The Institute (Frerard)

Can You See

Frank threw Kathy a wave as he signed in the next day. She smiled wearily and waved back.

"Night shift?" Frank asked gently.

Kathy sighed and smiled. "I'm getting old, Frankie."

"You don't grow old. You only grow up," Frank said.

"Wise words," Kathy chuckled.

"Thank you kindly."

Kathy shakes her head and waves Frank away. He blows her a kiss and went down the hall.

Gerard sat cross legged on an arm chair, a sketchbook on his knee. He was working away furiously, glancing up every few seconds. As Frank got closer, he could make out the outside patio on his page. Other patients, going about the day.

"Hey, that's really good, Gerard," Frank said softly, smiling.

He jumped slightly and looked fearfully at Frank. Once he noticed it's Frank, he calmed noticeably. "Oh. Thank you."

"May I?" Frank asked, outstretching a hand.

Gerard looked uncertain before passing Frank the sketchbook, his eyes full of questions. Frank flicked through the pages, catching sight of the drawings. Most are simply in pencil. Others have color.

Frank sees rooms from the institute. Scenery. Patients. His room. Further back, Frank sees multiple sketches of one person. He'd be about twenty or so, brown hair and glasses. He's seldom smiling and often wears a beanie.

"who's this?" Frank asked, pointing at the pages.

Gerard smiled softly down at the sketches. "My brother," he whispered. "Mikey Way. He's amazing."

Flicking over, there's sketches of Mikey and someone else. Gerard's mother, I presume. The resemblance is too much to ignore. Some pictures contain Gerard as well, and he's smiling in happiness. The three of them all look really happy.

"Where's your dad?" Frank questions curiously.

Gerard snatched the sketchbook away and flicked through furiously. He stopped on one page and shoved the sketchbook back into Frank's hands. Frank stared down at the page.

A man is falling from a balcony. His face is contorted in fear and rain pounds behind him. A small child, Gerard, stands off in the corner, reaching out in horror.

Frank looked up at Gerard. He opened his mouth and began to replay his memories.

"I was seven. Dad was taking me out to see the really huge storm. We went to the balcony and watched the rain. Out of nowhere, a gust of wind blew dad off the balcony. I was small enough to use the fence as a wind-break but....dad wasn't that lucky. He fell and broke his neck..."

"I ran to the edge and looked down. There was someone down there with dad. A kid....about my age? He looked at dad's body then smiled up at me. Then he disappeared. I've seen him around a lot. That's why I'm here."

"Gerard, you know they're not real," Frank reassured Gerard.

"No. He's real. I know it. He talks to me." Gerard said firmly. He frowned at Frank and something behind Frank caught his eye. "Then why, do tell, is he here now?" he asked defensively.

Frank's breathing stops. He slowly turned and searched around. "Gerard, there's no-one there...." he said slowly.

Gerard shook his head. "No. He's there and he doesn't look to happy with you."

_____

middle fingers up if you dont give a fuck

[EDIT: Can everyone stop having a bitchfit on this chapter? Ive deleted most of the comments about it, but can you stop bashing music tastes? like jeez, fuck off. ^ above statement is from bring me the horizon, not blood on the dancefloor but tbh i dont care if you like bmth or botdf, keep your stupid hateful comments away from my fic and go fuck off somewhere else, 'kay?]

-steve