The Only Exception (Paramore/MCR crossover)

Chapter 7

On Monday morning, I was nervous, as expected. Today I was going to see Gerard again, for the first time since the party. The entire weekend, I couldn't stop thinking about how he kissed my cheek.

My mind told me that Gerard only kissed me out of pity. He felt bad for me, and today he was going to tell me he didn't like me. He was going to walk right up to me, and reject me, so I need to prepare myself for that.

I got myself ready for school, dressing myself in my usual black skinny jeans and tight fitting band tee and black hoodie with my doc martens. For my makeup, I put on only mascara and eyeliner, then walked out the door.

Just as I exited the door, I got a text from Abby telling me she was walking to school with Frank, and would see me at school. I shrugged the text off, and continued my walk to school. I got many odd stares on my way, but I ignored them. I probably got them because of my "emo" looks.

It's really not an insult to use the word emo. It's a sub-culture, and many people identify as emo, but when people use it as an insult, I take it as one. It's like people using gay as a slur. Just like emo, gay is not an insult.

When I walked into school, I was greeted by my friends, but not in the usual way. Instead, they all ran up and hugged me gently.

"Hayley! What happened? Oh my god!" Gerard asks, taking a step back to look at me.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I say with a questioning look.

"Your face!" Frank yells, and I notice his hand in Abby's.

"I was born with it, thanks Frank," I say sarcastically, "now would someone please tell me what's wrong?"

"You have bruises all over your face!" Mikey informs me. I reach up to touch my face, and find it strangely oily. Oh my god. I forgot my concealer.

"No, no, I'm ok! I just got, uh, beat up, that's all," I say very quickly.

"Are you sure you're ok?" Ray asks.

"Yeah, I just need some concealer, do you have any Abby?" I ask. She reaches into her backpack and hands me a makeup bag. I start to walk off towards the bathroom and notice Gerard following me.

"Gee, you need to go to class," I explain.

"No, I'm going to help you," he says, following me into the girls bathroom. A girl screams, but Gerard takes care of that by chasing her while yelling, "Danny Devito! I love your work!"

Gerard picks me up and sets me on the sink, so I'm sitting and facing him. he grabs the makeup, and starts to apply it on my face.

"Is it on your arms too?" Gerard asks. I nod and pull off my hoodie, showing several more bruises. He takes care of these as well, and then leads me to my correct class.

Gerard and I are lucky to have all of our classes together, so he leads me from class to class for the rest of the day. At the end of the day, he tells me he's taking me to his house, so I gladly agree and walk with him.

When we arrive at his house, he hands me a pair of loose pajama pants and a tee shirt I assume belongs to Mikey.

"What?" I ask as I'm handed the garments.

"Go change. It'll be easier for me to see your bruises and take care of them," I do as he says, changing in the bathroom.

After I give him the all clear, he comes in to see the bruises. He rolls up the pajama pants, putting a muscle relaxer on the bruises to stop the pain. He does this on my arms too, stopping when he sees the faded scars.