Romantic Notions (Frerard)

Two: Chance Encounters

"Gerard, you've got to put yourself out there more!" Lindsey said in frustration, animatedly talking with her hands. She was walking back and forth in front of his desk, her boots softly thumping on the carpeted floor of his office.

"I don't see the point, Lindsey. I'm content with the way my life is now," Gerard calmly replied, the keys clicking softly as he continued to type as she talked. "Why jeopardize that by searching for something more that isn't even necessary?"

"How are you still so convincing even when I know you're wrong?" Lindsey said in disbelief, a bewildered smile on her face as she sagged into one of the chairs opposite Gerard's desk.

"I'm an author, Lindsey," the blonde man chuckled, an amused smirk curving his lips. "Persuasion is half of my skill set."

Lindsey just shook her head at him, watching how his fingers flew over the keyboard as she dismissed his ridiculous side of the argument.

"I suppose I should let you get back to work..." she dramatically sighed, her footsteps dragging as she made her way to the door.

"Yes, you should," Gerard flatly replied, though a grin curved his lips. His sentence did hold true, somewhat, for even though he did greatly enjoy Lindsey's company, she had distracted him quite a bit. He was behind by at least a half an hour's worth of work, and he really wasn't keen on staying late tonight. He'd promised Mitch he'd be home around nine, and even though he was just a cat, Mitch had quite the understanding of time and promises.

Gerard did not want to have to deal with a moody cat tonight.

"Oh, hush. You know you love me," Lindsey retaliated, a grin of her own crooking her mouth.

"Yeah, yeah," Gerard muttered, shooing her out of his office. "Now, go on, I've got a lot of work to do."

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It was almost 9:30 when Gerard finally locked up his office, his shoulders tiredly sagging as he made his way down the long hallway towards the entrance of the building. He'd had to stay much later than he'd originally anticipated, knowing he'd have an angry Mitch to deal with when he finally got home.

Everyone else had left the building hours ago, the entire place silent except for the quiet sounds of the janitors mopping the linoleum. His shoes squeaked on the damp floors, the sound grating to the blonde man's ears. He was tempted to just take off his shoes and put them back on in the lobby, but was halted by the distant sound of someone singing.

The voice wasn't the loveliest he'd ever heard, but the somewhat rasping quality of it just appealed to him even more. He paused to listen to it, pretending to be answering a text on his phone in case one of the janitors wandered by and saw him just standing in the middle of the hallway.

The dark grey color of his coat helped him blend in with the shadows, the singing man not noticing Gerard at first when he turned the corner and entered the same hallway.

The moonlight hit the man absolutely perfectly, the pale glow illuminating his face and glinting off the slim silver ring through his lip. Gerard's breathing faltered upon seeing him, his heart skipping a beat completely when their eyes met.

"Oh, uh, hello. I didn't realize anyone was still here," the short man said embarrassedly, a bright blush tinting his cheeks as he pulled his earbuds out of his ears and shoved them in a pants' pocket.

"Yeah, sorry if I embarrassed you," Gerard apologized, a friendly smile curving his lips. He had no idea who this man could possibly be, but he was already mildly infatuated with him. "I just liked listening to you sing."

"Me? No, I'm not that good..." the man replied, dismissively waving his hand. Gerard caught sight of the many tattoos there, his attraction growing even more. "I'm Frank, by the way. I work in the mailroom."

"Nice to meet you, I'm G--James," Gerard replied, almost slipping up and introducing himself by his real name.

"James Amour? The novelist?" Frank asked in surprise, appraisingly looking Gerard up and down. "You look different than I'd expected."

"What did you expect?" Gerard asked, a hint of defensiveness in his tone. The way Frank had said it was what bothered Gerard, as if he was disappointed in the author's actual appearance.

"Dark hair, for one," Frank chuckled, a hint of embarrassment apparent in the way the corners of his mouth quirked into a crooked smile. "And glasses."

"I can understand the dark hair... A lot of romance authors like to incorporate themselves into at least one of the main characters, and mine do often tend to have darker hair..." Gerard replied, a small smile curving his lips once again. "But why glasses?"

"Just an impression I'd had of you," Frank shrugged, a slight blush rising on his cheeks. "Though you certainly do fit the 'tall, dark, and handsome' persona."

"First impressions can be deceiving," Gerard said with a wink, Frank blushing even harder at that statement.

"Well, um, it's getting late, and, uh, I have to deliver all this mail before I can go home..." Frank said a little awkwardly, gesturing to the mail cart that was still practically full. "I never knew office buildings could be so confusing."

"Right, of course. Have a nice night, Frank," Gerard replied with a forced smile, not wanting their conversation to be cut off so quickly. He enjoyed Frank's company quite a bit for someone he'd just barely met, and he certainly wanted to get to know him better.

He gave a small little wave before starting down the hallway again, cringing when he heard the annoying squeak of his shoes on the linoleum again.

"James, wait!" Frank called after him, the blonde man turning around in surprise. "Um, all of this is for you."

He handed Gerard the thick stack of envelopes, at least twenty letters in his grip. He smiled when he met Gerard's eyes, taking the blonde man's breath away again.

"I hope to see you around," Frank said as he began pushing his cart down the hallway once again, pulling his earbuds from his pocket and sticking one in his ear.

"I hope to see you, too," Gerard replied with a smile, something stirring inside his chest that he hadn't truly felt in a long time. It was something he'd fabricated countless times in his novels, but someone else hadn't inspired this feeling within him since he was a teenager in high school.

Gerard was already beginning to develop a sort of crush on Frank, and he really didn't know what to do with himself.

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Woohoo look at me go another chapter already

-Bren xo