Angel: Twelve.
Gerard wasn't in school on Tuesday. I didn't see him waiting for me outside school when I got off the bus, I didn't see him at lunch, and I didn't see him anytime after school either. Mikey was in school, but when I asked him where Gerard was, he just shrugged; his face was obscured because he was intently concentrating on his lunch, so I knew he was hiding Gerard's whereabouts. It's not like it means that much to me, I mean, I didn't know him very well, but I would at least think he would tell his brother's boyfriend where he is.
When the final bell finally rang, I didn't waste any time getting to my locker, getting my shit, and walking straight home, not even bothering about all the people that were shooting me dirty looks from pushing past them to get out of the building.
I was thankful that it wasn't pouring down rain when I was walking home, which only made trudging up the hill behind my house that much easier. When I opened the back door, my cousins were plopped in front of the television watching something that I couldn't see (and didn't want to see), but could hear. It sounded like some vulgar movie they weren't supposed to be watching (I know, I was surprised when I heard that there were rules in this house, too), so that made me assume that my aunt and uncle weren't home. Garrett and Josiah didn't even look up when I opened the back door, and I knew that I wasn't going to be able to capture their attention, so I just walked right past them and upstairs.
I set my backpack down by my bedside and shuffled my shoes off by my dresser. I plopped onto my bed and pulled my computer out from under my bed. I turned it on and signed into Skype, hoping I could talk to Gerard. My phone's battery took a huge shit the other night, so I don't have a cellphone anymore, or otherwise I would have just texted Gerard and asked him where he was myself.
I saw Gerard's name pop up in my Skype window, and I smiled, messaging him a hello.
'the-only-way: hey Frankie!'
'iero-: where were you in school today, Gee?'
'the-only-way: you didn't get my text?'
'iero-: my phone's battery took a huge shit last night, and I can't get it to work anymore, so I'm stuck without a phone for a
while...'
'the-only-way: oh, I'm sorry, Frankie, that really sucks. do you know when you're gonna get a new one?'
'iero-: nope. I mean, I haven't told my aunt or uncle or anything that my phone doesn't work, so maybe if I tell them, they might offer to get me a new one, because I know how much my aunt loves to be in constant contact with me. that's the good thing about having cousins; my aunt has motherly instinct and she can't help if it rubs off on me as well.'
'the-only-way: :) well that's good. so, Frankie, I have a surprise for you!'
'iero-: you...do?'
'the-only-way: yeah! don't worry, I think you're gonna love it. can you come over?'
'iero-: my aunt and uncle aren't home, and I don't have a phone, so they won't know where I am if they get home and I'm not here...'
'the-only-way: oh, okay...' There was a moment of message silence before Gerard started typing again. 'the-only-way: could I come over to your house?'
I thought for a moment before I replied. My aunt and uncle always let Garrett and Josiah have friends over when they're not home, especially on the weekends, but it's Tuesday, so Gerard wouldn't stay long, and I didn't see why the same rules that applied to my cousins didn't, or couldn't, apply to me (although they usually never did because I was never in the same circumstances). 'iero-: i don't see why not...'
'the-only-way: cool! so where do you live? XD'
'iero-: haha, if you go back to school, and you stand on the bus platform, you'll see a small clearing in the trees. go straight through there for a little bit and when you come to a large, steep hill, my house is very most likely on top of it.'
Gerard didn't respond for a moment or two. 'the-only-way: I should have mentioned that I'm shit with directions...'
'iero-: oh, haha, well...just go back to school and I'll be standing at the entrance to the clearing, okay?'
'the-only-way: I can do that, haha. just don't stand there in the clearing for too long, I don't want you to freeze. :)'
'iero-: haha, thanks, Gee, but I think I'll be fine. I have to walk down there myself, and that takes about five minutes. how long will it take you to walk to school?'
'the-only-way: about ten minutes. so if I leave in five minutes, you leave in ten minutes, okay?'
'iero-: okay, Gee, see you soon :)'
'the-only-way: yep! bye Frankie :)'
I saw Gerard go offline and I smiled, taking a minute to wonder what the hell sort of surprise Gerard could have for me. Before I knew it, my thoughts had wandered to Gerard in general, and all of the things I thought were absolutely perfect about him, and when I had come out of my reverie, I checked the time. "Fuck!" I yelled. Gerard was probably wondering where the fuck I was, because I had sat there for fifteen minutes, and I felt even worse as I was rushing to put on my shoes, because I knew that he would have to wait another five minutes for me to get to the entrance of the clearing.
As I opened the door and was about to run out, I almost literally ran into my aunt and uncle who were coming in the door.
"Frank," my aunt said.
"Hi," I said hurriedly.
"Where are you going?" she asked, noticing that I was standing at the door and I had my jacket and shoes on.
"Uhm, I was actually about to go pick up my friend at the entrance to the clearing by school, because he's shit with directions and I was gonna bring him over here. Is that okay?" I explained. I avoided using the word "boyfriend" with my aunt and uncle because I know my aunt is weird about that kind of thing. If I lived with just my uncle, he wouldn't give a shit, and I could use it as freely as I wanted. But I answered mainly to my aunt; my uncle was just like her minion, so I did whatever she wanted.
My aunt smiled lightly at my explanation, something I had been seeing her do a lot lately...and it freaked me out a little bit because it was something I never saw her do until recently. "That's perfectly okay, Frank. He just can't stay past eleven-thirty, okay?"
I nodded vigorously, smiling. "Thanks, Aunt Cris! I'll be back in a little bit."
I thought I heard her say something in response to me, but I didn't hear her as I was running too fast out the front door. I wasn't even sure if I had even closed it all the way, and I would apologize when I got back, since I wouldn't be so rushed. I would also apologize profusely to Gerard for making him wait outside the school for ten minutes in the cold.
I was seriously out of breath when I reached the entrance to the clearing, and I looked up when I partially caught my breath to see Gerard walking toward me. My mouth dropped and my eyes widened when I saw him...and his hair. He was chuckling when he came up to me, and I just stood there, hunched over slightly because I hadn't completely caught my breath yet. A few minutes later, when I stood up with full breath, I said, "Holy shit, Gerard!"
"Hi, Frankie," he replied, still chuckling.
"Your hair!" I exclaimed.
Gerard laughed. "What about it, Frankie?"
I just stood there, open-mouthed, for about two or three minutes before I actually said anything. "It's...black," I said.
"You're very observant, Frankie."
"Oh, shush, Gee. Why did you dye your hair?"
"I had the red for a long time, and I was getting tired of having to re-dye it all the time. Besides, black is very basic." He ran his fingers through my little piece of hair that hung over my eye. "And also besides, you have black hair, too, and I love it on you."
I blushed lightly, shaking my hair out. "Thanks, Gee, but I hope you didn't dye your hair black because of me."
He shook his head. "Of course not. I've had my hair black before, and I loved it. And while I loved the red hair, too, it got tiresome to have to bleach and then dye to get the color to stick every time the color started to fade," he said.
"Okay," I said, smiling and standing on tip-toe to peck his cheek. "Let's get back to my house so we both don't freeze."
Gerard smiled and took my chin in his hand and brought it close to his face. He then kissed me, long and sweet. "Let's go, then." He took my hand and squeezed it. "Lead the way, Frankie."