It was cold and snowing outside, winter break just starting up and everyone was excited. Gerard was curled up on the couch in his basement, watching movies under a big heated blanket. Frank was coming by after his shift at work and Gerard was just counting down the minutes. He already had snacks lined up and ready.
Frank let himself in and came down to the basement, holding two blizzards with something tucked under his arm. Gerard smiled, giving him a kiss. He smiled, taking the cups and setting them down on the coffee table.
"Also your mail was on the front porch underneath a rock," he said.
"Oh, yeah, they do that sometimes because in the winter the mailbox will sometimes freeze shut," Gerard said.
Frank set the mail down, curling up under the blanket with him.
"Oh my god, is this a heated blanket?" Frank asked and Gerard nodded. "Oh my god, this is really amazing. I want one of these. It's like I'm in a little burrito and I'm being baked in an oven."
Gerard chuckled, kissing his cheek.
"You are so cute," he said. "When are you going to your dad's?"
"Um, like a few days after Christmas," Frank said. "I'll be staying the night and it will no doubt suck."
"I'm sorry," Gerard said.
"Also, Gerard, can we not do presents for each other?" Frank asked. "It's just that I don't have enough money to buy a present and I don't want you to buy me a gift if I can't get you one back."
"Alright then, no gifts," Gerard agreed. "That just means I'll have to shower you in kisses instead."
Frank smiled, resting his head on Gerard's shoulder. They watched tv for a little bit before Mikey came downstairs.
"Hey, did my magazine come in the mail?" He asked.
Gerard gestured to the pile of mail so he could search through it. Mikey sighed, sorting through the papers.
"Oh, this one is for you," Mikey said, handing Gerard an envelope.
He grabbed his magazine before heading back upstairs. Gerard opened the letter, rolling his eyes. This time it was written in red paint.
This isn't a joke. Leave this city. Go live with your grandparents. Nobody wants you here. Nobody likes you. I will hurt you.
"Is that fake blood?" Frank asked.
Gerard pulled out polaroids, pictures of the couple together at the winter dance.
"Weird, again," Gerard said. "Just weird."
There was something else in there, though. Gerard pulled it out and gasped, dropping it down onto the blanket. There was a bloody razor.
"Oh my god, is that written in real blood?" Frank asked.
"The blood on this is still wet," he said. "Oh my god, I think I'm gonna be sick."
"We need to tell someone," Frank said. "This is a real threat, Gerard. This is serious. We can't just ignore this."
Gerard nodded, putting everything back into the envelope. He grabbed the old envelope, biting his lip.
"Is your mom home?" He asked.
"Um, yeah, she should be," Frank said. "Do you wanna tell her?"
Gerard nodded and they drove over to Frank's apartment. Linda was in the middle of sweeping and she smiled when she saw Frank and Gerard.
"Mom, Gerard got another letter like the last one," Frank said.
They handed it to her and she bit her lip.
"You should go to the police," Linda said. "This is serious."
Gerard nodded, looking at the razor.
"And you need to tell your parents about this, too," she said. "They need to know that you've been getting threats. Tell your parents and then have them take you to the police station to report this."
"Alright, let's go," Frank said.
"Maybe you should stay here, Frankie," Linda said. "I just...I just don't think you should get involved in this."
"I'm in these pictures too, mom, I'm kind of already involved in this," Frank said and Linda pursed her lips. "Fine then, fine. I'll talk to you later, Gerard, call me and tell me how it goes."
Gerard kissed his cheek before driving back home. He took a moment to breathe in his car before walking inside.
"Hey, you two left the tv on and left melted ice cream on the table," Donald said.
"Dad, I need to show you something," Gerard said.
He handed him the two envelopes, letting his dad sit at the table and read them.
"And you've had these for how long?" He asked.
"I got the first one last week, the second one today," Gerard said.
"You should've told me when you got the first one," he said. "This is serious."
"I know, I think we should go to the police to report it," he stated. "This is blood. This is actual, real blood."
"Yeah, definitely, go get the car started and I'll be out there just after I grab my coat," he said.
Gerard took the notes and went outside, waiting in the car. Donald joined him and drove them to the local police station.
"How can I help you?" An officer asked.
"My son has been receiving threats," Donald stated.
"Who are these threats coming from?" He asked.
"We don't know, they're anonymous," he said.
Gerard showed the man the papers.
"Alright, I am going to pass this off to someone else," the officer said. "Just give me a moment."
The two waited in uncomfortable chairs before someone else came out.
"Hello, I am Detective Orzechowski," the lady said. "Why don't you two follow me."
They followed her through a door where other detectives were, sitting down at her desk.
"So, I was told that you were receiving threats from an anonymous source," she said.
"Yes, it start last week," Gerard said, handing her the envelopes.
She bit her lip as she looked them over carefully.
"That is fake blood, correct?" Donald asked.
"This appears to be real blood, I'll send it to the lab to have it tested," she said.
"So you can get a DNA sample and we'll be able to figure out who did it?" Gerard asked.
"Well, DNA can only be found from the white blood cells in blood," Detective Orzechowski said. "And it can be a difficult process, unfortunately something that we don't really have the funding for. We can try to send it to another department nearby."
Gerard nodded, looking at the notes.
"These are pertaining to the other boy," she said. "What is his name?"
"Frank Iero," Gerard said. "He's my boyfriend."
"Where were these photos taken?" She asked.
"The first ones were taken at a party back up in North Brunswick a week ago," Gerard said. "The second set was from the winter dance two days ago."
"Is there anyone that you know who would want to send you these notes?" Detective Orzechowski asked.
"I don't know, maybe this one girl named Alicia Simmons," he said. "She has a big crush on Frank and so she doesn't really like me too much. She threw her ice cream at me."
"Has she ever exhibited any other sort of threatening behaviors before?" She asked. "Any other verbal threats or actions?"
"No, not really," he said. "She's pretty quiet. But she has a bunch of newspapers, I bet that if you looked at them there would be letters cut out of it."
"We will add her to the suspect list but remember, everyone is innocent until proven guilty," she said and Gerard nodded.
"But if this is this Alicia girl, what would be done to her?" Donald asked.
"Well, this person is harassing you and uttering threats to cause bodily harm, both of which is a criminal offense," she said. "This person could be looking at five to ten years imprisonment."
"Seriously?" Gerard asked.
"These are some pretty serious threats, plus they sent a weapon," she said. "We will definitely call Miss Simmons in for a talk. We will also need to bring in Mr. Iero."
"I'm not actually going to have to break up with Frank, am I?" Gerard asked.
"No, we will not let you be intimidated by the messenger," she said. "Why did this only just start now?"
"We only just moved here about a month ago," Donald said. "We're from North Brunswick."
"Are you liked at school?" She asked. "Do you get along well with your peers?"
"Yeah, of course, I was just named king at the dance," Gerard said. "I've got a group of friends who all support each other and stuff. I don't know why anyone would have a problem with me."
"These envelopes, where do you find them?" She asked.
"They've just been coming in with the regular mail," he said.
"Mr. Way, you're a stay at home dad," she said, turning to him. "Have you noticed any strange behaviors? Maybe the gates been left open or there's footprints in your yard or something like that? Strange noises from outside at night?"
"No, everything has been completely peaceful," Donald said.
"Do you have any siblings, Gerard?" She asked.
"Yeah, a younger brother," he said.
"Has he received any similar messages?" She asked.
"No, Mikey's been completely fine," he said.
"Do you have any classes with Alicia?" She asked.
"Just physics, Frank is in that class, too," Gerard said.
"What about previous partners of Frank Iero?" She asked.
"He just had an ex-girlfriend but she passed away in a car accident," Gerard said.
Detective Orzechowski nodded, frowning softly.
"Well, I think that's all the questions I have for right now," she said. "I'll keep in touch and tell me if you find anything else suspicious or threatening."
They shook her hand before leaving. His father gave him a lecture on the way home about how he should've told him earlier. Gerard went straight up to his room when they got up, sighing unhappily as he laid in bed.
"What's wrong?" Mikey asked.
"Got another creepy letter, I just got done talking with the police," he mumbled.
"Will it make you feel better for me to tell you that I got a date tomorrow?" Mikey asked and Gerard looked up in interest. "I finally asked Kristin out on a date."
"Oh, that's amazing!" Gerard cheered. "Where are you taking her?"
"I was thinking maybe dinner and movies," he said. "I don't know, this is my first time going on a date so I wanted to ask you what you thought and about where you think I should take her."
"I think dinner and movies is a good first date," Gerard agreed. "Take her to the pasta place just outside of town, it's cheap, which is good, but still nice enough that it doesn't seem like you're taking her out on a cheap date."
"What movie should I take her to see?" Mikey asked.
"Let her pick but chances are she'll say she doesn't care," he said. "But when you ask they'll always immediately look at the movie they do want to see so choose that one."
"Okay, so, should I get snacks at the theaters?" He asked.
"I would get just, like, a small popcorn and some drinks since you'll be eating," Gerard said. "Who's taking you on this date?"
"Well, she just got her driver's license so she can drive us," he said. "Thank god, it would've been way too awkward asking dad to drive us."
"I'm really glad that you asked her out," Gerard said. "It would've been cool if you asked her a week ago then you two could've gone to the dance together. It would've been your first time going to a school dance."
"It's okay, I feel like I wouldn't want that to be our first date because her friends would be there and it wouldn't just be the two of us," he said.
First date at a dance? That reminded Gerard to ask Jamia how her date with Pete went later.
"It's gonna be great, she's a bookish girl, bookish girls are always nice," he said.
Mikey smiled and nodded. Gerard got up and dug through the closet, searching for the perfect outfit for Mikey to wear on his date.