Gerard's POV
I was chewing on my nails, wearing my boxers and a tank top as I tried to decide what to wear. It was about a half of a month into camp, roughly a little under 3 weeks, and there was already this stupid dance. Mandatory. I sighed and picked up the button up, sliding it on and putting the little black buttons through the holes on the left. I knew this was going to happen, hence the dress clothes, but I didn't know it was so soon. The best part to add was that the girls from across the lake were coming to our campgrounds for it.
Here is the thing, it was not that I was scared of girls by any means. It was that I was scared that someone would be confident enough to approach me, when in fact, I was not confident in meeting someone new. I checked my slight makeup, nodding a little as it looked exceptional, checked my breath, and then tried to see if I went overboard on the cologne. To my knowledge, I hadn't. I slipped on the dress pants that I had, doing the same with my dress shoes. I looked like a well put together gentleman.
I heard the call for the dance to start, feeling nervous again as I heard the halls flood with teen boys who were longing to even glance at a girl at this point. Trust me, I know, the walls weren't that thick. Sadly, my neighbors really didn't like slowing down any. After hearing the hall clear out, I grabbed my key and left the safety of my room, locking my door. I walked to the mess hall, where the dance was being held, and immediately felt a wave of anxiety as I saw boys and girls already dancing.
I clung to the wall as I walked to the punch, getting myself a cup and kissing my eardrums goodbye as the loud music was already starting to hurt my ears. I went to the corner where it was deafened a bit as I sipped on some punch. It had the taste of watermelon with the carbonation of Sprite, enjoying the tingling in my mouth as I tried to blend into the wall. Geez, as if it wasn't bad enough, the playlist was just a bunch of sucky pop music that you'd hear constantly on the radio nowadays.
Well, the hits just kept coming when I saw a girl, a very tall, mature, raven-haired girl coming my way. I felt my hands trembling, hoping that she really wasn't coming my way and she happened to walk in my general direction. Probably to grab some punch, but also scooting past the people that were sprawled out everywhere. But oh, woe is my luck for it does not exist and she stopped right in front of me. I gulped, trying to keep my composure as she stood in the proximity of my nervousness.
Well, at that moment, I don't think she could even get a word out when my hand was grabbed by a... Familiar tattooed hand. "Gerard! Dude, I have been looking for you. Oh- do you mind, miss?" Frank asked, acknowledging the flustered girl beside him. She shook her head, scurrying away and regrouping with some of her friends across the room. They all looked in my direction, but I looked away and looked at Frank who still had his hand gripping my wrist ever so gently.
Frank did eventually let go, flashing me his trademark smile as he stood before me. I took a minute to take in what he was wearing, a white button-up with a simple red tie, which almost looked like mine, black slacks that matched his shoes that he hadn't worn before. "Sorry for scaring off your game, I was just excited to have finally found you in this crowd," He told me, gesturing with his eyes to the teens amongst ourselves. "Don't apologize, I should be thanking you honestly," I told him, taking a sip of my punch and relaxing a little against the wall.
"Do you wanna sit outside? The music is too much," Frank told me, kind of with his voice raised to prove his point. I nodded, wanting to get out of the hot room and get to somewhere more open. I started to follow him, seeing that girl walking over to me again. I shook it off, taking Frank's hand and rushing him out the door. I went to the table that sat outside, sitting down with my drink and relishing the fresh air. I saw the sun that was so close to setting and then soon enough, it would be the cut-off to curfew.
"So, you don't like parties much I'm assuming?" Frank asked, chuckling as he sipped on his drink. "Well, you could say that, but really, I'm just anxious because there are a whole lot of chances for me to get approached by confident women. I don't know how to talk to them," I confessed, shaking my head as I sipped on my punch again. "I also hate that they didn't give us any warning until a few hours ago that the girls were coming," I told him, seeing him nod as he put his half-empty cup on the table. "Well, I agree, I think they should have given better time to prepare," He responded, smiling a little as he looked up from his cup.
"Yeah, thanks for getting me out though, I don't think I would have lasted the whole dance before I snuck out," I whispered, smiling back as he nodded. "What are friends for," He told me, taking another sip of his punch. "Hey, tell you what, you stay out here, I'll nab some snacks and we can stay solo until the party inside is over?" Frank proposed, though he really did seem like he said it out of impulse. "Yeah, sure, I'll let you know that I'm not really picky," I told him, seeing him give me a thumbs-up as he walked back inside to grab snacks. I sighed out of relief, drinking my punch again.
"H-hello, um- excuse me," I heard a small voice behind me, tensing up again and pretending I didn't hear it for a moment as I tried to figure out what to say. "Um- hello?" She asked, now standing at the very edge of the table. "H-hi," I attempted, still not able to look at her. Frank, for the love of fuck, come back. I felt her fidgeting, hearing her dress right next to my ear. "Y-you kind of caught my eye, a-and I thought it would be nice to... Maybe, get to know you," She whispered, fiddling her thumbs as she waited. "Um- I'm g-gay," I blurted out, which wasn't a complete lie as I held onto my cup. Oh, boy, you're an idiot.
"O-oh... Um-" She whispered to herself, sighing in obvious defeat as she finally walked away. I sighed and took a deep breath, shaking the jitters away. "Hey, I'm back," I heard Frank call to me, placing a plate in front of me as he sat across from me. "Oh yeah, lovely timing," I told him, shaking my head as I chuckled. "I think I accidentally scared that girl from earlier, I may or may not have just randomly come out to her so she would leave me alone," I confided, shaking my head again as I felt like an idiot.
"Well, congrats if it's true, that takes guts," Frank praised me, taking a cookie from the edge of his plate and taking a bite. "Yeah, or pure impulse... But it wasn't a lie, at least," I whispered, taking a sugar cookie and taking a small bite as I looked up to see Frank smiling. "Well, it doesn't bother me if that's what you're looking for. I'd be a hypocrite," Frank told me, taking yet another bite out of his cookie. I laughed a little, feeling a bit more at ease, taking another deep breath. "Looks like we have a lot in common then. I just like all, but I panicked a bit and generalized it. You?" I asked, taking a sip of my punch.
"Just girls and guys, but other people such as this non-binary person helped me get a little insight into the information of what it meant to be pansexual, and non-binary," Frank told me, smiling a bit as he recalled the memory. I nodded and returned the smile. "Well, I can for sure tell you that non-binary people are the most unique people you'll ever meet," I told him, moving a bit and sitting comfortably against the table. "That's not true though. I met you," He told me, his voice was oddly a bit quieter than normal, but I still didn't miss what he said. "Thanks... I could say the same for you and your many pretty tattoos," I told him, though I could have sworn that he was blushing after I called his tattoos pretty.
"Thanks, I like them a lot, but I'm glad someone else does," He told me, smiling wide as he looked up at me. "Of course, and I hope I could have the chance to see more," I mumbled, drinking my punch as I saw him, without a doubt, blush. "Well, ahem- I wouldn't mind, but some happen to be on my chest and hips," He whispered, hiding a bit as he chuckled awkwardly. "O-oh, oh, sorry, there was quite a lot on your arms, covered, but there," I told him, sipping on my punch a bit more as I chuckled. "Sorry," I whispered, looking up to see Frank smiling.
"It's fine, I'd be happy to show you those, but maybe somewhere else. I don't trust someone with my tattoos," Frank told me, eating some of the more savory foods on his plate. I nodded, understanding and appreciating the fact that he trusted me with showing his tattoos. "Um- yeah, would love to," I whispered, seeing his little smile.
"Oh, hey, was wondering for a minute, favorite drink?" Frank asked, tilting his head as he rested his elbows on the table. "Coffee," I answered, seeing his ears perk up and his eyes widen. "You're from Jersey, aren't you?" Frank whispered, his eyes seemingly on high alert. "... Yes?" I whispered back, very unsure of why he asked.
Frank's eyes widened once more and he put his drink down. "No way! Me too!" He shouted, his body language rather excited as he sat there, though I became excited as well. "Wait, on three, from where. 1, 2, 3," I told him, holding up three fingers and then answering.
"Bellville!" We both shouted in unison, both sitting there in silence and we just stared at each other. I was the first one to move, situating myself to sit up a little and grab my drink. "I always wondered if your accent was familiar," Frank told me, smiling and almost giggling when he took a drink after a while. "Who would have known, and we might even live close to each other," I whispered, messing with the condensation on my plastic glass. "So... Anything else? Where do you wanna start?" Frank asked, leaning against his hand as he looked at me. I smiled and thought for a minute, my overall mood changing as I sat there. "Favorite drinks?" I whispered, seeing Frank perk up again. "Thought you'd never ask," He whispered.
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"-No fucking way you! You got away with supergluing a teacher's ass to their chair?! Bro, I would have been sweating bullets," I exclaimed, putting my third punch glass into the stack. "But how?" I asked, looking at Frank as he laughed to himself. "You ever heard the phrase 'The early bird gets the worm'? Well, I got my worm," Frank cryptically explained, making me laugh as we sat in our little world. We heard a bell, turned around, and saw the likes of girls and boys flooding out of the building.
"I believe that's the end, curfew is soon after all. Would you like to walk with me?" I asked, looking back to Frank, seeing him nod as I smiled. I got up, threw away my trash, and walked down to the path that started us back to the cabins. "So, what are we going to do tomorrow?" Frank asked, walking beside me and leaving the boys that were saying goodbye to the girls. It would be a couple of more months before they could even look upon a young woman. "I don't know, I haven't planned that far. We'll just have to see, won't we?" I whispered, smiling to myself.
And see what happens we will.