Latter Day Sinner

Chapter 12

Frank grinned and raised a hand in greeting as he approached his friends, sitting down between Damien and Daniel.

"Yeah, yeah. I told you I'd be here, didn't I?" He smirked. Mia rolled her eyes, leaning back on her elbows.

"You can't blame us for being worried, Frank. You've been AWOL for weeks," she pointed out. Frank glared at her. He found this comment particularly frustrating, because she knew damn well why he hadn't been there.
Of course, she couldn't say that, so he partially appreciated her dedication to the ruse.

Frank waved a hand dismissively, grabbing a can of coke from his bag and taking a long sip.

"Yeah, well. I'm here. So stop bein' lame," he chuckled, leaning back. The group seemed generally glad to have him there and, for a moment, he felt bad about having neglected him – if that's really what they thought. Sure, he'd had a legitimate reason, but this was nice. There was something very refreshing about being able to just be, without the fear of being caught, or trying to work out where he stood. He knew his friends loved him, and he knew that he belonged with them. That's something he knew that he'd never get with Gerard, even if they did take things further.
And that, of course, was a big 'if'. To take things 'further', that would imply that where they were was an actual defined location, which Frank wasn't entirely sure it was.

He felt very confused, then, and a little dazed, so he tried to ignore the thoughts.
Instead, he focused on the dim sunlight warming his cheeks, and the grins of his friends in the dying light.
They mattered to him, more than he could tell them. Gerard, for now, was remembered only by the occasional fluttering of a hummingbird trapped under his ribs.

Being away from Gerard for a whole week was unnerving to Frank. But what bothered him the very most was the break in routine. Normally he'd go to school, stop by Gerard's, and be back home for dinner. It was an easy pattern to live by – and a satisfying one, too. It meant he got the most out of his day.

Gerard was smart. Really smart. Smart enough that, if Frank had a homework problem, or needed something explained to him from class, he was the one to go to. He wasn't one for Math, Frank learned, but was proficient in Science and English. Not only that, but being a Priest, he was oddly good for moral guidance. It was a good arrangement – Frank got his company and guidance, and Gerard...
Well, Gerard got to be a teasing fuck. Obviously.

That's not to say, of course, that Frank was a wreck without the older man. Quite the opposite. He began to go to his friends' study sessions, which mainly involved sitting in someone's living room with cans of whatever on the table, trying not to get stains from their food on their unread textbooks.
There wasn't a hell of a lot of studying going on, granted, but it was fun nonetheless. Besides, with his studying sessions with Gerard, Frank knew a lot of it anyway, so he could partially justify his lack of concentration.

It was during one of these sessions that Frank found himself alone with Daniel for the first time since noticing his black eye. The bruise had faded, but he still seemed shaky and unusually quiet. So much so, that he actually jumped when Frank spoke to him suddenly.

"Hey, man, are you-

"I'm okay," he said firmly, not meeting his eyes. Frank swallowed and touched his shoulder, feeling his stomach knot when he flinched.

"I don't need you to tell me. I just...want you to know that you can, okay? No matter what. And if you need somewhere to crash, or anything like that-

"Thank you," Daniel mumbled softly. It seemed genuine, though, despite its shy delivery. Frank, understandably, was tempted to push him for answers, to try and work out what was happening. But he knew from experience that that wasn't any good. He just gave him an encouraging smile, squeezing his shoulder.
Daniel, for one, seemed to relax when he realised that Frank was going to drop the subject, which was enough of a reward that Frank didn't bring it up again.
Eventually, the rest of their friends filtered back into the room, and Frank ended the conversation with a knowing look and a smile.
His worry didn't go away, but Daniel seemed more at ease, which was a fair consolation prize.