“Miss Kathrine Monroe.”
I gulped as I arose from my seat and walked up to the stage to collect my diploma. This was it. I’m graduating. I shook Sister Williams’ hand and she handed me my diploma. “Congratulations, sweetheart.” She whispered softly in my ear. We both smiled for my graduation photo and I left the stage. Frank hadn’t actually bothered turning up to graduation since the missed all the exams so I sat quietly by myself and waited for the ceremony to end. “Congratulations, Kat!” Brie exclaimed as she threw her arms around me in a celebratory hug. “You too, honey.” I said, smiling over her shoulder at Andy who was standing a few feet away talking to Mikey. “So.” Brie began, letting go of her tight embrace. “Any plans for after graduation?” I giggled and cupped my face in my hands. “Well, me and Frank were going to tell you this later at the graduation party but I’ll just tell you now!” WE’RE MOVING TO NEW YORK!” I was a little too overcome by the excitement and almost stepped on Andy’s foot as he stood behind me. “New York?! It’s a little far don’t you think?” Andy said, a little concern gripping his deep voice. I sighed and gave a sympathetic smile to Brie who was looking more shocked than I had anticipated. “We’ll come back to visit, I promise. But there’s so much more for me and Frank there. I can start my career in art and he can still pursue his dreams with ‘My Chem’.” Brie nodded and hugged me again. “I hope you keep that promise.” She said against my neck.

When I arrived home the house seemed empty. Frank’s car was missing from the driveway and my mom didn’t seem to be around. I dropped my head down in disappointment as I locked the door behind me. I at least thought someone would be home to greet me on the first day of a new chapter in my life. If no one else was around that wasn’t gonna stop me from celebrating, I opened a bottle of Shiraz wine and sat at the kitchen table blasting Misfits and nursing a glass of the pungent, red liquid. “Happy graduation, honey!” my mom exclaimed as she poked her head around the door. “Where have you been?” I questioned. “And where’s Frank?” an almost evil smile spread across her face as she walked in. “He’s out front. We went to collect your graduation present.” I raised an eyebrow in curiosity as I took a final sip of my wine. “Well?” My mom said impatiently. “Aren’t you coming to see what it is?” at that she hurried me out of the kitchen and to the front door. I pushed open the door to find Frank, standing on our drive way next to a Kawasaki ZX1200 A1 ZX12R Ninja, Red Motorcycle. My jaw hit the floor. “Do you like it baby?” Frank asked, tossing the keys to me. “Oh my god. It’s perfect!” I exclaimed, throwing my arms around my mom. “Thank you so much.” I said, my voice muffled by tears of happiness. “Don’t thank me.” My mom began. “It was all Frank’s idea, he paid for it too. I offered to contribute but he refused to let me.” I turned to Frank who was smiling like an angelic godly figure standing before me. “This one’s for you, Kat. I’ll love you till this bike does its last kilometre.” I stepped forward and sealed his words with a kiss, a kiss that sent shivers down my spine, a kiss to start a new life with Frank.

That night at the party, Frank and I said our farewells and sent our friends off with a smile. We bought the final round of drinks and made a toast. “A toast, to old friends, new beginnings, eternal happiness and good luck for you all. Cheers! To a new chapter in our lives.” As Frank finished speaking I raised my glass to Brie’s and smiled appreciatively. A tear pricked the corner of her eye and she smiled back. “I hope it works out for you Jade. You deserve all the happiness in the world” – “And Frank seems like the man to get you that happiness, Kat.” Brie’s sweet words were interrupted rather abruptly by a quite tipsy Andy. I giggled at the incident as Frank wrapped one arm around my waist and kissed my head. “Hey guys, good luck with wherever life may take you.” Mikey seemed to appear from practically nowhere and fist bump Andy, barely hitting his hand. At that moment Mikey noticed Frank out of the corner of his eye and turned to face him, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “Sup.” He said firmly. In all honesty I was confused by his fairly hostile attitude towards Frank; in fact Frank had been avoiding the subject of the boys ever since they got back. “Is everything okay with you guys?” I questioned worriedly. “yeah. Just fine, thanks.” Frank said almost immediately. I looked to Mikey for a second opinion, he shrugged his shoulders and sighed. “I honestly don’t know.” Mikey turned back to Frank and furrowed his eyebrows. “I think you’re hiding something, Frank.” At that Mikey stumbled away to the bar with Andy. I bit my and gulped worriedly. “ARE you hiding anything, Frank?” he smiled down at me calmly and kissed my lips softly. “Of course not, angel. Everything is fine.”

(Franks POV)

Over the next following weeks Kat seemed distant from me. Ever since that night at the party she’d questioned my every action. Granted, I did lie to her; but in the middle of a crowded bar wasn’t the place to tell my girlfriend that I cheated on her with my best friend, especially not in front of his little brother. I realised that I had to tell her at some point or else the guilt would eat me away and I’d probably do something incredibly stupid. I had to find a way for Gee to forgive me or I’d probably have to leave the band and after missing all my exams I’d probably just fall flat on my ass trying to get a job. After all, I wasn’t gonna let a small incident like one night of regrets ruin my dream of being a guitarist in a rock band. Anyway, I’m getting off track; I’ve decided to tell Kat of my error after we get settled into our flat in NYC. I’m sure she’ll understand. Until then I’ll have to do everything in my power to try and keep her happy.

As fall came around and the late, bright nights turned to cloudy, breezy mornings our time to move to New York came around too. The removal men came and took all the stuff from my room leaving it blank and empty, the only feature being the cigarette burns on the carpet and the dent in the wall by the door where I punched it after not getting my own way as a kid. The room I grew up in was now an empty room full of old memories. It hurt to leave my parents even though I hardly ever saw them anymore but I walked out of my front door with a sense of pride and hope for my future in the city. After we dragged all the furniture from Kat's room along with a few pieces her mom had given us we hit the highway to New York. My heart sank as we passed the ‘You Are Now Leaving New Jersey’ sign for the last time. Kat gripped my hand on the clutch and smiled. “To new beginnings remember?” She said optimistically.
The first few days in New York seemed to pass in a matter of moments. After we had moved all of our stuff into our flat on Mercer Street and contacted family and friends to let them know we had arrived safely I decided to bite the bullet and call Gerard…

“Hello” Gerard answered in a firm yet hostile tone.
“Uhh. Have you guys got unpacked yet?”
“Well I have and so has Mikey. I haven’t spoken to Ray yet. I’ll call him if you want. What’s it to you?”
“Don’t be so sassy, Gee. I was just wondering in case you all wanted to meet for a drink. Y’know, to celebrate our new life here. Umm… a new start maybe?” I gulped in fear as a waited to hear Gerard’s response. I hoped he’d gotten my hint about ‘a new start’.
“Fine. I’ll call Ray and tell him to meet us at MercBar down the street at 9pm. See you there. Bye, Frankie.”
“Okay, see you later”
I sighed in relief that Gerard had at least agreed to the idea and he called me by the pet name he gave me years go. It seems his mood may be lightening. I just hope Kat comes around when I explain it to her.

Notes