run ((ON HOLD))

bring the pain

Gerard sat quietly in the driver's seat, grip tight on the steering wheel, flipping through options in his head. He had made the long drive to New York, luckily keeping Lindsey asleep, and now was now parked in front of a slightly shady, '24-hour' record shop with a cardboard sign that said 'Apartment above, rooms for rent' stuck up in the window. He needed sleep. Lindsey needed sleep. They needed to find a place to stay. But their options were limited. Quite limited. And this shady record shop may be their only option. There was a coffee shop a block away with a 'help wanted' sign and they had passed a grocery store with a sign in the window. He was sure he and Lindsey could both get jobs. This apartment could do. They would have to go for it.

With a careful and steady hand, Gerard unbuckled himself and reached in the backseat for a pad and paper. After feeling around for a minute, he found what he needed and started jotting down a note, just in case Lindsey woke up while he was inside.

"Went inside the record shop to inquire. Look out the window. Come inside if you want."

Satisfied with his note, Gerard opened the car door and got up, replacing his spot with the notepad and pen. He carefully shut the door, trying to make as little noise as possible. He sighed and looked both ways, before making his way briskly across the street. He stopped on the sidewalk in front of the store. It wasn't the best-looking building, but it suited its purpose. The neon letters above the shop bragging '24-HOUR RECORDS' flickered, threatening to go out. He sighed and pushed open the door, looking over to the counter. A small girl, who looked to be in her young teens, was tapping drumsticks on a drum pad set on the counter. An iPod connected to a speaker sat next to the drum pad blared some random music. Her nametag said 'KITTY'.

"I came to bring the pain, hardcore from the brain...let's go inside my astral plane..."
"Hi, do you work here?" Gerard asked, questioning why a small girl like her was working at 1 in the morning.
"No, I just wandered in here and grabbed a name-tag," she sassed, "Yes, yes I do."
"Aren't you a little young to be working at 1 in the morning?"
"Nah."
"Okay, then. So, that sign in the window?" Gerard asked, gesturing to the window.
"Oh, yeah. There's an apartment upstairs. Two bedrooms. Really small. Not very nice. But it works."
"Aren't you supposed to be bragging about it?"
"Nah. Tell it how it is."

Gerard nodded.

"How much will it be?"
"Not quite sure, to be honest," Kitty replied, tossing one of her drumsticks in the air and catching it, giving him a look "You'll have to ask my cousin when he gets back."
"Alright," Gerard said, nodding, "Is it okay if I look around?"
"Sure. You into vinyl too?"
"Yup. Love them. Used to collect them."
"What happened?"
"Couldn't bring them with me."
"Oh," she sighed, "That sucks."
"Yeah. It really does."

The two looked up as the door opened and the bell chimed. Lindsey looked at the two, her recent waking evident by the look on her face. She rubbed her eyes, trying not to smear her remaining make-up.

"Late night music binge?"
"I'm with the dipshit with the bad fashion taste," she said, gesturing to Gerard. He let out a small objection of "hey", "Don't deny it."
"So, you two want the apartment upstairs?" Kitty asked. Gerard nodded, "Well, whenever Jimmy gets back, he'll get you guys hooked up."
"Alright," Gerard replied, nodding, "And do you know anything about the job opening at the coffee shop down the street?"
"Yeah."
"What do you know?"
"There's a job opening at the coffee shop down the street."
"Well, no shit, Sherlock."
"You asked me what I knew."
"How old are you?"
"15."
"Well, no wonder the attitude."
"I like to call it personality."
"Shut up, you're like, 12."
"15."
"Whatever," Gerard replied, rolling his eyes. He began looking through the records while Lindsey decided to strike up a conversation with the small drummer.

"So, you're working the shift all by yourself?" Lindsey asked. Kitty shook her head.
"Nah, I'm just covering for a little bit. Until Jimmy gets back from the gas station."
"Midnight gas run?"
"He wanted some beer."
"That works too. So, you guys have an apartment available?"
"Hoping to make some extra cash off some tenants. It's a really weird set-up upstairs. Think it used to be a shelter or something. I don't know. Jimmy and Mark were talking about it. Anyways, there's a spare two-room apartment that we got fixed up."
"Nice."
"So, where are you and him from?"
"Both of us are from Jersey, but I moved there."
"From where?" Kitty asked, continuing her mindless practice.
"Scotland."
"That's awesome!"
"Yeah, it's pretty kickass."
"So, what's your name?"
"Me? I'm Lindsey. That dipshit's Gerard. You?"
"Jennifer. But my nickname is Kitty," she replied. Lindsey gave her a smile, holding out her hand.
"Nice to meet you, Kitty."
"Nice to meet you too, Lindsey," Jennifer replied, taking Lindsey's hand and giving it a shake. She then resumed her drum practice.
"So, you play the drums?"
"Mmmhmm. My stuff's upstairs. I have a standard set and a drum machine upstairs. And you can see my drum pad right here."
"Nice."
"You play any instruments?"
"No, not really."
"Markus has some spare instruments somewhere if you wanna learn. He'll probably sell 'em cheap."
"I'll look into it."