So Little Time (Frerard) *New Version*

3: All The Things You Can Fit Inside A Memory

Frank didn't speak about his problems at home for ages, but finally, he spilled everything to Gerard late one night when he couldn't think of an excuse for his busted lip that he hadn't already used a million times before. The truth came out in between sobs and shaky gasps for air, but as soon as Gerard understood what had happened, he cursed himself for not catching on to the obvious signs that had been staring him in the face for years.

He made Frank sleep over at his place that night, and he spent the entire time comforting his distraught friend, stroking his hair and promising that he would find a way to protect him. The fact that Frank trusted him enough to tell him such a heavy secret had brought them even closer together, and even though the idea of anyone laying a hand on Frank broke Gerard's heart, he was honored that Frank had told him.

It wasn't long after Frank's confession that Gerard finally found the guts to tell Frank about his "crush", although by this point he was basically head over heels for the boy, and even with how close the two had grown to each other, it had still taken Mikey threatening to tell Frank himself if Gerard didn't man up and let him know how he felt.

Gerard did it himself in the end, even though he had stammered so much he was honestly surprised that Frank managed to understand him. Frank's response was better than he could ever have hoped for, and when he admitted with a shy giggle that he had been hiding his own feelings for Gerard since day one, Gerard didn't think he could ever be happier than he was in that moment.

He was wrong though, because not long after that came the day that Frank told Gerard that he loved him, and that blew away Gerard's previous happiness scale entirely, because he was pretty sure he was going to spontaneously combust from the joy he was feeling at Frank's words. Gerard hadn't even been able to speak, so he ended up cutting Frank off with a passionate kiss instead.

It was the most amazing thing that had ever happened to Gerard, because he truly didn't believe that he was worthy of love, especially not from someone as perfect as Frank. Gerard struggled with his own issues, even though they were brought on by his fucked up mind, and not an abusive parent. He suffered from depression and anxiety, but ever since he had found Frank, they had been much easier to deal with, even though he still had his bad days.

Frank made everything better - even school, and at the time, the only cloud darkening his perfect world was Frank's father, but back then, he hadn't been nearly as bad, and sometimes even Frank seemed to forget about him for a little while.

Gerard eventually convinced Frank to tell their friends about his situation with his father, because they were beginning to suspect something was wrong anyway, and after much pleading from his boyfriend, Frank finally gave in.

Once his secret was out, they all worked together to make sure that Frank would spend as little time at home as possible. Frank stayed at one of their houses almost every night, and Gerard could visibly see him changing now that he was out from under his father's foot.

Everything had been perfect, until that fateful day that Frank's father had demanded he come home for a bit, even though why he had done that was still a mystery; by the time they made it back to the house, he had been passed out drunk on the couch.

Gerard had volunteered to go with Frank to make sure that nothing happened, but he shouldn't have offered, because that was the day that Frank's father had caught them kissing in Frank's room, and after Gerard had been forcibly thrown out of his house, he hadn't seen Frank for two weeks after that.

He wasn't at school, he wouldn't answer his phone - nothing, it was as if Frank had disappeared off the face of the earth. Gerard had nearly broken at that point, and if it wasn't for his friends, he might have done something really stupid. He couldn't function without Frank in his life, and he was too scared to call the cops in fear of upsetting Frank, but he shouldn't have hesitated, and he still regretted not taking action sooner.