A Kiss and I Will Surrender

Hugs?

Frank was pacing up and down in the basement, trying to make a plan on how to earn Gerard's trust, when his eyes caught sight of the time. It was already nine at night and the parents hadn't returned, Frank started to get a bit worried because he couldn't even message his mom because of the lack of connection at the cottage.

Then his brain started making him think of all the worst possibilities, what if they were in a car crash or lost in the dark or had been murdered by some crazy serial killer who lived in the forest. Frank cursed at himself to try and be logical and be optimistic so he just occupied his mind with thinking about his guitar. He wished he could have brought his guitar but it wasn't a possibility because of a whole bunch of complications Linda spoke about even though Frank didn't think all of them were legitimate. Frank also cursed at himself for not bringing any pot or weed to smoke because he had packed last minute and had stupidly forgot the essentials such as pot.

The parents were fine, Frank hoped.

~

"Gerard, you have to forgive Frank, he honestly said sorry." Mikey was sitting next to Gerard on the bed, trying to get Gerard to stop being so stubborn but it was hard.

"So you're siding with him, thanks a lot." Gerard rolled his eyes.

"I'm not siding with anyone, I'm just saying that he apologized and I think you should forgive him."

Gerard scoffed. "Well you weren't the one who got called a freak!"

"Frank didn't say that!" Mikey was getting angry because Gerard refused to listen to him.

"He basically said the same thing. I'm sorry I'm such a nuisance that you have to put up with." Gerard muttered, looking down.

"Gerard, you're not a nuisance-"

"I'm sorry I'm always in the way!" Gerard yelled, getting out of the bed and running out.

"Gerard..." Mikey sighed loudly. He hated when Gerard did this, he purposely put himself down and degraded himself because he felt like he wasn't good enough. It made Mikey feel really bad because, as much as Gerard we difficult to handle sometimes, his mind always drifted back to the image of Gerard beaten up and barely breathing after the fight with Bert.

In that moment when Mikey found Gerard on the floor, unconscious and beaten up, he really didn't think his brother would survive. And it really crushed Mikey's spirit to see Gerard like this because he was never like this before. Gerard had always been a quiet person but he was still friendly and loving, but then after the whole thing and the fight with Bert, he'd grown into a cold, unsociable person. Mikey understood why he didn't like to be touched or for people to see his body but Mikey wished there was a way Gerard could get better.

They'd tried all the therapy and the natural remedies and countless medications but none of them seemed to really work but Gerard was on antidepressants and had to take a lot of different pills every day nonetheless.

The thing that made Mikey the saddest was Gerard's body issues because Gerard wouldn't listen to anyone who tried to help him with it. It had been a new thing that had only been going on for a few months, Gerard would starve himself and constantly cover all of himself up. Gerard was slightly chubby but certainly not fat, when he was younger he was a lot bigger but suddenly had a growth spurt where he lost a lot of weight. But to Gerard he was "huge" and "disgusting" which definitely wasn't true to anyone who looked at him. Mikey had just accepted that Gerard had his issues and they weren't going away, he just wished he didn't have to look after Gerard so much because he was only fifteen. But Mikey really did love Gerard even through all the shit that had happened throughout the year, but sometimes Mikey found himself getting very frustrated with his older brother and his stubborn attitude.