny's lap.

"I have to go home." Danny said, sticking out his bottom lip. You could see the love in their eyes as they looked at each other longingly.

"You wanna help me take off my princess suit first?" Frankie finally spoke softly, batting his sparkle-covered eyelashes. Danny breathed a laugh. I could never seem to get over the fact that he was the responsible one in the relationship. He had finally found some one less mature than himself.

"Frankie-Boo needs to sleep."

Frankie roughly grabbed Danny into a long, luscious kiss. Just in that moment, Gerard slowly turned my head to his. He pulled me into another heart-stopping embrace. We finally broke apart when we heard Danny's laughing and pleading.

Gerard and I sat up, not letting go of each other, and turned our heads to the front door. Danny was trying to make his way out the door, but Frankie wouldn't let him, sitting on his back wit his legs wrapped around his chest, pecking his neck up and down. "Gaha-Frankie! Really!" Frankie let go, sighing in defeat.

"I'll take you Danny. I have to go somewhere." Grandma said, stepping outside.

"I love you." Frankie whispered, half-asleep.

"I love you too." Danny blew him a kiss before closing the door behind him.

Moments like those. Those mere seconds where nothing else exists but the one that you love. Those are the times I wish lasted forever. Gerard's arms tightened around me, filling me with warmth. "I love you." I whispered, and his hair tickled my lips. His answer was only to smother me in another kiss.

Frankie pulled off his tutu he had on over his jeans, and dropped dead on the floor. "I really need to stop drinking in girls' clothes." With that, he fell asleep.

Gerard's P.O.V.

Raven looked so peaceful, and more gorgeous than humanly possible in her sleep. Her breathing even, a slight smile on her face. I continued stroking her back, like I had been for the past 4 hours. The house was silent for the first time in a while, and it gave me a chance to think about things. Like, how lucky I was, without truly realizing it, for having such amazing love and friendships in my life. How I would be lost with out Raven, and my music. How--

"GERARD!" Frankie screamed from his spot in the room, waking everyone else in the room.

Raven sat up, pure shock covering her body. I sat up with her, as Mikey, Alicia, Bob, and Ray shot up, also confused.

"What is it Frank?!" I asked him. He looked like he had just been visited by death.

"Y-Your grandma isn't back yet." He stopped to breathe, and said, "Something is wrong."

Everyone's already pale faces turned whiter than before. Something was wrong.

Without having to say anything, the 7 of us filed out the door, and into the van. Ray drove, and everyone remained silent, clearly scared.

"Gerard." Raven's eyes were wide and terrified. I grabbed her hand, I couldn't say anything.

"It's alright." I rested my lips on her forehead.

I didn't dare turn to look back at Frankie. Alicia was holding him, and trying to make him calm down.

As we turned onto Danny's street, we all felt something was wrong. We passed Raven's old house, the door wide open. There wasn't a breath in the world at that very moment. A few more feet seemed like miles.

Even though the next thing that happened was barely a few seconds, it seemed like an entire lifetime.

Ray slammed on the brakes. Bob put his head between his knees. Alicia collapsed into Mikey's lap. Frankie groaned and burst into tears. Mikey's face stayed frozen, empty of emotion. Raven's face matched Mikey's as she gripped my hands tighter.

"Alex." She whispered.

My face felt nothing. My body felt nothing. All except Raven's heartbeat.

One feeling was apparent to the whole van: sadness.

Three dead bodies lay sprawled in the empty street.