Frank’s back garden was small and narrow from the fence to the back of his house, with bits of twig in the farthest corner from the house that had fallen off of a large leafless tree that seems to be kept in one of the neighbour’s gardens. The grass looked as though it had recently been cut and there were small dirt patches in places where the green blades lacked, though other than these small intrusions, the garden looked pretty clean and well-kept.

The setting sun behind the house kept our surroundings in a faint but fiery light, making our shadows grow behind us as we grew closer to the small concrete patio, and the faded wooden door that led into Frank’s house.

“You have to be [i]really[/i] quiet,” Frank turned to almost whisper to me after placing a cautious hand on the brass handle, “My parents will still be downstairs watching TV or something... I’ll have to distract them, while you sneak upstairs and into my room... Got it?” He then asked, and I nodded before biting my lip in nervousness.
“How will I know which room is yours?” I replied when I got a smile from my previous action, making Frank slip a quiet giggle.
“Well,” He started, gazing up to the darkening sky for a moment, “Just go to the end of the hall, and my room’s the one with the door covered in posters and shit.” He grinned at me, and I just smiled back as my response. Before I could say any more, the door was opened and Frank was casually walking inside, and he waited for me to hurry inside before shutting the door rather loudly.

“Mum, dad, I’m home!” He called, holding up a hand to me as if to tell me to stay in my current place before heading off down the hall. I heard no response from either of Frank’s parents, so I just folded my arms loosely over my chest and took a quick look around. One or two photos of Frank’s family were hung up on the walls of the kitchen that we had walked into, and the table where they supposedly ate at for meals was covered in what looked like paperwork and bills. I didn’t get to look at much other items before I heard a deep voice quite close to me however, and I jumped slightly to turn and look in the general direction of where the voice had come from, only to see Frank in the hallway waving a desperate hand at me to tell me to move.

So, I walked quickly but quietly up towards him, only to stop when he put his hand up again to tell me to stop and replied to something that I hadn’t heard from my heartbeat pounding in my ears. I was so nervous and scared that I was going to get caught, it was unreal. If Frank’s parents aren’t at all understanding of my situation then I would get kicked out and have nowhere to go, or even worse; they might send me back to the labs or something... Getting caught right now was the last thing on my list of things to do.

“Sure, I’ll call him later, dad.” Was all Frank said before glancing at me and moving his eyes in a way to tell me to move, and I nodded once in understanding and snuck past him quickly. I managed to catch sight of a man that looked quite tall and strong-built in comparison to Frank, bent down and facing away from us as he looked in a plastic bag for something. Once I was safely out of sight of the doorway I carefully picked up my pace towards the stairs, though my first step on the carpeted wooden surface was hesitant, being aware of any creaks that it might give. I couldn’t help but almost run upstairs once I was sure that they were safe and silent, and I let out a sigh of relief when I reached the top.

I managed to convince myself that I was pretty much safe at this point, and began a quiet though calmer walk down the hallway, heading for the last door that as Frank had said, was covered in posters of people and skulls, as well as stickers of guitars, music notes and logos of what I guessed were musicians. I could barely make out the wooden door behind all of the paper, and chewed on my lip a little before moving to carefully open the door, walk inside and slowly shut it behind me with a small click.

The bedroom that I had walked into had blood-red-painted walls with more posters and admission tickets all over it, sparing a large enough space for the only window that wasn’t too big, but was big enough to stick someone’s head out of it at least. The black carpet under my bare feet felt soft but worn, and as I looked around some more, I noticed that Frank had a white electric guitar with letters stuck onto it spelling out ‘PANSY’, a single bed with black covers and a circular yellow logo in the middle with a black bat on it, and also a dresser that had its top covered in paper, pens and many other small items that looked rather messy. Other than both that and the many articles of clothing on the floor though, the room was relatively tidy.

I made my way over to perch on the edge of the bed while I waited for Frank to join me, though I couldn’t help but spring up from my seat in panic a few minutes later when the door clicked open, making me stare fearfully at the figure before realising that it was only the boy who had taken me into his home in the first place.

“Hey Gerard, it’s just me...” He had quietly said as he looked at me with a confused look and shut the door, making me only sigh and try to relax as my response. He seemed to stay quiet for a moment as he carelessly threw his bag onto his bed, though after making a popping sound with his lips, he turned back to me and smiled. “So, how do you like it?”
It took me a second or two for me to actually realise that he was talking about his room, and I let out an ‘oh!’ in realisation before slipping a small chuckle at my own stupidity. “It’s... Very different to what I am used to, I’ll admit...” I replied hesitantly, screwing up my face as I try to remember if I have ever actually come across a room quite like this one... Nothing.

I get pulled out of my thoughts when I hear Frank giggle and walk over to an aged radio that was placed in the corner of his room, before bending down and opening the top of it, pulling out a disc and putting it in a case before replacing it with another. “Well you’re going to be spending a lot of time in here, so I’d get used to it.” He grinned back at me briefly before pressing a few buttons on the small player to start a song, filling the room with nothing but guitar at first, before other instruments and a man’s voice come through on the speakers. “Do you know anything about Green Day?” He then asked as he stood up again and turned to face me, his face falling into an expression of pure shock when I only shake my head and bite my lip. Before I know it I’m being dragged backwards onto the bed, before being released again. I curiously glance at Frank who is now desperately gathering up multiple cases with more discs in and bringing them over to the bed, splaying them out one by one in front of me for me to look at.

“[i]Please[/i] tell me that you’ve seen at least one of these?” He pleaded, his gaze quickly switching from my face, to the cases, and then back to me again. I sigh softly and take a look at the many different coloured sheets of paper on the inside of the cases, one of them catching my eye.
“I like that one,” I started, making Frank grin in what looks like pride.
“So you [i]do[/i] know them?” He asked hopefully, making me shake my head and chuckling.
“No, I like the [i]look[/i] of it... I’ve never seen any of these or heard of whoever they are in my entire life.” I reply easily, making Frank’s face fall again.
“Oh, right...” He mumbles disappointedly, and I chew on my lip a little before trying to cheer him up at least a little.
“But... If it helps, they sound pretty good.” I smile up at him, meeting his gaze when he lifts his head to look at me, as if he thought that I was lying to him.
“Y-You think so...?” He asks uncertainly, making me smile slightly wider and nod. A smile of his own soon replaces the small frown on his face, and I can’t stop myself from slipping a small chuckle at his happiness.

“So...” He then begins after taking all of the discs and cases back to their rightful place and sitting cross-legged beside me on his bed. “I think I’ll have to warn you now... I have to go to school tomorrow, and you know what that means, right?” He gazes up at me in what looks like sadness, and I take a moment to think.
“Will those boys hurt you again?” I ask, and he bites his lip before lowering his head in some form of shame.
“Well, yes... But you’re also going to be alone for hours on end.” He states after lifting his head again, his eyes meeting mine. “Will you be okay...? I mean, you have nothing to do, and it’ll be like this for another three days after tomorrow, too...” He babbles on, making me smile.
“I’ll be okay, Frank.” I say confidently, “As long as your parents don’t come into your room at all during the day whilst you are away, nothing will happen to me.”
“They won’t,” Frank immediately says after the last word comes out of my mouth, “They’ll be at work, and still won’t be back for another hour or something after I come back...”
“Then everything will be okay.” I reassure the teen who half-smiles at me from under his hair, before getting up from his seat and stretching slightly.

“Well, it’s almost midnight...” He says as he walks over to his chest of drawers, pulling open one of the compartments and rummaging through the clothes. “You need some clothes, and I’ll try and figure out a way of getting you some soon... But for now, these will have to do...” He explains partially to himself, before taking out a pair of black pants that look like they should be used for exercise or something along those lines. “They’re a little big for me, so they should be okay...”

I gratefully take the pants from Frank and smile at him, getting up from the bed too. “They should be just fine, Frank.” I put the bottoms onto the bed before starting to unclasp the buttons at the top of my lab coat, only to stop after two of them and feeling my face heat up slightly.
“Is something wrong?” I hear Frank ask and I lift my gaze to his, before chewing on my lip in embarrassment.
“You may have to look away,” I warned with a shaking voice, the heat on my cheeks only increasing.
“We’re both boys Gerard; you don’t have to be embarrassed.” He giggles in response, shaking his head. “It’s not like you’re not wearing anything at all under that coat.” He grins up at me in an amused way, only to let it fade and have his own cheeks redden when I keep quiet. “...You [i]are[/i] wearing something under that, right?” He then asks uncertainly, and I lower my head before shaking it. “O-Oh... Okay then...” He stutters out and I catch him tremble just slightly when I lift my gaze enough to look at him again, before watching him hurry over to his drawers again and pulling out a pair of boxer shorts to put on top of the pants. I shyly murmur a ‘thanks’ and show him a small smile which he struggles to return, before he moves away from me to head for the door. “I’m going to, y’know... Go into the bathroom and wash the bits of blood and shit off of myself...” He hurriedly explains, and before I can say anything in reply I’m alone in the room, the door shutting behind him. I only sigh softly and pinch the bridge of my nose for a moment, before starting to get changed.

This could be a long first night...