I placed my feet on the floor, my hands braced either side of me on the mattress. Mikey was stood in the doorway, his face like stone as he looked at me. "Why the fuck did you wake me?" I snapped. "It's like..." I looked at the clock. "Too fucking early."
"Frank didn't go home last night..." Mikey muttered. "James just called and asked if we had seen him."
"When did they last see him?" I asked as I climbed to my feet, slightly wobbly as I walked to my dresser to grab some clothes.
"Uh, James said around dinner time, so uh, about 7." Mikey replied, twirling his phone in his hands.
"I'm going to go find him. Let mom know when she wakes up." I replied as I slid on my converse and tied the laces.

I ran down the street, my heart pounding as I tried to work out where he was. My phone sat against my thigh, thoughts running around my mind as I pulled it out and leant against a wall.

To: Frank
From: Gerard.
Message: Where are you?

To: Gerard
From: Frank
Message: At my house...

To: Frank
From: Gerard
Message: You're not, James just called....you didn't go home....

To: Gerard
From: Frank
Message: My first house....

I dropped my phone back into my pocket and picked up my pace, running towards the house that was aptly named 'the murder house'. No-one was stupid enough to live there after what happened, but Frank clearly remembered.

"Frank?" I yelled as I walked through the front door, the musty smell of dried blood and dust making me hold my breath. "Frank, where are you?" I shouted.
"Upstairs." Came the one word reply, his voice filled with and edge of something. I ran up the stairs, looking in the first two doors I came to. One looked like it could have been Frank's room, the other was his parents room and both were empty.

The other door led to a young childs bedroom, his brothers, I guessed. Frank was curled up on the small bed, tears streaking his face, his body shaking as he sobbed. "Frankie, I'm here. It's okay." I muttered as I knelt beside him, my hand on his shoulder. "I've got you."
"If I hadn't have ran away, they would still be alive." He muttered into the toy he had clutched in his hands. "Liam would be finishing that picture, mom and dad would be doing something together..."
"But you wouldn't be here Frankie." I murmured. "And I don't know what I would do if that was the case."
"Survive. You didn't know who I was. It wouldn't have made any difference." Frank replied, his hands shaking.
"I did know who you were, but the younger me, the fat me, refused to talk to anyone, especially after I played Peter Pan. I watched you every day in the library, your headphones in as you wrote music. I was just a fucking chicken." I explained. "It would have made the biggest fucking difference because I changed when you left. I became someone who would talk to you, who would be able to speak to someone they liked. I would have been so fucking broken if you died." I paused. "I probably wouldn't be here either."

He sat up suddenly, his bottom lip trembling. "Don't you dare say that." He ordered. "Don't you dare say that to me, ever Gerard. Don't you dare." Frank wrapped his hands around my shoulders, his fingers tangling in my hair.
"Frank." I muttered as I pulled my head back, my eyes on his trembling bottom lip. "Frank, look at me." His head titled, his green eyes bright in the dim morning light. "I promise you right now that I will never, ever hurt myself. Not now I have you."
"Really?" He asked. I nodded and pressed my lips against his, my arms tightening around his shaking body. "Not... here." Frank muttered before climbing to his feet and grabbing my hand.

He led me to his old room, throwing the covers off his bed before dragging me on top of him. I leant down, capturing his lips with mine as my hands roamed his body, sliding underneath the thin material of his t-shirt. Frank's hands slid below the waistband of my pants, hesitating slightly before slipping below my boxers. I felt him tense as he stroked me, his heart fluttering a million miles an hour. He pulled back, his cheeks red as he averted his eyes. "We don't have to." I muttered, my hands resting on his chest.
"I'm sorry." He sighed, his voice low. "I'm just...I don't know."
"Frankie, look at me. It's fine. We can wait until you are ready. I promise."
"I'm sorry Gerard. I didn't mean to ruin the moment." Frank sighed.

---

I stepped through the front door and yawned, my fingers automatically tangling in my hair. My mom stood at the bottom of the stairs, her arms folded, a scowl on her lips. "And where the hell were you?" She snapped.
"Helping to find Frank." I replied, flinching back at her terse tone.
"And did you not think I would be worried about you, walking into your room to get you up for school to find it empty?"
"Mom, I told you where he was!" Yelled Mikey from the kitchen.
"Shut up Micheal." She yelled. "Look, I have no idea why you want to know that boy. He has a past Gerard and getting involved with him is only going to fuck you up."
"Like I'm not already." I replied as I pushed past her and began walking up the stairs.
"Gerard, I'm only saying this because I worry. I know what you were like when Ben hurt you and I don't want it to happen again."
"It won't." I said as I turned to face her. "You wanna know why? Because Frank is different mom. Remember that boy I had a crush on before it all kicked off with Ben, before I knew what was wrong with me? That was Frank mom. I'm gonna relish every second I get to spend with him because I've been waiting for this chance for years and I'm not going to just throw it away because he has a past. I know he has a past but that has helped him become who he is today and I will not change that for the world." I paused. "I have never fallen as hard for anyone as I am for Frank and I can't stop it. I couldn't even if I tried mom. I really couldn't."

I walked upstairs and threw myself onto my bed, adjusting my pants as they started becoming uncomfortably tight. "Goddamnit." I muttered as I threw my head back, groaning in frustration.
"Gee?" Mikey asked from the other side of my door. "We gotta go in a bit, you gonna have a shower now or later cuz.. uh... yeah..."
"I'm gonna have one now...just give me a minute..." I replied, my hand already reaching for the zipper on my pants.

---

Frank ran up to me as I stood outside my locker, a huge smile on his face. "Hey Frankie." I muttered as I wrapped my arms around his waist, pressing my lips to his forehead. "How's your day been?"
"Boring as fuck Gee. I think I fell asleep in math and I certainly didn't enjoy English. I just wanna go home." He leant up and pressed his lips to mine, nipping my bottom lip before he stepped back. "You and Mikey wanna come round? I made a friend in gym today and he wants to meet you guys."
"Sure, I'll have to go home drop my stuff off." I replied, grabbing Frank's hand and dragging him out the door.
"You could just leave it in my room or something. I was actually wondering if you wanted to stay the night... if your mom would let you."
"She will." I smiled.

---

"Hey boys." James greeted as we walked through the door. "Haven't seen you in ages, how are things at home?" I shot a look at Mikey before rolling the words round my mouth.
"Uh, they're good I guess. My dad's in hospital and our mom refuses to let us see him. my mom doesn't want me to see Frank and uh...yeah, they're good." I stopped, not wanting to discuss anything else. "Frank asked if we could stay here tonight?"
"Yeah, your clothes are still in the closet. You know you are always welcome. Just answer me one question." Me and Mikey both nodded. "Does your mom know?" Mikey nodded. "Good, well, go and occupy yourself, I'll get some food sorted. Frank, when's Ray coming?"
"Uh, give him abut an hour, he had to go see his nan or something." Frank muttered, his fingers reaching for mine.

Frank led us to his room, grinning when our jaws dropped. "Dude, this is awesome." Mikey squealed, heading towards the home cinema system. I took Mikey's distraction and pressed my lips to Frank's, his back against the wall, his hands tangled in my hair. "God, pda man! Keep it to a minimum!" Mikey yelled. "Goddamnit, I did not want to see that."

Notes