From the Choice You Make 7/19/06 (not factual)

There weren't very many people on the set that night. The video would be shots of the band only, playing the song in front of the Black Parade's float. The float and some other props from the previous video would be set to flames.

Andie talked to the guys about giving them a darker look for the shoot. She thought it would be fitting since the fiery set would seem like hell and everyone agreed. She was applying dark black eyeshadow and thick eyeliner on each of the guys. But they seemed to have lost their minds at some point because they were all in crazy ass moods.

"I think we should just fucking let loose out there," said Frank getting excited.

"I know! I'm just gonna let it all out. Whatever fucking happens, happens," agreed Gerard.

"A little pent up energy, huh, Gerard?" Andie grinned over at him.

"Ha...c'mon! You're not fair!" he smiled knowingly.

Mikey laughed. "Oh you guys...you'll have plenty of time for that later. I'm just glad we'll be finished and can get ready for the tour."

"Hey Andie, you're coming to Jersey with G, right?" asked Ray.

"Well..." Andie began and looked up at Gerard.

He couldn't hide his disappointment. "You're not? I didn't ask...but I guess I just figured..."

"Oh no, it's not that I don't want to...and I appreciate you thinking of me, but I have to go back to LA first. Then I could come see you guys."

"Well, sure, I mean, if you've got stuff to do, boyfriends to see..." Gerard teased.

"Noooo...no boyfriends, Gerard," she said seriously. "But I do have to go get paid for this shoot and see if there are any other jobs open right now that I might be able to take. I could ask for something on the East coast, but I can't guarantee anything. See...New York has even more stylists than LA, so there isn't usually anything out there."

Gerard was trying to think of a reason for her to come with them. He wanted her to be with him all the time. How was he going to convince her to come? Or maybe he should let her go. Maybe she doesn't want to come afterall...

"Well..." Mikey thought aloud. "How come we just can't have a stylist of our own?"

"That's a great idea!" chimed Ray. "Then she could do our hair and stuff for all our shows and photo shoots then."

"Yeah...we could do that, right?" asked Frank.

"That just might work," added Bob. "We could do that. You could be our stylist, Andie."

When everyone had decided it was a good idea, Gerard looked over at Andie. "That means you would go with us on tour for like the next year or maybe longer...and to promotions, photo shoots, everything."

This was the point where he expected to be let down gently. He just knew it was coming to this because he'd felt like the past few days were too good to be true. And, except for this band, things had always been too good to be true for him.

"Do you want to spend that much time with us?" he swallowed. "With me?"

Mikey, Ray, Bob, and Frank all tried not to look at Gerard and Andie. They all thought she was great. And they knew Gerard well enough to know he was crazy about her. They all truly believed she felt the same way about their good friend. Now here she was, on the spot, being asked to share her feelings in front of all of them. Well, better for Gerard to know now than to keep holding on after they got back to Jersey.

"Are you fucking kidding me??" Andie looked like she would explode. She ran over to Gerard and jumped up, wrapping her arms and legs around him and squealing. She planted kisses all over his face. "I would LOVE to!"

Gerard laughed and stepped back before he spun them around and kissed her lips.

He was so elated. He had so much to be thankful for. He had his friends. They were in a kick-ass band doing what they loved. He'd stayed clean and sober for almost two years now. Their new album was about to be released and they were all so sure it would succeed. And now he had Andie. He couldn't have asked for anything else in the world...


The shoot that night was...well...insane. The burning set behind the guys was so incredibly hot and they were just so broken down from everything over the past few days, that it turned into one of the craziest performances they'd ever played. The fire was growing higher and higher and, between shots, the guys tried everything to cool down with fans and water. Their makeup was pretty much a lost cause, but Andie did the best she could when she had the chance, blotting and reapplying. At one point, she just had to give up, though.

Sam was right about this shoot. It was fast and hard. The guys performed for hours and literally felt like they were losing their minds. But the playbacks looked awesome, so they continued shooting.

Then came the injuries...

During one of the last shots, the guys were going crazy and things got a little out of control. Frank doesn't even know for sure what he did, but he ended up tackling Gerard and injuring his ankle. At the moment, and with so much adrenaline pumping, he didn't realize it was that bad. Besides, he was used to bumps and bruises during performances, even some occasional bleeding, so he kept going. He wouldn't want to stop everything for a twisted ankle when it was looking so good, anyway.

During the very last shot, the band finished the song and everyone was catching their breath when they faintly heard Bob's voice over the roar of the flames behind him and his drums. He said something to the effect of "I gotta go" and ran off the set as the wall of fire soared higher. The guys all followed him off the set as the pyro techs ran forward with extinguishers. Bob's calf was badly burned. The medic on the set tried treating it first, but it wouldn't be enough.

Dirty, sweaty, and completely exhausted both mentally and physically, Gerard and Bob went to the local ER to get checked out. Brian drove them there and had asked Andie if she wanted to come along. She and Brian waited outside in the waiting room as the nurses wheeled Gerard and Bob back to the examining rooms.

After an hour or so, the automatic doors opened and Gerard and Bob both came through them on crutches. They were both being released with medication, but were to follow up with their respective primary doctors when they got back to Jersey.

Bob's leg had suffered 2nd and 3rd degree burns and would require extensive care over the next few weeks. Gerard had torn several ligaments in his ankle so badly that the damage was the equivalent as if he had broken it.

The doctor handed Gerard his medication and he looked down at the bottle. He could have said something... He should have said something... But he thought he was strong enough now to handle it...

Gerard was prescribed Oxycodone.