Never Coming Home

Cans and Strings

Sneaking through the hallways of a prison isn't as easy as it sounds. Ryan was in the lead, allowing the other boys to follow behind him like ducklings would follow a mama duck. A pro to being tiny, both Ryan and Frank had an easier time couching behind small spaces than Gerard and Brendon.

While tying to sneak into a cafeteria, a employee of some sort walked in, holding a steaming mug in her small frail hands. She was tall, but god was she skinny. Her thick eyeliner, ruby red lips, and jet black hair contrasted well with her ghostly pale skin.

Frank and Ryan sprinted, ducking under a table just before she walked in, her tiny black heels clicking on the tile. Brendon snuck behind the counter, cursing himself for hiding in plain sight.

Gerard stood in the middle of the room, his eyes wide like a deer caught in the headlights of a car. Quickly, he spotted a tee shirt that was discarded over one of the plastic chairs that surrounded a table. He grabbed it, quickly pulling the black material over his head, and hopped over the counter, pretending to busy himself.

The woman walked in, looking at Gerard and muttering "'mornin." She then stopped, meeting his eyes. "Hey.."

Gerard felt his heart race uncontrollably.

"Your shirt is on backwards.." she said, taking a slow sip of coffee.

Gerard felt his cheeks heat up, but attempted to stay cool. "Long night.." he mumbled, pulling it down slightly.

The woman laughed, "I bet." She paused, stretching out a hand. "I'm Lindsey." She smiled.

Gerard paused for a second, recognizing the name. "I'm- A- uh- Arthur." He said, shaking the woman's tiny frail hand over he counter.

"Cool name," Lindsey smiled turning away. "Do you want some coffee?"

"God, yes."

"Alright," she nodded, begging to walk around the counter.

"Wait!" Gerard said loudly, startling the woman. "I-I'll grab it."

"What a gentleman." Lindsey sad, fanning herself comically. Giggling to herself while watching Gerard fumble around the cabinets. "Top cabinet to your left, doofus."

"Sorry," Gerard said, sending a quick glance in Brendon's way. The man crouched in an uncomfortable position in the corner where the wall met the cabinet, watching Gerard's every move. "I'm not good with these types of things."

"What things?" Lindsey asked, watching as Gerard pulled out one of those large (thank god) cans filled with coffee beans."

Gerard panicked, almost dropping the cab and instinctively blurted "talking to girls!"

"Oh-" Lindsey said, flustered. "I- I mean..." she paused. "Sorry?"

"No no! It's fine!" Gerard said, mentally planning his own death. "Not your fault." He laughed awkwardly while placing the can on the counter that separated the two.

Lindsey nodded, grabbing the can and filling a kettle with a scoop of beans and water, watching as the machine did it's magic. She then turned and handed Gerard a fresh steaming cup of coffee. "I mean if you'd like, I can show you that talking to girls isn't as hard as you'd think it is."

"Wh- what?"

Lindsey leaned over the counter, holding Gerard by the back of his neck, and pulled him into a kiss.

Gerard's heart pounded in his ears, but it didn't mask the sound of a quiet gasp that came from under one of the tables. Lindsey pulled away, muttering a "did you hear-" before Gerard cut her off again with another passionate kiss.

Lindsey tangled her fingers in Gerard's hair, deepening the kiss before she pulled away, slightly flustered. "See?" She said, taking a slow breath. "Easy."

Gerard smiled besides the fact that his stomach churned uneasily.

"Yeah," he said, keeping his voice steady.

"Welp," Lindsey popped, "Enjoy the coffee, handsome." She winked, and strolled out the door.

Gerard let out a long sigh, running his fingers through his greasy black hair.

Ryan peeked through the chairs, about to crawl out before Lindsey popped back in singing, "I forgot the sugarrrr!" And grabbing a few packets and hopping out the door once again. This time, Gerard walked over to peek his head out the door, deeming it safe and whispering "the coast's clear."

Sounds of chairs scraping on tile floors cans from behind Gerard, then he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"What the hell was that?" Frank scoffed.

The tips of Gerard's ears turned red. "I- uh- I don't know what happened.. I was trying to-"

"He saved our fucking asses!" Brendon interrupted, popping out from behind the counter. "I almost got caught!"

"That's not my poi-" Frank tried before getting interrupted again, this time by Ryan.

"And he found cans!" He yelped. "Good work, bud!" Ryan laughed, clapping Gerard on the back. Gerard blushed, avoiding all eye contact, especially with Frank.

"I think we have everything we need.." Brandon said, coming up from behind more cabinets. "I even found a screwdriver that we can shove in the wall to make holes or something.."

"Okay." Ryan smiled. "Let's get to work."