Bubblegum boy
This is a special Valentine's Day oneshot dedicated to my beautiful memelord, @AMadWholockian. You're adorable as hell and I fuckin love you <3
And to all my lovely skittle squishies: Happy Valentine's Day! I probably already say it enough, but I love each and every one of you so much. You're fabulous, okay?
Now! The fic. Please ignore Gerard's complete lack of morals and reason. You know you would act the same if Frank Iero kissed you.
Read on, my pretzels. Read on.
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The words had been spiteful, but the kiss was real.
Frank's fingers dug into the flesh of Gerard's hips through his school shirt, harsh and sharp as he kissed him. He pushed Gerard back against the bleachers, a little violently, but Gerard didn't care. He clutched feebly at Frank's lapels, clinging to what he could of this precious moment, knowing that once this was over, Frank would hate him again and Gerard would have to hate him back.
Frank's kisses had turned unexpectedly soft; the dominance and intensity of moments before apparently abandoned. His grip on Gerard's hips loosened, and his hands slid up to wrap around his waist. Gerard was struggling to breathe, still in shock, too overwhelmed, too scared. As soon as this kiss ended, he was dead for sure.
Frank pulled back and Gerard feared for his life, but instead of punching him or shouting a slur then marching away, Frank rested his forehead against Gerard's, breathing heavily but steadily. Gerard could feel his breath warm on his face, hot on his mouth. He smelled like bubblegum. Gerard kept his eyes closed, too scared to face the boy who stood so close to him, and Frank ran his hands down Gerard's sides.
Gerard could have stayed like that, breathing Frank in and just letting him run his hands down his body, but soon Frank was kissing him again, slowly and carefully and only a little bit wet, just skimming his tongue over Gerard's mouth.
When they broke apart this time, Gerard managed to open his eyes. Frank had a hardened expression on his face, his jaw set and his eyes cold. He pressed his face into Gerard's neck. "Nobody," he murmured in a low voice against Gerard's skin, "nobody is to know about this."
Gerard nodded shakily. "I won't tell."
Frank pulled back slightly. "If anyone hears about this, you're dead, clear?"
"C-clear."
"Cos I'm not a fag, and I don't want rumours getting around."
Gerard choked on a breath. He kind of felt like... not like his heart was breaking, as such, but... more like it was just sort of draining out. "Then- then why did you kiss me?" Gerard asked timidly.
Frank said nothing. He gave Gerard a shove. "You just keep your fucking mouth shut, alright? And maybe we keep doing this." Frank shook his head. "I don't know. It was okay."
Gerard paused, not sure what to do, then nodded feebly.
Frank kissed his cheek, gave him another shove against the bleachers, and walked away.
——
They met under the bleachers every day after school from then on.
Frank would insult Gerard, and Gerard would take it. He would take everything that Frank gave him. He would take his cruel words and abuse because then he would kiss Gerard, and Frank's lips made every bad word dissipate into nothing.
But this was only after school. In the day, Frank would ignore Gerard. Gerard did just the opposite. Gerard would watch Frank from the back of art class. He'd watch him running track and he'd watch him in music. Fuck, music was torture. Watching him completely losing himself in his songs, hands swift on the strings of his guitar and mouth slack with ecstasy. Gerard could get off to that. Well. He did.
Frank was beautiful, but he was torture.
The hardest thing was seeing him with his friends. He was so relaxed with them, always laughing. Gerard wished he could make Frank laugh, just once. But Frank hated him. They were polar opposites. Frank had friends. He did sports, and actually succeeded at them. He liked normal things- he didn't spend his time drawing zombies beating people to a pulp and then eating them. But most importantly: Frank was a bully.
He insulted kids like Gerard. He kicked them around and beat them up. But Gerard was addicted to Frank. He was gorgeous, he was smart and sweet (around the right people), and Gerard just wanted him.
Maybe a little part of Frank wanted him too. He couldn't tell. But why else would he kiss him in the middle of a violent confrontation? When Frank lunged at him for the first time, he had expected to be tackled to the floor and kicked to death, but instead he was met with Frank's mouth on his, Frank's hands pinning him back against the bleachers.
Maybe it was just that Frank hated him so much he needed an even more physical way to show it than punching. Gerard hoped it wasn't that, cos with the amount of kissing they'd been doing, Frank would have to really fucking despise him.
——
It was nearly dark outside and they were by the bleachers again, Frank's mouth on Gerard's neck and Gerard's hands clutching at his shirt. Gerard was making these noises, these little moans, trying to hold them back but failing pathetically. Frank was stroking a hand through his hair, and Gerard wasn't sure whether it was to try and quieten him down or just a gentle, comforting gesture.
"I was thinking about you," Frank mumbled against Gerard's neck in a husky voice, "thinking about you last night."
"You were?" Gerard choked.
"You're real pretty, you know," Frank whispered. "Wish everyone else could see that."
"Pretty," Gerard echoed. "Pretty?"
Frank kissed his ear. "Mm."
"Oh," Gerard said weakly.
"I see you in class sometimes, looking at me," he murmured. "You look sad."
Gerard kept silent. He didn't know what to say to that.
"Wish I could make you smile again," Frank sighed.
"You can," Gerard said quietly.
They kissed again, lighter, slower than before. Frank was sliding his hands up the back of Gerard's shirt again, but Gerard was distracted. "It's Valentine's Day on Saturday," he mumbled.
Frank pulled back. "Yeah. I got plans with Hannah George."
Gerard swallowed. This time it didn't feel like his heart was draining out. It felt like all the blood from his body was seeping away. "But. I, um."
"Don't tell me you thought this meant anything," Frank said.
Gerard shied in on himself. "I just-"
"I'm not a fag," Frank snapped. "Just cos I think you're pretty doesn't mean I'm a fucking homo."
"Okay," Gerard said in a small voice. "I just. I like you is all."
Frank glared at him. He shoved Gerard in the shoulder, and stalked away.
——
They hadn't spoken since then. Gerard had abandoned waiting for Frank after school out of terror that if he did turn up, he would beat Gerard to a bloody pulp not unlike in one of his zombie drawings. There was the point to be made that Frank hadn't actually hurt him since they'd started meeting after school, but Gerard was still too scared. He'd been naïve about things like this before, and it had always resulted in him getting beaten up.
Thursday afternoon, the boys were all changing after gym. As per usual, Gerard was hiding in the corner, changing as quickly as possible to avoid anyone seeing any part of his flesh. He totally hadn't been watching Frank changing, and he also totally hadn't been eavesdropping on his conversation. He just happened to catch sight of Frank half-naked and just so happened to also hear every word he said to his friends.
"Hey, man, good job with Hannah," Pete said. "She's hot."
Frank hummed nonchalantly, pulling his shirt over his head. "She was the one who asked me out," he shrugged. "I don't really wanna go."
Bob spluttered. "What the fuck? Hannah George is the sexiest girl in the school. No one on this planet would say no to her."
"Dude, he's right," Ray said. "What's up with that?"
"I don't know," Frank muttered, shrugging again. "I'd rather be with someone else, I guess." He shook his head. "I dunno."
Ray raised his eyebrows. "Who?"
Frank busied himself with shoving his sweater in his bag, refusing to make eye contact with his friends. "No one."
"Seriously, come on," Pete said. "It's not like we're gonna laugh. Remember when Ray had a crush on that ugly nerd from science class? We didn't laugh at him then, and man, she was one ugly chick."
"We didn't laugh in front of him," Bob said observationally. "As soon as he left, you laughed so hard you nearly cried."
"Just tell us," Ray said. "I won't laugh at you, at least." He shot a look at Pete.
Frank slung his bag over his shoulder. "It's nothing."
Pete rolled his eyes. "Whatever you say, dude. But if you do change your mind about Hannah, can I go on the date instead?"
——
Friday was hell. Everyone was handing out Valentines cards, giggling, showing off their presents to their friends. Gerard had neither a valentine, nor presents, nor friends. It was more than a little depressing.
He did manage to make it the whole day without getting shoved in a locker, which was pretty cool, but that was basically his only achievement. It almost could have passed as a good day, but he was kicked in the back and called a freak on his way out of school at the end of the day. The breath was knocked out of him and he had to clutch at the lockers to stay standing.
A group of girls walking by laughed at him, and one threw a handful of candy hearts at him, shrieking "No one loves you!" as she disappeared out the door. The girls' obnoxious cackling echoed in his head long after they had walked away.
Gerard let his head hit the lockers behind him, and he slid down to the floor, feeling tears prick his eyes. He cried, knowing he wouldn't be able to stop himself if he tried, and it wasn't until about twenty minutes later that he actually brought himself to stand up again.
He left school with his hood up and his stringy hair covering his tear streaked face, and his heart sank when he heard Frank and his friends talking outside.
There were still a lot of other kids outside, hanging around with their friends or waiting for buses and parents, and Gerard almost got away unnoticed. But of course, of course Pete stupid fucking Wentz pointed him out to Frank, and Frank jogged over. "Gerard-"
"Look," Gerard said, fighting to keep his voice even. "I've had a crappy day, and all the popular kids think I'm a joke. I don't need shit from you too. Just leave me alone."
"Gerard, I-"
"Leave me al-"
Frank cut him off with a kiss. In front of all his friends. In front of the whole school.
Gerard just sort of flailed at first, shocked and confused, but Frank was sure and confident, his hands firm and comforting on Gerard's waist, and he soon relaxed at the touch. It was a pretty intense kiss, and Gerard wasn't really sure how long they'd been standing there when they broke apart. Everything was kind of a mess in his mind.
He was too shellshocked to speak, and only just managed to listen to what Frank was saying.
"I cancelled my date with Hannah," Frank mumbled. "Pete's going instead." Gerard looked up at Pete, who was staring rather bewilderedly at Frank. Gerard was distracted by this, and it took him a few moments to realise that Frank was trying to put something into his hand. He looked down. It was a piece of bubblegum. "Happy valentines," Frank muttered. "This is all I have."
Gerard took the bubblegum and stared at it. "You're not gay," Gerard murmured, recalling Frank's rather violent earlier words.
"I dunno," Frank muttered, shaking his head. "It doesn't matter. I know I like you, whatever I am."
He paused, and kissed Gerard again. Gerard clutched at his shirt, kissing back this time, but they broke apart only seconds later. Frank gave Gerard a little shove. "I'll see you Monday," he said. "By the bleachers."
Gerard nodded, and smiled shyly at Frank.
Frank smiled back. "Happy valentines, Gerard. I guess someone out there does love you." And with that, he walked away.
—— —— —— ——
i couldn't resist that slightly obscure mcr reference there lmao i'm trash
xoxo