𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐲 𝐌𝐞 𝐀𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧 ✧ (𝐅𝐫𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐝) [on hold]

✧ Chapter 17 : The Outlet ✧

I was about to head downstairs but I heard a faint thud against my shutters that made me freeze and frown. Two seconds later, I heard that noise again. I opened the shutters and the windows, revealing Frank looking up at me, little rocks in hand.

"Romeo, oh Romeo, could you quit throwing pebbles at my fucking window?" I said annoyedly, adding an ounce of drama in my voice.

Frank snickered, his warm breath creating a mist in the cool night air. "Doing verses now?"

"Do you want the whole neighborhood to know you're here?" I yelled as silently as I could, looking around worriedly.

"Shut up and get your ass down here, Juliet," Frank replied with his usual amused smirk.

I rolled my eyes and crawled outside by the window. I jumped from the second floor. The landing hurt a bit, but it was okay. Frank offered me his hand and hoisted me on my feet.

"You could've gone for the front door, you know?"

"Nah, not romantic enough. I'm ripping you from your cruel household." Frank wrapped an arm around my waist and kissed me. "I'm, like, the fiery dragon rescuing the prince," he giggled. I arched an eyebrow at the quirky, short punk in front of me.

"What happened with your old man anyway?" Frank asked as we walked away from my house.

"My Dad. He bitch-slapped me," I chuckled contemptfully to conceal my shock. Dad has never been violent with me before, has he?

I focused on my memories and remembered that he had started getting violent last year when I met Frank. And of course, it was all repeating itself.

"You should stay away from your Dad," Frank advised. "He's a homophobic prick, I'm telling you. He used to hit you before the accident too because we were dating. Be careful Gee, I don't want you to get hurt. Actually, he's one of the reasons why we decided to leave."

"Yeah? I remember. We wanted to run away."

"Hey... Things don't seem to be changing much and now that you're back, maybe we could..." Frank pondered his words. "Maybe we could run away together. Our plans have been on hold for too long. We could finally leave."

I chewed on my lower lip as I thought. The idea was tempting but also very frightening. "I- I don't know, Frank... I need time to think about it. I'm not sure."

Frank put a hand on my shoulder. "It's okay, no pressure. Take your time. I've waited for months, I can wait a few more."

I brought myself to smile. "Where are we going, by the way?" I laughed, realizing I had just been following him for a little while.

"Well, if you're okay with it, there's a friend of mine who's throwing a nice party. You've had a shitty evening so I figured that would clear your head."

"Sure, sounds great," I said softly. "Do you have a cigarette? No one smokes at my home so..."

"Sure," Frank handed me a cigarette and lit it for me. I had missed the feeling of that smoke burning my throat in such a soothing way.

"Oh, and don't call me Juliet," I mumbled at Frank, shoving my hands at the bottom of my pockets - referring to when he called me that.

"Aww," he giggled and kissed my cheek. "Alright, Juliet."

Frank led me to a house out of town, pretty isolated from the rest of the suburbs. We could hear music blasting and smell the stench from the street. Frank grabbed my hand to help me walk throughout the crowd.

He saluted a guy who I reckoned was the friend he had told me about. There were all types of people in that party, but mainly people who looked older by a few years and dressed like Frank - I mean, Frank and me.