I waited for Frank. The coldness that had took over the room when Mikey had left simply enveloped around me and I began to shiver. I waited for Frank. I sat back down on the chair now tapping my foot against the floor nervously in no particular rhythm. I waited for Frank. I looked out of the window, the sunrise softly trampled by the rain that fell unnervingly down to the ground to form puddles on the leaves of the standing trees. I still wanted for Frank. It seemed like an eternity.

I looked up from the floor as the door clicked and the nurse walked back into the room. She tried to make her voice as soft and comforting as possible as she knelt down next to me. I shied away from her not giving her any eye contact.
"Gerard..." She whispered, placing her hand on my shoulder, "you need to go. Someone else is using this room and we need to take you to your therapy session."
"I'm not going." I mumbled.
"Gerard...you have to."
"Well I'm not going and I'm not leaving this room without Frank."
"Gee..." She pleaded now, "please, you have to go its the only way you'll get better."
She tugged at my arm gently now but I shrugged her off, bringing my knees up to my chest and hugging them softly.
"Please?" She asked once more.
"No!" I refused, she wasn't making me leave that room without Frank. Never. I doubt I could even walk around this place without Frank by my side so where was he?
"Gerard!" She spoke, "I'll have to get the boss. I'll have to get Jackie!"
"No!" I yelled, "just let me wait for Frank!"
"Frank isn't here Gerard!"
"Don't you dare say that about Frank!" I yelled back, standing up and storming out of the room.

I was going to look for Frankie. That's what I was doing. I heard her footsteps follow behind me but I slipped into the disabled toilet on the corridor (luckily nobody was in there) and watched as she rushed past me. I sat there for maybe five, ten minutes trying to think of all the places in which Frank could be at.
Why would he just leave me like that? Frank had never just disappeared and refused to come back when he knew I needed him before. He was always there when I needed him with me...when I need a best friend he is my best friend. And as far as I'm concerned best friends aren't suppose to leave you by yourself when you need all of the help that you can get. But then again...your family isn't supposed to simply abandon you and refuse to ever have anything to do with you because they think that you're fucked in the head. Well, I'm sorry parents. You know? For being such a disappointment. Yep. I could be described in two words: Insane. Disappointment.

And Frank still wasn't by my side. I heard high heels clipping along the shining floor outside and held my breath as they passed the door. Then I heard more footsteps thunder past, a huge mess of stomping driving into the floor viciously. I mean: What did the floor ever do to you?
What did I ever do to you?
Why do they chase me as if I'm some sort of wild animal?
I'm not. I'm human. I just want my friend back. That's all. Why is there such a massive problem with that?

---

The cold was starting to creep in around me as I began to shiver lightly. They still hadn't found me. Thank god. But Frank still hadn't come back. And that scared me. That scared me a lot. I don't know how many hours I had been away from them but for once it was rather nice to spend some time away from them without having to talk about my fucking feelings again. But Frank was still missing.

After jumping around and sneaking along the darkening corridors I'd kind of got bored and just decided that the cleaners cupboard would do. I was more worried about where Frank was. I mean...was he hurt? Was he dying? Had he left for good? Had I done something wrong? Had he done something wrong?
I don't know. All I know is that there's an empty gap beside me where Frank should be. And instead there's a fucking mop. And the mop is certainly no match for Frank. Certainly not as friendly. Fucking mop.

It was then (just after the silence had enveloped around my joints and comforted me as I slipped further into the corner with the shadows and the darkness) that I heard the knocking of the door. I screamed as the wood began to blister and splinter from the angered force being applied from the opposing side.
"Gerard fucking Way!!!" The voice screeched, fists raging against the door frame. I recognised the voice. Jackie. Oh, fuck.
"Get out now!!!" She continued, throwing her body weight against the door. I watched as the very walls seemed to tremble but they did not shake as much as me. Christ, a greyhound in 6 foot of snow would have been shaking less than me.

I backed further into the corner. The shadows would save me from her, wouldn't they? Because nothing else would. She was going to find me. She was going to break the door down and storm over to me and grab me by the throat and yell at me 'till tears would be streaming down my face and then she'd drag me back to room H271 and dump me on the floor and leave me until the sun would rise. Or maybe not. Maybe I'd never be let out again. Maybe I'd never see the sun or the trees or Frank again. Maybe this was it. Maybe this dim artificial light swinging callously above my hidden face will be the last thing that I see.
It was then that like an alarm clock breaking that the knocking stopped. All of a sudden the irritating and harsh noise simply ceased as if it had run out of batteries and now there was a strange silence that seemed to wrap around my neck and begin to strangle me.

"W-what do you want?" I mumbled out from the corner of the room.
"Gerard..." The voice began. This time the voice wasn't as harsh...still a little...but it was soft and careful about the words that it would choose to speak.
"Gerard...we've found Frank...."
"Really?" I asked suspiciously still keeping my face shielded in the shadows, "w-where is he?"
"Waiting for you in your bedroom..."
"You mean...room H271..."
"Yes...."
"Y-you s-sure he's there?"
"Yes Gerard."
Why would Frank be there? Frank never went there without me. So why would he be there? Why would he leave and not tell me? And why did Jackie just suddenly realise that Frank's real?
I don't know. I don't know everything. But this just seemed a little strange.
"Gerard please....we wouldn't lie to you...I promise..."

I cautiously got to my feet and crept slowly from the shadows. It was then that I really let the information sink in and a smile formed gleefully on my face. I almost fell over as I bounded towards the door and swung the door open. I was going to see Frank! He was okay! And he was waiting for me right at that very moment! And everything was fine! I wasn't alone! Id have my best friend back! Id have someone to talk to and somebody to be with! God...I couldn't even survive a day without him!

"Calm down!" Jackie half shouted and half smiled. Though the smile didn't seem to suit her. It didn't suit her leathered crinkled up face in which a frown was usually carved into and it was strange to see such a happy emotion out of place on her face. But what did I care? Frank was back!
"C-can I go and see him!" I jumped repeatedly around her with my red hair flopping crazily and dancing in the dim light. "Please! Please! Please!" I smiled as I skipped ahead of her down the corridor.
"Yeah...okay....lets go see Frank..." She sighed as she followed me down the corridor. She did her best to keep up as I jumped and ran across the hallway, pausing every now and then to wait for her to catch up...like a dog and their owner.

We continued down the corridor that seemed so goddamn long. Did it always take so long to get there?

The echoes of muttering and light screams escaped from the rooms to my side and ran down the corridor, but this was normal..so normal that (if Frank was near) id be able to fall asleep with the noises gently humming through the cardboard walls.
It was then that I saw it. The numbers painted onto the door in messy thick black paint.

ROOM H271

Yep that was it. I placed my hands on the frame of the tiny window and peered into the dark room looking for a sign of Frank.
"W-where is he?" I asked as an out of breath Jackie finally caught up with me.
"H-he's there..." She panted, pushing past me and opening the door. She signalled for me to go inside but I paused just before I slipped into the rooms sickening darkness.
"Frank is just waiting for you now..." She said pointing to the corner, "your eyes will be a little blurry from running so fast and the dark might make it hard for you to see him but he is there...I promise!"
"Okay...thank you..." I smiled and rushing into the corner of the room. I fell to my knees expecting to collide with Frank and hear him speak and bring this room some warmth. I expected his smile, his hands, his face, his figure...I expected him to be there. I clawed at the empty air savagly.

"Where is he?!" I screamed as I turned back around.
"What?!" Jackie sneered.
"You lied!" I shouted as I struggled to my feet, "Frank isn't here! You LIAR! You lied to me!!!" I ripped the cupboards from its feet and watched as it crashed towards the floor spilling its contents everywhere.
"What?!" Jackie screamed as she gripped the handle of the door, "did you actually think that Frank had come back? Ha! Never fuckface!!!" And with that she slammed the door and locked at least 3 times causing the walls to shake again.
"B-but you promised...y-you promised me..."
I cried with tears steaming down my face. I curled myself up into a cocoon of blankets but they could not warm my shivers. How could I ever get better without Frank by my side?

Notes

Hiya again. I think that this is the longest chapter so far, I hope it wasn't boring and thank you for reading. Thank you for commenting too! :)
(a bbc documentary about stress just used stressed out by twenty one pilots as the intro, I thought I recognised the song when it came on.) thank you so much for reading, update tomorrow. :)
-Lou