ROLL WITH IT [g.way x reader]

Chapter 22: Well Earned

The honesty hurt, to an extent, but by the end of it, Harvey gave you another hug, and told you that he was glad you'd told him.

You paused, before mumbling to his shoulder, "Could you do me a favour?"

"Anything, sure."

You took a deep breath. "Could you cancel my shows for the next four days? I want a break. I can't keep doing this all the time. I'll be fine to continue after I've just rested for a bit."

"It's short notice," Harvey mused, but patted your back, "but of course." He pulled out his device, and did a bit of tapping, before asking, "So, you'll be back for the 12th of August, in North Carolina?"

"Yeah," you responded, with a heavy exhale.

"You'll miss three shows," he told you, "but until then, you can stay here. Is that okay with you?"

"Yeah, definitely," you nodded your head feverishly.

"Right, well I'm gonna get on those cancellations and refunds — oh! — what do you want your excuse to be for the public?" he asked, just as he got up.

"Uh... health issues," you answered numbly.

"Sure," Harvey already looked to be sending a series of texts, "I'm also gonna let everyone else know that you're okay, because there was the general assumption that you were..." he grimaced.

"That's fine," you crawled up, and slid onto your bed. "Wait, how did you get in?" you asked curiously.

"You didn't lock the door," Harvey replied, as he slid his phone in between his neck, "can I go to your living room to do the calls?"

"Yeah," you consented, before smiling exhaustedly at him, "it's four am anyway, so... I'm gonna go to sleep, if you don't mind."

"Can I crash on your couch after I'm done then?"

"Absolutely."

He waved as he left, already talking with somebody, and you returned the gesture feebly, before putting your head on the pillow, and snuggling under your duvet. Momentarily, you felt yourself grin in relief, then you shut your eyes, and drifted off in a pleasant manner, as the blinds blocked out the rising sun.

It was good to be back, you duly noted.

-

When you woke up, it was one in the afternoon. You were sufficiently charged after your nap, and ready to face the world; you arrived in the living room, after changing into some fresh clothes, and softened at the sight of Harvey passed out on the sofa. After bringing him a blanket, and placing it on his sprawled out frame, you went to the kitchen, and rooted through your cupboards for something to eat — you found some crisps that were not out of date, so you went with those.

As you leaned against the counter, munching away, you reached into your pocket, and pulled out your cell, to see what you'd missed.

There were several concerned messages from Gerard, as well as four other unknown numbers that had contacted you; after looking through them, you found the new texts to be from Frank, Mikey, Ray and Chester respectively, all of them asking if you were okay. You were blown away by their kindness, and sent them each reassuring messages to let them know that you were fine, before saving all of their contacts to your SIM card.

When it came to Gerard, however, you found yourself a little stumped as to how to explain yourself. You pondered on what to do, before you found yourself hitting the little call icon in the corner, and you froze when you realised what you'd done.

But you didn't have time to hang up, because he replied after the first ring.

"Hello? (Y/n)? Oh my fucking god, are you okay?"

Hearing his voice made you subconsciously relax, and you tried to maintain your composure. "Hi," you responded quietly. "I'm — reasonable, I guess. Sorry if I worried you."

"It's okay," Gerard assured, and he let out a long sigh of solace, "it's just that nobody knew where you'd gone, and then people saw you at the airport, and Harvey went after you, and — shit, we all just assumed the worst."

"Well, I'm alive," you reassured.

There was a pause, before he mumbled, "But you're not okay, are you?"

You stiffened slightly, then let out a tiny, miserable chuckle, "No. I tried to — no, I thought about dying. I thought about it, I really wanted to, but then I decided not to."

"I'm so glad that you didn't. Honestly, I — can't imagine life without you. I'm so sorry that you even considered it, let alone planned it out. I'm so, so sorry."

"It's not your fault. I just haven't... been having a great time lately, and I thought that was the only way out."

You could picture his expression of gentle, heartbroken concern with perfect clarity, as he spoke, "Y'know I'm always here, right? I can't promise I can solve all your problems, but I hate the idea of you suffering all alone. I thought something was off when I talked to you yesterday, but it didn't cross my mind that you were feeling that upset until we were told that you'd disappeared..."

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that by the way," you winced, "I shouldn't have talked to you like that. I know I was feeling like shit, but that's no excuse."

"It's completely fine, I just wish I could do more to help."

"You've done more than enough, Gerard," you told him, "honestly, you don't give yourself enough credit for being as kind as you are. I swear, you'd one hundred percent get an award for being so damn big-hearted."

His bashful laugh was something you didn't know you needed, especially after the last couple of days, it was like a healing experience. "I'm glad that I've apparently had some effect. The news is that you'll be back for the twelfth, is that right?"

"Yeah," you confirmed, "I'm just taking a short break. After what happened, and how I've been feeling, there's no way I can just jump back on stage again. I need to collect myself. Besides, Harvey needs a break too, the poor man looks like he's just been through the depths of hell."

"Whatever you feel you need. As much as I'd love to see you in person, it's your call, and I think it's a good idea to take a few days off."

You felt your face warm at the compliment. "Uh huh. You gonna give me one of your hugs?" you were hoping that he'd answer in the affirmative.

And he did. "Of course I will! You deserve one, after everything you've been through. You deserve so much more than just a hug, fucking shit."

You couldn't help but cackle, genuinely amused for the first time in a while. "Thank you," you hoped he could hear your gratitude. "Hey, it's gonna be two soon, don't you have a show in an hour?"

"Yeah — it's gonna be lonely without you here."

"Oh, you'll survive," you retorted. "You better get ready, though. Go on, Mr Frontman, go warm up that voice of yours."

"Alright," he giggled, "I'll see you soon, then?"

"Eventually," you joked, which pulled another laugh from him. "Keep being wonderful, okay?"

"Aww sugar," Gerard murmured, with an affectionate sigh. "I will if you keep safe for me."

There was the heat-inducing sound of him blowing a kiss to you over the phone, before you said your goodbyes, and hung up.

You stood there for a second, then held back a scream, and let a watery, lovesick grin spread across your face. You'd never felt so flustered and so happy at the same time — and sure, maybe the road to recovery wasn't going to be smooth, but nothing ever was. What mattered was that you were back, and back for good.