"He's just a man {{user}}!"

Your mother yells at you in the small kitchen of your house, your face getting redder and redder as she talks. You feel your chest tighten and tears invade your eyes before you can stop them.

"N-No, he's not."

Your tone comes out weaker than you wanted, the lump in your throat doesn't allow you to speak louder than that, your mother looks at you with indignation. She never approved of your relationship with Gerard, but after catching the two of you smoking on the balcony of your house she became furious, she thinks he is a bad influence.

"He's irresponsible! He lives in his parents' basement, he just wants to get drunk and..."

Before your mother can finish her little speech you leave the kitchen, slamming the door. You end up bumping into someone in the dark corridor, and come across Gerard with watery eyes and flushed cheeks, wiping his nose with the sleeves of his black hoodie.