Life is but a Dream for the Dead

When Frank woke up in the next morning he stretched as far as his short limbs would allow him and yawned loudly. He rubbed his face tiredly, blinking away the sleep in his eyes. He rolled over and got up out of bed, heading towards the sink in the corner of the cell. He turned the tap and splashed his face with cold water, waking himself up. “You’re cute when you’ve just woken up.” Frank gasped and spun around, his heart in his mouth. “Jesus! You scared me!” He’d completely forgotten he no longer had the cell to himself and he now had to share it with that complete asshole. Said asshole was sat on the top bunk, one of [i]Frank’s[/i] cigarette’s dangling from his long, slim fingers and one of [i]Frank’s[/i] books in his lap. His hair was messy and tousled from sleep and his eyes were a little hazy, as if he was still half asleep. “What? Forgot that I was here already?” he smirked, crossing his legs and resting his head in his hand, staring at Frank mischievously. Frank glowered at him. “Yes.” “You’re also incredibly pissed off in the mornings,” Gerard noted, sucking hard on the cigarette as he glanced back down at Frank’s book again. “Did I say you could smoke [i]my[/i] cigarettes and read [i]my[/i] book?” Frank snapped at Gerard, crossing his arms defensively. Gerard made him feel embarrassed and awkward and belittled and he fucking [i]hated[/i] that. “No,” Gerard answered, not even bothering to look up at Frank. “But we’re cellmates now Frankie, what’s yours is mine.” “Since when does my shit belong to you?!” Frank snarled making his way to Gerard’s bunk and climbing up. “I’m fucking sick of you already, just give me my book back.” Gerard lifted an eyebrow lazily. “Why? You’re not reading it.” “That doesn’t matter because it’s my fucking book,” Frank hissed through clenched teeth. “You’re not so great with sharing, are you?” Gerard asked, smirking at Frank, knowing perfectly well how riled up he was making the small, tattooed guy. Frank lunged at Gerard, nearly knocking both of them off of the bunk, but Gerard knew it was coming and calmly caught Frank, flipping them around and pinning Frank to the bed beneath him. “Feisty,” Gerard commented. “I like that.” “Fuck you,” Frank spat, struggling underneath Gerard. “Whenever you want baby,” Gerard laughed, leaning down to drag his tongue over Frank’s throat. “Get off me!” Frank yelped, shoving desperately at Gerard. Gerard just pulled back slightly, smirking at Frank before diving back in to roughly kiss Frank, humming satisfaction when Frank stilled beneath him. He knew it was just from shock, but Gerard was allowed to tell himself it was because Frank was enjoying the kiss, alright? Before Frank could freak out and start screaming and flailing around, Gerard pulled back from Frank and climbed off of him, dropping to the floor from the bunk and sauntering over to the toilet to piss. Frank just stared at the ceiling, blinking. Had actually just happened? Who the hell did this guy thinkhe was? “Alright ladies, out you come,” Kevin, one of the guards, hollered as he swung the door open. Gerard just strode out, followed by a shuffling Frank who kept his head down and his eyes trained on the floor, trying his best to make himself invisible. The two men joined the line of other prisoners making their way to the canteen. Gerard actually began to recognise a few faces as they were let into the canteen, smirking at the old familiar criminals and crooks the Family had known and worked with over the years. It was funny how many of them had ended up in here. He was so busy looking around at the other inmates that he didn’t notice Frank had disappeared. He turned around to glance at Frank but he was gone. Gerard spotted him further back, being dragged off to the side by one of the other prisoners. Gerard stopped, frowning at the way the guy handled Frank so roughly, feeling a little possessive and almost protective of his small, vulnerable new cellmate. “Watch it,” someone muttered to him, shoving past him and walking on. Gerard looked away from Frank and the other guy, joining the line of inmates for breakfast. He slid onto an empty table and poked at his lumpy oatmeal, looking severely unimpressed. “Can I help you?” a voice sneered from above him. Gerard looked up with bored eyes, sighing and awaiting confrontation. “What?” It was the same guy that had been shoving Frank around before. He was tall, muscular and had a broken, misshapen nose. His eyes were deep set and heavy lidded, a dull mud colour. His upper lip was pulled into a snarl, baring his ugly yellow teeth. His hair was short and shaven, the colour of wheat. “You heard me; what the fuck are you doing at my table?” the guy snapped. What was this? Fucking [i]high school[/i]? Gerard gave the guy a look, the kind of look that says are-you-actually-fucking-serious-you-complete-dickwad. Behind the guy there was a small group of other men, including Frank, who stood right behind the man, looking down and not moving a muscle. “Oh I’m sorry,” Gerard drawled sarcastically. “I didn’t know this was your table.” The guy narrowed his eyes and stepped forwards. “I don’t like being spoken to like that. Now why don’t you get the hell out of here before I have to make you?” Gerard couldn’t help it; he burst out laughing. This guy’s threats were so ridiculous and unthreatening that it made Gerard snigger. The next thing he knew, the bowl of oatmeal was swiped up from in front of Gerard and hurled at the opposite wall, an explosion of porcelain and oatmeal flying everywhere. The guy was fuming, veins standing out in his neck and forehead. Gerard just sat there and raised an eyebrow. “I was going to eat that.” Something inside the guy snapped and he flew at Gerard, but of course, he was quicker. He dodged the stupid fucker and the guy went headfirst into the table. Gerard hauled him up by the back of his shirt, throwing him across the floor, smirking at the way he skidded along. The room had fallen into silence and all eyes were on the two men. Gerard wasn’t bothered; in fact he liked having an audience. It was in his nature to perform, to impress. He casually walked over the guy who was struggling to his feet. Gerard watched him stagger back up, only to knock him back down with a blow to the head as soon as he was on his feet. Gerard was bored already. Where was this guy’s fight for God’s sake? “Alright, you’re boring me now,” Gerard sighed irritably, his changing into a vicious snarl. “Either get the fuck up and fight like the tough guy you think you are or stay the fuck down bitch, because I don’t waste my time on people like [i]you[/i].” The guy glared up at Gerard, slowly, slowly rising back up again. “What did you just call me you little faggot?” “Gerard!” Frank suddenly gasped from behind him, but Gerard already knew. He’d seen the other guy in the corner of his eye and had been watching him, listening to him get closer. He knew that this guy’s stupid little gang was all going to try and help him. He turned just as the punch was about to hit him in the back of the head, the fist barely knocking into his shoulder. He grabbed the guy’s arm too quickly for him to do anything about it and with a few swift movements he was on the floor too, clutching his broken arm and wrist. “Fucking brave aren’t you?” Gerard growled at the guy who was choking on tears. “Wanna try that again, but this time make sure I’m actually [i]looking[/i] at you and my back isn’t turned?!” Gerard turned back around the see the guy who had started it all had a fistful of Frank’s hair and a grip around his skinny, tattooed wrist, spitting and swearing at him. “Whose bitch are you Iero?! What the [i]fuck[/i] was [i]that[/i]?!” he snarled at him. “You fucking little backstabbing cunt! You been down on your knees sucking his duck huh? Bet you have been, haven’t you Frankie? Is that why you’re so fucking worried about him?” “Callum, please, I didn’t-” Frank began but Callum had struck his across the face, sending Frank stumbling backwards, holding his face. Callum looked back over at Gerard. “Oh, I’m not finished with you yet faggot.” Just as Callum was about to start towards Gerard again, another inmate grabbed his by the arm, pulling him back. “Cal, don’t, just leave it, yeah? Don’t mess with him,” the inmate hissed in Callum’s ear, glancing nervously at Gerard. “Why not? Stupid motherfucker thinks he can just mess me with Jay, thinks he can just-” “[i]Callum[/i],” the guy insisted. “You don’t know who he is, he’s bad news, stay away from him!” Callum tore himself free of the inmate's grip and marched straight to Gerard till their chests were pressed against each other. “What makes you so important then huh? What makes you special enough to come in here and think you can just walk all over me?!"
Gerard just laughed, shaking his head in disbelief. “I don’t have to tell you anything.” Callum leered at him. Gerard’s jaw locked and he ground his teeth. This guy was pissing him off and clearly didn’t know when to stop. Gerard simply seized him by the throat and had him trapped, pinned to the wall with his feet dangling in the air and his hands clawing at Gerard’s single hand that held him against the wall.
“Listen [i]Callum[/i],” Gerard spat, sneering his name. “I don’t have time for pathetic little cunts like you so back the fuck off.”
Then Gerard dropped him and turned around only to come face to face with an extremely pissed looking guard. Gerard said nothing as he was led out of the canteen, only smirking at Frank when he caught the gaze of those wide, beautiful, hazel eyes.
“You’ve only been here one day Way,” the guard growled at him. “One fucking day and already you’ve caused shit. You’re not gonna last long in here if you pull this shit all the time.”
Gerard refrained himself from rolling his eyes. He didn’t care what the guard thought because he was going to be out of here before he had time to cause anymore shit.

Notes