AFTERMATHS : THE SUBSEQUENT LIVES OF THE FABULOUS KILLJOYS

4.

4.
The universe really has an incomprehensible way of functioning, Gerard thinks as Frank Iero, the fabulous, gender-neutral ex-bandmate of his screams at him with genuine worry and panic, for the nexus that exists between Frank and Gerard, though inseparable a few years ago, has now grown as thin as a rake and possibly, non-existent. The chances of them ever meeting, especially at such an opportune moment, is a hundred to one. As the blood from Gerard's nose keeps on spilling and his tooth teeters precariously on its enamel base, Frank knows he, they, must get out of this mess before Tyler gets up and murders them both.

"COME ON GERARD SNAP OUT OF IT!" - Frank gets a hold of Gerard's shoulders with both of his hands and shakes him violently, and Gerard eventually retreats from his train of thought and comes to, conscious but bewildered, in Frank's arms. "THIS WAY TO MY CAR." - Frank growled and with adrenaline pumping through his veins like heroin, he pries Gerard away from his comfort zone, which is his disorganized, apocryphal mind, and the two of them run, fueled only by fear and survival, to Frank's clandestine car about 50 meters away. Passers-by stand confused, nonchalant, and frankly indifferent. Some of them recognize the duo, and are less insensitive, yelling after words of real concern and emerge in fits of adoration, but in the throes of life and death Gerard can't care less. His tooth remains endangered, threatening to pass off and disclose a waterfall of gore. He can't afford to lose any more blood, and he briefly thanks himself for not biting his tongue.

Behind Gerard and Frank, Tyler seems to come round much quicker than the duo have thought. Woozy, misbegotten and earnestly livid, the irate fan gets on his feet and runs at full pelt towards the fleeing half of My Chemical Romance, yelling out invectives that make every single one of the bystanders' heads roll with contempt and fear. Frank gets his black-coated Chevrolet to open and shoves himself and Gerard compactly inside, securing the two with a furious close of the door and the engine roars into life. Tyler's face comes into view, and Gerard acknowledges the artwork that Frank has painted ever so beautifully on his face: a, too, tattered mess of a nose, with blood seeping through inviting cracks of his teeth and skin. Tyler is now the carbon copy of Gerard's comparably besmattered face, and Gerard humbly laughs at the karma, feeling his tooth ache and bites his lip in protest, only to unburden more dense blood.

"RUN FRANK HE'S CLOSE TO US PLEASE HURRY." - Gerard suddenly snaps out of it again and shouts with unintentional irritation at Frank as he fumbles with the key, and Gerard realizes that Frank's shaky hand is slightly mutilated, with the surrounding skin inflamed and his knuckles bleeding, and suddenly feels sorry for nagging at his savior.

The car gets moving just as soon as Tyler touches the glass and starts to pound vigorously, leaving the maimed fan hopeless, and the last thing that Gerard hears is Tyler yelling: "I'M GONNA GET YOU! YOU CAN RUN, BUT YOU CAN'T HIDE!!!"

The only sounds for the next minute are the engine roaring and the two's comprehensible rapid breathing. Gerard seems to forget about the blood and gore for a minute there, and when he does he gets back into a state of panic.
"Frank, have you got any... Napkins? Towels?" - He speaks, composed for what seems to have been the first time today, and suddenly tastes the thick blood again, and he reticently cringes, pulling a diseased face.
"Oh my god I'm so sorry. Um, open that drawer and you'll find some tissues. I'll get you to my house where my first aid kit is, don't worry." - Frank utters with consideration that touches Gerard, making him reminisce about My Chemical Romance days again. He hasn't talked to Frank for nearly half a year, and now he's asking him for tissues to stop the bleeding from his face. He vaguely recalls having Frank come to his assistance that time he was punched out by a fan at the tour, and suddenly, feels a pang of regret and, mostly, overreliance. He was one of the oldest members in the band, and still he had been a burden on every single one of them, and the most troublesome. People thought Frank was the baby of the group, but Gerard himself always found the diaper on him. As he rattles through the drawer he suddenly has an epiphany.
"Frank, did you say your house?"
"Oh, sorry. I guess I'm used to saying that to my family. We can go to your house, if you like, it's not really far from mine, is it? After all, we both recluded to New Jersey."
"Oh no no, your house is fine. My wife and child are off to who knows where and I need some, you know, company today. If that doesn't bother you, Frank."
Frank gives Gerard an eyebrow at the uncertainty of his wife and child's whereabouts, but ends it with a welcoming, dorky smile that had accompanied Gerard on a regular basis when they were a forum. "Yeah sure, why not? I must attend to you anyway, you look like crap. What happened with you and that jock there?"
"You won't believe it, Frank. He was a fan of our band, like a maniacal one, and when he ran into me he begged me for a return. You can guess the rest, can't you?" - Gerard says, at the same time trying to stick the napkin into his nostrils to absorb the blood. He feels like crap, and a bit light-headed, like comatose light-headed.
"People can't come to terms with it even after half a year, I guess. I've encountered many, but none so combative. Good thing I showed up, huh?" - Frank replies.
"Yeah what were you doing, in Summit anyway? Like, Summit and Belleville are ten miles apart! And the coincidence was uncanny!" - The topic of the sudden and uncannily coincidental happenstance reoccurs, and Frank shrugs.
"Believe it or not, Gerard, I was actually looking for you." - Frank confesses, in the interim checking Gerard's hemorrhage. - "Hey, open the minicooler down there. There's some ice, if you want some."
"Frank? Why were you looking for me?" - Gerard asks, in the meantime opening the minicooler to retrieve some ice. The cold touch rams home to him the chilliness of the January morning, and he cringes again.
Frank laughs awkwardly. "Um, I thought our reunion would be more ceremonious, but that's life, right? Anyways, Gerard, can you wrap some ice in a tissue for me? That guy's face was very, very hard." - Frank remarks humorously, as he always did, at his sore, inflamed knuckles.
"Yeah yeah, sure. But Frank, you still haven't told me why you were looking for me."
"Well, let's wait until we get to my house. After all, I was planning to kidnap you and whisk you away to my place anyway. Hold all questions until the end, thank you." - Frank jokes dorkily, and Gerard can't help but utter a stifled but enjoyable chuckle. Same old Frank, same satirical, straightforward Frank, endowed with a propensity to live life to the full and frankly, don't give a fuck even in times of absolute chaos.
"Fine, Frank. Whatever you say." - Gerard gives Frank a tissue-wrapped bundle of ice and Frank nods in acknowledgement, keeping his eyes to the road. Gerard gets to looking at Frank, fully and unencumbered for the first time after a space of time of unadulterated turmoil, and notices that Frank has changed as well. His thick layer of powder has regressed, revealing a pure, browning color. He doesn't apply mascara anymore, and his hazel eyes somehow seems more striking, even if stifled. His hair seems to have grown thicker, and have regressed, also, to its natural state, which is dark, blackish and mysterious. The number of tattoos he bears are likely to have bolstered by all means, and he looks, regrettably, more himself. Maybe moving back to one's hometown brings out the pacified side in them.

Frank notices Gerard staring at him, and laughs. "What Gerard? I know I'm fabulous, you don't have to stare, geez."
"Oh stop it jerkwad. It's just that, you really are changing, aren't you?"
"Well, you are too,buddy. But apart from the disappearance of underrated mascara and thick layers of concealer, you still have that fiery red hair. A nice little memento, isn't it?"
"You don't say, Frank. You don't say." - Gerard chuckles and feels the headache and an onset of irretrievable breakdown vanishing brick by brick. "Um, Frank?"
"Yeah, Gee, 'tis I, alive and kicking." - Frank replies sarcastically, but Gerard can feel that he's being genuinely interested.
"Thank you. For saving my life."
Frank turns his gaze to his fiery-haired ex-bandmate and smiles, all too familiarly, revealing his white teeth.
"Again, you mean."
The two giggles as the Chevrolet pulls into a sequestered but tasteful house.