Blaze The Butterflies

Lindsey was clearly an idiot 

“You don’t understand! Z, it’s not that kind of love” Frank whines because he thought that was obvious 

Lindsey frowns like it wasn’t obvious then looks like she is going to ask Frank what brand of crazy he is hooked up to but then she just stands up and starts waving about frantically 

“Hey!” she shouts “Gerard!”

Gerard looks up and Frank wishes he had a lunch to feign interest in because whoa okay he’s looking over. Frank forces every cool cell in his body to the surface in an attempt to look—well cool. 

“Yeah! You!” Lindsey ploys on mercilessly “Come sit with us”

Gerard frowns and considers her offer—demand—for a few moments before apparently deciding that there are worse things he could be doing and he gets up and starts over

“Oh my god I hate you” Frank hisses 

Lyn just smiles coyly and watches as Gerard makes his way over to the bench. When he sits down Frank almost feels like he’s about to interview him, or maybe interrogate him and oh okay not going down that path of thought.

“Welcome, Gerard” Lindsey says 

Gerard kind of glares a little less and nods, gloved hands resting lightly on the table “Um. Thank you?”

“I’m Frank” Frank says-- whilst trying not to fall over because it’s the first time he’s heard Gerard’s voice and he likes it-- earning himself a curt nod 

“How are you?” Lindsey asks and she and Frank stare deeply at Gerard until he answers 

“Okay?” the single word curves up into a question, Lindsey and Frank nod in unison, they’re expressions the deadpan the situation apparently calls for. 

“I’m Frank” Frank says again mainly because no one is paying any attention to him but also because his brain isn’t really running at full capacity right now so constructing sentences is hard.

Ha. Hard.

“Yes” says Gerard “I believe you”

Frank nods and doesn’t say it again 

“So Gerard,” Lindsey says, “You’re a senior” it’s not a question, not really but she arches her eyebrows in wait for Gerard to answer anyway.

“Correct” Gerard says but is forced to elaborate when Lindsey’s expression doesn’t change “just transferred” 

Lindsey and Frank stare some more 

“From Belleville” 

They both blink really slowly in that unison they got perfected in their first year of middle school when they decided they were going to be best friends 

“I was expelled?” Gerard looks uncomfortable “From my old... school”

“What did you do?” Frank asks and Gerard looks mildly shocked, maybe because he hadn’t realised that Frank could say anything more than his name. It would have been a fair assumption. 

“I’d rather not talk about it”

Frank supresses a groan because he is clearly just as pained as he previously assumed ugh and he and Lyn continue to sit and stare at Gerard for the rest of lunch

_

“I’m going to ask him out” Frank says

“Who?” Ray asks because Ray is not Lindsey and he does not understand the complexities of Frank’s mind “Ryan?”