Wintertime (Frerard, Sequel to Summertime)

11: In Which Frank Offers To Whore Himself Out For Coffee

The two were sat in Brendon's living room, only half focused on the shitty show on TV, and more so upon the subject of conversation between the two of them, which was of course, none other than Frank Iero, once again.

"I'm worried about him." Ryan reiterated for what Brendon was sure was the millionth time, but he couldn't help but share his boyfriend's worries, because after all, it wasn't like they weren't within reason, and after all, it wasn't like Frank wasn't keeping pretty much his whole damn life one big massive secret from the two of them in the recent past.

"I don't know what we can do, though, Frank's always going to get defensive and pissed off and deny everything because he's Frank and that's what he does, and it just makes sense for him, but it just confuses us, and I really just don't know what to do about it... I mean, it's obvious that he's not okay, but I'm pretty sure that it's not at all obvious to him."

"How could it not be?" Ryan exclaimed, shaking his head, "he knows, he just doesn't want to admit it, because he's Frank and he's a little shit, and we all know that-"

"No, I kind of think he can't actually see it... it's like that you never really see yourself as others see you, or like you always have different opinions on things you've made such as art or whatever, because you've made them, and that personal connection biases your perspective or something: I think that's what it is... I mean, it's gradual, like he doesn't notice it, because it's slow, and it's now normal for him, but we do, because we're the outside opinion, if you get what I mean?"

"You should like Frank trying to talk himself out of something: are you sure he hasn't possessed you or something?" Brendon shrugged off his boyfriend's comment, rolling his eyes, and laughing a little as he did so.

Ryan let out a sigh as he turned back to the TV, and soon grew impatience, leading his finger to the remote and the off switch, "I can't concentrate anymore, I just... we need to do something about Frank and stop just discarding it for another time, because that's what we're always going to do at this rate, and we can't, because Frank's our friend, and he may not see it, but he needs us."

Brendon nodded, turning to face his boyfriend with a hopeful kind of encouraging look that Brendon could only possibly offer to someone he thought as much of as Ryan; the two had one hell of a something, to say the least. "So what do you propose, because I'm all out of fucking ideas, you know?"

"I know." Ryan nodded, pausing for a moment: deep in thought, "it'd help if Frank let more people into his life, you know? Because like this it's just us and we don't... does Frank even speak to his family, because he's never mentioned them to me?"

Brendon paused, having never really thought much of this before, "no... he's never mentioned much... that's... that's really odd."

"He doesn't talk about himself much though; he's definitely the listener, but still, it's weird, like how much do we actually know about him at all? I can't help but feel like he keeps too much quite, like there's some sort of secret he's hiding here, or something... I don't know... I don't get it... I don't get him at all, actually."

"Me neither." Brendon let out a sigh, "I wish I did though; he must feel so alone, god, I dread to know what's going on inside his head."

"But in the same way I just wish we could find out." Ryan added, glancing at his cellphone for a moment, perhaps just to check the time. "We could just try talking to him like bluntly about this, because I don't know... maybe direct questions will do the trick - it's harder to lie directly, isn't it?"

"I don't know, I really don't, I just wish he'd be honest for once, because I feel like every bit of information we get from him is just some half lie to cover up something hidden deep inside himself, and god... I don't even want to know what that is, for the most part, that is."