THE ZINE (Newark to Seattle) - Frerard | ✔️

five - a sinful act

When Frank woke up, it wasn't because alarms were going off, it was because there was a soft, warm body pressed against his. He rubbed his eyes, and as soon as he realised the position he and his roommate were in, he shifted away, trying his hardest to pretend that his cheeks and ears weren't bright red. He thanked some holy stars that he didn't have morning wood and that the room was still pitch black as he tried to make sense of the situation. As soon as he made sure she was still asleep and her back wasn't pressed against his side, he fell back asleep, hoping that there were a few more hours of sleep rather than a few more minutes.

He woke up again, but this time, there was light in the room. Queen was playing from Gee's phone, clashing with the shitty metal that blared unpleasantly from his; their alarms were going off. He felt the sheets shift as Gee reached over to snooze them both, but Frank couldn't go back to sleep. Gee had somehow wiggled herself back into a cuddling position. This time, it was more than their arms touching, this time, her back was pressed against Frank's chest, and she had his arm trapped around her waist, clutching his forearm tightly. He slipped free of her, pretending to be unaware that she was awake.

Gee was sitting up on the bed when Frank got out of the bathroom, drying off his sopping hair after his shower.

"Put a shirt on, you slut," she slurred, and rubbed her eyes, but she didn't look away. Instead, Frank watched her eyes dart around his torso. He felt his face and neck burn a little with embarrassment as she did so, and he put on a shirt as quickly as he could, suddenly shy.

"So now I'm a slut?" he asked.

"Yeah, you're shirtless and you're wearing grey sweats? That's slutty."

Frank rolled his eyes. "Right, I forgot about the reputation grey sweatpants have."

"Sounds like you," Gee managed through a yawn. "Did we sleep in the same bed last night?"

"Yeah, we fell asleep in front of the TV."

"Hmm, cool," she mumbled and shrugged.

"You wanna sleep for a little while longer? I can get us something for breakfast and bring it back here if you want."

"Don't worry," she said and shook her head. "Can you wait like fifteen minutes for me to get ready?"

"For sure, no problem."

Gee didn't take very long in the shower, and when she came out, her hair wasn't even wet—she'd tied it up in a bun—so her baby hairs were sticking to her skin. She gave Frank a smile as she untied her hair and ran her fingers through it so that the baby hairs would unstick.

"Rating for today's fit, please," she asked politely, making it clear that it was more of a demand. But Frank was more than willing, so he played along. He took in the loose black cropped shirt, the sweatpants—but in black as if to mock him, and as always, her Converse. It was more modest than anything she'd worn out in years. Usually, she would wear a tight top over such baggy sweats, and as much as he'd like to brush it off, he knew better. He also knew that saying something would be out of line—even if it was about whether she was dressing so modestly so as to avoid being assaulted again—so he didn't linger on it.

"Nine out of ten," he said confidently. "Very casual, very cute, but you're poking fun at me with the colour of the sweats, so you lost a point there."

She grinned. "Aw, really? You're that salty?"

"No, I'm just being hard on you," he said, breaking into a grin too. It was impossible not to when she was practically radiating sunshine with her smile.

"Let's get breakfast," she said when her stomach grumbled. "Apparently there's a good smoothie place around here. Maybe we can get a start without caffeine today."