I apologize once again for the long wait on this.

I am not sure how many of you keep up with my message board or rant book, but if you weren't aware, I am attempting to get a book published at the moment. It is actually a fanfic of mine that I am changing into an original novel, it is published on here as That Golden Rule. If any of you would like updates on how that is going, my twitter for my original fiction is @/ME_Aster.

The process is taking up quite a bit of my free time, and because of this, I haven't been writing as much, but I am still here. I won't abandon my fanfictions even if my updates are less frequent than they used to be.

Anyway onto the chapter. I hope you all enjoy.

Frank told himself that he wasn't going to spend his time waiting for Gerard to return staring at his phone in the hopes of receiving a reply from his father. The message had been sent, and his father would answer or he wouldn't. Frank was slightly surprised by how calm he was given the emotional trauma just thinking of his father usually involved, but he wasn't going to complain about his current attitude.

Frank smiled to himself as he let himself into Gerard's apartment with the spare key, a bubble of warmth unfurling in his chest when he entered the welcoming atmosphere. Frank was so grateful that he had this place now, that he could come here instead of going straight home. In fact, this was more of a home to him now than anywhere else, he was safe here, and that was more than he could say for the building he was supposed to be calling a home. A part of him felt guilty for neglecting his mother as often as he had been, but he couldn't deny that his mental state had improved immensely ever since he began spending more time at Gerard's.

Frank called out once he closed the door behind him, and when he received no answer, he determined that Mikey was out once again. He hadn't been around all that much lately, at least, not when Frank was over. He did like chatting with Mikey, especially when Gerard was caught up at work, but at the moment, Frank was grateful for the silence. He hadn't gotten much sleep last night, and he decided to use his free time before Gerard returned to take a quick nap. That way he wouldn't be tempted to check his phone every few minutes, and hopefully, he'd have an answer by the time he awoke.

Frank curled up on the couch after toeing off his shoes, tugging the throw blanket strewn over the back of it around his shoulders. It wasn't actually all that cold inside, but Frank enjoyed the sensation of being held, even if it was artificial. His eyes barely waited for him to be settled comfortably before closing, and before Frank knew it, he was fast asleep.

~~~

"Fucking hell, hold him up will you?"

"I'm trying - you're the one who needs to hurry up."

Frank groaned under his breath when he was awoken by unfamiliar voices. He wasn't sure if they were part of a dream or not, but judging by the fact that they didn't dissipate when he sat up, he was forced to accept that they were real.

Once Frank had regained his bearings, he glanced around warily. No one was inside as far as he could tell, which meant that whoever was talking had to be out on the landing. Judging by the volume of their conversation, they were directly outside of the door. He stayed where he was for the moment, cocking his head to the right as he attempted to listen in further.

"I can't find the key, you sure he leaves one out here?"

Frank tensed instantly when it became apparent that they were trying to get inside. He wasn't prepared to fend off a home invasion, although why anyone would want to target this specific apartment building was a mystery to him.

"That's what he said, not that he's all that reliable right now, he's fucked."

Frank frowned as tried to digest the words spoken by the men outside of the door. Neither of them was Gerard, but they also didn't sound like robbers either, or at least, not very competent ones. Frank crept closer to the door as silently as he could, doing his best to remain unnoticed in case the strangers were more dangerous than they sounded.

"Yeah - and so are we if we're caught like this."

"Didn't you say his brother lived here too?"

"I think so..."

Frank tilted his head curiously when their words sunk in. If they knew who lived here, that means they had to be friends of Mikey. Gerard would have warned him if he was expecting company, but it also seemed odd that Mikey's friends were here without him. Mikey usually went out to meet them, not the other way around.

"So let's just knock and drop him, we can't risk another strike, we'll go to prison for sure."

A spike of fear arrowed through Frank's gut due to their last statement, but before he could decide what to do, there was a rapid knock on the door, followed by the sound of retreating footsteps. He was nervous to reveal his presence by responding to the summons, not knowing what he would find outside, but his curiosity got the better of him in the end. He slowly pulled the knob toward him, pausing his actions when a small crack of light was revealed, making sure that no one was going to attack him before he opened the door completely.

But what Frank did see outside was not what he had been expecting, in fact, it was so shocking it caused his heart to stutter briefly in his chest and his eyes to blink rapidly just to make sure that what he was viewing wasn't part of some odd extended nightmare. It seemed like it should be, what filled his vision couldn't be real, but yet it was. Frank should have expected it, the previous dialogue had been an obvious hint, but still - he was shocked to view Mikey strewn across the entryway, seemingly unconscious and alone.

"Mikey?" Frank asked instinctually, although he already knew who the collapsed figure gracing the worn out welcome mat was. The older male honestly looked dead, which terrified Frank. His skin was ashen and pale, his breathing was so shallow it was barely noticeable, and he didn't move at all, not even when Frank called his name.

Frank's first instinct was to panic, but he pushed away the rising sense of terror clogging up his throat, doing his best to think logically as his hands fluttered uselessly at his sides. Mikey was unconscious, he had been dumped here by his friends supposedly, and they were afraid of being sent to jail if they were seen, which could only mean one thing - drugs had been involved. So Mikey had most likely overdosed again, except this time, it was much more serious than Frank's original meeting with him. He was in danger, perhaps it was already too late to help him, but Frank had to try.

There was no sign of the two males who had been speaking earlier, who must have been Mikey's friends, not that they deserved that title after dropping Mikey off here like a package instead of a human being. Frank didn't understand why they couldn't have driven him to the hospital instead, which was where he obviously needed to be, but getting him there seemed to be his problem now. Frank kneeled next to him hastily, pressing his fingers against his pulse point to make sure he still had one, which he did, although it was very erratic.

Frank's own breathing began to take on an unsteady cast when he realized what a terrible state Mikey was in. He had seen him high before, the first time he had met him he'd been in a state of debatable overdose, but it had never been as bad as this. Frank knew this was serious, that Mikey needed medical attention immediately, but he had no car with him today, and unless Gerard was on his way back right now, that meant he would have to call an ambulance.

Frank would gladly do so, he had no qualms about facing whatever suspicions might follow him for bringing in an overdosed patient, he had done nothing wrong after all, but he was nervous about the cost. His mother had once called herself an ambulance when she had fallen and cut her knee open, Frank hadn't been home at the time, and even with the insurance she had through her work, the price of the ride had been over three thousand dollars. Frank wasn't entirely sure if Gerard even had insurance at all, and he would hate to put him in a bad position if he had any other option available to him.

Frank had to look at the bigger picture here though; Mikey was more important than any momentary cost, and he came first. Frank had to take care of him no matter what, which meant getting Mikey indoors, then deciding on his next course of action from there. Frank glanced around as he managed to lift Mikey the best that he could, silently begging for Gerard to walk up the stairs just now, but of course, his pleas went unanswered, and he was left alone with no one but the unconscious Mikey for company. Moving Mikey on his own was significantly more difficult without any assistance on his part, but he managed it, although he did bang his legs against the door frame, which would probably leave a bruise, but that was the least of Mikey's worries at the moment.

Frank managed to drag Mikey to the sofa, his arms burning at the strain of lifting his dead weight the last few inches. He didn't give himself any time to rest once Mikey was splayed out across the cushions though, he couldn't, so after he checked that the other man was still breathing, he dug his phone out of his pocket, dialing Gerard's number with shaking fingers. It went straight to voicemail though, which meant that Gerard was still busy, he would have turned his phone on if he was on his way back. He didn't bother leaving a message, it would just waste precious minutes that neither he nor Mikey had.

Frank had no choice now, he had to call an ambulance. Pete didn't have a car, and Frank didn't have time to go see if his mother had returned with his. Mikey still hadn't moved at all, and every second that passed lessened that chance that he was going to come out of this unscathed.

Frank didn't allow himself to hesitate any longer, letting the pad of his thumb press nine, then one in quick succession. He tried to inhale deeply as he held the device up to his ear, but the extra oxygen did nothing to loosen the bands that were pressing tightly around his chest. The longer the phone continued to ring, the more intense the sensation grew. Frank knew that losing control of himself now would do nothing but make the situation worse, but as he gazed down at Mikey's pale face, it was almost impossible not to panic.

"9-1-1, what is your emergency?" a melodic voice cut through Frank's anxious mindset, the fact that he had someone else with him now calming him significantly, even if it wasn't physically.

"Hi - yes...my friend, he's unconscious. I think he took something, cocaine probably. I need an ambulance."

"Okay honey, just tell me your address and I'll get EMS on their way." Frank rattled off the address as quickly as he could, although that ended in his voice shaking so much the operator had to ask him to repeat himself twice.

"Did you get it?" Frank asked nervously after his second recitation.

"I did, an ambulance is coming to you as we speak, but I need you to tell me how your friend is doing. Is he breathing?"

"Yeah - not normally though, it's really shallow."

"How old is he do you know?" the woman asked. Frank was tempted to groan in frustration at her pointless questions. He didn't see how Mikey's age affected anything, but he also knew getting upset wouldn't help. The phone operator was simply trying to distract him, to keep him occupied until the ambulance arrived, so it was in his best interest to play along.

"Uh..." Frank faltered. He suddenly realized that he actually didn't know how old Mikey really was. It had never come up, he only knew that he was younger than Gerard, so his best guess would have to do. "I think he's 23, maybe 24."

"Okay, and there's been no change with him yet?"

"No," Frank groaned despondently as he checked on him again, "he hasn't moved at all."

"That's okay, the EMT's should be there soon, just give them a few more minutes. How about you though? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Frank answered quickly. It seemed like he had been on the phone for ages already, and he just wanted to hang up so he could attempt to get in contact with Gerard again, but he also knew that doing that would only result in her calling back, not to mention he wasn't actually ready to face Gerard yet either, so he stayed on the line.

"You don't have to lie if you aren't, I won't get you in trouble," the woman assured him. Frank didn't blame her for assuming he was high as well, but he still felt a spike of frustration welling in the back of his mind as he started pacing across the room anxiously.

"I'm not on drugs, I swear," Frank sighed. "I wasn't even with him when this happened."

"That's fine, how about you tell me your name then?" she continued to press. Frank was really beginning to lose his patience with her sickeningly sweet mannerism, but luckily for him, he caught the faint sound of sirens in the distant.

"I think I hear the ambulance, can I go now?" Frank asked impatiently.

"No sweetie, you need to keep talking to me until they are at your door," she insisted, ignoring Frank's huff of frustration. "Now, how about that name?"

Frank acquiesced to her demands, telling her his name, along with a series of other pointless tidbits of information that she inquired about until he heard feet on the landing, followed by a rapid knock on the door. Everything after that was a blur honestly. Frank knew he had let the EMT's in, and he must have also hung up on the 911 operator at some point as well, but he didn't consciously remember doing any of it. The voices and commotion surrounding him had turned into white noise, leaving him feeling dizzy and unstable as he did his best to stay out of the way while answering any questions that were directed at him.

The next thing he knew, Frank was in the ambulance along with Mikey who was laid out on a stretcher, his pale features remaining unchanged even as the sirens started up again and the boxy vehicle began to bounce down the road. Frank stared at his closed lids determinedly, desperately hoping to see a sign of life, a muscle twitch, a quirk of his lips - something, but nothing came. There was no reaction when the EMT pressed a needle into his arm either, and only then did it truly hit Frank that he might actually die.

A muffled sob welled up in Frank's throat as he curled around himself the best that he could, tugging his knees to his chest in a futile attempt to hold himself together for a little bit longer. Frank couldn't break down, not yet, he had to tell Gerard what had happened, he needed to be there for Mikey when - if - he woke up, but god, it was so hard not to break apart completely.

Luckily for him though, Frank had been through enough trauma in his life to know how to handle things, which was to take one step at a time until he couldn't function anymore. That meant getting in contact with Gerard first, then worrying about everything else after. Frank knew he couldn't speak, not with how tight his chest and lungs felt at the moment, so he fumbled his way through a text message instead, briefly informing his boyfriend what had happened and that he would inform him if anything changed for better or worse. He didn't receive a response, and although a part of Frank knew that he should call to at least determine if Gerard's phone was on yet or not, he couldn't.

Gerard was probably still at school anyway, even if it seemed like hours since Frank had spoken with him in his classroom. He had no idea how much time had passed since he had last tried to contact him, or even how long he had been in the ambulance. His brain functions were shutting down, he was falling apart despite his best efforts at keeping himself together. This was just too much, his friend was potentially dying in front of him, and no matter what Frank did, there was nothing he could do to help him.

So as the emergency workers around him did everything they could to revive Mikey, Frank hid himself in the corner and cried. Each tear that ran down his cheeks burned harshly, every hiccup seared at his chest, but despite the pain, he kept himself silent. His sorrow wasn't important right now, no - it was Mikey's wellbeing that mattered, and that was currently teetering dangerously over a ledge that Frank couldn't reach.

He didn't understand how this had happened, everything had been going so well today, but somehow, he had ended up miserable and helpless once again. Maybe he wasn't meant to be happy, or perhaps others had to pay the price for his joy, and the unfortunate victim had been Mikey this time around. If he died, Frank wasn't sure if he could live with the guilt. He might not have actually done anything wrong, and although it was Mikey's choices that had truly led him here, Frank felt responsible as well.

He would give anything if Mikey survived, he needed him to open his eyes, if not for his own sake, then for Gerard's. Gerard had been through so much, he couldn't lose his brother, Frank couldn't let that happen, but he didn't have power over life or death, all he could do was pray to a god that he wasn't sure existed to save Mikey and hope that his mental pleas were heard.

This was short, but I have finally introduced the next plot point, and I am determined to finish this story no matter how long it takes me.

Thank you all so much for your continued patience, it means the world to me.

Votes and comments are always appreciated if you feel like leaving one.

I love you so very much xxx

Chapter dedicated to SpnBandsTrash

I'd rather kiss the ground than kiss a starless sky

- starr