Touched by Demons, though I fall into grace (but on my second acc)

Frank drops my leg, and we both stare, petrified, at Eric. His face doesn't show complete surprise, but it's pretty close to it. I start to pull away from Frank, but he doesn't release his hold on my waist. My eyes dart from his face and back to Eric's, noticing how scared he looks. Not the type of scared he is when I see the hands. The type of scared that you would feel when someone is about to stab you.

"I knew it!" He exclaims, "But you kissed--I think her name is Debra?" Eric takes a few steps forward, and Frank finally releases me, only to shove me behind him and hold me there. It's thoughtful that he didn't want me to get hurt, but I don't want Eric to punch him!

"Listen, Eric." Frank says, using the hand that isn't holding me close to motion Eric to calm down. "We can work this out. We're adults. You don't have to take any actions. You don't have to tell anyone."

I peek over Franks shoulder, seeing Eric heavily breathing. "You!" He yells, leaning past Frank and trying to get in my face. "Are going to hell!" He begins to walk out, and Frank begins to relax. I could let him go. Or I could make it worse.

I choose the latter.

"No, we aren't!" I yell back, starting towards him, but Frank gets hold of my arm before I get within range of Eric. "Y'know why? You aren't going to heaven for being straight."

Eric stops in his stride, ever so slowly turning around, almost resembling someone from a movie that I can't seem to remember. "Shit." Frank mumbles, pulling me back by my arm, though I attempt to stand my ground as well as I can muster.

I look him right in the eye, not tilting my head at all. Acknowledging him as a human.

A fist comes flying towards my eyes, sending me tumbling into Frank. He, being the boyfriend he is, catches me, and doesn't run after Eric like I had hoped. He's always been more protective than a go-getter. It's better in some situations in others, but I can't tell which would have worked better in this situation.

A dull thud pounds through my ears, sending a dizzy sensation throughout my head. Pain immediately spikes in my cheek. Frank stops my hand before it can reach up to my cheekbone.

"If you don't look, it won't hurt as much. If you don't look, it won't hurt as much." Frank mumbles, repeating it to himself over and over again, reassuring himself more than me. "Don't touch it, and you'll be fine."

His fingers run over my cheeks, and he slowly lowers me to the floor. I wince, another blast of pain surging through me. "Sh, baby." He says, cupping my cheek in his hand. "He's gone. You'll be okay."

"I am okay!" I say, and I believe it until I see a bit of blood on his hand. "Wait--"

I reach my hand up to my cheek, wincing when I press down on the wound. Frank slowly pulls my hand away, out of my vision. I pull it away, from his grasp, staring at the blood on my fingers. Frank takes my hand, and I let him this time, almost smiling when he laces out fingers together.

"Why did you do that, baby?"

I look at him in shock. "I was just trying to defend us from the elephant in the room. Would you just let him have at us?"

"Yes, until he started getting physical. Then I would have fought back."

I push myself up, off of the dirty floor of the back room. Frank rises with me, lifting me to my feet. "You shouldn't just let people yell at you. You yell back. And when they fight, you fight back." I sigh, smiling to myself. "Since when are you the submissive one in the relationship?"

"Since I got caught kissing my beautiful boyfriend. Since then."


I walk out of the back room with a stack of S records under my arm. With a newly cleaned face and a swollen eye, I feel slightly self-conscious about being noticed, but what's so bad about being asked about a swollen eye, anyway?

Frank breaks off a piece of tape a few yards away from me, sticking a paper to the window. I've been reading upside down enough to figure out how to read permanent marker through a thin sheet of paper. I set down the records with a thud and begin to rifle through the S records, starting with Sam Cooke.

The sign reads Now Hiring!, which is odd, considering we have no open jobs. I lightly punch Frank in the back, smiling when he turns around.

"Hey, sugar." He says, reaching to kiss my scalp, then quickly falters his movement. "Sorry. Forgot."

"Nah, I appreciate the gesture." I smile, putting Simon and Garfunkel in the box. "We can always do that at home." He nods, resting his hand on top of the box. "What's the sign for?" I ask.

"Well, Michael just gave me his one week notice today, so we're looking for a new cashier."
I shrug a little, running over my thoughts. "I could be the cashier," I say, continuing to look through the records. "Just a suggestion."

Frank looks at me with surprise. "I didn't think that you'd want a social job." He smiles. "No offense, but I just thought you were more of an introvert."

I finish with the last of the S records, walking to the backroom, assuming Frank will follow me. He does, so I continue the conversation. "Yeah, that was me two weeks ago. I've been in Jersey for long enough to know how to gossip."

Frank smiles, picking up a record from my pile. "Oh yeah?" He smiles, walking up to me. "Here." He hands the record to me. "So, my sister has been so annoying recently."

I look at him, eyes wide. He just put on a spot-on impression of a Jersey Girl. He drew out the right words and even batted his hand at me.

Regardless of my reaction, he continues. "She just goes on and on about her new boyfriend, who is not good for her. But she insists, 'No! You don't know him as I do.' Uh, yeah, sis. I know him better than you. I swear, if she puts up with his bullshit for much longer, she's gonna regret it."

He stares at me, "So what's up with you?" Frank asks. I prepare to splurge on him, smiling.

"Well, my boss-slash-boyfriend has been pretending to be a Jersey Girl for the past two weeks. So I'm thinking of leaving him." I smile, handing the record back to him.

"Okay. That was good, but the first rule is that you don't talk about me." He says, back to his normal self. I laugh, my eyes crinkling up. He laughs with me, and we just stand there. Laughing. Happy. Trying not to think of the ticking time bomb that is ourselves.


Frank glances at the clock, seeing that it's ten minutes till closing. He tells me to go ahead and finish up, so I put the records back in the box I just pulled out. He walks out of the room, coming back in a moment later with Jordan trailing him. They engage in a conversation, talking about closing time and teenagers.

I close up the box, walking up to Frank and asking them what they speak of. "Just talking about summer closing time. We're thinking about hiring some teens to work the late hours." Jordan tells me, and I nod. "Also, it's time to give our annual start-of-summer speech. Also known as SOS, because it is living Hell."

I don't have time to react before Frank jumps in. "Just wait for the speech. You'll see then."

And so I wait for the speech. Only five minutes later, and he calls me into the main room.

"Alright, as most of you know, tomorrow is--" He says, then stops, realizing that he's the shortest in the group. I walk up next to him, leaning down to his mouth. "Why am I so short?" He whispers.

"How tall are you?" I ask.

"Like 5' 2"." He says. "I'll be right back."

He runs off to the back room, returning with a stool a few moments later. He climbs on top of it, letting out a relieved sigh to see the top of everyone's heads. "Tomorrow is the last day of school for the bastards. And if you are still in school..." He trails off. "Sucks to be you."

The crowd laughs a little, and Frank smiles. "At noon, tomorrow, this shop is going to be filled with angsty, hormonal, self-entitled punks. So whoever is in charge of the music will exclusively play Zeppelin, Earth Wind and Fire, Alice Cooper, and Velvet Underground. Absolutely no Styx."

The crowd laughs again, and I smile up at him. "Michael. I'll leave a stack of records next to the player that you should look in to." Michael nods. "Marisa and Jack: You walk around and ask if people need help. Mia: Make sure nothing goes up in flames. Jordan: Work the statistics. Gerard: I'll talk to you."

The crowd oohs at me, so I give them a sassy glare. Frank puts his hands on his hips, nodding. "Guys. Come on. Eric is the one who's fired."

No one says anything. I can't blame them. "Alright, go home and mentally prepare yourself for tomorrow. Unless you're Gerard and Jordan."

The crew walks out the backroom, and Frank hops off of the stool. Jordan and I walk towards him, smiling. "Alright." He says, linking his hand with mine once everyone leaves. "I--"

I push away, whispering in his ear. "Does she know?" I ask.

Frank laughs. "Jordan knows. In fact, she..." He trails off, waiting for her to finish.

"Is also gay." She says. "You're safe around me."

I happily link our fingers back together, leaning into Frank. "Jordan, how's the Massachusetts situation going?"

"Great. It's slow working, though. I'd give it another couple of weeks." She says.

"And the cost?"

"Lookin' good." She shows him a thumbs up.

I give them both a questioning look. "The Massachusetts situation?" I ask.

Frank smiles, squeezing my hand to show his excitement. "We're going to open a store in Amherst, Massachusetts. We're starting a chain record store company!"

I let go of his hand to pull him into a hug, kissing him hard. He returns the gesture for a bit, before pulling away. "That's fucking amazing, babe!" I yell at him, and he smiles. "Who's gonna run it?" I ask.

Jordan clears her throat, and Frank and I awkwardly turn back to her. "Either my sister and I, or you and Frank." She says. "We'll decide when the time comes. But we have a meeting over in Amherst on the 30th. Frank and I will go for two days."

I stare at Frank, while he looks guilty. Scratching his head. "I don't wanna be away from you for two days," I say, taking his hands in mine. He tilts his head.

"I'll call you. Not for more than two minutes, though." He says, and I figure that he's telling me about the long-distance fee. "And I'll make it up to you, tonight."

"Okay, I'm getting out of here," Jordan says, dropping the keys for Frank. "Before things get too intimate."



I jump out of the car, rushing to Frank's side and pulling him out by the shirt collar. He immediately connects our lips, shutting the car door and walking us inside. We continue kissing until we reach his bed. He pushes me onto the bed, stripping his shirt off. I do the same, but not before I blush over his bare chest for the hundredth time.

Frank climbs on top of me, licking up my neck and then kissing my jawline. I shiver, wrapping my legs around his waist and pulling him closer. He grinds against me, making me roll my head back in delight. We make out in a manner of hot, sweaty, breathy horniness, the occasional moan making my head go wild.

Frank presses his knee against my crotch, making me let out a slutty gasp. He pulls it away, only to replace it with his hand, rubbing up and down my crotch way too slowly.

"Faster!" I mumble between my panting. He obliges, grabbing my wrists with his spare hand and pinning them above my head, rendering me helpless. "God, Frank, I'm close," I tell him, staring up at the ceiling. As soon as he hears those words, he squeezes my dick, sending me over the edge.

"Frank!" I moan, cumming into my pants. Frank looks up at me, smiling.

"How about you go change while I finish myself off?" He says, and I glance down at the tent in his pants.

"Good idea," I say as Frank moves off of me, allowing me to stand up. I walk out of the room, shutting the door behind me, and going to the spare. I pick out a pair of baggy girl-shorts, slipping them on over a new pair of briefs. I hear a shout from the other room, smiling. A few minutes later, (I gave him some time to clean up), I walk back into our room, jumping into bed on Franks right.

"We still haven't had dinner." He says, glancing at the clock that flashes 8:00 into our faces.

"Yeah, we should probably go do that," I say, reaching for the shirt that I disregarded. Frank stops me before I can slip it on.

"I like you with it off." He says, smiling. I playfully roll my eyes, standing up and going to the kitchen.



I turn over in bed, glancing at Frank. His eyes are closed, but I can tell that he's not sleeping.

"Babe." I mumble, smiling when he opens his eyes. "What we did before dinner." He smiles, moving closer to me. I sigh, "It felt right." I admit, smiling even wider.

"Yeah," He says, grabbing my hand, "With the others, it just felt good. But now it feels right." He reaches out with his other hand, grazing his thumb over my cheek. I let out a happy sigh, leaning into his touch.

I love you.

The words float through my mind, but I don't say them. I sure as hell want to, but I can't. Maybe Frank feels the same way. Maybe he knows what I'm thinking. I feel like he does. So I don't say it. We have three weeks. I can say it to him soon.

Notes

a longish chapter for u :) sksk im so exited to write the next one. shit goes down