Stockholm Syndrome (Frerard)

He Promised

The extensive ride in the backseat of a police car Gerard had to take was painfully quiet and uneasy that night. His eyes burned from the endless tears he cried. His body ached and he was exhausted. But worst of all, he felt as if his heart had been ripped away from him, leaving him with an everlasting loneliness.

There was only one thing on Gerard's mind as he looked up to the glimmering stars in the dark night sky: Frank. He hoped he was safe. He may have escaped into the woods, but surely he'd have to deal with the gunshot wounds sooner or later, all while still trying to avoid the police, who were currently searching every inch of perimeter of Ray's house for him.

If Frank was caught, there would be no hope for him. He'd be taken to jail on account of kidnapping someone and killing two police officers. Who knows what they'd charge him with, but it was definitely was not going to be good.

After plenty of time had gone by, the police who had been driving Gerard pulled up to a hospital. He was required to go there to make sure he didn't have any health problems due to anything Frank could have done to him.

The check-up luckily didn't take very long, but unfortunately, it turned out to essentially be pointless. Gerard didn't seem to have anything wrong with him and was allowed to leave relatively soon. However, when he was taken down to the lobby of the hospital, he noticed a familiar, scrawny-looking man standing among the police officers.

"Gerard!" Mikey called, running over to his brother and embracing him in a huge hug. "I'm so glad you're okay! I was so worried about you".

Oddly enough, Gerard didn't react much to the great reunion, even considering how Mikey was on the verge of crying tears of joy. Gerard simply smiled and hummed in response as he put in only a little bit of effort into hugging back.

Of course, Mikey instantly noticed this and was beyond confused as to why Gerard was acting strange. Stepping back, he examined his brother head to toe, trying to figure out what the matter was. Surely, he should've been happy to finally get to see his brother after being held captive by a psychopath for months.

"What's the matter, Gee?" He asked, trying to read Gerard's blank facial expression. He didn't reply right away. Instead, he looked past Mikey out the large lobby windows to the hospital, focusing on nothing in particular, but secretly hoping he'd somehow see Frank.

"Nothing," he finally stated plainly. "Just tired I guess".

Mikey's heart sank a bit at his very obviously uninterested brother, but luckily, a doctor soon approached and began speaking with him about Gerard.

Gerard took the opportunity to examine the bandaids on his arm where the doctors had drawn his blood for testing. Remembering the experience only put him in a worse mood, thanks to his fear of needles.

Eventually, when Mikey finished talking with the doctor, he tried approaching Gerard again, "Hey Gee, I was just talking with one of the doctors". Gerard didn't acknowledge him talking, but Mikey proceeded anyway, "It's okay if you don't want to talk much now. They said you're probably going to need some time to adjust back to your normal life. But don't worry. Your art school still hasn't started its classes yet, so once you're feeling better I'll take you there as soon as possible and make sure everything goes well, okay?"

Gerard surprisingly glanced back over at Mikey at that. He hadn't thought about his dream school in Europe in a while. But now that he started to again, it suddenly wasn't all too appealing anymore. Did he really want to bother wasting his time going through with that when running away and being with Frank was an option? Plus, he couldn't possible leave him, and he was a fool for almost having done so before.

"No, I'm not going," Gerard hurriedly spat out.

"What do you mean?" Mikey asked, sounding almost appalled. "It's your dream school! You've wanted to go there for years. Why are you suddenly changing your mind?"

An uncomfortable silence passed by before Gerard finally came to his conclusion, "I want to be with Frank."

Mikey's mouth dropped open in surprise. Even the nearby police officers overheard the statement and shook their heads in disbelief and annoyance. Gerard sounded ridiculous. He wanted to go right back into the arms of a man who had forcefully kept him inside a rotting house in the middle of nowhere for months. Clearly, something wasn't right.

"No, you don't," Mikey protested. "Don't say that. You just need to go home and get used to your old life again. Then you'll realize how crazy you sound right now." Without even realizing it, Mikey's anger was building up inside of him. How could Gerard be so ungrateful? After everything he had done to get him back, he just wanted to get kidnapped again.

When Gerard rolled his eyes in return, Mikey practically lost it, "Gerard, I spent every day worrying about you and doing everything in my power to bring you back home safely, and this is how you're acting towards me? I saved you from that psychopath!"

"Don't call him that!" Gerard suddenly screamed as he stepped forwards towards Mikey. "I didn't need saving! I told you to leave me and Frank the fuck alone, but of course, like always, you didn't listen and separated me from the only person that matters to me! I loved him, Mikey, but you just had to get involved and screw everything up!"

Immediately after Gerard's outburst, the policemen took control, grabbing ahold of him as he took a few steps too close to Mikey. Some doctors soon came over as well, insisting they take Gerard to have more tests done regarding his mental health. Gerard screamed and yelled in protest, desperately trying to break free and make a run for it, but Mikey allowed for them to drag him away. It was for the best.

Later on into the night, Mikey was invited from the waiting room to come and visit Gerard again if he wanted to. Rubbing his exhausted eyes, he nodded his head and followed the nurse to his room.

Right as he was about to go in though, the nurse spoke up, "Mr. Way?". Mikey looked up, his hand already gripping the door handle. "Your brother has been diagnosed with Stockholm syndrome".

Turning around to face her he asked, "What's that?". Anxiety rushed through him. Hearing that his brother had some sort of syndrome didn't sound too hopeful.

"It's when someone who has been kidnapped develops feelings of affection towards their captor. In this case, Gerard no longer sees Frank negatively for what he did. By the sounds of it, he deeply loves and trusts him. It's rare, but very apparent with your brother".

Mikey took a deep sigh, "How are they going to fix him? He's not going to stay like that forever, is he?"

"We're going to try some counseling with him, but other than that, there isn't much we can do. He was brainwashed in a way that helped him to survive. He just needs to believe everything's back to normal, and that he's no longer in danger. Then hopefully, he'll return to his old self".

Afterwards, Mikey thanked the nurse and she left him alone so he could visit Gerard. When he entered, all the lights were turned off, and Gerard was sitting up in bed, hugging his knees while crying softly to himself. Mikey was by his side in seconds, asking him if he was okay. As expected, Gerard said nothing, but pretty soon his crying started to fade away to match the silence of the room.

When Gerard had seemingly calmed down, Mikey spoke up again, "You're safe, Gerard. You don't need Frank anymore. He's gone now".

"He's not gone," Gerard corrected him. "He promised me everything would be okay and he'd come back for me".

"Gerard, he's not coming back".

Gerard became irritated again, but he didn't argue. Instead, he stood up and walked towards the window to look down upon the lit up city below him. Mikey joined him, but kept his distance.

"He got shot, Gee," Mikey quietly commented. "He may have gotten away, but he may have just bled out somewhere. Or the police may have finally found him hiding, and he's on his way to jail as we speak."

Finally, Gerard met eyes with his brother and gave him a bittersweet smile, "He promised".