Boy In My Class [Gerard Way]

Chapter 9: NJ

"Get in guys!"

I nervously climbed into a run-down old car that was pulled up outside my dorm building. Gerard climbed in besides me, smiling at me as he did so.

"Izzy this is Frank," Gerard said. I smiled at the driver of the car nervously. He was short, with scruffy hair and rings in both his lip and his nose. From what I could see he had several tattoos on his hands and a scorpion high up on his neck. He looked so...cool. I thought Gerard was a huge geek?!

"Hey Izzy," Frank replied before we started driving. I watched him in amazement as he pulled a cigarette from his pocket and lit it whilst navigating through crazy New York city traffic. For the rest of the journey to New Jersey, Gerard's hometown, I sat quietly and listened to the two of them discussing music and their mutual friends. I noticed how passionate they both were about the local music scene and about making music.

"I play guitar," I said quietly, unsure about whether or not I should have interrupted their conversation.

"Serious?" Frank asked. "We should jam together sometime. The three of us. I could call up Ray."

"Definitely," Gerard grinned, smiling at me. My stomach went tight and my cheeks heated up every time he smiled at me. He was so gorgeous. I felt as if my small crush on the boy in my class had turned into something much more since our friendship had grown. Right now it was a huge crush on the boy who I was spending Christmas with. I had never spent Christmas away from my family and this year I was spending it in New Jersey with Gerard Way.

We eventually arrived at Gerard's house and got out of the car. Frank promised that we would jam together sometime soon before driving away. 

"Don't be nervous," Gerard said with a small laugh. "My family are weird. But don't be nervous."

I took a deep breath and began to practise introducing myself in my head. 

"Mom, I'm back!" Gerard called as we walked into the house. The house was so...dark. There was barely any light in the place except for a few rays of sunshine through small windows and the dim glow of candles.

"Gerard!"

I blushed as a woman came into the hallway. She was tall, with big blonde hair and long black nails. She looked slightly gothic but incredibly friendly at the same time. 

"Hey Mom," he said, embracing her in a hug. "This is my friend Isabel. I told you on the phone she's joining us for Christmas."

"Of course!" she shouted, turning to me and embracing me in a tight hug, taking me by surprise. "I set you up a bed in the spare room," she said. "You don't want to be in Gerard's room, he's too messy."

I blushed slightly, wondering if she thought that Gerard and I were an item. She showed me into the spare bedroom which consisted of a desk and computer and a foldaway sofa bed with pillows and a blanket on it. I felt so welcome.

"Come and meet my family," Gerard said, coming into the room and taking my hand. He took me into the lounge where his mother and two others were sitting.

"This is my Dad," he said, gesturing to a man sat in an armchair half-asleep. "He's having an afternoon nap. I'll introduce you two later. And this is my brother Mikey,"

"Hey," said a shy-looking boy who was sat on the couch. He was skinny and wore glasses but vaguely resembled Gerard. His hair was shorter and light brown.

"Hey," I replied. "I'm Izzy, nice to meet you."

 ***

An hour later, we had dinner together. Gerard's mother cooked for us and we all sat together and chatted, which was really nice. I told them about my History course and why I loved to study it, I told them about England and cleared up some hilarious stereotypes they had about British people. Gerard's mother told me about how Gerard spent most of his childhood locked in his room drawing comic books and listening to music. She told me about how he played Peter Pan in a school production and wore green tights. By the end of the meal I felt like a member of the family.

After dinner, Gerard invited Frank and his friend Ray over to watch movies. We sat in a row on the couch and started to watch some scary old horror movie that I had never seen before. His mother brought us a blanket and snacks which I thought was so sweet.

As the movie started, I felt Gerard's hand brush against mine under the blanket. It made me nervous but I decided it was just a mistake as we were all squashed together on the couch. 

Just as I was getting comfortable, his hand brushed against mine again. I tried to ignore it and remain calm but before I could get comfortable again I felt his hand take mine. I froze up, scared to look at him. I wondered if he had made a mistake and didn't mean to take my hand but then his fingers entwined with mine. I was still completely frozen but he began to squeeze my hand. I turned to look at him, my cheeks bright red. He smiled at me. 

Gerard was holding my hand.

In his house.

At Christmas.