Flooded Lungs

7. How I Hope To God He Was Worth It

Chapter 7: How I Hope To God He Was Worth It

"Tell me I'm a bad, bad, bad, bad man," Gerard groans into his microphone, his hips swaying to the frantic beat. He runs a hand through his platinum hair, his face glowing in the spotlight, and a small smirk graces his features as the crowd roars.

I stand in the wings of the stage next to Ryan, watching the concert. The whole group is here: Grace, Brendon and Abby, Spencer and Rose, even Jon and Brittany. A huge grin is on Ryan's face, and his eyes are shining as he grips my hand.

"This is amazing, Aubree," he whispers, his eyes on the stage.

"I know!" I reply, standing on my toes and giving him a peck on the cheek.

Onstage, the songs ends, and a burst of flames shoots out from each side of the stage, earning screams of delight and fear from the audience.

The lights go dim as Gerard delivers some flamboyant farewell speech, complete with him pulling Frank, Ray, and Mikey into a group bow before jogging offstage.

"Great job, guys!" I pipe up as they pass.

"Thanks!" Frank replies, grinning at us as he flicks his hair out of his eyes and starts to undo his Black Parade jacket.

"These makes me so hot," Mikey grumbles as he follows suit.

"Oh, suck it up," Gerard shoots back, nudging his little brother playfully.

Mikey sighs, rolling his eyes as he hands Ray his jacket and the two of them walk away.

"You were amazing!" Grace exclaims, giving Frank a hug. He smiles affectionately and lifts her off the ground, twirling her around while she laughs.

"You guys rocked!" Abby adds, smiling in the same manner she had when meeting Ryan and twirling a piece of hair around her finger.

"Thanks . . . " Gerard says, his voice faltering as he looks Abby up and down, biting his lip. I see the smallest bit of color rise to his cheeks.

Brendon clears his throat, putting an arm around Abby possessively. "It gets me pretty excited for our own tour," he says quickly, and though he's grinning I can see him glare warily at Gerard.

"Yup!" Ryan agrees excitedly, and Jon and Spencer nod as well. Brendon keeps his eyes on Gerard.

"Want to hang for a while?" Frank offers, breaking the tension and gesturing towards a back room as we make our way into the hallway.

We all glance at each other. "Sure!" Ryan says.

Frank smiles and puts his arm around Grace's waist as he walks in. "Cool."

The room is simple enough, with large leather couches and a small bar area in the corner. Mikey and Ray are already sitting on one of the couches, holding cans of cheap-looking beer. Mikey raises his as we walk in. "What's up?"

"You should be asking what's up with that tacky booze," Gerard replies, tossing his jacket onto Mikey as he passes him. He rummages around the bar area, finally producing a bottle of vodka. "Let's get some real liquor going."

Mikey sighs and rolls his eyes, much like the fashion in which his older brother does. I guess sass runs in the family.

Ryan sits on a couch, pulling me onto it. Spencer and Rose sit next to us as well, and Jon and Brittany squeeze in at the end. Grace and Frank take up an armchair as they cuddle together, and Brendon and Abby seat themselves on the couch across from us.

"Who's up for drinks?" Gerard calls from the bar, flicking his hair to the side.

He sets to work as everyone mumbles their consent, and soon enough drinks are being passed out to everyone in clear plastic cups.