▶︎ Cherilynn.
"Cherilynn, you're fucking unbelievable! You're such a bitch, man- oh my fucking God! I thought you'd fucking died or something!"
Though she held onto me like I'd disappear if she let go, Dani had been yelling at me for the last 5 minutes. She'd always been pretty... emotional, so this outburst didn't surprise or upset me at all. I found it funny, honestly. And what made it even funnier was Gerard's face, which went from terrified to apologetic as he noticed the unwanted attention Dani's yelling was attracting.
"Where's your sister?" I interrupted her bitching, struggling to keep in my laughter. "Still in New York?"
"Oh, you know Valerie," She let go of me and rolled her eyes. "Her shift started fifteen minutes ago, but she's late... as always. And, yeah, we both live at home."
"Still sharing a room?"
"Sadly," Dani sighed before looking at Gerard and giving me one of her trademark raised-brow looks. "Who's the babe? Your boyfriend?"
I felt my cheeks heat up under Dani's diamond eyes, and when I looked up at Gerard, he was mirroring my expression. A soft shade of pink covered his pale cheeks as he kept his skittish gaze on me while I racked my brain for an answer.
I mean, he wasn't my boyfriend.
But he also wasn't not my boyfriend.
"Gerard, nice to meet you," Gerard broke the tense silence and held out his hand to Dani, who took it approvingly.
"Handsome and polite." I knew Dani could tell I was dying of embarrassment, but she'd always loved to tease me like this. She didn't do it to be mean or anything. But it did make me wish the earth would swallow me sometimes. "Best boyfriend you've had considering your... questionable taste in boys."
"He's not my boyfriend-" I awkwardly blurted out, although Gerard and I did look like a couple. I mean, our hands were intertwined, there was a prominent lipstick mark on his jacket that matched the color of my lips- it all screamed we were dating. "We're not dating."
"Well, I'll gladly take him then," Dani teased, and I felt Gerard's hand tense in mine.
I knew she was just joking around, but an unexplainable pang of jealousy took over me as Danielle playfully winked at Gerard. So I let go of Gee's hand and wrapped my arms around his waist, a gesture that made him softly chuckle as he looked down at me.
"Sorry, but she called dibs on me first," he said.
Gerard's sweet laughter filled my ears as he ran a warm hand through my hair, and I swear I could've melted. I couldn't relish in his touch for too long, though, because Dani's aggressive eyebrow-wiggling and smirking were getting hard to ignore.
I'd missed this feeling.
I hadn't realized just how much I'd missed feeling like a bashful teenager in love all over again. I got with David when I was sixteen, and he'd forced me to keep our relationship secret. So the last time I was able to wallow in the oddly humiliating sensation that came with being mercilessly teased by your friends whenever you had a crush was probably when I was fifteen.
"Stop it!" I whined, my face hidden in Gee's jacket as Dani laughed her ass off. "You're just jealous my boy's hotter than your boyfriend."
"My boyfriend's non-existent at the moment, so I'll take your word." Danielle was the only person I knew who could out-bitch me, and God, I'd missed her. "Does your man have a brother? Cousin?"
"He does have a brother, actually," I suggestively said, Gerard softly smacking the side of my arm as he shook his head.
"Stop prostituting my baby brother," he gasped, and though he made both Dani and laugh, I found it oddly sweet. "Poor Mikey."
"Gee, he's twenty-two," it seemed like Gerard often forgot that Mikey wasn't a baby. "He's not a baby anymore; I'm sure he wouldn't mind us hooking him up with a hot chick."
Danielle was really pretty- like, really, really pretty. I mean, Valentine was too, but something about the older twin made her stand out. Dani had always been the hot one- she even did some modeling gigs when we were just teens. And, ever since I could remember, I'd seen her use her icy, catlike eyes and angel face to get whatever she wanted. Val, on the other hand, was more reserved.
Though they were identical twins, Valentine had always lived under Danielle's shadow. Maybe it was due to how painfully nerdy she was or because she wasn't as blatantly... sexual and flirty as her sister. While Dani explored the modeling world, Val decided to stay on the sidelines and distract herself with art instead. And, let me tell you, she was one hell of an artist.
"Dani, I'm so sorry I'm late! I was-"
Though my back faced the door, I knew who had just come in. I could recognize that sweet, high-pitched voice anywhere. So without even thinking about it, I immediately turned around and tightly wrapped my arms around Val, who'd barely even had time to walk through the door.
She was the same dreamy-eyed teen girl I remembered. Except now, she'd traded her signature oversized sweaters for a tight Judas Priest t-shirt, and her naturally blond hair was black. I'd be lying if I said that finding out she wasn't the same boho-looking little hippie I left behind didn't surprise me, but I loved the new look she had going on. She honestly looked like a long-lost My Chemical Romance member, and I started suspecting that maybe we were about to hook Mikey up with the wrong sister.
"Holy mother of God-" Val choked out in disbelief, pulling away to get a look at my face. "I missed you so much, holy shit! But you have no idea how much I hate you, you-"
Although she was way quieter than Dani, Valentine's temper was a million times worse. So before I got yelled at... again, I quickly took her hands and blurted out:
"You still like Iron Maiden?"
My dad and the twins' mom met thanks to their mutual love for rock, and they'd made sure to pass their appreciation for it down to us. And, while it didn't interest Dani in the slightest, Valerie and I turned out just like our parents. Hell, we even went to see the Red Hot Chili Peppers in concert when we were just fifteen (her parents spent hours lecturing us once they found out we'd snuck out to go, but it was definitely worth it.)
"Hey, fuck you for interrupting me," Val stuck her tongue out and playfully flicked my nose. "But, yeah. Still love them to death."
"Well, let me tell you, you've got the next greatest singer since Bruce Dickinson standing right in front of you."
At first, Gerard didn't realize I was talking about him and looked around with as much confusion and curiosity as Val. But once I gently pushed him in front of me, he finally realized, and the poor guy looked like a deer in headlights. I saw Dani subtly chuckle from behind her sister, who was looking at Gee like he had two heads, so I shot them both a look.
"Cher, he's really cute and everything, but..." Val had completely discarded her anger by now, instead adopting a confused expression. "Who even is this guy?"
"His name's Gerard, and he's gonna be a fuckin' rockstar," I proudly said, squeezing under Gee's arm and hugging him once I realized all the attention was making him nervous. "His band's playing a show tonight, and if you promise not to yell at me, we'll take you."
Valerie didn't look too convinced, but I wasn't worried. I knew that- if she hadn't changed since we last saw each other- she'd never pass up the opportunity to go to a concert. Besides, it was evident she was intrigued by Gerard. I could tell that, just like me when I first met him, she was wondering how such a shy, sweet boy could be a frontman.
"I... fine," she mumbled, "but only if you guys go over to our house for lunch. I mean- dude, I don't see you for three years, and then you turn up out of nowhere with a boyfriend and fucked-up hair. We really gotta catch up."
"Yeah," Dani agreed, resting her arm on her sister's shoulder. "Besides, Ma will probably have a stroke if she finds out you came back and didn't visit. And she's also gonna be pissed if we don't introduce her to your boyfriend."
I looked up at Gerard and noticed he looked kind of terrified. I mean, I didn't blame him, really. I was pretty damn overwhelmed too, but his comforting presence made everything a little more bearable. The word 'boyfriend' made the butterflies in my stomach go crazy. And though we weren't officially dating yet, I didn't bother to correct her, and neither did Gerard.
"You okay with that?" I quietly said, squeezing Gerard's hand and getting a tiny nod in response.
"We're supposed to be working, but c'mon," Dani took my hand and started leading me towards the table we used to always sit at, Val and Gerard following. "I need to know the gossip before my parents, so... talk your mouth off. What happened since you moved? Are you in college? How'd you guys meet?"
"A lot, no, and it all happened thanks to a guy named Frank..."
▶︎ Gerard.
I don't know how I got into this.
An innocent visit to some of Lynn's old friends had turned into an invitation for lunch. And now, I was sitting at the dinner table in their second-floor apartment, nervous off my mind and wishing I'd worn something nicer. Although Danielle and Valentine scared me at first, I'd warmed up to them and realized they were pretty nice.
Their parents, though, were a whole different story.
I mean, they weren't rude or anything, but they were so... stereotypically perfect. The mom was this immaculate blond trophy wife you see in movies, and the dad kind of looked like a Mormon missionary. So even if I sat between Valerie and Lynn, whose dark, ratty outfits didn't look too different from mine, I felt out of place.
"You've grown so much, honey," Bianca, the mom, gushed for what felt like the fiftieth time as she looked at Lynn with loving eyes. "It's crazy to think that the same little girl I used to sing to sleep is turning twenty in two days."
"I'm gettin' old," Lynn chuckled, absentmindedly tracing patterns on my hand with her fingertips under the table.
I could tell she was nervous, but I don't think I'd ever seen her this happy. From how they treated her, it was clear that Lynn was like a daughter to the Albertellis. So even if I expected to simply meet some of Lynn's old friends, I ended up pretty much having lunch with her parents. Suddenly, I felt like I was in high school, meeting my first girlfriend's parents all over again.
"Did you like the food?" Bianca asked, and Lynn and I nodded in unison, making the twins laugh.
"You're synchronized and everything," Valerie smiled and lightly poked my side.
I liked both of the twins, but Valerie was my favorite. It wasn't that Danielle wasn't pleasant to be around or anything, but... I don't know. She intimidated me, I suppose. Besides, Valerie liked Star Wars and art, just like me, and we bonded over that.
"Girls, why don't you take Lynn to your room?" Joe, the father, suggested after a few minutes of meaningless chatter. "And, Gerard, can you help us with the dishes, son?"
Shit.
I knew this was just an excuse to tell me something in private, and my stomach fucking dropped. These people weren't even Lynn's parents, but I really wanted them to like me because, well... they were probably the closest I'd ever get to meeting her family.
"You don't have to if you don't want to," Lynn whispered in my ear after a few seconds of hesitant, uncomfortable silence from me. "We can tell them we gotta go."
"Yeah, sure," I nodded at Joe and Bianca and then squeezed Cherilynn's hand to reassure her I was going to be fine. "The kitchen's the door on the left, right?"
"Yes, honey. Now, girls, you go ahead and take our Cher to your room."
I watched Lynn and the twins disappear down the narrow hall of the apartment before carrying the dishes to the kitchen. With each step I took, I felt my heart beating on my balls, so it took me way longer to get there than it should've. And once I finally made it to the kitchen, I wished I'd just run out the front door while I still could.
Bianca and Joe were standing with their arms crossed and tiny, sad smiles by the sink. It looked like a scene straight out of a horror movie, to be honest. But I held my breath and made my way over to the couple, stopping awkwardly once I reached them.
"I know you're probably scared out of your wits right now, son," Joe said, offering me a smile as he put a hand on my shoulder, only making me even more nervous. "But we really need to talk to you."
All I could do was nod and awkwardly stare up at Joe, who towered over me.
"Cherilynn's like a daughter to us," he continued, "her father was my wife's best friend, and she and our girls grew up together. But after her dad... has she told you about her dad?"
"I... yes; he was murdered."
Bianca and Joe solemnly nodded. I knew I was probably too blunt, but my brain was too preoccupied with trying to convince me not to run out of the kitchen to think of a more sensible way to say it.
"He was a wonderful, wonderful dad," Bianca sighed, and I simply kept my gaze down and nodded. "But he was an addict, and he got involved with the wrong people, and... well, you can imagine the rest... Son, you're a musician, right?"
I nodded.
"Do you do drugs?"
I felt frozen in place. I mean, I didn't look like a junkie- or, at least, I didn't think I did. But would they be able to tell I was lying if I told them I'd never tried drugs? I'd tried coke a few times, but that was it, really. I wasn't addicted or anything.
"I was a roadie," Joe gave me a tight-lipped smile as he put a hand on my shoulder. "I know that the whole "sex, drugs, and rock n' roll" thing isn't always true. But, most of the time, it is. So be honest with me, kid."
"I... no," I quietly said, and the Albertellis sighed in relief. I felt like I was being interrogated by the police. "I don't do drugs, no."
"Do you drink?"
Oh...
"Only sometimes, sir," I lied.
I felt like the scum of Earth for lying, but I wasn't about to go, "oh, yeah, today's actually the only day I've been completely sober in the last two months." I knew that Joe and his wife couldn't control Lynn- since they weren't even their parents- but I was terrified she'd leave me if they didn't approve of me.
"I really don't care what you do with your life, Gerard," Joe sighed as if he hadn't been asking pretty intrusive questions just seconds ago. "But Cher, she... did she tell you about the time she was institutionalized?"
Lynn insisted she'd told me everything there was to know about her past, but she'd never even mentioned this. And as I watched the heartbroken expression on the Albertellis' faces as I shook my head, my stomach dropped. Her past didn't change my feelings for her, but all the shit she had to go through when she was just a kid broke my heart.
"Cherilynn's dad died when she was ten, and her mom..." Joe started, and I noticed Bianca scrunch up her nose at the mention of Lynn's mom. "That woman shouldn't even be called a mother. So we pretty much raised Cher since the day her dad died, and we tried our best- we really did."
I could tell that, more than convincing me that they'd done all they could, Joe was convincing himself.
"But she didn't live with us, so there was no way of knowing where she was at night... And I guess we should've stepped up the first time she came drunk, stumbling into our house at one in the morning on a school night, or when we noticed she reeked of weed and cigarettes."
I genuinely didn't know how to react. All I could do was stand there, still holding the dirty dishes, as I watched the couple hold back tears. Dude, meeting your girlfriend's parents for the first time is nerve-wracking, but having them tell you such personal, emotional shit is even worse. I didn't want them to think I was a heartless asshole, but before I could even rack my brain for something to say, Joe started talking again.
"But she was sixteen, Gerard," Joe sighed, desperation clear in his voice. "We would've never imagined that the sweet little girl that somehow got straight A's and managed to be on top of her class was shooting up heroin and getting black-out drunk every night. Although now that I look back at it, we should've been more attentive because both of her parents are addicts, for Christ's sake!"
"She... she barely even drinks anymore," I quietly mumbled as I finally unglued my gaze from my shoes. "She's doing really well."
"I can tell... but I'm still worried because not even five years ago, we had to send her off to a rehab facility." Oh, so this was what he was referring to when he said she was institutionalized. "One day she came knocking on our door at one in the morning, and we didn't think anything of it because she'd done this before. But when we opened the door... my God. My sweet girl was sobbing and black and blue all over. So that same day, without her mother's permission, since she was too high to consent, we sent her off to rehab."
"What... what happened to her?" I gulped.
"She says she doesn't remember," Bianca shrugged, looking at me with a sympathetic smile. "And sometimes I think that maybe it's for the better. Because, if the fractured memories she has made her have to start taking sleeping pills, I don't know what would've happened to my baby if she remembered the whole thing."
"I know Cherilynn's an adult, and she can make her own choices," Bianca finally took the plates from me and put them on the sink before putting her pale, manicured hand on my shoulder. "But if you shoot up, please don't let her notice. You're in the music scene, and I know it's hard to resist temptation, but... if you really want to be with her, please try to stay clean."
"I promise I will."
She hadn't mentioned alcohol, pills, or cocaine, so... technically, I wasn't making fake promises, right? Besides, I knew that no matter what shit I got into, I would never encourage Lynn to try it too. That "you can't really love someone if you don't love yourself" thing my mom had always said to me was bullshit. Because I couldn't give fewer shits about how I was probably giving myself a premature liver failure, but it would kill me to see Lynn start turning into me.
"You seem like a good kid, son," Joe smiled, and I mirrored it, the praise making my heart gradually slow down. "When... if things get hard again, don't let Cher become a stranger, okay? Now, I'm sorry for holding you back. The girls are in the bedroom down the hall; go on."
Joe patted me on the shoulder, and Bianca pulled me into a tight, motherly hug, which I awkwardly returned before making my way out of the kitchen. I was too conflicted trying to process everything that just happened to even notice at first. But as I picked up my gaze, I noticed Lynn leaning against the wall beside the door, looking down while the twins stared with solemn expressions from the dining table.
"Still want to kiss me?" Lynn chuckled humorlessly, her curtain of blond hair covering her face as she spoke. "You better have your wallet ready 'cause you owe me fifty."
The twins took the hint that this was a personal moment, so they left. And once they were out of sight, I took Lynn's hand and guided her onto the fire escape. I needed some air, and the apartment was tiny, so this was probably the only place where we could have some privacy.
Lynn sighed and wearily sat on the cold iron stairs, resting her chin on her knees as I leaned against the railing. We stayed in silence for a few minutes, the chattering of the people below and the cars that drove by turning into a cacophony as loud as our thoughts. I looked away from the crowded streets and to Cherilynn, who was bunching the bottom of her sweater- my sweater, which she'd borrowed- between her hands before finally sitting beside her.
"Hey," I tucked some strands of hair behind her ear so that I could see her pretty face. "I still like you."
"Look, man," she pushed my hand away and sighed. "I don't want your fifty bucks anymore, so you can just drop the act."
"You think this is an act?" I kissed both of her cheeks.
"Or this?" I intertwined my hands with hers and kissed every single one of her knuckles.
"And what about this?"
I cupped her cheek and slowly inched closer until I could feel her warm breath on my lips. Lynn wrapped her arms around my neck and lightly tugged at my nape as she ran her other hand through my hair. There was nothing I wanted more than to finally kiss her, but I was waiting for a sign to continue.
"You gonna kiss me or what, Way?" She devilishly grinned and gave my hair a tug. And that was all the motivation I needed to finally close the gap between us.
Cherilynn's lips were plump and slightly chapped. The taste of her cherry lipgloss was addicting, and though I knew it would smear and we would both end up looking like the Joker, I didn't care. I pulled her close until our chests were touching, our hearts beating in unison as we finally set free from all the passion and desire we'd been holding in for months.
As she tilted her head to deepen the kiss, I knew this was an endgame. With just one kiss, Lynn managed to take my heart and stuff it in her pocket. And as she climbed onto my lap, her lips not leaving mine, I realized I never wanted to be apart from this woman. Like a pretty-faced drug, she came into my life when I least expected it, and now just the thought of not having her made my heart drop.
"Hey, shouldn't we start heading out for the show- oh my God."
Of course, nothing lasts forever.
Lynn and I pulled away and whipped our heads towards the window, where Valentine looked traumatized. And I didn't blame her, because I would've honestly reacted the same way if I were her. I mean, if my childhood best friend had lunch with my family after not seeing her for years, and then I found her on a guy's lap with her hair disheveled and lipstick smeared all over her and her guy's faces, I'd probably be pretty damn traumatized.
"You guys really couldn't wait, could you?" Danielle teasingly called out as she walked past her sister and towards the kitchen.
"Piss off!" Lynn whined, pecking my lips one last time before getting off my lap. "And, yeah, we should probably get going."
"Aren't you gonna fix your face first?"
"Yeah," Lynn stuck out her tongue at Danielle and then beckoned me to follow her. "C'mon, Gee. Bathroom's over here."
As I walked past her, Danielle gave me an approving nod, and I couldn't help but laugh. The twins could be kind of annoying, but I liked them. Besides, I was still too captivated by the kiss to feel anything besides happiness... and slight horniness because the hairpulling really did things to me.
"Guess I won, hm?" I hummed, sitting on the closed toilet seat as Lynn cleaned my face. "What happened to little miss "I never lose a bet"?"
"Don't get too cocky; it was beginner's luck."
"Oh, yeah? Well, bet you can't beat me to the door."
"You're on, Way."