Disclaimer: It's called fiction for a reason. I own nothing except my writing skills.

"…when Gerard tried to play baseball and he hit himself with the bat? Jesus, man – you looked like a complete retard!"

"Screw you, Frank! You're the wuss that cries over a tiny spider crawling up your arm!"

"That's not true! That damned insect was huge!"

The heavy scent of alcohol hung in the air, dramatic music was coming from the band that played on the stage located at the right side of the huge hall, and a group of five men dressed in formal army clothes were seated at the bar – Gerard and his little brother Michael, and their friends Franklin, Raymond and Robert, were all pretty much drunk on the huge amounts of beer they had ordered in the last two hours. The girlfriends of Michael, Franklin and Raymond were dancing together amongst approximately two dozen couples, but they didn't mind. They were best friends thanks to their boyfriends, who were leaving in two days for the next task they had while fighting in World War Two, so their girls better have a good night, right?

To everyone's surprise, Michael had only drunk two glasses of beer. And those glasses weren't even that big. He was constantly worrying about the days that were ahead of him and his friends, and it was almost as if he was having premonitions. Actually, he was – since Michael was 8 years old and learned about the first World War, he just knew that the second World War just had to happen – it couldn't go on like that for long. When he was ten years old and told his brother about those premonitions, Gerard replied, "Then when do you think World War Two is going to start?" to which Michael answered confidently, "End 1939." Gerard had stifled a laugh. He didn't really believe his little brother, but he had comforted him when Michael started crying and admitted that he was scared. That's what brothers are ought to do. They comfort each other and stick with each other in good and bad times.

That was in 1929. Gerard and Michael Way had grown up now – Gerard was currently 27 years old, and his brother was 23 years old, but the Way brothers still called each other by their pet names – Michael calls Gerard "Gee", and Gerard calls Michael "Mikey", and they don't give anything about people who disagree with them about that. They were brothers as well as best friends since birth. That's how strong their bond was.

Mikey's inner struggle was interrupted by Franklin yelling, "Hey, you there! Hand me another beer, will ya?" at the bartender whilst bending over the bar with his small body to make it even more clear. Frank was probably the most drunk of the five friends. But that doesn't say anything about his personality! Mikey thinks, smiling. Frank is his best friend, and he considers him as his other brother, along with Raymond and Robert. They had all been best friends since they went to primary school together, and no one could break a bond that strong. Sometimes Gerard joked that it was almost as if they were girls considering they told each other everything and they never hid their secrets from each other.

Mikey sniffed and glanced back over his shoulder, laying his eyes upon the sight of his girlfriend happily dancing with the others. He couldn't help but smile. Although he knew Alicia wasn't happy about him leaving to fight in World War Two, she looked so happy. Her eyes were shining bright and the wide smile had been on her face all night.

Suddenly, Gerard wrapped an arm around his little brother's shoulders and kind of pulled him in for a sideways hug. "You don't have to worry," he said, sounding surprisingly sober, but that thought disappeared when Gerard continued, "You will get laid tonight."

Mikey laughed. "You're really drunk, aren't you?"

Gerard shook his head and closed his eyes. "Nah, twenty beers isn't that much, right?" slurred Gerard. He rested his head on Mikey's shoulder and exhaled exaggeratingly. "I wanna go home."

"Oh." Mikey bit his lip – he didn't want to go home. He hadn't danced with Alicia after all. Still, he said, "That's okay," because his brother was really, really drunk and was visibly about to fall over.

Mikey tapped the guy, sitting on the barstool next to him, on the shoulder and asked if he could support Gerard for a few minutes while he would say goodbye to Alicia. He quickly told this to Gerard too and then made his way to his girlfriend, who was now sitting on a bench at the other side of the hall. She smiled at Mikey when he came into view and stood up to wrap her arms around him.

Mikey hugged her back and held her tightly. He had to keep himself from crying. He was probably not going to see Alicia for a few months.

"Are you going to dance with me?" Alicia asked quietly.

Mikey pulled back slightly to look her in the eyes. He put his hands on either sides of her face and pouted. "I'm taking Gerard home. He's like really drunk, so…" He sniffed. "I'm so sorry."

Alicia pouted back at him and forced herself to smile. "Well, I guess I'll see you in September, then." Tears were now streaming down her face. Mikey began to cry himself, too. Then, they stood there kissing for about two minutes straight before someone tapped Mikey on the shoulder. It was the guy whom he had asked to watch Gerard.

"Hey, man. Um… your brother has passed out." He said whilst uncomfortably shifting his weight to his other leg.

"Damn it." He kissed Alicia once more and then pulled back completely. "I love you. So much. I'm sorry we haven't danced yet."

"I love you too, sweetheart." Alicia grabbed his hand and squeezed it lightly. "You'd better dance with me the very minute you come back," she grinned and then placed her hand lightly on Mikey's chest. "I love you," she said again.

"Love you too."

Mikey smiled weakly, turned, and walked back to the bar, trying to hold back his tears. He had to remove his round, traditional glasses to rub his eyes before he reached for his brother and held him firmly next to him whilst dragging him to the exit of the building after saying goodbye to Frank, Ray and Bob, who were still seated at the bar. Mikey glanced back quickly to catch Alicia staring at him, down-and-out, tears still rolling over her cheeks, but when their eyes met, she smiled and waved weakly at him.

It would be a while until he'd see her again.

When the Way brothers had just passed the threshold, Gerard was conscious again. "Mikey, what's going on?" He forced them both to a stop and stared up into his little brother's eyes. "Mikey? Mikey! What's wrong? Why are you crying? Sit down. C'mere." Gerard sounded surprisingly sober considering the amount of alcohol he had drunk tonight.

Mikey sunk down onto the hard tiles of the pavement and Gerard sat next to him. He wiped the tears from his brother's cheeks and pulled Mikey into a hug when he started to sob.

"I don't want to leave. I'm afraid…" Mikey gulped and gasped between sobs. "I'm afraid that I'll never see her again."

"Oh, Mikes," Gerard cooed. "You'll see her again. I promise. There's nothing to be afraid of. I'll make sure you'll come back here in one piece."

Mikey knew this was a lie. He wanted to believe Gerard, he really did, but it just wasn't true for some reason. It was another premonition that popped up in his head all of a sudden, and he came to the realization that he might not be coming home ever again, but he didn't tell Gerard. Maybe Gerard was right. Maybe this would end well.

Maybe.

"I wanna go home now, Gee."

"Sure."

The brothers stood up, supporting each other while they headed towards their home, where they would head for their rooms and pass out right at the very minute their bodies touched the bed.

It was September 6th today.

All of the fights had gone by fast and everything went almost suspiciously smooth. In three days, everyone would return to their hometowns and they stay there for a little while. Everyone was glad that it was almost over. There would be two fights maximum until they returned home, and that wasn't much. Mikey had grown a lot more confident about the statement his brother had made – maybe they were going to survive after all. The nightmares he'd had before they left four months ago had disappeared completely.

The majority of the army was now sitting in the tents on the camp site, having coffee and biscuits – alcohol was strictly forbidden, to Gerard's disappointment. Cigarettes were allowed though. Mikey sat outside the tent with a cup of coffee while his brother smoked a cig next to him. Although Mikey didn't smoke, the familiar scent of nicotine was relaxing.

"I'm glad," said Mikey.

Gerard turned his head to look at his younger brother, who stared at nothing in particular in front of him. "About what?"

"That it's almost over."

"Yeah, me too. I mean, I got kind of afraid too when you said you thought you were never coming home, you know."

Mikey just snorted. After Gerard had smoked his cigarette, he flicked it away into the distance, and began to hum a tune that was unknown to Mikey. He did that for a few minutes before Mikey asked, "Have you been writing anything lately?"

Gerard smiled. "That happened to be one of my newest creations, yes."

"Does it have a title?"

"Nah. I'm not good at coming up with titles. I guess it's just the songs that I come up with and not the title…"

"What are the lyrics like, then?" Mikey asked innocently.

"Um." Gerard paused for a second. "It's only the chorus, but, um, it goes a bit like I am not afraid to keep on living, I am not afraid to walk this world alone or something like that."

Mikey smiled. "It sounds awesome. And it suits you, brave brother Gerard."

"Thanks, Mikes!" Gerard laughed and patted the top of Mikey's head before standing up to head for the sleeping tents. It was almost dark by now. Just before Gerard walked off, he turned and asked Mikey, "Ya going to sleep too or what?"

Mikey just nodded in response. He stood up and walked to the tent. After they'd changed into their pyjamas, Mikey jumped into the top bunk of the bunk bed he shared with Gerard. Ray and Frank and Bob slept in the same tent; Ray and Frank shared a bunk bed and Bob was already lying contently under the covers of his single bed, smirking, knowing we had all wanted the single bed, but after a little rant, Bob had gotten it.

The guys were jealous, that was for sure.

Everyone was asleep in their beds, except Mikey. He was excited and the adrenalin pumping through his veins stopped him from falling asleep. Only a few days until he would see Alicia again, after four months. Just the thought of soon holding his very own angel in his arms made him feel like he was on top of the world. Mikey was sure that Ray and Frank felt the same way for their girlfriends – they just had to be. They loved each other so much.

Thinking of Alicia, Mikey fell asleep after half an hour, with a slight smile on his face.

"…but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power…"

There were lots of people praying on the boat to the shore, but to Mikey, there was a familiar voice that drowned all others. The soldier normally never prayed, but this time there was so much tension and fear and anger in the air that he had no choice but to do so. Everyone was afraid at this point. This was the last fight – the unexpected and probably also the hardest fight – and that pressured everyone. The opponents were known for their massive amount of weapons and ammunition, their precise targeting and their brainwashed minds that ordered them to kill every soldier in sight. It was already a lost battle though it hadn't even started yet.

The soldier said his prayer, quietly whispered "Amen" towards the sky above him and brought his necklace to his mouth to give it a light kiss.

The soldier was Frank.

Mikey bit his lip and searched for his brother's hand. Gerard was sitting next to him on one of the small seats of the boat, and was staring forward blankly. His lips were moving but there came no sound – he seemed to be praying too, but in silence. When Mikey's hand found Gerard's, they held on tightly. After Gerard finished his prayer, he turned his face to look at Mikey. He saw the fear in his little brother's eyes, and Mikey saw the fear in Gerard's. Gerard tried to comfort Mikey by saying, "It will be okay. I'll never let them hurt you, I promise," but when the shoreline came into view, he became desperate. "Mikey, if anything happens… just know that I love you very much..." He almost started to sob, but tried to keep his face as straight as possible. "Never forget that."

"I love you too," Mikey whispered in response, gave his brother a quick nod, and stared at the shore in the distance. The opponents were already lining up and preparing their weapons – guns, bombs, everything. Mikey had the weird feeling in the pit of his stomach again – his conscience was probably trying to tell him that this wasn't going to end very well.

The shoreline was clearly visible now they were almost close enough to come in action and jump out. Everyone readied their guns, and unconsciously, Mikey said out loud, "I love you, Alicia."

The boat came to a sudden halt.

This was it.

Gunshots were fired as the soldiers jumped out of the boat. Loud splashing sounds were heard as the soldiers dropped themselves into the water and made their way over to the shore. Some of them didn't even make it to the shore – they were shot before they even left the boat. Blood was flowing all around Mikey, and he started to panic. He already saw Gerard a few feet ahead of him, so Mikey started to run too. As precisely as possible, Mikey pulled the trigger a few times while pointing at the men at the shore. He took down two men while shooting, then, he reached the shore and ran onto the soft sand of the beach. Explosions were now heard – sand shot up from the ground and twirled down again like tiny snowflakes. He was just out of reach of one of the bombs, luckily, so he pulled the trigger a few times more. This time, two of the opponents were purposely aiming at Mikey. As quickly as possible, Mikey ducked and hid behind a boulder. He could hear bullets hitting the other side of the boulder. He held his gun close while he looked to his left – bodies, blood, explosions – and to his right – bodies, bombs, explosions – but he didn't see any of his friends nor Gerard.

Now Mikey really started to panic. His breathing became louder, faster – his lungs didn't seem to receive enough oxygen. Mikey bit his lip and squeezed his eyes shut for a moment. You can do this, he told himself, Do it for your friends. Do it for your family. For their safety. Everything will be fine, and finally repeated his brother's words in his head, I'll never let them hurt you, I promise. He breathed in and exhaled quickly, and then he did it.

Mikey turned and shot out from behind the boulder. Gunshots were flying around his head instantly, but he got the chance to fire a few times too. He started to run towards another hiding spot whilst firing his gun. He neared another boulder…

…but then his breath suddenly hitched in his throat.

A warm and wet feeling spread through the centre of Mikey's chest, and was then replaced by pain. A raw, piercing scream escaped Mikey's mouth, and before his brain had even processed it, his body slammed into the sand on the ground. His eyes squeezed shut. He was writhing. He was screaming, his mouth wide open. He was crying. He was clutching the bullet wound in chest with one hand and desperately searched for his gun with the other, but his limbs didn't respond. Mikey's eyes flew open and he saw Ray above him, breathing fast and pushing some sort of cloth on the wound.

It was not long until Mikey's body stopped moving. Ray witnessed the spark of life disappear from Mikey's eyes.

Ray leaned back and burst out into tears.

There lay his best friend.

Motionless, lifeless, his body twisted into inhuman ways.

Dead.

Gerard groaned whilst shooting down three men ahead of him. There were a few explosions and a few gunshots, and screams, but still, Gerard could hear his own uneven, ragged breathing, until the soldier beside him looked back and screamed something in his direction.

"GERARD!" the soldier yelled as hard as he could.

Gerard followed his gaze.

He froze.

He stopped breathing for one second.

And then he screamed at the top of his lungs in the direction of the body of his brother.

"NO, NO! MIKEY! MIKEEEY! NO! MIKEY! MIKEEEEY!" He went completely hysterical and tried to get up and run toward his brother, but the soldiers beside him were holding him back and keeping him on the ground with strong, firm arms. Gerard also noticed that Ray was desperately trying to stop the bleeding, and Bob came running to him too, but it was already too late. Mikey had become completely still and his head was tilted back, his glasses sliding down the bridge of his nose. His gun was lying next to him, covered in blood. As well as his whole body. It was terrifying. "MIKEY!" he kept screaming. "MIKEY! MIKEY! Mikey! Mikey. Mi-key…"

Gerard's screams were replaced by gasps. "No," he whispered. "No, no…"

Then, the whole beach grew silent. Soldiers who were still alive got up and dropped their guns. The fight was over. The opponent was defeated. Suddenly, some of the solders started yelling in victory. Some just stayed silent.

Only a few soldiers were sobbing.

Crying.

Screaming.

Mourning.

Four soldiers, to be precise.

Bob.

Ray.

Frank.

And Gerard.

Invisible wounds were scarring them. Invisible pain was surging through their systems.

But could everything be healed?

A series of light footsteps was coming from outside. People were walking down the corridor. The four guys in the room were nearly shaking with excitement. Frank was almost jumping in his seat, biting his lip and keeping his gaze on the door. Ray was continuously tapping his foot and was also staring at the door, waiting for its handle to turn and to find his girlfriend in the doorway. Bob was leaning back into one of the seats, eyes closed, completely motionless but clearly not sure what to do or how to act.

Gerard, however, was anxious and afraid.

If he had taken the death of his brother so bad, how the hell would Alicia react? There was nothing she could do about it – no last goodbye, nothing. The poor woman was left alone in a blink of an eye.

Gerard yelped when the door handle turned. The door flew open and Ray and Frank stood up. Bob remained in his seat and so did Gerard.

The first person to burst through the doorway was Jamia – she gasped and threw herself at Frank. They didn't speak. They just smothered each other in kisses and hugged each other so tight that you would think that they would end up suffocating at some point.

Then, Christa ran inside and threw her arms around Ray. The same things happened between them. They kissed, hugged, whispered words of love and adoration and relief to each other as they never took their eyes off each other.

Then came the hardest part.

Alicia stood frozen in the doorway, tears of happiness streaming down her face as she searched the room and expected to find Mikey. When she didn't see him, her gaze met Gerard's. They stared at each other for a few seconds, remaining completely silent. Words wouldn't explain her more than the information she received only by exchanging glances with Gerard. Alicia's knees gave way. More tears dripped down onto her dark green dress as she held her face in her hands. She sobbed. Whispered Mikey's name over and over again. She heart couldn't comprehend it, but her conscience understood that her boyfriend would never come home again.

Gerard stood up from his seat and walked toward her. He sunk down on the ground next to her and cried with her. "I'm… so, so sorry, Alicia…" he whispered between sobs. Whispering sounds filled the room, replaced by more crying not much later.

"My Michael," Alicia whispered. "My Michael – he's… he's gone…"

The quiet sobbing turned into a high-pitched cry.

A gentle autumn breeze, accompanied by the sweet scent of the rain soaked leaves on the ground beneath the leaves they had fallen from, blew the black strands of Gerard's hair out of his face and left his face uncomfortably bare. Although his eyes were threatening to shut, he was trying his hardest to resist the urge to cover up his eyes with his hands, but he had no choice.

After all, Gerard didn't want to be disrespectful to his brother, whose grave he was standing in front of – in complete silence, all alone.

The letters engraved in the grey tombstone before him pierced through Gerard's heart like a cold blade just by glancing at them – they were straight-forward and impossible to change, just as the memories that were still fresh in Gerard's mind. The terrifying image of his brother dying shot through his mind once again, and after all those days of remaining as strong as he could, he finally sunk onto his knees and broke down crying. This time, Gerard didn't bother to obey the rules of respecting the dead that his parents had taught him since the very first time he was involved with the death of a relative. This was his brother, for Christ's sake. He would understand. Mikey would always understand.

Gerard looked up from under the curtain of his greasy, black hair and eyed the letters once again. Michael James Way – brave soldier, beloved son, brother and friend – I miss you so far. Gerard stared at the last sentence that had been engraved near the bottom of the stone to his own request, and sobbed in disbelief. It was part of a poem that Gerard had written for a friend when his father died by the bombings in the city, and he had even read it out at his funeral, but having it engraved in his brother's tombstone… he could have never imagined such a horrible thing. Regarding that Mikey had always told his brother that he liked the poem so much and that he was the best modern poet he'd ever seen, Gerard considered paying a fortune to let the old engraver put it there.

"You were right about everything, Mikey," Gerard whispered. "Everything you said, all your premonitions you've told me about during our youth – everything has come true. I never believed you, but I really do now…" He coughed through his sobs and watched the rose on the ground and how his tears stained the petals, turning them even a darker shade of red than they already were. "I'm so sorry, Mikey, for everything… You don't even know how much I own Ray for him trying to save your life. He did the best he could, but I bet I could've at least tried to do anything… if only I would have noticed earlier that you were lying on the ground…" Another loud sob escaped Gerard's mouth. "You're never coming home."

A sudden gust of wind came from behind Gerard. His reaction was nothing more than a shiver – he couldn't care less about the damned weather right now.

Gerard bent forward and touched his forehead to the top of the cool tombstone. He squeezed his eyes shut while tilting his head up and quietly pressed a kiss to the stone, in vain imagining it was his little brother's forehead. "I will be with you," he whispered before standing up, stuffing his hands in the pockets of his long coat and walking away into the forest without glancing at the tombstone of his brother.

Thunder cracked in the distance, lightning flashed and lit the forest up several times, and finally rain poured down from the clouds and soaked Gerard's body, but he didn't care. He silently walked off into the distance, his slender figure becoming vaguer with every step he took. There was no destination he was heading for. The only thing Gerard was going to do now was walk until he would fall down himself, almost eagerly waiting for the darkness to envelop and devour him. There was no turning back. This is what he longed for right at this moment and what he would be longing for until the very moment of his death. This was what the Way brothers had sworn to do if something ever happened – they would stick together. And that was what they were going to do. This was the moment. This is the end.

I watched the video for The Ghost Of You by MCR a few days ago and I just had to write this.

I admit that I cried quite a lot for I am such a wuss, so it would mean a lot to me if you would review this.

keep running!

xoxo