Disclaimer: I do not own my chemical romance, just the plot line.

Feeling

"No, no, no, NO, NO!" the word increased in volume each time it left the boys throat from where he lay curled on the ground, hands over his ears, as if he could block it all out just by cutting off the physical noise.

"We just want to help!" a small group of boys stood a ways back, treating the still, if screaming, teenager as if he were a deer about to take off at the snap of a twig.

Ray Toro and Frank Iero were stunned out of their socks… Mikey had told them his older brother was in trouble, begged them for help, but he hadn't explained. He still couldn't explain it. What he did know was that Gerard hadn't left his room in a month. He was always holed up in his basement bedroom.

It hadn't started that way. Gerard had been strange at first, then troubled, progressing into reclusive, and recently, achieving status as a shut in. It scared Mikey to death. He had no idea what he could do to help his big brother, but he had to do something. Their parents were sure this was normal 17-year-old behavior. But it wasn't!

"Gerard, what's wrong?" Mikey asked, taking a step closer to his trembling brother.

"NO! Mikey please, please don't come closer, it hurts!"

"What does? What is it?" Frank asked, curious and frightened, but determined to help Mikey out by helping Gerard out. Mikey was his best friend; they had to do something to help him.

"My ankle! I mean… his ankle, and I'm scared… I'm confused! Too much… I can't…." Gerard's hands pressed more firmly to his ears, trying to block them out. Mikey halted. He had twisted his ankle at the beginning of the summer, almost a month ago now. It still twinged a bit. But why should Gerard's ankle hurt? He hadn't been out of his room since just after that…

"I can feel…. Everything. You're scared of me, you're confused and so… so am I…"

"He's an empath," the blond boy stepped slowly off the staircase, letting the three boys get a look at him before he proceeded.

"A…what? Who are you?" Mikey stuttered, momentarily forgetting Gerard, still curled tightly into a ball on the floor.

The blond boy didn't answer, rather swept pass all three to kneel down next to Gerard and gently touch his hands to the other boy's temples.

His eyes opened with a snap. Soft hazel eyes that quickly focused on the new arrival. "I…. I can't feel you."

"I don't feel." The boy's words were matter-of-fact.

"That must be wonderful," Gerard murmured, uncurling and leaning into the boys touch. It was pure bliss. He couldn't feel anything but his own relief, from his own heart and mind.

"No. It's not." These words, too, were matter-of-fact and apathetic. "I'm Bob."

"Gerard."

"You have no idea how long I've been looking for an empath."

"Um…. Excuse me? Could someone kindly explain what the FUCK is going on?" Rays warm voice broke the trance, and suddenly the air in Gerard basement was heavy with an awkward coating.

"Your friend here is an empath. He can channel others emotions, sensations. From what I can tell he was ignoring or repressing them but they recently grew exponentially and the emotions swamped him. Any human contact was overload. I'm the opposite of an empath. I feel nothing at all, ever. So, as long as I keep contact with him, my gift cancels his out," Bob explained lightly, as though this was all no big deal, and he wasn't expecting perfect strangers to accept that he was magic and their friend was magic, and he was there to help them. He figured he'd have to re-explain a few times before they understood. He was resigned to the fact that they wouldn't accept it all right away.

"… I'll accept that," Frank answered, shrugging and dragging Mikey back upstairs, Ray following, confused but pleased to be out of such a tense situation.

"That was too easy," the comment would have expressed incredulity, if Bob had put any feeling into it.

Gerard sighed and leaned back against the wall, grasping Bob's hand as a lifeline, enjoying the new peace in his head. "Not really. Frank wants in Mikeys pants, REALLY badly. I bet he's got some new plan to get my brother to like him and wants to put it into action. He's really not going to get that far though, unless he actually says something, Mikey's oblivious," Gerard laughed. It was a hollow, tiered sound. "So, Bob, why were you looking for me?"

"I can't feel. But you feel everything. I cancel out your power. You cancel out mine," and Bob grinned. A true, happy grin. The first ever in his life. "I'm happy! I've never been happy before."

"So do you feel, everything…?"

"No, you can still feel, can't you? Your own emotions at least."

Gerard thought for a moment, and then nodded. Yes. It wasn't that he didn't feel anything, he just didn't feel anyone else. "I don't have your power…. I just don't have mine anymore."

"Correct." Bob grinned. "My dad, he could see things. Past, present, future. He saw you. He saw me smile. He thought I'd never smile."

"Well I cannot express how fantastic you are Bob. This is just… I…" Gerard closed his eyes and shook his head, long black hair swishing a bit, tangled though it was. "Heaven."

"This is the beginning of a wonderful relationship," Bob said happily as Gerard drifted slipped into sleep, finally able to drift off rather than pass out from exhaustion.

Bob turned his eyes to the past. Finally able to love his father, hate the man who killed him, feel grief over the death, and then feel joy at finally knowing what each emotion felt like.

Then his thoughts flicked to the future. His father hadn't held anything back, so Bob knew everything that was to come in his life. He smiled at Gerards sleeping form, admiring the round face and black hair, the vulnerable set to his expression and determination in his jaw. Bob finally drifted off, curled next to his new friend, still hand in hand.

They were going to be such a happy couple.