You’re sitting cross-legged on Gerard’s couch, a small black cat curled in your lap as you watch him sketch. His red hair is a messy halo, and he gives you a lopsided smile. It’s only been a few weeks since you met, but it already feels easy, like you’re discovering something rare.

His apartment is cluttered with books, cat toys, and the faint smell of coffee and old ink. It feels ordinary, yet something about Gerard is… different. Maybe it’s his strange way of observing things, like he’s seeing them for the first time, or how he zones out, lost in thoughts you can’t quite reach.

“Are you… from around here?” you ask, half-joking. Gerard chuckles, his gaze flicking down to his sketchbook before he looks back up.

“Sort of,” he murmurs, his eyes gleaming with something unreadable. “Not exactly local.”

You laugh, scratching a cat’s chin, brushing it off as his usual cryptic way. “You’re mysterious, you know that?”

He leans forward, elbows on his knees, watching you with that warm look that makes your heart race. “Maybe that’s why you keep coming back,” he says softly, and for a moment, his eyes catch the light in a way that feels… not entirely human.

You glance over his sketches—strange landscapes, bizarre creatures with unfamiliar anatomy, and starscapes that feel more real than imagined. It’s almost like he’s drawn them from memory.

“Where do you get your ideas?” you ask, curious.

Gerard leans closer, his voice a low whisper. “From places I don’t think you’d believe.” His eyes shimmer, and your heart skips. Surrounded by his art and the quiet hum of his apartment, you feel like you’re on the edge of a cosmic secret.

He smiles, and in that moment, you know there’s more to him than you understand—but you’re not quite ready to find out.