Fever Dream || Frank Iero

.23.

MELISSA

With more down time following the show, everyone wanted to go to a small dive club in the city. The idea of breaking out of the summer routine was incredibly appealing to me, especially after everything that had happened. I did my best to ignore any uncomfortable thoughts of that night, despite how frequent they were. I would do anything I could to get away from the fog I constantly found myself trapped in.

Digging around in my bag, I was surprised to find the one nice "just in case" dress I brought. Pulling it out, that stupid note popped out along with it, and I audibly grunted when the thought of Frank popped into my mind along with it. I was excited about the night out until I remembered Frank would be part of the scenario, and I was suddenly less than thrilled.

"Whatever," I said to no one, slipping the black velvet dress up, tugging the straps over my shoulders. "I'm not going to let him ruin this."

Once I was ready, I walked out of the bus to see our group mingling outside. Gerard's head turned at the shut of the bus door and he gave me a wolf whistle as I walked down the steps. I couldn't help but laugh as a blush spread across my cheeks, his hand extended for me to take as I got off the bottom step.

"You look fantastic!" Gerard raised my hand up in the air. "Give us a good spin."

I twirled in a circle, the others gassing me up with melodramatic clapping and whistling. The smile on my face refused to leave- For a moment I felt like I was actually a part of a group of friends for the first time in a while, and it felt good. For once I basked in the attention.

Mikey came over to give me a hug and as my chin rested on his shoulder, I found a reason to stop smiling. A few feet behind him was Frank, who caught my eye and quickly looked away. I pulled away from Mikey and did my best to put the smile back on, not wanting the others to know the ugly song and dance I had been in with Frank. He already appeared to be slightly drunk, considering his reaction time was slow in that his gaze wavered on me for a moment before looking away. I wondered if he had been looking at me since I walked out of the bus.

Hearing a girlish shriek behind me, I looked around to see Jessica coming out of the bus and running toward me.

"Look at you, hottie!" She beamed, linking her arm around mine. "Everyone ready?"

The club was close enough that we all decided to walk. Jessica stumbled next to me chattering away in my ear, but I had trouble focusing. In front of her and I was Pete and Frank walking ahead, whispering to each other. I refused to let him ruin my night.

We arrived in a few minutes time, entering the building and going downstairs in the basement. The grungy atmosphere was right up my alley, however I suddenly felt a little overdressed. We made our way through the dark room, weaving through crowds of people. Jessica had my hand in front of me, and I felt another behind me grab my other hand, presumably Gerard. Harsh EDM pounded through the brick walls, and a tad of adrenaline rushed through my body. I was excited to be somewhere new. Maybe I could just let go.

Gerard bought me a drink and the others began going their separate ways about the club, Jessica being the first to grab Pete's hand to drag him into the dance floor.

"Are you feeling any better?" Gerard yelled into my ear as he leaned back on the bar.

"About what?" I said, playing coy. I was already sick of the constant questions about Sam.

"I'm not stupid, Mel."

"Come on, let's have fun," I said, downing my drink and quickly ordering another. Gerard scoffed at me, but I ignored him and grabbed his hand to find the others.

The bass pumped through my chest and I could feel my buzz becoming stronger as we weaved through sweaty bodies. The flashing lights almost gave me a high- I felt good. Really good. Maybe it was the liquor, but I didn't care.

Gerard stopped me in the middle of the dance floor and turned me around, smiling. He lifted a finger and on top sat a small white pill. I hadn't touched any drugs since high school, so I was hesitant at first. The part of me that needed control wanted to take over, but the other half of me wanted to let go and not care. But was Gerard doing drugs? Should I be concerned?

I let the selfishness take over as I gently wrapped my mouth around his finger, swallowing the pill. He smiled at me and I felt the guilt fade away. The music flushed over me, and my arms began rising in the air in pure euphoria. I felt good. I felt alive.

The tempo quickened and Gerard grabbed my hand, pulling me into the thickest part of the crowd. The high of the flashing lights quickly transformed into a physical high- colors seemed brighter and the floor felt softer. For once I wasn't scared of any consequences. No worrying about who was where, or what might be going wrong.

Gerard danced with me, occasionally grabbing my waist and tugging me a little closer every time I floated too far away. He looked genuinely happy for once, and that made it even easier for me to let go. Sometimes even when we were all laughing and hanging out with each other on a normal day, there was a darkness around him- one I couldn't describe. The quiet and tired look behind his eyes was on my mind often, though I was never brave enough to address it. There was constant wonder throughout tour of what might actually be going on with him.

Gerard leaned over to me and said something, but the music was too loud to hear him. I motioned with a finger to my ear and he smiled, visibly drunk. He slowly wrapped his hand around where my jaw met my neck and arrived next to my face, my head swimming to much to question the unfamiliar gesture. The music paused for a moment in preparation for a drop, and he repeated himself again, calmly.

"You remind me of her."

The music came down hard again and I was left confused, Gerard still holding my face in his hand. The people around us began to move again but we didn't. Something told me that things were suddenly different.

Before I had the chance to ask what he had meant, Gerard's lips were on mine.