Categories > Celebrities > My Chemical Romance
Tides Of Time
7 reviewsMikey helps a distraught Gerard after he witnesses the attacks of September 11th. Oneshot.
4Insightful
A/N: I guess this is sort of a before the band story. Check out the song this is titled after, it's sort of kind of amazing. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eALDD5XaQuw)
Tides Of Time
Mikey Way watched as his mother, Donna worked in the kitchen. His stomach growled, nagging him for food. Donna had already told him for the fifth time that dinner was going to be ready soon, and he was afraid to ask for it again.
He felt a bit insensitive. His mother was clearly shaken up from earlier events. It was the night of September 11, 2001 --- a day that would go down in history as one of the greatest massacres of all time. In addition to this, his brother Gerard had not returned home. They did not even see him when he left that morning. They were both worried, but Mikey felt worrying while on an empty stomach didn't help anyone. Anyway, Gerard often came home late at night. It was far too early to call it out of the ordinary.
Finally, a meal of spaghetti & meatballs, with a basket of garlic bread was set down on the table. Mikey's mouth watered, but just as he grabbed a fork to serve himself a helping, the back door opened.
"Gerard.." Donna said as she looked up at her son.
Gerard had come in, looking pale and upset. He did not make eye contact with either Donna nor Mikey and seemed to just want to go to his room.
"Well aren't you going to have something to eat?" Donna prodded. Mikey shot her a warning look.
Gerard had always been prone to sudden states of depression. There were times where he simply wanted to be left alone. Mikey already knew this was one of those times. Yet Donna never seemed to understand him. Mikey understood. Mikey understood because unknown to any of them, there were times where he would feel like that too.
"I'm not hungry.." Gerard muttered as he walked past them.
"I made one of your favo --"
"I SAID I'M NOT HUNGRY!" Gerard shrieked suddenly, practically running to his room as though someone were trying to grab him.
Mikey jumped in his seat. While he was familiar with Gerard's depression, he had never seen him snap like that before. Especially not at their mother. While he shied away from others, Gerard was always very sweet and kind to their mother. He opened up to her.
Had something happened? Of course there were the attacks this morning. Yet why would Gerard react in such an angry manner? He tried to think of where Gerard might have been today, and only then did he remember Gerard mentioning something about the internship at Cartoon Network. The Cartoon Network headquarters that was located in New York. Mikey put down his fork, having suddenly lost his appetite.
~
His brother was upset. There was no doubting that, as Mikey heard Gerard thrashing things about in his room. Mikey debated going over to him. On one hand, Gerard might be difficult to talk to given his current state. But on the other, he seemed rather violent at the moment, and Mikey didn't want to risk Gee hurting himself. Sighing, he got up from his bed and walked over to Gerard's room just next door.
He didn't bother knock, he knew Gerard wasn't going to tell him whether or not to come in. He just barged in. When he did, the first thing he saw was paper. There were papers everywhere, ripped and torn apart on the ground. He bent down and picked one up. He saw the shreds of paper were from Gerard's drawings.
Mikey felt more crushed than he expected to to see all these pieces of art destroyed. He always thought he brother was an excellent artist --- he had a collection of his own favorite Gerard drawings. He looked up to see his brother tearing down more pictures from his walls, he hadn't even given any indication that he had heard Mikey come in.
Mikey ran to him, pulling him away from the wall and grabbing him by the wrists.
"STOP!" Mikey yelled at him, completely unsure as to what else he could say.
"ITS ALL A FUCKING WASTE!" Gerard screamed as he struggled against Mikey's grasp. "ITS ALL ONE BIG FUCKING WASTE!"
Mikey could see that Gerard's eyes were bloodshot, the area around the eye ball puffy and red. He was sniffling as though holding back snot. Gerard was definitely having some sort of breakdown, but Mikey knew he could get through to him.
"YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO THIS GERARD! I KNOW YOU'RE UPSET BUT YOUR ART SHOULDN'T HAVE TO TAKE THE HIT!" Mikey tried to match his screaming volume in order to achieve more of an effect.
"ITS NOT FUCKING ART! ITS USELESS FUCKING SCRIBBLES!" Gerard bawled.
"YOU DON'T MEAN THAT! GERARD PLEASE JUST CALM DOWN!"
Mikey's eyes grew wide as Gerard started to hyperventilate. Tears were streaming down his face.
"...USELESS ....ITS ALL USELESS...." Gerard sputtered repeatedly.
Mikey wasn't sure what to do. Should he call their mom, or their grandma? No, none of them would be able to help Gerard because neither of them knew him like Mikey did. Yet Mikey felt lost himself. It seemed simple... he just wanted Gerard to calm down. Mikey grabbed Gerard and pulled him into what would be the first of many "breakdown hugs". He held him to him, and Gerard fought. He struggled against Mikey, trying to pull away. Yet Mikey stood his ground. Gerard was bigger than him, so it was a bit hard, but Mikey was also taller than him, so he was able to hold Gerard's head tightly to his chest.
"Shhh... you're okay Gee....shhh..." and Mikey could feel Gerard begin to go limp; surrendering to the embrace. "...that right... it's okay..."
Gerard's breathing slowed. Soon enough all Mikey could hear was a sniffle here and there, and he knew Gerard had returned to him.
~
3 days later.
Mikey shifted his feet uncomfortably. He had been standing in this venue for hours. They were at a show for one of Gerard's favorite bands. Mikey had taken Gerard in an effort to cheer him up. Although they hadn't had another breakdown, Gerard had been clearly depressed none the less. Mikey tried to have talks with him. Gerard told him of how he had seen the bodies falling. How he had seen people's lives being taken. How he dreamed about it. How he felt like his life, everything had done up till now was just this huge waste of time. How he felt guilty for not doing anything better with his life. Mikey tried to console him through various approaches. He talked to him about how his art was beautiful, and that it wasn't a waste. He told Gerard he was still young, and there was plenty of time to do something worthwhile. Gerard didn't think so.
Yet Mikey realized now that music spoke a different language. A higher language. As he looked at his brother now, who was ecstatic and entranced by the sounds of his favorite songs, Mikey felt that music was telling Gerard things that a million talks could never have accomplished. Gerard seemed to have noticed that Mikey was staring at him. He turned to him and smiled a beautiful smile, that made Mikey smile even wider. He would always love Gerard's smile.
The show ended. Mikey and Gerard spent a long time talking about the band they just saw, Gerard acting like a total fanboy. They got in the car, ready to head home, and Gerard turned to Mikey.
"Ya know something?" he said "I think we should start a band."
Mikey laughed "Gerard, I don't know how to play anything. And I can't sing for shit."
"You could learn! I can teach you! We'll work on it together. I'm just saying, it's something I think we could do that would be worthwhile. I mean even if we don't get a lot of fans or anything, if we can just effect maybe one person..."
Gerard trailed off, and Mikey saw that he was looking back at the venue from which they just came. Mikey understood what was going through his head. Gerard had a hopeful twinkle in his eye. And Mikey could never say no to that.
"Okay Gerard, we'll start a band." he chuckled.
Whether or not they were really going to do it, Mikey figured, it wouldn't hurt to let him dream.
END.
Tides Of Time
Mikey Way watched as his mother, Donna worked in the kitchen. His stomach growled, nagging him for food. Donna had already told him for the fifth time that dinner was going to be ready soon, and he was afraid to ask for it again.
He felt a bit insensitive. His mother was clearly shaken up from earlier events. It was the night of September 11, 2001 --- a day that would go down in history as one of the greatest massacres of all time. In addition to this, his brother Gerard had not returned home. They did not even see him when he left that morning. They were both worried, but Mikey felt worrying while on an empty stomach didn't help anyone. Anyway, Gerard often came home late at night. It was far too early to call it out of the ordinary.
Finally, a meal of spaghetti & meatballs, with a basket of garlic bread was set down on the table. Mikey's mouth watered, but just as he grabbed a fork to serve himself a helping, the back door opened.
"Gerard.." Donna said as she looked up at her son.
Gerard had come in, looking pale and upset. He did not make eye contact with either Donna nor Mikey and seemed to just want to go to his room.
"Well aren't you going to have something to eat?" Donna prodded. Mikey shot her a warning look.
Gerard had always been prone to sudden states of depression. There were times where he simply wanted to be left alone. Mikey already knew this was one of those times. Yet Donna never seemed to understand him. Mikey understood. Mikey understood because unknown to any of them, there were times where he would feel like that too.
"I'm not hungry.." Gerard muttered as he walked past them.
"I made one of your favo --"
"I SAID I'M NOT HUNGRY!" Gerard shrieked suddenly, practically running to his room as though someone were trying to grab him.
Mikey jumped in his seat. While he was familiar with Gerard's depression, he had never seen him snap like that before. Especially not at their mother. While he shied away from others, Gerard was always very sweet and kind to their mother. He opened up to her.
Had something happened? Of course there were the attacks this morning. Yet why would Gerard react in such an angry manner? He tried to think of where Gerard might have been today, and only then did he remember Gerard mentioning something about the internship at Cartoon Network. The Cartoon Network headquarters that was located in New York. Mikey put down his fork, having suddenly lost his appetite.
~
His brother was upset. There was no doubting that, as Mikey heard Gerard thrashing things about in his room. Mikey debated going over to him. On one hand, Gerard might be difficult to talk to given his current state. But on the other, he seemed rather violent at the moment, and Mikey didn't want to risk Gee hurting himself. Sighing, he got up from his bed and walked over to Gerard's room just next door.
He didn't bother knock, he knew Gerard wasn't going to tell him whether or not to come in. He just barged in. When he did, the first thing he saw was paper. There were papers everywhere, ripped and torn apart on the ground. He bent down and picked one up. He saw the shreds of paper were from Gerard's drawings.
Mikey felt more crushed than he expected to to see all these pieces of art destroyed. He always thought he brother was an excellent artist --- he had a collection of his own favorite Gerard drawings. He looked up to see his brother tearing down more pictures from his walls, he hadn't even given any indication that he had heard Mikey come in.
Mikey ran to him, pulling him away from the wall and grabbing him by the wrists.
"STOP!" Mikey yelled at him, completely unsure as to what else he could say.
"ITS ALL A FUCKING WASTE!" Gerard screamed as he struggled against Mikey's grasp. "ITS ALL ONE BIG FUCKING WASTE!"
Mikey could see that Gerard's eyes were bloodshot, the area around the eye ball puffy and red. He was sniffling as though holding back snot. Gerard was definitely having some sort of breakdown, but Mikey knew he could get through to him.
"YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO THIS GERARD! I KNOW YOU'RE UPSET BUT YOUR ART SHOULDN'T HAVE TO TAKE THE HIT!" Mikey tried to match his screaming volume in order to achieve more of an effect.
"ITS NOT FUCKING ART! ITS USELESS FUCKING SCRIBBLES!" Gerard bawled.
"YOU DON'T MEAN THAT! GERARD PLEASE JUST CALM DOWN!"
Mikey's eyes grew wide as Gerard started to hyperventilate. Tears were streaming down his face.
"...USELESS ....ITS ALL USELESS...." Gerard sputtered repeatedly.
Mikey wasn't sure what to do. Should he call their mom, or their grandma? No, none of them would be able to help Gerard because neither of them knew him like Mikey did. Yet Mikey felt lost himself. It seemed simple... he just wanted Gerard to calm down. Mikey grabbed Gerard and pulled him into what would be the first of many "breakdown hugs". He held him to him, and Gerard fought. He struggled against Mikey, trying to pull away. Yet Mikey stood his ground. Gerard was bigger than him, so it was a bit hard, but Mikey was also taller than him, so he was able to hold Gerard's head tightly to his chest.
"Shhh... you're okay Gee....shhh..." and Mikey could feel Gerard begin to go limp; surrendering to the embrace. "...that right... it's okay..."
Gerard's breathing slowed. Soon enough all Mikey could hear was a sniffle here and there, and he knew Gerard had returned to him.
~
3 days later.
Mikey shifted his feet uncomfortably. He had been standing in this venue for hours. They were at a show for one of Gerard's favorite bands. Mikey had taken Gerard in an effort to cheer him up. Although they hadn't had another breakdown, Gerard had been clearly depressed none the less. Mikey tried to have talks with him. Gerard told him of how he had seen the bodies falling. How he had seen people's lives being taken. How he dreamed about it. How he felt like his life, everything had done up till now was just this huge waste of time. How he felt guilty for not doing anything better with his life. Mikey tried to console him through various approaches. He talked to him about how his art was beautiful, and that it wasn't a waste. He told Gerard he was still young, and there was plenty of time to do something worthwhile. Gerard didn't think so.
Yet Mikey realized now that music spoke a different language. A higher language. As he looked at his brother now, who was ecstatic and entranced by the sounds of his favorite songs, Mikey felt that music was telling Gerard things that a million talks could never have accomplished. Gerard seemed to have noticed that Mikey was staring at him. He turned to him and smiled a beautiful smile, that made Mikey smile even wider. He would always love Gerard's smile.
The show ended. Mikey and Gerard spent a long time talking about the band they just saw, Gerard acting like a total fanboy. They got in the car, ready to head home, and Gerard turned to Mikey.
"Ya know something?" he said "I think we should start a band."
Mikey laughed "Gerard, I don't know how to play anything. And I can't sing for shit."
"You could learn! I can teach you! We'll work on it together. I'm just saying, it's something I think we could do that would be worthwhile. I mean even if we don't get a lot of fans or anything, if we can just effect maybe one person..."
Gerard trailed off, and Mikey saw that he was looking back at the venue from which they just came. Mikey understood what was going through his head. Gerard had a hopeful twinkle in his eye. And Mikey could never say no to that.
"Okay Gerard, we'll start a band." he chuckled.
Whether or not they were really going to do it, Mikey figured, it wouldn't hurt to let him dream.
END.
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