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Gerard stood nervously, fidgeting and rubbing his hands and face, listening to the deafening roar of the crowd. This was the first show of the tour, and quite frankly, he was surprised so many people had shown up. Replacing the beloved singer of a band was a huge move on the part of their decision, and Gerard had assumed that they would immediately lose fans, but this was not the case. The crowd was just as crazy as before, curious to see what the new singer and bassist would be like. He adjusted the receiver in his ear, making sure that he would be able to hear any complications on stage or comments made by the bands and crew through the dead mic. Everything had been explained to Gerard, all the technical terms and all, but because he had yet to experience it live, Gerard had no idea what would happen or how well or bad it would turn out. He turned on the receiver in his ear, receiving a small amount of feedback, making him wince, until he heard the clutter of voices from everyone back stage.

“5 minutes!” someone yelled from behind the stage. Gerard leapt from foot to foot, breathing in deeply through his nose to attempt to calm his nerves, but was unsuccessful. All of the sudden, he was being thrust into the limelight, and he had never had any experience with anything like pleasing a crowd of thousands. He looked around for any other band members; Mikey, preferably, so he could have someone to relate to, as this was Mikey’s first show, too, but did not see anyone. Suddenly, while Gerard started to slowly grow more anxious, a voice called for him through the receiver.

“Gerard,” it called. Gerard wasn’t on stage yet, and was unable to see who was at one of the dead mics on stage because of the poor lighting. Despite this, he recognized the voice a little while later. He knew that the person would not be able to hear him, but he said,

“Mikey?”

“Hey, Gerard, I’m nervous,” Neither could respond to each other, but they spoke anyways.

“Yeah, same, buddy,” Gerard said to himself.

“Do you remember this song?” Mikey said before starting to sing into the mic,

“The rivers flow through the canyons
Pebbles playing at the shore
Leaves are floating
Everlasting
I will be here evermore

I will wait here
Sitting
Until you come floating
Down the river, through the waves
and into my arms.
I will hold you, softly, and whisper
‘Baby boy.’”

Gerard gasped, holding in tears. How had Mikey remembered the lullaby their mother had sung them? Mikey had been no more than a year old, but somehow, he had remembered. Again, Mikey sang the song, a little louder this time. The noise in the background, the confirming of lights and mechanic problems had died, all of the band and crew now listening to Mikey sing. Gerard walked onto the stage towards Mikey, who was gripping the dead mic, softly singing into it. Gerard finished the song with his brother,

“I will hold you, softly, and whisper
‘Baby Boy’”

Mikey looked up from the mic at Gerard, who stood directly above him, just finishing the words to the song. His eyes were earnest and scared, his hands quivering vaguely from nervousness. Gerard wrapped his arms around his younger brother.

“Twenty seconds,” someone said through the dead mic. The brothers still stood in the center of the stage, embraced.

“Ten seconds.” Frank, Ray, and Bob were ready with their instruments, preparing their hands to play.

“Five seconds.” The silence before the show started lasted for an eternity, but the stage lights finally flashed on, blinding Gerard, his pupils contracting suddenly, the first chords of the song ringing in his ears. He held Mikey tighter before finally letting go.

“Baby boy…”



A/N: Well, that's the end of that. This story is over! Thank you so much, everyone, for reading this. I really hope you enjoyed it. Expect more from me! Rate & Review