I woke up on the floor in the basement. For a moment I thought everything was back to normal. I was in the basement hungover and in pain. A normal morning for me. And then I saw the dumb fucking baby blue sweater I was wearing. I got up and stumbled to the bathroom, seeing that I had a black eye from where Frank kicked me in the face.

I went up and grabbed the keys, going to the store. I found a debit card in my wallet as I walked down the aisles. I grabbed the items I was looking for before heading home to the upstairs bathroom. I spent a good few hours in there blasting music and listening to Mikey complain about how loud the music was.

I stared in the mirror when I was done with my work. The black eye really was the cherry on top to make me look like myself again. I dyed my hair black, put on black skinny jeans with a black t-shirt and black leather jacket. I got myself a pair of black boots and some eyeliner.

I walked down the stairs and found Mikey and Frank in the kitchen, he must've stayed the night. They stared at me when I walked in, both of them too shocked to say anything.

"First you jump out a window and now you change your appearance?" Mikey asked. "What's wrong with you?"

"Well, it's clear that neither of you will talk or cooperate with me," I said. "So, I need to talk with someone who will. Not Lindsey, though. I need Ray. Have you seen Ray?"

"Who?" Mikey asked.

"He's talking about Toro, that faggy kid," Frank said.

I bit my tongue, decided not to say anything so he didn't injure me any more than he already has. Yesterday was crazy, so much happened. Today needed to be calmer, I needed to think about things more rationally than I had before.

"Toro, Ray Toro, I need to find him," I said.

"Good luck? I mean, I don't know what else to say," Mikey said. "I really don't give a shit."

"Do you know where I can find him?" I asked, trying to keep my cool.

"Why do you think we would know where he is?" Frank asked.

I wanted to scream, I was so frustrated. "Because you will understand soon. You will all understand. This isn't my life, everything is backwards."

I poured some vodka into a water bottle, taking a drink.

"Wow, that's some hardcore shit right there," Frank said. "It's not even ten in the morning."

I took the bottle and left, walking down the street. I went to Ray's house, knocking on the door. I've known Ray for years, he's amazing. A badass guitar player who was like a god on guitar. He was, most definitely, one of the best people I have ever met.

What I was not expecting, however, was the person who answered the door. I stared at Ray, not knowing what to say. His hair was straightened and he had makeup on.

"Ray?" I asked.

"Yeah," he said. "Wait, Gerard? Wow, you went through a real makeover. You look good."

"Oh my god, you remember me but you're different, too, everyone is different," I said. "I didn't mean for this to happen, Frank and Mikey are jerks, Lindsey is obsessed with me, you're wearing makeup and doing your hair."

"Oh this?" He asked. "This isn't what I usually do, usually it's my natural curly hair and metallica t-shirts."

"Oh my god, it's you, it's really you," I sighed, giving him a hug. "I've missed you, man, I've been so caught up with Frank but I should have come to you first."

"Wanna come in?" He asked.

I nodded, going to sit on the couch.

"Okay, so I remember I was arguing with Frank because I had gotten into drugs and then I got hit by a car and ended up in this really weird place," I said. "But you're here too. We need to figure out what happened so that way we can put everything back together. I just want everything to go back to how they were, I want to date Frank again and to be best friends with my little brother. Have you tried reaching out to them? I haven't seen you at school."

"Listen, Gerard, I'm not really sure what you're talking about," he said. "I know we were lab partners sophomore year but that's it. I dropped out that year, remember?"

"No, but you're the same," I said. "You didn't completely change like everyone else. You're like me, you're self-aware."

"I don't know what you're on about, man," he said. "I'm not 'self-aware' or anything. This is the world we live in."

"Daddy!" Some little girl exclaimed as she ran to Ray.

I jumped back, for some reason scared of a child.

"Holy shit, you changed too," I said. "You look the same but you've changed just like them. You have a kid in this universe."

"I'm going to go put my daughter down for a nap and then we'll talk about this some more," he said.

Ray picked up the girl and went upstairs. I took a drink before looking around, only now noticing the toys that were strewn around. The Ray Toro that I knew definitely did not have a child. So he isn't self-aware like I am. He's part of this universe, too.

"So, tell me exactly what happened," he said when he walked down.

I took a deep breath, setting my water bottle down.

"Okay, so I'm from an alternate dimension or something," I said. "One where you, me, Frank and Mikey are all best friends and we have a band together. We're all punk and edgy and me and Frank are gay and dating each other. I was drunk one night and had Frank caught me snorting coke and then I got hit by a car.

"I woke up here in this alternate dimension. And I looked like a little fucking christian boy with my natural hair and these god awful sweaters. That's why I went and did this makeover. Anyways, my dad's apparently out of the picture and my mom is like this little suburban house mother who just bakes pies all day. Mikey is a jerk and only goes by Michael. Frank keeps beating me up. Lindsey is supposedly my girlfriend and I'm totally gay. You're normal but you have a child. You still look the same, except the hair and makeup. I bet you're still amazing on the guitar, you've played in, like, twenty bands since you were ten. I jumped out a fucking window. I just know that this is not my world and I need to get back home."

Ray bit his lip as he took in everything that I said.

"And you think I'm crazy, don't you?" I asked.

"It sounds crazy, it does," he said. "But it's weird that you know when I started playing guitar and how many bands I've been in."

"Because I know you," I said. "You have to believe me."

"I'm inclined to but it's all just a little weird," he said.

I nodded, taking a drink.

"Dude, is that straight vodka?" He asked. "Maybe you're just drunk."

"I'm not drunk," I denied. "Just take some time to think about it. Maybe we can talk more? Here's my phone number, call me and we can meet for coffee one day to talk it over. Hopefully soon, I can't stay here long. I need to get back to my own reality."

"I don't know if I should let you out when you've been drinking, maybe you should stay here for a little bit," he said. "What happened to your eye?"

"Frank Iero kicked me in the face," I said. "And I hurt my wrist from jumping out the second floor window at school. Yesterday was just so chaotic and crazy and everything happened so fast because I was panicking. Today I am thinking rationally, keeping everything calm and taking things slow. That's why I came to you, you always know what to do in the tough situations."

"Frank always was a douchebag," Ray said.

"Where I'm from he's not," I said. "He's sweet and energetic and passionate. He loves what he does and I love him so much. He doesn't know me here, though."

Ray nodded, going to the kitchen.

"So, what's the story with you and your kid, where are your parents?" I asked. "In my world you're not a dad."

"I dated this girl and got her pregnant at the end of freshman year," he said. "Sophomore year she gave birth and didn't want my daughter so I dropped out of school to raise her. My parents still live here, too, they're just at work right now."

"What's her name?" I asked.

"Valentina," he said. "It means strong and that's exactly how I want to raise her to be, strong and independent. Also want to raise her to be a little punk. She's the one who did my hair and makeup this morning for the tea party we had."

Ray got me some toast with jam, sitting next to me on the couch.

"You shouldn't be drinking on an empty stomach," he said.

I ate quietly before I broke down crying.

"I don't know what happened, Ray," I said. "I just want everything to go back to normal, to how it was before all this shit happened."

Ray rubbed my back gently as I cried into my toast.

"You know, it's going to be okay," he said. "And if you're right and you really are from another dimension then there has to be some way for you to get back."

"I came here by getting hit by a car," I said. "Maybe I just need to get hit by a car again."

"Or we can try something that's a little less drastic and a little less likely to kill you," he said. "Just eat your toast and rest up, okay? We'll talk about this later."

Ray turned on the tv and I sniffled, watching with him. However, I wanted nothing more than to try and make amends with Frank once again, even if it meant getting yet another black eye.