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‘Hey, this is Abbey, you know what to do.’ Once again, the voicemail beeped.
‘You’re worrying me, Abbey! Call me back, before I have a heart attack.’ Mikey had been calling Abbey’s phone over and over for the past hour and she had not picked up. He paced the floor of his living room for the umpteenth time that night, briefly sat down on the couch and drummed his fingers on his knees. Abruptly, he stood up and continued to pace. Whose car had she so stupidly got into?

‘Mikey, come to bed,’ Jamie spoke from his bedroom doorway, dressed in his “Poison” shirt and her underwear.
‘I won’t sleep,’ he muttered, walking into the kitchen and heading for the coffee machine.
‘I’m sure she’s fine,’ Jamie said impatiently. ‘She’s not your problem anyway. Let Frank deal with her.’
‘Frank!’ Mikey exclaimed, digging in his pocket for his cell phone as Jamie made a frustrated noise and returned to Mikey’s bedroom. He hastily found Frank in his contacts and smashed his finger on to the “send” button. ‘Hello?’ Said a groggy voice on the receiving end.
‘Frankie, is Abs there?’
‘Nah man, she’s out. Why?’
‘Because she’s –’ A faint snore told him Frank would be of no help tonight.
‘Fuck,’ Mikey muttered. He looked over to see his hoodie on the kitchen counter. He had made up his mind. He picked up his hoodie and keys and without a word to Jamie, stormed out of the apartment.

~

There was an extremely loud and desperate knocking occurring at Gerard’s front door. He contemplated not answering, but then looked through the eyehole to see his own brother looking wildly frustrated on the other side. Furrowing his brow, he rubbed his right eye as he opened the door. Mikey stomped in without a hello. ‘Get dressed, we’re going out to find Abbey, I don’t know where she –’ Mikey stopped in his tracks. Lying on the couch before him was Abbey, her lips parted slightly, clearly in a deep state of sleep. He turned and realised that Gerard was already fully dressed.

‘I picked her up from the bar a couple of hours after band practise. I knew she’d still be there and I felt guilty for leaving her there in the first place,’ Gerard explained as he and Mikey settled at the kitchen counter with coffees in hand.
‘Why did you two meet anyway?’
‘Just to catch up.’ Mikey’s eyes narrowed. ‘You know, you really upset her today.’ Gerard spoke in a low voice, trying to avoid waking Abbey up while Mikey was still around.
‘Yeah? Well she upset me.’
‘You don’t own her, you know. You can’t just keep jerking her back and forth. You’re with Jamie now. Be her friend or nothing at all, or... Whatever. But stop confusing her!’ Gerard’s tone was stern.
‘I can’t just turn off the way I feel about her, Gerard.’
‘Well figure out how you feel, so she can move on and stop being miserable about you.’
‘Yeah, I bet you’d love her to move on,’ Mikey sniggered.
‘What’s that supposed to mean?’
‘I haven’t forgotten the way you felt about her.’
Gerard’s face turned scarlet. ‘I’m going to bed,’ he said flatly. ‘See you tomorrow at the studio.’

Gerard stood and sauntered from the kitchen. Mikey heard Gerard’s bedroom door close, and sighed. He walked from the kitchen and moved into the living room, where he watched Abbey slowly inhale and exhale for a while. When she stirred, and he found himself terrified she might wake and find him watching her, he crossed the room as silently as his long legs could manage and exited the apartment.

Little did he know, she was dreaming of him.

~

A mere hour later, Gerard was lying in his bed, still very much awake for a reason that had little to do with coffee. Mikey was right, he did want Abbey to move on for selfish reasons. He reminded himself that he had felt this way for years, since Abbey and Mikey had started dating last year, in fact, and he had not acted upon these feelings. That was noble, wasn’t it? Letting her be with his brother so she would be happy? But now that the two ex-lovers were playing a silly game of cat and mouse, wasn’t it cowardly for Gerard not to express how he felt? Foolish, even? Maybe he was just what Abbey needed to move on. He knew he could make her happy and she could do the same for him if she just gave him the chance. Then again, he supposed if he wanted the chance he should ask for it.

His thoughts were interrupted by a tentative knock on his bedroom door. Abbey nudged the door open slightly. ‘What’s up Abs?’ Gerard asked quietly, sitting up in his bed.
‘Couldn’t sleep, and I need to apologise.’ She moved forward, closed the door behind her and sat on the end of his bed. ‘I’m sorry that I subjected you to my shit two nights in a row. It’s unacceptable. You’re the one who helped me get sober in the first place, you shouldn’t have to deal with an imminent train wreck.’
Gerard shook his head frantically. ‘It’s really oka –’
‘No, it’s not. Once again, I’ve taken advantage of your good nature. I feel horrible. I’m pathetic when I drink, and I knew that, but I started again anyway. So I’m going to stop. Again.’
Gerard smiled at her dark figure. ‘I’m proud of you, sugar.’
‘Thank you.’

The two lead singers lapsed into silence, drinking in the comfortable atmosphere. They both felt so content in each other’s presence that words were unnecessary. Gerard was the one to break the silence.
‘Do you wanna tell me why you couldn’t sleep?’
Abbey avoided the gaze she could feel burning right through her, even though she could not see his eyes. ‘Just this nightmare I keep having. I don’t wanna talk about it.’
‘Okay.’ Gerard felt momentarily frustrated that she didn’t want to confide in him. Then she talked again.
‘Do you mind if I steal one of your shirts? Sleeping in jeans is like sleeping with sandpaper wrapped around my legs.’
Gerard chuckled lightly. ‘Of course, pick whatever one you want.’
Abbey scrounged around the floor and picked up a plain black shirt. She removed her jeans and tank top as Gerard willed himself not to look, although he could make out her dainty frame out of the corner of his eye.

As Abbey pulled Gerard’s shirt over her head, she revelled in the smell of him that was all over it. She turned to look at his shape in the darkness. ‘This is going to sound really childish but... Would you mind if I stayed in here with you? I can’t be alone right now. I know, I’m such a –’
Gerard smiled through the darkness. ‘Get in here, Abs.’
Relieved, Abbey crawled across the bed and snuggled under Gerard’s covers. Much to his surprise, she wasted no time in moving close to him. He wrapped his arms around her.
She yawned lightly. ‘You’re so wonderful, Gee. I missed you while I was away.’
‘I missed you too, Abbey. A lot.’

Abbey’s comment had given Gerard a sudden, strong wave of confidence. ‘Abs, you know how you asked me why Mikey would think that something had happened between us?’
‘Yeah,’ Abbey replied, sleepily.
‘Well, I wasn’t entirely honest about why Mikey might be suspicious,’ Gerard waited for a reply but it never came. ‘It’s because I like you, and Mikey knows,’ he blurted out quickly. ‘And not like you as in “I think you’re pretty cool.” I like you, as in, “I wanna be with you.” Even if you’re drunk. Even if you’re crying over my brother. I still want you. And I have for a long time.’
Gerard felt Abbey’s body go rigid. Immediately, he was regretting what he had said. The silence was impenetrable.

And suddenly, she was kissing him.

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