Rain Stained Kiss [frerard]

part I

Gerard stared at the clock above the door, watching the seconds tick by agonizingly slow. He was almost there. So close.

Then the second hand hit the twelve marker and the harsh metallic sound of the bell filled the room.

Gerard was the first one out the door.

However, once the warm air beyond the glass doors of hell hit him he slowed down and he loitered by the bushes for a few minutes waiting for his brother.

As he waited he watched the streams of students pass by him. Most walked in clusters--groups of friends. Most of the girls wore shorts or skirts or dresses while the guys wore shorts or jeans. Gerard opted to wear jeans. No way would he be caught dead wearing shorts, even if it meant dying of heat.

“hey Gerard!” someone shouted. It wasn't his brother. Gerard looked over and saw a messy dark haired boy walking over. Billie Joe, a kid from the year above him.

Gerard smiled and waved.

“are you coming to graduation?” he asked as he neared Gerard, who shook his head.

“wasn't planning on it”

“smart. I would ditch too if I didn't need to go get my diploma” he cracked a grin “you should come to my party though, it'll be sweet. In theory” Just then Tre and Mike called for Billie Joe from the crowd of kids. “gotta run!” he told Gerard “see you around, Way” he gave a shirt wave before leaving to join his friends.

“hey” the small voice beside him made him jump.

“jesus Mikey, don't scare me like that” Gerard grumbled to his brother. Mikey just smirked.

“let's go loser, I've got a date with Pete tonight” Mikey called behind him as he started towards the sidewalk.

“of course you do” Gerard mumbled, readjusting his backpack and following his brother towards home.

When they walked in the front door Gerard was only half surprised to see his two best friends already in the kitchen drinking soda from the cans.

“hey” he called, dumping his backpack beside the door and joining them in the kitchen.

“Gee!” Lindsey exclaimed joyously,  throwing her arms up.

“what are you two doing in my house before me?” Gerard asked tiredly, trying to shoot them a glare.

“I told her not to do it” Ray defended himself, raising his hands as if to show his innocence.

Lindsey rolled her eyes “yeah, yeah” she waved her hand dismissively “I know you don't really care” she told Gerard. And it was true.

“well while you're here help yourself to sodas--oh wait!” Gerard looked at them pointedly but got little reaction. “I'm going down stairs” he grumbled, walking back to his bag by the door before trudging to the the basement door.

“wait up!” Lindsey called after him, but he was already descending into the cool dark room.

At the bottom of the stairs he dumped his bag and wandered to his cluttered desk, picking up a sketchbook.

“I see you've not been cleaning” Lindsey remarked as she sat on the couch, looking at Gerard. It was true. the hardwood floor had a layer of mostly black clothing covering it--dirty or not Gerard had no idea--along with crumpled pieces of paper--probably homework--and various stuff.

“you've got to learn about spring cleaning” Ray remarked, sitting beside Lindsey and sipping his soda. Gerard just shook his head, flipping through the pages of drawings trying to find a blank one.

“did you get invited to Billie Joe’s party?” Lindsey asked excitedly “I'm pretty sure like half the school is going”

“I might go” Gerard answered vaguely, now engrossed in his sketch of a vampire.

“c'mon Gee, you gotta go” Lindsey told him “you've got no choice” she decided before going on some rant about how hopefully she would meet a nice girl there.

Gerard felt a bit bad for ignoring his friends, but then again, not really. They were used to his silence and he was used to their noise. They coexisted. Besides, Lindsey was currently crushing Ray at Mario Kart, they didn't need his sulking.

“hey Gee” Gerard jolted up at his name and saw his brother standing at the foot of the stairs wearing black skinny jeans and a white button up with the top two buttons undone.

“what the hell are you dressed up for?” Gerard asked in confusion. 

Mikey rolled his eyes at him. “date. Pete. Remember?” he asked as if Gerard were stupid, which granted, probably wasn't far off in Gerard's opinion. “anyway, I need to know which looks better. Button down or grey shirt?” he asked, spreading his arms out so they could see.

“lets see the grey shirt” Lindsey requested, now invested in the fashion show. Mikey held it out and she rolled her eyes. “on you, dumbass” Mikey nodded and turned his back to them before putting the grey shirt on. It was slightly baggy with a v-neck. “where are you going?” Lindsey asked as she scrutinized the outfit.

“Pizza” Mikey answered simply.

“grey shirt” Lindsey said immediately. “save the button down for semi-formal dances, weddings where you're not a key figure, and restaurants”

“ok, thanks” he said, walking back up the stairs. I'm pretty sure we had all been getting fashion advice from Lindsey since literal forever.

“hoping to meet any cute boys, Gee?” Lindsey asked, changing topics as soon as Mikey had left--not that him being there would have stopped her.

“no” Gerard grumbled. It was a lie. He'd love to meet a cute boy who would love him and bring him to watch sunsets, but it was unrealistic. He wasn't interested in a relationship that wouldn't last, and in high school short lived relationships were the staple.

If only. He thought.