"Well then, I suppose you're ready now."

"Ready for what exactly Gee? I've been waiting forever to hear what it is we're actually going to be doing today."

He smiled at me a little, then glanced at the floor, as if he were unsure of what to say next.

"Yes, well, the reason I wouldn't tell you whaf we were going to do is because, well... it's because I didn't know either. I was kinda hoping you would try and guess and I could steal one of your ideas but you never tried to guess what it was. After that I was kinda hoping for some last minute inspiration but that didn't happen either."

The whole time he spoke he had been avoiding my gaze but I could still see the blush that had spread across his pale skin.

"Seriously, Gee? You dressed me up like this for no specific reason, you dresssed up like that for no specific reason?"

I was laughing as I spoke, unable to believe that I was standing in my bedroom in a shirt and tie for no reason. Gerard had raised his eyes to mine, confidence returned despite the fact that the blush had deepened considerably.

"There was a reason Frankie. I thought you would look good dressed like that, and I was absolutely right by the way. I dressed like this because you seemed to like it last time. Also, if we're both dressed like this perhaps we'll feel less ridiculous. "

"I dunno about that mind Gee, I still feel pretty stupid. "

He smirked as he responded, a dark, mischievous look in his eyes.

"You could always take the clothes off..."

It was my turn to blush as I tried to stammer out a response.

"Er... I-I'm not sure... don't you think we should- we should have a proper d-date first?"

"You know, you're quite cute when you're embarrassed. Don't worry about it anyway, I was just joking. Although..."

Pleased that we had established (kind of) a set of boundaries, I felt a little less flustered. I tried to collect my thoughts and decided to check how much time we had left.

"You know, we've only got an hour left Gee, and that's at best. I don't think my mum would be too pleased if you were here when she got back and she's pissed off enough as it is. "

"Well this date turned out to be a little less spectacular than I had planned didn't it? Not that I bad actually planned anything. There are so many things I want to do with you Frankie, but instead here we are with an hour left together and no idea how to spend it."

We sat in silence on my bed for a few minutes before Gerard turned to face me, grinning excitedly.

"Didn't you say that you play guitar? Will you play for me now?"

"Er, okay. I'm not very good you know. I mean, I wasn't good enough for Matt, Chris and Dom to want me in a band with them."

"Don't listen to them Frank. I'm sure you're an amazing guitar player. And even if you're the worst guitar player in thd world, you'll still be better than me."

Of course, there was only one part of that that I picked up on.

"Wait, do you play guitar?"

"Not enough to class myself as a guitar player, no."

"Well, I'll make you a deal. If I play for you, you have to play something for me. Okay?"

The reluctance in his voice was obvious but he was clearly desperate to hear me play because he did agree.

As I reached for my guitar I wondered what exactly I shoukd play for him. I could play safe and do a cover of a Black Flag or Misfits song - something I knew he would be inclined to like - or I could do something I had never done before and play him a song I had written myself.

"Any requests?"

Holding my guitar in my hands I could no longer see an advantage of playing one of my own songs.

"Something new, if you have anything."

He spoke so eagerly that I couldn't bring myself to lie to him. As I checked my guitar was still in tune, I did my best to ignore Gerard, pretending to myself that I was alone in my bedroom.

The song I played for him was that I had written around Christmas time when I was feeling pretty alone due to Matt and Chris' contuined ignorance of my existence. It was loud and angry and sounded like ot needed heavy cymbals in the background. There were lyrics which I had added later but I wasn't really confident enough in my singing abilities to attempt them while playing.

As soon as I finished playing, I handed the guitar straight to Gee, interrupting his applause. I didn't want to listen to anything he had to say about my performance until I had heard him play. That way I figured I would know how genuine his comments were.

He held the guitar a little uncomfortably, as if he wasn't exactly sure he was doing it right. When he started to play however his entire face changed as he became engrossed with what he was playing. The piece was quieter than mine, and sadder, and while there were a few times he seemed to mess up a little, the music was heartfelt and emotive.

Like I had done, he handed the guitar back straight away when he had finished, our eyes meeting as he did so. He smiled at me, looking rather pleased.

"You know Frankie, I said you would be a great guitarist and, as a recurring theme, I was completely correct."

"You're not so bad yourself," I replied with a smile, unwilling to seem too eager in accepting the compliment that meant more to me than I would like to admit.

We began to discuss music once again, talking about writing songs, the trick of mastering lyrics and comparing techniques.

This conversation evolved into an excited discussion about the Black Flag concert which only ended after an unwelcome and difficult interruption.

"Frank, are you upstairs?"

My mother was home.

***

"Shit Gee, what are we gonna do? She absolutely cannot know you're here."

"Get changed quickly - put a 'normal' shirt on again, that should be enough. You'll just have to hope she doesn't notice the make up. "

"What abkut you though?"

"I dunno, tell her you loaned me something and I was returning it."

"Okay."

I undid the first few buttons of my shirt and pulled it over my head, grabbing the nearest t-shirt I could find and pulling it on.

Doing my best to appear calm and collected, I started to walk down the stairs ahead of Gee, leading us into the kitchen where my mother was standing, frowning.

"Hi Mum. Gerard's just about to leave - he was on,y dropping off a comic that he borrowed last time he was here."

"Alright then. It was lovely to see you again Gerard."

The tone of her voice made it clear that she expected him to leave immediately and so I started heading towards the door.

"Sorry about that. I had kinda hoped she would be okay about you being here but I guess not."

"Don't worry about it. I'll just have to come back next week."

Just before he stepped outside he turned back to me.

"Do you want me to drive you to school tomorrow? I mean, Mikey'll have to be there but it's better than nothing."

"I'd love it, thanks Gee."

"Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow then."

I stood at the door and watched him walk across the street, not closing my door until he had gone inside his.

Notes

Hi guys! Sorry it took a while for this update but as you can see it's quite a bit longer than some of the others and also my wifi has been down for a couple of days.
Thank you for sticking with this story and as always, don't forget to comment any feedback <3