Categories > Celebrities > My Chemical Romance > Lifeline
Chapter One
Junior year. Admittedly I wasn’t looking forward to it all that much, mainly because I didn’t think I was ready to start planning for college. I didn’t know what it was that I wanted to do with my life after I’d finished school, but I guess that that was something college was supposed to help people figure out. Although, there was one place I was interested in, but I wasn’t sure if an art school would be in my best interest.
On the morning of the first day of school I got dressed in my favorite jeans, a black short-sleeved top with a scoop neck, tan flip-flops and a diamond heart pendant suspended from a gold chain. As for my hair, I just left it loose but put a hair tie on my wrist in case I wanted to pull it back later. If I was asked what kind of high school personality I was, I’d say…you know, I didn’t really fit into any of the categories high school students use to classify themselves. Some people figure their personalities out in high school, but I wasn’t so lucky. Don’t feel sorry for me though, because I honestly preferred it that way. I looked at myself in the mirror and sighed. “I look like crap.” I sighed. I zipped up my gray sweatshirt and went into the kitchen for breakfast, which I managed to prepare and eat in time. All too soon it was time for me to go out to the bus stop.
Entering school, I noticed that no eyes turned to me as I went to my locker and then to my first history class of the year. This wasn’t all that unusual though, I was used to being ignored by most of the student population.
“Hey, Valerie!”
I turned around and smiled. It was Katie, my best friend since our freshman year. “Hey yourself, Katie. You seem pretty excited about something, hopefully not school starting up.”
“God, no!” Katie exclaimed. “I’d have to be out of my mind to enjoy school. Anyway, I’m excited because we’re supposed to be getting five new students this year in addition to the freshmen.”
“That’s weird. Why so many?”
“From what I’ve heard, they just wanted to transfer here because their old school wasn’t right for them anymore.”
This peaked my interest. “Are they guys or girls? What grades are they in?”
“They’re all supposed to be guys, and I think most of them will be juniors.”
I nodded as I took in all of this information. These new students, whoever they were, were going to be interesting to meet, I knew that much.
**
On my way to my first chemistry class of the year, I was so absorbed in trying to find the right room that I didn’t notice someone walking towards me, resulting in us colliding with each other.
“Oh my God, I’m sorry!” the person exclaimed hastily.
“Oh it’s okay, I should’ve been watching where I was going in any case.” I looked up to see a guy standing in front of me, wearing a red T-shirt, black jeans, a black hooded sweatshirt and Vans. He had short black hair and I noticed that he had his lip and nostril pierced. I also noticed that he was shorter than most guys I knew, but that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. “I don’t think I’ve seen you before. Are you new here?”
“Yeah. I’m Frank, by the way. Frank Iero.”
“Nice to meet you, Frank. I’m Valerie Russell.”
“Nice to meet you too, Valerie. Um, could you tell me where the chemistry classrooms are? I’m kinda lost.”
“Sure, let me see your schedule.” He takes it out and hands it to me. I look it over. “Hey, you and I are in a lot of the same classes!”
“Oh, cool! You know the way around here better than I do, so would it be okay if I shadowed you?”
I laughed. “Sure. Besides, it’s your first day. Whatever you do, don’t do what I did on the first day of school last year.”
“What happened?” Frank asked, sounding interested. We had walked into our chemistry class by then.
I blushed. “I went to two of the wrong classrooms, and I didn’t even realize it until the periods were half over.”
“Ouch.” Frank laughed, but it was understanding and friendly. “Don’t worry, that’s happened to me a lot.”
After chemistry ended for the day, I went to wait outside the classroom that Katie was taking biology in (she had taken chemistry the previous year). When she was finally packed up and leaving the room, I saw that she was talking to a guy. He was about her height, wearing an Anthrax shirt, black jeans and sneakers. He had jaw-length straight brown hair and thick-framed glasses which actually didn’t look all that bad on him.
“Frank! You found me in here!” he said.
“Yeah, I told you I would.” Frank grinned. “Valerie, this is my friend Mikey Way. Mikey, meet Valerie Russell.”
“Hey!” Mikey grinned. “Katie’s told me a lot about you, even though we just met last period.”
“That’s okay. Once you get into a conversation with this woman, you don’t really want to stop talking.” I laughed.
“Frank, Mikey, do you guys want to sit with us at lunch?” Katie asked. “We always have room at the table we normally sit at.”
“Sure.” Frank nodded. “Hey, is it okay if our best friends sit with us too?”
“I don’t see why not.” I shrugged, and with that we went to the cafeteria. We found a table near the back and Katie and I put our bags on our chairs. “Guys, put your stuff down at the table before you get your lunch if you’re buying, that’ll keep people from taking your chair.”
“Okay, thanks.” Mikey replied. “Frank and I are going to stay here for a little bit to meet up with our friends.”
When Katie and I returned to the table, we saw that three other guys had joined Mikey and Frank. One of them had reddish-brown hair that was so curly it stood up in an afro, and another had short blonde hair and his lip pierced like Frank. The third guy was scribbling something in a notebook, so I couldn’t exactly tell what he looked like.
“Awesome, you’re back!” Mikey grinned. “Valerie, Katie, meet Ray, Bob and Gerard.” He pointed out which one was which as he said their names. “Guys, this is Katie and Valerie.”
“Hey there.” Ray smiled. Bob smiled too but he didn’t say anything.
“Um, Gerard?” Mikey asked.
“Oh! Sorry Mikes, I was just wrapped up in this. And yeah, I did pay attention to the intros.” Gerard shook Katie’s hand, but when he saw me he just stared. It wasn’t a rude stare, but the kind of stare that people have when they see something really amazing. Eventually he smiled and I felt my stomach drop. His shoulder-length black hair surrounded a pale face with hazel eyes, and it was lit up by one of the sweetest smiles I’d ever seen. This Gerard guy was adorable! I then noticed that the place I had chosen to sit would put me right next to him. Damn it.
“Mikey, I just noticed you and Gerard look alike.” I observed, trying very hard to keep myself from making eye contact with Gerard. That always happened whenever I was around a guy I had a crush on.
“Oh, yeah, I guess I forgot to point out that Gerard’s my older brother.”
“Believe me Valerie, that’s not the first time he’s forgotten to mention that.” Gerard said to me with a grin.
“You guys are lucky, at least you look alike. My sister and I sure don’t.”
“You have a sister?”
“Yeah, not only is she six years younger than me, but she has blonde hair, blue eyes and glasses.”
That single conversation starter led to others, not just with everyone at the table but also with Gerard. He was a very easy person to talk to, and I could tell that he was the kind of person who’d listen to you if you wanted to talk about something that was bothering you and offer any advice he could to help. There was no awkwardness like I had expected there to be with them, mostly because they were so warm and open. The seven of us talked about everything under the sun, from our families to our interests to the ways we’d all been misunderstood by our peers for various reasons. By the time lunch was over I felt like Katie and I had known Gerard, Mikey, Frank, Ray and Bob for years. All too soon the bell rang and it was time for us to go to our last class before going home for the day.
Before we went our separate ways, Gerard smiled. “Thanks for making us feel welcome here, babe. I really appreciate it.” He squeezed my hand gently. “See you later.” As he walked off, I couldn’t help but stare at his retreating back. Guys at my school never did that kind of thing to me. Obviously Gerard wasn’t like the other guys there.
Maybe this would be an okay school year after all.
Junior year. Admittedly I wasn’t looking forward to it all that much, mainly because I didn’t think I was ready to start planning for college. I didn’t know what it was that I wanted to do with my life after I’d finished school, but I guess that that was something college was supposed to help people figure out. Although, there was one place I was interested in, but I wasn’t sure if an art school would be in my best interest.
On the morning of the first day of school I got dressed in my favorite jeans, a black short-sleeved top with a scoop neck, tan flip-flops and a diamond heart pendant suspended from a gold chain. As for my hair, I just left it loose but put a hair tie on my wrist in case I wanted to pull it back later. If I was asked what kind of high school personality I was, I’d say…you know, I didn’t really fit into any of the categories high school students use to classify themselves. Some people figure their personalities out in high school, but I wasn’t so lucky. Don’t feel sorry for me though, because I honestly preferred it that way. I looked at myself in the mirror and sighed. “I look like crap.” I sighed. I zipped up my gray sweatshirt and went into the kitchen for breakfast, which I managed to prepare and eat in time. All too soon it was time for me to go out to the bus stop.
Entering school, I noticed that no eyes turned to me as I went to my locker and then to my first history class of the year. This wasn’t all that unusual though, I was used to being ignored by most of the student population.
“Hey, Valerie!”
I turned around and smiled. It was Katie, my best friend since our freshman year. “Hey yourself, Katie. You seem pretty excited about something, hopefully not school starting up.”
“God, no!” Katie exclaimed. “I’d have to be out of my mind to enjoy school. Anyway, I’m excited because we’re supposed to be getting five new students this year in addition to the freshmen.”
“That’s weird. Why so many?”
“From what I’ve heard, they just wanted to transfer here because their old school wasn’t right for them anymore.”
This peaked my interest. “Are they guys or girls? What grades are they in?”
“They’re all supposed to be guys, and I think most of them will be juniors.”
I nodded as I took in all of this information. These new students, whoever they were, were going to be interesting to meet, I knew that much.
**
On my way to my first chemistry class of the year, I was so absorbed in trying to find the right room that I didn’t notice someone walking towards me, resulting in us colliding with each other.
“Oh my God, I’m sorry!” the person exclaimed hastily.
“Oh it’s okay, I should’ve been watching where I was going in any case.” I looked up to see a guy standing in front of me, wearing a red T-shirt, black jeans, a black hooded sweatshirt and Vans. He had short black hair and I noticed that he had his lip and nostril pierced. I also noticed that he was shorter than most guys I knew, but that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. “I don’t think I’ve seen you before. Are you new here?”
“Yeah. I’m Frank, by the way. Frank Iero.”
“Nice to meet you, Frank. I’m Valerie Russell.”
“Nice to meet you too, Valerie. Um, could you tell me where the chemistry classrooms are? I’m kinda lost.”
“Sure, let me see your schedule.” He takes it out and hands it to me. I look it over. “Hey, you and I are in a lot of the same classes!”
“Oh, cool! You know the way around here better than I do, so would it be okay if I shadowed you?”
I laughed. “Sure. Besides, it’s your first day. Whatever you do, don’t do what I did on the first day of school last year.”
“What happened?” Frank asked, sounding interested. We had walked into our chemistry class by then.
I blushed. “I went to two of the wrong classrooms, and I didn’t even realize it until the periods were half over.”
“Ouch.” Frank laughed, but it was understanding and friendly. “Don’t worry, that’s happened to me a lot.”
After chemistry ended for the day, I went to wait outside the classroom that Katie was taking biology in (she had taken chemistry the previous year). When she was finally packed up and leaving the room, I saw that she was talking to a guy. He was about her height, wearing an Anthrax shirt, black jeans and sneakers. He had jaw-length straight brown hair and thick-framed glasses which actually didn’t look all that bad on him.
“Frank! You found me in here!” he said.
“Yeah, I told you I would.” Frank grinned. “Valerie, this is my friend Mikey Way. Mikey, meet Valerie Russell.”
“Hey!” Mikey grinned. “Katie’s told me a lot about you, even though we just met last period.”
“That’s okay. Once you get into a conversation with this woman, you don’t really want to stop talking.” I laughed.
“Frank, Mikey, do you guys want to sit with us at lunch?” Katie asked. “We always have room at the table we normally sit at.”
“Sure.” Frank nodded. “Hey, is it okay if our best friends sit with us too?”
“I don’t see why not.” I shrugged, and with that we went to the cafeteria. We found a table near the back and Katie and I put our bags on our chairs. “Guys, put your stuff down at the table before you get your lunch if you’re buying, that’ll keep people from taking your chair.”
“Okay, thanks.” Mikey replied. “Frank and I are going to stay here for a little bit to meet up with our friends.”
When Katie and I returned to the table, we saw that three other guys had joined Mikey and Frank. One of them had reddish-brown hair that was so curly it stood up in an afro, and another had short blonde hair and his lip pierced like Frank. The third guy was scribbling something in a notebook, so I couldn’t exactly tell what he looked like.
“Awesome, you’re back!” Mikey grinned. “Valerie, Katie, meet Ray, Bob and Gerard.” He pointed out which one was which as he said their names. “Guys, this is Katie and Valerie.”
“Hey there.” Ray smiled. Bob smiled too but he didn’t say anything.
“Um, Gerard?” Mikey asked.
“Oh! Sorry Mikes, I was just wrapped up in this. And yeah, I did pay attention to the intros.” Gerard shook Katie’s hand, but when he saw me he just stared. It wasn’t a rude stare, but the kind of stare that people have when they see something really amazing. Eventually he smiled and I felt my stomach drop. His shoulder-length black hair surrounded a pale face with hazel eyes, and it was lit up by one of the sweetest smiles I’d ever seen. This Gerard guy was adorable! I then noticed that the place I had chosen to sit would put me right next to him. Damn it.
“Mikey, I just noticed you and Gerard look alike.” I observed, trying very hard to keep myself from making eye contact with Gerard. That always happened whenever I was around a guy I had a crush on.
“Oh, yeah, I guess I forgot to point out that Gerard’s my older brother.”
“Believe me Valerie, that’s not the first time he’s forgotten to mention that.” Gerard said to me with a grin.
“You guys are lucky, at least you look alike. My sister and I sure don’t.”
“You have a sister?”
“Yeah, not only is she six years younger than me, but she has blonde hair, blue eyes and glasses.”
That single conversation starter led to others, not just with everyone at the table but also with Gerard. He was a very easy person to talk to, and I could tell that he was the kind of person who’d listen to you if you wanted to talk about something that was bothering you and offer any advice he could to help. There was no awkwardness like I had expected there to be with them, mostly because they were so warm and open. The seven of us talked about everything under the sun, from our families to our interests to the ways we’d all been misunderstood by our peers for various reasons. By the time lunch was over I felt like Katie and I had known Gerard, Mikey, Frank, Ray and Bob for years. All too soon the bell rang and it was time for us to go to our last class before going home for the day.
Before we went our separate ways, Gerard smiled. “Thanks for making us feel welcome here, babe. I really appreciate it.” He squeezed my hand gently. “See you later.” As he walked off, I couldn’t help but stare at his retreating back. Guys at my school never did that kind of thing to me. Obviously Gerard wasn’t like the other guys there.
Maybe this would be an okay school year after all.
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