FicWad

“What the fuck are you smiling about?” Frank asked coming out of the bathroom fresh from his shower.
Gerard looked up from the ring on his finger. “This” he said holding up his hand.
Frank gave him a confused look, “What?”
“This is my birthday present from Monica. She put it in my bag and made me promise not to open it until today. It’s an engagement ring.”
Frank giggled, “Oh man, now my heart is broken. I thought you belonged to me. Shit, what does Monica have that I don’t?”
Gerard laughed, “Really wanna know?”
Frank just rolled his eyes. He waited until Gerard was in the shower to call Jamia. “Hey, do you know what Monica got our birthday boy?’
Jamia sat up and yawned, “Better be something interesting. You just woke me up.”
“Shit, sorry.” He said. “I thought you’d be up by now. Anyway she got him an engagement ring.”
Jamia laughed, “So marking her territory. Good for her.”
“Yeah, this is so much better than the last time. I don’t think I could take another tour like that again.”
He and Jamia talked a few more minutes before he signed off. Their first interview of the day was in an hour.

“Mom, are you sure there’s no way we can get a hold of Liv?” Kelly asked walking back into the kitchen now dressed for school.
Monica was surprised by the question, “Why?”
Kelly grabbed one of the pieces of toast that had just popped up and began to spread butter across its top. “Okay I know I’m sorta weird when it comes to these feelings I have but I just wanna see Elle. Make sure she’s okay.”
Monica looked over at her, “Why wouldn’t she be okay?”
Kelly shrugged, “I dunno. I just have this strange feeling. I can’t explain it. I just think Elle needs us.”
“But she has her mom. It’s not like she’s alone.”
Kelly frowned, “Maybe both of them need us.”
Monica sat down at the kitchen table with her cup of coffee, “I really don’t know anything about Liv. She’s not exactly been friendly to me.”
“Mom, how could you expect her to be? You have the man she loves.” Kelly said taking the seat across the table.
“Kelly, you don’t know if that’s true or not. You don’t know Liv. And the only thing I really know about her is that she hurt Gerard very badly when she left him.”
“She had to leave him.” Kelly said looking down at the table. “Cause she loved him so much.”
Monica frowned at her daughter. “Once again you are talking about something you can’t really know about.”
Kelly shook her head sadly. “But I do know. It took me awhile to figure it out but I finally made sense of what I was feeling when I met Liv. Remember I told you how sad she was and I couldn’t understand why?”
Monica nodded, “She’s sad cause she knows she can never be with Dad.”
Monica didn’t know what to say. What Kelly was saying was probably true. “That’s just how life is sometimes. She left him and now he’s in love with me.”
Kelly nodded, “I just wish she wasn’t so sad. It’s like she’s given up on life. If it weren’t for Elle I think she would give up.”
Monica stared at her daughter wondering how she could tune into people’s feelings. She sighed, “Look, Liv is supposed to call me in a few days. I’ll make sure we get to see Elle. Maybe she can stay with us for a few days.”
Kelly smiled, “I’d like that but I don’t think Liv would let her.”
Monica glanced at the clock. “You and Kara need to be leaving for school. You don’t want to be late.”
Kelly nodded and started for the steps. She stopped and turned back to her mom, “I just wish I could see Elle today.’
“What’s so special about today?’
Kelly shrugged, “Dunno. But there is something about today.”

“Dude, what’s with the happiness? It’s way too fucking early for it.” Ray grumbled.
Gerard turned in his seat to look to the back of the van. “It’s a beautiful day Totosaurus.”
Christa giggled, “Happy Birthday.”
“Thank you. It’s nice that someone remembered.” He said looking pointedly around the van.
“I remembered” Frank said with a smirk.
“I didn’t care” Mikey grumbled. He gave his brother a look that let him know he was teasing.
“So how’s it feel to be old?” Bob asked with a smile.
Gerard flipped him off in lieu of a spoken answer.
“So what was in the box from Monica?” Mikey asked. Gerard had told him last night about the gift from Monica in his bag.
Gerard held up his hand. “Engagement ring.”
Ray looked over at Christa by his side. “Nope”
Christa’s eyes narrowed, “Nope? Don’t believe I suggested it, did I?”
“Nope, but I just thought I’d head you off at the pass. When we get married I’ll wear my wedding ring but no engagement ring.”
“So what’s wrong with a dude wearing an engagement ring?” Gerard asked.
“Didn’t say there was anything wrong with it. It’s just not me.”
Christa just shook her head and leaned over to give him a quick kiss.
“So you know you’re gonna get asked about it, right?” Bob told Gerard.
“No one will even notice.” He answered.
All the guys and Christa laughed. “Yeah right, Gee.” Frank said, “I’m sure no one will notice.”
Gerard shrugged, “Doesn’t really matter.”
Bob grinned, “Don’t worry. Let me handle it if the question comes up.”
“Okay” Gerard said slowly.
The question of course did come up. The interviewer, Krissi, noticed the ring almost as soon as the guys sat down. The interview went along without any surprises until the end. Krissi smiled at Gerard.
“I have one last question that I have to ask that a lot of my female friends and some of my male friends are gonna ask. What’s with the ring on your finger?”
Bob spoke up, “That’s from me.”
Krissi looked over at Bob, “Oh is it?”
Gerard looked over a Bob trying not to laugh.
Bob nodded, “It’s a friendship ring.”
“Is it really?” Krissi said obviously not believing a word of what he was saying.
“Yeah, I just lost mine.” Bob held up his hand. His right hand.
“Is there something you want to tell us about the two of you?’ Krissi smiled.
Bob was on a roll now, “No, it’s just one day I decided that I really enjoy his friendship so we traded rings but I lost mine. So yeah it’s kinda weird but yeah that’s all.”
Gerard was trying not to laugh. Hell Bob was usually so quiet.
Krissi turned to Gerard, “How do you feel he lost your friendship ring?”
“He’s just a good buddy. The fact of the matter is I’m engaged which a lot of fans already know. I’m really psyched cause my fiancée gave me this ring for my birthday.”
Krissi looked back over at Bob. Her eyes caught sight of his left hand. “So I notice you have another ring. Got another friend?”
Bob stared back at her. He tried to decide just what to say about his wedding ring when Gerard stepped in.
“Actually Bob has some great news he’d like to share.” He said nodding to Bob.
Bob smiled, “Yeah, I got married recently.”
Krissi smiled, “How wonderful. Congratulations.”
Bob smiled shyly, “Thanks”
The interview ended and the guys all walked out to the van. Gerard pulled out his phone and sent a text to Monica. He was having such a wonderful birthday. The text contained just three words but he just had to say them.