Heaven is a Place, This is a Place

Heaven Is a Place

It had been raining all day.

And Frank hated rainy days. They only made him even more depressed than he was.

Fuck, he still missed Gerard even after all these years.

He stared at the window, pretending to clean the counter, trying not to think about the day Gerard was drunk as hell in the middle of Warped Tour, standing in the rain, just enjoying it. Or that day in London when their bus broke down and they were standing in the rain.

'Hey,' a voice called from somewhere. He almost forgot he was in the middle of his shift, and a young woman was waiting to be served. 'Can I have a tall mocha latte, please?'

'Sure.' Frank ringed her up, and started making her coffee.

'Oh my god! Aren't you that dude from that band?' the woman said, blushing in excitement. Frank tried to pretend he didn't hear. She wasn't the first one to recognize him, obviously, but he had left that life in the past. Now, he was just Frank, barista at Starbucks.

'I'm sorry?' he asked, playing dumb.

'Yes, it's you. My Chemical Romance!'

He faked a smile. There was no way to deny it. He looked different now. His hair shorter than what people remembered, the scruff. But the tattoos were too recognizable. And there was a nametag on his shirt that said Frank. Anyone who was even a casual fan could put two and two together. 'Shh,' he whispered with a finger pressed to his lips. 'Just don't tell anyone, okay? I'm not longer that guy, and I'm just trying to be normal.'

The girl nodded. 'Can I at least have an autograph?' Frank gladly signed her notebook, and she left. It had been four years since the band broke up, and he felt he couldn't escape it, no matter how much he tried.

Not that he hated it or his time playing guitar and being a rockstar. He loved every minute of it, and he knew he was the luckiest motherfucker when he got invited to be part of his favorite band, and all the success they had. And he loved the guys more than anything.

But it hurt a lot too. When they broke up. Not sure if he wanted to keep making music. The depression that followed. And not being with Gerard.

That was what hurt the most.

Gerard held him together since the moment they met. He didn't know how, especially when they were both fucked up back then. But being there for each other when they needed it the most, sharing so many moments together, being in a band together. Falling in love. Sleeping in his arms in his bunk. Helping him get sober. Going through all the crazy shit that was The Black Parade, and how it almost broke Frank once before when they took that break. Getting back together, and keeping their relationship a secret now that they had families. And still, one day, Gerard couldn't take any more of it. The fame, the pressure of a new album, raising a kid at the same time. It destroyed Gerard too, and he decided to break up. Both with Frank and the band.

So Frank preferred not to think about any of that, as much as he could.

It had taken him a while, but he enjoyed his life as a dad, working a normal job, and coming home to Jamia. At first, he wasn't sure what to do. After the band and everything that happened, he wanted a job where he didn't have to think about it the entire day or where his whole life revolved around it so much. He thought about being a mailman for a while, and he even applied at the post office, but they never called, so he got a job at Barnes & Noble. It was more about feeling useful than the money, and he got a discount on books, so that was a plus. But then, kids found out Frank from My Chemical Romance worked there, and would show up just to take pictures, until his boss politely asked him to quit. So he started working at Starbucks.