Gerard was excited to go dress shopping but a part of him wished he could stay in this moment forever. He kissed Frank's cheek, smiling happily.
"I hope you have a nice time at work," Gerard said.
"Yeah, you too," Frank said. "I-I mean, you're not going to work. I-I hope you have a good time shopping."
"Thank you, Frankie, I'll see you later," Gerard said.
Jamia walked up, smiling happily.
"You ready to go?" She asked.
"I am, just saying goodbye to my beautiful boyfriend," he said.
"Bye," Frank said, kissing Gerard's cheek before walking off.
They got into the car, where Mikey was already sitting in the backseat. Gerard dropped Mikey off at home before they went to the mall.
"So, what color dress do you wanna wear?" Gerard asked.
"I don't know, I was thinking maybe, like, a burgundy color," she said.
"You would look so cute in that color," Gerard said.
The two went around trying on dresses, laughing and talking. Jamia finally picked a maroon, off the shoulder dress. Gerard spotted Alicia picking out a dress on the other side of the store.
"God, I think she sent me that letter," Gerard said. "Which just makes the whole thing more annoying and less funny."
"She still has a crush on Frank?" Jamia asked. "Damn, I thought she would've gotten over that by now."
"Well I guess not because she threw her ice cream at me yesterday," he said. "God, she is really weird. Does she have any friends?"
"No, I have literally never seen her talk to anyone," Jamia said. "She's probably some kind of freak and that's why she sent the letter."
"I don't think she's a freak, I think she's maybe just upset," he said. "Maybe a little bit rude."
"She has, like, no social skills at all, she was one of those kids who used to bite people in elementary school," she said. "One time she put a dead rat in my locker."
"You're kidding," Gerard said.
Jamia shook her head. "She is a freak, you should stay clear of her."
"Yeah, maybe I should," Gerard mumbled, looking at Alicia as they walked out of the store.
"So, you got your suit and everything ready?" Jamia asked.
"I do," Gerard said. "I am so excited, I can't believe that we're actually going to the dance together. I haven't had a real date to a dance in a while."
"How come?" Jamia asked.
"Never really had a serious boyfriend or girlfriend," Gerard said with a small shrug. "Never dated anyone to take to dances."
"Well, I'm really glad that you're able to have someone to take," Jamia said. "You two are going to have such a good time."
"And you're gonna have an amazing time with Pete," he said. "Come on, let's go grab something from the food court."
The two grabbed some burgers and fries before sitting at a table in the corner.
"God, is she following us?" Jamia asked. "What a stalker."
Gerard looked up and saw Alicia buying food. He took an opportunity to look her over. She had messy black hair, matching her heavy, messy black eye makeup. She had on a black zombie shirt with skinny black jeans and a studded white belt. On top of all that she had some neon yellow converse matching her colorful bracelets, which went halfway up her forearm.
"Maybe we can invite her to eat with us and she'll see that I'm a really nice person and she'll apologize for what she did," Gerard suggested.
"No offense but I don't think that's a really good idea," Jamia said. "I mean, last time I had a sit down with her then she was just so rude the entire time. Besides, I don't want another dead rat situation."
'God, just the thought of that makes me gag," Gerard mumbled.
They finished eating and went back to Gerard's house.
"So, can I see this letter?" Jamia asked.
Gerard handed the envelope to her, sighing as he sat on the bed. Jamia bit her lip as she looked at the photos.
"Do you think she followed you to that party?" Jamia asked.
"I don't know, maybe, you didn't happen to see her around at all that night did you?" He asked.
"I was with Debby all night shopping for baby stuff and then hanging out at my house," Jamia said. "I didn't see her around town at all."
"Weird, I really hope she didn't follow us to that party," he said.
"Maybe she isn't working alone, maybe there was someone from North Brunswick who would want you back and is working with her and that person took the photos for her," she said.
"I mean, Lindsey was being a little bit bitchy to Frank, I know that she's missed me," Gerard said.
"Maybe she's working with Alicia," Jamia said.
"God, I have a headache," Gerard mumbled, laying down. "This is just dumb and childish, I can't believe that someone things I'll actually leave just because of some silly little anonymous note. It's not like I even have a choice, my parents live here, they choose where we live."
"Do you have family back in North Brunswick?" Jamia asked.
"Yeah, my grandparents," Gerard said.
"Maybe if she gets too annoying you can go stay with her for a little bit," she said.
"No, no way," Gerard denied. "I am not going to just let her win. She can't just scare me away because she wants to date Frank."
"I mean, she's a freak, she can be dangerous," Jamia said. "I mean, if anyone were to start a shooting at her school then it would definitely be her. She was in a psych ward for half of sophomore year. Trust me, Gerard, she's crazy. I would be careful of her."
"Well, either way I'm still not just going to leave because of her," Gerard said. "She can get dragged back to the ward before I ever listen to her."
Jamia sighed, setting the things down.
"That is, like, mega creepy," she said. "Taking random photos of people are so fucking weird."
"People here are so odd," Gerard said. "Ever since I moved here my life has been completely turned upside down. It's like I went through some kind of vortex when I moved here. It's...god, it's so weird."
"Let's just ignore Alicia and all her dumb, stupid little threats because we are not going to let her ruin your perfect relationship with Frank," Jamia stated.
"It is pretty perfect, isn't it?" Gerard asked. "I know it's still pretty early and everything but I think that we seem really great together and I hope that we stick together for a long time."
"Maybe he can come by and hang out after his shift," Jamia suggested. "He has to pick up his suit for the dance anyways."
Gerard nodded, sending Frank a quick text. He put the envelope back into his nightstand drawer, pushing it out of his mind.
"You are gonna look so cute in your dress," he said. "We should carpool together, maybe go out for dinner together before the dance. It can be like a double date."
"Yeah, that sounds really good," Jamia agreed. "Pete was going to pick me up and I can ask what he thinks about the double date and maybe he can pick you two up too."
"This is seriously going to be the best dance ever," he said. "Are you and Pete running for King and Queen?"
She shrugged. "We haven't really been running or anything but, you know, you saw the ballots."
Gerard nodded. The ballots were passed out earlier today, finalizing the list of kings and queens down to three each. Gerard, Frank and Pete were all in the running for king. Jamia, Debby and some other girl Gerard didn't know were eligible to be queen.
"Usually there aren't any new people on the list," Jamia said. "I'm surprised, you actually kicked Brendon off the list. He's always on it."
"Well, sorry to him, I didn't mean to push him off," Gerard said. "Maybe I can take my name off the ballot for him."
"No, no, it's okay, I'm sure that Brendon doesn't really mind, he doesn't usually win anyways," Jamia said. "People usually like to vote for couples and since he's dating Ryan they don't win together. We've never had a gay couple win before."
"That would be cute if I could win with Frank but I get that he just isn't ready yet for all of that," Gerard said.
"When did you come out?" Jamia asked.
"I never really did, I just started dating boys," he said. "I never really felt the need to stand up and make some sort of big, special announcement."
Jamia nodded, playing with the hem of her shirt.
"I'm really glad that you're dating Frank, he seems really happy with you," she said. "Everyone wants him to be really happy because he's had kind of a sucky life without his dad and struggling to make ends meet and everything."
Gerard smiled, nodding his head.
"Do you know when he's seeing his dad again?" Gerard asked.
"Probably some time after Christmas," she said. "That's when he usually sees him. Usually he ends up calling me the entire time to complain but I guess that he can call you this year instead."
"So, the car accident that killed Frank's ex, how did that happen?" Gerard asked.
"The car accident?" She asked. "Oh, um, it was texting, I think. I can't remember who, her or the person she collided with but one of them was texting."
"Oh, that really sucks," Gerard mumbled. "I hate it when people text and drive. I mean, how can someone be so inconsiderate to put everyone else's life at risk just over some stupid text?"
"Yeah, texting and driving is probably one of the worst things you could do," Jamia agreed.
Gerard stared up at the ceiling of his bedroom, biting his lip. He knew it was probably unbelievable for him to miss Frank already but he did. He was always missing Frank whenever they were apart, even if it was only for a short amount of time.
Frank finally came by after his shift, smiling as he gave Gerard a kiss.
"Did you get a dress?" Frank asked.
"Yes, I found the cutest one," Jamia said. "I am going to really impress Pete at this dance."
"You know, you have never once mentioned liking Pete," Frank said. "Where did all of this come from all of the sudden. You never liked him before."
"I don't have to tell you everything," Jamia stated.
"Well, I mean, you always used to tell me everything," Frank stated. "You know what, it doesn't matter. I am just glad that you found someone that you like and that you have someone to take you to the dance."
Jamia nodded, pulling out her dress.
"What do you think?" She asked.
"That is a really beautiful dress, Mia," Frank said. "You're going to look great."
"We should see you in your suit," she said. "We'll get to see how handsome you're going to look."
Gerard pulled the suit out of the closet, letting Frank try it on.
"Wow, this is weird wearing a real suit for once," he said. "Do I look okay?"
"You look absolutely beautiful, Frankie," Gerard said. "You look so handsome."
Frank blushed, looking down at the suit.
"You do look really amazing, Frank," Jamia said. "All dressed up and nice. Can't wait to see when you've showered and cleaned up completely."
Frank smiled, looking in the mirror.
"It does look pretty good," he said. "Are you sure I can keep this? I mean, I can pay you for it."
"No, no, we were gonna donate it anyways, you keep it," Gerard said. "Seriously, you're gonna need it for prom anyways. You don't need to pay us anything for it."
"Thank you so much," he said, kissing Gerard's cheek
"It's getting late, I should get going," Jamia said.
"Oh, yeah, me too," Frank agreed. "Wanna walk with me, Jamia?"
She nodded and he changed back into his regular clothes, putting the suit in his bag. Gerard gave them both hugs before they left. He watched out the window as they argued while walking home.