The car ride is silent. I can't look at Gerard so I stare out the window the whole time. Agents escort us into the government building. There's security we go through before we take an elevator up. How could this be happening? And why am I dragged into it?

I could have stayed under the bed. But I was panicking too much. I was worried about him. Never should have been. I should have stayed under the bed. Yeah, I would've wasted time worrying where he went but I would've believed the next lie he told me.

In my peripheral vision, I glance at Gerard. He stands like the other agents. Straight back, arms resting in front, steady stance. Except for his face. He doesn't look as stoic as the other two. He looks hurt and worried. I want to feel bad for being upset but I have a right to be.

The elevator opens and we step off, heading down passed the pods of desks arranged in space of four. A familiar woman, his boss, comes over to us. "Next time, don't hang up on Akari," she says to Gerard. He doesn't respond to her. She keeps looking at him, talking as if I wasn't here. "Who's he?"

"Frank Iero," he answers.

She glances at the other two. "You...found him already? How?"

The other two glance at each other uneasy. "Agent Way can explain that to you," the girl says. Agent Way...I don't like that.

Macy glances at me with narrow eyes. I can't tell if she's judging me or just trying to remember me. But her expression eases up and she looks back at Gerard, who's staring at the floor with a shifted jaw. He looks guilty.

"Hillsy, please escort Mr. Iero into interrogation."

"What?" I look around. "No, I'm not going anywhere. I have nothing to do with this." The girl takes my arm and leads me away but I yank it back. "Stop!" I use too much force and both of us stumble. She reflexively reaches for her side. So does the other guy. I notice the guns strapped to their hips and my heart drops to my stomach. I have no idea how screwed I am.

"Put it down," Gerard says sharply. He steps in front of me, blocking the other two. Even if they did take out their weapons, they wouldn't be able to shoot me with him standing there. Gerard glances at his boss. "Mace, leave him out of this."

"You too?" she whispers softly.

Gerard tenses up. "Oh, don't give me that," he replies. "Brendon had no influence on this."

"I can't say I'm not surprised," she says, "but I'm sure even if that's the case, I doubt you two kept it a secret from each other as well."

Gerard doesn't say anything. Instead, he looks at me. "Just go with them, okay?" he says.

"What?"

"Frank, it'll be okay," he says. I stare at him. "Trust me."

I scoff at him. "Trust you?" I repeat. "I did. But now that you have to ask me, I don't know if I should anymore."

The woman takes me to a dull room with a single light fixture over a table with two chairs. The walls are blank but the one in front of me is a large, dark mirror. I know if someone's behind there, they can see me. The movies accurately portrayed how this would look. But it doesn't make me feel any better.

I slide down in the chair. I don't know what they're going to ask me but I don't know anything. And don't I get some lawyer? And a right to remain silent? I didn't do anything wrong, I have no idea what's happening. They can't arrest me. Actually, do they even have a right to detain me? Granted, I'm not about to run away. That plan could only end in disaster. And make me looks guilty. Which I'm not.

With barely any sleep and such a dark room, I start nodding off. I cross my arms, slouching and sprawled on the chair with my head down. I try fighting off the sleep but when I come to the conclusion that they can wake me when they come in, I just go to sleep.

I don't know how it's been but I snap awake when I hear the door click open. Macy comes back in the room holding a plastic bag. "Figured you should eat something now," she says, setting it down on the table. I look at her suspiciously. She rummages through, taking out two bottles of water and two sub sandwiches. She hands me one and I look at it.

"What time is it?" I ask, unwrapping the paper. Would they have poisoned it? Or drugged it with something?

"Almost noon," she says, sitting down across from me and taking a bite.

I glance at the sandwich. This is what I usually order at lunch. "You talked to Gerard?" I ask. Macy nods while chewing. "What'd he say?" I ask while doing my best to sound nonchalant.

"I'm afraid I can't tell you that," she says. "But I do have some questions for you."

"Am I going to jail?"

"That depends," she says. "Did you do anything wrong?"

"No."

"Then I see no reason to arrest you."

"Then why am I here?" I ask. I take a bite of the sandwich, giving her the benefit of doubt. If it is laced with something, so be it. Tastes fine.

"This is for your own protection," she says.

I glance up at her. "No offense, but history has proven that when the government says that, they're lying."

"I don't blame you for being suspicious or worried," Macy says. "But I do need to hear what you know."

"Know-I don't know anything," I say.

"You can't not know anything," she laughs, taking another bite. This isn't the kind of interrogation I thought I'd get. I thought they would be screaming at me, demanding to know things. I was worried they'd physically harm me too. But she's treating this like we're out at lunch. Probably some psychological training thing I have no idea how it works. "What are your relations to Gerard Way?" I tense up and she notices. "Okay, what were your relations 12 hours ago?" she asks.

"I don't know," I mutter. "Everything's been a lie so far so to tell you the truth, I can't be certain anymore."

"What did you think was the truth?" she rephrases. Her presence is calmer than I remember, more welcoming than intrusive. Granted, she's probably trying to coax information out of me rather than scare it out.

"I thought he was some translator or a financial advisor for some company that had to do with airplanes," I say. "I met him in Austria over half a year ago. And we had been casually seeing each other. It stopped for a few months but we caught up and made plans then..." Austria. It clicks. He wasn't being mugged. And it was no coincidence his hotel was bombed. And that car accident wasn't an accident. And Brendon...I don't think he had a heart attack.

"You okay, Frank?" she says. I look back up at her. "What were you saying?"

"He...he said he wanted to meet up again but he never showed. He said he was in a car accident...I take he that's also not true?"

"There was a car collision," she says.

"Sure there was," I mutter. Not that I don't believe her but I'm still bitter.

"He was ambushed and tortured by foreign enemies," she says. I stop chewing and look at her in disbelief. "Don't take your anger out on him," Macy says. "It's not his fault these rules are in place."

"He lied to me," I say. "And sure, yeah, I get it's not his fault but I'm still...I don't know. I don't know anymore."

"Don't think it's not because he doesn't care about you," she says. "You were worth breaking the rules for him."

"I mean, sure, I guess," I say.

"What else did he tell you?" she asks.

"Lies," I mutter. "I swear, I don't know anything. "

"I believe you," she says.

I hesitant for a moment. "Then can I go home?"

"No," she says flatly. She cracks open her water bottle and starts drinking.

"No?"

"No," she says again.

I look at her but she continues eating. I am in federal interrogation and the CIA agent is more interested in her sandwich than me. "Why?" I finally ask.

"Way went undercover in Austria. We fear he's been compromised somehow. One of our other agents received information from the Russians."

"They found out he was some...agent?" I ask.

"We don't know. They just had a file on him, his family and childhood, job history, address, medical records that are from our agency..." Macy trails off for a second. She looks like she's actually scared, only for a moment. It puts me off because she doesn't strike me as the type to show fear. It quickly diminishes though. "And there was information about you listed as well. As an associate of him."

My mouth falls. "What? I-no, no, I couldn't have done anything. I don't-" She puts a hand up and I trail off.

"It doesn't say you've done anything. It just has information about your study abroad, classes, graduation, and internship."

"What?" I mutter.

"They want Gerard and since you are close to him, it's put you in danger." I glance down. "You and Agent Way will be taken to a safe house along with two other agents for protection. You are to remain there until the threat is terminated."

"How long will that be?" I ask. She doesn't answer me. "You don't know, how-I can't just. No, I can't do this."

"You don't have a choice," she says.

"I'll lose my job," I say softly. Not necessarily to her but me saying it out loud for myself.

Macy looks at me softly but unchanged. "It's for your protection. But we will be working as quickly as we can."

Macy and I finish our lunch, which also becomes the end of the interrogation. We step out and she leads me back to the room with all the desks. Gerard is sitting at his desk with his head in his hands and his hair in disarray. A young woman, younger than me, and an Asian person in a wheelchair are in front of him talking. The woman notices me and directions Gerard's attention. He glances over then sees us, immediately standing up.

I turn away. I don't know what to say right now. I just know I don't want to see him. I need time to think. But if we're going to a safe house, I don't think I'm going to get that.

They take our phones. Gerard doesn't even question losing his phone. I'm terrified, asking dozens of questions if I'll get it back if I'll lose anything. They're turning it off and it will be stored in a vault, making it untraceable. I cannot contact anyone beforehand. My work, my friends, they're not going to know what happened to me. They're going to worry. And if they call the police, it will be treated like a missing person's case. I don't know how Gerard just accepts this so easily. But then again, he never made a personal life. Except for me. However, it seems like he's trained to react this way. This is completely normal for him. Had I not been there and I was at home, he would've gone under the radar and I wouldn't know what happened to him.

I'd be worried sick. I also wouldn't know where to start on how to find out about him. I don't know anything about him. He's never opened up to me but there's also not much to open up. He never made a life. He's just an expendable agent. If he were to die, they could just replace them. How could he act so calm about this? How could this be his job? All these colleagues, they die, they get someone else to take their place. How can he choose to live this way?

After further instructions, which are for me since Gerard already knows, the very young woman and another guy agent accompany us in the car. The drive is three hours long, completely away from the city and in some isolated area. With half an hour left, we stop for dinner, getting Chinese food. But after leaving the restaurant, there were barely any signs of civilization. From the looks of it, the safe house is 20 minutes away from the nearest town.

We park the car, getting out. The area is secluded with trees and a dirt pathway. There are only two entrances to the house, the front door, and another door off to the side. There aren't any windows either. Inside, it's a simple cabin with an open floor space. The air is a bit stale and musty, probably due to the lack of circulating air. However, the absence of windows doesn't impede on the lightning. The lamps and lights give off a bright shine, the whole place looking slightly white. A section of the cabin is split off with walls, probably where the bathroom is. By the size of it, maybe even a bedroom.

The sitting area has couches and armchairs circled around the table. A few feet over, a kitchen area with a stove, microwave, fridge, and sink. There's not a phone or TV around. "What'd you expect?" Gerard says.

I turn around, seeing him address the woman. She looks slightly confused. "I don't know," she mutters. She sighs, setting her black backpack on one of the armchairs. "Can I get dibs on this one?" she asks.

"Probies don't get dibs," the other guy says. She freezes awkwardly for a moment until Gerard smacks his shoulder. "I'm kidding, yeah. We don't care."

"We sleeping in here?" I ask.

"You're welcome to have the room to yourself," the guy says.

I give a nod and head off down the hall. "Frank, wait," Gerard says. I ignore him, opening the door to the bedroom. It's a twin bed with a pillow, sheets, and a blanket. Not 5-star hotel quality but also better than sketchy motel quality. "Frank." I slam the door shut but he steps into the doorway, catching it before it hits him. "Hey, please, can we talk?"

I flop down on the bed, slamming a lot harder than I thought I would and grunting out on the impact. "What the!" I ease myself off the mattress. Okay, not as much cushion as I thought.

"It's...not the best. Are you okay?" He asks. He reaches for my shoulder but I shift away.

"Can I just be alone?" I ask.

"Frank, I'm sorry."

"Okay," I say.

"Please, let me talk to you."

"I don't want to listen right now. I just need to process this." I sit down on the bed, resting my head in my hands.

"Can I just explain?"

"What could you possibly explain to make this better?" I ask, finally looking at him. "I don't know how you thought of me before but I'm not that oblivious and stupid. I know what's going on. I don't need your explanation anymore to understand, okay?"

There's a long silence. Part of me wonders if he's going to finally leave me alone. But he doesn't. "Are you mad at me?" he asks.

"I don't know," I mutter. "But I am upset."

"Look," he says, kneeling down in front of me. I slide back on the mattress to keep some distance. He notices my reaction and looks hurt but continues on. "I am sorry I got you involved. Believe me, I wish I could have kept you safe. I'm sorry." I don't say anything. I don't know what to say to him. I don't know how to feel. I don't want to feel this way but right now, everything is wrong. And I shouldn't be okay with that. Whether or not it's his fault, I truly won't ever understand. I don't think it is but I can't just accept everything like it's fine. Because things are not fine right now. "Say something."

"What do you want me to say?" I ask.

"Just talk to me," he whispers.

I take a slow breath, trying to keep myself from freaking out or breaking down. "I just feel," I say slowly, "hurt." Gerard looks at me softly, his eyes glossy and wide. "I feel deceived, betrayed, used. I feel like my life was just stolen from me. The person I love dearly isn't who they say they are. The person I fell in love with had to be a spy. My job is...who knows what's going to happen. And my friends and family don't know I'm here. We don't know how long we'll be here. And when this is all over, nothing can just go back to how it was. And I feel tainted because of that." My jaw starts trembling and panic creeps up my chest, forming a lump in my throat. "And I don't know if it's exactly right to say this but it's how I feel." I turn to the side so I don't have to look at his face. "It's all because of you. Me knowing you is what dragged me into this. Me...being close to you is why I'm in danger. And...for you, I'm just a weakness. The movies always make it seem like a romantic connotation. But right now, that's not how I feel. I feel like I'm just flaw in your profile, something to compromise you, something to exterminate. That in order to be perfect, you have to get rid of me."

"I'm sorry," he whispers again. I look at him and whimper. His face is flush, eyes red. Tears keep trickling down his cheeks and dripping off his chin. It takes me back. "I didn't...I don't know what to do anymore. I don't want to lose you."

I can't promise him that he won't. I don't know what the future holds anymore, but I don't mean it in a hopeful way. I don't know if I can stay with him due to his agency. I don't know if we can make it work after this. "Sometimes people are meant to be together but not forever," I say.

"What?" he cries out. His breathing starts getting faster.

"Gerard, you and I live very different lives. In another life, we could have been great together but in this one, I don't know if it'll work." His mouth hangs open and seeing the pain on his face physically hurts me. "I don't want to lose you. It'll be one of the hardest things I'd have to do. But if it's something we have to do then..." I trail off. He takes a sharp breath, holding it in for a moment. I tilt my head up to keep my own tears from spilling. One of us has to be able to say these things out loud. I don't think he's able to do it so it's got to be me. But that doesn't mean I want to have to say this. "Deep down, I don't regret being with you. I think we are great together. And I really do wish we could have lasted. But from how things are going, I can't be certain there's a future anymore."

"Anymore?" he repeats, wiping his eyes. More tears run down the side of his face. "As in you used to?"

I look down, a hint of a smile forms on my lips. "If you asked me last night, I couldn't see there being an end with you. But that was with the accountant. That's not who you really are so now, I don't know what think."

He looks so pained and it hurts me. I gave him this pain. But he gave mine. I shudder, thinking how terrible that sounds in my head, as if this is some toxic relationship. But I can't exactly say this was a healthy one either. "I don't want to you lose you," he says. "If there is a sliver of a chance we could make this work, please, tell me what you need, anything."

I pause. What I need is my ignorance back. Or better yet, a boyfriend who was telling the truth about being a finical advisor. But those are unattainable. I know the gist of what happened but I want to hear it from him. "Were you really in a car accident in Austria?"

"Yes," he says. "Technically. We were hit and that's how they got me when I was undercover."

"What'd they do to you?" I ask softly. "What happened?"

His face blanks. "I...don't know."