A Work In Progress

Gerard’s POV
It was a typical day at school. It was March, which was my least favorite month out of the entire year. You’d think it would be around springtime and the weather would be nice, right? But, the next day you wake up, open your blinds, see snow on the ground, and groan. It seems like winter will never end. “Move it fag!” someone yelled, shoving me into the lockers and bringing me back to reality, which made me drop my sketchbook. “Fucktard,” I muttered to myself. I reached down to pick up my sketchbook, but someone shoved me, again, making me join my sketchbook on the ground. I sighed. I was used to this. But I just had to remind myself that this would all be over soon. I’d graduate and become a comic book artist, and I would have my own apartment and my own studio.

“Hey, Gee, you okay?” my brother, Mikey’s, concerned voice snapped me out of my daydream. “Huh? Oh. Yeah,” I replied. He stuck out a hand, offering to help me up. I took it and pulled myself to my feet. “Thanks man,” I told him. “No problem. You okay?” he replied, shrugging. “Yeah, fine,” I said. Mikey grabbed my sketchbook off the ground and handed it to me. I gave him a small, grateful smile, then waved as I headed to my first-period class. I walked into Language Arts and sat down in my usual seat. I already had a pounding headache, just from the noise and commotion in the hallway. I groaned and put my head on the table in an attempt to block out all the noise and light that was fueling my headache.

“Gerard, can you tell me why Egeus brings Demetrius, Lysander, and Hermia to see Theseus in Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”? I looked up at the teacher who had asked me the question, not even registering half of what he had just said.

“He.. uh… I don’t know,” I said. I heard a few snickers around the room, but mostly just a disappointed look from the teacher. I shrugged it off.

“This school is just a heaping pile of trash that’s infested with incompetent teenagers anyways,” I muttered angrily to myself. “Well that seems a bit harsh, don’t you think?” I heard a voice somewhere to my left. “Oh, hey Ray.” Ray was one of Mikey’s friends. He’s been to our house a few times, but we didn’t talk much otherwise. I mean, he’s cool and all, I have nothing against him, I just prefer the solidarity of my own room.

I don’t even have any friends, so Mikey is basically the opposite of me. While Mikey is popular and goes out and throws parties, I sit in my room listening to music, drawing, or reading comics by myself. It’s better that way. I’ve learned that it’s easier not to trust anyone and not get hurt, rather than trust someone and be disappointed in the end. I sighed and put my head back down. I just want the day to end.

The bell rings, dismissing the class, so I grab my shit and head down the hallway. Mikey meets me at my side, “Hey, you look tired,” he says. “No shit, Sherlock,” I respond sarcastically. “Okay, god, just don’t forget you have a shift later,” he responded, clearly ignoring my sarcasm. I groaned. Don’t get me wrong, I like working at Breakdown Comics. My boss is nice and I can at least earn some money for myself, but I am just so worn out today. Another bell rang, signaling that I am now late to class. I groaned, again.



Frank’s POV
Today is an off day. Even just getting out of bed made me tired. Going to school was another thing though. The classes were boring, the teachers were monotonous, the homework was assigned in stacks, and the students were a bunch of dumbasses and assholes. I checked the clock and quickly realized I was going to be late, so I tugged on a t-shirt, skinny jeans, and black Converse. Then I ran to the bathroom and ran my fingers through my hair and penciled on some eyeliner before grabbing my bag and running out the door.

“Frank honey-” my mom began, but I interrupted her, “Sorry Mom, gonna be late, see you,” I yelled, already halfway out the door. I ran all the way to school and didn’t stop running until I was in my first-period class, math.

“Mr. Iero, would you like to explain to me why you just sprinted into my classroom?” said the teacher, clearly annoyed. “Oh-” I took a breath, the running did a number on me, “I just- uh-” another series of deep breaths, “Late,” was all I managed to say before the teacher motioned for me to sit down. I nodded in defeat and sat down.

I felt a crumpled up piece of paper hit my neck and I sighed. I picked up the paper, now on the floor, and turned to see who threw it. I came face-to-face with the worst bully in school- Andy Biersack. I groaned, not in the mood for his bullshit. I always thought that he would be the one being made fun of, I mean, the kid has the work sack in his name.

Instead, I just sighed and said, “What do you want, Andy?”, rolling my eyes as I turned around. “Oh, well, nothing except for you to read the note,” he nodded toward the paper in my hand. I shook my head. “Read it, freak,” he demanded. Ugh. Whatever, fine. I unfolded the piece of paper. I silently gasped at the vile words written on the note, but not enough for the dickhead behind me to notice. I tore the paper into shreds and threw them in Andy’s face. “Stay away from me, asshole,” I sneered at him. But he just laughs and sits back in his seat. When will this ever stop?


Finally, the school day is over. It takes me a while to pack all my stuff in my backpack, so when I run out into the courtyard, I realize I had missed the bus home. I stomped, “FUCK,” I muttered. I turned when I heard someone groan behind me.

There was a tall, skinny-looking boy muttering in frustration behind me. “Hey man, you good?” I ask, startled by his sudden presence. The boy looks up at me and I could clearly see his glowing hazel eyes and defined features. His eyes widened at the sight of me, which forces me to bite my lip to stop from laughing in his face.

“Yeah- uh sorry. I just- um, I just missed my bus,” he said, running his fingers through his half-blonde-half-brown hair. Looking at him, he’s quite attractive, but he looks worried at the moment. “Actually, same. I’m Frank,” I say, reaching out my hand. “Mikey,” he says, shaking my hand. We decide to walk home together, since we live close to each other, and that’s where our friendship begins.

Turns out, we share a lot of the same interests. Horror movies, comic books, and we even have the same taste in music. When we reached my house, we exchange numbers and Mikey says, “Hey, so remember how you said you liked comics?” I nodded. “Well, my brother works at a comic book store near here, and I was going to go with him during his shift later. Wanna come?” he asks. “Actually, that’d be really cool,” I say, smiling. Maybe I could make a friend today. “Text me the time and address, Mikey.” And I went inside.

Notes

Okay, so if you didn't see my author's note, I am reuploading the story because I felt like it was starting to get boring and all and honestly it wasn't working how I wanted it to. I'll be uploading when I can just please bear with me while I try to bring this story back from the dead.