I Drew You Once in Art Class

Fifty-Nine

Shit.

Gerard felt totally mean.

He hadn't meant to react so quickly but in his defense, Frank really didn't understand why he did.

Gerard didn't really want to tell him why, but he now figured he should. He'd see Frank in art class; he could do it then. He made his way to his math, anxiousness stirring around in his stomach.

-

Walking through the doorway of the art room, he saw Frank sitting at their table, his head resting on one hand, the other sketching something on a piece of paper. Upon closer look, the sketch was of a pencil that lay on the desk in front of him.

"Hey, that's really good," Gerard said, setting down his messenger bag.

"Nah, it's nothing special."

Gerard could kind of tell Frank wasn't putting much effort into the drawing at all, which he found pretty cool because it really was good.

"Can we talk about earlier?" Gerard asked.

"Nah, we don't have to," Frank said, trying to sound neutral, clearly not feeling neutral.

"I think we should."

Frank turned his head expectantly toward Gerard, curious as to what he had to say.

"Listen, Frank, I was bullied at my old school. Like, for being gay."

Frank's eyes softened and his eyebrows arched slightly. "Oh. I'm sorry."

"It's fine, but you can understand why I'm a little reluctant about stuff now, right? I mean, I know we're at a school where it's not a problem, that's, like, the whole reason we moved here, but it still makes me nervous. I sorta just- reacted out of habit."

"Yeah, I get that. Sorry for being weird about it."

"It's fine."

And with that, he found Frank's hand under the table, squeezing it in his own.

He exhaled. Everything was fine.