I woke up in the Emptiness. I didn't exactly wake up, properly speaking. It wasn't like I had been sleeping and I just woke up, but more like I had been in the Emptiness for a little while but just snapped out of my thoughts.

I was slumped on a couch, comfortably snuggled into Dream Frank's arms. In front of us a dim fire was burning in the pit of a chimney, lightening our surroundings slightly.

My head was resting in the crook of his neck, that I nuzzled affectionately from time to time. I had such sympathy for him. Dream Frank kissed the top of my head chastely, which made me smile a little. He knew what to do to humor me.

"Why do you persist on taking refuge in your dreams?" Dream Frank asked, looking down at me. "It's not very healthy," he remarked. I knew he meant well by asking that, so I didn't feel vexed at all.

I stared thoughtfully at the fire dancing in front of us, crackling and projecting shadows where its light couldn't reach. "Maybe, but it's better than reality."

"How so?" Dream Frank inquired.

"Because you're nice here. Here, everything is so... simple."

"This is just an illusion. It only means you don't acknowledge the complexity of the situation. It's understandable, though. Simplicity is a blessing - especially for the ones who tend to overthink."

"Don't make everything so complicated. You're ruining it." I pouted, nuzzling into Frank's neck.

"Ruining what?" he asked, slightly confused.

"Our moment, Frankie. Our moment."

"Gerard, you know I am not really Frank Iero, right? Your mind created me. I'm not him. I'm what your subconscious wants me to be."

I unglued myself from Dream Frank to look at his face. "Why, though? Why would you look like Frank?"

"I don't know," Dream Frank replied, his voice ever so soft. "The subconscious is a mystery. It holds our deepest feelings. Our hidden, forgotten memories. In real life, I stay quiet. I let you act freely but I secretly influence your judgement."

"So, if you're the embodiment of my subconscious, then you're some sort of a... lost memory?" I narrowed my eyes as if it could help me muster all my intellectual potential.

"I could be, or I could be something totally different," Frank said and I hummed, not sure if I understood what he meant by that. I dived into the sea of my reflections and Dream Frank respected that silence.

"I think I'm beginning to understand." I spoke up after a while. "I saw flashbacks of Frank before I passed out - fragments of the past. That means I knew him before my year of coma. Mikey told me he was my bully then. But I saw something different. What if Frank and I got along two years ago, before he became my bully?"

"I don't have the answer to that, but it seems like a valid theory."

So... Frank and I weren't always enemies? We used to be friends, and I did something that hurt him. But what? How did I betray him?

I snuggled a little bit closer to Dream Frank. "I never meant to hurt you, you know? Whatever I did to you," I said as if I was addressing Frank Iero.

"Then why don't you tell that to Frank - the real one?"

"Because... I don't know. I'm not sure I could. I still hate him for everything he's done to me. But I love you," I replied, even though it didn't make much sense once I said it out loud.

Dream Frank chuckled. "That's a bit narcissistic considering that I am a part of you - of Gerard. But I'm flattered."

I smiled up at him. "Kiss me," I demanded softly. Dream Frank silently complied, leant forward and pressed his lips on mine. I barely had the time to enjoy the treat before I woke up.

I woke up sweaty and panting again. These dreams seemed to be draining my energy more than they were restoring it.

I needed to sleep because now that the doctors were sure I was stable, I was going to leave the hospital tomorrow morning and go back to school the following day.

I sat on the bed and rubbed my eyes. Frank didn't visit me again during the three days I had stayed here - unlike Lindsey, Ray, Bert and of course, Mikey.

It wasn't so much of a relief, now that I knew Frank might stop bullying me for some reason and that I needed answers from him at all costs.

Frank used to be a confusing person, but now he was beyond the scale of confusion. He made no sense at all.

So what, we are besties, then he starts bullying me, he beats me up, and all of a sudden some miracle turns him into a remorseful sweetheart? That's not how things work in real life.

As usual, I was overthinking everything and it gave me a slight headache. After having calmed down, I laid back in bed and focused on falling asleep and going back into the Emptiness, into the arms of the Frank of my dreams. I wanted him to hold me close again. I felt so safe inside my head.

I failed in going back though, and just ended up falling into a dreamless slumber that, at least, brought me some peace.

______

External POV :

Lindsey was starting to question herself on several levels, one of them being : 'when the hell did I start hanging out with Mikey Way?'

Lindsey Ballato liked genuine people. He was nothing but a schemer to her.

Mikey liked when everything went according to plan. She was too emotional for him and could be sand in his perfectly assembled cogs. They simply were no match.

But if there was one thing Lindsey knew Mikey was truly genuine about, it was how much he wanted to help Gerard and put him on top of the world, even if that meant sacrificing himself.

It was another type of love but love all the same. Anyone who spent as much as a couple of days with the Way brothers could see how blatant Mikey's admiration for his big brother was.

After all, Gerard seemed to have everything for himself : the intelligence that made him Mikey's role model, the pretty face that made Lindsey and all the ones who were into men swoon, the potential and the natural charm that made all his teachers and friends stick by his side no matter what.

Gerard had one flaw though : his mind was like crystal. Pure and beautiful but coveted and so easily shattered.

Lindsey wanted to preserve Gerard from Frank and protect him from his own past. She would know by now that acting as Gerard's bully and hurting him was not the worst thing Frank could do to destroy her boyfriend.

His love was so much more poisonous. But something inside Lindsey's head was screaming that Mikey Way was no better than him - another reason why she was reluctant to collaborate, despite Mikey's excellent reasons and genuinely kind intentions.

Lindsey and Mikey had been keeping the same secret and in the end, they wanted the same thing - more or less. Keeping this burden had unavoidably brought the two of them closer, despite how much they sometimes disapproved each other.

They agreed on one point : Frank was a threat to Gerard's sanity and needed to be kept away. What Lindsey didn't approve, however, were Mikey's methods. One could easily call her hypocrite though, as she was clearly Mikey's accomplice - sometimes unbeknownst to her good will.

Lindsey didn't like that thought one bit, though. As said before, she liked to be genuine. That is precisely why she decided to be honest with Mikey about the doubts she had been having on the current situation.

"Mikey, I think we should talk to Gerard. This is going too far." she told Mikey as the two of them were walking in the hallways of their high school.

Mikey stopped dead in his track. His face turned emotionless. Mikey sometimes let hints of emotions show when he forgot that he had to be as grave as can be, but that was rare.

Lindsey stopped walking too. "I think we should tell him everything. He won't repeat his past mistakes if we take the time to make sure he won't react the way he did back then, I'm sure of it."

"Oh, so you want to play Russian roulette with Gerard's fate? It could hurt him, Lindsey, you know that." he argued, pointing to the lockers next to which Gerard had fainted less than a week ago.

"We don't know that. I believe in him."

"Oh yeah? And do you believe he will forgive us for lying to him, too? But he doesn't have to know, does he? We're in this together whether you want it or not. You agreed to it. If you tell him anything, not only will he hate you, but he will also remember everything about Frank and will unavoidably go back to him."

Lindsey bit her lower lip, something she tended to do when she was feeling upset. Seeing that his arguments were affecting her, Mikey kept talking.

"Please, with what happened last week, I'm scared of the consequences for Gee. He is doing more than okay right now, but if he keeps physical tracks or if he even dies, you'll have his death on your conscious ! Do you love him or not?!" he ended, raising his voice.

Lindsey nodded. "Of course I do ! You don't have the monopoly of affection for him." she retorted.

"Then protect him !" Mikey exclaimed. "It's in your best interest. This is your only chance, Lindsey. You still love him, even though he broke your heart and stepped on it. I know you wouldn't hurt him, and certainly not for the truth. You know he would go straight into Frank's arms. It's only a matter of time before they are back into each other's orbit. But you want him to stay with you this time, don't you?"

Lindsey glared at Mikey and folded her arms. "Of course. He's meant to be with me, not with that punkhead."

Mikey put a hand on her shoulder. "And you have my blessing."

The black-haired girl glanced at the foreign hand and glared up at Mikey, eyes like daggers. Mikey pinched his lips and drew his hand back. "I don't need your blessing, weasel. You're not my dad, or Gerard's." Lindsey growled under her breath.

"You're right, I'm not. Everything I've been doing is for him and his well-being. Do you really want him to go back to his old self? Do you need to be reminded why you dumped him?"

"Gerard is not acting like himself and you know it." she pointed her finger angrily at the lanky, black-haired teenager in front of her. "He had changed, and we should all have accepted that. Instead, we're just trapping him in a gigantic lie."

"Who cares if he's 'himself' as long as he's happy and healthy?" Mikey retorted dryly. "Besides, that wasn't Gerard. The real Gerard is the amazing man he is today. Not that degenerated freak."

Lindsey bit her lower lip angrily and clenched her fists. She didn't like the words that were coming out of Mikey's mouth, even though a part of her agreed with him - and hated herself for it.

"I don't like you, Mikey. You're a snake. And it hurts even more to say it but... you're right." she admitted. "Fucker," she added.

______

Gerard's POV :

When I came back to school, Frank wasn't here to welcome me like he always did, and I was glad he wasn't. It gave me a break, although I knew I would have to talk to him at some point to make him tell me the truth.

Something I didn't understand was why he had paid me a visit at the hospital, though. How odd to feel ashamed for making me pass out - which he wasn't even responsible for - when a few weeks earlier, he was beating me up relentlessly.

Why would he suddenly feel sorry for everything he inflicted on me? It seems very well like he had some sort of epiphany. Not that I was complaining.

The day went well without Mr. Punkhead's presence, and my mood actually improved a lot. For a while, I managed to put all my troubles and complicated thoughts aside. The Frank in my dreams was right, simplicity is a blessing.

At home, everything was fine. My parents were proud of me; it was painted on their faces in the shape of bright smiles. Despite my lateness due to my year of coma, I was still one of the best students at school.

I shouldn't let my past worry me so much and invest my thoughts. My future matters more; that's what I should be focusing on.

After I had set the table, Mikey handed a white envelope to me. "We received a letter from grandma. I'll let you open it and read it first because I am such a generous person," Mikey informed with a little smile.

"Mhm. How gracious of you indeed," I said as I opened the envelope and pulled out a letter. I read it and Mikey tried to read over my shoulder, which would have annoyed me from someone I didn't care about so much.

"So?" Mikey asked, visibly failing at reading properly in his current position.

"Well, nothing very exciting, but I'm glad she writes us from time to time." I said, handing my brother the letter. "I wasn't really expecting the most wonderful novel out of a retired grandmother's life." I chuckled.

Mikey hummed to acknowledge what I had say while reading the letter intently, and disappeared out of the living room, letter in hand.

I collapsed on the couch, stretched and filled my lungs slowly before letting the air out. Inner peace invested me as I observed the wind outside the window making the copper leaves in the trees sway and dance, lazily but gracefully. Autumn had come.

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