(A/n)
This is based on Grease, but I actually don't remember what it went like, exactly, and I just feel gender envy towards Danny Zuko
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"You're cute, you know that?" I grin as leaning in, having fun in watching how Frank's cheeks immediately grow red, but he doesn't pull away, only bringing a hand to support himself as leaning back against the sand.
"Fuck off, I'm very much punk rock and not cute," he replies, looking at me from under his eyelashes in a way that has my heart fluttering. "Whatever, you should at least be thankful that I'm nice to you!" He raises his eyebrows smugly and doesn't even give me the chance to express my indignation before pressing his lips to mine.
I don't complain. Deepening the kiss, I play with Frank's lip ring with my teeth, teasing it enough to receive a pleased hum from him before a hand is placed against the back of my neck, pulling me closer while his tongue glides over my lower lip.
We are eventually forced to stop in order to breathe, though none of us open our eyes. The gentle touch of our eyelashes brushing together, lips still barely touching, and feeling each other's breathing heavy due to a mutual urgency brings this warmth to my chest that's quickly pulled down by melancholy in the moment I remember how the summer is going by fast. It's inevitable letting it show as I pull away and cup Frank's face, watching him leaning into the touch softly, eyes fluttering shut. He brings a hand to hold mine.
Frank looks beautiful under the sunset, even more with the breeze coming from the sea sending some of his strands of hair flying. I hate being in love.
"So, Belleville, it is?" I question, wrapping my free hand around his hip and tracing lightly the visible parts of his tattoos that poke from under the waistband of his black swimming shorts. He seems to like it.
"New York, it is?" The question comes back in the same tone along with a raised eyebrow.
I grunt in response, sighing defeated. For a moment, I only observe him bring our hands down to his lap and intertwine our fingers together. "I mean, that could work, right? Just a few hours of distance."
"Dunno." Frank's eyebrows furrow a bit, eyes falling to our hands. "The problem isn't us, specifically, it's just that... Damn, it hurts to be away from each other and shit. Calls, texts – all of this just isn't the same." He pauses, giving my hand a light squeeze. "I am sorry."
"It's okay," I whisper, leaning in to press a kiss to his neck and resting my head on his shoulder.
~
Smoke slowly melts away into the air after I blow the last drag of the cigarette I was having and throw the stump to the bleacher's seat, crushing it against the surface with the heel of my boot before pushing it towards one of the gaps.
Feeling the cold breeze of the morning against my face is actually very pleasing, even if I'm not a fan of the school myself. There's something calming about being here, maybe due to the familiarity, but even hearing the incoherent talk and cheers coming from the students running across the field gives me this feeling. Here you can see how the summer break really did do good to me because I would never be saying something like this under normal conditions.
"Ay, (y/n)!" My name being called makes me turn around and I can't help but to crack a grin in the moment I see Gerard climbing up the bleachers' seats, Ray right behind him.
"My man!" I pull Gerard for a quick hug and greet Ray with a high-five, smiling at the two. "So? How was your break? I see you did make a change again," I say in appreciation, nodding towards the yet again dyed black hair, which's longer than when I last saw him.
"Of course!" Gerard raises his eyebrows, tucking his hands in his jacket's pockets. "'Needed to, huh! But let me tell you, I did get some good money from work this season! We might be able to buy a car this time! To be honest, I already have an eye on one and we might be able to grab it if Mikey agrees too!"
Ray scoffs, shaking his head. "Gerard, you talk about that sardine can like if it was a limousine."
"Well, it's used," Gerard breathes in defeat, scratching the back of his head. "But..."
"Man, we literally work in a mechanical," I tell Ray in an attempt of defending Gerard even though I'm not completely sure about all of it because Gerard's sense of 'new' and 'useful' tends to be very questionable. "If it works, we might be able to make the necessary changes." I shrug, leaning back against the railing.
My words make Gerard shoot a look at Ray, a smirk lingering on his lips. All Ray does is to exhale, shaking his head to himself. "Please only say anything after seeing the trash can."
A groan comes from Gerard along with a heavy roll of eyes through which anger is suppressed. "And you, (y/n)?" His voice still sounds tense as he forces a smile, changing the subject, much to Ray's disdain, much to his frustration. "'Heard you went in a trip?" He raises an eyebrow, joining me by the railing and glancing back at the students passing by, heading to the field. Ray opts to sit down a few feet away from us, lighting himself a cigarette.
"Oh, and what a trip!" I grin at the thought, feeling my heart flutter only at the thought.
Ray raises an eyebrow at me. "Yeah? What happened in that trip?" Both he and Gerard share a look before looking at me with the same expression that doesn't fail in making me grin unintentionally, embarrassed with all the sudden attention.
"Well, 'met a boy as cute as can be," I start, trying to distract myself from the pressure of their waiting gazes by observing a few girls running around the field. "Nearly drowned because of a cramp, but I could help."
"Tell me more," Gerard breathes an amused chuckle, but not even a glare coming from me can erase that stupid look away from his face.
"We went to the arcade, strolling, drank lemonade. Nothing much," I say with a sigh, letting myself dive into the memories at least a little bit. They still feel so real, like if the reality of life going back to normal hasn't touched me yet. "'Made out under the dock, stayed out until late, y'know."
"Doesn't sound like nothing much," Ray mocks maliciously.
"Hurry up and tell us everything," Gerard says impatiently, clearly having fun in watching me melting at thoughts. "But you don't gotta brag," he teases.
It's too much. I need to pause, letting out a giggle out of impulse, before inhaling deeply to recompose myself. "Okay, then, he got friendly, there was all the hand holding and, y'know..." I shrug, not really wanting to tell them everything, even if there's nothing bad. "Then summer ended, that's it... I told him we'd still be friends." My lips curl up into another smile against my will, but it's a genuine one – the nervousness bubbling in my stomach isn't necessarily bad, still, I look away from the two, staring at the distance. "I wonder what he's doing now."
After school is over – in a day that passed by rather quick if you consider most of the time was spent organizing the students and accommodating the new ones –, Gerard invited me to come along to watch some sort of stupid thing celebrating the new school year in the school's parking lot. A great opportunity to put the talk up to date, I guess.
"And that's the walking trash I told you," Ray says casually as motioning over to the car. I raise an eyebrow, unamused, watching Gerard sink his foot down on the accelerator.
"This car sounds like a dying goose."
Laughter comes from Ray and Mikey in the same time while Gerard looks at me pleadingly, recognizing his last hope went down the drain. My lack of reaction earns a huff from him as he jumps out of the car, trying to keep the cool as he leans back against it and digs into his jeans' pocket. "You guys are just stupid," he says, words coming out a bit distorted due to needing to hold the cigarette between his lips while lighting it.
"If Danzig actually wants to help us, then it might work," I say with a sigh, wondering if the workshop's owner will give us a hand. Again.
"Only if we offer a season of free job," Mikey teases and all of us laugh despite knowing the painful truth.
"C'mon, don't be like that!" I try to lighten up the mood a bit, at least for Gerard's sake because we've been practically crushing his hopes since early in the morning. "You know we can make it up for him in other ways. Man, he literally paid us to race in that shitty car of his that one time! It was more than a week of work at once!"
"At what cost?" Mikey raises an eyebrow at me. "That shit would've exploded with us in it if we weren't fast enough," he says, but none of us give him much attention, showing how I've really proved a point because even Ray doesn't complain. A sigh comes from Mikey as he rolls his eyes, shaking his head lightly to himself. "Whatever, I'll grab a drink, okay? Any of you want any?" He asks, though not insisting to hear the replies before walking away.
The silence falls around us and things are quite peaceful, with this pleasant feeling remaining buzzing in my chest. I'm glad to be back.
Other groups of students hang around, gathered by their cars or doing something like the cheer leaders jumping around or allowing themselves to get to know the school better. Low music plays in the background, coming from the speakers in the field, and it contributes for the comforting atmosphere even if not being the best kind of music out there.
My thoughts inevitably fall back to the summer break.
"And there's that happy little smile along with that damn lovesick sigh," Ray's voice cuts sharp through my thoughts, what almost has me genuinely throwing a fist to his jaw if it wasn't for the frustration being stronger.
"Fuck off," I breathe, the sting in my chest hurting more than it should've.
"Poor baby!" Gerard pouts despite actually demonstrating to care about my feelings, wrapping an arm around me for a side hug Ray rolls his eyes at, so I don't bother holding back a smug glare, leaning lightly into Gerard. "But don't worry, things have just started again! We can easily find someone new to fix that sweet little heart of yours with—"
"There they are!" A voice calls, interrupting Gerard and attracting our attention to Pete's gang approaching us; Mikey is with them. Their smirks tell me something is up.
"Long time no see," I greet with a lazy grin.
It's not that I don't like them, but they can be a pain in the ass.
"Cut off the cheesiness," Pete breathes a chuckle, tossing his cigarette to the ground before crushing it.
"Actually, we've got a surprise for you, (l/n)!" Brendon shoots me a look before stepping aside just in time for someone to be thrown out from the middle of the group of people. Everyone amusedly watches them stumbling forward, cursing frantically under their breath, but both of us freeze in the moment we look at each other.
Frank. It's Frank.
His bottom lip trembles a bit before he cracks a grin, wide eyes observing me in pure disbelief, and I bet his heart must be hammering in his chest almost as hard as mine, in a level that has me questioning if my chest is strong enough to hold it in place.
"(Y/n)," Frank finally cries out, cheeks gaining a red tone.
"Frank, damn— What are you doing here? Wouldn't you return to Jersey?" I can't ease the smile away from my lips as gazing at him, washed over by an immense happiness. I'm about to reach for his hands, barely able to fight the urge of touching him, when I become aware of where we are and all the attention we are receiving and, fuck, choosing between your popularity and a summer love can be fucking difficult.
"Change of plans!"
"That's—" The word is caught in my throat at the weight of all the curious eyes observing me intently, so I force myself to look away from Frank first because there's no way in hell I'm able to tell him this while looking at him in the eyes. "Well, that's cool, babe, wherever that shit is. Good for you." I shrug with a chuckle as glancing back at the guys, who grow entertained by how lost Frank starts seeming.
There's a pause, with Frank's expression falling a bit as he looks at me. "...(Y/n)?"
"That's my name, don't wear it out."
"What... What's the matter with you?" He furrows his eyebrows and that sparkle of annoyance rising goes straight to my fucking heart.
"What's the matter with me?" I spit back because I hate this feeling, I just want all of this to be over, and now I even wonder if Frank being here is actually a good thing or not. "What's the matter with you?"
"That's not the (y/n) I met back then!" His hands are clutched into fists by his sides.
"Maybe there's two of us, huh? Try looking in the yellow pages," I crack a chuckle, but it's nothing above forced. I avert my eyes away from Frank again, relieving myself a bit – or at least trying to – with the way the rest of the guys also chuckle along with me, despite genuinely.
Frank is frozen for a moment and I can see all the indignation turning into a mess of desperate feelings that leave him without reaction, shaking his head to himself, before finally being able to open his mouth. "You're a fucking idiot, dipshit, half-assed greaser I wished I'd never laid my eyes on!" He makes sure of articulating every word and takes my lighter away from my hand to toss it as far as possible. Mikey actually goes after Frank when he starts stomping away furiously, what's surprising, but none of us say anything about it.
The way the guys react with a teasing ooh is reduced to an irrelevant detail in the background as I watch Frank leaving. Guilt smashes my chest with no mercy and, to be honest, I do deserve it.
Brendon is probably the only one aware of the change in my mood, a weird smirk lingering on his lips while he nudges the others for them to leave.
"Aye, (y/n)!" My name being called brings me back to reality, making me notice I've taken a few steps towards the way Frank went to. "C'mon, we going to grab a few drinks," Gerard calls from the car and I just sigh, nodding as I go after them.
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