Show Me the Way

Chapter 12: Caught

I woke up to darkness. Ray was still beside me, so I figured that it was pretty early.

I moved off of the bed slowly so I wouldn't wake him, then made my way into the bathroom. When I came back out again, Gerard was walking around the living area.

"What are you doing?" I signed. "I'm trying to figure out why the light won't turn on," he said. "It's plugged in, but it won't... do the thing." I nodded.

"Will you start some coffee?" Gerard asked. I nodded slowly, confused as to why he would want coffee so early. I glanced at the stove clock, and it only confused me. How the hell was it so dark at nine fourty?!

I put the coffee on and quickly walked over to the window. I pushed the blinds over slightly and looked out. What I saw shocked me.

A light pole had broken in half and was laying in the street. The power lines connecting the other poles were either torn and sparking or bent at an odd angle. On top of that, the whole scene was soaked with rain from the storm earlier.

I turned around and made a little noise to get my brother's attention. "What's the matter, Mikey?" he asked. I motioned for him to come to me. He walked over, and I pushed the blinds open further so he could see.

"Shit," he breathed. "That's bad. And really fucking dangerous." I nodded, closing the blinds. "What do we do?" I signed. Gerard bit his lip, thinking. "I could call someone. But who do you call about that?" I rolled my eyes and threw my hands up. How was I supposed to know? I didn't use phones!

Gerard perked up suddenly. He turned and went over to get the coffee from the kitchen. I started to sit down, but I watched him drop the mug and swear as it shattered.

"Will you pour me some?" he asked. "Why?" I signed. "I have to get the phone," Gerard said. He pointed, and sure enough, someone was calling him.

I leaned on the counter, ignoring the coffee and watching him speak. It was like a game, trying to figure out what the other person was saying.

"Hello?" Gerard answered. "Yeah, speaking... What?... So you're stuck up there?... In this weather, right... I guess that's reasonable... But won't we be stuck there, too? We don't live that close to you, you know... Right, okay... Do you, uh, do you think you and Frank would-... No! I mean... Alright, sure... Just the two of us... Later."

I couldn't gather anything from that conversation.

He put the phone down and sighed. "Jesus Christ," he said. "Pete says he's the only sane one in their dorm at the moment."

"Why?" I signed. "Well, they're up there at their place, right? The storm moved up there not long ago. But they decided to go for breakfast before that. So now Patrick's curled up in Pete's lap because, well, that's some really loud thunder." I nodded. Things I would at least never have to worry about waking up to.

"Continue," I signed.

"Brendon had spiked his own coffee and now he's screaming about being stuck in a northern downpour, but at least he's with his true love? I don't know who he's talking about at this point. Apparently, he's too far gone for anyone to tell. Anyway, then you got Ryan, who's wedged himself so far into the corner of a booth that the shadows have accepted him as one of their own. And then there's Pete."

"Why did he call you?" I signed. "He wanted me to come up there because they're stuck."

"Oh," I signed. "Like, me and Ray stuck, or don't want to leave stuck?" Gerard grinned. "I think they're too scared to leave."

"So we're going?" I asked. Gerard nodded. "I guess," he said. "But he said just us. He and Frank..." He shook his head. "Christ."

I put a hand on his shoulder.

"You should clean that up," I signed, pointing at the sharp shards of the coffee mug on the floor. He sighed. "I know," he mumbled. "I'll clean it if you grab some clothes for the both of us, write a note to say we're going out to the store, and put some coffee in those cups with the lids on them."

I rolled my eyes. "So demanding," I signed. He rolled his eyes back at me, flipping his hair. "Just do it."

I snuck back into the bedroom. Ray hadn't moved, so it wasn't too hard to grab something without him noticing.

I walked back out, taking my whiteboard off the coffee table. I scribbled out something quick.

Gerard and I went to the store to grab some things. Don't know when we'll be back, but text us if you need anything! -Mikey

That would work.

I threw one of the shirts and a pair of pants at my brother. He flipped me off, and I returned the gesture.

I walked into the corner and attempted to change quickly. I had just tugged my shirt over my head and realized how cold necklaces got at night when Frank walked out of his room.

I jumped and tried not to sqeal. I turned my back to him and leaned over, trying to cover as much of my torso as I could. I grabbed the top and yanked it on.

When I turned around, Gerard was struggling to hide the broken cup from his boyfriend.

I walked over and brushed my foot around gingerly before stepping over to get our cups. I nodded at Frank, who waved.

"What happened over here, Gee?" Frank asked. I wondered when he'd been given that nickname. I mean, I called him 'G' when I was to lazy to call him Gerard, but there was something to it when Frank said it.

"I dropped something," Gerard explained. "No big deal." Frank nodded. "It's all up, right? I don't want to slice my foot open."

Gerard grinned. "You won't," he said. "Maybe."

Frank rolled his eyes, and Gerard pulled his face over the counter to kiss him. I couldn't help but smile. They looked so happy together.

I wondered if Ray and I looked like that.