The Babysitter - Frank Iero X O.C.

3: The Iero Bunch

I could hear kids running about as soon as I stepped through the door.
A little girl with blonde-ish hair appeared running down the stairs.
"Hi Dad," she greeted Frank, "Who's that?"
"This is Andy," he brushed his hand on my shoulder and I had to suppress a shudder.
"Hey, kid," I high-fived the girl, "What's your name?"
"Cherry," she said, contently, "Cherry Iero. The first."
I laughed, "Well, nice to meet you, Cherry Iero the First."
Two more kids appeared in the hallway. Another girl and a younger boy.
"Andy, this is Lily and Miles," Frank smiled at his kids, "So, kids, Daddy's going out tonight and Andy's gonna keep an eye on you guys."
"Hi Andy!" said the little boy named Miles.
"So, tell me, where are you off to?" I turned towards Frank and whispered, "Hot date?"
He giggled, "Not exactly. My friend Gerard set me up on a dating app for fun. Basically just dinner with a stranger."
I could feel the irritating whack of disappointment settle in my stomach. But what could one date with a stranger do?
"Sounds like a date to me," I nudged him, chuckling.
He rolled his eyes, "Well, I gotta go in about thirty minutes. C'mon, I'll show you around."
Frank showed me the kitchen, the bathroom, the living room and the kids bedrooms.
"Where's your room, kiddo?" I asked, reasoning only moments after saying it how flirtatious it sounded.
"Why'd you ask?" Frank smirked.
I shrugged, "Could be useful information."
Frank rolled his eyes and smiled, "Across from Cherry and Lily's room."
"Good to know," I giggled, heading towards the stairs.
'Jeez, Andy, keep it in your pants,' I thought, smiling to myself.
We went back downstairs to start making dinner for the kids.
"Right," Frank looked at his watch, "We got fifteen minutes, what do we make?"
I opened up a cabinet, "Ok, we have pasta, tinned tomato sauce, salt, pepper... looks like pasta for dinner."
"Awesome, I'll boil the water:"
We cooked up the pasta and heated up the sauce.
"So, tell me," I said, "Does no one watch the kids while you're at work? When do they come home from school?"
"The bus normally gets here around 4," Frank said, "You'd be surprised at how mature Cherry is for a nine year old. She gets everyone inside and they normally just watch cartoons or do homework for thirty minutes, then I get home."
"Cherry seems like a good kid," I smiled.
"She really is," he grinned down at the pasta he was mixing.
Then, it was time for Frank to go.
He ran upstairs while the kids ate and threw on a black button up shirt and some black jeans.
He spun around in the hallway and did the lame finger guns at me.
"What do we think?"
"What a babe!" I giggled, pretending to fan myself with a tea towel.
Frank giggled, "Thanks, Andy, my dear."
"Go have fun, you crazy kid," I patted his shoulder, "Curfew is 11."
"Awh, Mom, can't it be 11:30?"
I laughed, "Alright, get outta here, kid."
Frank smiled at me, "Thanks for doing this for me, Andy, I really appreciate it."
I shrugged, "No problem."
He nodded and opened up the door.
Frank then turned around and hesitated slightly, looking at me with this weird expression on his face. It was as though he wanted to tell me something but wasn't sure how to say it.
He then shook his head and said, "See you in a while, Andy."
I went back into the kitchen where the kids were finishing their dinner.
"Hey, gang," I smiled at them, sitting down.
"Can we watch a movie, Andy?" Lily asked.
"Sure," I giggled, "Any ideas on what movie?"
All three of the kids shrugged.
"Do you know any good movies, Andy?" Cherry asked.
"Yeah, I know a few," I smiled, "There's this one I used to watch when I was younger. It's about twin girls who were separated at birth, then they meet each other at a summer camp and swap places. The one living with the mom goes home with the dad pretending to be her sister and the same with the other."
"Cool!" Miles exclaimed.
"Let's watch that one!" Cherry said.
So, I cleaned up all the dinner stuff and we went into the living room. I found the movie on a streaming site and we watched it.
Miles curled up beside me and rested his head on the side of my arm. Cherry was on the other side of me, leaning against my shoulder. Lily sat on the floor on a pillow with her back against my legs.
It was strange. I'd never really imagined myself with kids because it just felt so far ahead in my future.
But, this was nice. Watching a movie with the kids. Good practice for whenever I might have some kids. Or, at least, a little taste of what it'd be like. Maybe I won't have kids. Who knows?
I liked these kids. Possibly because I got to skip out on the diapers and scream-crying at 5am.
I checked my phone halfway through the movie.
I had a text from Rachel asking where I was.

RACH: Hey Andy! Ur not home?
ME: Hey Rach. Sorry forgot to tell u I'm babysitting tonite :)!
RACH: No bother. I have Ash over anyway. Didn't know u babysat?
ME: Mr Iero kinda asked me to last minute lol
RACH: UR AT MR IERO'S HOUSE?!
ME: CHILL, he's on a date!
RACH: Ugh. Well, hope u have a good time at his house when he's back;)
ME: SHUT UP XD
RACH: LOL anyways I gotta go. see u later babez x
ME: Heheh coolio. Tell Ash I said hi :)

I'd say Rach was glad to have the apartment to herself and Ashley for a while anyway.
I'd told her pretty much everything about the whole Mr Iero thing. We sit together in the class right after his, so I give her little updates.
Rach seems to think we're "falling in love" but she says that about every guy I so much as glance at.
The movie ended at around 9pm, so I got the kids ready for bed right afterwards.
I sat with Cherry for a few minutes.
"Y'know, dad talks about you," she informed me.
I smiled, "Oh yeah? What does he say?"
"He said there was a girl called Andrea in his class and that she's really funny."
"He thinks I'm funny?"
"Uh huh, and pretty."
I blinked, "Pretty?"
"Yeah," Cherry smiled, "I said 'Is she a pretty girl?' And he said 'Very.' "
I grinned at Cherry, "Well, thank him for me, will you?"
Cherry giggled, "Do you think he's pretty?"
I laughed, then nodded, "Maybe."
Cherry smiled up at me, "Goodnight, Andy. Thanks for showing us that movie! I loved it!"
"No problem, kid," I ruffled her hair, "Night night."
I said goodnight to the other two and headed downstairs to wait for Frank. I sat on the couch and texted Rachel that I'd be home soon.
He came in at about 10:30.
"I made curfew!" he smiled, popping his head around the living room door.
"Hey, Frankie," I grinned.
He sat down beside me.
"Date go well?" I asked.
He shook his head, "No spark."
"Well, how often is a spark felt on the first meeting," I shrugged.
Frank looked into my eyes for a moment, then said, "It's possible."
It was absolutely possible. I had known it was possible since the first English class of the semester.
I smiled, "Y'know, if I'm gonna be your regular babysitter, I might need some form of contact for you."
He grinned, "Can I get your digits?"
I snorted at his use of the word 'digits'.
"Gimme your hand," I said, picking up a pen that was on the coffee table.
I held his hand gently in mine and scribbled my number down on it.
He kept his hand on mine when I was finished.
"I'd better go," I whispered, looking at our hands.
"See you tomorrow morning, Andy," Frank whispered back.
"Bye, Frank."