Stop Me Going Home (REVAMPED)

Chapter 26

"Gerard, you need to get out of bed. I told you that you've gotta shower today. It's almost five in the afternoon," Mikey says, standing next to Gerard's bed, trying to tug his blankets away.

"Leave me alone," Gerard grumbles.

"I'll leave you alone when you decide to get up and stop being a smelly teenager. You'll be thanking me later, I swear," Mikey says, finally getting a good grip on Gerard's comforter, ripping it away.

"What the fuck, Mikey?" Gerard groans, curling on his side.

"Yeah, yeah, keep complaining. Just get in the shower. You smell," Mikey says.

"Why's it matter so much to you?" Gerard asks.

"Because you're my favorite brother and I love you enough to let you know that you smell like shit. And, you know, with this whole mental breakdown thing you've been having, someone's gotta take care of you. So get in the shower, or I'm gonna bring a bucket of cold water in here and throw it on you, and you're not gonna like it," Mikey says. Gerard huffs humorlessly.

"I'm fine," Gerard says.

"At least try and sound convincing if you're going to tell me that," Mikey says, nudging Gerard.

"Let me sleep. Give me my blanket back," Gerard groans.

"No, you've been sleeping all day."

"'Cause I'm tired."

"You're not tired, you're just depressed and it's making you think you are. You're stronger than that though, and you're going to get up and get in the shower." Gerard groans again.

"I'm cold."

"Take a hot shower. Stay in there as long as you want."

"I don't want to." Mikey sighs.

"I'll order a pizza if you do, and I'll pay for it." That seems to get Gerard's attention. A greasy pizza sounds really good right now.

"You better be serious," Gerard says, sitting up, holding onto Frank's shirt that he's been sleeping with. It honestly doesn't even smell like him anymore, but it's still one of the only things grounding Gerard, so he'll take what he can get.

"I'm serious. Go shower, stinky," Mikey says. Gerard rolls his eyes, but he gets out of bed and makes his way towards the bathroom. He undresses himself and gets into the shower. He turns the water to hot, and then sits down on the floor of the shower, letting the water consume him. It's been a few days since he's showered last, and if he could smell himself, he'd probably agree with Mikey in saying that he smelled bad.

He stays on the floor until the water turns cold, and when it does, he finally gets out. Though he never would admit it out loud, the shower really did feel good, and he's glad Mikey was able to get him out of bed.

Once he exits the bathroom, the aroma of pizza instantly fills his senses, and he starts walking out to the living room to the eye of the smell, and he's delighted to see a pizza on the coffee table.

"Here, take a slice. There's just cheese on it," Mikey says, opening the box and turning it towards Gerard. Gerard doesn't hesitate to grab a slice and sit down on the couch next to his brother.

"Thank you, Mikey," Gerard says. Mikey smiles at him and nods. Gerard sits back against the couch and watches the tv. They're watching the history channel, and there's some old guy on the screen talking in a very condescending way about the Freemasons. He doesn't seem like a big fan of them.

Gerard ends up setting his pizza down when he's halfway finished with it because it's starting to upset his stomach. He knows Mikey's watching him, but he keeps his eyes focused on the tv. It feels like a win when he hears Mikey sigh and turn his attention back to the tv also.