Hell-Bent On Slipping Away

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"The young always have the same problem - how to rebel and conform at the same time. They have now solved this by defying their parents and copying one another." -Quentin Crisp

Frank slammed the car door behind him, letting his annoyance show clearly.

Gerard got in on the driver's side. "School's not all its cracked up to be?" he asked, seemingly worried at his friend's aggressive behavior.

It really hadn't. From day one, Frank knew it would be hell on earth. Every single one of his teachers had given him a dirty look when he walked in for the first time. None of them seemed interesting enough to try to impress, anyways, so by Tuesday, Frank had given up. And it being Friday, Frank was beyond ready for the weekend.

And that was only the teachers. Whoever decided that being outwardly rude was the latest fashion was clearly dropped on their head as a child. The school was too small to hold 1,500 students, so there were practically riots during class exchanges. People would yell and push to get where they were going, and as a short, scrawny freshman, Frank probably got the brunt of it. Kids in his class were Satan's offspring as well - either insufferably judgmental or fresh out of juvie. Frank was used to the first, he was from a Catholic school after all, but having revolting potheads and beefcake convicts will full grown beards in his CP Algebra 1 class was a whole new can of worms.

There had been one girl who was kind of cute that sat next to him in Spanish, and she was nice enough. But she didn't take off her sunglasses and was undoubtedly high as a kite. Frank had ruled her off of the potential friends list when she offered him an Altoids container that didn't smell at all like mint. You can guess where this was going.

Frank looked at Gerard as he started the car, fire in his eyes. "I'd say I'm dead, but I'm fairly certain hell's a whole lot nicer than this."

Gerard laughed. Frank loved his laugh. He would close his eyes and his nose would crinkle, and the whole room seemed to light up. "Don't be so negative," Gerard said. "It'll get better. Why don't you join a club? There's tons of great extracurriculars that I'm sure you'd enjoy." Gerard said this as though Frank would be even remotely interested.

"Yeah, I'm sure there's a great AA program." Frank said.

Gerard smiled. "After school in the gym on Tuesdays."

"Wait really?" Frank asked incredulously. It wouldn't surprise him in the slightest that the school had an alcoholism problem, but what would be a shock is that the school would do anything about it.

"No," Gerard sighed. "Probably should be one, though."

Frank shrugged and a moment passed as the world outside the car window fell behind them. "There's a lot of people."

"Yeah, and it's surprising they're not all white Roman Catholics, right?" Gerard appeared to be stifling a smile.

"Oh, and I just loved being surrounded by fifty shades of God-fearing miracle whip too," Frank played along. Gerard giggled.

The car ride was too short for Frank's liking. He loved playing around with Gerard. "Here's your stop, dude," said Gerard when they pulled in the Iero's driveway.

"You're not coming in?" asked the younger boy, crestfallen.

Gerard looked apologetic. "Sorry. My dad's been in a bad mood lately, and as much as I would like to stay, father dearest would probably beat me if I didn't come home."

Frank wasn't sure whether to take this as a joke or not. Gerard had mentioned his dad hurting him before, but always in a lighthearted manner, so Frank had taken it with a grain of salt. But his friend looked serious this time.

Gerard had apparently noticed the concern on Frank's face, and, glancing to the left, he chuckled and said, "I'm just messing around. See you on the flip side, Frank."

Frank said goodbye and exited the truck, having to hop down to get on the ground. Gerard waved from inside and Frank managed to hold back telling him to stay safe.

Once inside, he threw down his bag by the door. His mom wasn't home yet, so there was no one to nag him to do the piles of homework his teachers had given him as review. He knew he would suffer through it later when he was giving the incentive to do so, but now, its importance seemed small in comparison to the idea of laying on the couch, watching some reality or game show. Frank wasn't smart by any stretch, but he wasn't dumb either. He just was unmotivated and needed the extra push.

The sofa welcomed his tired derriere into the plush cushions. Frank grabbed some pretzels as a snack, switched on the television, and began scrolling through the TV guide. Nothing interesting was on MTV or SyFy, but he stumbled across a documentary, called Insane: The Story Of Our Most Concealed Identities.

It may have been the word insane that caught his eye or the fact that a repeat of the Kardashians wasn't on, but Frank decided to watch it. It was thrilling, telling about a man who went crazy, even though he seemed perfectly normal to everyone else. He had killed his wife and kids before running into the woods in the dead of night. Three weeks later, they found his body with a gunshot wound through the head and a matching pistol still in his hand. The narrator continued to explain the causes of his insanity and why his brain reacted the way it did. What really stuck with Frank was the fact that this surreal world leading to the desire to commit familicide and then suicide was this man's reality. He had snapped and gotten really fucked up in the head, and then not long after, this is who he was.

That was a terrifying thought for the young boy. He began to worry about all of the what ifs, like what if his mother ended up like the man in the documentary? What if Gerard snapped? What if Frank did?

Frank became overwhelmed with this and decided to take a walk. It had been a long week, after all, and he deserved to get out and get some fresh air.

That really was a mistake, considering it was still August and the late summer sun blazed down with all of its might. The bugs would come with the evening, and the outside world would cool down, but the teenager was impatient and went inside again. His mother still had another hour or so before she got home, but Frank got bored waiting for someone to tell him to do his homework, so he started it on his own.

It was easy but Frank didn't finish it all. He had the weekend to do so, but that time would probably be wasted with Gerard.

No, Frank thought, time's never wasted when I'm with Gerard.

Gerard could always make him smile, and Frank longed for that right now. He was just exhausted - from a huge new school to overthinking a series of hypothetical situations to just the general worn-out feeling Frank always possessed. So thinking of his friend, he laid back down on the couch and drifted off.

~~~~~~~~

So this has gotten a pretty positive response so far, and I'm extremely happy! Thank you so much for reading, and remember to vote or comment if you like :)

-cady