I Think I Like It

Every single kid in the damn school was getting freaked out about the parent-teacher interviews, and was, annoyingly, acting super nice in all of their lessons. Normally, I’d have joined them, but I figured I didn’t have much to worry about in most of my lessons, ‘cause I never really caused any problems (though, I never did a lot of work either).
I did, however, have to suck up (sometimes literally) to Gerard, who had nicknamed this week “blackmail my Frankie week”. Literally, he’d written it on his calendar, and I wished I could say I was joking.
He started off easy, asking me to pick him up coffee on the way to school, or if I could pick up dinner on my way to his place after school. I did it with a smile because I didn’t doubt for a second that he really would tell my Mom about all the stuff he said he would (though some of them I didn’t even remember doing)
“One time you called me a prick, so you should come over and suck me off after school.” He said casually as I was leaving class. I snorted.
“I called you a prick all the time. Actually, I still do.”
“Well, I might have to tell your Mom.” He said, shrugging. I chuckled.
“That’s literally blackmail, Gee.” I said, leaning against his desk. Gerard shrugged.
“It’s fun. And it’s not like I’m not blackmailing everyone else.” He pointed out.
That was true, at least. He definitely liked the attention he was getting from everyone as they tried to get in his good books. In fact, I didn’t think it was possible for the girls to get wetter over him than they already did.
“You’re not asking them to suck you off, are you?” I accused.
“I could.”
“You could, yes. But don’t.” I laughed. He tilted his head.
“Why not? If you’re not gonna do it-“
“Don’t even finish that.” I sighed. He smiled apologetically.
“It’s only fun, Frankie. You know I’m gonna tell your Mom how wonderful you are.” He said, smiling. I groaned.
“No, don’t do that. Be honest.” I insisted.
“I am gonna be honest.”
“No, you’re going to be biased.” I accused. He sat back in his chair and shook his head, smiling.
“Sorry, would you like me to stop being in love with you?” he asked, his voice practically dripping with sarcasm.
“Yes, actually, I think that’d be helpful.” I sneered. He chuckled.
“How about you stop being adorable, and I’ll give it a try.” He smiled. I rolled my eyes and leaned over his desk so he could kiss me.
“You coming over tonight?”
“Nah, I have other classes and other teachers, Mr. Way” I said teasingly.
“Yes, but you’re not fucking them. Right?” he laughed. I shrugged.
“I don’t know, maybe I am.” I said with a wink.
“You know I fucked the nurse once, right?” he said suddenly. I laughed, putting a hand over my mouth and pulling a chair up to his desk.
“No!”
“Yeah. God, that was a nightmare.” He laughed.
“Actually, yeah, she said something that suggested she had some…hard feelings. What happened?” I asked, leaning forward. He shook his head.
“Nuh uh, sweetheart, you’re already late. I’ll tell you another time, kay?” he said.

“Fine. I’ll call you tonight.”
“’Kay, love you.” He said, leaning forward and giving me a quick peck on the lips.
“Mhm, love you too.” I replied, squeezing his hand as I walked out the door. I got outside and leaned against the wall, smiling like an idiot. We were so comfortable with each other, it made my heart hurt. Despite what that fucker thought, I couldn’t wait to be his.

I stumbled in late to Geography, and Chris gave me a knowing look. Shut up, Chris.
“Mr. Iero, why are you late. Again.” My teacher sighed.
“I was talking to my English teacher about my work. Sorry.” I said, rushing to my seat.
“Really?” she asked suspiciously. I nodded.
“Yeah, just ask him.” I said. She gave me a hard look, turning back to the board.
Chris snickered at me as I sat down.
“Dude. So smart.” He laughed. I rolled my eyes.
“I was talking to him.” I insisted.
“I bet it wasn’t about the work though, was it?” he said, raising his eyebrows. I groaned.
“God, I regret telling you.”
“You didn’t. I guessed because I’m smart, remember.”
“No, I don’t remember you being smart. Ever.” I laughed. He rolled his eyes at me and turned his attention back to the front. Bored, I pulled out my ‘Gee-phone’.

TO: Gee.
(1:49pm)
Wanna accidentally bump into me at the coffee shop at lunch? Xx

FROM: Gee.
(1:51pm)
Ok. Be subtle. Xx

TO: Gee.
(1:53pm)
I’ll bring Chris so nobody suspects. Xx

FROM: Gee.
(1:55pm)
Ok. Am I paying? Xx

TO: Gee.
(1:57pm)
Naturally. Xx

TO: Gee.
(1:02pm)
You owe me, Iero.
Talk later! <3 xx

“Chris!” I hissed. He looked up, visibly annoyed that I’d interrupted his work.
“What?” he hissed back. I beamed.
“Wanna come to the coffee shop at lunch?” I asked, grinning. He rolled his eyes.
“Does this have anything to do with your boyfriend?”
“No! But also yes.” I said, blushing. He shook his head and smiled.
“Kay. Only ‘cause you two are adorable. Does he know I know?”
“Um. I haven’t said anything, but I think he assumes.” I said. That wasn’t strictly true, of course. Gerard definitely did know, because I definitely did tell him, and he definitely did get angry at me for it – but I didn’t want Chris to feel bad.
“Oh. I won’t say anything then.”
“Nah, don’t worry. He kind of makes it obvious.” I laughed.
“You’re telling me. God, he looks at you like – I don’t even know. It’s just…weird.”
“Weird bad?”
“Weird like, intense. I guess it’s probably nice for you, though. He definitely likes you.”
“Just likes?” I said, smiling. He chuckled and turned back to the board, and I let him, feeling bad for having kept him away from his precious geography, and assured in the fact that he’d be coming with me to meet Gerard. I wondered vaguely what their interaction would be like. I mean, sure, they’d spoken plenty of times in class, but it’s different approaching someone when they’re your teacher, and when they’re your best friend’s kind of boyfriend and sort of soul-mate thing. Oh, and they’re still you’re teacher.

The weather was getting warmer, but it was still kinda cold outside.
“So how are we doing this?” Chris said, narrowing his eyes. I chuckled.
“We go in, we order our drinks, we sit down.” I said. His face fell – obviously, he’d been expecting some big mission impossible thing.
“Oh. Then how do we get Mr. Sexy Way to come sit with us?” he asked, and I rolled my eyes at the nickname.
“He’ll find a way to do it.” I chuckled, holding the door open for him.
“So we don’t have to do anything?” he said, clearly disappointed.
“No. I mean, we have to stagger it so he comes in 5 minutes after us, but other than that, no.” I laughed. We ordered our drinks and sat down in the corner on the soft sofas. Chris brought his work out onto the table, and I raised my eyebrows.
“What? I gotta catch up, dude. Parent-teacher interviews this week!” he cried. I laughed.
“Yeah, I know. G-Mr. Way won’t let me forget.” I murmured. Chris made a face.
“Do I even want to know?”
“No, probably not.” I sighed. We sat silently drinking our drinks for a moment before he said anything.
“Is it weird? Like, do you ever look at him while you’re doing – whatever it is you do – and just think ‘hey, you’re my teacher!’”
“Um. Not really. I sort of see him as him, and the lines kind of blur into one. Like, I don’t separate him.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah.”
“It’s kind of weird.”
“Yeah, kind of. I like it, though.” I smiled.
“Hello, boys.” Came Gerard’s cool voice. I smiled at him politely.
“Hey.” I said, feeling myself blush. I think he’d probably have been more ceremonious if there’d been people around us, but we were tucked away in the corner behind a wall, and it was unlikely anyone was really looking at us (not that they’d be able to see us if they could), so he just sat down on the sofa next to me, putting his drink on the table.
“Hey love.” He said, once he was hidden from view, and leaned in to kiss me quickly on the cheek. I entwined our fingers under the table, checking that there was no way anyone could see. Gerard gave Chris a pleasant smile.
“Hey, Chris. How are you doing?” he asked politely.
“Yeah. Fine.” He said, staring at us like we’d just grown horns. Hell, maybe we had.
“So what were you talking about?” Gerard said, a little awkwardly.
“You, actually.” I said. He raised an eyebrow and laughed.
“Does he do that a lot?” He asked, directing the question at Chris. Chris laughed and nodded.
“Yeah, all the time.”
“No wonder everyone keeps finding out.” Gerard murmured curtly, taking a sip of his coffee.
“Or because of your shameless flirting.” I retorted. He chuckled.
“Yeah, maybe.” He grinned.
“Chris, what made you realize that something was going down?” I asked pointedly.
“Yeah, Mr. Way, you kind of flirt a lot. And you sort of stare at each other all the time. It’s pretty weird.” Chris admitted.
“See, it’s your fault.” I teased. Gerard rolled his eyes and took another drink of coffee, his thumb rubbing my hand softly.
“So, uh, parent-teacher interviews…” Chris said softly, and Gerard nearly spit out his coffee from laughing. He smiled at him, amused.
“Worried?”
“What? No. I mean, um. Yes?” he said. Gerard shifted so his arm was resting sort of casually behind me, his hand pressing against my hip. If anyone walked past, it’d be easy enough to move it.
“Don’t be. You’re not one of the kids who needs to worry.” He smiled.
“Who is?” I asked out of pure interest.
“Cameron.” Chris said under his breath. Gerard gave a snort of laughter, and even I couldn’t help but crack a smile.
“Yeah, I uh, don’t know what I’m gonna do with that one. Y’know “yes hello, your son is doing well in my class, and he’s well-behaved, but I fucking hate him because he fucked the love of my life who just happens to be a student also.” Somehow I don’t see that going down well.” He laughed.
“Maybe miss out that part.” I said, nudging him with my leg.
“What are you gonna say to Frank’s Mom?” Chris asked, his eyes alight with amusement. Gerard beamed.
“I don’t know yet. I could talk about his actual progress in my class, or I could confess my undying love. It’s a toss up, really.”
“Prick.” I mumbled. He squeezed my hip.
“You don’t want me to tell your Mom that you keep swearing at me, do you?”
“I’m not the one who swears.” I said, raising an eyebrow. Chris cleared his voice and we smiled sheepishly at him.
“Sorry, we’re not used to, uh, an audience.” Gerard said awkwardly. Chris smiled.
“It’s fine. You guys are sort of adorable.” He said, smiling softly. Gerard bit his lip and buried his face in my shoulder.
“You embarrassed him.” I told Chris as an explanation.
“Fuck off, Frank.” Gerard mumbled, and I laughed, leaning back into him.
“You need to go, love.” I said, nudging his head up from my shoulder.
“Huh?”
“You have to go back to school ten minutes before we do, so you should go now.” I explained. He looked at the time and sighed.
“M’kay. I’ll call you later. Nice talking to you, Chris.” He said, climbing out of the seated area.
“Yeah, you too.” Chris smiled.
“Bye, sweetheart.” He said, kissing me quickly and walking out of the shop like nothing happened. I turned back to talk to Chris, and saw him staring at me.
“What?”
“That was surreal.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know. It just looked like, okay, so you two are this totally adorable couple who are clearly crazy about each other and you’re just so damn comfortable together, and it’s really amazing. But he’s your teacher and your relationship is illegal, and therefore immoral, and it sucks shit.”
“I’m not really following.” I admitted.
“You two are, in society’s eyes, completely wrong because of your ages or whatever, right?”
“Yes.”
“Okay. But what I just saw wasn’t wrong at all. Frank, that was fucking love. The purest love I think I’ve ever seen.”
“Ah, pure?”
“Ew, dude, I didn’t mean it like that. I just meant…don’t let them tear you apart, okay? You guys have something there.” He said, finishing his drink. I pursed my lips and smiled.
“Thanks, Chris. That actually makes me feel a lot better.”
“Tell him I said that, okay? He’s not wrong, he’s so fucking right.”
“Do you think it bothers him?”
“Um. Yes? Wouldn’t it bother you?” he asked. I shrugged. Honestly, I’d never thought about it.
“I guess. Damn, I guess we need to talk then.” I murmured.
“Dude, did I just save your relationship?” he asked, grinning.
“Uh, maybe? If I say yes will you buy me another coffee?”
“Yes.”
“Okay, then yeah, you did. Thanks.” I chuckled.


“So, ah, do you think your Mom will like me?” Gerard asked. It was the night before the interview, and I was sitting in my bedroom on the phone to him, as I was most nights. The question sort of came out of the blue.
“Um, I don’t know? Does it matter?”
“Yes! It matters a lot.” He groaned. I giggled.
“Why?”
“Because like, I’m meeting your Mom.”
“Yeah, and you’ve met her before.” I reminded him. He sighed.
“Yes, but not as your boyfriend, have I? It’s different rules.”
“Well, Gee, strictly speaking, she doesn’t actually know. And you’re older than her. And my teacher. I think that changes the rules.”
“Wait, I’m older than your Mom?”
“Yeah, she had me young.” I explained.
“God that just makes it worse. What if she doesn’t like me?”
“Then it doesn’t matter? You’re overthinking this, honey. She doesn’t know, remember? She’s not going to be judging you as my boyfriend, she’s gonna be listening to you sing my praises.” I laughed.
“What did she say about me when she met me last year?” he asked, apparently ignoring everything I’d said.
“Nothing. Or the year before. She literally doesn’t care.” I sighed.
“Make a point of asking her. It’s important.”
“I don’t see why.”
“Because, if I’m gonna be spending the rest of my life with her son, it’s pretty important that she likes me.” He explained.
“Is Mikey there?”
“Um, yeah, somewhere. Why?”
“Can you tell him to slap you for me?” I laughed. He groaned.
“I’m serious, Frank!”
“So am I. You’re being dumb for the following reasons: one, my mother literally doesn’t care, Gerard. She doesn’t know we’re dating, so she won’t be judging you. Two, when she does find out, she’ll beat your ass either way, so it doesn’t matter how much she likes you, and three, you’re perfect. She’ll love you. Idiot.”
“Why is she gonna beat me?” he asked, and I groaned.
“You’re insufferable.”
“That’s what Mikey said.”
“I agree with him. Again.” I said. He sighed.
“You promise it’ll be okay?”
“Yes, I promise. She’s gonna think you’re awesome right up until she finds out you’ve been screwing her son.”
“Well, that’s comforting.” He muttered.
“I’m gonna go to bed, okay? Please stop worrying, I love you.”
“Why does that mean I should stop worrying?” he said, and I could hear the smile in his voice. I considered this for a moment.
“Because I love you, so I’m not gonna let anything bad happen to you. If she doesn’t like you, for whatever dumb reason ‘cause honestly baby, you’re the greatest, then I’ll spew out good things about you until she changes her mind. You don’t even need to be nervous because you’re amazing. Okay?”
“Ugh, okay. God, you’re cute.”
“I know. You’re lucky.”
“Mm. I am.”
“I wish I was with you. I hate not being able to sleep with you.”
“I know. God, this is so stupid.”
“What?”
“This whole fucking thing.”
“Our relationship?” I asked quietly.
“Yeah. It’s shit.” He snapped.
“Oh.” I said weakly, feeling my stomach drop. Well, that hurt. He sucked in a breath.
“It is though. I can’t do anything with you. I mean, yeah, we can go get coffee if we stagger it and hide behind a wall. I can meet your Mom, if it’s under false pretences. You can hang out with me, as long as we don’t leave the house. It’s bullshit, you know?”
“I’m doing my best.” I mumbled.
“You shouldn’t have to. It shouldn’t be this hard.” He cried. I was beginning to regret the turn in conversation.
“Well, it is, by definition.” I laughed dryly.
“Fuck that.”
“It’s worth it though, right?”
“I don’t know. Is it?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing, I don’t know. It just seems like we’re making this harder than it needs to be.”
“Whatever. I’m going to bed.” I snapped. I wasn’t even sad anymore, I was just pissed off. Not only was he insulting me, he was too ignorant to see that it was bothering me that he was putting down the one thing that actually meant something to me.
“What?”
“You’re kind of being an asshole.”
“No I’m not.” He said defiantly.
“You literally are, and I’m bored of it. I’m going to bed.”
“C’mon Frank, don’t be like that.”
“I literally don’t care, Gerard. Stop being such a fucking child. You’re the one who wanted this. I wanted to fuck you like, once, but you wanted a fucking relationship, so how about you fucking deal with it, or end it. I don’t even give a shit.” I growled. Okay, so none of that was even remotely true, but I knew it’d get his attention.
“God, you’re blowing this out of proportion. I just miss you, and I hate how careful we have to be. Besides, I think you’ll find that you started it. I had things under control for two years, so how about you stop blaming me for everything?”
“How about you go fuck yourself.”
“Frank-“
“Just piss off.” I snapped, hanging up. I was almost shaking with rage as I slid under my covers, shifting the duvet up so it was covering most of my head. It was uncommon for me to actually lose my temper with him, but he was being a child, and he was too ignorant and selfish to see it. Of course our relationship was going to be difficult – he knew that from the start. Sometimes I could deal with his whiny, self-abhorrent monologues, but right now, I just found it fucking annoying. Hell, I found him fucking annoying.
“I hope my Mom thinks he’s a dickhead.” I muttered to myself.


She didn’t though. Of course. Just like practically everyone else on the planet, she thought he was charming and lovely.
When we walked into his classroom, his face betrayed his emotions for only a second, before he reached out to shake my Mom’s hand, not even looking at me. I’d had him for a lesson earlier that day, and we hadn’t spoken then either, so this was going to be very interesting.
“Glad to see you again, Mrs. Iero.” He smiled, and she smiled back.
“You too.” She replied politely.
“Frank.” He said, with an awkward nod. I ignored it.
“Okay, so, if we look at Frank’s grades, you can see that he’s doing well. He’s not the greatest student in the class, admittedly, and he can get quite distracted at times, but he’s by no means unintelligent. I think he just needs motivation.” He said softly. That asshole. I clenched my fists so I wouldn’t punch him in the face.
“Right.” My Mom nodded.
“As a student he’s – he’s…” he said, breaking off. He chewed his lip for a moment.
“Can I be blunt?” he asked. My Mother nodded.
“Frank is probably the most stubborn, self-indulgent, arrogant student I’ve ever met. He approaches tasks with an air of over-confidence, and refuses to change his approach when it doesn’t work.” He said. I squared my jaw and looked away form him. God, he was being such an asshole, I almost didn’t believe it.
“Oh, I see.” She breathed, clearly disappointed. Mr. Way smiled a little bit.
“No, don’t be upset. Even considering all of these attributes, I believe, wholeheartedly, that Frank is the most interesting student I’ve ever met. He’s got this mind that turns everything into poetry in his head, and you can almost see the creativity bursting from him. He’s confident and strong-willed, and he sees something he wants, and he goes for it. A lot of kids his age are wishy-washy and transparent, just because of their age, but Frank has this deep, beautiful complexity that they don’t have, and it really does set him apart. I can’t think of anyone I admire as much as I admire your son. If I were you, I’d be really, really proud, because you’ve raised him to be a magnificent, infallible person, and I believe that he’s going to be successful in everything he tries, because he’s determined. He grabs hold of things, and he won’t let them go or give up on them, even when he really should. Even when most people would find things not worth holding onto, he never gives up. And for that, I am proud to have even met him.” Gerard said in a rush. I almost expected him to add “and I love him” at the end, but he stopped himself before he did.
“O-oh.” My Mother stammered, taken aback. Gerard smiled softly at me, and I couldn’t help the smile that broke across my face. God, he was such a romantic.
“That’s very kind of you to say, Mr. Way.” She smiled.
“Please, call me Gerard.” He said smoothly, and I held back laughter.
“Gerard. I think you’ve made quite the impression on Frank, as well.”
“Mom.” I sighed, embarrassed.
“Have I?” he laughed.
“Well, I mean, you’re by far his favourite teacher. He doesn’t shut up about you, actually.” She laughed. I felt myself blush, and Jesus Christ, I just wanted to fall through the ground. He beamed.
“Well, that’s always nice to hear. I like to think that Frank and I have formed quite a comradeship over these last couple of years.”
“Definitely, yeah. You definitely live up to the hype, if you don’t mind my saying so.” My Mom smiled, batting her eyelashes. Well, shit, she was flirting with him. My Mom was actually flirting with my boyfriend. This wasn’t happening. Gerard smiled, clearly amused.
“Thank you very much.” He said coolly. Oh, God. If there is anyone up there, they will kill me right now.
“You said you’ve been Frank’s teacher for two years?”
“This is the third year, yes.”
“Right. I just don’t remember meeting you before. I’d have thought I’d remember if I’d seen you.” She said. God, I was going to be sick. Gerard put a hand over his mouth with the pretence of coughing, but I recognized the gentle shake of his shoulders. Well, I’m glad he found it so amusing.
“I um, change my hair a lot.” He said weakly.
“Oh.” She said.
They couldn’t find anything else to say, and my mother was apparently out of pick-up lines, so they ended it there. Thank god. Any later and I’d probably have had to use my safeword, that’s how painful it was. They stood up to shake hands, and I noticed my Mom lingering. Jesus, Mom. Please stop.
“Hopefully we’ll speak again soon.” She said. Gerard’s eyes widened a little, but he mostly remained composure.
“Yes. Well, see you.” He said awkwardly.
“See you tomorrow, Frank.” He said, shooting me a look that was a mix of amusement and fear. I beamed at him.
“You too.” I said, following my Mom out of the room. Once the door shut she looked at me and smiled.
“Well, he seems to be fond of you.” She said.
“Yeah, he’s cool I guess.” I shrugged.
“He’s attractive, isn’t he?” she said shyly. I pressed my lips together.
“Um. I’ve never really noticed.” I mumbled, trying to hide my blush.
Luckily, I was saved by my phone vibrating, so I could look away from her for a minute.

FROM: Gee.
(5:56pm)
I was an asshole last night. Sorry. <3

TO: Gee.
(5:58pm)
You were, yeah. I’m sorry too, though, I shouldn’t have exploded like that. Are we okay?

FROM: Gee.
(6:01pm)
Of course. I love you, baby. <3

TO: Gee.
(6:03pm)
I love you too, honey. <3

FROM: Gee.
(6:07pm)
At least we don’t have to worry about your Mom not liking me, right? ;)

TO: Gee.
(6:09pm)
Oh God. Don’t. Just don’t. That was horrific. I literally wanted to die.

FROM: Gee.
(6:12pm)
Wasn’t easy on my end either! I guess when we get married we’ll have to flip a coin about who tells her, huh?

TO: Gee.
(6:17pm)
I think it should be you. I’m not going through any of that angst.

FROM: Gee.
(6:22pm)
‘Hey Mrs Iero, guess what? I don’t want to fuck you! I do want to fuck your son, though. Actually, I have fucked your son. And he’s fucked me. Oh, and we’re getting married.’
I don’t know how well she’ll take that one, sweetie. ;)

I actually laughed out loud at that one, and had to cover my mouth with my hand.
“What’s so funny?” my Mom asked.
“Nothing!”

Notes

I actually made myself laugh imagining this one, so I couldn't not write it.