Gerard came home with a smile painted on his face because that day might have been one of the best in his life, ever.

Yeah, his life hadn't been very joyful so far, then again who could claim having a perfect one?

After eating, Gerard went back to his room to draw, like he usually did when he had nothing else to do. He grabbed a sheet of paper and a pencil, and began forming shapes that quickly turned into a face.

It was Anthony.

Gerard bit his lips and couldn't help but to add a lip ring on the right bottom lip that he found very cute.

He decided to add a few bangs on the right side to make half of the face look a little bit more like Frank. He kept the hair a little shorter on the left side just like Anthony's, making his drawing a subtle mix between the two brothers.
Gerard put his pencil down and admired his work, thoughtfully nibbling on his lower lip.

That's when Mikey entered the room and Gerard quickly hid the drawing under other sheets of paper.

"Jesus Christ Mikey ! Ever heard of knocking? I could've been... jacking off or something."

"Well, sorry to interrupt your non-jacking off session, I came to check on my brother..." Mikey rolled his eyes.

"Your brother's not available for now, please come back later." Gerard let out a small giggle. "No, of course you can come in, Mikes. Just remember to knock."

"I just wanted to know if you were okay. You're doing great, you know?"

"Yeah, thanks." Gerard smiled at the ground.

"That's-" Mikey was cut by Gerard sneezing, twice. "Bless you."

"Thanks. I appreciate your concern but can you leave now, I'm kinda exhausted..."

"Sure, goodnight."

Gerard packed his bag for the next day, not forgetting to slide his drawing in it. He would finish it during his lunch break if he had the time.

______

"Gerard? ...Gerard !"

Gerard turned his head to see Frank snap his fingers at him, looking vaguely concerned.

Frank. High school. Hallways. Right.

"You okay? I was talking to you and you zoned out..." he chuckled, not seeming to mind that much.

"Yeah sorry, I'm a little tired." Gerard pinched the bridge of his nose.

He and Frank were heading for Gerard's locker when unintentionally bumped into someone else's shoulder, dropping all his stuff on the floor.

"Hey watch your steps, asshole !" the man spat. He had long, pitch black greasy hair.

Gerard wasn't feeling like arguing and just looked down and mumbled an apology.

"Oh, fuck off Bert" Frank let out as the man was leaving. 'Bert' turned back and flipped Frank off before disappearing.

"That was-"

"-Bert McBitchass. He's a moron, but nothing I can't handle. Stay away from him though, he can be pretty dangerous sometimes. Just don't let him make a target of you and everything should be okay. You should've talked back to him!"

"Sorry, I wasn't really in the mood..."

Frank bent down to help him gather his stuff still spread on the floor, and took a few sheets of paper.
"Wow, you're a real artist, aren't you. That's beautiful."

Gerard flushed while Frank was taking a look at other drawings.
"No, don't-"

"-Wait..." Frank frowned, taking one drawing in his hand. "Is that... Is that me?" He smirked. "That is me. You've drawn me. You must've watched me for a long time to add such details..." he teased and his sly smile widened.

"How do you know it's not Anthony?" Gerard teased back.

"Well, Anthony doesn't have a lip ring, does he?" Frank winked.

Gerard puffed, half-amused, half-embarrassed. He couldn't tell him what the sketch really represented, that would sound really weird ; so he just nodded in agreement.

Suddenly, Gerard felt very dizzy, like somebody had just injected him a somniferous, and rested his back on the lockers behind him as a small whimper escaped his mouth.

"Gee?" Frank put a hand on Gerard's forehead. "Jesus, you're burning..."

"I'm not... feeling well."

"You do look a little bit greenish."

"Thanks." Gerard sarcastically let out before pressing the back of his hand on his mouth. He somehow found the strength to hurry in the bathroom to throw up his breakfast- well, he had taken the habit not to eat any breakfast, so let's say his dinner from yesterday.

"At least you're not pregnant..." Frank joked, but worry could be heard in his voice. He knelt next to Gerard and put a hand on his shoulder.
"Gee, you should go to the infirmary."

"N-no, I'm fine." His voice was raspy and he gasped for air.

"Yeah, I can see that..."

"I just need to rest, really. Besides it's almost the end of the day."

Frank sighed. "Okay, just take it easy until then." He took Gerard's hand and helped him up.

______

"Hey Frank, have you seen Gerard today? I can't find him anywhere..." Anthony asked the next day.

"He's probably skipping, he wasn't feeling well yesterday." Frank shrugged.

Anthony went to the lanky boy he had identified as Gerard's brother and asked him how Gerard was feeling.

"He's got the flu, sorry."

"You think I can pass by to give him his homework after school?"

"Sure, he'll love some extra homework to do." Mikey half smiled. "I'll be waiting for you outside since you don't know where we live."

"Thanks a lot, Mikey." Anthony said before going back to his friends, Ryan, Kellin and Patrick.

Anthony joined Mikey at the end of the day.
"That's nice how you and Frank take care of Gee, he really likes the two of you, y'know?" Mikey spoke.

"Yeah I- we really care for him."

"Glad to hear I'm not the only one anymore."

Anthony frowned, wondering what Mikey meant by that. Didn't Gerard have friends here? Of course he had, Anthony had seen them, so what was Mikey talking about?

Anthony couldn't imagine Gerard being impopular, he had everything for him to be loved : humor, talent, beauty, confidence... everything.

Mikey opened the front door.
"Gerard's room is down the hallway on the right."

Anthony lightly knocked on the door and opened it as silently as he could in case Gerard had been asleep.

Gerard was lying in his bed, thoughtfully looking out the window, when Anthony came in. He hadn't had company since the morning, his mother being at work and Mikey at school, and he was kind of glad Anthony was the one to visit him in hours.

"Hey, how are you doing?" Anthony asked softly, reckoning Gerard might have a killer migraine.

Gerard puffed. "I feel like crap and I puked twice in one hour, but I'll live..."

Gerard didn't look well indeed. His tan was paler than usual and he had rings like he hadn't slept in days. Anthony could almost feel the warmth radiate from the bed, Gerard must be burning.

"I'm sorry to hear that." Anthony sat on the edge of the bed.

"Don't be, it's not your fault."

"Maybe it is, maybe the ice creams we ate-"

"-Even if it was the case, you couldn't have known." Gerard sat up, ignoring his soreness. "And what could you possibly do to change that, huh? You can't. You can't go back in time, and I don't want you to, because I had a wonderful time with you, Anthony."

Anthony felt himself blush, and chuckled. "Look at me, I came to comfort you and you're the one who's actually comforting me."

Gerard amusedly raised his eyebrows.
"You came here to comfort me?"

"Yeah, and... Maybe to bring you your homework too..."

"Homework, yay... Exactly what I needed", he mocked before coughing in his sleeve.

Anthony laughed and sat up. "I should probably just put it here and let you rest..."

"N-no, I'm okay. Stay... Please?"

Anthony nodded and took a look at Gerard's room. Drawings were on the walls, some very old and childish, others more recent and beautiful.

"You have a guitar?", Anthony picked up the instrument sitting in a corner of the bedroom.

"Yeah, I wanted to learn but I never really had the time. Besides I don't think I'm made for it, I prefer playing the piano."

"Frank's a true guitarist, but I can play too." Anthony sat right next to Gerard.

"You know 'Don't Fear the Reaper'?" Gerard tried.

"By Blue Öyster Cult? Sure, I can play that. You know the Gus Black version?"

"The one in Scream? That's my favorite cover!" Gerard giggled.

"Yeah, me too. Frank prefers the original though. He usually does. Another thing we disagree on."

Anthony sat more comfortably on Gerard's bed and started playing. Gerard was overwhelmed by the music and the oddly pleasant ambiance it was creating, and he couldn't help but sing.

"All our times have come
Here but now, they're gone
Seasons don't fear the reaper
Nor do the wind, the sun or the rain
So come on baby..."

"Don't fear the reaper..." Anthony sang backup.

"Take my hand"

"Don't fear the reaper..."

"We'll be able to fly" Gerard closed his eyes.

"Don't fear the reaper..." Anthony sang softly, peeting at Gerard who was so caught in the moment.

" 'Cause baby I'm you're man..." Gerard sang.

"...Baby I'm your man." Both of them ended in chorus as Anthony played the last chords.

"You have an amazing voice..." Anthony commented, smiling at his own lap.

"Thanks, you're not bad yourself." Gerard giggled and yawned.

"I should go now. You must be tired."

Gerard nodded and Anthony stood up.
"Anthony? Thank you... For everything."

Anthony smiled at him before walking away, butterflies erupting in his stomach.

______

Song of the chapter : "Don't fear the reaper" by Gus Black