You Had Me At Hello

4: You Gave Me Butterflies

"So, thanks for dinner," I smiled, taking a drag from my cigarette. I offered one to him. "I can honestly say I have never had real Italian cuisine before tonight. I'm kind of sad, though." His eyes flickered with disappointment.

"Sorry if it wasn't great," he began apologizing. "I haven't actually cooked anything in awhile. I took some classes in college, and I just never did anything with it." He tossed his hair to the side. I smiled and shook my head.

"No, that's the problem. It was fantastic. I'll just never be able to eat at Olive Garden again," I smiled at him. He laughed softly. "I'm glad that, after all this time, I finally decided to actually get to know you. You're a pretty cool dude." There it was. That little split-second smile. He shrugged.

"I'm not really all that great," he said, taking a drag from his cigarette. I looked him over for a second. I could see that, underneath the calm and collected composure, he was extremely nervous. I smiled at him.

"Well, I think you are." I stepped a little closer to him. He seized up for a moment, before he allowed the composure to return. "Anyway, thanks for walking me back. I appreciate the company." He nodded, taking one last pull from the cigarette before flicking it towards the road.

"No problem." He pushed himself off the wall. "It feels nice out tonight." I moved toward him, and we engaged in an extremely awkward handshake/hug combo. He pulled back and back down the sidewalk. "I'll catch you later." I waved goodbye and headed inside the empty house.

Gerard's POV

I headed down dimly lit sidewalk, replaying the last few hours. I don't know what it was about that girl. She has been friends with Mikey for years, and yet, I barely even knew her name until now. She seemed to be genuinely interested in the things I was saying. She never seriously judged me for anything that I told her. We just clicked. It felt like I had known her my whole life. I pushed open the front door and stepped inside.

"So, that was something." I looked over at Mikey who was propped up against the kitchen counter. "You guys seemed to get along pretty well."

"Yeah," I agreed. "I'm not sure why we haven't talked before now. It's really weird, Mikes." He tilted his head. I knew he was waiting for something more than that. "I just don't really know how to describe it. I feel... I don't know. I feel something..." I saw a smile form on his relatively emotionless face.

"Well, feeling something is better than feeling nothing, isn't it?" He asked slowly. I nodded. "I've been telling you. She is my best friend for a reason. She gave me hope, even when I thought it was never going to get any better."

"It's more than that, though..." I thought about the warm feeling I got in my chest when she smiled. "I feel... Alive... I feel like... I think that I love her..." He smiled lightly and nodded.

"Well, she is pretty awesome." I shook my head, and he raised a brow at me in confusion. I took a deep breath and sighed.

"No, I mean... I actually love her... Not just as a person or a friend... I think I am in love with her," I stammered. His eyes grew wide as he realized what I had said.

"Oh... Like, love love. Okay..." He trailed off. "Um, okay. Well, I'm not sure what to tell you, man."

"I gotta see her again, Mikey. I have to. I need to."

Taylor's POV

I sat on the edge of the bed, staring at the door. The soft notes of the guitars reverberated off the walls. There was a vibration from my pocket. I blinked a few times, trying to bring myself back to conscious thought. I pulled my phone out and saw four missed calls from Mikey. Immediately, my heart sank. I grabbed my jacket and headed down the hall. I stepped outside the front door, lighting a cigarette. After a couple of minutes to gather my thoughts, I hit redial.

Ring, ring, ring, ring

"Hey," he answered quickly.

"What's going on? I was in the shower," I lied. I didn't need him worrying about me too. I heard shuffling, followed by a short silence.

"It's not bad. Maybe," he stopped. "I don't know. It might be. You smoking?" I blew a puff of smoke out.

"Pretty much always," I laughed. I heard footsteps on the pavement. I looked up to see him walking briskly towards my house. I held my phone up at him before putting it back to my ear. "So, why not just say that you were almost here?"

"I don't know. I'll see you in a sec."

Click.

I waited for him to get to my front step. I finished my cigarette, tossing it towards the road. He approached breathlessly. I looked at him, waiting for some explanation for the late night visit. He put a hand up, trying to catch his breath. I put my hand on the door to open it, but he grabbed my arm.

"You are probably gonna want to wait," he breathed out. "You're probably going to come right back out for another one." I put my hands on my hips.

"Okay, so what's with the late night drop in?" I asked. He seemed to be thinking over his words before speaking. My anticipation was growing. I studied his face. He didn't seem to have been crying. He didn't seem angry. On the other hand, he didn't seem particularly thrilled. I grabbed my pack from my pocket and retrieved another cigarette.

"Okay," he said finally. "Here's the thing." Great, there's a thing. "So, today went really well. He told me that he had a really good day, and he doesn't know why he never talked to you before. He said he felt an actual connection to someone, which made him feel alive."

"Oh, well... That's not so bad," I said slowly. He started nervously fidgeting with his hoodie strings. I could feel the tension building. "Mikey?"

"So, he thinks you're pretty amazing. Of course, so do I. You are a fucking godsend. Um, but the thing is..." He trailed off again. He took a deep breath. "The thing is... He thinks he's in love with you." It caught me mid-inhale, and I choked.

"He what?!"

"Yeah, so I didn't think it would be like that so soon," he rambled. "I figured it would be like months later. I just thought he was going to slowly work up to maybe asking you out for coffee or something, but I didn't think it would get this far this fast." I saw the tears welling up in his eyes.

"Shit, Mikey... I don't know what to say to that. What can I say?" I sighed in defeat. He shook his head.

"This was a bad idea. I drug you into this mess, and I'm so sorry. I didn't mean for this to happen," he cried. I put my hand on his arm to calm him. "I didn't know."

"It's okay... We'll figure it out," I reassured him. He looked up at me.

"We? You mean, you're not going to disown me for getting my crazy brother obsessed with you?" He asked in disbelief. I laughed to myself.

"No, Mikey. I'm not going to disown you for anything. We've been through too much," I said quietly. "This may not be ideal, but it's what we've got to work with."

"Well, I'm kind of relieved to hear you say that, because..."He sniffled. "He insists that he needs to see you again..."