"Ask me why and I'll die,
And if you must go to work tomorrow
Well, if I were you I wouldn't bother
For there are brighter sides to life and I should know because I've seen them
But not very often,"
--The Smiths, Still Ill
The younger brother stayed by the artist's side every day for the first few days at his bed side, awaiting the slightest movement or gurgle from the artist but only hearing the slow ticking of the clock, the only pastime was studying the rise and fall of his older brother's chest, the beeping of the machinery reassuring him, a hand on his shoulder. The first twelve hours of being brought into the hospital were the most difficult for everyone. The ache, the doubt, the tremor of foundations, the disbelieve laid in the operation room. The Way family awaited news of the operation, hands pressed to their faces; ashamed, ignorant, and kept in the dark.
Mikey swore that if Gerard made it out alive, he'd skip class for the remainder of his high school career just to be with his brother; get drunk with him and begin to chain smoke, live his life in the basement, solely for the sake of Gerard. He would, he truly would. He'd play the bass and Gerard would pick up the guitar again, all would be well. But the truth was, things never work out that way. Life will pry everything you love from your hands just to simply throw it down the abyss. Mikey was terrified, mortified that his own thoughts were betraying him in this time of need.
Donna would spent her time after work at the hospital, her eyes fixated on the stack of papers that needed to be graded below her. For if she focused on her elder son, her eyes would well up with tears and all her sanity would waver.
---
Frank Iero notices on Monday that Mikey isn't at school. Peculiar thing, worry. The biting of nails, the twitching of fingers, the nervous tapping of feet. He's kept in the dark without covers or a reassuring thought.
---
The doctors tell Donna and Donald, Mike too, that Gerard was very lucky after the surgery. The angle in which he fired at was the only thing that saved him.
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[A/N- And on the seventh day, God created writer's block to spite everyone.]
YOU ARE READING
The Healing Powers of Loud Music and Frank
FanfictionGerard Way seeks solitude; an avoidant at heart (and depressed at brain, too), he plans to bite the dust. But before he does, he gives guitar-playing and Frank Iero one last shot in the dark.
