The True Horror Began On Friday 13th

“Was Gerard always like… like he is?” I asked, cuddling into Gerard’s chest, it was nice if he was asleep, I felt horrible thinking it but I couldn’t help it, “Did he have episodes a lot when he was little?”

“Well….when he was a kid his ‘episodes’ were stupid, having tantrums, strops. I think once he chucked a pen at my dad but that’s it. When he was eight I remember he started getting reclusive, staying in his room, reading comic books. By the time he was ten he had no friends. Twelve, everyone was getting girlfriends, he didn’t. People spread rumours around that he was gay, they spread rumours that’d he would fuck around with me.”

“-Why did they spread rumours like that? About you and Gee I mean? And about him being gay, because he thinks it’s bad to be gay? I tried to tell him,” I said, “He doesn’t listen though.”

“It’s because once I fell over in the yard. Fucked my knees up pretty bad and I wouldn’t stop crying so they called Gerard down from his class to sit with me. And these popular guys from the year above Gee walked passed when I was sitting on his lap. I jumped down real quick in case they took the piss outa me. And for some reason they decided to spread a rumour that Gerard and me were getting it on in the corridor, no one really took the piss out of me. It was just him, because he was older,” Mikey muttered, clearly embarrassed.

“That’s sick, no wonder he thinks like he does,” I replied, trying to hold back from snivelling pathetically.

“It gets worse. Then mom and dad spilt, that thing happened to Gerard. By the time he was fourteen a guy called Steven Cloaks was having Gerard do things for him after school in exchange for pot. I don’t think it was sex, pretty close though. All for pot. Every night he’d come home high off his ass and humiliated. Fifteen he redeemed himself a little, got awesome grades. He continued to get good grades all the way up through college but if anything his attitude was horrible.”

“What about your parents? Didn’t they notice?” I asked, staring at Gerard. You wouldn’t be able to tell any of that had happened to him.

Mikey stopped and wiped his eyes, crossing his legs childishly and staring at a certain spot on the bed. He scratched the back of his neck before he opened his mouth.

“Mom didn’t talk to Gee anymore. He started getting hookers in by then, mom tried to stop him at first but he’d just do it in front of her if she managed to lock his bedroom door so he couldn’t go in there. He evened himself out once he got on the pills, got that job at your school, but he still has a lot of secrets. Some of them I don’t even know about,” Mikey told me, shaking his head whilst Gerard stirred a little, cuddling into my hair, “You have no idea how much it means to me when you managed to straighten him out without the pills and injections.”

“You have no idea how much it means for you to say that,” I chuckled, feeling sort of important.

We both stay silent for a while. Not awkwardly or anything, just tired. I was scared that if I went to sleep Gerard would wake up and be mad. Mikey was scared that if he went to sleep, my parents would find out. It was a horrible feeling, being scared to sleep when the scariest person in the room is dead to the world.

“I think I should be getting back to the apartment. I’ll come back at four am, I’ll try not to wake you. But if I do I’m sorry. He’ll be too tired to shout but capable of walking,” Mikey chuckled, reaching across Gerard to give me a quick side hug, “Have a good sleep alright, don’t stress alright. Let the kid had some proper sleep,” he grinned sleepily. I nodded and tucked myself under the duvet, slipping my arms around Gerard’s waist, “And put some clothes on Mr. over here.”

“I will, chuck them over and I’ll do it now,” I told him as he collected up Gerard’s clothes around the room, dithering by the window until I had sufficiently dressed Gerard and sorted him out.

I waved goodbye to Mikey and settled back down on Gerard’s chest, entwining myself in his limbs because it didn’t feel right being restful and sleeping with him, it had to clammy and uncomfortable, that’s what made it comfortable.

“I love you,” I mumbled by his ear, not expecting an answer.

“Love you too Doll face,” he murmured, slipping his knee into between my legs and resting his cheek on top of my head.