Archive of Our Own ^beta

Gerard dropped the tray down with a clatter and rubbed at his eyes. Marcia gave him a sympathetic look through the window from the kitchen to the dining hall.

“Stay up all day partying?” she asked, sliding the tray and its assortment of dishes into the dish pit. “I tell you, if you are going to work a graveyard shift you need to stop having a life.”

“They didn’t mention that in the contract,” he said, giving a hopeful stab at banter. It wasn’t great, but Marcia never expected much from him so she grinned and nodded, before moving back to the stove top. 

The two of them were the only ones working at the singular diner in this small town in Middle-of-Nowhere-Massachusetts. There weren’t many customers, particularly at night, hence why it was only the two of them. That would have been hell if the two of them didn’t get along, given that they worked together almost every night, but Gerard really liked Marcia. Marcia was a sweet pre-med student who was taking online courses for her degree during the day and working at the diner at night to pay for it. Or so she had told Gerard in the many nights they worked together since Gerard first got hired on. She had been patient with him as he stumbled his way through every social interaction he had, finding it more endearing than anything else.

Their boss wasn’t fond of Gerard but he wasn’t ever here for the graveyard shifts so it didn’t matter much. He could peacefully slog his way through his shift without worrying about an overly judgemental and paranoid 60 year old man glaring at him and nitpicking his every little action. Marcia told him that he was like that with everyone and not to worry too much Gerard couldn’t help it. Even still, Gerard was thankful for Marcia.

She also had to put up with Gerard on nights like tonight when he hadn’t gotten the chance to … eat in days and was more a walking zombie than anything else. His entire body ached from the stress of having to drag it from room to room, bus tables, and wash the dishes. She had thrown a few concerned looks his way and he shrugged them off with a tight lipped smile. 

But the truth was he was hanging on by a thread. This small town was sucking the life out of him, but he couldn’t leave. Him and his brother had lived here forever, it felt like. Their parents had passed away a while ago and they were moved up here to be raised by their aunt. Then she was killed and Gerard didn’t have the heart(or the money) to move them from the only place they had known their entire lives. Even if they might be safer.

The truth was that most big cities would probably be safer for them in the long run. Small towns like this put too much stock in local myths and legends, like monsters that lurked in the forest. Some people didn’t believe in all the hubbub and were generally well adjusted people, like Marcia, but a lot of them were not. A lot of them kept stakes under their pillows just for people like Gerard and his little brother. 

Gerard shuddered at the thought of Mikey, laying on the ground in a puddle of his own blood, a stake through his heart. He tried to brush away the image as it threatened to make his lungs constrict to the point that they wouldn’t open again. 

But what else could they do? Gerard didn’t have enough money for a big move and he didn’t know where else to go. They couldn’t very well just hop on the next train out of there and assume they wouldn’t be found out or run out of money or starve or-

“Hello?” Marcia’s hand waving in front of his eyes brought Gerard back to the present with a harsh crash. “Earth to Gerard? You have a customer.”

Gerard spun around and felt a smile tug at his lips when he saw who it was. 

He was not a social creature, not in the slightest. His brother loved interacting with others. Gerard had talked to maybe four people since their aunt died:  Mikey, Marcia, and, on occasion, the handsome young man and his friend who came into the diner at nearly 2 in the morning every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Just like they were doing now.

“A whiskey on the rocks?” asked Gerard, setting down menus that were all but useless in front of the pair. Frank, his handsome stranger, grinned. 

“‘Course. It's been a long night. Give Ray here a double. Maybe it will help with the stick up his ass.”

Ray glared at him across the table and made an indignant sound. 

“Just because I said we should actually work on the set list instead of dicking around doesn’t mean I have a stick up -”

Gerard walked out of earshot for a minute to grab their drinks. The diner only had three different choices for drinks. Ray always got Pepsi and Frank got root beer (which had always struck Gerard as a little strange. He didn’t expect guys in bands with badass lip piercings and tattoos all up his arms to drink Mug fucking root beer but you take what you can get he supposed). On top of that, they would each drink four glasses a piece before they were done.

When he got back to the table Ray and Frank were still bickering but if it was about something different Gerard couldn’t tell. 

“Gerard agrees with me,” snapped Frank. “Don’t you?”

“Nope,” said Gerard, easily. “You are usually wrong aren’t you.”

Ray gave Frank a smug smile. Frank glowered. 

“You’re supposed to be on my side for this!” he snapped. “Just because I don’t want to have orders yelled in my face doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate the band and work my ass off on it!”

“So more rehearsal tonight?” asked Gerard. Frank slid over and Gerard took that as his invitation to sit down. This was usually how it went nowadays, Gerard coming over and joining whatever conversation/fight/argument they were having. It was a nice sort of routine and a good way to kill the slowest hours of the night.

“If you can call it that.” Ray snorted and took a big gulp of his drink. “Frank wasn’t having any of it.”

“I don’t take orders from them. And they love ordering people around. You and I should start our own fucking band.”

“Is that what you have rather done tonight?” asked Gerard, stealing a sip of Ray’s soda. Ray never cared, he was far too relaxed for his own good. “Starting your own band?”

“I would have preferred to run through the forest in the dead of night than sit through that.”

“What are you going to do in the forest?” snorted Ray, reclaiming his drink. “Hunt vampires?”

Frank immediately snapped at Ray who responded with a quip of his own but Gerard couldn’t hear any of it. His senses had frozen. Where had they gotten the idea of vampires from? Was that a barbed comment? It was a joke. They were always joking. 

Gerard and Mikey were the oddballs in the town. Yes they had lived here their whole lives but things had changed after their aunt died. They had moved to an old shack on the edges of town, for both the rent and the privacy. Mikey did an okay job of pretending to be normal. That is half of why Gerard made sure that his brother always had enough to eat. The added strength allowed him to spend a little time outside, especially if it was early morning or later in the evening. Mikey would never be suspected as to being a creature from the folktales because he was too friendly and too goddamn energetic sometimes. 

Gerard on the other hand… He had been introverted before but now most people didn’t see him on even a monthly basis. He knew he was pale as a ghost most of the time and looked hollowed from the inside out. If there was ever a good suspect for the monster that lived under the village kids’ beds it would be Gerard.

“-ven if they were real that would be cool!” Frank was saying. It took Gerard a minute to realize they had moved from talking about whether or not vampires were real to what they would do if they met one. 

“I dunno man. They could kill you in an instant. Have you met anyone who has actually seen a vampire and lived to tell the tale?” Ray was always skeptical, particularly of Frank. 

“No but that doesn’t mean they don’t exist. I bet I could take a vampire in a fight.” Frank flexed his arms in the dramatic way that always got Gerard to smile, tattoos moving along his biceps. 

“Yeah? With what your guitar?” Ray snorted into his drink. “Maybe the sounds you make with it.”

Frank made a rude gesture in Ray’s direction. 

“No but seriously it would be cool to meet one. If they are real and all that. I wonder what they are like.”

Gerard and Ray both gave Frank an astounded look, for very different reasons. 

“Man,” started Ray, sighing heavily. “I don’t know what I’m going to do with you sometimes.”

A loud bang came from the kitchen and the trio turned to see Marcia glaring at them, unimpressed. 

“If you would like to eat tonight, a certain server needs to remember they are on the clock right now and that I can’t magically read minds to make you what you want!” She gave Gerard a pointed look. He jumped to his feet. Marcia was nice yes, and she put up with a lot yes, but she was not willing to let business go to waste because Gerard had a small crush. 

“Sorry,” stammered Gerard, going for the pocket of his apron where the small notepad was kept.

“Chill man,” said Ray. “It’s this one’s fault for distracting you from your job.” He jerked a thumb at Frank. “I am starving though. And if we don’t eat soon then we are going to be up all night.”

Frank looked like he wanted to argue but the thought of food was too enticing. They both ordered their usual and Gerard ran back to the kitchen to relay to Marcia, who probably heard exactly what they wanted but he wanted to get back in her good graces. 

“Great. Now you can go back to chatting it up with your friends.”

“Thank you,” he said before ducking back to Frank and Ray. 

They continued their conversation. Gerard got to gush over Frank’s new tattoo across his knuckles (“cause my birthday is Halloween you know!”) and they showed Gerard their new track for the song they had been rehearsing (“The bridge is really good but isn’t your singer a bit pitchy?” “That’s exactly what I’ve been saying!”). Gerard ran to grab their food when Marcia rang the bell and the two band members ate quickly. 

“God this food never gets old,” said Frank, leaning back in the booth. 

“That’s just because you don’t eat while you rehearse. Anything will taste good.” But Ray had also finished his plate without a complaint. 

“I’d love to hear you play,” said Gerard, somewhat wistfully. “Even if your singer is pitchy.”

“Why don’t you sing for the band then,” snorted Ray.

“You could come to rehearsal,” added Frank. Gerard perked up. “If you wanted. I’m sure the guys wouldn’t mind. We rarely get the chance to have an audience in the middle of nowhere.” Gerard looked between Frank and Ray, who was nodding encouragingly. Frank grabbed a napkin and pulled a pen out of of his pocket. When it didn’t work he reached for Ray who handed over his pen. Frank scribbled out an address and held it out to Gerard. 

He took the napkin and met Frank’s gaze. The young man was grinning impishly in a way that made Gerard’s heart flutter. 

“Drop by anytime. Thursday, Friday, or Saturday night we will definitely be there. Otherwise I’m sure we can have an impromptu practice.”

“There is no way-”

Frank waved off Ray’s concern. 

They left shortly later and then Gerard had to go about cleaning up and prepping for the morning staff. They had to prep a ton of food, slicing vegetables, packing burger patties, cleaning down every available surface and taking care of all the chores the day shift didn’t have time for. The slower the evening the more Marcia made sure they got done. Marcia and him worked hard as they came to the end of the ten hour shift. But even as Gerard was walking out of the diner, arms like lead, and back aching, he couldn’t stop grinning. He pulled the carefully folded napkin out of his pocket and looked at the address again. His grin didn’t fade even as he stopped in at the butcher’s to pick up some blood or when he stumbled into their house and was met with a zombie-like Mikey.

“What’s got you in such a good mood?” he mumbled. Gerard set down a bottle on the table in front of him. Mikey took it and immediately broke it open, taking a big gulp. “Thanks.”

“No problem. And if you actually care… that really cute guy came back.” Gerard grinned wide, flopping down in the kitchen table across from his brother.

“Gee you say that like it doesn’t come in almost every night.”

“Those shifts are miserable. Long and miserable. Marcia is nice but we run out of things to talk about. Its so nice to see him and hear him talk. And! He invited me to come listen to his band. I even got his number and address.”

He slapped the napkin down in front of Mikey who looked on, unimpressed.

“And? Are you going to go?”

“Well it happens at night so maybe.”

“That isn’t the only problem.” Gerard gave Mikey a confused look. Mikey huffed in exasperation. “You never go out Gerard! You aren’t even attempting to lead any sort of life. I doubt you are actually going to take this opportunity and go hang out with people.”

Gerard’s eye narrowed and he crossed his arms. “Fuck you Mikey. Honestly. I will go out. Tomorrow is Friday so I’ll be going here for their rehearsal.”

He snatched up his napkin and stumbled back to his bedroom, flipping Mikey off as he went. He collapsed in bed, already thrilled for tomorrow night.

*******

Gerard slept through most of the day as usual before sketching for a little while. Sketching was the only hobby he really had left after their aunt died and even that he rarely did. He went to work as usual and showed Marcia some of his sketches(the ones that weren’t of Frank because wow fucking embarrassing. Frank just had good bone structure, very fun to draw). Frank and Ray didn’t come in that night but he was sustained by the thought of seeing them the following day.

When he got home from work Friday morning he sent a message to Frank, confirming the date and time. Frank had just sent him a thumbs up and Gerard tried not to overthink it. He really needed to interact with people more.

Gerard slept decently well and got ready just in time to leave for their drummer’s house. Right as he left, Frank sent him another text. It simply said excited to see you. hope you like it.

The sun was fully set by the time he got to the drummer’s house. A nice older lady let him in and offered him a drink that he politely declined. She was in a very good mood saying it was good for those boys to get an audience. Gerard grinned and found his way down to the basement.

The basement was a mess. All of the furniture had been crammed against one wall to make room for tangles of cables, amps, mixing equipment, all of which was falling apart. The band was all down there, tuning and joking around. Gerard froze in the doorway, trying to blend into the wall. One of the guys gave him a look and elbowed the guy next to him. Frank turned his gorgeous brown eyes on him and his smile widened. He threw a guitar pick at Ray who looked up and gave Gerard a beaming smile. He mouthed you came! and Gerard nodded, feeling some of his anxiety ease. His gaze slid back to Frank who was tripping over all of their equipment to get over to him.

“Gerard! Come in sit down man.” Frank set his guitar down and went over to the furniture that had been haphazardly shoved against the wall. He pulled out a big cushioned armchair and turned it to face them. “This one is my favorite,” he said with a conspiratorial grin. Gerard took the seat with a quiet thank you and watched as they got ready and finished their tuning.

“Alright,” said the singer, taking the mic. “We are gonna do this like we are running a show so just let it happen alright? We haven’t had a real audience before so bear with us.”

Gerard nodded and gave them a thumbs up.

The singer introduced the band before they launched into their first song. The set was a full 45 minutes with little breaks in between to introduce the members and for bits of banter. By the halfway mark, Gerard was completely in it, bobbing along and humming along with the chorus. They were very good. He was a little in love with the drummer, the drum line felt so incredibly good. He could feel it thrumming in his blood. The singer was okay but whenever Frank sang backup, Gerard’s heart skipped a beat. It was so rough and ragged Gerard didn’t expect to like it as much as he did.

When the set was over Gerard was a little disappointed. He had to go to work now and that sounded miserable. Especially after the music he was just enjoying.

He clapped as loud as he could when they finished. The guys all grinned at each other, slapping each other on the back. The drummer called the singer over with a set of notes and the bassist went to Ray and told a very dirty joke and Gerard didn’t want to hear and Frank walked over to him.

“So what’d you think?”

“It was amazing,” gushed Gerard, trying to keep his cool. Mikey would have said it was lovesickness but Gerard didn’t think he had been able to enjoy good music in a long time. The Approved Diner Soundtrack didn’t cut it. “I loved it. I think the fourth song was my favorite. I loved the baseline and your vocals, god it was all so good. You guys really have so much potential. When do you start playing in the clubs?”

Frank grinned and went a little red in the face. “I dunno if we are ready for that yet but thanks. Any critiques?" Gerard pursed his lips. “C’mon I know we aren’t perfect and you really have an ear for this stuff man I want to hear it.”

Gerard thought for a minute. “The last song on your set list could use some work. The melody wasn’t quite right. Maybe if you tried…”

He hummed for a minute before singing a few bars with an alternated melody.

“I feel like it fits your lyrics better. But that’s just me.”

Frank nodded and jotted something down on his notebook.

“No no I like that a lot. God I love your voice. Anything else?”

Gerard gave a couple more notes and Frank made him sing every time. Gerard’s hear fluttered with every request and every compliment, even if they were quick.

“Fuck I’m going to be late for work,” muttered Gerard, checking his phone. “Sorry can we continue this later?”

“Yeah absolutely,” said Frank, flipping through his notes. “I’d love that. I’ll bring these up with the band. Maybe they will actually listen to me for once.” He rolled his eyes before turning that quirked grin back on Gerard. “I’ll text you later?”

“Yeah. Yeah I’d enjoy that.”

Gerard thanked the band one more time, and then left as quickly as he had come.

The night air felt good in contrast to the sweltering basement and he soaked it in. Frank was going to talk to him later. Text him even. Maybe that would make his shift a little less miserable.

Gerard was so wrapped up in his own fantasy that he didn’t realize he was being followed until it was too late.

“Hey freak!”

Gerard flinched and turned to see the village assholes running to catch up with him. He quickened his pace but they caught up anyway. The broad shouldered blonde kid, Jack, slung an arm around his shoulders.

“You are actually out in the world. Isn’t that weird?”

Gerard could only catch glimpses of Jack’s smirk when they passed under streetlamps which was not helping the growing fear in the pit of his stomach.

“I-I guess. Just work a lot man.”

“Yeah at night. No one ever sees you eat. Or out during the day. You live in a shack at the edge of the woods, the most dangerous part of town. The only time you are seen is when you are buying animal blood from the butcher. Does any of this seem suspicious to you?”

Gerard gave a jerky shrug. “No? I just don’t have time to go out and a graveyard shift gives a lot of money-”

“See some of us,” cut in Jack, arm tightening around Gerard. “Think there is something up with you. And we don’t want anyone in this town to get hurt by the monsters that lurk in the forest. So you better tell us what your deal is or,” he pulled open his coat like a fucking drug dealer, revealing a length of pointed wood.

Gerard wasn’t even sure wooden stakes were a real thing that killed vampires but he didn’t want to find out. He also figured getting stabbed with a length of wood in general would just be bad and best avoided.

“I don’t know what you mean by that I’m not a-”

Jack shoved him hard. Gerard stumbled and fell to his knees, scraping his palms. He hissed at the flare of pain before swallowing it back. A foot slammed into his back, knocking him flat and then the point of the stake was pressed to his back, where his heart would be. Gerard felt his throat tighten. There was no way he could fight all of them and make it out alive. He knew these people were superstitious but they wouldn’t actually kill him. Right?

“C’mon just tell us what kind of creature you are. My bet is a vampire and I actually put money on it. Don’t let me down now.”

Gerard jerked and rolled, swatting the stake away. Panic was pounding in his chest. He twisted to his feet only to be met with a fist swinging toward his head. His reflexes kicked in and Gerard ducked with inhuman speed. He jumped back, already trying to figure out where he could run to that would be safe. Only when he landed did he realize he broke focus long enough for his fangs to drop.

They all stared at one another for a long minute before Gerard took off as fast as he could away from them. They reacted only a second later, racing to catch up.

Here was the thing about vampires. Yes, they were physically stronger. Yes, after the transformation him and Mikey ended up breaking a lot of furniture, dishes, and other miscellaneous things and it was horribly annoying. They could also run faster than humans but only if they were fully healthy. Gerard had been giving Mikey all of the blood he managed to siphon away from the diner and buy from the butcher. Mikey actually went out during the day and could resist the sun if he ate frequently enough. Gerard didn’t have to do that so he ate as little as possible. It might be a full week now he has gone without drinking blood and that was getting a little long for him. That was why he was so tired. That was why he was slowing down.

He took a sharp turn, glad they were near the forest and tried to lose himself in the trees. Unfortunately, his uncoordinated thundering footsteps gave him away. Jack stayed right on his heels, should obscenities and curses and all the things he would do to Gerard when he caught him. He was like a hunter chasing after a particularity stubborn rabbit, knife hefted and ready to cut it to pieces. His lackeys were right on his heels, spitting the same awful curses. And the worst part is they sounded almost gleeful.

"We are going to get you, you fucking freak!”

“Lets drain you of your blood, see how you like it!”

“Ready to have your head put on a stick?”

“You won’t even get sent to heaven because you are an unholy creature. Tell me how hell is!”

Gerard’s foot caught a tree root and he went sprawling. he didn’t even have the time to panic before they were on him pinning him down. He clawed up, untrimmed nails raking across their arms and faces. But there were too many of them and they got his hands pinned down. Jack sat down on his chest, forcing all the air out of Gerard’s lungs and pinning him to the hard forest ground. Jack hoisted the stake above his head.

“Lets see if this works. Monster,” he spat. Then he brought the stake down hard into the center of Gerard’s chest.

An ear piercing scream ripped out of him as the wood buried itself deep in his chest. He didn’t dissolve on impact like what happened in Buffy the Vampire Slayer which was his only fucking point of reference. It hurt so much worse than he had been expecting.E very minute movement pulled the stake inside him and the splinters caught on his flesh and muscle making the injury burn. Tears slipped down his face and he couldn’t seem to stop screaming.

“Aww fuck does this mean he’s not a vampire"?” asked Jack.

“Then you owe me $30 man,” said his buddy who was holding his arm. Jack sighed heavily.

“But you saw the fangs man.”

“Other creatures have fangs”

“Hold on this could still kill him,” said Jack hefting the stake again. He slammed it down again lower on Gerard’s chest. It still burned like hell and ripped another weak cry out of him but people hardly acknowledged him. Did they all already know this was going to happen? Why were they doing this?

Blood loss made Gerard’s head fuzzy. he tried to twitch weakly against his captors but it was all too much. The pain the blood the exhaustion. Too much.

Just as he was coming to terms with his own death Jack spoke again.

“We can go find it’s brother next.”

The smile that traced his face sickened Gerard. He gave one last pathetic shove as more tears slid down his face.

Don’t hurt Mikey he thought weakly. He didn’t do anything please.

But he didn’t have the strength to fight them. All he could do was watch as Jack brought the stake down again and Gerard’s vision cut to black.

*******

Gerard came to slowly. His entire body was aching horribly. He was used to waking up and feeling shitty but this was a whole other level. Pain burned across his torso, his throat, and his vision swam as he found the strength to peel his eyes open. That and he was so stiff he couldn’t move-

No.

Gerard flexed his arms, tugging with all his might.

All he got was a horrible burning sensation lancing through his wrists, up his arms, wrapping around his neck. He had only felt the burn of silver once since his turning, accidentally picking up one of his aunt’s antique silver brooches. He had dropped it immediately, watching as his fingers blistered up. His healing had taken care of the injury quickly but he had been stronger at that point. Much stronger. And now he couldn’t get away.

Gerard let out a gasp of pain, blinking quickly to clear his vision. He could hear someone talking in another language; it sounded old like Latin but he was almost positive he was making that up. He jerked his heard around, the only part of him he could move. He had been tied to a wooden post in the middle of some clearing? In the woods he guessed by the familiar dense trees. They had wrapped him in silver chains, making every movement painful as they brushed parts of his exposed skin. A heavy silver collar kept his head back and pressed against the wooden spike hie was tied to. It felt embedded in his skin with how burnt and mangled the flesh was. The wounds from the wooden stake were still oozing blood, like he could afford to lose anymore at this rate. He already felt horribly woozy and weak. How much longer could he last? 

“And lastly,” continued the man who had been speaking in the ancient language. “We ask you banish creatures such as this from our forests as to not endanger us any longer.” He said a prayer, raising a lit candle in some sort of symbol. What was this a fucking exorcism? That wasn’t how this worked. They couldn’t make him any less of a monster so what would happen when that failed?

Gerard looked down at his feet which were buried in dry brush and sticks. 

Fuck.

He struggled harder, trying to find a weakness in the bonds, trying to slip his hands out or something. The rope and the chain were tied too tight and he could hardly see through the haze of tears. He didn’t want to die like this. He hadn’t done anything wrong! This wasn’t his choice and he couldn’t just leave Mikey here alone. They would be after his little brother next and he simply couldn’t let that happen. He swore to Mikey he wouldn’t leave him alone. 

Gerard didn’t even see when the priest had lowered the candle to the brush but it went up in flames quickly. Gerard shouted at the heat, panic seeping into his voice. If he thought anyone would listen he would have started begging for his life but that would get him exactly nowhere. Maybe he could die with some of his pride intact?

He didn’t want to die. Please, please, please, he thought desperately. 

But the fire was licking at his legs, flames crawling up his pants. The silver seared his skin and pain was far too much for him to handle. 

Maybe that was for the best. His consciousness slipped away with what felt like the rest of his sanity. He didn’t want to die a monster but like so many things, he didn’t have much of a choice. 

*******

Mikey wanted to kill his brother. 

Raise him right from the dead and then murder his stupid self-sacrificing ass because what the fuck?

As soon as the candle hit Gerard’s pyre he had raced forward with inhuman speed, knocking everyone out of the way. The fire had made him freeze, his subconscious telling him running into open flames was a bad idea but he ignored it. By the time he got up onto the pyre Gerard was unconscious, slumped against the ropes and the chains looking…well looking like he had died. Mikey hadn’t taken the time to process, instead tearing through the ropes like they were made of butter. His brother had made a point to keep him well fed so he was much stronger than he had ever been as a human. The problem was the silver chains. 

They burned Mikey’s skin as he grabbed at them, trying to rip them away. He hissed and pulled back at the painful sensation but immediately reached out again. A strangled yelp fell from his mouth as he fought the pain pulling with all his might. 

One of the links snapped under the pressure but not before burning away a chunk of Mikey’s hand. Still he ignored the pain and pulled his brother free. Gerard tumbled into his arms, dead to the world. Mikey scooped him up and ran. No destination in mind just away, far away. He had a backpack with some essentials in it, in case they needed to run so he was prepared to go as far as he could and never come back. He had heard about Gerard’s altercation and execution by angry mob and had only paused long enough to pack that backpack. The humans surrounding the pyre didn’t stand a chance in trying to stop him or chase after. So he just ran.

He didn’t know how far he had gotten when he finally dropped from exhaustion. The extra weight of having to carry Gerard exhausted him more than he thought it would but he couldn’t hear anyone in pursuit of them so they might be okay. The skin on his hand started to stitch back together but had halted halfway through. The strength he gained from the blood he drank this morning was already used up and he didn’t have any more.

Mikey tried to lay Gerard down gently in a softish patch of grass before collapsing down next to him. What the fuck are they going to do now?

Mikey rolled over and tried down inspect Gerard. His injuries were pretty horrible. Burns covering almost every inch of available skin. The silver collar was still latched around his throat with blood congealing and oozing out from under it. His clothes had been torn to shreds, giving the silver easier access. There were also concentrated burns around his feet and legs where the fire had gotten. His breaths were coming in horrible wheezing gasps that seem to come slower…and slower.

“Shit,” muttered Mikey. “Shit, shit shit. Why did you do this? Fuck.”

His hands scrambled and he reached to undo the latch on the collar. He almost laughed at how simple it was. They had used some rope in the ring at the back to tie his neck to the post but the latch itself just slid out of place. Mikey tried to pull the collar away but Gerard’s skin clung to it like glue. Mikey paused, swallowing back nausea and apprehension. This thing was eating away at Gerard’s skin as he waited, it needed to go. Without waiting another second he pulled.

The sound of skin sloughing off flesh hit Mikey’s senses as the horrible smell of burning flesh filled the air. He dropped the collar and clutched his hand to his stomach as he staggered away to vomit. He closed his eyes tight, trying not to think about what Gerard’s neck would look like now. It was done, it was done, it was done-

When his stomach was empty and Mikey felt like he could breath again he turned back to Gerard.

Gerard hadn’t moved.

His system had already been so overloaded that the agony of getting that much skin ripped off hadn’t been enough to rouse him. There was an indent, almost ¾ of an inch deep, carved into his neck where the collar was. The skin around it was red and blistering, some of the blistered popped and oozing pus. Mikey clamped a hand to his mouth as a strangled cry worked it’s way up his throat. Gerard looked dead. If he had still been human Mikey would be looking at his older brother’s corpse. That was too much to think about.

And he couldn’t do anything. He wouldn’t be able to move Gerard and there was no one he could call for help. How the hell did Gerard do this? Figuring it all out on his own? It was horrible and panic clamped tight in his chest. What was he going to do?

For better or worse he wasn’t alone long.

Mikey heard the tramping through the brush a second too late. A man in an old rumpled band t-shirt and blue jeans came stumbling into the clearing. His hands and arms were tatted up and his hair was dyed black and sticking up at odd angles. His eyes fell on Mikey and then slid to Gerard. Recognition flicked across his expression.

“Gerard?” he looked back at Mikey who was staring dumbfounded. “Is he okay? Wh-Why does he look like that? Fuck his neck-”

“You’re Frank,” said Mikey.

“Yeah? How’d you know?”

“My brother only talks to four people. Me, Marcia, and you as well as your band member. He’s a fuckin recluse.”

Frank nodded. “So that makes you Mikey. He talked about you a lot.” Frank shook his head and waved his hands. “That isn’t important, what happened to him?”

Frank took another step forward and Mikey let it happen. He didn’t know why. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that this was the stupid kid who made his brother so ridiculously happy. Gerard didn’t trust a whole lot of people but he trusted him. Still suspicion clawed at Mikey.

“We got into a… a little altercation ,” stammered Mikey, realizing he actually had to explain this. “He got burned and-”

“What is that?” Mikey saw where Frank was pointing at Gerard’s fangs. It took energy to retract them, energy Gerard didn’t have right now.

“Well… he um…”

“Oh shit he’s a vampire. Does that make you…?”

Mikey made a split second decision and dropped his fangs. He moved to put himself between his brother and this stranger. Gerard wheezed quietly behind him. To his credit, Frank didn’t seem scared, just surprised.

“I am and if you lay a fucking hand on him I’ll rip your fucking throat out.” He bared his fangs, trying to look more dangerous than he felt. “Are we clear?”

“I’m not gonna hurt him I swear. He obviously doesn’t need any help with that. I just didn’t realize … well vampires aren’t supposed to be real. No one believes in them in real cities so…” Frank shook his head. “It doesn’t matter he needs help. How do we help him? I have some burn cream back at my house but it feels like he might need more than that.”

“He needs blood,” said Mikey. “Then he should get better.”

At least he thought that would fix him. He didn’t have any other ideas.

“Okay well if you need blood, I can give some?” Frank said it like it wasn’t a big deal and Mikey couldn’t help but wonder how this motherfucker wasn’t dead. “I dunno how this works doesn’t he need to be awake?”

“Are you serious?” spat Mikey. This felt like some sort of sick joke. “You just learned that vampires exist in a town that hates them and your first instinct is to let one of them drink your blood? Are you batshit?”

“I mean yeah a little but that isn’t important right now. He needs help so will you let me…?”

He was right. Gerard was getting weaker by the minute. Mikey sat down next to Gerard and pulled Frank over. If Frank was stupid enough to offer Mikey wouldn’t stop him. He didn’t care about this idiot’s life. If he didn’t have any self preservation instinct that was on him. Mikey pulled a pocket knife out of his bag of supplies and held it up.

"Last chance to back out.”

Frank took the knife and dragged it down his wrist. Blood seeped out of the cut. Frank hadn’t done it deep but there should be enough blood. Mikey grabbed his wrist and forced it over to Gerard’s mouth. The blood oozed out and past Gerard’s lips.

A few minutes passed without anything changing and Mikey started to panic. What if this didn’t fix it?

Then Gerard jerked, his muscles spasming. One hand twitched and raised up, clutching at Frank’s wrist. Frank grunted as his wrist was yanked town into Gerard’s fangs. His face briefly twitched in pain but he let it happen. Mikey was starting to think Gerard wasn’t the only one in love.

Eventually Frank started to look a little woozy and pale but before Mikey could pull Gerard off, Gerard shoved the wrist away. He groaned something unintelligible, swatting at Frank.

“Is he good?” asked Frank. He tilted dangerously before catching himself. “Was that enough?”

“You can’t give anymore,” said Mikey. “And he wouldn’t forgive me if I let you die, especially if I let him kill you. We just have to get him somewhere safe to recuperate or something.”

Frank nodded, trying to blink back the haze that was working it’s way over his mind. “Where do you two live?”

“That isn’t exactly an option anymore,” admitted Mikey. Frank nodded thinking for a minute.

“Come back to my house. No one comes by ever I can keep you all hidden there for a while. I’m just some weird guitarist, people won’t look for you there.”

“Are you-”

“Yes Mikey stop. I get it you are worried but we just have to move it. I-I don’t think I can help carry him though.”

Mikey shrugged him off. He had a break. He could make it. He stood up and scooped up Gerard. The weight made him stagger a bit but it was manageable.

“Please tell me its close,” he bit out.

Frank nodded and stood. His eyes slid out of focus as he blacked out briefly but he forced himself to move. He pulled out his phone and did something quick before putting it away.

“Shouldn’t be too far. I just came out here. Patrick was pissing me off. Came home and then went out for a walk because fuck him man. Won’t be far at all.”

He wasn’t wrong. It was only ten minutes until they made it out of the woods and to the edge of town. It felt like ten years but that was beside the point. All Mikey had to do was hold on to Gerard and put one foot in front of the other.

They made it to Frank’s doorstep. It took Frank a little too long to slide the key into the lock and force their way in. The door let them into a kitchen and a living room. It was a tiny house and both rooms were crammed with a bunch of mismatched furniture.

“Just set him down…”

Frank sank into a kitchen chair, clutching at his head. Mikey dropped Gerard on the couch and collapsed next to him. His eyes slid shut. He couldn’t help it, he was so tired. He just needed a minute.

Mikey swore it had only been for a minute but then a rattling sound woke him up. He jerked up, reaching for Gerard. The mob was back and they were going to drag Gerard off and burn him alive—

A tall man with curly brown hair stepped into the house and froze. His eyes locked on Mikey and he rolled his eyes.

“Frank I swear to god just tell me you had a boy over rather than sending me out for orange juice.”

He took a few more steps in and saw Gerard. His face morphed from annoyance to confusion. Frank jerked awake from his kitchen chair.

“Ray I can explain-”

“I thought you said no one would find us!” snapped Mikey.

“Shit what happened to Gerard?”

Ray set the orange juice down on the kitchen table in front of Frank who took it and started gulping it down. Ray took a couple more steps forward before Mikey jerked in front of Gerard. Ray stopped but still stared at Gerard, inspecting his injuries.

“Mikey never told me,” Frank said before drinking down more. They both turned to look at Mikey.

“You’re Gee’s younger brother?”

Mikey nodded. Ray took in how rough a shape they were in. Even if Gerard’s burns were looking better. The blood had helped somewhat. Scabs had started forming on his neck so at least it wasn’t exposed to all the diseases in the open air. The blisters left by the silver chains were still red and inflamed but they seemed a little better. His healing ability didn’t seem to know what to start with but at least he was getting better.

“I don’t know what happened but they found out about him and took him out into the forest to exorcise him or something,” tried Mikey.

“Found out about him?”

Frank set the juice carton down. “They are vampires Ray.”

Ray’s eyebrows shot so far that they vanished into his thick curls.

“Ah.”

Something in Mikey snapped. “That’s it? Just ah? If you are going to turn us in to the angry mob that tried to burn him at the stake just tell me now and make it a fair fucking fight!” shouted Mikey. “I know you feel some kind of way because everyone in this town is scared of us.”

“Back up burned at the stake?” asked Ray.

“We aren’t scared because its Gerard man!” cut in Frank. He had finally stopped chugging the orange juice and some color had returned to his face. “We have been talking with him for months now. He is sweet and funny and awkward and doesn’t know how to talk to people. He isn’t gonna hurt anyone and he seems to need help. So just let us fucking help.” Frank slumped back in his chair and glared at Mikey, as if he was going to intimidate the kid into accepting help.

“Yeah I second all of that but burned at the stake?” Ray’s voice had a note of panic in it now. “Who-?”

“Someone must have found out about what he was because he didn’t come home this morning and so I went out looking and heard that they were trying to exorcise him in the forest. They had him strung up with silver and tried to burn him alive. I got him out of there but he wasn’t healing because I don’t think he’s eaten in weeks. That’s why we both look so rough because I wasn’t fucking strong enough to get him somewhere safe and then Frank found us and…”

He trailed off. Self-hatred was eating him alive, thinking about he had failed to get Gerard to safety by himself. If Frank hadn’t found them and offered his blood, Gerard would have died out there.

“I let Gerard have some of my blood so that he could start healing again,” said Frank, as if he went to the store to pick up milk. “Hence juice. Then we made it back and crashed.”

Ray didn’t seem phased his best friend let a vampire drink his blood. That was even more concerning than if he had been concerned if Mikey was honest.

“We don’t drink human blood,” said Mikey quickly. “This is the only time Gee has and I never have. Animal blood works fine to keep us alive. He insisted on it from the begining. I don’t know how he would react if he learned… The point is this isn’t normal. He isn’t a monster.”

“I believe you,” said Ray, gently. He offered a comforting smile. “I just want to help. Can we-”

“-key.”

Everyone turned to stare at the figure on the couch who hadn’t moved in who knows how long. Gerard twitched, eyes not yet open.

“Mikey-” croaked out Gerard. He took in a shuddering breath like the effort was tantamount to moving pyramids.

“I’m here,” said Mikey , taking his brother’s hand in his own. “I’m here Gee. Are you okay?”

“Hurts,” groaned Gerard. He clawed at his chest and his fingers came back bloody.

“Fuck!” Mikey lurched forward, pulling back Gerard’s shirt to see gaping holes in his chest. His clothes had been so twisted and Mikey had been so preoccupied with he burns he hadn’t realized he had holes in his chest. And if this was after eating they had to have been much worse before. “What did those sick fucks do to you?”

“Stake.” Gerard spat the word like a curse, hands still digging into the wounds.

“Stop that you are going to hurt yourself!” Mikey was on the verge of tears. He was still exhausted, today was too much.

“Hey woah stop.” Ray came over and gently pulled Mikey back while Frank held Gerard’s hands in place. “You are exhausted hang on we can help. Let us help.”

Tears slid down Mikey’s cheeks and he let Ray pull him away. He couldn’t do this anymore. His body was shutting down. He couldn’t do this anymore.

Mikey went limp in Ray’s arms, making the taller man groan. Mikey could vaguely hear the two of them talking before Ray continued to pull him away.

They were as safe as they could be. Mikey couldn’t do this anymore. He gave in and let the world fade to black.

*******

“Hey woah stay with me here buddy.”

That voice was familiar. Gerard couldn’t remember where he recognized it from but it was definitely familiar. He groaned and peeled his eyes open to see a familiar scorpion tattoo. Frank’s eyes flicked to his face and then back down again.

“There you are. Now stay with me. I know it hurts but we gotta keep you here or else Mikey is going to freak.”

It took another minute for Gerard to realize his shirt was off and Frank was bandaging up the gaping hole in his chest. He tried to shrink on himself but Frank put a firm hand on his shoulder to keep him down.

“Stop I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing. Be still for just another minute.”

Gerard nodded sluggishly and let Frank finish applying the bandage.

“‘s Mikey okay?”

Frank winced. “He is pretty out of it. Started having a nervous breakdown so Ray took him into the other room to calm him down a bit and get him to sleep. Ray wanted to figure out how you all procure your…food so he could get some. The kid has been running himself ragged and doesn’t look to hot.”

Gerard must have let the pain show through on his features because Frank quickly started again.

“But he’s gonna be okay. I promise. You two are safe here. We will figure this out.”

Gerard nodded, trying to feel comforted. But there was something still nagging at him.

Then he realized something.

“What did Mikey tell you?” he asked, nervously.

“How much do you remember?”

Frighteningly little but he didn’t want to admit that. Supposedly the human brain blocked traumatic memories and if the only thing he could remember since leaving Frank’s band in the basement was fire and the priest chanting in Latin, things had not gone well. Gerard just stayed quiet and waited for Frank to answer his question. Frank sighed.

“Everything. He explained everything. To me and Ray. That is who he is with right now. He explained that y’all are… vampires. Which is totally fine I don’t care, unless you try to drink my blood or something. Well-”

Gerard thought back and realized something. He had fed. Recently. Since the attempted exorcism or whatever the fuck that had been. And he remembered Frank. Remembered eating.

“Shit,” muttered Gerard. “Shit. I didn’t mean-”

“It’s fine, I offered.”

“Why would you do a stupid thing like that?” Gerard knew he was slurring when he said that but Frank’s expression told him he got the point across. “I don’t- I shouldn’t-”

“You were gonna die Gerard. I know the two of you don’t feed off of humans Mikey explained that to us. But it was just a one time thing because otherwise you would have died. I’m all good now though. A little dizzy still but fine.”

Gerard wanted to apologize until the day he died but Frank taped off the last bandage and moved to help ease Gerard up. Gerard groaned and probably would have collapsed back if Frank didn’t have a steadying hand on his back. He finally got upright and blinked back the black spots. As part of his medical supplies Frank had an old t-shirt that he helped Gerard slip into. It was nice and clean even if Gerard still felt filthy. Not like he had the energy to do anything about that right now. He slumped against Frank and let his eyes fall shut.

“Thank you Frankie,” he whispered. “You didn’t have to.”

“I know but I’m fond of you, you fucking hermit. I like having you around. Even if you are the monster at the end of the book.” He chuckled and Gerard couldn't find it in himself to be hurt by that.

“Y-Yeah. I guess so.”

They sat like that for another moment before Frank nudged him. Gerard jerked up, embarrassment washing his face. They were friends but not like this. Gerard shouldn’t be dozing off on his friend’s chest that was weird and-”

“We gotta look at your neck man. Then we can take a nap, promise.” Frank’s smile was genuine and comforting and felt like the warmth of the sun that Gerard hadn’t seen in far too long. He tried to push the embarrassment off his face with mild success and tilted his head back.

Frank’s calloused hands ran gently over the forming scabs. He took the damp washcloth he must have used to clean around the holes in his chest and started dabbing at the wound. Gerard hissed in pain and Frank paused.

“‘s okay,” he slurred. “It’s gonna hurt. Sorry.”

Frank hummed and continued, cleaning away the blood. By the end Gerard’s face was damp with tears and his breaths were coming in short, shuddering gasps.

“I don’t know if I want to wrap this up I feel like the gauze will just get stuck in the wounds,” he admitted. “But I have some antiseptic. It’s just gonna hurt.”

He didn’t sound pitying, just sad. Like he was upset that Gerard had to endure more than he already had. The fact that there was someone besides his brother who didn’t want to hurt him was comforting to say the least.

“Whatever you have to do,” said Gerard, hoping he sounded braver than he felt.

Frank doused a clean washcloth with antiseptic and pressed it up against Gerard’s neck. Gerard whimpered and tried to stay still as Frank wrapped the washcloth around his neck. It felt like his neck was burning again, like more silver had been pressed against it, even after Frank had removed the cloth.

Frank murmured soft comforts as he tossed the washcloth aside and leaned back. He pulled Gerard back gently so that they were both curled up on the couch. Gerard pressed his face into Frank’s chest, trying to hide the tears that were still running down his cheeks.

Eventually the burning faded to a dull throb and Gerard was able to breath a little easier. Sleep tugged at his senses and he dozed off like that on Frank’s couch, pressed up against the guitarist, feeling safer than he had in a long time.

*******

They all reconvened the following evening, over 24 hours since Gerard had almost been burned alive.

Ray had gone to the butcher who had given him a weird look but given him blood. Mikey and Gerard both drank until they couldn’t take anymore and then some. Gerard’s injuries healed slowly but surely. He was still very sore but he could at least be standing for more than a minute without collapsing. Mikey ended up in less of a panic when he saw that Gerard was going to be fine.

Ray and Frank also got some sleep and something to eat. They showed the brother’s around the house and let them shower off. By the time the four of them circled up they were all feeling a lot better.

“Thank you,” said Gerard, to start. “For everything you guys have done its-”

“Basic human compassion, yes,” said Frank. “Vampire compassion whatever.”

Fortunately or not Frank was taking the vampire thing very well. So well he couldn’t stop joking about it. And even if the jokes were tasteless it was better than the alternative.

“Its not that big of a deal,” said Ray. “Honest. But we do need to figure out what comes next. I assume you all don’t want to be stuck in this messy house for the rest of your lives. Wait.” Ray’s eyes widened. “Do you two live forever?”

“That is a conversation for another time,” said Gerard. “Are you kicking us out?”

“No course not,” said Frank, way too fast. “We just want you to be comfortable and not trapped. How can we help?”

“We need to get out of here.”

Gerard looked at his brother aghast but Mikey kept looking dead ahead. “We have been hanging onto this stupid place for too long. We need to go somewhere else and start over. Somewhere we don’t have to be as scared where we can both get good jobs so we can both eat and be healthy and enjoy our lives.”

“Lets start a band.”

Now everyone’s gazes fixed on Ray.

“What?” asked Ray, leaning back in his overstuffed armchair. “Its a good idea. Frank had been bitching about it for, forever now and he had the connections in the industry to make it happen if we play our cards right. We know Gerard can sing and I’m good at the guitar. Bands travel around a lot and are known for acting strange and keeping weird hours. That give you all a cover so we can hide in plane site. We could go closer to a big city like outside New York or something and get jobs while we work out the details. I got some family in Jersey who can help us out.”

“Fuckin love Jersey,” said Frank. He had his chin in his palm, considering the idea.

“This is insane.” Gerard’s hands were balled into fists in his lap. “We can’t just leave, we grew up here-”

“And if you aren’t careful you are going to die here too,” cut in Frank. “I’m with Mikey on this one. You gotta let go of the past man. Fight it.”

“We don’t have the money,” insisted Gerard.

“Combined we do. I got some money in savings,” said Ray. “And again my folks will let us crash for a little while as long as we play nice and keep the house clean. We can take time to figure out the details but this sounds like the plan.”

They all fell silent for a long moment as Gerard thought about it. He didn’t seem to like it but he was coming around on the idea.

“One problem,” said Mikey. “I can’t be in the band. I don’t play an instrument.”

“We would need a bassist,” said Frank thoughtfully.

“Mikey could do it.” Mikey looked at Gerard like he had grown a second head.

“No? I couldn’t?”

Frank clapped Mikey on the shoulder. “Nah you got this man. How hard can it be. We can find us a drummer on the way to Jersey. Unless Ray you want to-”

“Nope. It’s fun but I am shit at it and you aren’t going to talk me into that again,” hissed Ray. “That’s not the point. The point is the loose logistics work out. Are we going to try to do this?”

Mikey nodded earnestly and Frank let out a quiet fuck yeah. Gerard sat on the couch, chipping the paint off his fingernails and longing for a time when this was simpler.

They were right. He knew it. He couldn’t be stuck here for the rest of this life out of some misguided sense of connection with the place. Besides it would be nice to share this secret with people and try to do something for himself, just a little.

He finally looked up and nodded, fangs glinting as he grinned. “Let’s fuckin do it.”