"You'll be fine Frank…" whispered Joel as they hid silently behind a row of cereal, "I promise. You'll be fine. Just don't tell him your real name and don’t go with him to his house; I can't make sure you're safe if you do that. But you'll be fine. I promise."
"I don’t know Joel…. What if he?" Frank moved his hand across his throat as if he was going to cut his own head off, lolling to the side with his tongue stuck out and his eyes wide.
"Honestly…." comforted Joel, trying not to laugh at Frank's face as the two of them stood in the supermarket watching Gerard as he approached the counter cautiously, juggling huge jars of coffee in his arms, "you'll be fine…. Now just go…" he said, nudging Frank forward a little.

Frank stepped forwards slowly and placed a pair of huge headphones over his head. 'Well' he thought to himself 'this was better than breaking into the guys house and I did after all suggest that we got to know this sociopath first'.

He fixed his eyes to the floor as he walked along the aisle, turning the corner and walking head-on into Gerard. The red-haired man dropped the jars of coffee in surprise and the glass scattered across the floor, he stumbled backwards and fell to the floor in a heap looking a little dazed and confused.

"Hey!" Frank acted, pulling his headphones from his head, unaware of the deep gash that the broken glass had made across his palm and wrist.
"Hey! I'm so sorry…are you okay?" he asked, peering down at Gerard. He offered him a hand up and slowly Gerard got to his feet.

"Um, yeah, sure. I-I'm fine…" Gerard muttered, his words stumbling as he looked to the pure beauty of the other man's face, gasping as he realised that it was the young boy from his dream. Dark hair falling perfectly and eyes a mixture of colours. "Frankie?" he whispered under his breathe not realising that Frank could hear the small gasps of sound that escaped his lips.
Frank looked shocked as he stared at the evil eyes of the red-haired man, "um, my names Frank…." the words slipped from his mouth before he could stop them. 'Shit' he thought to himself 'number 1 rule, don’t tell suspects your name.' Oh well, it was too late now so he held his hand out to Gerard who shook it gently, his heart stopping for a beat as their hands connected.

"Sorry, I'll pay for it….I mean the coffee. After all it was my fault…" Frank said cautiously, looking down at the mess that he had made.
"It's fine…." Gerard muttered, "and besides you're bleeding….." he paused for a second, resisting the temptation to lick his lips, "the glass has cut into your other hand."

Gerard brought Franks other limp hand up from his side and looked at the blood that was smeared across his palm, gently touching around the wound as Frank winced at the pain.

"We'll have to sort this out…" Gerard said, peering into Frank's soft eyes; any excuse for Gerard to get to spend more time with Frank. "I can't leave you here with an injury like this…"
"Honestly…" continued Frank, "I'll be fine…" he sounded a little worried now.
"I can't just leave you here like this, with a massive gash in your hand. That would just be rude…. Come on: I can sort it out for you at my house if you like. It won't take long and besides: I've always wanted someone to talk to…."
Frank felt sorrow creep up is spine as he realised that this man was extremely lonely and this almost caused him to immediately agree to Gerard's offer. He stopped himself just in time. "No. sorry, I can't…" he muttered, "Sorry, um, I'll see you around…"

He turned around and tried to walk away towards where Joel should have been standing as he kept an eye on his apprentice. A hand grabbed Franks wrist and pulled him back around to face the red-haired man.
"Please…" Gerard pleaded, "It would make up for the coffee and I've always wanted a friend. Or just someone to talk to really." he looked up as his eyes began to water, pulling Frank towards the automatic doors of the supermarket.

Frank had no choice but to follow and hope that Joel had seen him leaving the supermarket with the killer. Gerard walked quickly, clutching Frank's shirt sleeve as if his life depended on it.
"So…." began Frank looking behind to see no trace of Joel, "What's your name?"
"Gerard…." came the answer.
"Hey…I like that name…"
"Really?"
"Yeah…you seem surprised, why?"
"My dad always hated it…" mumbled Gerard as they walked onto his street, trying to stop the bleeding from Franks hand, "But he did hate me after all….."
"I don’t understand why he would hate you…" Frank muttered, maybe it's the fact that you're a fucking psycho, maybe.
"He just did," Gerard answered.
"Sorry, I, um, didn’t mean to bring it up…"
"Not your fault that he was such a dick."
"I shouldn’t have said anything…" Frank muttered, as he was dragged through the streets which the sun shone down on.

They reached Gerard's house in no time. The red-haired man practically jumped inside his house to avoid the outside world but Frank stood on the doorstep, glancing around as his breathing intensified and began to rip through his chest. Joel was no-where to be seen.

"It's okay." reassured Gerard, "I don't bite…..You can come inside you know. I'll sort your wound out for you, after all you have lost quite a lot of blood. Haven't you?"

No response.

"Frank? You okay?" he looked to the pale figure that swayed gently in front of him. "Frank?! You don’t look so good. Frank?" Gerard caught Frank as he fainted towards the floor; unconscious but breathing, skin pale and skin cold.

"Hey. Hey. Frankie" whispered Gerard as he wrapped his fingers through Frank's hair, "It's okay. Once you're inside my house you'll be safe and sound…."

Notes

Hello. So chapter 20 here. Sorry, this was like such a cliché way for them to meet and all. But I hope you enjoyed this chapter and thank you for reading (so many views!).
Joel probably got distracted in the supermarket, so yeah, Frank's by himself now.
Thanks. :) x
-Lou