Chalk Outline

8: Get Out Alive

Gerard didn't look anywhere near Frank and kept darting his eyes around the room, feeling extremely uncomfortable. "Why-why did you come down? I'm n-no fun at all." He chuckled weakly. "Y-you should be up there with M-mikey."

Frank shook his head again, "I came down here to be with you."

"Why..?"

"I don't need a reason, do I?" Frank murmured, shifting around on the mattress until satisfied with how he was sat, mostly though, he didn't know what to do and he needed to do something other than just sit in the awkward blanket of utter silence. Slowly, Gerard shook his head, biting his lip as he played with the hem of his shirt.

"I-I guess not..?"

Sighing, Frank decided to come out and say what he had wanted to say, and do, for a fair amount of time. Over the past few weeks, he had seen some things, bad things. He'd been a witness to Bert's abusive behaviour and lack of self control at parties when he had a beer in his system. He had stood and watched as Gerard would be used as a friend to do drugs with, to drink with and his body was used for meaningless sex with a certain someone, who Frank had detested since he had layed eyes on him. From the moment he had sensed something wrong with the two singer's relationship, he should have stepped in. But he didn't. Because he was scared. Frank had been scared of screwing his friendship up by saying the wrong words. Now, all he could think of, was saying the right words. The right words mattered a lot in this particular situation and Frank wasn't going to chuck the opportunity away.

So, with out any more stalling, Frank sucked in a deep breath, looking Gerard right in the eyes. "I need you to trust me." He whispered, reaching out and taking Gerard's hand in his. "I need you to tell me the truth. I need to see what he's done to you."

"H-he hasn't-"

Shaking his head, Frank cut him off, "I know, Gee. I know you come home in tears some nights, I know you wince every time you move a certain way, I know you keep all of this hidden away because you're afraid." He paused, letting his words sink in.

Gerard only stared at their interlocked hands, tracing one of Frank's tattoos with his finger, listening intently to what he had to say. By now, his heart was racing at a million miles per hour, but he tried to remain calm on the outside. There was no point in denying it all now. He knew Bert was going to be mad. He knew it was all going to crumble around him. Plus, this time, Frank was on the line too. And that was what he had been trying to avoid.

Frank continued, "all the times I've stood by and watched are moments of regret. I should have stepped in. I should have helped. And, for that, I'm sorry, Gee."

"I-its not your fault." Gerard whispered. "I know h-he doesn't mean it. It's not that bad..." He trailed off at seeing Frank's expression change completely from sympathetic to angry.

"Not that bad?" He scoffed, sighing deeply and swallowing the hatred he held for Bert. It wasn't a torch he had in Bert's favour, it was a fucking fire that was fuelled by the fact he despised the singer from The Used so much. What he had done was unforgivable.

The bastard had manipulated Gerard for far too long, it would take years for Gerard to be back to the way he was. Back to the sarcastic, kind, sweet, outgoing person Frank had previously known him to be. Though, things might not ever be the same again. Gerard might not fully recover, but Frank just wanted him to be okay. And he was going to stay with the black haired boy through all of it. All. Of. It. Frank wasn't going to turn his back on Gerard and call him helpless.

"Gee, he's hit you, he's gotten you addicted to dangerous substances, he's gotten you wasted and while you were out cold, he had used you..." His voice cracked. Frank scratched the back of his head uncomfortably, looking up at Gerard, who had his eyes cast downwards, hair over his pale face and his hand was squeezing Frank's so tightly, he could have cut off the blood circulation. But, Frank couldn't have cared less about that in those moments. "I want to help." He stated, receiving a single nod in return.

"I-I want to get clean." Gerard admitted, nearly inaudibly, letting out a deep breath he'd been holding in. Anxiously, he raked his slender fingers through his hair, all of the bad thoughts invading his mind, bullying all of the good thoughts to remaining unknown to him. "Bert... H-he'll-"

"Don't worry about Bert." Frank interrupted, smiling a little as he tucked Gerard's hair behind his ear so he could see his hazel eyes. "Mikey's taking care of that problem right now."

The singer's breathing hitched and he snapped his head up to look at Frank. "Wh-what do you mean?" He gulped, rubbing one eye with his free hand.

"He contacted the police. Don't worry. He never mentioned your name, only the fact that Bert had drugs. The police would be in the middle of a drugs bust right now." He explained, earning a relieved sigh from Gerard. The smallest smile spread across his lips as he felt tears flood his eyes. And, for once, he wasn't crying because he was sad. He was crying because a weight had been lifted from his shoulders, a bad person had been expelled from his life. Now he had a chance at a happier ending to his twisted fairy tale. Frank couldn't help but smile as well, seating himself properly beside Gerard, putting his arms around him as the black haired boy buried his head in the crook of Frank's neck.

"Thank you." He whispered contently, shoving away the bad thoughts one by one. Staring off in to the darkness of the basement, Gerard furrowed his brows. Had he heard Frank correctly? "What..?"

"I said... Can I see them? C-can I take a look at what he's done? I need to know nothing is too serious." Frank repeated, feeling Gerard grip on to his shirt worriedly, shaking his head against Frank's chest. "Please?" He stressed, gently holding his friend at arm's length now.

Slowly, hesitantly, and certainly reluctantly, Gerard nodded, regretting he had done as soon as he did. He didn't want Frank to see what a mess his body was. He didn't want to feel even more embarrassed and ashamed of himself than he already did. Sending a reassuring small smile at Gerard, Frank started to unbutton the singer's shirt, watching as Gerard shivered and shook under his touch. He tried to be as gentle as possible while removing Gerard's well worn shirt from his bony shoulders.

"I'm sorry." The guitarist said instantly when Gerard winced, closing his eyes. As Gerard turned around so his back was facing him, Frank gasped quietly at the purple, yellow and blue bruises that were scattered on his friend's back, at the marks he had, at the severity of it all. "Gee, you should have told someone. Anyone. Me, Mikey, Ray, or even Bob. Someone should have known about this." He paused, scowling. "I swear to god, I'm gonna kill Bert."

"Frank, it's o-okay now. You said it yourself. H-he's being sent away. Isn't he?"

Frank nodded, "yeah, he is. You won't have to see him anymore." He got up, walked over to Gerard's wardrobe and searched around for something comfortable for him to wear. They were going to sort out his scars later, for now, Frank just wanted to hold the black haired boy in his arms and tell him it's okay until he believed it. Pulling a plain t-shirt off of the hanger and a soft hoodie to go with it, the guitarist wandered back over to Gerard, passed him the clothes, then sat down, sitting on the side of the bed that was next to the wall. When Gerard was dressed, Frank patted the space beside him, meaning for his friend to lie down with him. Which he did. The singer pressed his body up against Frank, who draped his arm over Gerard's waist, holding him close.

They remained silent for several minutes, enjoying each others company, until Gerard spoke up in a weak voice. "Do you-do you think I-I'll get better..?"

Frank thought about it for a moment. Of course, it would take time, it would take patience and support. But, he was sure Gerard was going to get better. He was sure the black haired boy was strong enough to get clean, to sober up and to climb out from the hole he had dug himself in to. They were going to take some time away from the band. Frank was going to focus on helping his best friend. So, with a hopeful smile, he answered simply, truthfully,

"yes, I do."

{finished 28 October 2017}