Finally, the goddamn day he'd been waiting for had arrived. Like any other teenager, he celebrated Halloween by watching horror films and stuffing his face full of sugar, though it was even more than that to Frank; it was his birthday.
Often, when he told people this, there were only two types of reactions he expected (and secretly hoped for): "That's so cool!" or something along the lines of "Satan's child." Honestly, it was ridiculous, but it made him laugh, so he chose not to mind.
However, this Halloween had been by far the most weirdest, yet wonderful, birthday he'd ever experienced -all thanks to Gerard.
-
To celebrate Halloween, the whole school was smothered in decorations. There were huge fake spiders hanging from the ceilings, spider webs draped over the doors and strung up the stairs; black and orange bunting was hanging from light to light; and there were Halloween stickers stuck on the windows. Frank never used the cafeteria, but he was sure there would be a Halloween themed menu.
In the art department, people had created 'spooky' drawings specifically for this day and stuck them to the walls. Frank was discussing them with Gerard before they'd had to stop because someone strolled in.
"Hello, princess." Brendon greeted with a wicked smirk, slumping in to a chair.
Furrowing his brows, he leaned back a little, narrowing his eyes at him sceptically. "What's happened? Why're you smiling like that?" Frank's eyes grew wide as Brendon only tilted his head down and looked at him maniacally through his hair.
"Halloween."
"Yes, well done." Frank said sarcastically, rolling his eyes. He loved Brendon and his strangeness, but Gerard was sat at the desk and he felt rather awkward with him there while he was talking to another person. It was like he was an audience. "And?"
"It's your birthday!" Brendon grinned, slamming his hands down on the table.
Instantly, Frank leapt forwards, clapping a hand over Brendon's mouth. "Shh!"
Scowling, he licked his palm, causing Frank to grimace and pull back. "What?" He whispered, somewhat annoyed and confused. "Is it some big secret now?"
"Yes." He deadpanned, casting a quick glance at Gerard, who, luckily, seemed to be taking no notice of them, typing away furiously on the keyboard.
Huffing, Frank grabbed Brendon's hand, dragging him in to the middle room (they'd have to go in there soon, anyway, lunch was almost over and they had art next).
"Watch it." Brendon hissed, nearly tripping over his own bag. "What's the big deal?"
Frank shut the door, leaning back against it. It was nearly the end of the day, though he still had absolutely no energy to carry on. And honestly, he didn't want Gerard to know it was his birthday because -knowing Gerard- he'd want to get him something, or feel bad for not getting him anything in the first place.
This time, he caught his words before he spoke about their art teacher. "Mr Way is right there."
"So?"
Folding his arms across his chest, Frank opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. He couldn't find a reason as to why he didn't want Gerard to know that didn't sound weird. Although he was his friend, he was still his teacher, and they both knew that people would find that odd.
Eventually, he let his arms drop and sighed, "It just is."
"Okay?" Brendon furrowed his brows before an excited expression overtook his features. "Anyway, guess what."
"There could be a million different answers-"
He cut him off with an unamused glare. "I'm having a Halloween party at my house and I want you to come."
"A party?" What was remaining of Frank's limited confidence plummeted, his heart beginning to pound. "I-"
"I know you don't like parties." He said sympathetically, giving the most consoling smile he could muster. "But I really want you to come. I'll stay with you the whole time."
Admittedly, hearing that did help the slightest. "I. . ." He sighed. "You shouldn't have to miss everything because of me. You'd get bored."
"Please." Brendon took his hand, squeezing it gently.
Slowly, Frank shook his head.
Knowing what would catch his interest, he pressed his lips together in a small smirk. "What if I told you there's a present waiting for you at mine?"
"Well, maybe."
-
Practically bouncing off the walls, Frank tried not to let his internal joy show on the outside as he refrained from skipping to the art department. He'd seen Gerard merely an hour ago, though he was still happy to get to see him again.
Shoving the double doors open, he strolled in to 169a to see a familiar face -but it wasn't Gerard's. Halting dead in his tracks, Frank nearly tripped over his own feet. A heat rose to his cheeks and he gulped -sure it was louder than anything else in the room.
The teacher that was there in Gerard's usual place -Mr Wright- turned around, finding Frank's sudden burst in quite rude and not the sort of behaviour that should've been in school.
"Calm down, Frank." Mr Wright told him calmly, then refocused his attention back on the student's books he was sorting out.
Rubbing his eyes, Frank mentally cursed at himself, wishing he hadn't done that. He placed his bag on the floor. "Uhm," He took a deep breath, "Do you know where M-Mr Way is? Has he gone already?"
Shaking his head, he turned around. "I just passed him in the halls."
"Leaving?" Frank frowned, sighing deeply. "Where was he going? I need to talk to him." He noted the puzzled expression on Mr Wight's face, thinking he could have toned down his eagerness. "It's important."
"Can't it wait until tomorrow?"
He shook his head.
"Is it anything I can help you with?"
Frank shook his head a second time. "I don't think so."
Collecting the books, Mr Wright sorted them neatly in to a carrier bag, then walked over to the doors, pausing to answer. "Last I saw him he was downstairs. . . I think he was heading to the back doors."
"Thank you." Frank muttered, gratefully.
Mr Wright exited, leaving him in a damp mood. Surely if he was heading to the doors, that meant he was going home? If that was the case, Frank no longer felt like stopping behind to do art.
Just as he was about to go, he caught sight of Gerard's denim jacket hung over the back of a chair, his bags dumped beside it. Frank smiled.
-
Because he no longer attended PE, Frank's physical fitness had decreased and he was surprised when he managed to leg it down the side stairs, past the music rooms and through the back doors.
It was awfully foggy outside, making anything more than 200 yards in front impossible to see. The most he could make out were the bleachers and a few bins dotted around the fields.
Glancing to the right, he found his art teacher leaning against the wall, his back to him. Gerard had rolled the sleeves of his shirt up, some of it had become untucked and he wore a waist coat, jacket discarded upstairs. There was smoke creating a cloud around him and it was easy to figure out what he was doing.
"Sir." Frank gasped, clutching dramatically at his chest.
Startled, Gerard whipped around, snatching the cigarette from his chapped lips. Expecting to be told off, he took a deep breath.
"It's not good to smoke."
Relieved it was only Frank, he let the air out of his lungs in a coughing fit, placing the back of his hand over his mouth. His lips curled in to a half smile, "It's not good to creep up on people, either, but you did that, so let me enjoy my thing."
Raising his eyebrows, Frank cocked his head to the side. "I don't think you're allowed to do that on school grounds, anyway."
"Really?" His smile faltered and he took one last drag, blowing the smoke in to Frank's smug face.
Wafting at the air, he scowled playfully. "They didn't tell you?"
Thinking back, Gerard shook his head.
"I bet you're glad I came and not someone else."
Gerard tilted his head down, looking at Frank through his long lashes and tangled hair. "Why did you come?"
"You weren't upstairs and Mr Wright said you might be down here."
"Oh, right," He smiled, "Then, yes, I'm glad." Gerard brushed his hair back, showing off the teal roots, as he tapped the end of the cigarette with his other hand. "I'm also glad you're here because I needed to tell you something important." His voice had taken a more serious tone.
"Oh," Frank grew nervous. "Yeah?"
Nodding, Gerard walked past him to bin his cigarette. Confused, Frank paused for a moment, then went to turn around. "About-"
He was cut off when Gerard caught him from behind, tackling him to a hug. His arms wrapped around him and Frank brought his hands up to hold on to them, his skin cold under his warm touch, sending a tingling feeling up his arms.
Gerard's hot breath tickled his neck as he whispered in to his ear, "Happy birthday, Frankie."
All Frank could do was laugh. "Thank you, Gee."
Gerard rested his head next to Frank's, closing his eyes. Their lips were so close, causing Frank's heart beat speed up. He tried not to think about how Gerard was pressed up against him and how his arms were holding him tightly. Everything felt so perfect, he practically melted in to his embrace, letting out a sigh of contentment.
Far to quickly for his liking, it was over. Albeit Gerard was a little reluctant to let go, too.
"Thank you." Frank murmured again, dropping his arms as Gerard released him, though he kept his hands on Frank's waist as he spun him around to face him, making Frank grin widely.
"No problem." He replied with a smile. Under the autumn sun, his eyes glowed and Frank may or may not have stared.
Then he furrowed his brows, casting his gaze to the side. "How did you know it was my birthday?"
Gerard raised his eyebrows.
"You heard?"
"Of course I heard." He smirked. "I have superhuman hearing. Plus, Brendon isn't exactly the quiet type, is he?"
"Not really." He chuckled.
"You know," He paused, "We have to celebrate your birthday. It's not fair you had to come in to school in the first place."
A blush crept up to his cheeks and he glanced away. "We really don't have to do anything. . ." Frank objected, although he was curious to what Gerard had in mind.
"I want to."
"Well," He took a breath, "What do you suggest?"
Biting his lip, which caught Frank's attention, as always, Gerard slowly moved his hands from Frank's hips and hooked his thumbs through his belt loops. "The music rooms are vacant?"
Frank snorted. "We're gonna sing Halloween songs?"
"We are now." Gerard chuckled as he lead the way inside, opening the doors and propping it open for him with his foot.
"Really?" He couldn't help but grin at Gerard's manners.
"You said it." He tapped Frank on the nose, making him scrunch his face up in protest. "I was only going to suggest we mess around with the instruments and play Green Day songs. But you just made it better."
Irritatingly, his anxiety kicked in at the most inconvenient time, as usual. "What if we get caught?"
Clearly, Gerard had thought about this. "Technically, the rules are that you need to be supervised by a teacher." He pointed to himself. "Which you are. So, really, we're not breaking any rules."
Raising his eyebrows with a smirk, Frank was pleasantly surprised at Gerard's current behaviour -perhaps it was just the Halloween spirit. Or it could have been the fact that Gerard was a little tipsy after adding alcohol to his morning coffee.
This time, Frank made an effort to beat Gerard to the door and held it open for him like he had done moments ago.
"Why, thank you." Gerard smiled, then his eyes travelled to where the guitars were being stored, automatically drawn to the old acoustic. "Hey, look."
Scratching the back of his head, Frank chuckled at how Gerard's eyes lit up like a kid's on Christmas. "You've never been in here before, have you?"
Picking up the guitar, Gerard shook his head, examining the craftsmanship. "What gave me away?"
He was about to strum the guitar when Frank rushed over, clamping his hands over the strings. He glanced up, his face dangerously close to Gerard's. He swallowed the lump in his throat. "You-you can't do that here."
Gerard sent him a confused look.
"We'll have to go in to the sound proof rooms." Frank explained, slowly straightening up, taking his hands off the strings.
Nodding, Gerard followed Frank, who shut the door behind them, plunging them in to darkness. Apparently, the blinds were closed.
"Where are the lights?"
"Don't ask me. I didn't even know this room existed."
Frank shrugged. "I guess we're playing in the dark, then?"
"Adds to the Halloween vibe." Gerard commented.
Just as Frank walked a little in to the room, he was about to outstretch his arms to feel his way around, when he bumped in to Gerard, who had his back to him. Now, Frank had just started to raise his arms, so when he walked in to Gerard, his hands hit his ass.
If Gerard could have seen how red his face was, he wouldn't have believed he was even a human being.
"Oh my God," Frank blurted out. "I'm so sorry." It was silent for a while, until he heard Gerard giggle, causing his heart to skip a few beats because it was the most adorable thing he'd ever heard.
"It's fine." He laughed. He had to put his hand over his mouth to shut himself up.
Although Gerard was finding it funny, Frank was mortified. "I didn't mean to do that." He apologised again.
"I told you, it's fine."
Currently, Frank was relieved they couldn't see each other because he was a flustered mess. Not quite sure how to move on, he settled for stepping back until he was flat against the wall, stuffing his hands in his pockets. He heard Gerard shuffling around, then it grew quiet.
"Hey, Frank?"
He did his best to keep his voice monotone. "Yeah?"
"Come here."
"Where's here?" He squinted in the dark, only just managing to see the outline of furniture.
Suddenly, causing him to let out a high pitched squeak, Gerard grabbed his wrist and pulled Frank towards him, though he lost his balance and knocked in to a nearby desk. Luckily, Gerard placed a hand on his chest to steady him before he fell.
"You know," Gerard said, hopping up to sit on the desk. "This playing music in the dark thing isn't such a good idea."
Frank laughed faintly. He could only just see Gerard's silhouette, so he jumped up on to the table next to him, their shoulders brushing together.
Even though he'd known him for some time now, Frank got this new-found fluttery feeling in his chest whenever he saw him, or whenever they touched, or whenever they were close. Honestly, it annoyed him because he couldn't quite figure out what it was, but he loved the rush it gave him.
Frank looked down at his hands. "Guess what I've noticed."
Gerard glanced over. "What?"
"You have absolutely no regard for furniture."
Gerard snorted, running his fingers through his hair. "What?"
"You never sit on a chair. It's always a table. Well, unless you're teaching in class and you have to."
"Life is too short to sit where you're supposed to." He snickered, receiving a deadpan glare.
"That is the worst excuse ever." Frank laughed regardless, realising he seemed to be doing that a lot today. Soon, he was sure his ribs would start to ache.
"Anyway," Gerard waved a hand dismissively, shrugging his shoulders, "Do you know any Halloween songs?"
Frank opened his mouth to speak, but just ended up looking like a fish out of water.
"No?"
"Wow." He said in disbelief. "Celebrated Halloween my entire life and I can't even think of any songs. My birthday is on Halloween for God's sake."
"Green Day, then?" He adjusted his fingers on the strings, propping up the guitar on his thigh. "Or a different song from a band we both might know? Any requests?"
"Uhm. . ." Frank swung his legs back and forth off the edge of the table, chewing the inside of his mouth. He didn't like the possibility of suggesting a band Gerard hated. Though a smile spread across his face when he remembered that they both liked The Smiths. "How about Hang the DJ?"
"The Smiths?" Gerard nodded. "Good Choice." Fringe falling over his eyes, he began to play the intro. Though he tensed a little when he kept screwing up, however he was determined and just had to get used to the chords again. It'd been a while since he'd played guitar. "I'm sorry." He sighed, tucking his wild hair behind his ears.
"It's okay." Frank said softly. "How about if you play something that you're familiar with?"
"Well. . ." He sighed, tapping his foot. "Do you know Sisters of Mercy?"
A smile tugged at the corner of his lips, "No, but I'm sure I'll like whatever you play. We have similar music tastes so far -from what I can tell."
"True," Gerard bit his lip, turning his head to face Frank. "But it's your birthday, so I wanted you to choose the song."
Leaning back a little, Frank furrowed his brows. He could smell a tinge of alcohol on his breath. Obviously, he wanted to know why and how. Although it was only by a year, Gerard wasn't even old enough to drink yet. Pushing that thought to the back of his mind, just as he had done with Brendon's upcoming party, he shrugged. "In that case, I request a song by Sisters of Mercy."
"Ha, ha. Well played." Gerard scoffed, rolling his eyes. "Are you sure?"
"Yup."
Gerard hummed in confirmation as he adjusted the guitar on his lap and his fingers on the strings. "Last chance."
"Go on." Frank groaned, nudging him in the ribs. "Just play."
-
Frank had almost forgotten how beautiful Gerard's voice was. It sent chills through his bones. For this particular song, his voice was low and husky.
During the song, Frank had unintentionally leaned closer and closer until he had his head resting on Gerard's shoulder and he was practically slouched with his full weight against him.
Honestly, in the dark room with Gerard's singing, Frank had trouble staying awake. He barely even noticed when the music faded.
"Frank?" Gerard whispered.
"Yeah?"
"Oh, I thought you were asleep." He chuckled lightly, carefully propping the guitar up by the table.
"I love your voice." Frank murmured, absentmindedly tracing lines up and down Gerard's forearm, causing him to shiver. "It's so pretty."
"Thank you." Gerard said quietly, looking down at how Frank had one hand wrapped around his wrist, and the other outlining patterns on his skin. "That tickles, you know."
"Oh, I'm sorry." He stopped, letting go.
"I didn't say it was bad," Gerard said. "But we really should get going."
"Right, yeah." Frank yawned, stretching his back as he stood up. "What was the song you were singing called?"
"When You Don't See Me." He replied, grabbing the guitar, slowly making his way to where he guessed the exit was.
The minute he got home, Frank knew was going to search up the song to download it on his phone. But, he knew the original wasn't going to be half as good as when Gerard sang it.
-
"Thank you, again." Frank beamed, using his art as an excuse not to look at him. If he did, he feared he'd explode with happiness.
Gerard chuckled shyly, glancing up from the work he was marking. "You're welcome. . . But you don't have to keep thanking me."
"I do." He said seriously, pressing his lips in to a fond grin. Mostly, because he couldn't get over the fact Gerard had done something like that for him.
"Oh, I forgot to ask." Gerard put his pen down, resting his head on his hand as he kept his gaze focused on Frank's eyes. "How old are you today?"
Raising his eyebrows, he cocked his head to the side.
"Come on, tell me." Gerard pestered when Frank remained silent. "You know how old I am."
"True." Frank sighed, folding his arms on the desk and leaning forwards. "I'm eighteen."
"Congratulations." He smiled. "You are now an adult." Carding his fingers through his hair, he sighed. "Fair warning: it sucks."
"Really?" Frank frowned, casting his eyes over to him. "Can't be that bad, can it?"
Gerard hummed, eyes flickering at the clock (4:54), a hint of worry in them. "I'll let you be the judge of that. Though don't let me put a damper on your big day."
Shaking his head, Frank tucked his long hair behind his ears. "You couldn't do that. . . What could is that Brendon invited me to a party later and I don't really want to go."
"Oh," Gerard smirked. "You know what that means, right?"
He furrowed his brows. "What?"
"Underage drinking. . . Among other things."
"Oh," A blush rose to his cheeks and he turned away, staring intently at the wall. "I'm not that sort of person."
Gerard noticed the red that stood out against his pale complexion and he smiled faintly. "I didn't think you were."
[Published 2 September 2019]
[Last edited 16 November 2019]