Kill Your Heroes: A My Chemical Romance Fic

THE COUNTDOWN

And then it all fell apart.

Her smile finally faded.

Adeline's mother died.

The beginning of the month, a day after she turned 70. Ray wasn't there, Adeline was so angry he wasn't there.
Countless days she sat in the hospital with her brother, like Ray's band had with her... They were on tour however... Apparently, Christa was expecting- so he figured by doing this he'd be able to provide for three by the time the baby arrived.

“We gotta kill the girls to get paid.” Ray laughed, trying to lighten his sister's mood.

But she couldn't laugh.

Adeline somehow understood after a while.

Maybe, once she had a family of her own, she'd be in a situation like that... Choosing one hard thing over another. Adeline figured life would win over death in the end.

She wouldn't be angry.

Her mother's spectre was called to her after failure of the heart hallowed out the shell of a body she inhabited.

But then again...

She would be angry.

The funeral brought her brother back to her, and the rest of the band. The rest of the band except for Gerard. Who, supposedly, was in the studio writing songs for their next album.

Adeline thought that the deadlines were more important to Gerard than the dead though.

“You'd leave June 21st. That'll be our final set at Projekt. Then we'll go tour different places and you'll come with us, okay?” Mikey explained holding her hand. Adeline looked at her mother's grave, completely lost in the inscription on the deep red granite stone.

“A?” he whispered.

“I- what? Yeah, the 21st. Yeah.” she sniffled.

Mikey took her hand in his “I want you to go, A. So does everyone else. When Gee said you'd come with us for your article we were so excited...!” he smiled his best smile.

“Yeah.”

The only word from Gerard was a sympathies card she received in her mail.

Saying something tacky in it, printed and impersonal, like “Thinking of you during this hard time, keeping you in my thoughts and prayers.”

In short, nothing written in there by him.
Next to his messy signature.

That night she took her cellphone and dialed Gerard's number in. Adeline waited on the other end of the line, hearing rings instead of a voice...

She called again.

A voice picked up “Hello? Who's this?”

He didn't... He didn't save her number?

Though, to be fair, she didn't save his either. But that was because she learned to remember it by heart “Adeline.” she deadpanned.
“A!” he smiled.

“

I got your card in the mail.” she stated matter of factly “Thanks for that.”

“What card?”

No response.

Adeline frowned and scanned the signature again.

“Adeline?”

It was Frank's. How did she even manage to mess that up?

She guessed, they always did say that you see things that you wanted to see.
“No. Nevermind that was Frank's. He sent me the card.” her voice was laced with poorly hidden disappointment.

“Adeline... I know, I know your mother died... I've been so busy, A.” he explained “I'm sorry I'm being so lousy.”

“I don't want to go on tour with you.” she blurted out with unintended bluntness “Wait- what?!” Gerard exclaimed “No! No! Please don't!”

Adeline would admit, however, it felt good that Gerard wanted her to go. Adeline said nothing...

“Please, I know it's hard right now.”

“June is a long time, Gee.”

“Please, try to wait. It might not end up being as long as you think it is.” he pleaded.

“Are you asking me to do that?”

“I want you too. But I can't ask you to do anything.”

Adeline smiled and said nothing. But it seemed like Gerard knew she was somehow because he said “I'm asking you to wait for me.”

She laughs.

He loves her laugh.

He wants her to do it more often.

“I will because you asked me to.”

NOVEMBER.