Forever is a Long Time . . .

By the end of the day, I still wasn’t ready to face Frank. I didn’t know what I’d say to him or how I’d bring up my concerns that something was going on with him.

I met him in the parking lot by his car like usual. Though things had been a little weird between me and Frank lately, we still rode home together. “Hey,” he greeted me as he looked up. He took a drag from his cigarette. “You ready to go?”

I nodded my head and replied, “Yup, ready.” Frank tossed his spent smoke and, without a word, walked around his car and opened the drivers’ side door. We both climbed in, the silence between us unwavering until Frank slipped a CD into the radio. This had become a new habit of his; the moment we’d get into the car, he’d play some music. I wondered if he was doing this deliberately, like he was avoiding conversation.

We didn’t say a word to each other the whole way home. I wanted to ask him if anything was wrong, but I didn’t know how. I didn’t want to wait, but I needed some more time to think of what to say to him. “Thanks for taking me home,” I said as I started to open the door to go inside. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” There; I had officially chickened out. I couldn’t confront Frank, not today.

Just as I was about to get out of the car, Frank suddenly said, “It was about me.” I turned to him, waiting for him to explain, though I was pretty sure I knew what he’d meant. I kept my face stoic, not giving away my emotions which included a sickening mix of worry and anxiousness. “The poem. It was about me, wasn’t it?”

I kept my eyes on him, his facial expression translating the angst going on in his head. Frank knew. Not only did he know that I loved him, but he knew to what extent. He’d heard the lyrics. He knew the poem’s words by heart; the poem in which I poured out all my heart’s emotions for Frank and the love I felt for him. He knew now how I’d always felt, how I loved him as more than my best friend, and that was more than my mind could handle right now.
I needed to get out, I needed time to think. I couldn’t explain myself to Frank; not now, not yet. “Thanks for the ride home,” I said again, ignoring Frank’s question. “Bye, Frank.”

I opened to door and stepped out of the car. I quickly walked up to my front door trying not to make it obvious that I was avoiding his questions, though that’s exactly what I was doing. Just as I got to the top of my front porch steps, I heard Frank’s car door open, then close followed by Frank’s footsteps behind me. “Paige.”

I didn’t even turn around, not wanting to talk with Frank about this just yet. My nervous hands shakily searched my bag for my keys. Once I’d located them, I tried to open the door but I was shaking too much; there was no way I’d be avoiding this, not today. This was it; the time had come and I had to face it like a big girl.

Frank came up behind me. I stayed facing the door, trying to buy myself a few more moments, not quite ready to follow through with this, but Frank changed that for me. I felt his hands snake around my waist, turning me around to face him. It happened so quickly and so unexpectedly that I dropped my keys right out of my hands. I barely had a moment to realize what was going on before I felt Frank’s lips on mine.

He leaned into me without a word and connected his lips to mine. I tried not to kiss him back, desperate to salvage whatever was left of our comfortable, platonic relationship, but I couldn’t help it. This was the kiss I’d been waiting six long years for and my body switched to auto-pilot, my instincts taking over my actions.

My eyes fluttered closed as my lips moved against his, following his lead. I moved my hands up around his neck and pulled him in a little closer. We fell into a steady rhythm with each other as I felt Frank’s grip tighten around my waist. This was the moment I’d waited so long for, and despite the fact that things could get seriously complicated, it was better than I ever could have imagined. His lips tasted like cigarettes and mint gum, and his motions sent shivers down my spine.

It didn’t last forever though, and eventually Frank pulled away from me. Reality instantly slapped me in the face as I came to the realization that my best friend had just kissed me. He kissed me. But why? I thought I was the one in love with him, not the other way around.

Frank looked into my eyes for a moment before saying, “Everything you said; every line, every word. You summed up all the things I’ve ever wanted to tell you.” He looked pleadingly at me for a moment before continuing. “Paige, I’ve loved you from the day I met you. I’ve never stopped, and I know I could be totally wrong, but I think you love me too.”

I’d ever heard those words in my dreams. It was like a fantasy to hear Frank say that he loved me. It almost felt unreal, like it actually was a dream, but this was genuine. Frank really had just told me he loved me, and now that I knew for certain, there was nothing stopping me. I pulled him in without a word and kissed him again. It was slow and sweet and passionate; after all, I had been waiting six years for this very moment.

Frank brought his hands up to gently hold the sides of my face, tucking some hair behind my ears gently. His warm lips moved perfectly in sync with mine, like we were made to kiss each other, like this was the universe’s plan all along. His lip ring brushed against my lips and made me want more of him. It was the kiss that I never wanted to end, but naturally, it had to.

I pulled away from him and looked him in the eyes, the sun hitting them just right so that the gold stood out clear and bright. I smiled at him, finally aware of what had been going on in his head for all these years. I couldn’t believe I’d been so blind. Here I’d been, so worried that Frank would find out about my feelings for him, when he’d sat idly by, feeling the exact same way.

“I love you, Frank.” It felt amazing to finally be able to say those words to him, to finally let him know exactly what I thought. They were simple words with a complex meaning. They were words I’d always been afraid of, but now they were words I was proud to say. I was in love with Frank Iero and now he knew it, and not only that, Frank Iero was in love with me too.

He could prove it, and he did, with four little words of his own. “I love you, Paige.”

Notes

HOLY SHIT!! This is the last chapter unfortunately :( I hope you've all enjoyed the story and thank you so much for reading it all the way 'till the end. I may or may not write a sequel to this, but I am currently working on not one, not two, not three, but FIVE new stories that I hope to post very soon (including a sequel to The One of Mine (http://www.mychemicalromancefanfiction.com/Story/19422/The-One-of-Mine/)
In the mean time, if you are interested in more of my writing, updates for my story What Happens in High School are posted every week (http://www.mychemicalromancefanfiction.com/Story/37627/What-Happens-in-High-School/)

Once again, thank you to everyone who's read this or will read any of my stories. Hearing your feedback means the world to me and I am very appreciative of all your kind words! Hope you've liked what you've read, feel free to message me about any questions, or even if you just want me to check out your pages, I love reading your works as well!!

-xoxo Nichole