Forever is a Long Time . . .

It was drawing nearer and nearer to seven o’clock, the time Bob was coming to get me and Kaitlin for Frank’s party. We still needed to get changed into our costumes, so after a snack and finishing half of our homework, we got dressed.

I pulled on my dress and slipped on the yellow warmers over my forearms. I tugged on and zipped up my boots which I’d covered in yellow fabric. I gave myself a quick glance in the mirror before realizing that I’d forgotten the belt, so I opened up my closet to retrieve it.

“What’s that?” Kaitlin asked upon seeing the huge box tucked away in the back of my closet. I needed to bring it anyway so I pulled it out and leaned it against the wall before finding my belt.

“It’s Frank’s gift,” I replied slipping my belt on around my waist, finishing off the look.
“What’s inside?”

I picked up the box once more and brought it over to my bed. I opened the top to reveal the smooth black guitar case inside. I unclipped the latches on the case to show off the sleek white guitar inside, earning me a gasp from Kaitlin. “Wow,” she began. “That’s some gift.”

“Think he’ll like it?” I asked, though there was no doubt in my mind he would more than like it.

“I think he’ll love it.” I smiled to Kaitlin before clicking the case closed again and replacing the top of the box. I turned around and picked up a ribbon from my dresser and secured it to the front of the red box. Just as I had finished straightening the bow and Kaitlin had finished straightening her skirt, we heard the doorbell ring.

We finished up in my room and went downstairs to find Bob standing at the door dressed as Superman. “Hey guys,” he greeted. “You both look great.” His gaze fell on Kaitlin who, upon hearing this, took a step forward to hug Bob while standing on tip-toes to give him a kiss on the cheek.

Bob and Kaitlin were cute together, a seemingly incompatible pairing. He was big, tall and blonde while she was small, short and brunette. They were complete and total opposites, yet somehow they worked out. Bob smiled and looked down to Kaitlin when she pulled away.

I couldn’t help but smile myself. It might sound terrible, but even though I was happy for Kaitlin and Bob, sometimes I envied them. I wished that I had someone – Frank – who I could hug and kiss and cuddle with during a movie and coordinate boyfriend-girlfriend costumes with on Halloween. I hated how the one guy I could never have was the only guy I’d ever wanted.

With his arms still wrapped around Kaitlin, Bob asked, “Okay, you guys ready to go?”

“Yup.” We both nodded and followed Bob to his car. He picked up the box and brought it over for me saying that it looked like it was big enough to crush me. I let him be chivalrous.

Once we were on the road and on the way to Ray’s, Bob spoke up again. “So, Paige, what’s in the box?”

“Just Frank’s present,” I answered, not wanting to give away the surprise. “You’ll see it when he opens it.”

Kaitlin turned around in the passenger seat and gave me a look. She smiled knowing full well what was really inside that box.

Most everyone was already there when we got to Ray’s house. Gerard and Mikey were there dressed as Batman and Robin, just like Gerard said they would. Barbara, Gerard’s girlfriend, wore a Bat-Girl costume and Alicia, Mikey’s girlfriend, stood next to him portraying Harley Quinn. “It was the only way he’d go as Robin,” Alicia explained, obviously uncomfortable in the skintight material. Still, I thought it was a cute compromise.

Ray and Christa looked funny yet cute as the Hulk and She-Hulk, Ray’s frizzy hair only adding to his crazy appearance. And then there was Bob and Kaitlin, cleverly dressed as Superman and Wonder Woman. They all looked so cute in their couples’ costumes while I was riding solo. “I love your costume, Paige. Did you make it?” Gerard asked as we waited for the party to being.

“Yeah, I did,” I answered smiling to him and giving a quick spin to show off the whole thing.

He chuckled a little and replied, “Sick.”

Suddenly, we heard the doorbell ring, which could only mean one thing. Frank had arrived.

Since everyone was so busy with their boyfriend or girlfriend, the task of greeting Frank at the door was left to me, not that I minded. I slipped away from the others and made my way to the front of Ray’s house. I opened the door to see Spiderman, I mean Frank. He looked adorable in his Spiderman costume, and damn sexy if I do say so myself.

Frank smiled when I greeted him, his eyes wandering up and down my own body to get a look at my outfit. “Look at you,” he said as his eyes came back up and met mine. “Turn for me?”

I pivoted on my toes, giving Frank a quick little twirl like I had for Gerard to show him my work. “Cool costume, Paige.”

“Thanks, Frank. You look really good, too.” He smirked and entered the house. The door closed and Frank linked our arms together, leading us into the living room to see the others.

Upon entering the teenager filled living room, everyone turned to greet Frank with a loud mixture of ‘hey man’ and ‘Happy Birthday, Frank’. Frank beamed with happiness upon seeing all of his closest friends there to celebrate his birthday.

It’s crazy that we’d all gotten this far; senior year, eighteen years old and still in one piece. Seeing all of my nearest and dearest friends gathered into one room to see my best friend off into the age of adulthood, though he’d never act it, was a magnificent and exhilarating feeling. Though at the same time, it was a little scary. Senior year, our last year together before we all went off to college to start our lives. I think the scariest thing about that, though, was not seeing Frank as much.

But I didn’t want to think about that; not here, not now. We were here to party and let loose; not give a damn about our actions and just be a little crazy. We turned on the music and I pulled Frank onto the ‘dance floor’ with me. I laced my fingers with his as he led me around, off beat with the music.

Even if I couldn’t ‘be with’ Frank, having him as my best friend was worth more; that was much more important than any romantic relationship ever could be. He was always there for me, he never let me down. The years spent with him had been good thus far; why mess with a good thing?

Still, six years wasn't a short time to be in love and I didn’t know how much longer I could hide my feelings. I was afraid I’d never get over Frank and I’d forever be stuck with the question of ‘what if?’ And let me tell you, forever is a long time . . .

Notes

And hence, the name of the story.
So I had off of school all this week and basically I've spent 99% of my free time listening to Fake Your Death on repeat, so that's fun. Off to get my industrial bar pierced!!! (This is gonna suck...)