Gerard P.O.V

My parents' house was relatively well-kept. The picket fence was a pristine, white colour. The wooden exterior a blue almost the same colour as the sky on a clear, summer day. I smiled, just looking at it brought back pleasant memories for me. When Mikey and I would play on the front lawn, reading underneath the old oak tree in the centre of it.

I caught a glimpse of my mother in the window, she probably wasn't expecting to see me. Her green dress was almost the same colour as the grass outside. Even in her old age her looks never failed her. Apart from the frown lines, the smile lines, she looked the same as when she was eighteen. Blonde, blue-eyed and beautiful. Her eyes lit up as soon as she saw me, hurrying from the kitchen as fast as she could. She burst through the front door, throwing herself at me.

"Oh Gerard, it's been so long since I've seen you properly. How's my beautiful boy?" She smiled, pinching my cheeks affectionately. I giggled, playfully batting her hands away from me. She held me at arms length, looking me up and down, inspecting my suit for any small specks of dirt. She'd steal whatever garment it was and wash it immediately. She pulled me into another hug, her strong lavender scent filling my nostrils.

"Are you hungry? I'm making dinner. Your brother and your father will be arriving soon, I can imagine." She smiled, not even bothering to listen for an answer to her own question. Her dainty, washer-woman's hand wrapped around my wrist, her nails filed down neatly. She always did pride herself on her appearance. Her blonde hair was always shoulder-length, curled in all of the right places. Her complexion pale with the freckle underneath her right eye, lips ruby red. I admired her more than she could imagine, I supposed that she would love me no matter what. I still couldn't pluck any ounce of courage up when it came to telling her about my sexuality. It would physically cripple me if she ordered me never to speak to her ever again. My father would most likely break down and cry, Mikey would spit on me. The thought of that scenario made me shiver.

"Sit at the table baby." She patted the old wooden table, I sat down obediently. I could see the driveway from where I was, I watched as my father's car pulled into it. Mikey got out first, looking at my car with disgust. He knew something wasn't right about me- it was obvious. With the amount of money that I had managed to rack up, you'd expect that I'd have women lining up to marry me (for my money). Instead I repelled people, even my chosen gender. The only thing that would never desert me was my literature collection- that too was living in the boot of my car.

"Oh look, there they are. They're early today." She smiled, walking casually to the door. I wasn't sure whether or not coming home today was a good idea. The look on Mikey's face told me otherwise. The night would end in an altercation between him and I- something completely unavoidable. He knew. I was sure of it. The way that he looked at me, the way that he frowned and almost became angry as soon as I made an appearance. He probably wanted me to leave the perfect little family that was surrounding him, me completely out of the picture. If he told me that that was what he wanted, so be it. I would do anything for him, there was no doubt about that.

We all sat around the table, an awkward silence had fallen upon us. Mikey tapped his spoon against the bowl on front of him, his eyes locked on me. I pretended that I hadn't noticed, continuing to eat the home-cooked food that I had missed so much.

"How's your work going, Gerard?" My father asked, a smile spread across his weathered face. I hesitated, not wanting to tell the truth. The truth being that I had wanted to quit every day of it, thinking that I didn't deserve to be in such a position of power.

"Oh, it's going okay. There's not much going on in the editing world as of late." That part was true, I hadn't had a worthy script in weeks, maybe even months. I was tempted to submit one of my own under a pseudonym to create at least an air of excitement in my full working environment.

"Is that so, still living in that motel?" He asked with a cringe, probably imagining to be crawling with cockroaches, the bed infested with bedbugs.

"Yup." I said simply, shoving my spoon into my mouth. He shuddered, making me choke on the cake that was making its way to my stomach.
My mother stood up, collecting in all of our dirty plates to take them to the kitchen, Mikey following after her like a lost puppy. He had always done so, even when he was little. A real momma's boy.

I hugged my parents, Mikey was nowhere to be seen. He was probably plotting some sort of plan to attack me and render me defenceless. With his current state of anger, I wouldn't have been surprised if he did. I went to pull my keys out of my pocket, when a hand appeared on my shoulder. I sighed, knowing exactly who it was.

"What Mikey, you've looked miserable all night?" I asked, turning around to face him. He was more upset than I had imagined, his face curled into an angry expression. His fist collided with my cheek, a sharp pain shooting along my jaw. I may have been weakened by his blow to my face, but I managed to pick him up by the scruff of his neck, throwing him across the yard.

"What the fuck Michael?" I screamed at him, hoping and praying that our parents didn't hear. It would hurt them both to see their beloved sons fighting.

"I hate you. I hate that disease that's coursing through your veins Gerard. Don't bother coming back if you're going to plague us all with it." He hissed, scrambling to his feet.

I scoffed, laughing at how dumb he sounded. I shook my head, opening my door, throwing my car into reverse. I left the little nostalgic house, the little green town, the fresh air and my old happiness- there was one thing that I needed, and that was a drink.
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Song Of The Chapter- Change is Everything by Son Lux

A.N
I FUCKING LOVE SON LUX! They're so talented AH!

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