“FRANK! You weren’t supposed to see this” Gerard cried, his eyes wide with shock.

Frank stepped towards his teacher, his mouth hanging open as the door behind him clicked shut. A warm smile crept upon the corners of his mouth as his eyes lay upon the painting Gerard was working on. It was beautiful. The painting was on a large canvas, a monochrome image of a beautiful young woman, no older than 20. “I can’t believe you did this” He said, tears welling in his eyes as he stepped towards the painting, reaching out to touch the canvas. “Ah ah, it’s still wet” Gerard said, reaching around from behind him and moving his hand away from the painting. He wrapped his arms around his student, smiling as he rested his head on Frank’s shoulder.

He kept his eyes fixed upon the painting, this was the sweetest thing anyone had ever done for him. “How did you...” Frank asked, glancing back at Gerard. “I knew you were missing your mum, so after searching for a decent picture, I thought I’d paint you this, so you never forget what she looked like” Gerard replied, kissing Frank on the cheek. Frank wiped away a tear that trailed down his cheek, unable to take his eyes off the painting. “Thank you baby, it’s amazing” He said, still in awe at how good it was; He knew Gerard was talented but not this talented and he certainly didn’t expect him do something so thoughtful.

Gerard took hold of Frank’s hands, biting his lip as he nervously looked down at the ground. Excitement built up in his chest; he did good. “Don’t thank me” He replied, his eyes looking back up at Frank as he leant in, closing his eyes as he gently pressed his lips against Frank’s. Frank moved closer, taking Gerard in his arms as he kissed him back. For the first time, in what felt like a very long time, an overwhelming sense of happiness washed over him. His heart skipped a beat as he looked up into the eyes of the man before him; those sweet, innocent eyes. Their problems seemed to slip away, nothing mattered anymore except him.

Frank pulled away, staring at Gerard with shock for a moment before the pair broke into a girlish giggle. Gerard rested his forehead against Frank’s as he cupped his face with his hands; a warm smile spreading across his face as he kissed him tenderly on the lips.

*****
Frank laughed at Caterina finished telling her story, he never realised before how funny she was. This girl is crazy he thought, taking another sip of his coffee. The coffee shop was busy this afternoon, the room hummed with polite chit-chat and clattering mugs but to Frank; he couldn’t help but relish it. Things between him and Gerard had been good recently but sometimes he felt like he needed a break.

“I can’t believe you did that” Ray laughed, placing his arm around Caterina. Frank noted a slight change in her expression, as though she was just putting on a smile. It was no secret that they were having relationship problems but he never realised how miserable she was. He brushed it off, he was probably overthinking again, Gerard said he did that a lot and he was probably right. They sat there in an uncomfortable silence for a moment. “So what’s new with you Frank” Caterina said quickly, subtly shaking off her boyfriend as she leaned forward intently. Frank rubbed the back of his head as Caterina’s eyes studied his movements; watching her note his nervousness. He opened his mouth to speak when his phone suddenly went off. He glanced at the screen, smiling when he saw Gerard’s name pop up. “Who is it?” Ray asked as Frank unlocked the phone, reading the message his boyfriend had sent to him.

Send me a picture, pleeeease J x

“It’s nothing” Frank replied, shaking his head. He looked up at his friends, smiling sweetly at them. “Sorry, is it alright to take a picture?” He added, holding up the phone, ready to take a selfie. The others looked at one another. “Sure” Caterina said, smiling at her friend as they leant in together. He held down the button, listening for the click as he took the picture and sent it to Gerard.

Send me a picture
Click
Where are you?
Click
Hey gorgeous send me a photo
Click
I wanna see where you are
Click
What you’re doing
Click
If I ask you for a picture, you send me one
Click
If you don’t it’s because you’re up to something
Click

“Tell me what you’re doing, why d’ya stop?” Gerard yelled as Frank climbed out of the shower, holding the towel close to his body. Frank stared at him. Why was he acting like this, surely he must know that the phone ran out of battery. “Gee the battery ran out” He protested. “Don’t lie to me!” He growled, pointing his finger straight into Frank’s face. Frank sighed, moving towards the sink and turning on the taps to brush his teeth.

Gerard stood there for a second, he knew Frank was lying. The dirty little queer was a liar, he knew he was doing something behind his back he just knew it. “You turned it off didn’t you, why’d you turn it off” He said, his voice growing louder as Frank began to brush his teeth. Frank said nothing, continuing to clean his teeth. He wasn’t sure if it was out of fear or if he was just tired of arguing, but it was 9 o’clock in the morning and frankly he was shattered. “Why’d you turn it off” Gerard repeated, his finger still beckoning at Frank, his eye narrowing as he studied his reaction. He was obviously hiding something. You wouldn’t be this quiet if you weren’t lying He thought bitterly.

Frank rolled his eyes, spitting the toothpaste into the sink. “It’s got a battery Gerard it runs out” He argued, trying refusing to look at him as he went back to brushing his teeth. “BULLSHIT” Gerard shouted his face now a mere inch away from Frank’s ear. Frank flinched, closing his eyes for a second, wishing this wasn’t happening. He wasn’t lying. He hadn’t done anything wrong! “You turned it off because you were with someone, now who were you with?”
Silence

“WHO WERE YOU WITH?”

Frank continued to brush his teeth, sighing as he held the toothbrush in his mouth. “You’re being ridiculous” He muttered. Suddenly Gerard grabbed his hair, yanking him back off his feet. “I’m being ridiculous? Why are you doing this to me eh?” he screamed in Frank’s face. Frank’s eyes grew wide with fear, struggling to stand as he began to panic. “No, No please!” Frank begged, a sharp pain ripping through the back of his head. “You like taking the piss out of me? You like taking the piss do you?” he sneered, shoving a finger into Frank’s face as he pleaded him to let go. Gerard threw him to the floor, kicking him in the ribs over and over again while Frank screamed on the floor. “NO Gee please stop!” He screamed, tears streaming down his face.

“You lying slag!” Gerard screamed, kneeling down and punching Frank in the face, hitting him again in the chest as he mercilessly beat him up. He hurled his fist into Frank’s stomach, making Frank cry out in pain. “STOP IT PLEASE” He wailed, trying feebly to shield his body from the punches. “STOP CRYING!” Gerard yelled, grabbing him by the throat, holding his head against the floor as Frank struggled in his grasp. “if you had done as I said this wouldn’t have happened....”

Notes

Thoughts?
What do you think will happen next? should someone do something to stop the abuse?

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