I opened the door and stepped inside the classroom, closing and locking it behind me as my eyes fell on Gerard. A smile graced my lips as I took him in, and he gave me a grin of his own.
His tie was loose, each end dangling either side of his neck and resting on his white shirt. Several buttons of his shirt were undone, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, and his jacket lay on the back of his chair. He was leaning against the desk, his arms folded, one leg crossed over the other at the ankle. And his mask was off, placed on his desk.
I walked over to him and sat on the desk in front of him, tilting my head to the side a little. "You wanted to see me, Mr Way?" I asked, batting my eyelashes.
He pushed himself off the desk and stepped towards me, separating my legs and standing between them. "I did." He replied, his arms still folded.
"What for?"
He leaned forward, brushing his lips against mine. "I got you a present." He went over to his desk, pulling a small box from one of the drawers and walking back to me. He opened the box, and inside was a small silver ring. "I'm not proposing, don't worry." I breathed the tiniest sigh of relief. "It's a promise ring. It's my promise to you that if I'm in New York, or New Mexico, or even New South Wales, and you're not by my side..." He took a deep breath. "...I will always love and be faithful to you, no matter what." He took my left hand and slipped the silver band on my ring finger. "Because I'm leaving tomorrow, and I know that you're worried I'm gonna find someone else, but I won't. I can't promise never, but I can promise the foreseeable future, and as long as we're together, I will love you. And I genuinely think I will love you forever. You're everything to me."
He raised my hand to his lips and he kissed the back of it, a smile forming. I felt tears welling up in my eyes, and when I spoke, my voice shook. "Jesus Christ Gerard, are you trying to kill me?"
He blinked, faking innocence. "No, why?"
I threw my arms around his neck and hugged him tighter than I ever had before, my heart beating fast. It ached; I didn't want him to go, not having him around for six months would be agony. And then suddenly his mouth was on mine and we were kissing with some kind of urgency that I'd never encountered before. We were desperate. We didn't know how much time we had left because the hours were ticking away, I could feel it, and soon it would be time to say goodbye for several weeks, maybe even months.
"I love you," he murmured, kissing my neck. "I love you so much...fuck, I need you -"
"C'mon - your place." I said, and he didn't hesitate in grabbing my hand and pulling me from the room and the school.
As soon as we got to his and the front door was shut, he grabbed my hand and pulled me into the front room. Leaving the lights off, he picked up a rose from a bunch lying around on one of the side tables, putting the stem between his teeth like in those cheesy movies, and he placed his free hand on my waist.
He began to lead me around the room, grinning around the rose, dancing much more intimately with me than he had at school. My hand was on his upper arm as we danced chest-to-chest, our eye-contact never breaking. Oh my God, I loved him so much.
He tipped me back after several minutes, pressing his lips against mine and allowing me to take the stem of the rose between my teeth. We straightened up and he twirled me around, grinning, and he started to hum a random slow-dance tune. I loved his voice, even when humming - it was fucking amazing, the kind of voice that would calm you down when you were mad or upset, the kind of voice that would lull you to sleep, the kind of voice that would make you feel safe.
And then, presumably when he was bored of dancing, he picked me up and threw me over his shoulder. I rolled my eyes, knowing where he was taking me even before he climbed the stairs. When he dropped me onto his bed, hovering over me and kissing down my neck, I still had the rose in my mouth, and I took it out, laying it on the nightstand.
He unbuttoned my shirt, his hand running over my warm skin, and he made me sit up so I could pull it off. Next was his shirt, and I wrapped my legs around his waist as he kissed me hard, one hand knotting in my hair and the other on the pillow beside my head. I unbuckled his belt, slipping his jeans down to his knees, and he stood up to kick his shoes and socks off before getting them off the rest of the way. He then pulled mine off too, before straddling my waist.
He was so random, so strange, so abnormally cute, that it was impossible not to have fallen in love with him. And that thought made my heart ache.
"Oh my God," I said breathlessly, as he kissed down my chest. "I'm gonna fucking miss you..."
He grinned. "Then let's make the most of the hours we have left."
~
We stayed up until the early hours of the morning having too much sex and talking about pretty much everything under the sun, which meant that we didn't get up until just gone midday. I had agreed to go home before he left, but I still sat cross-legged on his bed, in one of his t-shirts and yesterday's jeans, watching him pack.
Seeing him pack up the last of his things - his art supplies, his clothes, his books - made it more final. A removal van would be arriving in a few hours to take his furniture. Everything else was packed up both upstairs and downstairs; the walls bare, the drawers empty, boxes littering the rooms. I kept having to swallow heavily, constantly fighting back tears. This was it. He was actually leaving - not going away, but leaving, moving house, taking everything with him. Everything but me.
I was to be left behind in Jersey until graduation, and then I was free to join him if I still wanted. But even though I was positive that I'd still want to go and live with him in New York, I was anxious about the time between now and then. I twisted my promise ring around my finger, my teeth sunk hard into my lower lip, as I tried to tell myself that he would still want me in six months' time, that he would always want me. He'd promised.
He sighed heavily, and when I looked up, he ran a hand through his hair. Without saying anything, he sat on the bed with me, his fingers tangling into my hair. He kissed me softly and slowly, his lips lingering on mine.
"I love you." He said, as he pulled away, taking my hand.
"Please don't go." I almost whimpered, my eyes watering.
"You know I have to -"
"You don't have to, not yet - you could wait six months, just six more months, and then we could go together -" I had no idea where the begging was coming from, but I was shamelessly begging him to stay, and I couldn't stop. "- and I won't be so scared to be on my own, and we can start a life together and be us, and -"
He cut me off by kissing me hard, his hand shaking as he cupped my face. "Baby," he said, sounding close to tears himself. "don't." He ran his thumb under my eye, wiping away a fallen tear. "I've been at Belleville High since I left college. Where I'm going is so much better. And I may have left school, meaning that I'm no longer your teacher, but..." He smiled. "I'll always be your Mr Way."
I let out a burst of laughter, the tears falling faster, and he wrapped his arms around me, holding me close as I cried into his shoulder. "You're such a dork." I sobbed, and he chuckled.
"I know. But you can't bear to see me go, which indicates that you love me."
"That was uncalled for."
"It was; I'm sorry."
The doorbell rang then, and I reluctantly let go of him so he could get it. I trailed behind him, picking at my sleeves, knowing that it would be the removal men, meaning my cue to leave.
I stood by the stairs as Gerard showed them in, directing them to the living room and telling them he'd be there in a moment. He then took my hand and led me outside, away from the van but still outside the house, and he pulled me into a hug.
"I'll Skype you every day until you get sick of me, and you can come and stay at weekends when school starts up again, okay?" He said, his voice muffled against my shoulder as he held me tight.
"As if I could ever get sick of you." I replied, my arms around his neck. "I love you, Mr Way."
He pulled back, a faint smile at his lips. "I love you too, Iero."
And then he kissed me, his mouth strong against mine, and I kissed him back just as hard, gripping a handful of his shirt. It was the last kiss we'd share for weeks, possibly even months, and it was probably the best yet.
"Go on," he said, after the kiss had ended. "I'll call you."
I kissed him again, one last time. "Good luck."
"Thank you." We looked at each other and I wrapped my arms around him, hugging him again. "Frankie -"
"I'm going, I'm going." I took a step back, and then another, and then another, until we were several feet apart. "I love you."
"I love you too." He blew me a kiss, and I caught it, blowing one back before turning around and continuing down the street.
It felt like he was in New York already, but when I turned my head, the removal van was still there, and Gerard was loading things into it. Fuck, I was gonna miss him. He was the biggest reason why I'd gotten on fairly well at Belleville High.
Sighing, I began to head over to Brendon's, knowing that some form of entertainment would lie there. Besides, my stupid teacher was leaving. My stupid friends were still here.
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Ahhhhh omg this is the final chapter guys, the last ever full chapter of Tell Me I'm A Bad Man - and it's painful as fuck. Seriously, this thing has been my baby for two months, and it hurts to see it end.
BUT THERE WILL BE A SEQUEL!
Potentially.
What I mean is, I'm going to start a sequel, I'm going to post a sequel, but it's going to be a trial to see if it works, and if it does, great! If not, I'll take it down, and we'll pretend it never existed. But honestly? I think it might be okay :)
It doesn't have a title yet, which is where I need your help: I'm gonna post the synopsis in the author's note of the epilogue, and I want you to suggest a title for me. It can be a lyric, a quote, a saying, anything. I'll then pick my favourites and do like a little shortlist thing where you can vote or something xD that sound good? Yep. Awesome!
I'll post the epilogue in the next couple of days, fingers crossed tomorrow, if not tomorrow then Wednesday or something :) I'll do soppy thankyous and shit in a separate author's note or something :3
Thankyou for everything, and I hope you haven't cried too much!
So long and goodnight,
-xocharr <3