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Chapter Four: Party Poison

Frank was up earlier than everyone else. It was about 6 AM. He was about to go have a bit of breakfast when something stopped him dead in his tracks.

The sound of sobbing came from the outer part of the bus. Frank knew those sobs. That slightly high pitched wail and that meek sniffle. He used to hear them all the time when the band first started out. He had forgotten how much he hated that sound. He had forgotten how it made him feel a tinge of illness. How his heart would break just a little bit with every gasp or sputter.

So why the hell had it made its return?

Frank tiptoed quietly forward, careful not to be seen or heard. Slowly Gerard came more and more into view. He was huddled into a ball, curled up on the couch. His shoulders were shuddering violently. His face was buried in his knees which was probably the only reason he hadn't seen Frank.

Frank wasn't sure what to do. He knew this was probably about Lindsey. He had heard him mumbling her name in his sleep on nights before this. Yet Frank just felt like he couldn't quite understand Gerard lately. Maybe he should just let him work this out on his own.

Perhaps breakfast should come a bit later, Frank figured. He turned around and crept back to bed, the voice in his head telling him he was making a big mistake by walking away.

~

Gerard disappeared after the show that night. He slinked away from the rest of them in the dressing room, meeting up with Paul. Paul had driven up to see Gerard again, and he wanted to introduce him to some friends.

Paul took him to a nightclub not too far away. His ears filled with techno and happy hardcore music. He couldn't hear a thing as Paul blabbed on. Gerard just nodded his head and smiled. They headed towards where his friends were.

It was a group only 3 other people by the bar. They all greeted him with visible, but not audible enthusiasm. He was bought a cocktail immediately.

The rest of the night was a blur of strobe lights, repetitive noise, and sweat. Paul took him to the dance floor, and Gerard got a good buzz going in order to loosen up. Paul was aggressive. He rubbed his own pelvis against Gerard's leg quite a bit. He grabbed Gerard's ass roughly, squeezing it. Gerard tried to keep up, and as a result ended up drenched in so much sweat, he didn't know whose sweat he was covered in, Paul's or his own.

Paul continued to rub against him, and Gerard thought he might have felt an extra pair of hands squeezing his ass. He tried to enjoy it, but something didn't feel right.

His heart was racing faster than it should have. Faster than the strobe lights that were violently blinking, blinding him. He suddenly felt exhausted. He wanted to grab Paul and tell him he wanted to leave, but he couldn't seem to control his mouth or his hands. Gerard suddenly felt very detached. Sounds were coming at him as though an echo from the end of a tunnel. Lights were a blurry blaze of neon colors.

He didn't know how he kept standing. It felt as though he would black out one second and come back the next. Perhaps Paul was holding him up. He could feel his arm around him. Or at least, someone's arm. He had only very few terrifying windows of clarity where he knew someone had put something in his drink.

It wasn't long before he lost those windows completely and he collapsed; powerless and at the mercy of those around him.

~

Mikey had his face buried in his hands. Ray rubbed his back sympathetically. Frank was looking frantically out of the window. They were being driven very slowly down the streets of Washington, Seattle, searching for Gerard. A friend had agreed to drive them around the area in his car for a little while. It had already been 6 hours since they had last seen Gerard, and calls to his cellphone were going straight to voicemail.

Frank was about to remind Mikey that he needed to keep his eyes peeled when Ray screamed at them to stop. They all jumped out of their skins at the sound of his voice. They had been sitting in silent tension so long, any noise would have made them jump. The car came to a screeching halt, and Ray pointed to the left of them.

A figure was stumbling and wobbling down the sidewalk nearby. It was dark, but a streak of red had caught Ray's eye.

"Gerard!" Frank screamed, hoping out of the only semi - parked car. Mikey and Ray scrambled after him.

Frank caught up with Gerard and grabbed him by the shoulders, as he looked as though he was about to fall over. He only had to take one look at him to know, his drug free streak had ended. Gerard was high.

Mikey and Ray caught on pretty fast as well. Mikey looked like he was on the verge of tears.

"I can't fucking believe you Gee...." Mikey shook his head before turning back to return to the car. Ray sighed and helped Frank guide Gerard back to the car as well. Gerard was quiet, and Frank shot him a worried glance. He really looked out of it.

As they seated him down, Frank also spotted a dark puddle of something weirdly purple on Gerard's neck, partly hidden by the collar of his shirt. It was hard to examine, as it was still dark out. Frank pondered if it was a hickey.... or a bruise. He was going to move Gerard's collar aside to get a closer look at it, but was hindered when Gerard suddenly plopped his head heavily on Frank's shoulder.

"Frankie..." he heard him mumble softly.

Frank sighed, wrapped an arm around him and stroked his arm soothingly. He whispered, "Hey Gee. You're going to be okay...I'll make sure of it."

Next chapter: An odd discovery is made.