Frank Iero's Paranormal Investigation Agency ( #48 in MCR, #1 in Vampiregerard )

Chapter Sixteen

.Frank's POV.

It wasn't until I sat down that how tired I was hit me, I realized, groaning to myself. How am I ever gonna make it through hours of sneaking into bars? I wondered as I munched on the bland granola bar. Maybe I could stop and get coffee first.

I was so busy bemoaning my exhaustion that I hadn't realized the bus had pulled up, and the driver had opened the doors. "Hey! You gettin' in or what kid?" The driver yelled. I rolled my eyes a little and heaved myself up with a sigh. I dropped my change into the box. "Where to?" The driver asked in a thick Jersey accent. "Just, uh, to downtown." I muttered. He nodded once, and returned his stare to the road, the doors smacking shut behind me.

I made my way down the bus, looking for a seat. It was pretty crowded, I guess from the workers going to lunch. I couldn't help but stare at all the faces of the passengers as I walked by, wondering if there were any vampires or God knows what else on the bus with me. Cmon, Frank. You're a paranormal investigator. You'd be able to tell, I mused as I sat down in a spare seat beside some businessman. Well, you weren't able to tell with Gerard, I argued internally. That doesn't count though, I was distracted. By his pretty face, I reasoned.

Thinking about Gerard, I felt a weird cocktail of emotions bubbling up inside me. 1 part sadness, 1 part worry, 1 part butterflies, and 1 part anger. Maybe I should call myself a paranormal ass-saver instead, I though as I huffed. Once this whole debacle was behind us, I needed to have a good, long talk with him about this whole running away thing. It was getting ridiculous.

At my sigh, the businessman in the seat next to me turned his head just a fraction, and gave me a glare. At this, I sniffed. I had bigger things to worry about.

A few minutes later, the bus came to a screeching halt. I stood up, seeing that we had arrived where I needed to be. Several others stood as well, including the man who I'd had the pleasure to become acquainted with. I shuffled through the aisle, another knot of stress forming in the pit of my stomach. I knew what I was doing, and I knew it had to be done, but, god, if it didn't scare the hell outta me.

I hopped off the last stair of the bus, thanking the driver before the doors closed again. Lady Luck seemed to be on my side today, because we'd stopped  just one street down from my favorite coffee shop, The Daily Roast. Already feeling a little less tired at just the thought of coffee, I set off towards the cafe.

The charming sound of little wind chimes sounded as I walked through the door, and the comforting smell of coffee hit me as soon as I stepped inside. "Hey! It's Frankie! What's up dude?" Sam, the barista, said as she waved at me. I smiled, grateful to see a familiar face after all the craziness over the past few days. "Hey, Sam. How are things at college?" Sam was a freshman at the local university, and loved to complain about the horrors of college life whenever someone would give her the time of day. Secretly though, I think she was really loving college. She's fantastically smart and motivated. She just also likes to complain.

"Ughhh, don't even get me started. I haven't slept in four days, and all I've had this week is ramen. Nothing. But. Ramen." She said, laying a hand across her forehead dramatically. "Sam, you're drinking coffee and eating a pastry right now" I said, laughing.  She looked down at the plate beside the register in mock surprise. "Huh, how about that. Miracles do happen." She shrugged, taking another bite of her treat. "So wha wuh it be fwankie boy?" She asked, spilling several crumbs as she spoke. I ordered my usual-- hazelnut latte, double shot, whipped cream-- and sat at the bar while she began to make it.

I stared out the window while I waited, watching the cars pass by. My thoughts retuned to Gerard again, and I desperately hoped he was okay, wherever he was. I was so deep in thought that I didn't register a pair of hands grabbing my shoulders and spinning my chair around until it was to late.