November 1st (Frerard)

8: Monday, October 8th

"It's not your fault, gerard." And Kat was perhaps the only person Gerard could count on, but still in that moment, their words meant very little altogether. "You have to get up." They added, their tone growing ever more half-hearted, as the words seemed to mean so much less, until they were speaking lies, or speaking nothing at all.

Gerard only turned the other way, pulling the covers back over his head, because if there was anything he was sure of, it was that he most certainbly couldn't face the world today, not through his own eyes at the very least; he could live, he just couldn't live his own life.

"Please." Kat's tone grew louder, a hand pulling the covers away from Gerard's face, to which the older of the two siblings flinched, curling up further away from the younger. "You have to go to school. We have to go to school. Please, come on, it's not your fault. It wasn't your fault."

"It was my fault." Gerard choked out, and really Kat was shoked to get that out of their sibling. "It was my fault." gerard repeated, as if determined to convince himself so, like he wasn't quite there yet, like Kat still had some hope of fixing it.

"Nothing's your fault, Gerard. You're easily the most innocent, the best person in this world. You wouldn't hurt anyone, you care so much." Kat let out a sigh, sitting down beside their brother, desperately wishing he could get out of bed at least, but it was beoming apparent that Kat just wouldn't quite get taht lucky.

"I walked off. So did he." Gerard sat up at that: tear stained eyes, bright red cheeks, meeting Kat: all pale skin, too pale, so fucking pale, their eyes glassy, like none of this was real - dissociated from the world, perhaps. Gerard was jealous.

"No. That's not how it was." Kat let out a sigh, focrcing a smile in their brother's direction, "you didn't want to go to church, mum didn't like that, she got angrier when you weren't there when we got out of the church. She blamed dad for letting you stay outside. It was a horrible fucking argument in the car on the way home. I told her she was being stupid and I texted you, dad agreed with me... he was on the right side for the first time in his life, I guess. She didn't like that. She slapped me, again," Gerard winced at that, and Kat ddin't blame him, "that was why he walked out."

"It all started with me though." Gerard protested, having stopped crying by then at the very least.

"No it didn't. He walked out because of mum, because he couldn't take the way she was acting anymore. It's her fault and she deserves it." Gerard paused for a moment after Kat had spoken, processing the information, and struggling to believe it, but fuck, it all added up, it really did.

"Where is she now?" He asked, his voice timid in tone, and Kat was just so fucking overwhelmed that he'd accepted the truth that they didn't even really register what their brother had said for a good a moment or so.

"Work. She went in early." Kat explained, their tone calm and welcoming, and everything Gerard needed in that moment. "Come on, Gerard, get dressed, i'll make you something for breakfast."

"Can I walk to school with you today?" Gerard asked, his voice quiet, almnost scared of not just the consequence but the way his words piereced the air altogether.

"Of course you can. As long as you don't mind my friend - he's nice, though, don't worry, I promise you that."

-

Gerard looked horrendous; his cheeks still red, making it all too evident that he'd been crying, and his hair wasn't even doing that good a job of hiding it that day, but in that moment, his appearance was the least of his concerns, focusing on Kat, who was acting more like the older of the two in that moment, but perhaps that was just what gearrd needed.