100% Certified Straight

Gerard's POV


It had been a strange day at a new school for Gerard Way. No one seemed to want to talk to him, so he'd spent the day alone and very, very confused. It was a big school. He'd just barely sat down for lunch when a dirty looking kid in a black hoodie and blue jeans seemed to just appear beside him.

"Um, hello. Look, you're not safe here, you should come with me."

Well, that was weird. "Why the heck would I not be safe?"

"I'll explain on the way, will you please follow me? Please?"

Gerard knew that the smart thing to do was to stay where he (kind of) knew where he was, but this kid just seemed so sincere. Slowly, he nodded, putting his backpack on, grabbing his lunch, and following the kid out of the library. "So why wasn't I safe in there?'

"Your hair's dyed."

"So?"

"So this town doesn't really take kindly to anything even the slightest bit unusual. Although, judging by the looks of you you'll probably be finding that out on your own pretty soon."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Who did this kid think he was anyways?

"Oh, nothing bad. You just look pretty gay."

"Well that just might be because I am.” In his experience there was nothing wrong with being gay.

"Oh. Shit, dude. You're gonna wanna stick with me. Also never ever say that out loud again."

"Why the hell not?” Gerard was not the type of person to hide who he was.

“We can talk later.”

He sighed, following the guy through countless hallways and finally to a large classroom at the very edge of the school. It looked like…yes, it was definitely a music classroom.

The other guy sat down in a chair and spoke up again. “This is the band room. The jocks won’t go into the performing arts wing for fear of someone thinking they take a class here. And even if they did, Mr. Dow is rarely ever out of his office, so there’s not a whole lot they can do.”

Gerard looked over at the office. Sure enough, there was a teacher sitting at his desk and eating a salad.

“Don’t worry, the office is sound proofed. Probably so he doesn’t have to listen to the guitar class when they’re in here.” Gerard took this opportunity to take a closer look at the boy who had supposedly saved him. He dressed like he didn’t care about, well, anything, and it looked like he hadn’t taken a shower in days. His cheekbones stood out a little too much, as if he didn’t eat, and he had bags under his eyes. But somehow he was still quite attractive.

“Um…what’s your name?” He asked.

“Frank. What’s your’s?”

“Gerard.” He sat down, finishing his lunch before he spoke again. “So, Frank, why should I not say I’m gay?”

Frank moved so he was sitting right next to him, looking around as if he was scared someone was listening in on their conversation, even though there was quite clearly no one there. “In this town, you don’t just looked down upon if you’re different, you get beat up. Trust me, I would know…”

“Are you…”

Frank smiled at him sadly. “Used to be.”

“What? You can’t just…stop being gay.” This place just kept getting weirder and weirder.

“Well, I had to. It was either that or…well, let’s just say not all of my scars are from self-inflicted wounds. This isn’t a very nice town, Gerard. I’m all for self-expression but…well, if you want to stay safe it isn’t a very good idea.”

Suddenly Frank’s appearance made sense. Being psychologically tortured by literally everyone could do horrible things to a person. He didn’t know what to say. “…scars?” Okay what the hell kind of question was that?

Frank nodded, pulling off his hoodie, and then his shirt. Fortunately, the teacher couldn’t see him because…holy fuck. He had cuts all over his arms but…his back was covered by scars that looked suspiciously like whip marks, and his chest had a scar that started at his collar bone and disappeared down his leg. He pulled his hair out of his face, revealing one on his forehead, then parted his hair a few different places, revealing scars all over his scalp. Before Gerard could say anything, he put his clothes back on. “Please, Gerard. You seem like a really cool person, and trust me, I don’t just say that about anyone. Please try and just stay out of their way. I- I don’t want you getting hurt.”

Gerard stared at him for a few seconds, but then nodded. “Yeah. Yeah of course I will.” Just then the bell rang and Frank waved goodbye to him, leaving the room after mouthing a ‘thank you’. Gerard stood up slowly, walking to his class. He couldn’t get the image of Frank’s body out of his mind. Even if it weren’t for the scars he didn’t look so good. His ribs and spine were clearly visible, and that was definitely not normal for a boy his age. As he walked, Gerard could feel his eyes start to burn, though with tears or anger he couldn’t tell. Who the fuck would want to do that to such a kind person? Actually, who would do that to anyone?

When he finally got to class he was in an absolutely murderous mood. It made him think of an old alter-ego he’d had, the main reason he kept his hair dyed red. Party Poison was just begging to show his sassy face again, but no. He had promised Frank he’d lay low. He found a desk in the back of the room and sat down, sighing. At least the year was almost over.

Notes

Yeah, bad school. Hopefully Gerard will listen to Frank.