A Little Thing I Like to Call Frosh

Frank's POV

It's not until Mikey calls that I realize that my pain has been slowly leaving as I talked to Josh. Our food is long gone and the coffee left in my cup is cold. I find that I'm generally happy. I don't want to have to face reality.

I answer my phone anyway, "Hello?"

"Frank where are you? Gee said to give you space so we didn't look for you at first. But you never came back and we couldn't find you and we're all worried."

I answer mostly because I don't think I've ever heard Mikey say so much at one time, "I'm fine. Josh came and got me..."

There's murmuring in the background, then, "The guy from the club? Are you guys...like...on a date or something?"

I am suddenly filled with rage. It was Gerard's question, "I don't think that's any of your--or more accurately your nosy brother's--business," As I say this, I realize that I almost want it to be a date. Josh isn't bad looking. He has soft features. I like the way his blue hair feathers around his face...And I could almost lose myself in his kind eyes...Plus, we get along so well...

"Oh, um," Mikey's voice cuts through my thoughts, "He, Gerard, says not to do anything you'll regret out of emotion."

I want to groan, "Of course I won't do anything stupid." What does he think I'm gonna do anyway?

"Mom doesn't like you being out there without one of us."

"Fine, I'll be home soon."

"Gee says he's sorry."

That's the last straw. How dare he think I'll be okay with just a "sorry"? And not even a direct one! "Tell him I said, 'Fuck you.'"

"Um...ok...well, see you later...still don't understand what's going on with you two..."

"Okay, bye," I say and hang up.

Josh stares at me with a confused expression and i realize I didn't make much sense. I sigh and quickly explain the situation.

"Wait...Mikey and Gerard are brothers?" I'm not sure why he's so confused. They have the same face.

"Yeah, come on, let's pay the bill and get going."

We get in the car and he starts driving. It only takes a couple of minutes for the silence to become awkward. I look over at his hand resting on the center console. I get this sudden urge to grab it...so I do. The corner of his mouth twitches up, but he stays staring at the road.

"Josh..." I say, "Was this a date?"

"Hmmm...It wasn't meant to be..." he's still facing forward, "What do you think?"

I blush and lay my head on his shoulder, "I think it was."

"Yeah, me too," he kisses the top of my head unexpectedly. I blush and close my eyes.

We arrive back at the hotel too soon and I see Gerard pacing outside the door. He looks up when we pull in and runs over as soon as we park.

"Bye, Josh, I had a good time, " I say, placing a small kiss on his cheek.

He surprises me again by crashing our lips together. I melt into it and am only vaguely aware of him flipping Gerard off behind my back. He finally pulls away and rests our foreheads together.

"That was really satisfying," he says.

I smile, "Kissing me or flipping Gerard off?"

"Both."

I giggle and kiss him again, lightly, "Ok, but I really should go. I'll see you later."

"Wait. Should I call you or...?"

"I'll call you. And if I don't, I'm probably being held hostage. So you have full permission to come beat down room 516. Ok?"

He smiles, "K, bye beautiful."

And then I'm standing on the sidewalk staring after him wistfully. That is, until Gerard grabs my shoulder.

"I told you not to do anything you'd regret!" he half-yells in my face.

"What are you talking about? I'm not regretting anything."

"You're rebounding on a guy who really likes you and who you had a really good shot at a serious relationship with!"

"I'm not rebounding, Gerard. You and I never dated! Besides, it's not like I went out and had sex with him. We just ate breakfast together. Our relationship is going to be serious."

"But you're upset. You might not be thinking clear--"

"I'm thinking just fine! I was perfectly calm and happy before you started yelling at me!"

I don't wait for his reply. I storm into the building, causing a lot of people to give me weird looks. When I get to the elevator, I turn to see Gerard coming after me. I shut the door before he can get in. I know it won't stall him for long, but at least I won't have to see him for another couple of minutes.

Once I arrive at the right floor I quickly let myself into the room. I then flop down on my bed and scream into a pillow. Childish, yes, but also very effective.

"Hey, Frank, glad you're back," Mikey's voice comes from behind me.

I suddenly feel very malicious as I turn to him, "Hey, Mikey did you know you're gonna be an uncle?"

Josh's POV

I can't help but run my fingers over my lips again and again on the way home. They're still tingling from that perfect kiss. Honestly, I had heard of sparks and I had always thought it was a figure of speech. Yet something definitely lit up when I pressed my lips to Frank's. I've fallen for the American boy, and I'm not sure how I feel about that.

I smirk as I remember old fire-head's reaction. When I first brought our lips together, his eyes widened in surprise. Then they narrowed, glaring at me as if in warning. Like I'm out to hurt Frank. Perhaps flipping him off was slightly out of line, but damn did it feel good. After the way he broke my Frankie, he deserved so much more.

I call Matt as soon as I get home.

"Hey, dude, what's up?" he answers.

"I got 'im," I say

"The guy from Fireflies? Knew you would."

"You should've seen him, Matt. The little guy was so hurt from that douchebag Gerard that he couldn't even get a sentence out."

"Really? Gee didn't seem like a douche."

I groan at my best friend's casual use of the affectionate nickname, "You were also hella drunk."

"True enough...so do you mean you got him or you got him?"

I shake my head at his vulgar tone, "It's not like that, man. I wanna take my time with Frank. Go on dates, get to know him. He's...special..."

"Special how?"

"I dunno, he just feels different from anyone else I've dated. Like, I kissed him and, call me crazy but there really were sparks."

"Freaky. So you're falling in love with someone who lives all the way across the continent in another country?"

"That's the gist of it. Trust me, it scares me too."

"You realize you originally planned him as a one-night-stand, right?"

"That was when I thought he was already gay."

"Whatever. You still coming over later? Mom'll be offended if you don't."

"As if I would miss meatloaf night!" I say with mock enthusiasm, "Yeah, I'll be over."

"Sweet. See ya then."

"K. Bye."

Part of me wants to call Frank as soon as I hang up. But he said he's call me, so I'll wait.

Notes