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Word count: 1 381
The moment Gerard had stormed into the mall you were meeting at, a grin on his face, wider than you had ever seen one, telling you he would go on tour, your heart sunk. It felt like you lost the floor under your feet, spiraling down into an abys. Of course you were happy for him. You knew it was important to go on tour for a band, but five months apart from him seemed awfully long. You had smiled and kissed him, told him how proud you were, but he had noticed that you felt down anyway. That was why as soon as he was back in his room alone he called the other band members to ask if you could come. And of course they did not say no.
Now, two months later, you were standing backstage, the bass vibrating the floor and music filling the little dive bar that the band was playing at tonight. You were lying on top of a table and listened, not in the mood to join the sweaty, jumping, intoxicated audience. You felt the energy anyway. It seemed like most people knew the songs from the CD already, which was amazing. They were cheering and singing and having fun, and you were glad they did. But you were even prouder of the musicians, who in only such a short amount of time, had managed to create this little fan base.
"Are you (Y/N)?"
A young man with a black pony tail walked into the room, his dark eyes fixing on you.
"Yeah, need help with the merch," you asked back, sitting up on the table.
"Yeah, my shift is almost over..."
"Sure," you grinned and jumped up, amused by the nervousness the young man radiated. Obviously he had been insecure about asking you to help, even though you thought to have made clear earlier that you were here to help.
You followed him through a tiny door behind the bar, and from there to a table with shirts and CDs. By now you knew the prices without having to think twice, so you immediately started helping the two boys who were taking interest in one of the shirt designs. The young man with the pony tail said good bye soon after, leaving you to listening to your boyfriend's band. You marveled at the audience who seemed to push the band further and further, reflecting the raw and almost violent energy they were radiating back to them, increasing it. You could not help but wonder if this was the best concert you had ever seen your friends play.
Every now and then someone came over to buy something, and after My Chemical Romance had finished their last song, it seemed as if the entire crowd suddenly gravitated towards the table with shirts and albums. Luckily Frank and Ray came to help you out, while Gerard and Mikey went to fetch more merch from the trailer.
The concert was almost over for a whole hour when finally the last people left the bar, leaving the five of you to start packing up the stage and the rest of the merchandise. A few fans had asked for pictures and the musicians had often been involved in little discussions about music, punk rock culture and instruments. While they moved the guitars, the bass, the drum set, and the monitors and cables to the trailer, you updated the inventory of the merch, realizing that you had never sold as much in one evening as tonight.
When you told the band the news, they were excited, so excited in fact that they decided to celebrate the news with dinner in the diner around the corner.
Having something proper to eat like the vegetable burger you were now munching on, had become something rare since the band was on tour. You were travelling in a van so there was no opportunity to cook, and eating out like tonight was comparatively expensive, so you mainly lived of toast, cheese and apples.
You took a sip of the chocolate milkshake you were sharing with Gerard, and leant back against the cushion in the booth, cuddling into Gerard's side who had his arm wrapped around your shoulder. You felt him smile down on you between two bites of his own burger, so you quickly leant up and placed a soft kiss on his jawline before you dedicated your attention your burger again.
After finishing eating, you stayed seated a little longer. Mikey ordered another plate with fries, making you smile a little. He was a lot like Gerard in certain ways, just quieter, more introverted. Gerard also ordered a second milkshake for you, knowing how much you loved them. You felt yourself get sleepy. The day had been exhausting. You had driven the van for almost six hours from yesterday's venue to today's, helped set up the stage, sold merch, helped clean up and now your belly was full and you were lulled in by Gerard's familiar warmth.
You must have fallen asleep, because when you perked up at one of Frank's enthusiastic laughs, it was almost two am. You listened to the conversation a little longer before you suggested going back to the van. No matter how comfy and relaxed sitting in this diner was, you had to drive some several hundred miles to tomorrow's venue, and the earlier you started the better.
You did not remember much about the walk back to the car. Gerard was holding your hand, Mikey walked on your other side, quietly discussing comics with his brother, and Ray and Frank were play fighting a few meters ahead of you.
When you reached the car park next to the bar, where the van was parked, everyone quickly piled into the cramped space. Ray volunteered to drive and Mikey claimed shotgun. Frank, Gerard and you climbed on the backseats. Ray started the motor, put in an old Metallica tape, and switched on the heating. It was summer, but the nights were cool and the car too cold to be comfortable to sleep. You handed a blanket and a little pillow to the front for Mikey and Frank found one for you and himself as well. You placed the beige pillow with a stitched on flower pattern, that Gerard's and Mikey's grandma Elena had given you for the trip, between your head and the window, making yourself comfortable.
When Ray pulled out of the parking lot into the dark street, Gerard threw a blanket over you and rested his head against your shoulder, trying to cuddle into your side as good as possible. You grinned and wrapped your hand into his short, black hair, running your fingers through his locks.
"You need to wash your hair," you mumbled sleepily, your eyes focusing on the street lanterns that passed by as you drove through the town.
"Why? Do I stink," Gerard asked. He sounded tired, but happy.
Frank giggled from the other end of the backseat, also leaning against the window and wrapped in a wooly blanket.
"Nah, it's just a little greasy," you answered, shooting Frank a disapproving glance that he did not notice.
Gerard hummed in agreement and nuzzled his nose against your neck, sending a comfortable shiver down your spine.
You watched as the dark houses passed by and how the lanterns got fewer before Ray drove onto the highway. Quiet snores sounded from Mikey and Frank, the motor droned evenly and the melody of the music mixed with Gerard's calm breathing.
You turned your head, careful as not to disturb your sleeping boyfriend and gently kissed his hair, a soft smile carving into your face. You knew he had a troubled mind, but you also knew how much he loved being on tour and how much it meant to him that you were here, to share all this with him. It meant the world to you. You slowly leant back into your pillow. It was not really comfortable, sleeping in a van hardly ever was, but it could have been worse. And you had Gerard, which definitely made up for a lot. Wild forests and fields and farms and cities passed by your window while you slowly fell asleep, your fingers still wrapped into Gerard's hair.