FicWad

Chapter 3

The rest of our show went on as normal, with Gerard belting out the lyrics and driving the crowd insane. Near the end, we all hurried off stage to prepare for our encore of 'I'm Not Okay"and "Helena". Gerard was elusive as soon as we stepped backstage, and I caught a glimpse of him shoving something in his pocket. What the hell, I wondered. I didn't have much chance to think though, because Gee hurried over to us all with an announcement.

"Okay Ray. After finishing 'Helena', I want you to go straight into 'Romance', yeah?" Gerard looked at Ray Toro, our lead guitarist, expectantly. Ray looked puzzled, but agreed.

"Good. Now let's get out there and finish this thing!"

I loved Gerard, but sometimes he was extremely hard to follow. He was, needless to say, eccentric.

The crowd screamed as we stepped back on stage. I watched as a select few started a pitiful mosh pit as we began"I'm Not Okay." It was quite amusing.

"Well, if you wanted honesty, that's all you had to say..." Gerard stood on the very edge of the stage, leaning nearly into the mass throng of people. I snuck up behind him and pulled him back, kissing him roughly on the cheek. For some reason, this drove the crowd mad and the noise was deafening. Gerard grinned at me and continued to finish the rest of the song, and then began "Helena".

"SO LONG AND GOODNIGHT!" The last line of "Helena" drew a massive cheer from the group of teenagers dressed in black and red. At Gerard's cue, Ray carefully picked the notes of "Romance", one of our instrumentals. The crowd hushed and stood silently, anticipation buzzing through them. All this time, Gerard had been standing in the middle of the stage, head down, and one hand holding up the mic in the air. I had no idea what he was doing, but a small part of me thought that maybe this had something to do with Gee's "surprise".

As the last notes of "Romance" were being played, Gerard slowly turned and began walking towards me. My heart, for some reason, was slamming against my chest.

"Tonight," Gerard said breathlessly into the microphone, "is very special, for a couple of reasons. For one, it's our last show of the tour and I want to thank you all for sharing tonight with us. But second, I also have an announcement to make, as well as something Ineed to do. I'm doing it here and now, because I thought why not? Now," he paused, draping an arm around my shoulders. "No one else knows about this yet, and I am proud to inform you that Frankie here and I are very much in love."

I gasped. The crowd cheered as gee kissed my cheek. I couldn't believe he had just come out and said it, without bothering to worry about what anyone had to say. Oh god. I couldn't bear to look at any of our band mates. I couldn't...

"And," Gerard began again. What else was he going to say? What else...? "I've been wanting to something like what I'm about to do for a long time." With that, he turned towards me and started fishing around in his pocket. I watched in amazement as he retracted a shiny silver band and slowly dropped to one knee. Oh. My. God. Just like we were an ordinary couple.

"Frank Anthony Iero," he said, looking up at me with those big hazel eyes. "I love you so much. Will you-" his voice seemed to crack with emotion. "Will you marry me?"

The whole audience seemed to be holding their breath, waiting for my answer. My mouth dropped open and tears filled my eyes. I grabbed gee's hands and pulled him to his feet. "Yes," I squeaked. The crowd erupted, and I took Gerard's face in my hands and kissed him, full force. I felt his trembling lips smile into mine. As we broke apart, he pulled on my left hand and slid the band over my ring finger. It fit perfectly. After giving my hand a tight squeeze, Gerard laced his fingers through mine, holding my hand. He turned back to the crowd.

"Thank you, New York!"

We exited the stage to the sound of still cheering fans. As we stepped back stage, Gerard and I were immediately surrounded by the boys. Mikey, Gee's younger brother, was the first to step forward.

"You have two minutes. Explain," he said, giving Gerard a menacing look. Gee just laughed at him.

"Oh, come off it Mikey! Lighten up. It's time to celebrate!"

After you explain to me how the actual fuck this happened. I didn't even know you were, you know, gay!" Mikey's face was beginning to resemble something of a tomato. It was comical.

Gerard sighed dramatically. "I don't really feel like relaying all the info from the past few months of our relationship to you. It's not necessary. All you need to know is that we love each other, and we're getting married. Now let's party."

"You'll have to go to Canada," Mikey pointed out.

"Mikey, shut the fuck up and listen to your brother for once. He's right. It's time to celebrate," Ray cut in, grabbing hold of Mikey's shirt.

"But-"

"SHUT UP!" we all chorused, making the younger Way grin sheepishly.

"Okay. Fine.Let's go. I'm happy for you two, really."

Ray laughed and started off, with Bob and Mikey in tow. "We'll see you back at the hotel, lovebirds."