Hell or High Water

Frank’s mouth hung open as Gerard scrambled to find the lighter. Once Gerard found it he lit it again.
“Gerard. Can you talk again?” Frank asked hesitantly. Gerard thinned his lips.
“It h-h-hurts.” Gerard mumbled, rubbing his throat. Frank nodded.
“We should tell Mikey.” Gerard shook his head and stood up. Frank got up with him and followed Gerard inside. Gerard walked through the piano room and down the halls. Frank grabbed Gerard’s arm and pulled him to a stop. “Gerard, Mikey needs to know.” Gerard shook his head. “Whynot?”
“He’ll a-ask q-q-questions.” Gerard stuttered.
“And? Is that a bad thing?” Frank asked, nonchalantly. Gerard nodded quickly. “Alright. Fine we won’t tell him. But what if he finds out? What will you do then?”
“H-he won’t.” Gerard stated and yanked his arm away. Frank sighed and followed Gerard back into their shared room. Frank flopped down on his bed and groaned. Gerard sat down on his bed and frowned. An awkward silence settled between the two, and neither of them wanted to break it. Mikey walked in and paused.
“Is everything okay?” Mikey asked, looking back and forth between Frank and Gerard. Neither of the boys answered. “Right. Gerard, I’ve got some food for you.” Gerard picked up his notepad and sighed.
‘Thanks, Mikey.’
“No problem.” Mikey said, sitting the bag down next to Gerard. Alex barged in, huffing and puffing.
“Mikey! Code black!” Mikey nodded and quickly ran out of the room. Alex followed Mikey leaving the two boys alone. Again. Frank looked over to Gerard in silent question.
“A fight.” Gerard whispered then sighed and stood up.
“Are you going to check it out?” Frank asked, sitting up. Gerard shook his head and grabbed the bag of food. He walked over to Frank and sat down. “So. What did Mikes bring you today?” Gerard shrugged his shoulders and opened the bag. Frank looked over Gerard’s shoulder and into the bag. There sat thai food, two bottles of water, two packs of cigarettes and a note. Gerard pulled the thai food out and sat it aside.
“Y-You can.. H-h-h-have s-some o-of.. t-that.” Gerard stutterd, pulling the note out and reading it.
‘Next time don’t make it so obvious that you stole Bob’s cigarettes. Also one pack is for you, the other, Frank. - M.’ Gerard sighed and threw a pack of marlboros to Frank.
“Awesome! I’ve been dying for some of these since I got in here.” Frank grinned. Gerard nodded and handed him a lighter. “Thanks.” Gerard pulled out another container of thai. He handed Frank a fork and took one or himself. They sat and ate in silence until Gerard decided to break it.
“F-Frank...W-w-what a-are y-you d-d-d-doing h-h-here?” Gerard asked, staring into the cup of thai.
“What do you mean? Like why am I here in the asylum?” Frank asked with his mouth full. Gerard shot him a look saying ‘What do you think?’. Frank chuckled a bit and swallowed his food. “I’m here on suicide watch.”
“W-w-w-why?” Gerard asked.
“What do people generally do to be put on suicide watch?” Frank snapped. Gerard flinched and looked back down at his food.
“S-s-s-sorry…” Gerard mumbled and kept his eyes downcast. Frank’s eyes softened.
“Sorry. Didn’t mean to snap. It’s just a...sore subject that’s all.”
“I s-s-shouldn't h-h-h-have a-a-asked b-b-b-but it e-e-e-e-e-explains w-w-why y-you w-w-wear s-s-s-sleeves.”
“What makes you say that?” Frank asked lighting a cigarette.
“B-b-because I’m s-sure w-we have t-the s-s-same r-r-r-reasons.”
“I’ll tell you my story if you tell me your’s.” Frank said taking a drag from his cigarette.
“O-o-o-okay.” Gerard mumbled.
“Well it starts when I was young, the only thing I really remember was a kid with brownish hair. I think his name started with a ‘G’. Anyway we were really good friends, once he got into middle school things he started to...change. By that time my mom had left my father and moved in with her boyfriend, whom she was cheating on my father with and left me alone with the bastard. He never physically hurt me or anything but he’d pretend like it didn’t exist and when he did talk to me...well let’s just say the words weren’t very friendly. So once I started middle school, the boy was starting high school and like I said before, he changed A LOT. Hardly washed his hair, dyed it black, started talking to himself but anytime I try and remember his face it just stays blank. Anyway suddenly one day he just disappears like he was never there in the first place. This boy was my anchor so when he disappeared...it wasn’t pleasant.” Frank explained and let out a shaky sigh. Gerard pulled Frank into a hug much to the younger’s surprise. Frank’s eyes widened then softened.
“S-s-s-sorry.” Gerard stuttered and pulled away. Frank shook his head and chuckled.
“It’s fine. Your turn.”
“Um...o-okay. W-w-well I d-d-d-don't r-r-remember m-much...it’s a-a-a-all b-bits a-and p-p-p-pieces b-b-b-but I t-t-t-t-think a-a-after m-my g-g-grandmother E-e-elena d-d-died I s-s-s-started s-s-seeing th-things.”
“What kind of “things”.”
“N-n-n-nothing to b-bad at f-f-f-first, t-the o-o-o-occasional r-r-rabbit...b-b-but t-then it g-g-got b-bad…”
“Like dead bodies bad?” Frank asked. Gerard nodded.
“Y-y-yeah, t-t-t-then c-c-came t-the n-n-n-n-nightmares. T-they w-w-w-were a-about M-m-mikey a-at f-f-first. T-then t-t-to m-my b-b-best f-f-friend, in e-every s-s-s-single o-one t-t-they w-w-w-would d-d-die in d-d-d-different wa-wa-ways… A-a-a-after a w-w-while e-e-e-e-e-everyone w-was s-s-scared of m-m-me a-a-and t-they l-l-locked m-me up. I k-k-k-know m-my s-s-story is-isn’t a-as d-d-detailed aa y-y-yours b-but-”
“No, it’s fine. But who locked you up? Mom? Dad? Girlfriend? Boyfriend?” Frank asked and not expecting Gerard to react the way he did. Gerard lashed out and pinned Frank to the bed. The lights started flickering as Gerard glared darkly down at Frank. “G-Gerard?” Gerard moved his hands up to Frank’s neck and slow started applying pressure. Frank let out a choked gasp as his breathing was cut off. Darkness started to cloud Frank’s vision and right before he passed out, he could have sworn he saw Gerard’s eyes turn pure black. The darkness webbing out across his pale skin.

Notes

Sooooo you get a little bit of Frank's story and you get a little bit of Gerard's....then you get Gerard choking Frank...meh