MY HESITANT ALIEN FIC, HOW IT CAME TO BE CHAPTER 4! :p 🛸
This one shall be quite interesting for sure, dearest readers 😈🙏
Enjoy and thank you sm if you do check it out!!!<3
PREVIOUS CHAPTER/S:
begin reading chapter 4 beneath the cut!
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CHAPTER 4: DRUGSTORE PERFUME
Ray had been awaiting Gerard's return for a full week now. A week without his best friend, just as glum as you can imagine it. Actually having to take part in a routine, listening in on other people's conversations because you can't have your own, waiting for each day to end so you can be even lonelier at night. He had company, sure, but what's company if you've never felt so isolated?
Desperate to retrace his vacant steps, Ray decided to walk the paths Gerard mentioned he would cycle. This resulted in nothing more than some wheel tracks, yet anything is a clue at this point. He followed, careful to not tamper with the traces left. To his detriment, the woods seemed to be identical with each corner he turned.
Just a mundane old forest, what did Gerard see in it?
Ray pauses. A bike is leant against the stump of a tree, one wheel deflated and the other poorly attempting to keep its balance. He was here. Transfixed on the plethora of predatory situations he could have been in, Ray loses focus on his main objective- to gather clues. Does he go back and tell someone he could be in danger? Would they even believe him? The staff questioned him harshly enough already, accusing him of assisting Gerard in running away and covering his back so he wouldn't get in trouble. He feels like nothing but a nervous wreck, struggling to keep up with the rushing turmoil in his head.
"Ray?" an unsuspecting voice asks.
His heart palpitates, startled. His neck recoils so quickly that it could have snapped off his body. It was only a rugged, exhausted Gerard stood in front of him, sporting a clueless expression on his face and scratching his head like nothing ever happened.
"What're you doing here? It's super early, right?" he repeats.
"You-" Ray struggles to find an adequate response in disbelief, "You've been gone for fucking days, dude!"
"I was just getting a pump for the tyres, they busted on me whilst I was biking. I couldnt have been too long- maybe a half hour?" he responds, dismissing the claim. To Gerard's dismay, he wasn't fully aware that the passage of time is extremely warped in different realities. A few harmless hours to him was more than likely a week and a half for Ray.
"You're serious- you're serious! You don't know how long you've been!?" Ray disputes. Gerard was blank as a sheet, giving in to a defeated shrug.
Nope, he doesn't know. Idiot.
"You dont even have- where were you, Gee? At least answer me that. My bare ass has been on the stove for you over here. And you look like shit!"
...
"I- I don't know." Growing more disoriented, he finds it increasingly difficult to come up with a realistic answer. It had already been a confusing time for Gerard, and all these questions weren't helping his case even if they were reasonable enough.
Ray sighs, "I can't stay mad at you. Just take me with you next time, at least. Wherever you were it couldn't have been that fun on your own."
Gerard resorts to a hug in order to comfort Ray's visually apparent distress. He wishes he could tell him the truth with his entire soul, but he couldn't bare to see what could happen if he did. More than anything, he was afraid. That's why he needed to start creating art as soon as possible, to save everyone.
"If you need to talk about anything- you know I'm here, yeah?" Ray adds.
"Yeah." Gerard smiles mildly.
Ray pats his back, and they get to walking back to the main area of camp, almost clinging onto eachother. As Gerard reconciles with familiar faces, Ray awkwardly clenches his teeth in a feeble attempt to smile. Spotting Frank, they head in the direction of the bench he's sat on.
Frank raises an eyebrow, dropping the nachos he was just snacking on, a baffled "That's Gerard?" exiting his mouth.
"Sorry, I don't recognise you-" Gerard discloses.
"This is Frank," Ray chirps once again, "he bought me cookies and now we're pals. He likes Iron Maiden and plays guitar too!"
Affectionately, Ray slaps Frank on the back of his shoulders, causing him to eject a sheepish "owch!".
"Awh, cool! Nice to meetchya Frankie." Gerard grins, awkwardly shaking his dorito dusted hand.
"Gerard Arthur Way! There you are!" a disciplinary voice hollers.
"Well shit." Gerard mutters, the boys snickering slightly at his remark. Almost dragged by the hood, Gerard is indefinitely sent off to a questioning of some sort.
The staff member escorts him to an important looking room, featuring an even more important looking name tag on the desk: 'Principal'. Surrounding it, there are small, framed photographs of staff members and past campers, who seem tremendously happier than anybody here currently.
Just gotta survive this interrogation without giving everything away, he monologues in his doomed brain. So doomed... So fucked.
A stern looking woman clicks her heels as she enters the secluded room, taking a seat as she glares intensely into Gerard's entire existence.
"Where were you? Is everything okay? Were you hurt?" Just as he'd anticipated, the questions came flooding insufferably in.
"Hey, listen..." Gerard pinches the bridge of his nose as if he's in excruciatingly dire pain, "I just got back and i ain't feelin' well. I fell over and busted my lip, see? Can I please go to the nurse instead?" He believes that reverse psychology is effective, and that his injuries from over a week ago look fresh. Oh, dear. Maybe save the big ideas for when you turn 25 next time.
She grumbles, shaking her head.
"Not yet. You can afterwards, however."
She begins jotting down notes. Following this, she looks at Gerard expectingly, despite his nervous silence.
"So?" she suggests, tapping her pen against the clipboard she's writing on.
"So, what?" Gerard backchats, crossing his arms and deciding to play smartass.
"So, what were you doing outside campus, unauthorised for a fortnight?" she demands the question.
He tuts, rolling his eyes. A surpisingly bold move for him, but a typical one. He grows cockier, due to the hindrance and his heightening feelings of annoyance towards having to answer for himself.
"I like, ran off for a week, 'cause I'm bored shitless of this place..." he smirks, "In other words, I skipped. What're you gonna do about it, kick me out? I already left once."
The principal lets out a diabolical gasp.
Gerard knew from that alone, he was not going to get away from this any easier than before he opened his mouth.
"What I can do is expel you, young man! That won't be a laugh to explain to your parents, will it?" she exclaims at the top of her lungs.
"Do it! I don't fuckin' care. I'm worth more than this place anyways, and so is Ray. If you're gonna kick me out, at least do the same for him. Leaving him alone in this dump was the mistake i made, not skipping." he rants.
"You're really about to do this?" she lowers her voice in concern.
Gerard glances around in hesitation before doubling down on his claim, his eyes lighting up slightly.
"Yeah."
That felt like a strangely refreshing moment for Gerard, as though being argumentative with higherups was the epitome of being punk and an absolutely rock solid act on his behalf.
"Alright, we'll call your parents to pick you up. And Ray can go with you, he's in deep trouble because of you now. I hope you understand that." she lectures.
"Aight," he scoffs, getting up out of the chair he'd slumped in.
"I'm out."
He storms out of the office desperately searching for Ray and Frank, not realising they had snook off and waited outside right next to him.
"Hm, I heard yelling." Frank observes, pursing his lips.
Gerard turns to each of them almost instantly.
"Oh, thank god-" Gerard clutches onto both Ray and Frank's arms with an underlying agression.
"We gotta go, like, now! I am so serious!" he blurts out obsessively.
"Dude, wh-" Ray begins, interrupted by the snatch of Gerard's run. He drags them behind a bush, heavily encouraging them to be silent with a desperate "shh!".
Several staff members rush past the glorified pile of leaves shielding the three.
"Can someone please tell me what is going on?!" Ray hisses through a whisper.
"Okay, okay! I will. I spewed bullshit to the principal lady. Told 'er I skipped on purpose. She threatened to expel me so I humoured 'er and said you shouldn't be left here alone and-"
"Sorry, the fuck do I have to do with this?" Frank interrupts.
"Just sit and look pretty or somethin' whilst I explain the goddamned situation! You're involved 'cause you are. I wasn't about to just leave ya." Gerard groans.
Frank huffs.
"So... You sold me out and lied?" Ray disputes in confusion, a slight look of upset on his face.
"No- I just thought if I said that as a bluff I could get us out of here quicker. You want to leave, right?" Gerard defends.
Ray remains silent for a few seconds, considering it.
"Screw it." Ray beams.
A feeling of relief washes over Gerard's sweaty face, glad that his stupidity didn't get taken the wrong way.
Two staff members park themselves not too far away, beginning to discuss.
"Ray is now gone, they must have been planning some kind of rebellion from the beginning." One starts.
Frank raises an eyebrow.
"Hey, seeing as I'm the pretty one I could go ask what they're gonna do to ya."
He rolls his eyes with a pinch of salt, getting up on his own accord. Gerard knew it was best to not crush Frank's withering dignity any further, so he let him get on with it. Ray watched closely in slight suspense. Frank hunches over, approaching the two staff members all whilst kicking some gravel and looking down inside of himself.
"Mcscuse me, what's goin on?" he asks with innocent eyes.
"Do you have any idea where your accomplices are? Ray Toro and Gerard Way?" the staff's dialect felt restrictive.
"Can't say I do. Why's the matter?" Frank asks further, intentionally using poor phrasing for cool effect.
"They are to be arrested, and cannot leave the premises under any circumstance."
Gerard chokes. Ray's jaw is almost touching the grass. Frank elongates a whistle. He pauses, before then intelligently throwing a right hook towards the man's face.
"WE NEED TO GO!" He screams at the top of his lungs to the once concealed duo, snatching a plank of wood lying around and hoisting it underneath his greasy armpit.
Ray and Gerard chase behind him in desperation, quickly noticing the upcoming dead end. It would be futile to look back now, they're already being ambushed!
"Oh, Frank! What the fuck were you thinking runnin' this way?!" Gerard cusses.
Frank briefly catches his breath, before screeching at the barbed wire fence.
"There's a reason I stole a plank of wood, jackass! We're gonna use it to cross the old river behind this fence!" Frank begins climbing with a hint of pain from the spiky material separating the boys from freedom.
Gerard gulps in realisation. He can't swim, and his phobia of drowning doesn't make the idea of a flimsy bridge any better.
"Huh, now that's a funny joke, Frank-Anthony." he crosses his arms sarcastically.
"Does it look like he's joking!?" Ray complains, already up and over the fence. They're getting closer as Gerard grows in hesitation. In a fit of panic, Gerard snatches the plank of wood through a gap in the wall. The two teens shriek in annoyance.
"What the fuck!" Ray exclaims.
"Make your own way, I'll catch up!" Gerard blurts out. He'd honestly would rather them stay, he was consumed by fear. Ray denies before getting dragged away by an eager Frank, turning back in instant regret.
By now, Gerard had no coherent thoughts. The only energy coursing through his body was the adrenaline of facing danger head-on. He takes a swing at the current enemies, whacking the woodplank in half off of the now hostile janitor's head. Once his only weapon had shattered into shambles, he looted an unconscious park officer for any useful self defence. He manages to find a sharply ended hammer. Ooh, goody! A hammer! This will certainly end well.
Gerard suddenly feels a strange sensation of electricity within his weaponised palms. Visions of the mothership come lurking into his mind, clouding his perception of reality. Almost as though he was possessed, his scleras glow an iridescent white. All that was visible to his half-naked eyes we're the similar enhanced surroundings he'd witnessed before finding Lola. Nothing seemed quite right, not even the concept of nothing. His actions didn't feel like his own, as though the control room in his brain hit autopilot.
The rest of the committee come dashing in, and, as promised, Gerard begins bashing in, gushing the brains of old acquaintances onto the forest floor. He couldn't stop himself, no matter how hard he tried. Decrepit thoughts invade his mind- the deformed extraterrestrials, the secrecy, the defenselessness. The yearning to escape is too much for him; he can't take the strangeness anymore, and whatever can't make it stop in the moment should be destroyed. Or, maybe, was it that anything obstructing Gerard from the prophecised future was to be eliminated by an external force?
The hammer pierced the skin of its victim, critically damaging whatever it hit. As the bodies fell more and more, the static inflicting pain up Gerard's psyche faded.
Akin to the flicker of a light switch, he drops the bloodstained hammer in disbelief. As his pupils dilate, Gerard runs his red smothered fingers through his hair in distress and backs away from the remains he'd just bludgeoned. He can feel every erratic beat in his heart, one after the other, aching in dismal harmony.
Meanwhile, the others had crossed the unanticipatedly wide abandoned river using a derelict canoe. Still sailing, Ray's worries were still with Gerard.
"Don't you think staying with him would have been a better idea? I mean, I know him and he's not really a violent person. What if something's wrong?" he suggests.
"Try to relax. You're rambling," Frank comments, "He'll be okay, I promise. He surely must be if he didn't wanna go with us." he adds, troubled.
"Are- are you mad at him or something?" Ray enquires, perking his head up.
"No, just confused. I could've sworn he was acting off. There was this look in his face when he told us to run, and I'll be honest, it scared me." Frank speculates.
"Oh..." Ray frowns,
"I really do regret leaving him, though..." his words trail off in apprehension as he slowly taps Frank's shoulder to look in the same direction as him.
"Is that?-" Frank questions in a mildly bewildered state.
Gerard sat slumped on the grass awaiting the pair on the successful side of the river, his head askew in fatigue and his eyes swelled up with dainty tears.
"How did he get there so fast?" Frank asks in pure disdain.
Upon noticing the pair, Gerard gets up once again, debating on running away- only in fear of hurting who he cares about the most. He doesn't know how he even did that to those adults, he doesn't want to know. He wants to forget it. He wants to forget all of it. Even from afar, his shaking became exceedingly evident.
"Gee, it's gonna be fine! Just stay there, alright?" Ray attempts to comfort, shouting as softly as possible.
Gerard glances around himself once more, itching with a sense of paranoia. The two eventually head over to him, seeing through the bloodily drenched killer and envisioning a vunerable friend, allowing time for a group embrace. Gerard softens up, losing tension, and begins to sob like never before- he'd never felt fear like this before. It was a classic sense of dehumanisation, as though his pacifism had been violated.
After all, he wanted to save lives, not take them.
The miserable moon grows in exhaustion from lighting up the night, and gingerly begins to set. As the sun rose curiously, dawn declared a new muse for the trio. The feeling of comfort needed after a rough night, even if it was by their own hand. But they're merely teenagers, incapable of living those years entirely scuff free. Mistakes were bound to be made, even gorefilled ones. It just took a group hug for Gerard to realise it.
The trio begin to drift further away from the campsite, utilising the apricity shielding the cool morning breeze as a blanket of safety, following the light. They were about to go home, or maybe they'd already found it within eachother. Regardless, it was irrelevant how bad it was where they stayed anymore because, at the very least,
they were free from dreary old summer camp.
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