At 3 am, Gerard woke up to the phone ringing. He forced himself to move over enough to reach it.
“Hello?” he asked groggily.
“I’m coming over.”
It took Gerard a moment to place the voice. Then he sat up in confusion. “Wait, Frances?”
“Yeah, I’m coming over.”
“Its 3-“
Before Gerard could finish, Frances hung up. With no other available option, Gerard forced himself to leave his nice, warm bed and instead go downstairs and wait by the door. He quickly checked to make sure he had his pocket knife on him (he didn’t), that Mikey was still asleep (he was), and that he remembered to put his money behind his bookcase (he did). Before long, he could see Frances running across the yard to the front door. She was wearing a long nightgown and her feet were bare. Before she could knock on the door, Gerard opened it.
“What are you-?” Gerard began. Frances threw her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly and then quickly sliding past him and moving inside. She sat down the couch, smiling.
“I was bored.” She explained innocently. Gerard paused and back to the door, and then at her.
“So why are you in your nightgown?” he asked. She shrugged.
“I didn’t feel like getting changed.”
“How do you even know where I live?” he asked. She giggled.
“When we were walking home a few days ago? You said “Wait, I gotta get something from my house” or something to that extent, and then stopped here.”
“Okay…”
It suddenly occurred to Gerard for the first time that he had a girl at his house, wearing nothing but a nightgown, at 3 in the morning. He vaguely wondered if he could get something out of it.
“You should entertain me.” Frances said. Gerard shrugged slightly, suddenly very self conscious.
“What do you want to do?”
“Show me something. Show me the photos you took a few days ago. Or the ones you took before that. Or anything, really.”
“Su-sure.” He stuttered. He quickly led her up to his room.
“So do you want to tell me why you came over at 3 in the morning?” He asked again.
“Not particularly.” She replied.
Gerard didn’t say anything. He let her in his room and she sat down on the bed, lying back against the wall. Gerard quickly got out the photos and handed them to her.
“Not bad.” She commented. She put them down beside her and folded her legs to her chest. “So talk to me.” She commanded.
“About what?”
“I don’t know, anything. What’s your story?”
“What do you mean?” he asked again. They both looked at each other and then Frances giggled. Gerard felt himself laugh too.
“Okay, I’ll go.” She said. “When I was little, I had all these dreams about what was gonna happen when I grew up. Then I grew up and it sucked. And one day those dreams just stopped.”
“Okay,” Gerard chewed on his lip, thinking it over. “Once, my parents had a few too many drinks. And 9 months later, I was born.”
“My mommy and daddy used to love to tell me about how they had fallen in love and then had me. The shorter version is that my dad couldn’t keep it in his pants, and then I came at 8 months. I just couldn’t wait to see this shitty world.”
Gerard laughed. “When I was little I decided that when I grew up I’d be one of those football players at school. Now I hiss at the sunlight.”
Frances laughed, leaning her head on Gerard’s shoulder. Then she paused, before smiling faintly in the darkness.
“When I was a real girl, I had a little sister who cried a lot, a Mommy, a Daddy, and a hamster. Now I just have two birth givers.”
Gerard almost laughed, but stopped himself. He looked over at her and leaned over slightly, brushing back part of her hair.
“You have a sister?” he asked.
“I used to.” She responded. “A little sister. I don’t really remember her, but she cried a lot. And once I gave her a doll to make her stop crying. That’s all I remember. Do you have a sister?” she asked quickly, before he could ask anything else.
“No.” he said. “I have a little brother, though. His name’s Mikey- he’s 15.”
“Oh.” She stretched out of the bed, leaning her head against Gerard’s chest. His stomach tightened, but he forced himself to calm down. Evenly, he put his arm around her, pulling her closer to him.
“You like your brother?” she asked. He nodded.
“He’s my best friend.” Gerard said. “And we look out for each other, you know? I mean, we have to, because there really isn’t anybody else to look out for us. And he’s always there for me, when I need somebody. He never gets mad at me, or annoyed, or anything, and he has to put up with me every single day. That should show just how patient he is.”
“I wish I had someone else.” Frances yawned and buried her head against Gerard’s chest. “I don’t mind being alone, you know? I just don’t like feeling alone.”
“Yeah.” Suddenly, Gerard was very tired. Frances reached over and pulled the cover up over them and curled up tighter against Gerard, pressing her body against his. Gerard shut his eyes, leaning his head against hers, the sweet smell of her hair filling the air.
When he opened his eyes, it was the morning. Gerard rolled over, expecting to see Frances lying besides him, but he was all alone.
I must have dreamed it. He thought. He sat up and yawned. What a weird dream.
Just as he was getting up, however, he found a note on his desk.
You talk in your sleep, yet you don’t even give me the favor of having what you say make sense. Eh, whatever, there’s always next time.
Love, Guess Who.

Notes

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