FicWad

Well, I've had a very successful day today. I spent fifty pounds on two items of clothes (which my parental units weren't too pleased about), but am now up a skull hoodie, and an Iron Maiden tee. So yeah, all is good.

And just for the record - never buy Ninja Zombies. It is genuinely the WORST film I have ever seen.

Over than that... as you were!

Le chapter two!

Sx




This was it - they were back again. Ok, maybe not quite yet, but Frank doubted it'd be any more than an hour before his three best friends decided to show their ugly faces.

It was the first night of the three-month tour they were going to be playing across America and Europe. They were booked to play a couple of shows in Japan as well, and it always surprised Frank how much the country was in to their rock music. Somehow, he didn't put Japanese people and guitars together.

Frank sighed happily to himself, as he relished in the fact in barely hours he was going to be up on stage again, in front of thousands of screaming fans - people who came to see him - playing with his best friends like nothing else mattered. Really, when you were in that position, nothing else did.

The guitarist was already on the tour bus, which was ironic considering that in a week of two, he'd probably never want to see it again. At the moment though he was just excited, buzzed with nerves and itching to just play. He always got like this before a show, and it was one of those things he'd never, ever get bored of.

And if he was being truthful, he was also excited about seeing Gerard again. Iero had barely seen the singer since leaving him outside his house after the divorce. Apparently he was seeing someone new now, which the guitarist personally thought was a bit soon, but he only knew that from a few very rushed conversations over the phone.

For whatever reason, Gerard had suddenly become very reclusive recently - he had been reluctant to talk over the phone, and didn't appear to be in when ever Frank visited his house. The only time that the two had talked properly (well, attempted at having a conversation) had been about a month ago. Even then, Way had been reluctant to talk about anything more substantial than the weather - and certainly not himself or his private life.

Though this had infuriated his friend, the latter let it slide, allowing the singer his privacy in light of his loss. That didn't mean that Frank hadn't worried though, and now, he couldn't wait for Gerard to arrive, to finally be able to talk to him again, and find out what the hell was going on.

It didn't exactly help that over the last ten years, the guitarist had developed feelings for the other man that some would consider unhealthy. Maybe they were, but during his time in the band, the tangle of emotions just kept growing and growing and wrapping around Frank's life. What made it worse was that he didn't even care.

The two had dated, briefly, just after they finished recording Revenge, but you didn't have to have even been there at the time to know this wasn't a good few months for Gerard. It had been at his height of his drug and alcohol consumption, and the relationship had drowned in the narcotics. When he finally sobered up, neither man could find it in themselves to revive it. They had parted ways, but it had been mutual and they had remained friends without any complications.

However - for the guitarist at least - the feelings he'd felt then had never gone away. Of course, they'd been buried under his love of his wife, but they'd always been there - festering away at the pit of him. Easy to dismiss except when occasionally re-sparked by playful onstage kisses and gropes. Over the years it had began to creep back up though, and it was partially this that had contributed to him and Jamia breaking up. Now, with both his and Gerard's wives out of the picture, everything the tattooed man had ever felt for his friend had surged back up, and it was impossible to bury them again. Even if he could, he probably would bother try.

The bus door opened, making Frank jump out of his thoughts, and a blonde haired man dragging a huge suitcase stumbled up the stairs. Sunlight streamed in behind him, making the bus seem about ten times brighter.

"Mikeyway!" Frank jumped up and threw his arms around the skinny man, making him stumble back and nearly fall down the stairs and onto his wife.

"Woah, woah, Frank - it's been two weeks?" The new comer laughed, picking up his suitcase again and dragging it forward for the grinning woman to step up beside them.

"He just loves us." She said, reaching forward to hug the brown haired man.

"Yep!" The guitarist agreed, squeezing her back. "So Ways two and three, how's life been treating you?"

"Great." Alicia shrugged. Then she bent down to help her husband, who was still struggling with the suitcase. "Bit tiring around the edges, but yeah - I'd have to be crazy to complain. Kinda gutting Mikey leaving so soon though." She pouted, causing the blonde man to look mildly abashed, and squeeze the woman's waist gently. This resulted in the suitcase being dropped again, and Frank laughing.

"Jesus, Mikes! Whadd'ya got in there?" He laughed, before bending over and helping them both pull it to the back of the bus.

"Just, you know, books and shit." The bassist shrugged.

"What, the entire collection of hardback Lord of the Rings?"

"Probably something like that!" Alicia laughed.

Finally, the three managed to move the huge bag to what Mikey claimed to be hiss bunk (and it couldn't be one on the floor, could it?) and reconvened in the small lounge area. There, they flopped across the sofas - the Ways piled on top of one another.

"So what you've been up to them these last two weeks?" Alicia questioned from her seat underneath her husband.

"Meh, mostly recording and shit. Me and Toro have got some pretty sweet stuff down now. I met up with Jamia again, just to see how things are going. Not much to be honest. You'd think being a world famous rock star would be more interesting!"

"Tell me about it!" Mikey laughed. "Me and Leesh have become completely domesticated."

"And I don't think Toro's much better with Christa from the sounds of things." Frank crowed. "Me and Jamia were never like that! It's hilarious."

They made small talk for another twenty minutes or so, by which point most of the tech crew and their new drummer had arrived and stuck their head in the bus to say 'hi'. The nerves were building up again in Frank, but this time they were more worrying - were the hell were Ray and Gerard?

In fact, where the hell had the front man be for the last few months, never mind now?
Frank couldn't help but feeling slightly panicked that he hadn't appeared yet, despite the fact that Ray Toro - their lead guitarist - hadn't either.

Iero glanced at Mikey, debating whether or not to put his concerns forward. He probably would have - after all no one knew Gerard like his brother. Unfortunately, Frank was worried that even Mikey could know too much - which roughly translated in to being terrified that the younger Way would find out about his... infatuation for the singer.

Once again, the short man's thoughts were interrupted by the tour bus door opening.

"Toro!" Mikey yelled, and both he and Frank ran over to the guy walking in. Like the bassist had been, the guitarist was followed by his other half, who grinned in to the dark bus on her husband's behalf. A second later, the couple were pulled on to the bus by the three already occupying it.

"No, no no! Calm down, it's barely been a fortnight!" Ray protested, before tumbling to the floor with fellow band mates attached.

"Awww but we love you so much!" Alicia giggled, still tugging on Christa's jacket.

There was another few seconds of mayhem, then the three men got to their feet, still laughing at each other.

"And" Frank finished off Alicia's sentence, "We're on tour again!" He couldn't resist jumping up and down a little at that, flexing his fingers as they itched to dance over guitar strings again. Mikey and Ray both broke into spontaneous grins as that thought hit home with them as well.

"Look at us Leesh." Christa sighed, turning to the other woman. "Our husbands are practically cheating on us."

"And we'll just rot away in a corner somewhere. Lost and unwanted amidst their love affair with music." Alicia finished off, sighing in false exasperation. The small smile and cheeky twinkle in her eyes clearly told that she didn't mind though.

This didn't stop Mikey from grabbing her round the waist and pressing their mouths together fiercely.

Ray settled for grinning and pulling his own wife in for a quick, heartfelt hug, whilst Frank rolled his eyes. He knew his and Jamia's splitting had been for the best, he really didn't, but fuck, sometimes did he miss being married.

"Are we just gonna stand around making moon-eyes at each other, or are we actually gonna move Ray's stuff?" The short man asked, breaking the lovey-dovey atmosphere. "If it's half the size of Mikey's, moving it's gonna make us late for the show if we don't get a move on."

"Oo-er." Alicia giggled, making Frank bury his face in his hands.

"Spare me, Lord." He said, in mock prayer.

Thankfully, the guitarist had packed much more sensibly than his fellow band mate, so moving the luggage wasn't such a palaver. Most of it had probably been stored in the bus's holding carriage - as Frank didn't hesitate to point out to his over-packed friend. This only resulted in an eye-roll.

Soon enough, they found themselves back in the lounge area, though now considerably more squashed due to the addition of two extra people. Iero wondered how they'd ever survived back in the days on the van.

In fact - they hadn't. They'd all died. Four times at the very least.

The was a tiny bit of small-talk, which moved on to slightly-more-in-depth-but-still-nothing-of-any-consequence-conversation. Until Toro brought up what everyone had been wondering, but too afraid to voice.

"Any ideas where Gerard's got to?"

The was a short pause, before Frank answered. "No, he hasn't arrived yet and I haven't heard from him. You?" He asked, inclining his head towards the bassist.

Mikey bit his lip, then shook his head. "Nah. And he's kinda fallen off the map recently too. I'm guessing you haven't seen him recently?"

"No."

"Me either." Ray cut in, frowning. "Do you think he's ok? I mean, he just got divorced and all."

"I'm sure he's fine." Christa was quick to reassure her husband, but it didn't wipe the concerned look off his face, or stop Mikey and Frank from reflecting it exactly. After all, the woman hadn't been around last time Gerard ended a relationship.

His fiancée had called off the wedding only a few weeks before it was due. Needless to say, the singer was crushed, and had nearly regressed back into his lifestyle of drugs and alcohol. It had been terrifying for everyone involved - and well, this divorce was certainly more substantial than that break-up.

Mikey suddenly found himself confronted with the urge to seek out the former Mrs. Way and punch her in the face. No one should ever be allowed to hurt his brother like that. But then the memory of their last meeting came back to him.

It had been about a week before the divorce papers had been signed, and he had found her out in order to confront her about the whole ordeal. The woman had been staying with their mutual friend, Kitty, and neither had been keen to talk to Mikey. Lindsey did though, understanding the need for it.

Through tears, and the occasional yelling, she had briefly explained that being separated was best for both of them, and they just couldn't continue being married. Not the way they were. What she refused to explain though, was what it was that was so bad, why she couldn't continue like this. The black haired woman had just insisted that if Mikey wanted to find out, he'd have to ask his brother, and no, he didn't hurt her.

However, in the few times that the bassist had seen Gerard since then, whenever he'd even hinted at bringing the reason behind the divorce up, the older man's eyes would suddenly well over, and he'd become mysteriously quiet whilst mopping at his face. Mikey didn't have the heart to press any further.

"Listen, does anyone know why Lindsey actually filed for divorce? I mean, there must have been a reason, or the lawyers wouldn't have allowed it." He asked, looking around at his friends as he spoke. Frank's eyes widened, and Ray looked slightly shell-shocked. The bassist understood why - it was common knowledge that he and his brother told one another everything. The idea of him not knowing the reason being the divorce was fairly amazing to anyone who knew them.

"You, you really have no idea?" Ray said, shaking his head as though trying to process the absurdity of the idea.

"No, I don't. I asked Lindsey, but she said it was one of those things - she wouldn't tell. And then, when I mentioned it to Gee, he looked like he was about to burst into tears. I didn't really press it after that."

"What did she mean, it's one of those things?" Frank spat out. Mikey raised an eyebrow, wondering what had brought on the sudden anger.

"I don't know." He replied. "She seemed pretty upset about it herself though, I don't think it was out of spite."

The guitarist snorted, causing Christa to look at him in distaste. He just rolled his eyes at that. "Bullshit. I reckon it was some stupid reason - she cheated on him or something, and doesn't want to admit it."

"Come on Frank!" Alicia burst out. "You're friends with her - we all are! Do you honestly think she would shack up with some guy when she was married? Seriously, man."

"I'm with Alicia on this." Ray put in, whilst his wife nodded.

Mikey agreed as well, but he could see Frank's way of thinking. Or more to the point, he could understand it. Neither of them wanted this to be Gerard's fault and pinning all the blame on Lindsey was the best way to ensure that. But at the same time, he really could not imagine the woman cheating - it just wasn't her. So he mimicked Christa - nodding in agreement.

"What if..." The woman began to speak slowly, biting her lip and clearly hesitant to express her thoughts. "Do you think... what if Gerard was the one cheating?"

There was a small silence, and Frank wondered how many of them had also been considering that. He sure as hell had been, although he hated himself for even thinking it. That had been part of the reason he was so determined to pin this on Lindsey - despite the fact that she really wasn't the type to cheat. But then, realistically, neither was Gerard.

But, strangely enough, no one seemed sure enough of that to voice it.

Unsurprisingly, it was Mikey who came to his brother's rescue. "No, come on guys - this is Gerard we're talking about. Can you imagine him fucking cheating? If he wanted to, well, he could have done so easily enough by now."

"Yeah, you're right." Ray said, although the small frown on his face showed he wasn't entirely convinced.

"it's exactly the same as with Lindsey guys." Alicia cut in, her voice icy. "It's really not how Gerard roles - he just wouldn't do something like that. And come on! He fucking adored Linds' - still does. We can rule cheating out for both of them."

"Still doesn't explain why they broke up." Frank put in. "Or where Gerard's been these last few months. Or where he is now for that matter."

"Look, Gerard will talk about it in his own time - don't push him." Alicia said.

The guitarist raised an eyebrow at her. "Since when did you become all Aunt Mabel, or whatever the fuck those magazine help articles are called?"

The woman snorted, along with her husband. "Aunt Mabel, Frank? Seriously?"

"Oh shut up!" The man grabbed one of the plush cushions from behind him and chucked it at her.

The couple continued to snigger though, causing Frank to roll his eyes, and lean back again.

"I'm with Leesh on this," Ray put in, grinning slightly at the joke made at his friend's expense. "Let's just leave it for - if Gerard wants to talk, he will. As for where he is now, I think it's about time someone called him."

As it turned though, out this was unnecessary, as no sooner had Mikey pulled out his phone then Gerard walked on to the bus. Or more accurately, the singer swung the door open, and began to try and tug his over-sized suitcase on board. Seriously - what was it with the Ways and massive bag?

The people on-board were silent for a few seconds - shocked still by the suddenness of his arrival - then the front man looked up. This broke the others out of their momentary paralysis within seconds the dark-haired man was given the same treatment they had received; a bombardment of hugs, laughter and general happiness.

Gerard laughed, and staggered back slightly under the combined weight of Frank, Mikey, Ray and Alicia (Christa had been a bit more reserved in her greeting).

"Hey guys - long time no see!" He grinned. It was the first time he'd felt genuinely happy in a while, causing the man to wonder why he had been so determined to avoid these people over the last few months.

Well, he knew why - but clearly his logic had been flawed. It's just, their lives were all so perfect, and he didn't want to intrude on that. Plus, he really couldn't cope with seeing Christa and Ray, or Mikey and Alicia all cozied up together and Frank... well, Frank was just Frank. Anyway, he didn't want any of their opinions on his latest... endeavors.

Quickly, Gerard shook the thoughts from his head and grinned around at those surrounding him, tugging nervously at the hem of his top as he did so. No one had really changed - not that he’d expected them to - and they all looked happy to see him. Somehow, this surprised the singer, despite the fact he'd been friends with some of these people for over ten years now.

"Talk about long time no see, Gee! It's like you crawled under a rock and died these past few months!" Frank took a step back rolling his eyes. His tone was joking, but was a hint of seriousness under the accusation, which Gerard blew off.

"Yeah, you know how it is. Just been busy I guess." He shrugged, and turned to get his bag, which never made it up the steps and in to the bus somehow. The singer reflected that it was lucky that he hadn't fallen back down the stairs during the 'attack' from his friends.

"Here, let me help you with that." The small guitarist was by his side in a second, helping to heave the huge case up in to the bus. "And busy doing what, by the way?"

"Stuff," Gerard said simply, waving a hand airily to show that it didn't really matter.

Frank let it slide, continuing to help his friend in his struggle with the luggage. Getting through airport terminals would clearly be as fun as ever. Particularly if the front man planned on continuing to wearing the huge, biker-style boots he currently had on.

When the case was in, Way One rolled it into the bunk area to take the last available one and dump his stuff there. The guitarist watched him as he went.

Gerard had obviously lost weight during their time apart. On most people this wouldn't be a problem - hell, it'd even be something to compliment them on - but this man hadn't exactly had huge amounts of fat to begin with. That wasn't that big a deal though; Frank was pretty certain he could fatten the singer up a bit before the end of the tour.

The only other problem was the man’s choice of clothes. Now that summer was rolling in, the days were getting significantly hotter, sunnier, and yet, Way had chosen to wear skinny jeans and a hoody. Again, this didn’t worry Frank too much – Gerard lived in skinny jeans, but the hoody was a bit weird. But then, it didn’t sound any warning bells in the guitarist’s head, and all in all, the singer looked better than he had expected. He was happy at least.

The show that night was amazing as performing had ever been – which is pretty damn amazing. Frank could feel the grin stretch across his face and he strummed away at the strings under his fingers, making them jump across the fret board. He leapt around the stage with all his usual enthusiasm – admittedly missing his backing vocals on occasion. The audience didn’t care though, they were as wild as he was, opening spontaneous mosh pits and crushing towards the front every time a new song started.

The rest of the guys were evidently loving it as much as he was, never missing a beat and smiling as widely as he was. Even Mikey lost his poker face. Gerard was on fire. This is what he lived for – reaching out into these kids’ lives and making a difference to theirs, even if he couldn’t do a damn thing to change his own.

He screamed his way through every song, and babbled meaninglessly in the short breaks between each one. When the final encore ended, and the stage and audience immersed in darkness, he bounded off-stage, feeling ready to take on the world.

It didn’t last though, not that anyone else noticed. Mikey and Ray were too wrapped up in saying good-bye to their wives to notice Gerard slink off barely half an hour after the end of the set. Even Frank, who didn’t have an ‘other half’ to bid farewell to was too wrapped up in his post-show happiness to notice the singer’s absence.

When someone finally pointed it out, he dismissed it, guessing that the singed was tired and wanted an early night. It wouldn’t be the first time the man had disappeared in search of a good night’s sleep. So Frank went on chatting excited to technicians, Ray carried on kissing his wife, and Mikey continued to have sex with Alicia in one of the empty dressing rooms. The people who could have helped weren’t present when he needed it, and this just made Gerard feel worse.

Of course, by the time they finally began to worry, and decided to seek him out, the singer’s tears had already run dry. So when they found him on the bus, he was fast asleep, and his three closest friends decided that there was nothing wrong – that he had just wanted to get some rest.

Gerard, being Gerard, didn’t think like this though – he assumed they just didn’t care. And right at that moment, thoughts like that were exactly what he didn’t need.



This is really odd. I've run out of things to say. That NEVER happens.

Oh well, I have a Further Maths exam tomorrow. Time to sleep.

R&R pretty please with a cherry on top. And sprinkles..

Sx