Ray's POV

As we all sat around the mahogany coffee table eating our takeaway, I couldn't help but notice Frank and Gerard's red eyes. They'd been crying again, and I had to find out why. But not just now, it was too perfect to ruin the moment. Me sat on the one single armchair with Mikey sat across my lap, and Gerard laying on the sofa with his head in Frank's lap.

"Hey guys" Gerard sat up and looked at us all, beaming. "Thanks. This has been the best birthday ever!" A single tear rolled down his cheek and we all smiled at him.
"To Gerard!" Frank proposed a toast as he wiped away the tear. Me, Mikey and Frank raised our cans of Monster, smiled and drank. "Happy birthday, Gee" said Frank, and he kissed Gerard once more.

"Whoa-oh, I never meant to brag. But I got him where I want him now. Whoa-oh, it was never my intention to brag. To steal it all away from you now" We were all dancing around the living room, very hyper from all the energy drinks we'd had, and singing along to Kerrang! at 11:30. My voice was hoarse from screaming all the lyrics to Pray For Plagues by Bring Me The Horizon before, and it felt like my throat was on fire, but I was having too much fun to care.

The doorbell rang and we had to turn the music down. I opened the door and a tall boy stood on the step. His dark hair was dripping over his face and he was looking down with large eyes.

"Who is it swee-" Mikey stopped halfway through hugging me as he took one look at the stranger. The other boy stared back at him and smiled. "No" Mikey whispered. "No, no, no, no, NO!"

Mikey turned and ran up the stairs, constantly screaming "NO!" at the top of his lungs. Frank and Gerard joined me at the door and both gasped.

"Ryan..?" Gerard looked like he'd seen a ghost.

"You've got some fucking nerve, coming here!" Frank grabbed the boy by the front of his shirt and threw him inside, slamming the door behind him. "What the fuck do you want?"

Mikey's POV

I slammed my bedroom door and locked it, sliding down to the floor and whimpering. Footsteps boomed up the stairs and there was a knock at the door.

"FUCK OFF, RYAN!" I choked. "I DON'T WANT YOU HERE!" There was another sliding sound on the other side of the wood and a slight sobbing.

"It's n-not Ryan" came an all-too-familiar voice. "It's m-me baby" I stood up and opened the door to find Ray slumped against the wall.

Pulling him up, I embraced Ray in my arms and cried into his shoulder. He scooped me up and carried me to the bed. He shushed me with one finger and kissed my forehead.

"It's okay baby" he whispered. "Just tell me what's up. Who is he?"

"Well, you know that scar in my left shoulder?" Ray nodded. "I dated Ryan for a while. I caught him and Gee fucking, and so did Frank. He would have stabbed Ryan, but I got in the way. But I've never forgiven Ryan for cheating on me. I haven't seen him in at least 4 years.."

I cried some more into Ray's shirt, clawing at his shoulder's for support. He leaned over and kissed my cheek.

"Mikey, no matter what's happened, I still love you. But you need to confront this boy. He's come all the way from England to see you, Frank and Gerard."

"Okay. But I need you with me"

"Of course, baby" Ray kissed me once more and we descended the stairs hand in hand.

As the bottom stair creaked, Ryan's large eyes shot up and took in my features, making them widen much more. I hadn't thought I'd changed that much, but I was obviously wrong.

"Mikey..." His voice was harsh and his speech slightly slurred; he'd been drinking. "You look so beautiful, baby..."
"He is NOT your baby!" Ray snapped like a wild dog, making Ryan jump and shrink back into the cushions. "Now tell us why the fuck you're here!" I'd never seen Ray this defensive, but I liked it. It made me feel worthy.

Before he had time to open his mouth to respond, Ryan had burst out crying. I rushed over to him and put my arm around his shoulders, gaining me a hurtful look from Ray. I mouthed the words "I love you" and blew him a kiss before turning back to Ryan. He had his head in his hands and was shaking like a dog outside on a cold winter's night. He was a mess.

Gerard's POV

I had Frank's hand clutching my own inside my jacket pocket as we desperately tried to cling on to the present and not sink in to our terrible past. Ryan was just telling us about this new development in his life and ended it with one quick sentence.
"I'm dying" he whimpered. The room sat in awed silence as we all welled up with tears. I had known it would be bad news, but never this bad!

"No..." Mikey wasn't crying; he seemed in too much shock to cry. "No, Ryan, you're not dying" Now he was chuckling lightly as if this was all a practical joke, but the look on Ryan's face told him otherwise. "NO RYAN, YOU CAN'T FUCKING DIE!" Mikey was almost choking on his tears as he screamed at the top of his voice. I turned into Frank's chest and sobbed at the scenario in our living room. As we all cried, Ryan started twitching and was soon writhing uncontrollably on the floor.

"NO! RYAN, NO! CALL A FUCKING AMBULANCE, GEE!" Mikey was on his knees at Ryan's head, staring into my eyes and pleading with me. He leant into Ryan's hair and began whispering inaudibly to him. I tapped the numbers 911 into my cell and phoned for an ambulance to come to our house which arrived in minutes. Frank, Mikey, Ray and I had to follow in the Dodge Challenger Ray's dad had given to him the year I left for Tokyo. Mikey was still crying in the front seat with his knees under his chin, praying to God that Ryan would be okay.