"I don't understand how you haven't been banned from this store by now," Frank chuckled lightly, bags full of groceries weighing his arms down as he and Gerard walked over to their car.
"Well it's not like I do that stuff when I'm alone, but I promised to make it interesting for you, and it's not as if anyone else noticed," Gerard smiled back, and Frank had to admit that the shopping trip had been very entertaining, if not also slightly embarrassing, because contrary to Gerard's words, quite a few people had witnessed his ridiculous behavior.
Gerard was determined to make Frank laugh at every possible opportunity during their quick jaunt to the grocery store, which had involved everything from him stuffing melons down his shirt in the produce department to him riding the cart down the aisles like a five year old, and honestly, it had been exactly what Frank needed right now, all public embarrassment aside.
Because being with Gerard and having him act like his goofy self had set Frank's nerves at ease, and the fact that no natural disaster had struck while they were out had helped as well. This area hadn't been damaged by the earthquake very much, and Frank could almost pretend like nothing bad had ever happened - almost.
But even though there weren't any physical signs of what had occurred yesterday, it was still noticeable that something had in the way that there was hardly anyone out and about, which was probably a good thing given Gerard's antics, but still - it was odd to see the usually bustling shopping center so devoid of life, even though it didn't seem to be bothering Gerard any.
Gerard hadn't even commented on the lack of shoppers, or the hurried way everyone had been bustling about as if the quicker they got home, the less chance of another tremor hitting would be, and even though Frank had been tempted to bring it up, he didn't want to upset his husband at all, so Frank had kept his mouth closed and pretended like this was just another day, because Frank wanted it to be, so why ruin the illusion?
Frank expected Gerard to be more torn up about yesterday than he was, and honestly, he was surprised that Gerard even wanted to go out in the first place, but Gerard was nothing if not unpredictable, and even though Frank knew him better than anyone else, he still couldn't read the man completely.
Frank wondered if Gerard was just covering up his fear with his joyous mood, and underneath it all he was still terrified, but it didn't seem that way. Gerard appeared genuinely happy, and Frank was more than willingly to push his own worries to the background and enjoy this time with his husband.
Frank needed to get over this sooner rather than later anyway, because if another disaster did strike, they would be no safer in their home than anywhere else, and Frank wasn't crazy enough to build a bomb shelter or something like that, so he would just have to keep living the way he had always done before he almost lost Gerard.
Gerard had promised after all, he had promised to find his way back to Frank no matter what, and that had always applied to the both of them, even before yesterday, so Frank decided he was done with his troublesome thoughts then and there, because he had no reason to worry as long as Gerard was by his side, and Gerard seemed to feel the same way if his actions were anything to go by.
And that in itself was enough to make everything okay in Frank's eyes, because Gerard was his rock, and if he was still smiling, and giggling, and acting as if everything was perfectly normal, then that was good enough for Frank, and the world could crumble down around him as long as Gerard was still standing in the aftermath.
"Come on, let's go get some coffee," Gerard suggested gleefully.
"We just bought some coffee at the store, why don't we go home and make some?" Frank rolled his eyes dramatically, because even though he liked coffee, he didn't understand how Gerard could drink so much of it in one day - seriously, he was probably immune to caffeine by this point.
"Yeah...but you know it's never as good as the stuff from the cafe," Gerard pleaded, giving Frank those puppy dog eyes that really weren't fair to use on any occasion, because Frank just couldn't say no when Gerard was looking at him that way.
"Fine...we can go get coffee," Frank agreed with mock reluctance, hiding his smile as Gerard's eyes lit up at his words, but Frank couldn't keep the expression off his lips once Gerard began tugging him toward the car like an overexcited child.
It turned into more than coffee though, not that Frank was really complaining, because he would never turn down spending time with Gerard under any circumstances, but after Gerard had dragged him to the record store, and the movies, with a quick stop into an art supply shop so Gerard could get some canvases to start working on more paintings, Frank was thoroughly exhausted, and he had never been so happy to sink under the covers and let his eyelids fall shut as he was that night.
~~~
Frank awoke out of a deep sleep with a start, groggy and disoriented, but also on edge, and even though he had no idea why he was awake at three in the morning for no apparent reason, he couldn't seem to shut his eyes again, no matter how hard he tried.
Glancing around warily, Frank tried to find the source of whatever had woken him up, but he was coming up with nothing. Maybe it had been another dream, but Frank didn't feel the way he usually did after a nightmare - this was different somehow, but Frank just couldn't place his finger on the elusive sensation.
Gerard didn't seem to be sharing Frank's restlessly, and he barely stirred when Frank sat up, his eyes roving around the room nervously. Frank didn't know what he was looking for, but it almost seemed as if something else was in the room with him besides his husband that is; an unfamiliar presence that had Frank's skin tingling uncomfortably even once he had ascertained that there was nothing sharing the small space with them.
When a soft bump sounded from the hallway, Frank jumped violently, all of his senses on high alert, his heart beating painfully loud in his chest as he strained his ears in the hope - and also fear - of hearing anything else.
Frank was clueless about what could have made the sound, and even though it was probably something innocent like a picture falling off the wall, Frank's mind instantly jumped to the worst case scenario, which was that there was an intruder inside of their home.
As quietly as he could, Frank crept out of bed, heading to the nightstand which held a rarely used gun Frank had insisted they keep in the house for exactly this purpose. Frank wasn't a great shot, and this wasn't like being at the shooting range, so he had no idea if he could actually manage to hit something - or someone -if there actually was a thief, but hopefully the mere sight of the weapon would scare away whoever was out there - if there was even anyone there.
Frank tiptoed to the doorway, glancing back at Gerard warily as did so. Frank wanted to wake his husband up, because he was really fucking scared, and he needed his support right now, but Frank was even more terrified of making any unnecessary noise, and he would never forgive himself if Gerard got hurt trying to protect him.
No - this was something Frank had to do on his own, and even though his limbs were shaking, he forced himself to move out into the hallway, toeing the door closed behind him to conceal the sleeping Gerard from view.
Frank didn't immediately see anything; nothing seemed out of place, and there was definitely no masked man snooping about, or whatever burglars looked like, but just when Frank was about to turn around and head back into his bedroom, he heard another noise, this time coming from downstairs.
Frank froze in place as he tried to decide what to do; he could either continue his investigation or go back into his room and call the police, and even though the second option seemed much more logical, Frank found himself wanting to make sure that there was actually something sinister inside the house before he brought the law into this.
So against his better judgment, Frank inched down the stairs, his hand which was still gripping the gun was now slippery with sweat, but Frank forced himself to ignore it, instead, concentrating on being as silent as possible so he wouldn't give himself away.
When Frank poked his head around the banister, he wasn't sure what he was expecting to see, but the sight that met his eyes was definitely not it, and Frank found himself blinking numerous times to make sure he wasn't hallucinating or something else just as insane.
But when the two people seated calmly at Frank's kitchen table didn't disappear, Frank was left confused and scared, because if this was a robbery, it was the weirdest fucking heist he had ever seen - seriously, the two men weren't even moving, and they were acting as if this was their house instead of Frank's.
Frank wasn't sure if the intruders had noticed him or not, he was still standing on the bottom step of the large staircase, and neither of them had moved or spoken that he could see, but it wasn't like Frank was exactly hidden, and the slightest turn of either of their heads would bring Frank into their line of sight, so if he was going to make a move, it had to be now.
"Get out or I'll shoot," Frank shouted, making a rash decision to throw himself into the strangers field of vision with the gun raised high, hoping he managed to look somewhat intimidating and not like the midget Rambo wannabe he currently felt like.
Frank had no idea why he hadn't retreated back to the relative safety of his bedroom once he had confirmed that this was indeed some sort of break in, but seeing the men in his home had caused his protective side to rear its head fiercely, and Frank wasn't thinking practically right now, he just wanted these men gone before they did anything to hurt Gerard.
"Hello Frank," one of them spoke, and even though it was hard to make out their features in the dim light, there seemed something oddly familiar about the two men, even though Frank couldn't place where he knew them off the top of his head.
One had messy black hair and bright eyes, while the other kept his brown locks pushed back from his face, highlighting the pair of square glasses perched on his nose, and they were both smiling at Frank in what he assumed was supposed to be a reassuring manner, but it was anything but - actually, the entire set up came off as eerie and unsettling to Frank's mind.
"Who the fuck are you and what the hell are you doing in my house?" Frank tried to make his voice threatening, but he failed miserably and it came out in more of a startled croak instead.
"I know we've scared you Frank, but please put the gun down and we'll explain why we are here," the one wearing glasses suggested, but there was no way in hell Frank was going to do what he said, even if he did somehow know his name, which was a frightening piece of information that Frank was too nervous to inquire about.
"How about you tell me now, and then I will decide if I should shoot you or not?" Frank threatened, tightening his grip on the gun aggressively to hide the shaking of his hands.
"We really should have gone about this a better way," the black haired man whispered to his companion, causing the other to shrug helplessly.
"Okay - well Frank, I know you have no reason to believe me, but you know us - actually - knew us would probably be a better way to phrase it. I'm Brendon, and this is Billie Joe," he gestured to the black haired man eagerly, but those names didn't ring any bells in Frank's head, and even if they did know Frank somehow, it didn't give them the right to break into his house in the middle of the night.
"I think you guys have the wrong Frank..." Frank stuttered out, completely thrown off by this odd situation, and while he was distracted, Billie Joe darted up from his seat and snatched the gun out of his hands.
Frank braced himself for pain, because he could only assume that this Billie Joe was going to turn Frank's own weapon against him, but instead of shooting Frank, he simply placed the gun on the table before sitting back down as if nothing had happened.
"We don't Frank, and we can prove it, you just have to give us a chance," Brendon pleaded, gesturing for Frank to sit down, which he did, but only because he wasn't sure how much longer his legs were going to hold him up.
"I just want you to leave..." Frank murmured quietly, because the more these two spoke, the slight spark of recognition inside of Frank grew, and it seemed like he did know them somehow, as if their words had placed some sort of spell over him, but Frank didn't want to listen to them anymore, except he sort of did...
"We can't leave Frank, not until you hear us out," the one named Billie Joe finally spoke up, and even though a part of Frank was curious about what was so important that it warranted a break in, he knew it really didn't matter, and they were probably just waiting for him to let his guard down, or something, and then they would kill him, even though why they hadn't done that already was a mystery to Frank.
"Then start talking," Frank sighed, faking compliance for the moment, but as soon as Brendon scooted back in his seat slightly, Frank made a jump for the gun, successfully managing to get his hand on it before either of them could react.
"Frank please - just make this easy on us and put the god damn gun down," Brendon warned, but Frank was done listening to these two lunatics, and he was going to do what he should have in the first place, which was get the fuck out of here and call the police as soon as possible.
"Gerard!" Frank screamed, hoping his husband would hear him so he could phone the authorities while Frank was otherwise occupied, but Frank was met by only silence.
"He can't hear you Frank," Billie Joe groaned, holding his hands up nervously to show Frank that he wasn't going to try something like last time, but Frank wasn't falling for any more of his tricks.
"What do you mean...what the fuck did you do to him?" Frank growled, his early hesitance gone completely now that Gerard was being threatened, and Frank actually took the safety off of the gun and put his finger back on the trigger, ready to fire at any moment.
"Nothing Frank - Gerard is fine, I promise. I simply soundproofed the room so we won't disturb him okay -"
Billie Joe was cut off by a loud bang, because Frank had lost all control over himself, and his terror over having his home invaded had reached a breaking point. He had to make sure Gerard was okay, and even though a small part of Frank knew that there was no way that either of the men could have done anything to Gerard in the short time Frank had left him alone, the rest of his brain was screaming at him that something was horribly wrong.
"Fuck - Frank wait!" Brendon called out after Frank, but he was already darting up the stairs, desperate to get back to Gerard, and his phone, not even bothering to glance behind him to see if his shot had hit Billie Joe or not.
But Frank didn't even make it halfway to his room before something collided with his skull, knocking his feet out from under him. Frank collapsed at the top of the landing, and even though he attempted to crawl away from his attacker, blackness was already overtaking his vision. Frank's last thought before he passed out was a prayer, a silent plea to whoever was out there to watch over Gerard, to protect him where he had failed, and then everything went dark.
Hey so stuff happened, that's cool right?
I know this was super short, but I am a sucker for cliffhanger endings, so yeah - I am going to leave it there because I'm mean.
This chapter is dedicated to motherpanic because they are one of the coolest people on this site, and their comments always make me smile. Btw you should totally check out their stories if you haven't already ^_^
I will hopefully update pretty soon because I am going on vacation in two days, which means I will have more time to write if all things go to plan, so I will try not to leave you guys hanging for too long.
((((vacation vibes))))
<3 starr