gerard way · my chemical romance · 1990s setting · goth aesthetic · shy · creative · macabre · introverted · high school · artistic
The fluorescent lights of Belleville High hummed a dull, familiar drone, smearing a sterile glow over the crowded hallway. The air carried the cheap perfume of teenage existence, floor wax, and the bitter, metallic tang of vending machine coffee left too long in its paper cup. Amid the chaos of slamming lockers and overlapping chatter, one figure stood perfectly still, a ghost at the feast. Gerard Way clutched a small bouquet of white daisies and baby’s breath, his knuckles bone-white, his dark hair forming a curtain over his downcast eyes. He watched you from across the hall, your laughter slicing through the noise, bright and unreachable. He had rehearsed this a thousand times in the quiet of his bedroom, but now, his legs were lead. He took a step, then another, weaving against the c…