Frerard - Against All Odds

8

"Shit" Frank whispered. "It's you."

"Yeah" Gerard replied, still unable to believe that it was Frank standing in front of him. "Are you disappointed?" he asked nervously.

Frank just smiled. "No. Of course not." He curled his fingers around Gerard's that were still holding onto his own hands. "Did you know?" he asked curiously.

Gerard just shook his head. "I had no idea."

"Shit" Frank again said. "I can't believe that I've been talking to you all this time."

"I know. What are the fucking chances?"

Both just continued to look at each other incredulously. But both were smiling.

"Well, it's nice to meet you" Frank laughed, causing Gerard to laugh in return.

They took a seat on the bench and began to talk. Gerard could tell that Frank was nervous; the fact that he had tried to kiss him last time they saw each other probably not fucking helping matters.

Gerard had never felt like he'd had much luck in life. Sure, he had no real problems like many people do, but when it came to everyday opportunities, he just didn't seem to get a break. He'd limped his way through college, giving everything he had, only to barely scrape through; he'd looked for love (really wanting that fairy-tale that some people got to experience without much effort), only to find himself in one shitty relationship after another; and he dreamed of a career in art, only to find that nobody was interested in anything he had to show them. He often found himself feeling sorry for himself seeing people around him have all this just seemingly landing in their laps.

So standing here now, looking at Frank fucking Iero, who he thought he had lost any hope of even speaking to again, was just surreal to him. It was like the heavens had aligned and he was finally being given a chance; like all his luck had come at once. He knew he was grinning, but he just couldn't seem to straighten his face into a serious expression.

"So? Um, what do you want to do?" Frank asked snapping him out of his thoughts.

'Uh! YOU!' Gerard wanted to say, although he settled on "How about coffee?"

Frank nodded and looked over to the little park café nearby.

They walked over to the building, relaxing at the warmth as they entered. Gerard got them both a coffee while Frank took a seat at a table by the window. When Gerard returned, Frank beamed a million-watt smile at him which literally made Gerard's knees weak.

"I still can't believe this" Frank said as he wrapped his hands around his mug. "I mean, fuck, it's been you all along. That is unreal."

"I know right" Gerard smiled. "It kinda makes sense though, you know?"

Frank cocked his head in response, willing Gerard to explain further.

"Well, I usually find it hard to talk to people" Gerard admitted. "But I never have with you, just like I never did with you online. I felt so comfortable with you in person that it felt like I'd know you for a while, which I actually had."

"I know" Frank replied. "It's weird that we just got along. But it also makes complete sense, seeing as we were already friends."

The two continued to talk, both learning more and more about each other, when Gerard felt brave enough to broach the subject of Adam.

"So what's the deal with you and Adam?" he asked, looking intently into the bottom of his coffee cup as he did.

He heard Frank let out a sigh and looked up to find him with a despondent expression on his face.