The Chasing of Moons

For Forever

Frank finishes rereading the second note, and his heart sinks. It's not even because of the fear of death or the weight of what he has to do against all odds. It's because he's so truly terrified of messing things up with Gerard so much that he doesn't get Gerard at all.

Frank doesn't know how it is that he, an eighteen-year-old kid with as few long-term aspirations as he has left feet, is already so set on who he wants to marry. He knows he can attest some of it to the letter and the future that he knows he's going to have, but honestly, Frank is a very stubborn person. If it were anything else, Frank would think of this destiny for him to be with Gerard as a challenge for him to show that it's not true. He would do anything to prove everyone wrong, show the world that he's not destined for Gerard. Flip off the man who's telling him that his future has already been planned.

But he doesn't think like that remotely. He wants this. He wants his future, and he wants Gerard.

Frank doesn't even know what he's going to major in next year at college. He's not even positive he wants to even fucking go to college.

But he is sure that he wants Gerard, and honestly, that's enough.

Several millennia later, or so it feels, Frank finds himself standing in front of the school building, waiting for any sign of Gerard or Ray. He'll probably see Ray first, his hair is like a beacon. You can't lose Ray in a crowd, you just look for the guy whose head could arguably be used as a museum exhibit on static electricity.

"There," Brendon says, pointing to someone who's just now arriving from one of the buses. Frank's eyes find the spot and he sees Gerard, Mikey, and Ray, walking towards the building slowly. Gerard doesn't look overly upset or perturbed, but he doesn't look very gleeful either. Frank doesn't know if that's a good thing or not.

Ray spots them, and he allows Gerard and Mikey to go on ahead as he jogs to meet Frank, Pete, and Brendon standing by the flag pole.

"So?"

"I dropped the first gift off in front of his house," Ray says, "he knew it was from you the second he saw it."

"Good reaction or bad?" Frank asks.

"Well he didn't throw it away," Ray says, "but I'm not sure he was happy that it was from you."

"It could have been worse," Frank says. "You should go, you've got to beat Gerard back to his locker."

"Mikey said they'd take a circuitous route, but I should go get that done anyway," Ray nods. Frank nods and hopes that Ray gets it there in time. Frank did not blow all of his savings for this to not go perfectly.

Frank bought Gerard a total of five gifts. One to be given to him in the morning, and one for every morning period, each to arrive in his locker, one after another. One of which is the signed copy of Abbey Road that he's had his eyes on for about three months and cost more than a plane ticket, but this is Gerard. That's the most expensive thing he's bought, but it's not the most intimate. Technically that award would go to the inexplicable pillow he happened to find with Morrissey's face on it which is both perfect for Gerard and creepy. Frank has been mentally picking gifts out for Gerard for the last few weeks though so it wasn't actually that hard to find five.

He bought Gerard five gifts that is, and he made one of them. With the help of his mother, because Frank is just that cool, he constructed what he thinks is probably the worst, but hopefully most endearing, birthday cake that has ever graced this earth. There's a good chance it might be a giant hockey puck, but Frank is an optimist.

"Alright," Frank says, turning to Pete. "Pete, you know what to do?"

"Yep," Pete nods, "I'm on it."