FicWad

Just To Get Back In Her Arms
Chapter 5


"Ugh! The nerve he has to talk to me." Stef exclaimed as she approached her sister.

"What are you talking about?" Kara asked.

"Gerard. He thinks he's just God's gift to earth, actually thinking he has a right to talk to me..."

"Well he does."

Stef shot a look at her sister. "What? You're supposed to be on my side."

"I'm not taking sides. And you need to get off your high horse. Did you ever think that maybe, just maybe, he wants to be your friend again? He was 18 and stupid and he made a mistake. Maybe he was embarrassed to ever talk to you again because he knew he was wrong. You know that boy loved you. Whether it was as a friend or more, he loved you. And I have no doubt that you still love him. So grow up Stefanie."

Kara walked away, back to where the rest of their family was sitting. Stef knew Kara was right, yet she still had the hardest time coming to terms with forgiving Gerard. It had been hard not seeing him for so long, but at the same time it made it easier for him to become just a ghost of her past. Now that he was back in her life, while it was only temporary, she wanted it to stay that way, although she would never admit that to anyone but herself. Her stubbornness was her biggest downfall.

"I just need more time, that's all," she said to herself. "Like Mikey said... find it in my heart to forgive. Who knows when that will be."

***

"She still thinks about me," Gerard said to Ray as he sat down next to him. He had a grin on his face.

"What? You talked to her?" Ray asked, somewhat shocked.

"Hell yeah. I wasn't going to let the opportunity pass. She was going to ignore me and play hard to get? Alright. It's cool. I just took it upon myself to talk to /her/."

"Wow. I'm impressed. And what did you say to her?"

"Oh you know. Just some casual chit-chat."

"And how did she respond?"

Gerard paused for a moment. "She said 'fuck you'."

Ray laughed. "Yeah man, you sure got a lot accomplished."

"Whatever. If it weren't for you flirting with her that one night, this never would have happened. Technically, it's your fault."

"Oh no Gerard, we are not having this argument again. What is this, the 3rd time this month? It's your fault. Accept it."

Gerard chuckled a little bit. "Well. Whose ever fault it is..." Gerard looked over to the dance floor and saw Stef dancing with Frankie. "I'm getting her back."

"She's a hard-headed woman, Gerard. Are you up for the challenge?"

"Ray, my good friend, this is one wrong that I need to make right."

***

Frankie, thinking he was Fred Astaire, twirled Stef all over the dance floor.

"You're such a dork, this is so embarrassing," Stef said, in-between laughs.

"Shut up, you love me," Frankie said, smiling at her. "It's so nice to have you back in our lives. Now you can come to shows and hang out with us and it will be just like old ti-"

"Whoa now Frank. Everyone's so different now. We all have our own lives and things going on. I mean, we're not teenagers anymore. Things just can't go back to the way they were."

Frank pouted. "Aww, what? You're gonna let big bad Gerard ruin this? Has he turned you into a cold hard bitch?" he said in a baby voice, clearly mocking her. Stef couldn't help but giggle a little.

"I missed you, Francis."

"My name is not Francis! I can't believe after all these years, you would still call me that."

"Shh, Francis, quiet down. Everybody's staring."

"Good, because we are superb dancers!" Frankie said as he dipped her.

***

The night was winding down and everyone began to leave.

"Goodbye, Donna. It was really, really nice to see you again," Stefanie said as she gave her a hug.

"Oh, you too darling. Please, don't be a stranger! Get out of the hustle and bustle of the city and come visit home every once in a while."

"Ok, I definitely will." Up until this night, she had forgotten how much she missed Donna and everyone else from Belleville.

"Mikey, I'm so happy for you!"

"Thanks Stef," he replied. "Hey, you gonna catch one of our shows? We're resuming the tour soon and I would love it if you were there to see us."

"Umm, yeah. Sure. Just let me know."

"Great. And thanks for coming. Really. I know you were skeptical, but it meant a lot to me."

"No problem Mikey. It was my pleasure."

After she said goodbye to Alicia, Stef turned around and saw Gerard across the room, leaning against the wall and playing with his cell phone. "Oh, what the hell," she said as she walked over to him.

"Um, hey."

Gerard looked up from what he was doing and gave her a sheepish smile, the one she had missed seeing for so long.

"Hey."

She twiddled her thumbs for a moment before speaking. "I just wanted to say bye. And... it was nice... to see you."

"Likewise," he replied. Stef stood there for a few seconds before feeling really awkward and turning around to walk away. "You know what was the best part of seeing you?" he called out. Stef turned back to face him. "Getting bitched at in the gazebo. Nice touch," he continued, still smiling.

"Yeah, um, about that. I, uh. I just wanted to let you know that I'm sor... that I never wrote a book entitled 'fuck you.'"

Gerard just nodded his head, taking that as her way of apologizing. "Yeah, I didn't think so. That might be hard to get published."

For the first time all night, Gerard had made her laugh. But before this went any further, Stef tried to excuse herself.

"Wait!" Gerard called after her. "Just take this." He handed her a folded up piece of paper. "Do what you want with it... just, at least read it."

"Ok," she said quietly. "Goodnight Gerard."

On her way to the door, she opened it up to read it:


Stef,

I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss my best friend. So just talk to me. Nothing more, nothing less.

Gerard


Stef sighed as she refolded the note and put it in her purse.




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