The twins knew Mrs. Way's habit of hiding the keys behind the pot of roses on the porch so they grabbed them to open the front door.

"Gerard?"

The first thing the Iero brothers did was to rush to Gerard's room, to see him sitting on his bed, wrapped in a blanket.

Gerard was looking at them with dead eyes and seemed paler than usual, like when Anthony had seen him with the flu. His eyes were bloodshot like he had just stopped a ten-minute crying session.

"I-I'm sorry... I didn't mean to..." He sobbed, shaking all over.

"Gerard, please talk to us, what's happening?" Anthony knelt next to the bed so he could look at him in the eyes.

"Y-you... You d-don't know?"

"Know what, Gee?" Frank asked in a soft voice, sitting on the edge of the bed.

They don't know.

They didn't know but now Gerard had no other choice but to show them. He took his phone out with his valid arm and showed them the video.

Both brothers remained quiet and tears were rolling down Gerard's cheeks.

"I- I don't even know where the first one was taken..." said Gerard in a sore voice.

A wave of guilt crossed Anthony ; he had never told the redhead the truth about what had happened after that Halloween party.

"You still don't remember?" he said shyly.

Gerard's mind immediatly imagined the worst scenario.

He had been drugged at the party by someone - surely Anthony - to take advantage of him. Anthony had made him have sex with him in that car, it just couldn't be seen on the video. Then he had forgotten everything about it because of the drugs. Anthony had simply had to lie to him and Gerard had bought it, because he trusted Anthony.

Maybe Gerard was just being completely paranoid again, Anthony could never do such things - but if he was being paranoid, then why was Anthony looking guilty right now?

"At the end of the party, you were really drunk, and you... You kissed me. Like, really."

Gerard frowned. He had been the one to kiss Anthony? So, Anthony hadn't forced him?

Now that Gerard thought about it, his previous idea was ridiculous : in the video, he was the one on top of Anthony, acting like a slut. Anthony's version made sense, Gerard remembered the shots he had taken with Carla.

Anthony took Gerard's hands, looking at him straight in the eyes. Frank frowned at his brother.

"I'm so sorry Gee, but I had no choice, you were panicking and I didn't know what to do, it was all so sudden... But, Gerard, I never lied to you. Nothing happened, besides the kiss."

Gerard wanted to cry again. Anthony had kept control over himself and had taken care of him even after such an indecent situation. He really was the best friend one could ever wish for, and Gerard felt even more guilty and despiseful for having doubted him.

While Anthony was explaining himself, Frank noticed something on Gerard's arm under the covers when his brother had taken his hands. He took the covers off Gerard's arms and chest, ignoring his brother's confused frowning, to reveal a bloody bandage around his left wrist.

"Jesus fuck, what's that? You didn't have that this morning." Frank frowned.

Gerard looked down shamefully and Frank's eyes widened as he understood. "Gerard, did you do that to yourself?"

Anthony's eye shape imitated Frank's.
"Why would you do that?"

"I- I thought y-you'd hate m-me... The- The video..." Gerard began crying again.

Frank put a hand on Gerard's cheek.
"Gee, baby, we already knew about all the kisses. We're not mad ! I swear."

Gerard cried even more at the revelation and Frank pulled him in a tight hug, burying Gerard's head in his own shoulder, and petted his red hair soothingly.

"Shhh, we're not mad baby boy, we're not mad..."

Gerard hiccuped. "I-I'm sorry, I'm such a-... I'm- I'm a w-whore... I'm-"

"-hey hey, stop. Don't say that, you're not. You're amazing Gerard !" Anthony spoke, holding Gerard's hand while he was still in Frank's arms, sniffling in Frank's shoulder.

"Gerard, promise you won't do this to yourself again. Promise us that, please." Anthony implored.

Gerard looked down and mumbled his agreement.

While calming Gerard down, Frank had never stopped thinking while stroking the boy's hair, and he came to the same conclusion as Gerard : someone was determined to harm the boy, and almost got him to kill himself. That one person had to be found and stopped.

Frank pulled back. "Gerard, we need to find whoever did this."

Gerard frowned. He hadn't really thought of who was responsible - of who was 'unknown number'.

"What for? Everybody has already see the video..." Gerard mumbled sadly.

"Do you think they'll stick to that? Gerard, that bastard is fucking stalking you ! This is only the beginning of troubles, unless we do something." Frank fumed.

Gerard weakly nodded and laid back on his bed, burrying half of his face in the pillow.

"We'll find whoever did this Gee."
Anthony kissed the top of his head, making Frank silently growl, and the twins left.

______

Frank and Anthony came back to school the next day, and Gerard wasn't there. He had pretended to have a stomach ache because he didn't want to go to school anymore. He didn't want to have to face people's remarks, whether they were neutral or not.

The twins left school after a day of looking for whom might have done this.

"Who would do this to Gerard..." Anthony asked himself as his eyes wandered around, now farther from the school, until his eyes landed on him. Of course.

Apparently, Gerard is both loved and hated, but there is only one person who hates him to the point of wishing his death, Frank thought.

"Frank." Anthony nugged his brother who followed his gaze.

"You gotta be kidding me..." Frank mumbled before striding towards Bert, a few feet from them in a desert street - he had probably skipped.

"What did you do, you son of a bitch?!" Frank yelled.

"Frank, wait-" Anthony followed him.

"Was that you? Did you do it?!"

Frank was sure of it. Both twins were, actually. While Anthony was aware of what had happened to Gerard and Bert in the men's bathrooms a few months ago, Frank only knew about what had happened in PE. But he also knew Bert's reputation too well - Frank could almost consider him as his arch enemy - and that was enough for him.

"I have no idea of what you're talking about. Did you hit your head?" Bert smirked at him.

"Cut the crap, I know it's you." Frank spat before pushing Bert on the stone wall behind him.

"Yeah? And even if it was me, do you have any proof?"

"He's fucking with us..." Frank mumbled to his brother.

"Anyway, has the kid killed himself yet? I can help if he doesn't have the guts." Bert taunted.

"What the hell did you just say?!" Anthony shoved him on the wall and Frank grasped his collar, pressing him onto the aforesaid wall.

"I really want to gut you right now." Frank stated, pulling a pocket knife out of his sweater and pressing it against Bert's throat. Bert's smile dropped instantly.

Anthony's eyes widened but Bert didn't see it, he was too busy fearing for his life. Anthony didn't move, deciding to trust his brother and wishing really hard he wouldn't actually stab Bert - because that idiot would be capable of it.

Frank had a gleam of madness in his eyes for a few seconds, but it quickly dimmed as he withdrew the knife.

"Neh, I don't want my clothes or my knife to get all bloody because of you. What do you think, Anthony?"

Bert quietly, yet violently shook his head looking at Anthony, practically begging him with wide eyes now, too afraid to emit a noise.

Anthony understood where Frank was going and played along.

"Nope, he's not worth it." he shrugged. "Maybe we could hang him up? Make it look like a suicide."

"No, I'm out of rope..." Frank grinned devilishly at Bert. It was a lie of course, but Bert couldn't know that, and right now he really began to shit himself.

"P-please..." he whimpered.

"Maybe we could attach him and dump him in a river... The flow will take him away. No body, no murder." Frank continued, still fermly pressing Bert on the wall and completely ignoring his whimpering.

"Yeah, sounds like a plan..." Anthony thoughtfully uttered.

"N-no, please, I'll stop. I- I'm sorry."

Frank's grasp didn't loosen for that.
"Keep going."

"I'll... I'll leave him alone, I'm sorry, p-p-please don't kill me."

Not only was Bert's voice shaking in fear and sobbing , but also his whole body . Frank let go of him.

"You know he talks to us. If you ever lay a hand on him or hurt him in any way again, we'll know it. So don't try to double cross us, don't even fucking look at him."

"O-okay ! Holy shit, you guys are psychos..." Bert whimpered to himself in low voice, but unfortunately for him the twins heard it.

"Yes we are." Anthony spoke and to Frank's surprise, he punched Bert in the stomach, making him bend in pain. He grasped Bert's hair to lift his head up, and brought his ear to his mouth.

"And for your sake..." Anthony whispered, "...I strongly suggest you don't mess with two psychos or hurt their friends, because you're gonna end up dead in some dumpster, am I clear?"

"Y-yes..."

"Yes who?"

"Y-yes A-Anthony..." Bert whimpered, getting the names right, for once.

"Good." Anthony let go of Bert's hair, letting him sink on the ground in a crying, traumatized ball. The Iero brothers left him to go home.

"I think he'll leave Gee alone. That's a good thing." Frank said.

"I'm sure Gerard will be glad to hear that, I really hope it'll make him feel better."

"Yeah, I'll go tell him !"

"That's out of the ques-"

But before Anthony finished his sentence, Frank was already gone.

______