:Frank’s POV: After that day, everything changed. I had stored Gerard away in our attic and I never saw him again. Sure, I cried for days on end because my mom wouldn’t let me see my friend but… in a way, putting Gerard away, made me stronger. It made me realize that I needed to toughen up. I couldn’t always be that pathetic weak person I was when I had Gerard. When I had Gerard, I was reserved, kind, caring. I was too afraid of other people to actually do something if they’ve harmed me in anyway. Example, Josh. I let him repeat his actions over and over again. He continuously raped me until it came down to him getting arrested. Even then I didn’t do anything about it. My Mom was the one who had decided to call the police. I just sat back and watched. But now? Now I’m not afraid to do something. If someone hurts me, I’m going to make sure they receive some damage. If they hurt someone I love, that’s a whole different story. I am definitely not afraid to do some permanent damage. I would kill for the ones I love. That doesn’t mean I’ll actually kill someone per say but… I’ll come really fucking close to it. I’m not that shy little kid anymore. I’m a 26 year old man who is not afraid to stand up for myself or others. That’s what getting rid of Gerard helped me do. It helped me become stronger as a person. I don’t need a doll to share my problems with, to cry to, to hold in my arms and wish for him to be real to protect me. I don’t need that. I’m doing fine all by myself. Well… I shouldn’t say I’m by myself because, I’m definitely not. My boyfriend, Ethan King, has been with me for three years, but has been my friend for longer. He’s helped me to get over my depression, he helped me get over Gerard, and he helped me get better. Am I better? Yes. Am I perfectly fine? No. Not even my lovely boyfriend could repair me fully. No one could, and no one can. I just have too much harm done to me. My mind is just filled with terrifying memories of being raped, of getting beaten…. Those memories will always haunt me no matter what, and no one could ever change that. Trust me, people have tried. No one has succeeded. It’s quite heartbreaking in a way if someone saw how I really was. But no one will ever see deep into my mind. They’ll only see how most of my brain is set. I’ll be strong for others as well as myself. I don’t want to hurt anymore so that’s why I try my best to forget everything. I say I’m stronger. Believe me, I am. I’ve improved so much, it’s incredible. But, no matter how tough I may seem, there will always be a hint of that broken boy, hidden away in my mind. “Mr. Iero?’ I suddenly heard one of my students ask me. I snapped out of my trance and fixed my gaze on the student in front of me. A girl stood in front of me, who I recognized as Mackenzie. She was a tall, skinny girl with a snow-like complexion. Her curly caramel locks cascaded down her shoulders until it reached where her bra would be. She had full pink cupid bow lips and deep blue eyes that would fascinate anyone who were to look into them. I couldn’t help but notice what she was wearing but, it was only because of how dreadfully she was dressed. She was wearing a white low cut shirt that was too tight across her chest, a short black ruffled skirt that hugged the curves she actually did have, and from what I could see, knee high black high heel boots. She was a nice sweet sixteen year old girl, but the way she dresses gives off a whole different view on her. For the quick moment I had before I responded to her, I studied her stance. She didn’t stand perfectly straight nor was she hunched over. She had her left hand on her upper right arm and her knees were angled in slightly, indicating, her feet were pointed towards each other in a ‘V’ shape. She was nervous, but I couldn’t think of any reasons why she’d be nervous. No matter, why she is uneasy is none of my concern. “Yes Mackenzie?’ I finally responded, turning my chair so my body was actually facing towards her. “There’s something wrong with the guitar I’m using.” She mumbled. “Care to explain?” “It just doesn’t sound right. Every time I try to play the song you gave me, it just sounds horrible.” She told me. I hummed. “Bring it over. Maybe the old thing just needs a tuning.” I said. She nodded and ran off to get the guitar she was using. While she was getting her guitar, my eyes traveled to all of the other students in the class. None of them were practicing like I had instructed them to; all of them were just talking. It kind of ticked me off but, I can’t blame some of them. Some of the kids in this class are uninterested in learning guitar so, they don’t take this class seriously. It makes me wonder why they even signed up for this class if they didn’t want to take all of this seriously. This class isn’t a joke. It may be to them but, to me it’s not. One thing I love about having them not taking things seriously is when I either test them on the spot, telling them to play the song I have assigned them, or, when I quiz them on the chords they’re playing. It’s fun to see them silently panic when I do so. Well what can I say? If you do what you’re supposed to, you’ll be fine. If you slack off, you’ll fail. I already have 5 people failing my class because they slack off. At least I know there’s one person who’s actually interested in learning guitar and asks me to help with something if anything’s wrong. Mackenzie was soon back at my desk with the guitar in her hands. She gave it to me and I turned it around so I could position it correctly so I could try playing. I pulled a pick out of my drawer and ran it down the strings. Ok, something definitely didn’t sound right. I tried playing it again and realized what was wrong. The low E string was tuned differently. It was tuned into a drop D setting. How the fuck could it have ended up like this? “Mackenzie, did you mess with the tuning keys?” I asked, a bit annoyed. She may or may not have done it but it still ticks me off that someone had done it. I told these kids not the try tuning it themselves but to give it to me to fix. Obviously somebody didn’t listen. I also know that the string didn’t just go out of tune by itself. It was too low and the rest of the strings were completely fine. “No sir.” She muttered. “Well wasn’t the guitar fine in the beginning of class?” “Yes sir.” “Then how did it get like this?” She didn’t answer me right away. I could tell she was carefully thinking about what to say. Whatever she would say to me was probably going to be a lie. I’d be able to tell if she was lying so there’s no use in trying. There’s always that brief moment were a person’s true emotions or thoughts flash across their face before they put on a mask. I’ve learn over the three years I’ve been a teacher how to spot that moment. I’ve used it to my advantage too. Whenever a student tries to lie to me, I don’t technically call them out on it but I do ask them to tell me the truth. When they lie to me again, I tell them once again to tell me the truth. It usually works and, this may just be the method I’d be using in a minute. “Actually Mr. Iero… I did tune it differently. I… I wanted to try playing something different and it needed to be in a drop D. B-But I didn’t know how to tune it back to standard. I’m sorry…” She admitted before she hung her head. I quirked an eyebrow. Well… at least she admitted to what she has done. I quickly tuned her guitar back to how it should’ve been and handed it to her. When she looked up at me slightly, I saw that her eyes were watery. She was about to cry. Dear god. “Mackenzie you don’t have to cry.” I told her. “I-I know b-but I can’t help it. I cry when I’ve done something wrong. I did something you told me not to and I’ve lied to you. I understand if you’re mad at me. I’m so sorry Mr. Iero.” She whispered. “Mackenzie, I’m not mad so there’s no need to cry. Yes, what you did was wrong but it wasn’t a big deal. Messing with the guitar is much less of a crime then lying to me. But I’m glad in you confessed to what you have done.” “S-So I won’t be in trouble?” “No, of course not. This is your first time doing any of this after all. But please, don’t mess with the guitar and don’t lie to me. Lying to me is the worst thing you could do and it’ll make you lose my trust. When a teacher doesn’t trust you because you’ve lied, that’s extremely bad.” “I understand Mr. Iero.” “Good. Now go and practice. We have 15 minutes left in class and it’d be smart to practice every minute considering I’ll be testing people in the beginning of next class.” I told her and turned away so I was looking at the computer on my desk. I didn’t even have to look at her to know she had a huge smile painted across her face. I heard he squeak in excitement and she clapped he r hands together. They were both pretty annoying noises but I decided to not react. “Thank you so much Sir!” She exclaimed happily before running off back to her seat. I giggled and smiled a little bit but, I hid my reaction behind my hand. Actually, I take back what I said about her reaction being annoying. It was actually quite heartwarming in a way. Usually when I let a student off easy, they’re just like ‘really? Wow’. They don’t even say thank you! Then there I am, left standing thinking how ungrateful kids are. When I was their age, I was grateful for anything and everything good that happened to me. But hey, that was me. These are the ungrateful little brats of today. At least one of my students appreciates what I’ve done for them. All of a sudden, I heard the dismissal bell ring. Could 15 minutes really have passed by that quickly? Wow. Well, it’s not the first time that I’ve realized that time flies by. I looked up and saw that for once, I had a spotless room. They actually remembered to put their guitars away and clean up their sheet music. Good. Now I don’t have to tell them next class about how it’s not my job to pick up after them nor is it the janitors because, they only come in the classroom to sweep the floors. Any other mess, I have to clean. Sure, I may have cleaned all the time when I lived with my parents but, that doesn’t mean I want to clean up after 14 teenagers. “Bye Mr. Iero.” I heard 3 of my female students say to me while giggling. I gave them a quick smile and waved my goodbye. They all started to giggle even more. I rolled my eyes once they were gone. I don’t know why, but those three girls, Brooke, Taylor, and Abby always smile and giggle at me. If I didn’t know better, I’d think they were flirting. But if they actually are, why? Actually… now that I think about it, I heard them talking one class and I heard them say they liked guys with tattoos and piercings. I had both of those. Usually, it’d be unprofessional for a teacher to have such things and if they got them, they’d be fired. I got off easy though. The principal is a friend of mine who said I could work here if I didn’t reveal my tattoos too much and if I didn’t get anymore piercings. I already have a nose ring, lip ring, and gauges in my ears; he said that’s enough. For my tattoos, I don’t have that many so it wasn’t really a big deal. I only have one on my neck, across my fingers, on my arm, and around my hips. I always wore button down shirts, a vest, and black pants so the only tattoos that’d be visible would be the ones across my fingers and on my neck. So, it wasn’t too bad. I will say, I’m so fucking lucky I have a friend like Brendon who’s nice enough to let me work here. Anywhere else and they wouldn’t even give me a chance. Anyways, I really got off topic. I hope those girls aren’t flirting with me. I have a wonderful guy at home who is the cutest thing ever. Not many people know I have a boyfriend though. Well… not many of my students. I am openly gay but it’s not like any of the kids have asked me if I’m gay. The most I’ve gotten asked was ‘Are you married?’ to which I responded to with a no. Nobody’s ever asked if I had a boyfriend (or a girlfriend) so, nobody really knows. Actually… speaking of my boyfriend, I should head home now to see him. I’m pretty sure he’d like some help unpacking things. To be completely honest, I’m still adjusting to actually living with someone. We just moved in together about 2 weeks ago but, beforehand, I lived alone. I had moved out of my parent’s house when I was about 20...so… wow, just about 6 years I was living on my own. I was just so accustomed to living alone. Don’t get me wrong, I’m overjoyed now that I’m actually living with Ethan… it’ll just be weird. ~*~*~*~*~* “Ethan?” I called out, in search of my boyfriend as soon as I walked through the door. I turned around and shut the door quietly. I threw my keys onto the kitchen table and slid my guitar, which was in it’s case, off my shoulder. I gently rested it against the wall and rolled my shoulder, hearing it crack as it adjusted to having the weight absent now. I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. I shut my eyes for a few moments before opening them again, showing me that Ethan still wasn’t in here. Well… that’s unusual of him. Usually he rushing right in the greet me. Hmm.. Maybe he’s in the living room. I padded through the kitchen and down the hall to the living room. I had noticed that everything seemed to be unpacked. Everything in the kitchen, dining room, and in the hall. When I traveled down to the living room, everything in there was unpacked too. Also, Ethan was nowhere to be seen. Where could he possibly be? I mean… the office upstairs is unpacked, the guest room, and our room so… oh wait! He could be sleeping after such a long day. Why didn’t I think of this before? I turned on my heal and headed towards the stairs. I ran upstairs, as I always do, and made my way to our bedroom. Once in the actual room, I saw my stunning boyfriend sitting on our black sheeted bed, brushing his straight dark brown locks that fell under his jaw line. He was currently wearing one of my black button up shirts, which was surprisingly too big for him, and nothing else. He was also staring at the wall that was across his way. I smiled a little bit and leaned against the door frame. “Hey cutie.” I finally decided to say. At that moment, his actions came to a halt and he turned his head towards me. His beautiful hazel eyes, which were a perfectly mixed shade of gold and brown with little shatters of green, locked with mine. A large smile crept it’s way onto his deliciously pink lips. The light reflecting off his snake bites made his smile literally sparkle. “Frankie!” He happily squealed and jumped off the bed. He dropped his hair brush on the bed before he managed to run over to me. He wrapped his thin arms around my torso while my slightly muscular ones made their way around his shoulders. “Frankie… I missed you so much. I know it’s only been about 7 hours but still! I’ve missed you a lot. And… around 11:00... I got really lonely.” He whispered seductively in my ear. I felt a shiver work it’s way down my spine and I close my eyes for a moment. “You know… for a tiny boy like yourself, who looks too adorable and innocent, you sure get horny a lot…” “Mmm… well I have an extremely sexy boyfriend who satisfies me extremely well each time I get horny so… I figured, why not get aroused more often? All I have to do is picture my boyfriend naked and it’s like, bam! Instantly hard.” He giggled. “Oh yeah? Well I’d love to meet the guy who does this to you…” I played along. He just rolled his eyes and grinned. “Oh just come here.” He said, stood up on his toes, and pressed his soft lips to mine. I swear, every time we kiss, it feels like a million fireworks are going off at once. Each kiss reminds me of the first day we met. We didn’t technically start dating until many years later but I did receive my first real kiss the day I met him. ~*~*~* “Frank… lunch is over. You have to go back to class…” Mrs. Johnson practically whispered to me as she tried to get me to move from my lunch table. As usual, I had sat alone at lunch, but, this time, I kept my head down and I was crying silently. It’s only been 2 weeks since I had to put Gerard away, and I’ve never been more heartbroken. All I can imagine is him being alone in a box in our attic, crying out for help, crying out for me. I want to just go up there and retrieve him but my mom locked the door to the attic. She knows what my intentions would eventually be. In my opinion, she should just let me get him. But because she won’t let me, she has to see her son break down every day in his room. “I wanna go home…” I muttered. “Frank you have one more class, then you can go home…” “Either I stay here or I go home.” I cried. Mrs. Johnson sighed, telling me that she knew I wasn’t gonna go back to class. She couldn’t make me so, I’m not going. “I’ll just… leave you here for a few more minutes so you can calm down…” She told me and I heard her immediately walk away. I continued to cry into my arms as the minutes ticked away. A few minutes turned into about 15 minutes. She’s really not gonna come back for me… is she? Well fuck her. I may not be willing to do the things she wants but that doesn’t mean I don’t want her to try and push me to do them! She’s just like everyone else… they always leave me…. All of a sudden, I felt a small tap on the top of my head. I sniffled and looked up, expecting to see Mrs. Johnson, but instead, I came face to face with a small boy in front of me. I don’t mean that in he was young, even though he looked younger than me, I meant that he was actually very tiny; extremely skinny and short. He had dark brown hair that fell in front of his left eye, pink cupid bow lips, and a snow-like complexion. His eyes were a somehow perfect mixture of brown and gold with flecks of green shattered through them. He was sitting on his calves and his hands rested on his knees. At first, I didn’t really recognize this kid, but then it clicked. This boy was Ethan King, the adorable 9th grader everyone liked. Like seriously, girls and boys alike were after him, even though he was in fact a freshman, just because of how cute he was. One thing I don’t get is, why is he here? And how did I not notice him situate himself in front of me? “Are you ok?” He asked me, concern filling his voice, which seemed like it hasn’t changed yet. I just stared at him, mostly in shock because, seriously, why was he talking to me? A loveable boy like him concerned about a nobody like me? “Excuse me? Are you ok?” He asked again. “Oh…sorry. Y-Yeah, I-I’m fine…” I lied, snapping out of my trance. He pursed his lips and shook his head. “Liar. You’re not ok. Come here.” He commanded and soon, I was being pulled into his small arms. To be completely honest, I was in absolute shock right now. I was more surprised by the fact that he was willing to hug me instead of the fact he was actually hugging me. I mean, people think I’m insane and weird. They want nothing to do with me. Maybe before he was so oblivious to my existence and so he doesn’t know how ‘weird’ I apparently am. “E-Ex-Excuse me? B-But why a-are you hugging me? D-Don’t y-you know I’m t-the doll boy?” I asked between sniffles. “I know exactly who you are. But just because you’re label as that horrible name, it doesn’t make you any less of a person; a person who obviously has a broken heart that needs to be mended. And everyone who’s feeling sad deserves a hug.” He whispered and hugged me tighter. I just sat there and let him hug me. I was too in awe to hug back at first. This boy… he cares enough to hug an almost complete stranger when they’re feeling down…. What makes him do this? What makes him have the courage to just go up to someone who’s crying… and hug them? It makes no sense to me and it’s pretty odd. No other student in this school has ever been nice to me. They always make fun of me and they don’t care if it hurts. They don’t care if I’m in the state I am now because I had to get rid of my only friend. I doubt any of them would care if I even killed myself. No, it’s a fact that they wouldn’t care. They don’t care if I shed tears, they don’t care if I’m absolutely heart broken… and they don’t care if I’m distressed right now. But Ethan? I’m not sure if he gives a damn but at least he had the guts to attempt to try to make me feel at least a little better. After what seemed like 5 minutes, and probably was, I actually relaxed into Ethan’s touch. I cautiously wrapped my arms around his waist. I was a bit worried he’d ask what the hell I was doing or he’d pull away; but he stayed exactly how he was. So, I took that as my chance to hug him tightly. I leaned my head against his and I shut my eyes. I don’t exactly know how… but this little 9th grader has just made me so calm. I had stopped crying and somehow, I wasn’t even thinking about Gerard at the moment. It seemed as if he got wiped from my mind. It wasn’t long after I had just gotten comfortable hugging Ethan before we pulled away from each other. He gave me a kind smile. I smiled a little back. “You’re name is Frank right?” He asked. I nodded. “Frank. I’m gonna call you Frankie. You’re my new friend now, okay? And before you ask, no it’s not out of pity. I like you. You seem very nice and you didn’t freak out all that much when I hugged you so you’re alright in my book.” He rushed out happily. I couldn’t help but laugh a little bit. But wait… he just said I’m his new friend? I…I’ve never had a real friend before…. “I’ve never had a real friend before…” I admitted to him. “Well there’s always a first! And I’m glad to be your first friend. Also, a secret between you and me… you’re the first friend I actually like.” “B-But you’re so nice and you treat everyone so well!” “Just because I treat people well, that doesn’t mean I like them. It’s a respect thing slash I’m just nice. Besides, nobody just wants to be my friend. They always want more. I may just be 14 but I know what hormonal teenagers want with a cute boy. Yes I just admitted I’m cute. It’s a fact! I mean, I know you’re thinking it.” He said being extremely straight forward. I blushed a little and hung my head. He was right. I did think he was cute… but I didn’t really make much of it. “See! But I know you wouldn’t want anything more from me other than my friendship. You just seem like the type of person who would be a genuine friend. So now, you’re my friend. All of those other mean people can fuck off.” “Even though you’re tiny and cute, you really know how to speak what’s on your mind.” “Oh you think this is me speaking my mind? Well Frankie, you’ve only seen a fraction of what’s on my mind. I’ll actually tell you what’s on my mind because it makes a good conversation. What’s on my mind is, I think you’re cute and I like you. You may be a junior but because of how you seem, I can already tell you’re going to be my best friend. I also really wanna kiss you right now because I can also tell you’ve never had a real kiss. It’s very random I know… but I’m a random person. Now com’ere.” He told me. He gripped the collar of my shirt and pulled me forward. I hadn’t even gotten enough time to process what he had said or what was going on before he had crashed his lips to mine. My eyes widened and I froze up. The only person who’s ever kissed me before was Josh. When he did it… it was rough and sloppy. It made my lips swollen and sometimes even bleed. But this? This actually feels so nice. Ethan’s lips are just as soft as they look…. One thing I also noticed though was I was feeling something different. The only way to describe is to say… it felt like a bunch of sparklers going off. It felt absolutely amazing. But before I could enjoy this, Ethan pulled away. I noticed that his cheeks were flushed and his eyes were set on the floor. “T-That’s the only kiss you get. From now on, we’re just friends. Got it?” “Got it.” ~*~*~*~* After that, Ethan and I remained best friends through the years. He helped me greatly by helping me get over Gerard. He was the boy who I cried to everyday for a year after I had told him about what happened. He was the boy who comforted me through it all. He was the boy who thought I wasn’t crazy. He just thought I needed to be loved by someone. And so, he was the one who loved me. As a friend at first. We managed to keep our normal friendship going throughout high school, college, and even a year and a half after college. So… about 8 years. We finally decided that we couldn’t just be friends anymore and so… we started dating. Now look at us today. We’re finally moved in together and I couldn’t be happier. I love Ethan with all my heart and I always will. He’s my best friend, lover, and so much more. He’s always there for me as I am for him. I truly believe he’s the love of my life. How could he not be? He’s so kind, gentle, funny, adorable… and down right sexy. Especially at this moment. While I reveled in my little flashback… I had managed to back Ethan up onto our bed. My hands were working on the buttons of his shirt while my mouth was sucking on the pulse point of his neck. His small hands were tangled into my medium black locks and his legs were wrapped around my waist. “Frankie…” He whined. I felt his vocal chords vibrate.; the vibrations made my lips tingle. “Frankie stop…” “Why?” I asked against his neck. “Because… I need to get ready. We’re going out with Bob and Mikey tonight, remember?” He reminded me. Oh shit… I forgot. About a week ago, my friend Bob and I decided it’d be fun to bring Ethan and Mikey somewhere together so they could chat away while we just talked about random shit. Bob was one of my other best friends. I had met him in college when I found out I was going to be sharing the same dorm as him. At first I thought he was scary but it turned out that he was tough, but he had a soft side. He was actually the one who toughened me up. But anyways, Bob is the one who I can tell anything to, embarrassing or not, and he won’t give a shit. Well… I mean he won’t give a shit if I tell him. If I were to tell him something bad… of course he’d care. Oh god I’m just rambling in my own thoughts now. Anyways, Mikey was his lovely boyfriend. A cute little thing who was very kind and funny. He was actually a freshman in college with Ethan. They had become good friends almost instantly and one day, Ethan thought it was a good idea for us to introduce Bob and Mikey. They hit it off the day we introduced them and about 2 weeks later, they started dating. Ever since they’ve been together. Since Ethan and I decided to move in together, we hadn’t really had time for our friends. But now since we’re unpacked and everything’s set, we can actually go out with them. Ethan takes like…3 hours to get ready for anything anyways so I guess it’s a good idea to let him get ready. I groaned and pulled away from him. “Fine. Don’t take too long though. Oh! And you owe me later.” I told him and winked. His face turned pink and he nodded. He then rolled off the bed and ran into the bathroom that was only about 10 feet away from us. I sighed and stood up, stretching my limbs and hearing them crack. “Well…might as well get ready myself.”

Notes

This is where i stopped on Mibba but i plan on continuing
~*~*~*~*
xoxo G