"Frank! Get the fuck up!"Someone screamed in my ear. I winced as immediately all my aches and pains announced their arrival.
"Fuck off."I grumbled as I tried to ignore the yelling.
"Frank you have to get to fucking school."They yelled again. I rolled over slowly and opened my eyes to see Sarah.

"Fucking hell mate who hit you?"Srah gaped at what I assumed was a black eye. Fucking great.
"Not just hit. Literally gave me a fucking beating. That stupid Cole kid. Two cracked ribs and possibly a concussion or some shit I can't remember what the nurse said."I closed my eyes again as one thing came back to me.

"Painkillers."I sat up straight away at the thought of feeling less pain.
"Where are they? I'll get them for you, you can stay here."She smiled. She was already in her uniform. Must be close to school time.

"In my bag."Shit who brought my bag back from the gym?
"Kay. I'll get you some water to take them with."She said as she grabbed them out for me.
"Nah don't worry I don't need it."I waved her away.
"Uhh okay. Steven says you have to get dressed and go to school though. Sorry. But I have to leave."She smiled at me apologetically as I nodded and waved at her.

I stared at the ceiling and waited for the pills to kick in. I did not want to look in the mirror. My face was probably swollen with a black eye and my lips felt like they had been split in three different- how the fuck did I get in bed?

I jumped out of bed and ran downstairs. I was still in my uniform so that was something.
"Steven? Steven! Hey uh-"
"You need to get to school Frank."Steven said from the dining room table. He had a file open and a shit load of papers spread out. He looked very busy.

"Uh yeah I know just quickly um. How did I get into bed?"I asked him.
"Um. I dont actually know. All I know is that Sarah saw you come in and she yelled at me that you were like this."He said and gestured to me. I nodded sadly.

"Frank! Lunch!"Taylor yelled through the hatch and slid another brown bag through. I didnt even eat my lunch from yesterday and wow, I was fucking starving.
"Shit uh thanks. You dont have anything I could eat now do you? I didnt get to eat at all yesterday and im fucking starving."I smiled at him sheepishly. He nodded and went to grab something for me.

"Frank you really do need to go. I cant talk right now i'm busy."Steven said and went back to his work.
"Thanks Taylor!"I yelled as I took the sandwich Taylor was handing me and ran back to my room. I grabbed my bag and rushed down the stairs and out the front door.

Damn I needed a watch. I sighed as I started walking down the empty and cold street. I looked around as someone tooted at me. It was a very familiar looking car. I stopped walking as it slowed to a stop and Gerard poked his head out of the drivers seat.

"No way. Get in. You aint walking to school.'He said. I stared at him and sighed. I really didnt want to walk and I knew that if I said no he would keep pestering me.
"Kay."I said quietly as I got in the back seat. Oh! It was the car I had gotten into yesterday.

"What do you have first?"He asked me.
"Uhh I dont actually know. I'll check."I reached for my bag and pulled out my time table,"Fucking geography."I sighed.
"Sweet. You wanna go to art with me instead?'He asked me. I stared at his face in the rearview mirror. He wasnt joking.

"Uhh..."I didnt want to skip my first lesson of geography. I was a fucking wuss.
"Cole is in that class. It was when I first started skipping my classes."Gerard glanced at me in the mirror and spotted me staring at him. Shit.

"Okay sure. If he is in there I dont wanna be there."I smiled to myself at the thought of spending extra time with Gerard by myself. And Mr Stump of course. But mainly Gerard.

'Sweet that means we have time to stop for a coffee. I need a fucking fix.''Gerard suddenly turned a corner so violently I slid and hit my already very sore head.

"Fuck I'm sorry man."He slowed down to a stop and turned around to look at me,"You okay?"He sent me a searching look that sent shivers down my spine. No way in hell was I fucking fine when he gave me looks like that.
"Uh yeah. Its all good."I smiled at him and resisted the urge to rub my head.

He started driving again and started rambling about this great coffee shop that was somehow better than starbucks and cheaper as well.

"Uh I dont drink coffee."I stopped him dead in his tracks. Literally. I was thrown forward into the back of his seat.
"Jesus christ! Be fucking careful!'I yelled as a car tooted behind us and Gerard shook his head and started driving again.

"Sorry. Have you ever had it before?"He asked me as we turned another corner.
"No. The house I came from, the mace or whatever, had a very small budget compared to this fucking place.

"Yeah well this is a halfway house. A lot of the kids realised if they wanted things they needed a job. I had one for a while but got sick of it. Now I just work at the comic book shop with Mikey every now and then. But coffee is great. Its perfect just wait- fuck."Gerard swerved suddenly. He didnt seem to be a very good driver.

"I swear I'm a better driver than this I just have- some things on my mind."He smiled as he read my thoughts somehow. I nodded and looked out the window. We were back on the street at the back of the school. Once again it was completely empty. No cars, no people no nothing.

"What is this street? Why is it so empty?"I asked as I watched the shops go by. I spotted a tattoo parlous and immediately made a note to go visit it.

"Its called The Moon. The real street name is Baton Rd. but everyone calls it The Moon because its only ever busy at night time.

"Oh... Why is it busy at night time?"I asked as we slowed to a stop.
"Cause its for people like me. Creatures of the night. A lot of the shops arent open til like 5."Gerard turned the car off and looked round at me,"Stay."

I watched as he got out of the car and opened my door and got half in the car.
"Are you feeling okay?"He looked me in the eye. It was a good thing I was sitting down because my legs had just turned to jelly and I knew my face would be brighter than a fucking I dont even know. It was just burning up real badly.

"Uhm yeah why wouldn't I be?"I raised an eyebrow at him. He looked at me weirdly and moved an inch closer before moving out of the car completely. What the fuck.

'Well get out."He called. I moved my legs to check they had their usual strength before sliding out of the car. I squinted through the brightness of the sun at the coffee shop we were outside,'The Magic Beans'

"They really are magic fucking beans.'Gerard smiled up at the sign. The front windows of the store were filled up with posters for bands. Oh, this place had live music.

"Come on. I think Ray might be in."Gerard lead the way through a door I hadn't noticed into a large darkened room. On one side there was a bar with all the stations for making drinks and on the other side partly in the corner, was a stage.

In the middle spreading out across the floor were chairs and tables. Except for in front of the stage. That spot was empty except for a few people leaning on the stage watching a guy with crazy afro hair play the guitar quietly. He was actually really fucking good.

"Alright... Di! First time coffee drinker! Fix him up with the best!"Gerard yelled to a girl behind the counter. She smiled and waved at Gerard before looking at me for a few seconds before grabbing a cup and making a drink.

"She is awesome at guessing peoples favourite."Gerard smiled at me as he lead us over to a table. He fucking pulled out the chair for me. Either he thought I was really badly hurt still or he was a fucking gentleman. I didnt know what I wanted it to be.

"Hey Gee. Who's this?"The guy with the guitar was now at our table. He had finished his song and was sitting down with us. I stared at his guitar. A fucking Les Paul. Jesus fucking christ. I couldnt stop staring at it.

'Ray this is Frank. Just moved into the house. Frank this is R- Ray... You okay?"He asked as I didnt look away from the guitar. I had only ever seen pictures of electric guitars. I had played an acoustic in school but had never ever seen a real fucking electric let alone a Les fucking Paul.

"Its beautiful isn't it."Ray smiled and stroked the neck.
"Yes."I croaked. I reached out slowly but retracted it,"Can I t- touch it?"
"Ahaha sure! Here.'He handed it over to me, shocking me to the bone. He was letting me touch his fucking guitar.

I cradled it on my arms carefully, shitting my pants over dropping it.
"Can you play?"He asked me. I nodded and moved it into position before picking out the beginning of Promise.

"Shit you're really good Frankie."Gerard watched me. I stopped playing and looked at him. The last person who had called me Frankie, excluding Mrs Macy, was Claire.

"Is there a phone I can use?"I asked immediately. I carefully handed the guitar back to Ray and stood up as Gerard pointed to a pay phone over by a doorway to the toilets.

'Uhh can I borrow some change?"I asked quietly. I fucking hated not having money,
"Sure. Who're you calling?"Gerard asked as he reached into his pocket and dumped some coins into my hand.
"Claire."I replied before marching off straight away to the phone.

I pushed the coins in the slot and dialled the number to the mace house. There was ringing before Mrs Macy picked it up and answered in her horrible nasally voice.
"Uh hi its Frank."I said down the phone.
'Franklin! What on earth are you calling for? Shouldn't you be in school?"She asked me. Shit. I completely forgot that.

"Uhhh I- I am. I just, I needed to talk to Lily. Or Claire if she is there."I was hoping to the fucking high heavens she wouldn't ask why but being Mrs Macy I knew she would.

"Neither of them are here i'm afraid. That couple from across town adopted the two of them but they didn't leave any numbers."She said. I froze. What?
"Franklin? Are you still there?"She asked. I couldn't understand.
"But... How? W- when did the couple come back?"I asked as wave after wave of shock and regret for not calling sooner washed over me.

"Yesterday. Came as quite a bit of a shock really cause-"The line went dead. I looked at the screen that read 'out of credit' and slammed the phone back into the receiver. Fuck.
"Fuck!'I yelled in frustration. I thumped my head against the wall and leaned there as I tried to figure out what to do.

"Frank are you okay?"Gerard came up behind me and put his hand on my shoulder. I jumped at the contact and turned to face him.
"Not exactly no."I sighed and leaned my back against the wall to slide down onto the floor.

"Frank what happened?'He crouched down in front of me.
"My ah you know my best friend Lily? The one I drew?"I looked up at him and had to look away from the intensity of his gaze.

"Yes... Was she adopted?"He asked me quietly.
"Yes! Along with my other best friend! Claire. She- they-"I stopped talking as I broke down in tears. I did not want to be fucking crying in front of Gerard but here I was blubbering like a baby.

"Oh Frank. C'mere."He held his arms out and I fell into them, sobbing onto his shoulder. He rubbed my back and shushed me as I slowly stopped crying. I had no idea what to do to find them.

"We'll help you find them okay? You'll see. It'll be fine."He whispered into my ear. I nodded against his shoulder and took a deep shaky breath. No more fucking crying on his shoulder.

"Come on, your coffee is ready. Drink it and feel better."He smiled as he pulled me up. We walked back over to the table where Ray was drinking his coffee and writing something that looked like music. What a fucking cool guy. Seriously, I wanted to fucking be him or rape his guitar or some shit.

"Drink it. Its a hazelnut latte."Gerard smiled at me. I nodded and took a sip. Immediately my mouth exploded from the hotness but underneath I could taste the sweet symphony of hazelnut and coffee. Fucking bliss.

"This is really good."I mumbled and took another drink, ignoring the heat completely.
"Told you. You're turned forever now."Gerard grinned at me. I smiled back at him and relaxed slightly.

"We gotta go. Art starts in half an hour. Sorry Toro."Gerard got up and pulled Ray into a hug.
"I'll see you tonight right?"
"Of course. Like I would fucking miss it."Gerard laughed at Ray. I waved at Ray like a little kid and followed Gerard back out into the unbelievably bright world, holding my drink like a lifeline.

"I want his guitar."I said slowly.
"Ha! Wait til you see mine."Gerard laughed.
"You have a guitar?"I looked at him. That meant he played. Which made him even hotter somehow.

"Yeah. I cant play very well though. I'm sorta better at singing."He blushed slightly as we got in the car. I was in the front seat this time.
"What um. Whats tonight?"I asked him curiously.
"Nothing for you. Lets go."Gerard brushed me off completely and didnt even look at me for the rest of the ride.

"Gerard! And Frank. Didnt think you would be one to skip class. But oh well. So long as it wasnt important.'Mr Stump smiled at us as we walked in. He had a class in progress. I think he was officially my favourite teacher.

"Hey Stumpy."Gerard smiled at him and went to sit in his corner but there were a bunch of little kids there.
"Move. Go."Gerard glared down at them all as they grabbed their shit and moved to another group of desks.

Gerard said nothing as he sat down and got out a large sketch book. He angled himself so that he had his legs up on the desk and I couldn't see what he was drawing.
"So um-"
"No more talking."He barely glanced at me as he continued drawing whatever it was he was drawing.

I sighed and took another sip of my coffee. I spotted a cup on Gerards desk that I hadn't even seen him carry in, let alone buy it.
"Frank what are you gonna do for me? A painting?"Mr Stump came over as his class worked.
"Uh I guess. What do you want me to paint?"

"Oooh let me see. Draw something that's stuck in your mind."He smiled at me knowingly and walked away. Something stuck in my mind. Immediately Gerard popped into my head but I couldnt exactly do that without revealing that he had been on my mind a whole fucking lot lately.

Something else came to mind. Not clearly but it was there and had been stuck there ever since the night I was given to the mace house.

*flashback*

"... ever disrespect me again!"He yelled and slapped her hard across the face. She fell to the floor and I ran to her.
"Frankie go! Go to your room get out!"She yelled at me as he started getting closer to us. I held her head in my hands.

"Mummy are you okay?'I whispered.
"Frank do you wanna go draw something for me?"He asked me as he picked me up and shoved me away. In that time mum had gotten up and I was running to her again.

We were both running. No she had picked me up and was running out the door. We were racing down the street with him chasing after us.
"Michael dont do this!"She screamed.

"You cant take my son away from me! Get back here now bitch!"He yelled. I buried my face in her neck as we slowed to a stop. She started pounding on a door hard and fast, screaming as he caught up to us.

"Hel-"The door was opened my an old lady.
"Take him! Please!"Mum screamed. Immediately the woman took me from my mother.
"His name is Frank please lock the door now!"She yelled and started running again.

"Mummy!"I yelled as I watched her run away, her black hair whipping around behind her. He sped past us and then the door was shut. I struggled out of the old womans arms and tried to open the door but couldn't. I heard a scream outside and started crying.

*end flashback*

"No."I whispered as I opened my eyes.
"What?"Gerard looked up from his drawing at me.
"Ah nothing I was just um. Thinking. Dont worry."I smiled at him as I started drawing.
"Kay..."He looked at me weirdly before going back to his drawing.