Finally, at long last, the date had landed on a bank holiday and Frank couldn't have been more grateful for the extra day of break from school. In addition, as if by some miracle, his parents were home. Sadly, they had to leave again on Tuesday.
Currently, he was curled up on the sofa, watching TV with his mother (they often watched and discussed shows together because it gave them something to talk about –they didn't have a lot in common) as they caught up on the gaps in Frank's life they had missed. Unfortunately, Frank's father hadn't succeeded in staying in for Monday night and had gone out shopping, claiming he would make his absence up by buying his son his favourite chocolate.
She turned the volume down, turning to her son, making an effort. "So what subjects did you take?"
Frank's face lit up, eager to share his news, and he sat up properly, leaning on the arm of the sofa. "I got in to higher music, game development, photography and art. But I still have to take bloody maths, English, religious studies and PE, which Ger-Mr Way said he'd try and get me out of so I can do art instead, because I have to do last year's art as well as this year's art."
"I'm sorry we dumped you in a new place all of a sudden, especially when you're on your last year." She sighed, scraping her hair back from her face, although it was already tied back.
Frank looked down, finding the carpet the most interesting thing in the world. "It's okay." And honestly, it was. They had gotten him away from a building full of bullies and an awful town that he hated himself for missing. "I like it here." He smiled weakly, knowing it wasn't his parent's fault that they'd had to move so suddenly.
"Why do you have to do two year's worth of art?"
"Because I wasn't here. . ."
"That's ridiculous. Doesn't this school have your work from your previous school? Can't they use that instead?"
"I don't know, but if they do, apparently not. They said I have to do it. And I'm not gonna question it."
"You have to stand up for yourself." She stated firmly, letting Frank know that a lecture on his confidence levels was going to come next, which he really did not want to hear. Again. He didn't want their limited time together to be ruined by the mention of his growing insecurities.
"It's fine, it's not that big of a deal!"
"Fine." She huffed, resting her head on her hand as she stared mindlessly at the TV. "What about that lad, Brendon? Are you still friends with him?"
"Yeah." He mumbled, not bothering to bring up the fact they'd seen less of each other because that type of conversation could last hours. "Art isn't that bad anyway." He spoke up, trying to convince his mother not to go in and talk to the school herself –he knew she would. "I have an awesome teacher. Mr Way."
"Oh yeah?" She smiled; glad he didn't have super strict teachers like she'd had. "Why's he so awesome?"
"I don't know." Frank felt his cheeks beginning to heat up so he glanced away, trying not to let a huge grin dominate the poker face he'd been attempting to master. "He's just kind and is more of a friend than a teacher. Plus, he brings in biscuits sometimes." He quickly added so he didn't come across as gushing; which he totally wasn't doing anyway.
"Does he help with you with your extra art?"
"Yeah, I do it after school."
"That's nice of him to stay after school with you."
Inevitably, a grin broke through. His face reddened as he fiddled with the zip on his hoodie, looking down to hide his smile. "Yeah, it is."
–
To Frank's disappointment, the bank holiday Monday had ended, catapulting him in to Tuesday, where he had to go to a school where no one particularly liked him and he didn't like them either. Save for Brendon, though he was becoming more of a shadow too. At least he had Gerard. Sort of.
Currently, Frank had his head on the desk, arms folded in front of him as he tried to catch up on the sleep he'd missed.
Getting up early to get in to school for eight (an hour earlier than he should have been there) was exhausting and he just wanted to collapse on the pavement sometimes. But he'd been doing it for some months and he wasn't going to quit now.
Just as he'd drifted off, the door opened and Gerard waked in.
Lips parted, he was about to speak when he noticed Frank's state. Furrowing his brows, he dumped his stuff down by his desk, then went over to Frank, crouching down beside him.
"Frank?" He touched Frank's shoulder gently. When he didn't stir, he came to the conclusion he was sound asleep and wasn't going to wake up any time soon. Though he had a class in forty minutes and he couldn't let Frank snooze through it. "Frank?" he repeated a little louder.
A groan came from under the mop of hair. Frank raised his head slightly, eyes soon focusing on Gerard beside him. "Hey." He murmured in a low, raspy voice.
Gerard chuckled. "I'm going to need you to move, sleeping beauty."
"I'm no beauty." Frank joked drowsily, not totally registering the world around him.
"Frank." Gerard sighed, wanting to correct him on that. Instead, he just took a deep breath, ready to speak, but he realised Frank's eyes had fluttered shut once again and his breathing was slow and steady. Clearly he was in no state to cooperate.
Running his fingers through his hair, Gerard shook Frank's shoulder lightly until he half woke up, weary. A loose solution floated in his mind and he debated on acting on it. However, his mind was made up when he took pity on the teen. "Hey," Gerard whispered, "Put your arms around my neck, come on."
Nodding, Frank snaked his arms around Gerard's neck as Gerard hooked his arms under Frank's knees, lifting him up bridal style. As he walked to the middle room, he felt Frank take a deep breath, tickling the skin on his neck.
"Your hair smells nice." Frank commented, threading his fingers through Gerard's hair, tugging ever so lightly, making him shiver slightly.
"Frank." It was meant to sound stern, though it came out as more of a low breath. "Stop that, please." He kicked the door open, careful not to knock Frank's head or feet as he crossed the threshold and gently sat Frank down in one of the chairs.
As Frank unhooked his arms from around Gerard's neck, his fingers ghosted across the skin of his neck and collarbone, causing Gerard to shiver again. Lips parted, he took a step back from Frank, who had settled down with his head on the desk, drifting off.
Sighing, Gerard adjusted the collar of his shirt, suddenly feeling hot. He quietly closed the door, then wandered over to the windows and leaned against the frame, looking down across the football fields. The cold air wafted in, cooling him as he closed his eyes, resting his chin on his arms.
There was a sleeping student in the middle room and there were going to be other students coming in and out of the art rooms all day. Surely, they'd disturb Frank, or the other way around. Luckily, an idea popped in to his head and he hastily scribbled words on a scrap piece of paper.
I've locked the door so people wouldn't just walk in so don't panic. I'll come and check on you when my lessons are over, okay? -G.
After placing that on the desk next to Frank, Gerard locked the door. Next, he called Frank's parents, firstly announcing who he was, informing them he was ill, which then led to Frank's parents calling the school to tell them he wasn't going in. Now, the teachers wouldn't be expecting Frank in any of their classes and he could sleep peacefully.
If they were found out, they'd get in to trouble, though Gerard couldn't guess how much. Maybe what he was doing wasn't that bad. After all, he was only helping out a student.
-
After the first two lessons of the day were over and Gerard was free for a couple of hours, he reminded himself to check on Frank. Carding his fingers through his hair, unintentionally making it messier, he swapped his waistcoat for his denim jacket and pulled the collar up.
Gerard hesitated when he came to the door. He felt somewhat guilty that Frank had had to sleep upright in a chair and fetched a glass of water from the staff room for Frank to help him feel better and hopefully wipe away some of his drowsiness.
Quietly, he unlocked the door, finding Frank with his head on the desk, staring at the door, or rather, now, he was staring at a timid teacher.
"Thanks for the note." Frank chuckled, throat a little hoarse, waving it in the air. "You're right, I would have panicked."
Gerard just smiled, placing the glass down on the table. "For you."
"Thank you." He returned the smile, grateful for the water as his head and throat ached, battling against each other to see which one could hurt him more.
Furrowing his brow, Gerard slowly reached over, tucking runaway strands of hair behind Frank's ear before placing a hand on his forehead. "Are you okay?"
"I guess so?" He shrugged. "Why?"
"You're hot. . . Your-your head feels hot, I-I mean." Gerard stuttered, retracting his hand as his cheeks began to burn a faint red.
"Oh." Frank put the glass down. Then confusion washed over his features as he glanced at Gerard. "What. . . Why aren't I in lesson? Won't I get in trouble for being here?"
"I sorted that." Gerard beamed, a little proud of himself. "I told your parents you were ill, who told the school, so they won't expect you in lesson."
Frank seemed baffled, fiddling with the zip of his hoodie. "You did that for me?"
Pressing his lips together, Gerard nodded.
"But I'm not even ill." He protested, almost folding his arms in defiance.
"You might be. Anyway, aren't you glad you got an extra day off?"
"Yeah." A smile crept back on to his face. He looked at Gerard, who was darting his eyes around the room, seemingly not knowing Frank was staring, which meant he could stare a little longer, fully taking in the characteristics of Gerard's face. Since he'd become his teacher, he hadn't properly seen what he looked like -Frank had a problem with eye contact. Though, Gerard wasn't looking back at him right now, so he traced his face with his eyes.
Then it was over as Gerard felt his gaze and flicked his eyes to Frank, who instantly smiled sheepishly and glanced down.
"What time is it?" Frank asked, for the purpose of filling the silence.
Gerard checked the non-existent watch that he didn't own. He breathed a short laugh. "There's a clock in the other room."
-
To not totally waste the day, Gerard had given Frank his 'still life' art work to do, leaving him to listen to music so he could continue with his own work, which was beginning to eat away at his patience. Honestly though, he hadn't expected marking two classes worth of books to be fun. The constant chatter from Mr Wright's class next door wasn't helping either. They were a seriously noisy bunch and eventually, Gerard surrendered, holding his head in his hands as he waited for the bell to ring to signal lunch.
All the way through the last hour, the nagging at the back of his mind was shouting at him to finish the work at school -mainly because Bert hadn't been too happy about him working at home last time. So when the bell actually rang, it sent a shock of panic down Gerard's spine and he stared wide eyed at the stack of books on his desk, wishing for them to disappear.
"Hey." Frank greeted, startling him. He sat down at a desk near Gerard with his oat bar, wondering why Gerard seemed so jolted. "I know I'm the one with the banging headache, but are you okay?"
A long sigh escaped his chapped lips and he rubbed his eyes vigorously, causing them to water. "I want to go to sleep too. Mind if we both skive and I join you back there?" He laughed dryly, peering at Frank through his fingers.
Finishing his bar rather hurriedly and throwing the wrapper in the bin, he joked, "Be my guest."
[Published 17 June 2019]
[Last edited 9 November 2019]