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"Sorry honey." Lily sighed as her phone rang, waking Gerard up momentarily from his slumber.
They had fallen asleep there, intertwined in each other...until Lily's mother decided to call.
She silenced her phone as Gerard nuzzled into her, making cute little sleepy noises as he attempted to fall back into a dreamless sleep.
Lily held him and kissed his face, snuggling back into him,
"I'll call her later.." she mumbled into him as he locked his arms around her and pulled her tight against his body.
Gerard waved Frank away when the tourbus started up, grumbling something along the lines of,
"Go away." and clutching her tighter.
Frank lay back on the couch with Jamia, who smiled,
"She's staying here, then?" she asked as the bus pulled away from the rest stop, staring out the window at the buses in tow.
Frank nodded with a sigh, poking Jamia's cheekbone softly,
"Yep...it's sickeningly cute though. You should see it." he said, staring into an almost empty beer can.
Jamia smiled, resting her head on Frank,
"Yeah yeah..I walked by a couple times.." she said with a sigh, looking down the hallway,
"I've never seen Gerard...act like that before."
Frank nodded, a dazed grin on his face,
"Yeah..it's funny but..you should have seen them last year...Fuck, it was annoying.." he said with a groan, placing his hand to his forehead and tilting the last few drops of beer into his mouth.
He swallowed and continued,
"It was like...he was really into Lily..and you could TELL she was into him..but he WOULDN'T admit it." Frank said with a laugh,
"He would always stare at her backstage..and fuckin.." Frank paused as he crushed the can,
"Listened to everything she said..and when he talked to her, or when he was around her he just...LIT up." Frank said, widening his eyes.
He stared at the crushed metal in his hand,
"Anyway...I told you what happened." he said, looking up at her with a sigh.
Jamia nodded, staring at Frank's tattooed hands,
"What's going on with Bert?" she asked quietly.
Frank shrugged, grabbing her hand in his,
"I don't know..it's fucked."
==========================
Lily stepped back onto her tourbus, slightly fearing any ridicule she may or may not receive from her band members.
She had slept in Gerard's bus...with Gerard...for hours..not getting off during stops..and not answering anyone's phone calls
Will looked up from a magazine on his lap,
"Your mom called me." he said, turning the page,
"She wants you to call her back." he added casually, pausing to scan an advertisement.
Lily raised an eyebrow,
"She called YOU?" she asked aloud, scratching her head, blonde hair falling against her mid-back.
Will closed the magazine,
"Did I stutter?" he asked, eyebrow raised...mouth turned down into an unamused expression.
Lily hated how he found it necessary to emulate John Bender from The Breakfast Club every chance he got.
That and how he thought no one caught on to it.
Lily shrugged and took out her phone, taking a seat next to Will to show she wasn't bothered by his massive mood swings.
"So.." Will mumbled, tilting his head back and staring at her from the corner of his deep brown eyes,
"Have a nice little..nap?" he asked, stretching his arms out above his head and grunting.
Lily smiled, looking at the phone in her hand,
"N-yeahhh..." she mumbled, running her hands through her hair, slightly ruffled from sleep.
Will ran his tongue across the inside of his cheek.
"Well, meanwhile, Sleeping Beauty, we..." he said, gesturing with one lazy hand in a sweeping movement, "Practiced."
Lily raised an eyebrow and momentarily stopped mashing the soft, plastic phone keys,
"What?"
Ryan walked by, scratching his stomach,
"Yeah fucking right. If you count watching Cartoon Network practicing." he commented under his breath in a tired tone.
"And I do." Will added with a yawn.
Lily laughed softly and scratched her head,
"Glad I didn't miss anything too important." she mumbled.
Will stood up and stretched, bending over to scratch his calf, adding,
"Call your mom...she's taking up my minutes."
Lily bent her legs up to her chest and scrolled through her contacts list,
"How much longer until the next venue?" she asked, getting down to the M's.
Will crossed his arms and looked at the carpet,
"Uh...about a half hour, right?" he asked, glancing at the bus driver, who was busy eating a sandwich.
Will shrugged after getting no response just as Lily's phone began to ring.
She pressed it to her ear as the second ring sounded.
"Hello?"
"Mom? Hey.." Lily said, staring at her feet,
"Sorry I missed your call, I was sleeping..." she trailed off, wondering whether a lecture was heading her way.
"Oh...that's alright..I called William and he told me where you were...on.. 'My Chem's' bus?" she repeated from memory slowly.
Her mother insisted on calling him William..perhaps to keep him somewhat in line...humble him slightly. She always called her brother William when he was in trouble...and that seemed to be often. Maybe it was a maternal thing....a position that demanded respect from even the most immature of assholes, ie: Will.
Lily blushed slightly,
"Uh..yeah...Gerard and I took..a nap.." she explained in a mumble.
"You know..I saw that video on TV they have..the one with the soldiers.." her mother began,
"I was watching it with Jessie...she LOOOOOVES that lead singer.."
"Gerard." Lily corrected, recalling that night in front of Dennys...Jessie's shriek as she realized Gerard was right next to Lily.
"Yes..Gerard." her mother agreed in a breath,
"And I was surprised to see YOU in it...it was so funny...suddenly seeing my daughter on the television like that...all dressed up..." her mother trailed off,
"You know..." she began, "Jessie was asking about you..."
Lily raised an eyebrow,
"Yeah...and?"
Oh great..
Her mother paused,
"She's been reading some stuff...on the internet...about you and that lead singer..."
"Gerard?" Lily corrected in a question.
"Mhmm..." Her mother agreed,
"She was asking me NON STOP about it...and I kept on telling her, 'Jessie honey, I don't know what Lily does' but she would NOT leave me alone about it-"
"What did she read?" Lily asked, sitting up slightly.
"Oh Lil..you shouldn't pay attention to that kind of stuff..." her mother trailed off.
Lily could hear the sound of dishes in the background...possibly the dishwasher being unloaded...
Her mother sighed,
"Well...they just think you guys are dating...the fans do...and they're not..." her mother put away a plate,
"Too..happy. Well..some aren't." she said carefully.
Lily shrugged.
It wasn't the first time fans had hated her.
Fuck, Kris's fans used to throw water bottles at her.
"Uh..." Lily sighed, running a hand through her hair, "Did you call me just to ask me that?"
She said, looking up at the ceiling.
"Ask what?" her mother asked, almost too innocently.
Lily sighed, "Come on mom."
Her mother breathed deeply.
Lily could picture her stopping to place a hand on her hip,
"Lily, I'm your mother. I want to know how you're doing. I barely ever see you...I barely ever talk to you. I'm just checking up...because you can't find the time to call your own mother-"
"OK MOM." Lily interrupted, "Sorry..I'm just..busy." she said quickly.
"Well." her mother began, "Jessie wanted your cellphone number and I-"
"No...you didn't" Lily winced, placing a hand to her forehead.
"Well, she IS family." her mother continued as Lily groaned loudly, closing her eyes,
"Mommm, noooooo." she whined, clenching her fist.
"Lily ANN." her mother interjected sternly,
"It wouldn't kill you to talk to your family. For God's sake.." she trailed off, the tinkling of ceramic dishes in the distance.
"Oh come on, Mom." Lily defended, "She only wants to grill me about Gerard anyway." she said, staring at her fingers.
She frowned at the chipped polish.
Lily had changed her number in the past couple of months, due to random phone calls from fans.
She had no idea how her phone number had suddenly leaked out...but she wasn't keen on only hearing heavy breathing on the other line..paired with squeals and
"Is this Lily? OH MY GOD...serious?"
"Well.." her mother began, "You have the right not to answer her...you know how ridiculous she gets..."
Lily could hear the dishwasher being pushed shut.
"But...I called..." her mother paused,
"It's your dad...he hasn't been doing too good lately." she added slowly.
Lily sat up immediately, body stiff upon hearing those words,
"What do you mean?" she asked slowly.
Lily stared at Will, who had pulled out an acoustic guitar and started strumming softly.
She put her finger to her ear and leaned forward, hair falling forward in a soft curtain.
"He...well you know he's been trying to quit..." her mother said in a tired voice.
"Yeah..." Lily nodded, giving Will a scowl as he started to play a bit louder.
"He's been having more trouble then usual..catching his breath...and coughing a lot...." she stopped, gathering her words,
"We're going to the doctor next week...he's been so stressed out with that damn job..and he smokes. You know how he is." her mother said with a sigh.
Lily could almost picture her mother standing by the televison, readjusting family photos covered in a thin layer of dust.
"It's not good for his heart...all of this.." her mother mumbled.
"Mhmm..." Lily said, staring at her feet blankly.
"But," her mother began, picking up her voice slightly, "They'll probably put him on meds...tell him to take a vacation or something. That's what happened to Shirley's husband. You know..the Johnsons down the street."
"Uhh.." Lily said, mind swirling with memories, "Yeah....yeah...with the dog.."
"Yes, with the dog." her mother confirmed, "But..." she said, clearing her throat,"just keep him in your prayers for the next couple days..."
Lily took in the lines of her shoes...the fibers of the carpet,
"Yeah....can I talk to him?" she asked, eyes wandering over Will, who had stopped strumming, and had laid back on the couch.
"Lily honey..it's Monday. He's at work. People work on mondays..." her mother began a bit harshly.
She sighed as she readjusted the phone,
"Did you forget?"
Lily frowned, "Sometimes I forget what day it is...sorry..." she said softly, furrowing her brow...a bit hurt by her mothers tone.
Lily sent them a check every month..but yet...her mother still seemed to be short with her.
She felt that sometimes her mother resented her lifestyle.
They bought things for the house with the money Lily sent them; a new tv and new curtains..a new bed for her parents and a new carpet....they finally fixed the holes in the walls and repainted the outside.
But yet, her father still worked and her mother still snipped at her every once in a while.
Lily couldn't understand it.
It wasn't as if she did anything wrong.
True, she wasn't home often..and she did forget to call sometimes..but she helped out with the house.
She couldn't help but feel like the black sheep of the family...the embarrassment.
Despite all that she had over come...she still felt as though her family held her addiction against her.
It seemed as though the whole neighborhood knew she was a coke-head.
She could see it in their stares.
They would always tell her, as they mowed their front lawns or watered their begonias, how pretty she was..or how she was such a wonderful dancer.
But she could hear their whispers...see the look of disapproval as they followed the bones so visible beneath her skin.
The old ladies, hands gloved and equipped with clippers, told her she should eat more as they pruned their rose bushes.
"Well uh...I'll call again tonight." Lily said softly before hanging up the phone a moment later.
Will sat up,
"You ok?" he asked, beginning to strum his guitar softly.
Lily nodded,
"Yeah, I'm fine...just my Dad might be sick. Just worried." she added, running her hands over her arms.
Will nodded, "Don't worry about it.." he said sincerely, hand resting over the guitar strings.
Lily looked up to see him staring intently at her, brow furrowed softly in concern.
She waved her hand dismissively and stood up,
"I'm sure he'll be fine." she stated, sliding her fingers into the pockets of her worn, faded blue jeans.
"That's the spirit, Lil." Will said, strumming his guitar for emphasis.
Lily stared off into the distance, bringing her hand to her hair and running her fingers through the tangles,
"I should call my brothers..." she mumbled before walking off towards the back of the bus.
She should call a lot of people; her family more often, and old friends...she hadn't talked to Eliza in months.
After all, she was responsible for Gerard's new haircut.
Lily's heart skipped a beat as she thought of it..the blonde-ish patch in the back...the way it swept across his forehead....
She smiled as she made her way to the back of the bus...to solace and silence..away from Will and his guitar.