Wishing You Were a Ghost

First Day of My Life (Reprise)

It turns out that the reactions Frank receives from his friends - when he delivers the news of his reunion with Gerard - are not as varied as he would have expected.

Mikey's is actually fairly uneventful.

Frank: did he tell you?
Mikey: That you fucked? No, Frank, I figured that one out on my own.
Frank: i'll take that as a no, then
Mikey: What is he supposed to have told me?
Frank: that we're back together
Mikey: Honestly? Should have figured. No way the two of you could have been "casual" like you and Aspen.
Frank: mad at me?
Mikey: After seeing you both miserable for four years without each other? Not a chance.

Then there was James, which was a little more what Frank had been expecting.

Frank: just so you're aware, i did something sort of stupid
James: Do I want to kno?
Frank: gerard and i are back together
James: DUDE
Frank: listen, we're both in a better place, and we talked things over
James: Ok that's great. But are u sure this is a good idea?
Frank: won't know until i try, right?
James: Just make sure he knos if he hurts u like that again, I'm coming for his pretty little face.

And the last person he told before he faced Emily the next week was, naturally, Aspen.

Frank: i fucked gerard for his birthday and then sexted him for a week and then went back over to his house and stayed the night and now we're back together
Aspen: WOO!!!!!!!
Aspen: LOOK @ U GO!!!
Aspen: YEA FRANKIE!!!!!
Aspen: I want all of the deets! I'm making u a cake! We have 2 celebrate!
Frank: best response i've gotten so far
Aspen: Would u expect nything less?!
Aspen: SO stoked 4 u! This is srsly fucking amazing!
Aspen: When r u parting ways w ur luverboy?! I'm coming over!

They'd made good on their word, too. Frank had told them he was at home currently, and they'd showed up four hours later with an entire fucking sheet cake bearing a delicately scrawled:

Congratulations on the Dicking Down

It's a good fucking afternoon that turns into another good fucking week. The week turns into a month, and that month turns into two months.

Emily finally gets on board at some point, and Gerard even meets her when Frank goes in. It's upon meeting him, that she changes her tune rather quickly. It's like she has a sixth sense. She sees the man in person, uses whatever secret therapist powers she has to look into his psyche with x-ray vision, and decides that he's stable enough for Frank to fully throw himself into with passion.

With the promise, of course, that he bail out if necessary. He doesn't think that's going to be necessary.

Even for the few arguments that they get into, it's never the way that it was. Kind of like everything with them. Just like that first night together. It's all the same, but it's not the same at all.

None of their disagreements turn into fights. There's no yelling, or tears. No one storms out of their respective apartments. It's always just a lot of talking, and maybe a few too many harsh words, but things always calm down and they come back, they talk and they apologize. It's like nothing they've ever had before.