Poison (Frerard)

Assault

Gerard boredly swirled a toothpick around his empty martini glass, having already flicked the olive at Ray earlier. The black fruit was embedded somewhere in the bartender's wild curls, an amused smirk appearing on the redhead's lips as he remembered that fact.

"You're flying out to Seattle tomorrow, aren't you?" he asked, shoving away the empty glass and pouring himself a shot of vodka.

"Yeah," Ray replied as he wiped down the counter, a cute little smile on his face as he thought of Mikey. "Sorry, I won't be here to keep you company."

"That's alright. I think Pete'll let me tend the bar, since I'm the one with the most experience," Gerard said cheerily, trying to keep a positive attitude.

"Don't miss me too much, alright?" Ray joked, ruffling Gerard's hair.

"I'll be okay without you," the redhead chuckled, smoothing down his hair. "Maybe I can spend the weekend with Frank..."

"Is this finally gonna be the time you tell him?" Ray asked, a hopefulness in his voice.

"Of course not," Gerard scoffed, dragging a hand through his hair.

"But, why not?" Ray asked, Gerard noisily sighing.

"We've been through this, Ray... There's no possible way he could feel the same, so what's the point?" Gerard replied, an apologetic smile quirking his lips.

"He'd have to be crazy to not see all the good in you..." Ray said softly, finishing wiping down the counter before he pulled on his jacket.

"I'm still not telling him," Gerard replied, a childish stubbornness in his tone.

"Fine," Ray sighed, heading towards the door. "I'll see you Monday!"

"Bye, Ray!" Gerard called, downing another shot of vodka before he headed to his dressing room.

------

He softly whistled as he traipsed up the stairs to his apartment, a happy gleam in his eyes. Since he became sober, the whole world seemed brighter. He appreciated the flowers on the faded wallpaper and the brocade designs on the well-worn carpet, every little thing now seen as something beautiful.

His keys clinked together as he pulled them from his pocket, his door sticking at first before it lurched open. He kicked off his shoes near the door, dragging a hand through his tangled hair as he walked the short hallway between the "living room" and his bedroom.

He stripped off to just his large t-shirt before flopping on his bed, a content smile on his lips. The sage scent of Frank's aftershave still lingered on his sheets, a soft giggle leaving his lips as he buried his face in his pillow.

"Who the fuck would that be?" he mumbled when there was a forceful knock at his door, shoving on a pair of boxers before heading to answer it.

The person pounded on the door again, Gerard shouting, "Alright, alright, I'm coming!"

"Matt?" he asked, barely getting the word out before he was shoved against the wall.

"Do you have a new dealer or something? You think I wouldn't notice? You buying from somebody else?! Answer me!!" Matt growled, forcefully shoving him against the wall again.

"Matt, no! I got sober," Gerard said quickly, his voice shaking.

"You fucking liar! No one gets sober! Tell me who you're fucking buying from!" Matt shouted in reply, throwing him to the floor. Gerard quickly backed up against the wall, lifting his arms to protect his face.

"I swear, I'm not buying from someone else! Please, Matt, believe me! I'm not skipping out on you, I promise!" he cried, anxious tears streaming down his face.

"You stupid motherfucker, how dumb do you think I am! Who's your fucking dealer now?!" Matt continued to shout, yanking Gerard's arms away from his face and kicking him in the ribs.

"I swear, I'm not buying from anyone..." Gerard said breathlessly, whimpering when Matt pulled him back to his feet by the hair.

"Is it that guy that comes around sometimes? The short one with tattoos?" Matt asked in a deep growl, Gerard's eyes widening fearfully.

"No!" the redhead said much to quickly, giving Matt the impression he was hiding something.

"He is, isn't he?! You've been lying to me?! DID YOU REALLY JUST LIE TO ME?!" Matt roared, shoving Gerard into the wall. The redhead got the breath knocked out of him, his body weakly collapsing on the floor.

"No, please, Matt, I haven't done anything... Please," he rasped, sharply inhaling when he received more strong kicks to the ribs.

Matt roared plenty of cursory phrases and expletives as he repeatedly kicked Gerard, the redhead weakly doing his best to curl into a ball to protect himself. This just made Matt angrier, the drug dealer prying his legs away from where they were curled against his torso and landing multiple punches to his jaw.

"You're a filthy whore and a motherfucking liar," Matt said with venom, spitting on the redhead before he stomped out of the apartment.

Gerard tried to pick himself up off the floor, his battered body too weak to do much of anything. He could tell many of his ribs were broken, and he tasted blood in his mouth--most, if not all, of it stemming from his split lip. He slowly crawled towards the coffee table, barely having enough strength to prop himself up to be able to reach his phone.

He didn't want to call an ambulance because that would mean police and having to press charges and having to admit his relationship to his attacker, all of which Gerard didn't want to deal with. Frank picked up after the third ring, his voice low with tiredness when he spoke. "Hello? Gee?" he asked, a yawn following soon after.

"Frankie! Please, I need your help..." Gerard replied, a coughing fit seizing him. Tears filled his eyes, the pain of his abdomen spasming with coughs almost unbearable.

"Are you alright? What's wrong?!" Frank asked, worry filling his mind.

"Just come over... Please..." the redhead said with effort, his voice a lot less strong than usual.

"I'll be right there, okay? I'm leaving right now," Frank said quickly, grabbing his keys off the coffee table before racing out of his apartment and down the stairs to his car.

~~~~~~

Okay I really like Conventional Weapons & it's such an underappreciated album & I don't understand why though because it's SO GOOD

-Bren xo

*also I'm currently obsessed with Colors by Halsey... that song is just really fucking great*

**fml the chapter title wasn't there when I first posted it lmao**