Chapter 3.
Gerard paced around the room, feeling nervous. He knew that’d he’d be fine once he got onstage, but he was having a mini panic attack. Mikey grabbed his arm, “Gee, just sit down! We’ll do the show and that’s it. Calm down.” Gerard sighed in exasperation. He was tired. He plopped down on the couch and drummed his fingers against the armrest. Frank gave him an irritable look and the beat of Gerard’s fingers faltered.
Exasperated, Frank grabbed Gerard’s pack of cigarettes off the coffee table and threw them into Gerard’s lap before pointing to the door. Reluctantly, Gerard grabbed them and went outside. The cool air helped ease the anxiety that had been building up inside of him. He quickly pulled out a cigarette and lit it up, using his hand to shelter it to stop the gentle wind from blowing it out. He sucked in a few puffs, watching as the red ash glowed and brightened before exhaling a stream of smoke from the side of his mouth. He leant against the wall as he watched the sun begin to set. Combing his fingers through his hair, he wondered why he was so wired.
Of course he already knew the answer. He was thinking about Kristen. Would she be there tonight? What had she been doing these past few days? He hated the thought of her just roaming around the streets by herself. Anything could happen to her. She could’ve been attacked, mugged, gotten ill… He had no way of knowing unless she turned up. And even at that, how was he supposed to pick her out in a multitude of fans? He supposed that she could have stopped off somewhere. It was the not knowing that was eating him.
Suddenly, he dropped the cigarette, grimacing. He hadn’t realised that it had burnt down so much; he’d hardly even smoked it. He stamped down on it and went back inside. Mikey groaned at the sight of him. Gerard smirked. “Don’t worry Mikey. I’m good.”
“Right, let’s go make sure everything’s ready,” Ray stated, getting up.
“Ray, we already checked it like twice. Will you just give it a rest, it’s fine,” Frank moaned. Mikey and Gerard looked away, a smile tugging at their lips as Ray’s gaze fixed on Frank. “We want everything perfect don’t we? We want to go out there and give them the best show ever, don’t we?”
“Ray, you’re doing it again,” Frank muttered quietly. Ray froze, sighed heavily, and sat back down.
“Do you think Kristen will actually show up?” Mikey asked, breaking the silence.
She pulled her leather jacket tighter around her against the chill, the wind whipping tendrils of her dark hair into her face. She had been walking for two days straight, not pausing to eat or sleep. She bit down on her lip; her head was killing her. It wasn’t from the lack of food, but from the cold wind on her face. She’d gone far longer without eating. Not by choice necessarily, but she still had an issue with forgetting to eat. She tried to remind herself to eat, but it had never been part of her regular schedule where she was from. Food just wasn’t given much importance when it came to her. She knew that she would have to rest soon, but she was too excited to sleep. She was determined to make it to the concert early.
A drop of water splashed down on her forehead suddenly. She looked up, wrinkling her nose in annoyance. Why couldn’t it just rain? She like the rain, but drops out of nowhere irritated her. If it’s going to rain, it might as well pour. If you’re going to cry, you might as well ball your eyes out.
Up ahead, a figure caught her eye. They were sitting on top of the railing of a steel bridge, looking down into the rushing waters below. Their hood covered their features, but even at her distance, Kristen cold see the person tilt closer and closer to the edge. Eyes wide, she began to powerwalk over to the bridge. “Hey,” she called loudly, “Hey you! Be careful there!” The person raised their head, but their face was still shadowed. Kristen broke out into a quick sprint as she saw them suddenly use their arms to push themselves off the bridge. She didn’t bother with the bridge and jumped over the railings. The person had already hit the water. Kristen held out her hand, hoping to grab their arm, but they didn’t surface. She ripped her bag from around her neck and tore off her black skinny jeans before diving in.
