Gerard’s POV
So, I guess my little secret is out, I am madly attracted to Frank Iero. The exciting part is, he actually reciprocates. Or am I hallucinating? Could it possibly be reality, me- an average art freak whose socks don’t even always match and who prefers to read about life rather than actually live it and Frank, a fascinating man with sophisticated mind who also happens to be a vampire. How can we possibly make it work? Will we ever even make it work?

These days we’ve been hanging around, doing nothing and everything at the same time. We’ve started building a relationship, much like an unhealthy obsession for being each other’s as much as possible, if it makes any sense. We’d snog each other’s faces off when we feel like it (which, may I add, happens scarily often), then we’d go all quiet, just laying or wandering around the flat with the books he’d no doubt read a million times before but would still find interest in.

We’d occasionally watch a movie, one of those cliché ones that you don’t even need to follow to know what would happen because the storyline is that predictable. And indeed we never really, really watch them since we’re preoccupied with each other, his head lying lazily in my lap and me running my fingers through his longish locks and memorizing everything about him. He once told me that it was very soothing and since then, it became some kind of a habit when watching a movie on the sofa.

There are many silly little things that I notice now. Like the way he looks at me with a content smile and warm eyes when I wake up in the morning that clearly says ‘I’m so glad you are here’. Also, there’s the fact he’s been digging out old comfy sweaters in the last week seemingly out of nowhere all the time ever since that one time I had been shivering in my sleep. He said they’d keep me warmer than any of my clothes. Indeed, I have taken only autumn clothes but now all of the trees’ leaves have fallen, the wind has become colder and it has been raining more frequently, so I could’ve been freezing in the nights if it wasn’t for his sweaters. Other thing I enjoy is the smell of coffee lingering on them, it is something that always reminds me who they belong to and that makes me feel touched in a way. Like a part of him will always be with me as long as I carry his sweaters around.

Apart from that, there is some stuff that worries me about him lately. He seems to be acting a little odd and I can’t get it out of him. He’d smoke way too much cigarettes at night and most of the time would refuse to feed. He’d frequently stare out of the window, lost deep in thought and when I approach him, he sometimes seems rather distracted, distant, like he sometimes forgets where he is and he looks at me like he’s expected to see something (or perhaps somebody…?) else. Of course, it’s bugging me greatly because he wouldn’t tell me and I want to help, at least morally, through whatever crisis he’s going through and be there for him when he needs me (if he needs me).

I just really want to know.


~
It’s a rather cold day outside and I and Frank are inside behind tightly closed curtains, as usual, in our safe heaven. I’m combing through his hair with my fingers as I normally do and he leans into my touch as he normally does. It’s just a pretty normal day until a text comes to Frank’s mobile phone. He hardly ever gets a text or a call, so it’s sort of surprising when his phone vibrates on the coffee table next to the sofa. He kind of jumps from me when he hears it and snatches it from the table like it’s on fire. I really don’t understand why he’d be acting so edgy but I stay quiet while he reads it. He looks at his phone with an unreadable expression that can be only described as tense and nothing more or less. I try to respect his personal space and stuff, but my curiosity gets the better of me and I lean over his shoulder as he’s now in a sitting position next to me, all straight back and squared shoulders. Before I can read anything, he stands abruptly and leaves the room with his phone.

I feel kind of stupid for being so nosy but at the same time, don’t boyfriends (for the lack of a better term) tell each other everything? Why would he hide a text message? What can possibly be so personal or secretive? He should know by now that I would accept anything, as long as he’s honest about it.

“Frank?”, I say just as loud as it’s needed to be heard in the kitchen where he probably is. “Frank, is everything okay?”, I ask him worriedly.

“Y-yes, it wasn’t anything important”, he tries sounding nonchalant and fails miserably.

“You’re lying, what was it about?”

“It was nothing, Gerard. It was nothing, don’t worry about it”, he says, pacing back and forth.

I stand up and go to him, stopping his walking “You sure?”, I ask once again, holding his forearms. He sighs, hazel eyes closing for a moment, then opening and suddenly looking very green “Yes, I’m sure”. I grab his face and kiss him a little too violently, still holding him with both of my hands “You can always tell me, whatever is bothering you. I will listen and I will understand”, I reassure him. He only nods and looks down. I brush his cheekbone with my thumb, then I let go of him and go back to where I was sitting on the sofa.
~

This night, we’re quieter than usual since what happened today. We’re lying down in bed, or more like, he’s lying on the bed and I’m lying on top of him with my head on his chest, running my hands up and down his torso while his hand brushes strands of hair from my face. In nights like this, we usually forget to talk, literally, because who needs talking, when we have our bodies to warm each other, to mingle together like we’ve been made to be one, and our eyes to look at each other, all of each other, and our fingers to touch each other and to feel each other with our skin. It’s merely fascinating how two people can feel so content and happy when together. Because I swear, when I’m with this man, I don’t need anything else, it’s just us.

“I need to tell you something.”, he breaks the silence while still playing with my hair and I only hum in response, to let him know I’m listening. “It’s a very long story, but basically- a some time ago, I met someone, someone I knew long time ago”, I twist my neck so I can properly look at him from my position on his chest, intrigued.

“Yes, well, we’ve known each other for centuries, but I never thought he’d be coming back on the East Coast. I thought I’d never see him again, to be completely honest.”

The only thing that comes to my mind is that that guy should be a vampire and by the slight nervousness in Frank’s voice, I assume said guy had been a strong presence in some point of his life. Definitely intrigued.

“We travelled back then quite a lot and it’s safe to say we’ve been as close as possible at one point, he- he actually made me who I am, however you look at it. He’s the reason I’m here today.”

“O-oh.”, I say quietly “So he’s the one who… made you?”

“Something like that, yes. But the thing is, I was never truly happy in my time with him so I left him and now he’s back. The message today was from him and…I don’t know what he’s capable of, which was why I may have been acting a little strange these days…”

“Yes, a little”, I say ironically but still smiling and he shoves me playfully in return.

“Hey, I had to think about those things. Plus, my biggest concern of all is you, it’s always you.” he looks at me with his worried hazel eyes and I snuggle closer to him, pressing the right side of my face on his stomach.

“What do you mean?” I ask him with a little muffled voice.

“You have no idea how hard it is to know… to know that the person you love is at risk any second. Because, Gee, you are mortal, and mortals suffer from all kind of things. You are vulnerable and I wish I could protect you from the world. It’s a dangerous world that we live in a-and I suppose I’m just…scared of losing you.”, he finally lets the words slip from his beautiful lips that I’ve grown to know and love in the last weeks.

“No, don’t say that”, I say while I try clutching him even tighter if possible. “As long as I’m with you, I will always be fine, you know.”

“How come?”, he asks me, frown between his eyebrows.

“Well, think of it that way- in the time we are together, consciously or unconsciously, I’ve made home in your heart and you in mine. That way, we can always, always be together, no matter distance or time. I believe we can make it immortal just as long as we really want it. And do you really want it? Even if we’re talking about eternity? Because it doesn’t go away, we bury it deep inside our hearts, we lock it and we throw the key. Would that frighten you? Would it frighten you if I want us to be forever?”, I tell him all of this in one breath, being absolutely convinced in everything I say.

“Innocent. My innocent Gerard. You are, I dare say, the best thing that’s ever happened to me. How can I be frightened to save you in my heart for eternity? This is, you are all I ever wanted. All I’ve searched for, all these years of pointless wandering around. I now need you just as much as you need me.”, he kisses my temple and his lips stay there a little longer.

“And I promise to keep you safe. From Damon, and from anything that can be considered a threat”, he finishes a minute later.

And I believe him. Oh, I believe him.

Notes

I know I’ve already used that song for the first chapter of the story, but since it was one of my main inspirations to actually start writing this, I thought ‘what the hell’, so I may be using it even more in the future for chapter titles and chapter songs.
By the way, I have not been strictly inspired by the lyrics, so the storyline has nothing to do with the lyrics of Early Sunsets over Monroeville. Just the vibes I got when listening to it last summer. c:


Love, zombie-- xx