Mother's Little Helper

The summer sun pelted down on out backs. Currently, Gerard and I sat in my shitty backyard, downing beers and enjoying the summer peace.

Next to me, Gerard finished off his beverage, tossed it over the back fence and onto the sidewalk, then flopped down onto the browning dead grass. He grabbed me by the elbow, yanking me down with him.

I yelped, my beer spilling on the grass next to me. Sighing at my loss (Gerard laughing at it), I rested my head on one of his outstretched arms.

"You're an ass." I muttered, referencing to my spilt alcohol.

"But you love me anyway." Gerard smugly finished with a peck to my temple.

Well, he got that much. I do love him, he is my best friend after all... And he never let me forget it.

In fact, I considered Gerard my one true weakness. It's pretty much impossible for me to stay mad at him... He never let me forget that either.

A few moments of silence past. I enjoyed the summer's in Jersey. They were fairly mild in temperature, never reaching below 60 degrees Fahrenheit, and never raising above 90 degrees. The sun was brutal, though. We had slight cloud coverage, but not enough to block the great ball of fire for long. Rain had yet to grace us this summer, causing a drought. Hence why all the grass in the area was pretty much dead.

Gerard and I weren't really affected by the weather much, though. We still wore our customary black jeans, tee-shirts, hoodies and jackets at night. I always wore sneakers, while Gerard preferred boots. I don't see how, though. Even I wouldn't be able to handle that this time of year.

"There's only two weeks left of summer," Gerard stated after taking a swig out of my fresh bottle. I glared at him for it. "Senior year starts soon."

I took the bottom of my bottle and knocked him in the head with it. "Don't fucking remind me, you buzz-kill."

Gerard chuckled, unaffected by my annoyance. "I can't wait to go to college."

"Yeah, you want that really good one in New York, right?"

Gerard nodded. "Yep, NYU. Then I'm gonna become--"

"A comic book artist. I know." I rolled my eyes behind my tinted aviators.

Gerard sat up on his elbows (leaving my head pillow-less), and pouted down at me. "Thanks for the loving support, Rose."

I put my sunglasses on the top of my head. "Hey, I never said I doubted you, man." I reached over to grab the beer from his hands. "If there's anyone I know who can make it as an artist, it's you. But I've heard this story before."

"Oh, yeah, like you don't constantly talk about your dream-job."

I gulped down the rest of my beer, tossing the bottle over the fence, hearing the satisfying shatter of glass on the concrete. "Hey, photography is my life."

Gerard gasped in mock-shock. "Then what am I?! Just a way to waste your time?"

I chuckled at his antics. Gerard had taken on a girlish squeal to his voice, sounding like a misunderstood girlfriend. His poise had taken on feminist qualities too.

"No, honey," I joked back. "You're the death of me."

Gerard smiled, quite satisfied with my response. "Damn strait." He returned to his normal posture and voice.

I groaned as I sat up from my semi-comfortable position on the ground. I glanced at my watch (I had gotten this one out of a cereal box. It had Tigger the Tiger's arms as the hands). Tigger said it was 5:07pm.

"I better get dinner started soon." I muttered.

Now it was Gerard's turn to groan. "Can't you just let your mom feed herself for once? She can order take-out, can't she?" He pleaded as he tried to prevent me from standing.

Laughing, I pushed him away lightly. "I highly doubt she'll like it if I skip on dinner again."

"Meh," He grumbled from the ground.

I stood up to my full height of 5'5", brushing off my chemical-stained jeans, and straitened out my Nirvana shirt. I shook out my black hair, which had gotten some grass blades in it. Right now it was down, reaching my elbows. It was slightly teased from yesterday night when I had done it up. I still wore yesterday's faded makeup, too. My eyeliner had smugged out to the groves of my sockets, and my mascara was completely gone. I didn't really care for my appearance today, though. I was only hanging out with Gerard. He's seen me much worse before.

"You know, you could just stay if you want," I remarked over my shoulder as I walked up the wooden stoop to my screen door.

Gerard mulled the thought over for moment or two. "I'd rather not," He answered. "You're mom's too much of a hassle."

I laughed at the truth behind his words.

"Besides," Gerard continued. "I need to go...Get me another beer."

"One for the road?" I questioned, reaching for the last beer in the pack.

"Nope. One to help me see strait." He clutched his head, probably from the head rush he got from standing too fast.

"Here you go," I threw the bottle of beer at him, Gerard barely caught it.

"Thanks, sugar."