Exhibitions- Gerard Way

Walk

Gerard and Maxine have been at their best for the last few weeks since he proposed, but it's almost time for Gerard to go to California. Every time Maxine thinks about him being gone her heart sinks, she can't even imagine being away from him for one night, let alone for however long it's going to take for them to be together again. They've been in the house pretty much since they got back from the UK, simply just enjoying each other's company while they still can.

"Fancy a walk?" Gerard asks when he sees Maxine looking absolutely defeated on the sofa. She smiles at him and agrees, grabbing a hoodie to throw on.

"This is nice!" She says as they walk through the park. Their hands are intertwined and they walk very close to each other. He takes her to a bench and they sit down.

"I would give anything for you to be able to come with me you know." He tells her as he reaches his arm around her shoulders. She snuggles into his chest and feels his fingers run through her hair.

"I know." She replies quietly. 

"Well now that we're engaged, it just gives us more of an excuse to be back together again as soon as possible." She looks up at him while he speaks. "I promise, as soon as I've got a place, you're coming and we're getting married! Even if no one comes, I just want to marry you as soon as possible sugar." Her sunken heart fills with love again.

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It's now midnight and the pair finally decide to head back home. Gerard once again takes Maxine's hand and they begin the slow stroll back to the apartment. 

Maxine feels his grip on her hand grow tight very quickly in reaction to the sound of glass shattering nearby. Gerard stops walking which she's confused about, but she looks to her left and sees a gang of masked men with weapons breaking into a shop. Her hand is let go of and instead she is instantly pulled in towards his side as he speedily turns around and walks the other way, trying to not catch the attention of the burglars.

"Damn, that was intense!" Maxine says as Gerard double checks that he's locked the door to their apartment behind him. There is no response from him, only the sound of very heavy breathing followed by a thump on the floor. 

"Gee?" She sits down beside him. His breathing becomes heavier and heavier and his face turns to a ghostly pale white, almost as if the life has just been sucked out of him. His entire body is shaking, like shivering in the cold, which makes Maxine panic.

"Gee what's going on? You're scaring me!" She asks him but again gets no response. He tries to speak but can barely breathe, gasping tightly for air as he starts to completely bawl his eyes out. He can feel his heart thudding through his chest and his vision goes blurry, his throat is dry making it even harder for him to breathe as it feels like his whole body is just shutting down. Sweat forms all over his body and he tries to push the hair out of his face whilst also trying to steady his breathing, failing miserably at both. 

Maxine examines him up and down with sheer fear written all over her face. She doesn't know what to do, does she try to console him? Never has he been in a state like this in front of her, never. She figures out what's happening but she doesn't want to make it worse.

A sudden wave of nausea rushes over him and he throws up onto the floor next to him, some of it getting onto the sleeve of his jacket. Maxine rubs his back, holding his head up afterwards and wipes his mouth. "Hey, you're okay, you're okay. It's only me and you here, you're safe." She tells him, holding his shaking hand whilst also caressing the side of his face. "We'll get through this, you're okay I promise." She continues to reassure him. "Gerard look at me." He snaps his head towards her, his vision still blurry.

"Focus on your breathing. With me, in... and out..." She breathes with him, he takes long shaky breathes which eventually turn into normal ones. Her arm reaches out towards him and she pulls him into her, holding his head against her chest whilst he continues to follow her breathing pattern. "You're okay." She whispers, stroking his head. 

They sit like that for ten minutes until he eventually sits back up. "Are you alright? Talk to me." She softly says to him with a concerned facial expression. 

"Anxiety attack." He says bluntly like he's embarrassed. 

"Well I know that!" She jokes, trying to lighten the mood. "Talk to me about it, was it that gang of burglars?" She continues, seriously now.

He lifts up his t-shirt revealing the scar that Maxine vaguely remembers seeing before. "A few years ago, my studio got broken into. I was upstairs so they didn't know I was there, I'll let you put the rest together." He replies with the sound of absolute defeat in his voice. 

"They stabbed you? Holy shit Gee that's horrific, I'm so sorry." She pulls him closer to her again, resting his head on her chest. 

"Yeah, along with stealing a lot of my artwork. The shittest thing that's ever happened to me." 

"Why didn't you say anything before?" 

"Remember when I spoke about those panic attacks ages ago and how you keep me sane? I just thought I was over them, and I honestly haven't had one since we've been together. Anyways, you've just been through so much with like your Grandad and your parents, my problems just didn't seem as big as yours." He finally lets it all off of his chest.

"Gee please, you're so important to me, I don't care how big or small your problems are, they still matter." She can't help but feel guilty about always dumping her own trauma onto him. "I'm sorry if I made you feel like you couldn't tell me."

"Don't apologise sugar, it's not your fault." He looks up at her with red and puffy eyes. "Thank you for helping me." 

"Come on, let's get you cleaned up." His body still stays there like he's still in shock. She grabs some cleaning products and wipes up the floor next to him, then takes his jacket off and throws it into the washing machine. She comes back into the room with one of his hoodies and hands it to him, but he doesn't put it on, he just wraps it around himself

He lays his head back down and they stay there for a little while longer until they go to bed for the last time together.