The World Wants Us

-8

Gerard wasn't allowed any contact with the outside world besides a phone call to his mom and Mikey, so Frank was even more miserable. He was so lonely. Even Mikey didn't feel up to hanging out with him as much as he thought he would. Frank was worried. How was Gerard doing? Were the people treating him nicely? Was he getting closer to his goal? On the rare occassions Frank saw Mikey outside, Mikey would always mention that Gerard asked about him, about how he was doing, and that was it. No other messages got passed.

It'd been a few weeks and Thanksgiving had passed. It was December now and the cold weather had really kicked in. The streets and sidewalks weren't lined with ice and snow every night like up North, but Frank sure as hell bundled up every morning. Sometimes he went to school late just to avoid the early morning. He'd also been smoking more since there was nothing else to do and no one to hang out with, which meant that his drive to even get up in the morning had drastically decreased. Gerard's stupid phone alarm wasn't there to go off anymore.

Frank had been moping for so long that even his mom noticed his change in attitude.

"You really miss him, huh?" She smiled sympathetically. She sat down next to him on the couch and he had his head laid back, staring at the ceiling in silence. He grunted in reply.

"He'll be back soon enough, you big crybaby." His Mom said in a barely teasing tone. Frank rolled his eyes. "You want him to get better or not?" She asked.

"Duh, I want him to get better."

"Then stop thinking about the worse things. You should focus on yourself a bit while he's gone. You think he wants to come back to you being all moody and distant with no change in yourself whatsoever?" She scoffed.

Frank's eyes shifted downwards and he shrugged half heartedly. "I don't know. There's nothing for me to do...or fix." "Maybe there's some hobby you want to work on...or start on?" She suggested.

As it neared Christmas, Mikey started to talk to Frank more. He was more reserved than before and that was surprising, but he still managed to offer a few more smiles than normal to Frank. He rarely saw their mom and never actually went inside their house. Frank kinda felt like all of this was getting to be too much for Mikey though. He didn't know for sure; Mikey never spoke out on his feelings, but that didn't mean he wasn't stressing over it. It wasn't until Frank offered to buy Mikey ice cream again that he finally admitted he really missed Gerard.

"I miss Gee, too," Frank barely shrugged and dug his spoon into ice cream again. "But, this is all for the better. He needs this, you know? I'm sure he really fucking misses you, Mikes."

"I mean, we talk on the phone but...it's not the same. He's timed. And he..." Frank looked up when Mikey trailed off, waiting for him to continue. Mikey bit his lip and kept swirling his spoon in the ice cream, making it melt a bit. "He always says he's sorry. Every single time he calls. I know he is but... it's weird to hear him apologize to me so much." He chuckled breathlessly. "I try not to think about what happened but it's all I can think whenever we talk to each other." Mikey sighed and left his spoon alone, putting his head in his hand. "He tells me he loves me more. It's all weird."

Frank smiled but shook his head. "Whatever. You like it. You know when Gerard tells you he loves you you get all happy inside and you're thanking god you're so lucky to have him as your brother."

Mikey blushed but sucked his teeth and sat back in his chair, crossing his arms. "Shut up."

Frank desperately wished he could at least talk to Gerard once, but his time would come. As long as he was fine and getting better and telling Mikey he loved him 20 times a day, Frank could deal.

"So, how's things with your mom?"

Mikey instantly sighed and shrugged. "The same. We don't talk unless we have to. I mean... it's not like we ever did talk a lot anyway." And that was all he said about her.

***

Gerard was due to come back on Christmas Eve, which was in 2 days, and Frank was excited. He had already gotten Gerard his gift, which was a stack of comics he liked. He only got the ones that had the first issue readily available though. It would suck to get a comic and not start from the beginning.

Frank was out on his back patio smoking. He turned the rolly around in his fingers and sighed. He was getting low and going back to Jason wasn't an option. He needed to find someone else fast and before his stash was depleted.

Since there was no school due to it being Christmas break, Frank had really been doing nothing. Gerard still wasn't there and it sucked. He missed him, and it seemed like his constant brooding and hoping produced the miracle that was his phone ringing. He answered it without looking, staring up at the cloudless sky. "Hello?"

"Someone sounds happy."

Frank squinted at the sky and felt his heart start thumping faster inside his chest. "Gee?"

"Hey, Frank." Gerard said quietly. Frank scrambled up with a huge smile on his face. Hearing Gerard's voice after so long gave him chills. He had only been gone for weeks but like last time, Frank missed him a lot, and he told him that.

"I miss you, too. I can't wait to see you and Mikey."

"And we can't wait to see you. How's it going?" Frank opened his back door and slipped inside. "Good. Really, really good. I feel so much better, Frankie. Aw man. I'm so... content and happy"

"That's awesome, Gee. Really, it is." Frank smiled dumbly at the wall in front of him and sighed. "I'm so proud of you. I'm so happy for you." Frank sounded like he was in awe and Gerard could do nothing but blush and think about hugging Frank once again. He missed him and he even missed school. He couldn't wait to come back.

"Thank you, Frankie."

2 days later, Frank was standing outside of Mikey's house, looking down the street every minute. His mom has gone to get Gerard and was supposed to be back right around now. It was cold out, and maybe Mikey would get reprimanded for waiting outside, but neither boy cared.

Donna's car pulled up while Mikey and Frank were talking about their first experience with snow, and Frank beamed. So did Mikey, who was the first to run up and hug his brother.

Gerard looked the same. Like, really looked the same except for his hair, which was shorter, but other than that he looked like the same Gerard Frank had been with. But he could just tell that Gerard was better. It was like he was giving off this vibe of peace and happiness and Frank had never felt so glad for someone. And he had never missed someone as much as he missed his boyfriend, who had his arms spread out as he beckoned Frank over for a hug.

He jogged over and jumped into his arms, even wrapping his legs around Gerard's waist as they kissed feverishly, not caring what his mom and brother thought. Gerard's lips were warm and smooth and thin and slid against Frank's own perfectly. Gerard had stumbled backwards but eventually laid back against the car, and Frank had to unwrap his legs again.

"I missed you." Frank whispered, kissing Gerard's cheek. "I missed you, too." He chuckled and smoothed Frank's hair back, a small smile on his lips. "Are you staying over?" Gerard asked, and Frank made his eyes wider. Staying over? Gerard was actually going to let him inside his house to spend the night? This was definitely the best Christmas Eve ever. And it was going to be the best Christmas ever. Gerard was back and okay and that was all Frank wanted... and needed.

"Sure."

"Cool." Gerard smiled and kissed him again. As they walked up to his front door, Gerard hung back and squeezed Frank's hand, running his thumb over the smooth skin of it. "Maybe we can smoke up later tonight?" He whispered in his ear, and Frank shook his head. "Smoke up? That hasn't changed, huh?"

Gerard giggled and then pursed his lips together to try to stop smiling. "Nope."

the end.