You Had Me At Hello

17: You Only Hear The Music When Your Heart Begins To Break

 "No drinking," Gerard promised as we loaded into Frankie's car. I climbed into the front seat. "I will not leave your side." We were heading to a New Year's Eve party, the first party since Halloween, and Gerard was wary of going. He was afraid something would happen again.

"I believe in you." Frankie started the car and drove off down the block. "Besides, we also have Mikey and Frankie. They'll keep you in check."

"Damn straight. No drama for this mama," Frankie piped up. Not much was said during the drive, aside from the casual conversation between the guys. As we pulled up to a rather large house, I was relieved to see that it wasn't the same house as before. Gerard got out of the car and walked around to open the door for me. I stepped out and almost tripped over the curb. He caught me and held me as I steadied myself.

"No falling. Bad for you, bad for baby," he said with a smile. I nodded and wrapped my arm through his. We followed Frankie and Mikey up to the front door. "We don't have to be here, you know. We could just go back home." I shook my head.

"Who knows when I'll get to go do something fun again? It'll be okay," I assured him. He nodded, although he didn't seem to fully believe what I was saying to him. We entered the house and the familiar scent of cigarettes, weed, and perfume filled the air. We pushed through the crowd of people. Mikey and Frankie went to talk to some people, but they made sure to stay within sight. Gerard hovered around me, keeping a constant check on me. As the night went on, I convinced him to go and talk with the people that Mikey was with. I went to the bathroom, and when I came back out, I couldn't see any of them. The feeling of panic was instant. I moved through the room, looking for any of the three that I came with.

"Well, look who we have here." I heard a familiar voice from behind me. I turned around to see him. His dark brown eyes looked me up and down as he smirked at me. "Been a real long time, Tay." I cringed at the pet name.

"I don't have time for this, Zack," I spat as I turned away. He grabbed my arm forcefully. "Don't you fucking touch me."

"Aw, come on. Are you really going to pretend like we don't have history?"

"Yes, I am. There is no history, other than you being a piece of shit. Now, let me go," I demanded. He laughed bitterly.

"Oh, come on now. I wasn't that bad. You just had to be a bad girl," he teased. I gritted my teeth, and before I could think better of it, I spat in his face. He jerked me towards him and wrapped his hand around my throat. "You are still just a stupid bitch."

"Get your fucking hands off of her." Frankie stood behind him. The air became palpable as he seethed. Zack laughed in his face.

"Or what, short stack? What the fuck are you going to do about it?" Frankie lurched forward, knocking his off his feet. I backed up quickly, struggling to catch my breath. Mikey saw what was happening and ran over to assist me. Gerard soon followed.

"What happened?" He asked Frankie.

"This asshole had his hands on her," Frankie spat as he swung at Zack. In a split second, Gerard had him on the ground. Mikey pulled me away towards the door, and we stepped outside.

"Are you okay?" He asked softly. I shook my head and started to cry, and he held me as I shook. Gerard came out with Frankie in tow.

"Let's get the fuck out of here," Frankie growled. "If I stay, I'm going to kill him." We all followed him back to the car in silence. Mikey continued to comfort me as Gerard and Frankie walked off their anger. I got in the backseat with Mikey and laid my head against his shoulder.