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"Rose," Gerard sighed, leaning against the banister. "I never meant to--"

"Gee!"

Gerard glared at the wall as Frank and Mikey bounded over, smiles on both their faces. Mikey rose his hand to touch my face but hesitated, bringing his hand down to his side. "It's good to have you back, Rose. You scared us all, there, for a minute."

"Thanks," I smiled. “I probably never should have ran out in the first place, huh?”

Frank shook his head, gripping my shoulders and crushing me close to him. “Don’t ever do that again, Rose Petal.”

“Frank,” I sighed, clutching onto him. “I’m sorry.”

“Just don’t run away from us anymore.” He giggled, patting my head. “I like you, kid.” He thumped his chest, over his heart, and grinned. “You’re in here, now. Ya got that?”

I nodded.

Gerard sighed, raising his eyebrows at Mikey. Mikey coughed, rubbing the back of his neck. “Uh, Frank? We have to go get that thing. Remember?”

“What thing?”

“That thing. You know?”

Frank pouted. “The thing in the backyard?”

“Exactly,” Mikey pushed Frank towards the stairs. “We’ll see you two later.”

Gerard shook his head. “Well, that could’ve gone better.”

I frowned. “What?”

He bit his lip, taking hold of my hand. “Come on, Rose.”

“Where are we going?”

“I have to clean you up, Rose. Your leg’s going to get infected if I don’t do something.”

He stopped in front of the bathroom, going in quickly and leaving with his arms full of bottles and bandages. He led me towards the West Wing hallway, glancing at me shortly before stopping in front of a door; his bedroom door. Twisting the knob, Gerard opened it slowly, watching my face as I stepped inside.
His room wasn’t like how it normally was. He had the blinds pulled back to reveal the moon and the stars. His balcony doors were wide open and his overhead light was on, brightening the room.

“Come here,” He grabbed my hand again and led me over to his bed, pushing me down. “Let me see your leg.”

I lifted my leg up on the bed and leaned back as he dabbed at the cut with a wet towel. I flinched when he applied the liquid in the brown bottle to my leg, squeezing my eyes shut.

“I’m sorry.” He mumbled, wrapping the gauze around my leg.

I sighed, opening my eyes. “Thank you, Gerard.”

He smiled, the corners of his eyes crinkling a bit. He watched my face, staring into my eyes, as he picked himself up and sat beside me. Slowly, he leaned in, tilting his head. I stopped breathing when I felt his breath on the crook of my neck.

"Gerard? Wh-What are you doing?" I closed my eyes when I felt his hair on my skin.

His nose skimmed the sensitive area behind my ear and for a moment I could have sworn I felt something press against the shell of my ear. Gerard's lips twitched up into a smile when I angled my head, arching my neck.

His fingers brushed over my cheekbone. "You're not frightened of me?"

"No."

"Even when I--," He pressed his lips to my neck. "--do that?"

"N-No." I stuttered.

His playful smile quickly turned into a dark grin, showing all of his teeth. "I could kill you, Rose. I could place my hand over your heart and end up crushing your chest. You realize that, don't you?"

I stared at him, wide-eyed, unsure of what to do. Instead of speaking, I nodded, angling my body away from him.

He frowned. "I could lean in to kiss your lips and wind up ripping your throat out."

"I don't care," I didn't even recognize my own voice; it was so inaudible.

"You don't care? You're life is on the line and you don't care?" He scrunched up his nose, furrowing his eyebrows. "I don't want to hurt you anymore, Rose."

"You won't."

"How can you be sure? After all I've done so far--"

"You've never done anything to me."

"Yes, I have, Rose." He raised his voice, glaring at me. "Your leg; my fault. You're scared of being alone with me! I can see it!"

"No," I whispered. "I feel safe when I'm around you--"

"Stop lying to me, Rose." He snapped. "Why did you run? It was because of what we are, isn't it? You're afraid."

I shook my head, looking anywhere but him. I was shocked when I felt his hand slide up my neck, caressing my cheek. He took a couple of deep breaths before gripping the sides of my face, forcing me to look him in the eyes.

"Rose, there's so many things I want to tell you, but... I-I just can't right now."

I bit my lip. "Can you answer something for me?"

He rose his eyebrows, smiling a little. "Something?"

I nodded.

"Alright, but just one question."

"Vampire?"

"Ah," He groaned. "Had to be that one, didn't it?"

"Sorry," I murmured.

He got up and walked over to the window, leaning against the window pane. "I think... I think we should save that one for another day. At least until you're ready to hear it."

"Okay." I grinned, pleased that he was playing along. "Well, can I ask another one, then?"

"I suppose."

I inhaled deeply, closing my eyes. "Why... Why do you hate me?"

He frowned. "What?"

"I can see that you do, Gerard. When I first got here, you were so hesitant to be around me, and your temper--"

"Hate you?" He shook his head. The look on his face surprised me; he almost looked mad. "I don't hate you, Rose. I'm frustrated by you, yes, but I don't hate you. How could I ever hate something so fragile?"

"Fragile"

He laughed. "It'd be so easy for me to reach out and break you right now. I don't think you realize how easy it is." He paused, the corners of his lips tugging down into a frown. "But I won't. I refuse to let anything happen to you, Rose."

I could feel the blush creeping onto my face, heating it up. "Why?"

"Nope," He grinned. "One question, Rose."

"That's not fair."

He laughed, wrapping an arm around my shoulder. "I'm not saying forever -- just for tonight. You can ask me one everyday, that is... if you stay."

"Promise?"

"I promise." He smiled, happy that I overlooked the latter.

"Good, because I have more."

"I can imagine." He leaned over, kissing my temple. "It's getting late."

I yawned, nodding. "I should go to bed." I peeked over at him through my hair. "Are... Are you going to bed?"

He giggled. "Yes. Why?"

"Oh, nothing."

"Let me guess -- vampire ideals?"

"Well, it's just that, in books--"

"Books? Sugar, everything printed isn't real."

"I know that, but, they just captivate you. It's hard not to believe when you see how it's written."

He smirked. "So, you like to read?"

I grinned, my loose curls bouncing up and down with my head. "I've read just about everything there is to read back home. I've always wanted a bigger selection than the store offered but it was enough."

"So, what's your favorite genre?"

"Hard to say," I pursed my lips. "Probably romance."

He quirked an eyebrow, a teasing smile playing on his lips. "Romance? Like Romeo and Juliet? Why? I mean, that's all just fairytale bullshit, right?"

"Maybe to you."

"And to you?"

"Well, I've always wanted my own fairytale romance, to be honest. Maybe not straight down to the prince, but, maybe, someone more like Robin Hood. Not a prince, but not a villian, either."

"But Robin Hood steals from the rich. Isn't that a character trait of a villian?"

"He gave that money to the poor, Gerard. He's more hero than anything."

Gerard looked down towards his hands, lacing his fingers together. "Do you think I could be a hero?"

"Opposed to what?"

"The bad guy."

I watched him as he ducked his head, waiting for my answer. With each second, he got more and more nervous; like he actually cared about what I was going to say. But, to me, Gerard wasn't the bad guy. He wasn't a villian. He wasn't a killer. And he wasn't a vampire. He was just Gerard. He was just the Gerard that made my heart tug whenever I saw him. He was the Gerard that put the dizzy feeling in my head. He was the Gerard I was afraid to be away from. He was the Gerard that made me confused.

He was a hero.

"You can be anything you want to be, Gerard. Just don't be anything less than what you are."

He curled his lip. "Which is what?"

"A hero."

He bit his lip, shaking his head. "I have villian tendencies."

"I haven't seen them." I shrugged.

His eyes narrowed. "I don't want you to."

"Then don't show me," I urged. "I like the nice Gerard better." I glanced at the clock, sighing. "I should go to my room, now."

He smiled, wrapping his arms around my waist. "Thank you, Rose."

"For what?"

"Letting me be the good guy." He pulled me closer, pressing his cold lips to my neck. "Sweet dreams, cara mia."




A/N - Okay, well, Gerard's secret won't be revealed until the next chapter, but I gave you all a glimpse. I'll give you a hint -- it involves Rose. Just follow along with the book, or, if you're a Disney fan, the cartoon movie. It's also a weakness of the Beast. Well, thank you all so much for the amazing reviews! I loved them all. And, yes, my graduation was fun. I still can't believe I'm a graduate. Whoo! I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I had fun writing it. Has anyone else noticed Gerard's bi-polar-ness? Honestly, I think it suits him for this role. Anyways, please review, if you please. Thank you for reading! xoxo - Esther.