mindset • g.w.

six: wet clothes, wet hair

Water seeped through my jeans as I sat in the river, legs out in front of me and heart beating fast.

My head was light and my vision was speckled with black dots threatening to take over my mind.

My breathing only became more irregular when Frank placed a hand on my shoulder, shaking me slightly.

"Hey, you okay?" I looked up at him and fought the vile threatening to rise in my throat.

"N-no I don't know I just don't know.." I stammered through my words as it became harder to breathe and a panic set in.

I let my body fall into the water, feeling it rush over my skin but keeping my face above only enough to breathe.

The chill that swept over my body as a result of the temperature kind of regulated my bodily functions.

After a few moments my chest loosened up and I allowed myself to open my eyes.

I shakily sat up, the water running off me and goosebumps rising to my skin as the cool breeze met it.

My eyes met Frank's as he extended a hand.

After helping me up he wrapped an arm around me and began leading me back to the car.

Gross, wet clothes and wet hair.

What a stupid decision.

Gerard gave us a puzzled look when he registered the fact that I was completely drenched head to toe and probably looked like I had seen a ghost.

Frank opened the trunk of the car and looked through a bag, throwing random pieces of clothing carelessly aside until he found a t-shirt.

"I figured I'd bring extra clothes in case I got paint all over my current clothes, you can change into this shirt." He placed the soft fabric into my extended hand.

I nodded and wiped the droplets of water resting on my brow off before they annoyingly ran into my eyes.

Quickly seeking out a place to change I spotted two trees nestled close enough together to provide pretty decent privacy.

During the entire time I stripped the clinging clothes his words repeated themselves in my mind over and over again, I only wished they were jumbled up and incapable of being understood.

They were in perfect order.

The word sister seemed to drip bright red ink, smudging into my nerves and sending my mind into overdrive.

I pulled the t-shirt over my head and the hem brushed my exposed legs.

At least it covered a decent amount of my thighs.

I briefly considered pulling my jeans back on but one look at the now dirt covered wet pants and I decided against it.

I sighed and considered each step I took on the rough gravel seeing as how my shoes were also, you guessed it, soaked.

I finally made it back to the car, leaning against it as I brushed the rocks stuck to my feet off.

Ignoring their looks of worry I opened the door and sat down, leaving it open.

Frank and Gerard exchanged a look and I assumed that Frank had told Gerard what he had just told me only minutes ago.

There was no way that Frank Iero was my brother, no fucking way.

"It's purely coincidental"

At least that's what I told myself as I watched the silent conversation they were all having.

Someone has to say something or I might actually go insane.

"Can someone please just address what just happened...I'm getting uncomfortable."

Uncomfortable was an understatement, but they all knew that.

Ray gave me a sympathetic look and I smiled at him.

It was fake, but it was a smile.

"Don't think we should y'know..do something?" Gerard rolled his eyes at his brother's comment before looking at his shoes.

"That's specific. There are a lot of things to be done. First things first is figuring out if you guys are really long lost siblings."

Annoyance was evident in Gerard's voice but I don't think anyone knew who or what it was directed at.

"Well how do we do that?" Ray questioned and Gerard shrugged, opening his mouth to say something before Frank cut him off.

"My parents will know for sure. I was too young to remember anything major, much less what she...you..whatever looked like." I nodded and judged the chipping nail polish on my toenails.

Inappropriate to do at that moment maybe, but it kept the feeling of nervousness from consuming me again.

Frank scratched the back of his neck as he pulled a phone out and texted someone, his parents I would assume.

Our parents maybe.

I shivered at the thought and fought the urge to bring my knees up to chest as it would kind of be an awkward position with my lack of pants and all.

A few minutes later his phone dinged and he looked at me briefly before reading the text.

"My mom said that she could call me later today, I just said I needed to talk to her about something important." He stuck his phone back in his pocket and looked at me again.

"We have the same eye color." A light smile tugged at his lips and I couldn't help but to smile myself.

Gerard sighed dramatically and tossed his keys at his brother, letting him know that he would be driving us back into town.

"Are we going back to the tour bus or dropping Alice off at her place?"

We all shared a questioning look before Frank spoke up.

"Well I think she should be there when I call my mom seeing as how there is a high chance of questions being involved." My heartbeat sped up at the thought of talking to the woman who might be my mother.

My aunt and uncle made no effort of keeping the fact that I was adopted a secret, so I always knew that I had birth parents out there somewhere.

I just never imagined I would have the possible opportunity to talk to them.

After coming to the mutual decision to go back to their bus we all piled in the car.

Ray sat passenger seat while me, Gerard, and Frank all sat in the back with me in the middle.

I was the smallest so it made sense that they stuck me in the uncomfortable middle seat.

I leaned forward and rested my head on my hands as drowsiness swept over my body.

A nap would be great.

Taking a hesitant look over my shoulder at Frank who was leaning against the window I leaned back and considered my options.

It wouldn't be weird, would it?

I built up enough confidence and let my head rest on his shoulder and I felt him jump slightly, making me stiffen and almost sit up.

Before I did he wrapped one arm around me, making the position a bit more comfortable.

I smiled and closed my eyes, drifting off into sleep.