Frank's POV

Mum carries me from Gerard’s house and dumps me in the car. She accelerates harshly with Gerard’s father still yelling insults and accusations at us. Sobs rack my body as I curl up in the back seat. Mum sighs heavily, rubbing her forehead with a frown.

“I’m so sorry Frankie, I thought that was going to go so much better than it did.” I can still see her from my curled position so I witness a tear fall down her cheek.
“What are we going to do about Gee?” I sob.

Mum doesn’t respond for a few minutes. We are almost home when she says, “I guess we just have to leave it for now. Give his parents more time to calm down. Then we can try again.”
I think this over for a bit. “But what if Gee’s father hits him or Mikey?”
“Then we’ll intervene.” Mum immediately replies. This soothes me slightly, knowing that we can and will take Gee in if anything happens to him. I stop sobbing as heavily, just snuffling.

We pull into the driveway, where I have to take a second before I get out of the car. I head immediately to my room as soon as I get inside. I fall on my bed face first and just lie there. I feel my chest swelling with all the emotions from the actions I’ve faced. I quickly find my phone and text Gee.
Frank: Are you okay? XoFrankie
He responds in a matter of minutes.
Gee: Dad isn’t too happy. I'm pretty sure I’ll have a few bruises, but I’ll be fine. Gee x
The pace of my heart increases when I read this.
Frank: Will you be at school tomorrow?
I type quickly, hoping the answer is yes. Or at least that his parents work all day so that I can see him.
Gee: Probably. Dad said he’s gonna get someone to watch me so I can’t meet you.
Oh, Gee baby. I begin to cry, tears leaving shiny trails down my cheeks.
Frank: Go to the bathroom in lunch and I will be there, okay? x
Gee: Ok. Dad’s coming upstairs, talk to you tomorrow Frankie xx
Frank: Night Gee. Text me if anything goes wrong okay? xx

Despite my best efforts, I begin to sob again so I get up and put on some loud music. Then I fall back onto the bed and keep sobbing until I've been through two albums and I fall asleep.

“Frank!” Gerard cries. “Help me!”
“I'm coming!” I shout. I run up the stairs of Gerard’s house, searching blindly for his room. His house looked different, not the same as it was when I saw it. It was just the little things that were slightly off, not quite right. When I reach the top of the stairs, Gerard is still yelling for me.

Tortured screams are coming from somewhere further down the hall. I sprint across the ground, desperate to save my Gee.

I fling open every door in the hallway, searching desperately in each but all the rooms are empty. There is just one room left. I pause outside of it, then fling the last door open. As soon as I do so the screaming stops. I close my eyes, let out a relieved sigh and enter the room. It’s completely barren. There is absolutely nothing in the room, the floorboards are gone, exposing dusty concrete and paint is flaking off the walls. I turn around to leave the room. The door is shut. I’m pretty sure I didn’t close it, but it probably just rebounded from the force I opened it with or something.

I walk over to the door, ignoring a flutter of panic in my stomach. Fuck. Gee’s room is downstairs, in the basement. I jiggle the door knob on the wooden door. It’s locked. The fucking thing is locked. The pace of my breathing and heart beat picks up. I pace around the room, desperately trying to thing rationally. Maybe I could jump out the window? I mean, it’s not that far to the ground. And I really need to find my Gee. What if he's in real trouble? Or dead?

A piercing scream rings out in the soundless house, and carries on. Oh shit, that sounds like Gerard. I rush over to the door, frantically hauling on the handle. It still doesn’t open so I kick the door in hopes of it crashing down. My leg goes straight through the timber, and the thing flies off its hinges. This is fucking weird, considering I don’t kick all that hard. My leg is apparently fine, so I race down the hallway to the beginning of the stairs.

A trail of blood trickles down the steps, which just makes me feel absolutely sick. I take a step and somehow trip on nothing and fall down. My perspective is shifted; everything spinning around me. Black engulfs my vision, there is nothing here. I don’t know where I am or what this is. The stairs twist and turn. Gerard’s scream is still ringing in my ears, though I can’t see him anywhere. I have no idea whether my eyes are open or closed because either way all I can see is this twisting, never ending pitch black I am being tossed around in. When I try to scream for help, I can’t make any sound come out. I feel like my throat has been stuffed with cotton wool, and as hard as I try I can’t get rid of it. I claw at my face, and my skin splits unexpectedly under the force of my nails. An open, two inch long gash extends from my cheekbone to the corner of my mouth, however strangely enough it doesn’t bleed at all. Suddenly I crash onto a hard floor, landing in something warm and sticky and thick.

I tentatively open my eyes, afraid of what I will see.

Blood.

More specifically, Gerard’s blood. Alongside his mangled body.

I awaken panting and sweaty, my bed sheets tangled around my legs. I kick out desperately, panicking and crying. More weeping comes as the visions of his disfigured form flood my mind. I breathe in and out hysterically, choking out strangled sobs into my pillow. Fuck I need Gerard right now!

My shaking fingers scramble for my phone on the bedside table, fingers grasping for anything at all. I grip something cold and solid, knowing that it is my phone. I click the on button and frantically send out a text to Gerard.

Frank: Gee are you okay? XoFrankie
Almost as soon as I send it, Gerard replies.
Gee: Yeah, why? Are you alright honey? x
I sigh in relief, and feel a little stupid at my overreaction. It was just a dream and now I've probably woken him up. Ugh, stupid!
Frank: Yeah sorry. Just a bad dream. Sorry if I woke you.
Gee: Don’t worry, I was up anyways. You wanna talk about it?
When I finish reading the text, I receive an incoming call from Gerard. I answer, pressing the phone against my ear and rolling onto my side.

“Hey, you alright honey?” Gee says in a caring, faintly crackly voice. It is 1 in the morning.
“I had a nightmare.” I say weakly.
“Tell me what happened Frankie.”
“I was in your house and you were screaming for help like you were in trouble, so I ran upstairs to try and find you because I thought that was where the screams were coming from but I couldn’t find you and then I got locked in an empty room and I kicked the door down, and then I fell on the stairs and there was blood and blackness and–” I cut myself off with yet another sob. Gee coos gently into the phone, encouraging me to go on. I close my eyes and then continue. “I fell down onto the ground and landed in a pool of blood, and it was yours. You were dead, Gee!” Now I’ve properly worked myself up, and I'm crying and gasping into the phone desperately.
“Hold on.” Gee instructs, then the line goes dead. I'm stunned into silence, the phone still pressed against my face.
“Gee?” I whisper hoarsely. I let the phone fall. He left me.





Ten minutes later I hear a knock on my window. I gasp and hide under my blankets, shaking all over. What is that? I squeeze my eyes shut, and then work up the courage to glance over at the pane of glass. There is another knock at my window. I quickly flicker my gaze over to the glass and then hide again. Someone is at my window. Holy fuck, I am going to get murdered! I curl up into a ball, frozen from fear. I don’t want to die like this!

Somebody calls my name. It sounds like its coming from outside, which terrifies me even more. They sigh, which I recognise. A switch goes off in my brain and my muscles relax. It’s Gerard! I could identify that sigh anywhere.

I slip out of bed, a blanket draped over my shoulders and shuffle to the window. I undo the latch and push the window out all the way. Gerard quickly climbs through the gap and flings his arms around me. He walks me over to my bed and lays me down on it. The bed dips next to me as he lies down too. I nuzzle my face into the crook of his neck, willing myself not to cry again. I focus on just inhaling his addicting scent, coffee mingling with smoke.

I don’t ask about what happens in the morning when his parents realise he is gone, I don’t speak at all. Gerard just holds me, whispering comforting phrases in my ear occasionally until we both fall asleep.

Notes

I don't really like this chapter but anyways, here it is.

- Run Bunny