Spike Me and Save Me

Frank’s P.O.V.

I was lying on the sofa beside the stage area – Misfits screaming loudly in my ears, as Gerard flashed before my closed eyes. I was afraid of losing him, and I couldn’t bare the thought of living without him. The night before I hadn’t gotten any sleep – I had just lied in bed thinking about Gerard. I had mainly thought of the memories I had of him. We had spent so many years together, but only as friends. I had accepted it all those years, but now it seemed stupid to hide my true feelings. It seemed as if the cancer was just a wake-up-call – begging for me to open up. In a way, I thought the cancer would go away if I told him, and if I didn’t, it would take him away from me. It all seemed like a cruel prank by fate. It was as if fate was suddenly staring me right in the face – daring me to take action.
Suddenly my headphones went dead. At first I thought they had broke or the batteries were dead, but when I opened my eyes I saw that the plug was out of the CD player. What?

“He’s alive!” Ray yelled madly, obviously trying to sound like a mad scientist. He’s got the hair for it. And heck, I’ve got the name for a mad creation.
I smiled, as I sat up and spun around to face the mad scientist.

“Hey”, I said. He smiled back at me and signalled for me to scoot over. I slid across the worn sofa as I pulled my headphones down around my neck and turned off the CD player.

“So…” he said and looked at me as if he expected me to say something. I frowned.

“What?” I asked as I tilted my head and used every muscle in my face to express confusion. He looked towards the empty stage and took in a breath.

“You usually listen to Misfits when you’re upset.” He paused. I knew where he was going, and even though a part of me didn’t want to talk about it, there was a bigger part of me that did.
“How’re you handling it?” he asked and looked over at me. I avoided his eyes and looked at the Misfits CD in the CD player. I felt a lump form in my throat as my eyes started to get warm. I didn’t want to be sad. I didn’t want to cry. I wanted to be strong for Gerard – for myself. My mind was blank – no thoughts rushed through my brain, but somehow my heart took over my entire body. I managed to keep my tears and sadness away, but it all fell apart as soon as Ray put his arm around my shoulders.
I bent forward on my first sob and lost every bit of control over my body. All I could do was sob. Ray pulled me into his arms and I laid my head on his chest. His shirt was soon soaked with my tears, but he didn’t seem to care. He held me tight. He was always incredibly caring. I love him for that.

Worm’s P.O.V.

I walked through the maze of busses until I reached the stage. I hadn’t even gotten up the stairs, before I heard someone sobbing – loudly. I looked up and saw Frank lying in Ray’s arms – his back jumping as he sobbed. I stood still for a moment. The sadness hit me like an arrow to my heart. I knew it was going to be hard to see Gerard go through this, but I hadn’t thought of the other guys. Seeing Frank in such pain made my heart ache like never before. I felt my throat tangle up, and suddenly I realized that I wasn’t breathing. I turned around and headed back for the maze. Halfway back to our own bus, I stopped. I’m in the middle of this. I can’t get out.
I turned halfway around and looked towards the stage. They’re all hurting.
I turned my head towards the bus. I have to support them. I have to be the strong one. I have to protect them.