Chapter Text
Guide:
Typical symptoms of the Others:
- Gray/discoloured skin
- Open wounds
- Treatment resistance
- Unacceptance
- Thinning hair
- Loss of vision/glassy eyes
- Loss of understanding
- Sharper nails
- Stronger
Chapter 1:
[Monday 10th September 2001]
They’re catching up to us, and Mikey’s hand is slipping from mine. I can hear him screaming... crying, he doesn’t want to die. He’s let go of me, and I can’t reach him. He’s gone. I turn back and watch as they tear him apart, and the wave of them comes crashing down-
I sit up with a jolt, my alarm clock taunting me as I fumble to turn it off. “Jesus Christ...” I mutter. I’m sticky with sweat and my sheets are all messed up. Another nightmare – I need to stop smoking before bed.
Reluctantly, I stand up and walk over to the bathroom. I have to step over Ray to get out of my room, and he stirs beneath me, despite how quiet I’m trying to be.
“Oh. ‘Morning.” He mumbles, rolling over to look at me. “Why are you up so early?” Ray pushes himself up and rubs his eyes, his voice still slow and thick from sleep.
I kick his shoulder gently. “To make breakfast for Mikey, stupid. You and Frank might get some too, if I decide you’ve been well behaved.” He whines and my face softens. “I’m having a shower, and then you can help me.”
Ray paws at my feet, but I walk out of the room. I have things to do, and unfortunately, he isn’t one of them. I blow him a kiss before disappearing in the direction of my bathroom.
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
I pour pancake batter into the pan, swirling it around with a flick of my wrist. “You’re not doing much to help.” I laugh. Ray’s got his arms around my waist, his head nestled in my neck.
“I don’t think you need my help...” He kisses the back of my head. “You’re doing so well, honey.” I flip the pancake into the air, grinning at his sounds of encouragement.
“At least go and get the lovers from upstairs.” I instruct him, adding the pancake to the pile already made. Ray lets go of me begrudgingly, trudging over to the stairs to find Frank and Mikey.
I turn the heat off the stove and hum to myself. I take the plate over to the table just as Ray walks back in, followed by two very tired people. “Good morning!” I greet cheerfully, trying to ignore how tired I am myself. “Happy Birthday Mikey!”
“Thanks, Gee...” He yawns, grabbing a few pancakes from the stack. “These look great, did Ray help?” Mikey takes a seat at the table, spreading chocolate sauce on his food.
I glance over at Ray and shrug. “Y’know what, sure. He helped.” He beams at me in return, and I can feel my heart flutter.
Frank pours himself a glass of orange juice and strokes Mikey’s hair. “Yeah, thanks Gerard, they smell amazing.” Mikey holds out some pancake on a fork for Frank, who eats it obligingly.
“Get a room, you two!” Ray laughs as he takes way more than his share of pancakes.
I put a finger up to his lips and shush him. “Hey, it’s Mikey’s birthday. He can be as lovey-dovey as he wants.” I take Ray’s fork and use it to steal some of his pancake, taking a bite with a grin.
“Anyway,” I start, glancing over to the others. “Anyone want to go to the mall later? We can get lunch and go to whatever shops Mikey feels like.” Frank hums in agreement.
Mikey has his head rested on Frank’s shoulder. “That sounds great, Gee... I just need to get dressed first.” He mumbles, taking another bite of his breakfast. We stay round the table for a while longer, sitting in silence as we finish our pancakes.
“Uh, alright, I’m going to have a quick shower, if nobody else is...” Frank breaks the silence. Mikey stands up and follows him to upstairs with a nod.
I collect the plates into a pile, taking them over to load the dishwasher.
“I’m gonna get Mikey so drunk tonight.” Ray laughs from behind me. “We need to celebrate his first time legally drinking.” Mikey’s always been drinking – for as long as me and Ray have. At least now we don’t need to be worried about him getting in trouble.
“Just try not to set anything on fire tonight.” I say sternly, suppressing a laugh. Ray looks at me with a pleading expression, and I can’t help but think of a puppy. “Please?” I ask, a smile twitching at my lips.
He rolls his eyes and walks over to me. “Fine.” He huffs, wrapping his arms around my neck.
“Good boy.” I lean my head back into his grip, the plates on the side forgotten. Ray kisses up my neck, leaving small bruises that I can’t wait to show off. His hand snakes into my pocket and pulls out my packet of cigarettes.
I groan. “This early, Ray? Really?” I reprimand, but my reluctant grin tells another story. He grins and looks up at me adoringly.
“We can always share one...” He murmurs into my ear, awakening the butterflies in my stomach. Ray continues peppering me with kisses as he pulls out a cigarette, replacing the pack with the lighter from my pocket.
He lights it and drags his lips away from my skin to take a drag. I turn my head to look at him and he blows smoke into my face. “Hey!” I yelp, snatching the cig from him. Ray looks at me as if I hung the stars in the sky; I blow smoke into his face.
I don’t know how long we’ve been standing like that, but before I know it, Mikey and Frank are stood next to us, hand-in-hand like a couple of little kids. “Are you getting high,” Mikey giggles, “At 9 in the morning?” I shrug and pass him the cigarette, which he takes an enthusiastic hit of. He, in turn, offers it to Frank, who reluctantly agrees to only one hit on terms that he is the ‘designated driver’.
“Let’s get going?” Frank suggests, grabbing his jacket from the back of a chair. Ray hums in agreement and I lead him over to the front door, where he is too hungover to tie up his laces correctly.
“Here, I got it hon...” I kneel, carefully tying a bow on both shoes. I straighten up and slip my own shoes on, having not bothered to undo them last night.