[this is very long, sorry??¿?
also spoiler, gee is in this chapter
yay.]
~
The stuffy principal teacher sits back in her stupidly large chair, sighing while she thinks.
She looks up slow through her lashes and gives Frank evil eyes. It reminds him of his mom and he feels himself shrink.
"Your punishment..."
She sways back and forth ever so slightly in her desk chair, making it squeak. She obviously enjoys this way too much.
Frank has to hold back about 50 different sarcastic comments he wants to throw at her wrinkley face. Why is this so enjoyable for her? He just wants to get this over and done with as soon as possible.
Suddenly she sits up, posture straight and professional looking. She places her hands on the desk and looks up at an awkwardly shuffling Frank. Her overly painted lips part with a smacking sound.
"Detention."
Frank almost sighs out loud but keeps it in, in fear that she'll suddenly find the punishment not enough. That's fine. He simply nods before shifting on his feet and biting at his lip ring.
He can do a detention. A measly detention is no big deal really.
The elder lady gives a cunning smile at Frank's nod of agreement.
"Wonderful. I expect you in the detention room after school every day. Mr.Elms will be there to dismiss you when your time is up. You're free to go now."
He's about to turn and run away as soon as he hears the ok but something stops him.
"Wait... what do you mean by everyday?"
The principal raises an eyebrow at the confused boy like he's dumb. Like it's the most simple thing in the world to understand.
"Well obviously it means you'll be attending detention everyday. Until I see fit of course."
She clears her throat and continues on at Frank's strangely raised eyebrows.
"We can't have people like you going around beating on innocent students like Owen now can we?"
Frank's jaw clenches at 'innocent' and the mention of that dicks name in one sentence.
"Your anger needs to get under control, and I'm hoping the detention will show you some discipline."
She takes in all of Frank, eyes going from his head to his toes.
"It's quite obvious you need it."
Frank is speechless. Utterly speechless. In fact, he stands there, mouth open wide with a frustrated look on his features for a full minute at least. That is until he's snapped out of it, a million thoughts still wizzing around his head regardless.
"You can go now, Frank."
She points her pen at the exit before looking down to her various papers on her desk. She completely cuts Frank out of the picture as she studies her new task at hand.
Frank wants to speak. He wants to stomp over to the old lady's desk and slam a fist down, demanding she take back that ridiculous command.
He wants to tell her off for saying he needs guidance and that he has anger issues. He especially wants to smack her for acting like Owen is the victim here...
But he doesn't.
He doesn't open his mouth to say even a word.
Fighting back is what got him here, fighting will get him nowhere. So he turns around and makes his way out of her office in a fast pace, like he had originally planned on doing earlier. With no looking back, he opens the door and steps through to the hall, only to be stopped by a fake sweet voice.
"Oh, and Frank?"
He stills to signal he's listening.
"Don't go starting a fuss about this or I'll be forced to call your parents, and we both know you don't want that."
Frank holds his gasp in the best he can. That fucking hurt like a knife to the chest, how dare she go there.
His heart feels heavy, body sluggish and weak. He holds in his tears, and walks out the door, thankfully without any other interruptions.
This day is going to be fun.
~
The rest of the day is uneventful, or maybe it is eventful and Frank is just so very in his head that he misses everything.
Regardless, after all is said and done and all his classmates file out of school one by one, he stays back. Stays back to go to his greatly deserved life sentence, detention.
And that's what he sees now.
Sadly he stares up at the big sign on the wooden door that reads 'DETENTION'.
He clenches his fits and sighs loudly. This is absolute bull shit. He gets attacked by the school bully and just because he punches back once, now he gets punished?! They probably don't bother messing with Owen because he can put of a bigger fight than Frank.
Well technically Owens dad can put up a bigger fight but it doesn't matter in the end.
Fuck that, an asshole is an asshole.
There's no one in the hallway anymore and he almost enjoys the silence of the once packed school. Sighing, he pushes open the door in one fellow swoop, making his way inside.
Surprisingly he's actually never been to detention before. He has indeed got a good amount of warnings for things he didn't deserve warnings for but still...
Never here, till now.
The walls are as pale and boring as the rest of the school, and as expected it's set up the same as every boring fucking classroom ever.
In the front of the average classroom, a teacher who he assumes is Mr.Elms sits at his desk while flipping through pages of a book.
Frank stands awkwardly for far too long, contemplating just sitting down before deciding to clear his throat first.
The teacher looks started and he looks up quickly, adjusting his glasses as they fall down his nose.
"Oh! Yes, you must be Frank."
Frank nods, not feeling like socializing very much. The teacher gestures for him to sit so he walks over to a seat in the middle, away from the windows that are on the left of the room. He taps his foot anxiously right as he sits. This isn't as bad as home but at least there he has a guitar and things he enjoys to distract himself with. He's not in the mood for more lectures on a daily basis. Besides, all he did was fight for himself for once.
He doesn't regret a thing.
"So..."
The teacher looks up to meet eyes with Frank.
"I've been told you made quite a sene today."
He raises his eyebrows and Frank really doesn't feel like talking now.
So instead of that, he just looks out the window with a hum, not entirely ignoring the teacher but still not talking.
"I've also been told to give you a strict talking to. A lecture about violence and being a good person."
Frank looks up at that, eyebrows raised and jaw stiff.
The man looks bored, like he doesn't want to even be there. At least they have that in common.
He continues.
"I'd like to make a deal with you, Frank."
He pushes his classes up once again and puts his old looking book down for the first time since Frank walked in.
When Mr.Elms stares at Frank and doesn't elaborate, the younger decides to finally speak up. This could actually be interesting...
"What kind of deal?"
The teacher smiles moving his dark hair out of his face and continuing once more.
"I'd rather not sit here for 30 minutes each day lecturing you about nonsense, and I have a feeling you would too. Plus, you don't seem like such a bad kid from what I know about you."
He rubs his chin in thought.
"So, if you agree to stay seated quietly, I will in exchange not lecture you pointlessly."
This is probably the only lucky thing that's ever happened to Frank in his life and he'd be an idiot to say no. So when the older man says 'deal?' Frank nods eagerly.
The teacher claps once and grins at Frank.
"Great! You're the only one here it seems so no worries there. Also, it goes without saying but no speaking of this to any of the teachers."
Frank is extremely grateful for this man being head of his detention.
"No problem."
Mr.Elms nods and looks to his pages once more, adding a 'glad we're on the same page' before he goes silent. The sound of shuffling paper is heard occasionally when he turns a page but besides that, the room is extremely quiet.
Frank taps his foot faster. Ok so cool, this teacher is a 'give no fucks' kinda guy. Good. He shifts in his seat and as time goes on he keeps doing this. It's only been five minutes and he's already readjusted more times than he can remember.
He's fidgety. His fingers twitch on the empty desk and he feels his ears start to ring from the silence. Frank needs to be doing something... weather it's listening to music, plucking his guitar, or even just watching people walk down the halls of his school or the roads of his street. It's simple stuff but it's something. It's not this.
It's completely silent and the room is stale. The teacher in front hasn't moved his head once, nose buried in his words. He needs to move.
He sighs and shifts once again. His eyes shift to the window, aching for something to look at besides the chipping beige walls surrounding him. He plays with his lip ring using his tongue and taps his fingers in a rhythmic beat against the wood of his desk.
Fuck this is boring.
He looks at the clock again eventually. 8 minutes have passed. It feels like he's been sitting here for hours.
Suddenly a loud ringing comes from the direction of the teacher. He watches as the brown eyed man digs in his pockets before finding his phone on the second try, bringing it to his ear.
"Hello?"
Frank can't hear the other side of the conversation but the teacher seems frustrated.
"No, no-... I'm busy at the moment can't this wait until-... Are you sure?... Fine, I'll be right there."
He hangs up and sighs loudly, gathering his papers and other things into a neat pile on his desk.
"As you probably just heard I have something fairly important I need to do. It shouldn't take long, I'll be back before your time is up."
He walks out from behind his desk, bag in hand, to stand in front of Frank.
"Just don't get into trouble."
And with that he's rushing out of the room in a hurry, almost dropping everything in the process.
The door closes with a loud click.
Frank is alone. It almost feels quieter than before if that's possible. He looks out the window again and taps his fingers, resuming the same beat of the song he was tapping before.
The trees are swaying lightly and it almost feels peaceful. The only problem is the trees are outside and he's inside. School never feels right to him. There's always an unsettling feeling in his gut as long as he's on the property.
Bad experiences, bad students, bad teachers... just bad people. He really wises he loved school. If he even liked it then he could get a happy break from his horrible house. But no, instead he gets to live in one bad place and then visit another bad place until he inevitably has to go back to the first. A constant loop of unhappiness, that's his life.
He can hear the sounds of cars and creaking from the building. It's unsettling and he imagines the ceiling crumbling and falling on top of him, crushing him to death.
How painful would it be? Would it be quick? What if the impact just broke something and he bled out?
And just like that, he's contemplating which type of death would be least and most painful.
He leans back as he thinks, propping his feet up on the desk. No teacher equals no rules.
He lets his chair tilt back off its front legs, making an unpleasant squeaking noise.
He looks out the window as he gets comfortable and sighs.
As he watches the trees lazily, his eyes start to droop closed. One can only stay awake so long while submerged in extreme boredom, so he allows them to shut. Right before they're closed completely, he catches a quick sudden movement from outside the window.
His eyes bolt open immediately, body also bolting upward. He nearly falls out of his chair but regains his balance at the last second. His cheeks feel red in embarrassment and he looks back up at where he saw the movement.
When he does, he's faced with an image he'd been seeing quite a lot lately. One that still shocks him regardless. He's tempted to just say he's crazy at this point because he's seeing the same thing again. He's seeing him again.
The vampire that saved him that night is standing outside. His long black hair is framing his face perfectly, skin looking as if it could glow. He's standing under a tree outside the widow a couple yards away. His eyes are locked onto Frank's and they look wide as ever, almost like he'd been caught.
Every time this has happened, out the corner of his eye or in a crowd where he can't quite tell who it is, it always ends the same. He gets away. Frank runs after him, or misses him completely, and he gets away.
Fuck him if he lets that happen one more time.
He stands from his chair, flipping it over in the process. Even when a loud bang echoes through the room he doesn't flinch. He doesn't move his eyes off of the vampires own.
His heart beats loudly in his chest and he gulps as he stumbles towards the window. The vampire keeps the eye contact too. He never blinks, doesn't move a muscle as Frank approaches the window slowly.
He lets out a choked huff of air in disbelief. This is the closest he's ever gotten sense the incident in the alleyway. He makes it to the widow and brings a hand to the latch. He is getting to that man if it's the last thing he does, detention be damned.
The latch clicks and the vampires eyes seem to narrow. So Frank goes slower, and for a while he thinks as long as their eyes are locked then he won't move, maybe he can't. But suddenly, as the window's half open, one of Frank's legs hanging out, the vampire lifts an eyebrow. And right when Frank's foot hits the ground, he's gone. In a flash he's turning around and running away.
Frank panics, stepping and pulling his other leg out in a hurry. He can't lose him again, It's driving him absolutely mad. With determination in his eyes and a blur of a figure in the distance, he runs.
And in hindsight he knows he'll never be able to catch up with the supernatural creature but he has to try at least. The vampire doesn't seem to be going quite as fast as he's capable of either. Frank remembers how fast his movements were in that fight, almost too fast to see. Frank can see him now, and he's far away but there's still a chance isn't there?
It's chilly out, wind whipping his face as he runs. He runs and runs without letting up, knowing if he does he'll have absolutely no chance.
His legs burn as he pushes them past their limits.
"W-wait! Hey!"
He yells pointlessly, hoping the man will actually give him the time of day to listen to what he has to say.
Honestly he doesn't even know what he would say. Thank you would be one, but then what? Just a brief thanks and then they part ways? It sounds wrong to him. He feels some sort of strange pull towards the vampire and he just wants to get... closer.
The possibility of this being some sort of superhuman mind control passes his mind but he shakes it off as a unlikely possibility for whatever reason. He can debate shit like that another time. The vampire is here right now and so is he. There is no time, only chasing.
Or maybe he's not here?
Frank takes in his surroundings, only realizing now that he had run blindly, not looking at his target the whole time. A target that is now nowhere to be seen.
He stops running and tries to catch his breath while looking around himself.
He's surrounded by tall trees that shade him from the sun, the sky is a dark blue and birds fly by without a care in the world.
"Fuck me!"
The public be damned, he yells out profanities to the sky in extreme frustration. Now not only is he going to get in huge trouble for leaving detention, but it's not even worth it because he lost him again. He was so close and he lost him again.
Sighing, Frank looks around himself again. To his right, off the path he's on, he notices something extremely familiar. The cemetery close to his house. The same old stones laid out in the same way, his favorite bench shadowed by a large willow tree sat in the same place as always.
School is close to home, hence how he walks there everyday, but its still a long walk. A walk of at least 20 minuets from home to school if he's fast.. how long has he been running?
He rubs at his sore legs before making his way to the bench. It's been far too long since he came here, fallen leaves and dirt on his spot, showing his absence. He dusts it all off before sitting down.
Hi takes a deep breath, it even smells familiar. It smells like peace and fresh air. The feeling of being free and away from his shitty life.
Somehow it is that in a smell.
The thought of going back to school crosses his mind but it just doesn't feel worth it. Yeah, now he's doing the exact thing his teacher told him not to do (getting into trouble) but it doesn't matter.
For once Frank really feels like he can breath and think somewhat clearly, so he does.
He takes a deep breath and thinks about what to do next. Then he's yawning.
A thought occurs to him as he gets sleepy. He wonders if he would still have the haunting dreams of hazel eyes if he fell asleep in his safe spot instead of home.
Along with the glimpses of the vampire he's been seeing, he had also been plagued by dreams of him, and they're not normal dreams either.
It's always the same one.
The dream starts in pitch darkness, it's cold and he's afraid instantly. His breath is quick and he feels uneasy. He's already sitting so he brings his knees to his chest and stuffs his face into them.
He tries to calm down and then there's a breath at the back of his neck, then his ear.
He's too afraid to move.
The breath moves to his face then. He can hear the voice responsible for the breath chuckle. It's familiar and he gets more scared as images of being held by his throat and losing oxygen come to mind.
"Please." He'll say, a plea for the fear to stop pulsing through his veins and for the evil creature to stop tormenting him.
He hears one last, extremely long exhale and then it's quiet. He shivers and holds his legs tighter in anticipation as the last of the noise echos away.
Then the breath is back but it's different, slower and less erratic.
He hears the faintest whisper and can't make out what it says.
Then he hears it again, louder.
"Frank."
He shakes more and starts to cry.
"no no no no no no"
He's babbling and scared, ready for death, it's so cold he feels dead already.
"FRANK!"
It's accompanied by strong hands on his face, forcing him to look up.
Then, Frank is gasping in surprise, eyes opening.
All he sees are two bright hazel eyes staring back, and then he is awake.
He always wakes up suddenly, a cold sweat settling uncomfortably on his skin as he shutters. His breaths are ragged and painful, a hand coming up to hold his chest as he tries to calm down.
He never falls back to sleep after that.
He sighs in the present, thinking of the countless times he's woken up to his parents yelling through the thin walls of his house. That obviously didn't help going back to sleep.
Was the vampire trying to make his life worse? Why is he giving him painful nightmares and sleepless nights. At least he assumes it's the vampire doing it. At this point he's not even sure it's all real. He never catches him, always just short.
He's truly going mad.
He rubs his face and looks around at the graves surrounding him. They seem so peaceful somehow. Asleep and painless. It's quiet except for the occasional soft wave of the breeze that sways the trees and moves leaves.
So peaceful.
They don't have to worry. Don't have to feel pain or sadness or loneliness. Fear.
The fear of your family, other people, even of your dreams.
Even of yourself.
This is so fucked up.
Why is this his life? He shouldn't have to debate whether going home is safe and if it's even worth it. He's not worth it.
He shouldn't have to debate whether death would be worth it for a chance of peace. A break from the fear and pain he feels daily.
Relief.
A tear falls down his cheek before he knows it, and then another. And of course, now the sad excuse of a human is sitting alone in the cold crying like a baby. Only he would be curled in on himself, face covered by his palms, sobbing off his eyeliner in a fucking cemetery.
Another shitty thing about him is that after all this emotional build up, he can't seem to stop the floodgates. It's pouring from him now, black smudges on his cheeks and hands.
The sky is darkening now but he doesn't care. He's hit with a familiar realization of how no one would miss him. He could sit here and rot and no one would even give a shit. So why is he even here anymore? He thinks of the graves again.
Why isn't he with them?
"It's not safe."
Frank jumps a foot in the air, hands moving from his wet face to look towards the direction of the voice in shock.
Sitting on the very bench he's sat on is a familiar, tall, black haired man. He's so fucking close, eyes burning with something Franks never seen before. It's that something that pulls him in, makes him feel drawn in to this being.
Frank looks like a mess, he's stiff and staring in shock, face a mess from the breakdown he was having mere seconds ago.
"I- I umm.."
He trails off with no actual idea as to what he's saying. Hazel eyes is right in front of him. It's not a dream, not a hallucination... probably. Wordless, Frank brings a shaky hand to the vampires upper arm and pokes it lightly like he's afraid he'll disappear or run again.
The vampire doesn't run or disappear but merely watches Franks movements and facial expressions. The vamp looks worried, eyebrows furrowed and mouth pulled in a frown.
"It's not safe, Frank"
The softness of his voice distracts Frank. It's so much softer than he could ever remember it sounding. In fact everything about him just seems.. different.
Frank remembers his terrifying bloody face. The way he so easily killed, his voice rough and grumbled, assertive and strangely articulate.
The vampire looks way more calm (save for his worried brow). He just seems much.. softer up close. His voice is soft with a hint of gruff like he's trying to make sure Frank knows he's serious. What is he supposed to say to all this?
"Not safe." he says back simply, brain seeming to malfunction in the presence of the other man.
The vampire nods in reply, hair bobbing with his movements in a way that distracts Frank further.
"It's dark out, remember?"
And suddenly he does remember. That night in the midst of all the shock and fear the hazel eyed vampire had told him not to do that again. 'Don't go out late if you want to live'.
"I didn't notice how late it was."
he answers truthfully, having not realized while being too busy breaking down.
Its quiet as Frank stares at him. He waits for an answer or a comment but nothing comes.
The vampire, while seeming more calm, also seems more... sad? His eyes are fixed on the ground with a permanent sad look to them. The look of someone who's been through a lot and suffered. The look of someone who's missing something.
Frank stares for what feels like an awkward amount of time before mirroring the other and looking to the ground by his boots.
He sniffs and rubs away the left over tears on his face.
"Why were you crying?"
Frank lifts his head to find the vampires eyes locked with his own. It suddenly feels very very intimate and real. He is real, Frank's not crazy, and wow they're very close to each other right now.
Then he remembers he got asked a question.
"Oh. Umm..."
he looks away, feeling far too vulnerable.
"Just feeling sorry for myself I guess."
he brings a hand up to scratch the back of his neck.
Why is he so nervous?
Oh wait yeah, this is a vampire he's talking to right now.
"People are very mean to you. It's not fair."
The vampires voice gets even sadder when he says that and Frank is taken aback by his words.
"How do you..."
He trails off and meets the others eyes again. The look is intense and his eyes are absolutely unearthly.
"I've been watching you."
When he talks Frank subconsciously looks for fangs in his mouth but only finds tiny, normal flat teeth. Maybe he is just crazy. But he realizes then, he's not crazy, he has been seeing the vampire. He's been watching him, Frank isn't crazy because the vampire just confirmed his suspicions.
He should be uncomfortable by the statement but it just makes him feel sane in some way.
"Why?"
Frank finds himself leaning forward in interest, surprisingly not as scared as he should be.
The vampire shrugs and looks at his hands, making him look more human as he twists them around each other nervously.
"You're... special?"
He sounds hesitant, confused by his own words.
Frank scoffs without thinking at the absurdity of what he just heard.
"What does that mean? I'm a piece of shit...who are you anyway?"
Frank hopes he doesn't come off as rude but as he gets less nervous he feels all the questions he's wanted to ask hit him at once.
It seems like he did say something wrong because the vampire is stiff and tense as soon as the words leave his mouth.
Suddenly he's getting to his feet, lips pulled in a tight straight line.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done this. Get home safe. I'll leave you alone from now on."
Now Frank's on his feet too, a strange panicked feeling overcoming him at the thought of the man disappearing forever with no trace. He finally got him, he can't disappear now.
"No please, wait! I'm sorry. I'm just confused, please don't go."
Frank's surprised by how desperate he sounds out loud. Even more surprising is how he actually does feel that desperate on the inside.
When the vampire stays quiet, facing away from Frank, he speaks up again.
"I just want to know who you are so I can..."
he takes a deep breath.
"so I can thank you."
The man turns slightly, looking Frank up and down, sighing himself.
"Gerard."
Then he's spun all the way around, fully facing Frank with a hand extended for him to shake.
"What?"
Frank stares at the extended hand dumbly.
"My name, It's Gerard."
Oh.
"Oh."
His hand shakes noticeably as he lifts it to shake the vampires- Gerards, hand.
His hand is firm and extremely, worryingly cold.
He is dead, Frank is reminded, that's why.
He's in a graveyard shaking a dead mans hand, what the fuck is his life?
"Well then, Gerard-"
The name coming from his mouth sounds strange, yet not unpleasant.
"-thank you.. for saving me."
There's a weight lifted from his shoulders when he says it. Finally his brain can rest in some way.
Their hands slip from each others when Frank's done talking. Can Gerard feel how warm Frank is? Can he even feel temperature? God he has so many questions.
"Be more carful around here. I can't save you every time."
This causes Frank to chuckle, and he swears he can see a shadow of a smile on Gerard's face in return.
"Stay safe going home. Goodnight, Frank."
The vampire turns and is once again stopped by Frank, a hand on his wrist to be exact.
"I'll see you again, right?"
Frank sounds hopeful. He squeezes his fingers tighter around the vampires wrist, the contrast of temperature feeling like it should burn him.
Fire and ice.
Now Gerard is smiling that little bit more, nodding as he stares at their touching skin.
"Yeah, definitely."
and only then does Frank feel safe enough to pull away.
Then he's gone.
It's in the flash of an eye and Frank is left alone, dazed and confused just like that. He takes a deep breath, not remembering when he held it in.
He's going to see him again.
Gerard.
For the first time while going home, Frank has a smile on his face.
~