It was visitation day, so Pete was off somewhere with Patrick. Ryan's younger sister came and she was over the moon to finally see him. Apparently she was barely able to see him when he was on the upper floor. Ryan was equally if not more excited to see her too.

I was sitting on the couch in the rec room with Brendon resting his head on my lap. My fingers were slowly moving through Brendon's hair. As much as I wished Mikey would come, I'm kinda glad he doesn't. I'm able to spend the time with Brendon.

One of the first times we had a visitation day and Brendon realized no one was going to come, he had a full blown panic attack. I don't know how I did it, but I helped calm him down. Since then, I made sure to be there for Brendon in case he ever needed me again. A part of me saw it as a second chance to be a real big brother.

"Hey, Gee," Brendon said in a quiet voice. I hummed in response, waiting for whatever he wanted to say. There was a pause before Brendon spoke in the same low voice. "Dr. Weekes told me I'm making a lot of progress." A smile pulled at the ends of my lips.

"I think I can agree with him." His body rose and fell when he let out sigh.

"He thinks that I could probably be discharged soon." His voice got quiet at the end of his sentence. My hand stopped in his hair as I processed what he said. I felt him slight tense until I continued brushing through his hair.

"That's good. You don't belong in a place like this."

"I'm sorry," he whispered. I looked down at him confused.

"For what?"

"If I leave here, I'll be leaving you too." I shook my head.

"Don't apologize. I want you to get out of here. Don't worry about me." I felt his hand move and grip the fabric of my pants.

"I'm scared, Gee. I don't have anyone out there for me."

"Don't say that. I know Patrick would be happy to help you until you can make it on your own." Brendon nodded against me. "You're gonna be amazing out there. You can finally go after that music career you've told me about." He chuckled gently.

"I'll come back to visit you all the time."

"No." He turned to look up at me. He had a frown on his face. "I don't want you coming back to this place, Bren."

"But what about you and Pete and Ryan?" His voice was small.

"Pete's getting better. I'm sure he'll be discharged by the end of the year. Ryan's better too. He's already fully transitioned onto this floor. He's trying really hard."

"What about you?" I gave a weak smile.

"I don't think I'm gonna be leaving as fast as you guys." Honestly, I don't see myself leaving at all, but I couldn't say that to the fragile boy on my lap.

"But when you do come out, we can go out and celebrate, right?" My heart broke at the hope in his voice. I gave another weak smile and brushed his hair away from his face. He was still looking at me expectingly.

"When do you think Ryan's coming back?" I watched a smile spread over his face as he let out a giddy giggle. I smiled back at him. "You like him a lot don't you?" He blushed and buried his face in the sleeves of shirt. "I think he feels the same way."

"Really?" He peeked out from behind his sleeves, eyes wide open. When I nodded, he sat up and shined me a goofy smile.

"You know, I remember when the nurses had to pry your hands off me when we were escorted to our rooms." He looked down sheepishly as a new blush crept over his cheeks. "Look at you now. You're off doing things on your own more. I'm sure Ryan's helping, but you're getting better. Dr. Weekes is right, you're making so much progress, Bren. I'm so proud of you for that."

He crawled into my lap and wrapped his arms around my neck. I pulled my arms around him and hugged him tightly. His face was buried in my neck. He murmured against my skin.

"Thanks, Gee." I tightened my hold on him slightly.

"Anything for you, Bren."

"Hey, Brendon." Brendon's head perked up at the sound of Ryan's voice. He quickly scrambled off my lap and jumped into Ryan's arms.

"Ry!" Ryan chuckled and hugged his back. When he pulled away he turned and pulled the girl standing close behind him forward. I hadn't noticed her at first, but now, I could only assumed she was Ryan's sister. They had the match hair colors and she shared his chocolate eyes. She was really just a female version of Ryan.

"Bren, this is my sister, Liz." She gave a small wave which he returned eagerly.

"Hi, I'm Brendon."

"Hi," she replied shyly.

"We were gonna go outside and we're wondering if you'd like to join us." Brendon nodded and was almost bouncing on the balls of his feet with excitement. As they headed toward the door, Brendon called over his shoulder at me.

"I'll see you later, Gee." I smiled and yelled after him.

"Have fun." With that I was by myself. I sighed and pushed off the couch. I left the room and moved robotically through the halls. There was more leniency today with the patients spending time with their loved ones.

Soon, I was pushing open a door and walked into the empty art room. I sighed as I scanned the room. Last time I was in here, I blacked out and made a big mess. I walked over to the far wall and pulled at the supply cabinet doors. I let out a sigh when it didn't budge. I knew it'd be locked.

I pulled a stool up to an empty easel and sat down. My eyes drifted close and I let my mind imagine the canvas. A beautiful lake was painted on the back of my eyelids. I smiled at the sunset shining through the tree line, discoloring the water.

My arm came up with the feeling of a brush in my hand. Moving forward the bristles of the brush pressed against the softness of a canvas. I could smell the paint as it spread over the canvas. A hint of a smile tugged at the corner of my mouth at the sense of freedom this gave me.

"What are you painting?" I jumped up, knocking over the stool, and cautiously moved away from the voice. My eyes were glued on Frank standing in the doorway. His hands were up in surrender. "I didn't mean to scare you," he said with a small smirk.

My body was still buzzing from the sudden adrenaline. He took a careful step forward and I unconsciously took one back. I let out a quiet whimper of defeat when I felt the wall against my back. He stood right beside the easel and picked up the stool, setting it back on all four legs.

"Why don't you actually paint something?"

"It's locked," I answered and jerked my head to the cabinet on the other side of the room. He looked and nodded in understanding.

"I think I can help with that." He walked over to the cabinet and I stayed rooted in place. His hand went to his pocket and pulled out a shiny piece of metal. I slowly moved forward. I couldn't see what he was doing, but after a small click sounded, he pulled the door open. My mouth dropped in shock as I stared at the now exposed supplies.

"How'd you.." Frank flashed me a smile and held up a nurse's key. My eyes widened. "Frank, you need to give that back before you get in trouble."

"Relax, Gerard. It's fine and you can paint now." I looked at the stocked shelves of temptation. I looked over my shoulder at the front door before turning back and reached for a bottle of blue paint.

I could feel the stress leaving my body. I gathered an array of pain and brushes and took them to my easel. Frank set up a blank canvas for me. A smile spread across my face as I set up the paints. I grabbed a thick brush, dipping into a light colored blue.

My hand hovered over the canvas as a tingly feeling vibrated over my body. The same feeling free feeling from earlier came back as I lightly stroked the paint onto the page. My mind shut out my surroundings as I moved naturally over the painting.

Way too soon, I added a few final details onto the scene and set my brush down. I looked down to see paint over my hands. I rubbed my fingers together, mixing the wet paint. I looked proudly at the painting. It was just as I pictured, but being able to get it out was more satisfying.

"It's beautiful," Frank commented from behind me. I jumped subtly at his voice. I forget he was here too. I looked over my shoulder at him.

"Thank you." He cocked his head to the side and gave a small chuckle. I would be lying if I said I didn't think he looked adorable.

"For what?" I motioned to the painting.

"Making this happen." His smile grew.

"Anything to keep that gorgeous smile on your face." I dropped my head as my cheeks warmed. "What are you gonna do with the painting?" I shrugged.

"I don't know. I usually just leave my paintings here. I think they throw them away." Frank frowned.

"They shouldn't throw away a masterpiece." I rolled my eyes at the comment. "You could easily sell it."

"No one's gonna want a painting from a crazy person."

"You're not crazy, Gerard," Frank's voice was stern. I simply gave another shrug. I didn't agree with him, but I don't think I could get him to agree with me. "Can I have it," he asked after a minute of silence. "If you don't want it of course," he added when I didn't answer right away. My mind was asking why someone would want to keep one of my paintings.

"Where would you put it?" I kept my head low, eye him through my peripherals.

"Probably in my... room." Frank was staring at the painting when I fully turned to him. "You're very talented, Gerard. I can't get over how amazing you are." I blushed again. I know he was talking about my painting skills, but my mind was hoping he meant something a little more.

"You can have it." Frank gave me a bright smile.

"We should probably head back before they start to wonder where you are." I nodded because I wasn't sure what to say. Lyn-Z knew if I ever went "missing" to check here first. I still followed him out of the room and we made our way down the hall.

"How come I found you alone in the art room on visitation day?"

"I don't really get visitors. I normally spend the time with Brendon, but he's with Ryan and his sister."

"Do you not have anyone who can come?"

"My little brother, Mikey. When I was first admitted, he came all the time."

"He doesn't come anymore?" I shook my head. "Why not?" I gave a weak smile.

"I don't know," I whispered. "But I'm glad he stopped coming." Frank looked at me in disbelief at my statement.

"Why not? Don't you miss him?"

"Of course I do, but I've taken up so much of his life. I can't ask him to keep wasting his life on me anymore." I looked down at my feet dragging along the tile. "This... this is for the best." I nodded trying to convince myself. I felt Frank's hand grab mine and give me a reassuring squeeze.

"I'm sure he'll come visit again." I gave a tight smile, but didn't respond. He kept a hold on my hand until we made it back in the rec room.

"I'll see you later, yeah?" I nodded and watched him walk back down the hall. He disappeared around the corner before I moved to the couch and sat down.

I smiled at the thought of Frank spending the afternoon with me. Normally, Brendon and I would just lay around and keep each other company, not that I didn't like it, but Frank was new and refreshing. I really hope we have more days like this. It seemed like one of the few times I could really feel normal without trying.

What about me?

I frowned and sunk into the cushions, craving Frank's presence more as the voice chuckled at my vulnerability