Call of the Siren » Frerard

NINE

IX: the strike of the sirens, and truths finally brought to the surface...

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[note; this chapter sucks, i'm sorry :"(]

Frank was at lunch once more, only this time, they had a guest.

Miraculously, Frank had actually talked to Gerard about Esmé's wishes to eat lunch with him -- and, surprisingly enough, on the days in which they attended their odd classes, he happened to have the same lunch period, even if he normally spent it in the other, smaller cafeteria. 

He was quiet, though, listening in on the conversation instead of actually joining -- a bit of an awkward tension hanging low in the air, similar to the fog that was settled outside, Gerard biting on his lip as he gazed at his lunch.

Esmé obviously wanted to talk to Gerard, but it wasn't really easy -- because she had no idea of how to approach the situation. The mentioned was right beside Frank, seeming to cling to the other's side -- even from the moment they'd entered the room. Frank hadn't been wrong about the whole 'shy' part, because Esmé swore that he hadn't uttered a single word since he'd been here, aside from a meek greeting.

Julie was blabbering away though, having no problem with just talking of whatever random tangent she wanted in order to ease some of the silence. Frank really had no idea what she was talking about, other than some play that she and Ryan had reenacted last year, or something along those lines.

She'd been talking about how there had been some major technical issues on one of the nights, to which Gerard finally spoke up, a gentle, honey smile on his lips. "I remember seeing that," He added, cheeks flushed a bit through his shy spell. "You improvised well."

Julie seemed genuinely surprised for a moment, but smiled, nodding. "Thank you, Gerard."

Gerard nodded back, shrugging gently. "You're doing the play this year, correct?"

Julie nodded. "But Ryan isn't. He's got stage-fright."

Ryan shrugged, not denying the fact. Gerard spoke again. "That's alright. Not everybody is meant for the spotlight. You've got a knack for it, Julie."

"Thank you," Julie said again, flushing a bit -- obviously not used to accepting compliments.

Gerard only smiled, turning to Esmé in a gentle attempt to appease her unease towards him. "Have you ever done any acting, Esmé?"

"Pretended to be straight half my life," She shrugged, to which Frank spluttered a bit. "Other than that, no."

Oh," Gerard said, laughing a little bit -- obviously now feeling the slight passive-aggressive edge to her voice. She was the most overprotective friend of them all, obviously even more weary with how fragile Frank was -- and how suspicious she was of Gerard.

Frank noticed his little frown, though, discreetly reaching his hand beneath the table and placing it atop Gerard's -- the latter looking over, but smiling as he flipped his hand over, accepting the gesture with a little squeeze.

Esmé obviously noticed, eyeing how Frank's arm stuck out a little bit, chewing her sandwich. "So... you're dating now, right?"

Frank nodded, smiling big. "Yes."

"You know, Frank used to tell me how much he was scared of you," Esmé commented -- Frank turning to her, because what the hell? "Interesting to see how the tables turn."