I Drew You Once in Art Class

Epilogue

"Hey, me and some of the folks down the hall are going to this cool restaurant. They always have live music, it's pretty sick. You wanna come with us?"

Gerard finished pulling the fitted sheet over the corner of the mattress before turning to his roommate, who was leaning in the doorway. "Yeah, for sure. Lemme finish unpacking this box, and I'm all good."

His roommate, William, smiled and nodded once before walking back down the hall to his friend's room, leaving Gerard to finish up. He pulled out his desk lamp and arranged it on the thin wooden table that he had arranged underneath the window, and plugged the lamp in so it looked a little homier. A couple of posters and this place would be home in no time.

Gerard pulled out the last thing in the box, a stack of empty folders for his desk. He set them down and began folding the box to put in the recycling when something caught his eye.

He reached into the box and pulled out the photograph, the little polaroid of Frank on his back, giggling, with Gerard laughing and looking back up at him.

He'd given this to Frank before he'd left.

"I want you to have it, you know? That photo was your idea in the first place. I have the other one, remember?"

"The other one is not nearly as amazing as this one."

"Frank."

Frank had pouted, then, scrunching his face up at Gerard, which he couldn't help but grin at. Gerard had ruffled his hair, just to annoy him, before continuing to put his things into boxes.

"I can't believe you're leaving. To stupid Pennsylvania."

"It's not too late, you know. I mean, it is for this semester, but you could transfer, like, next semester."

"I don't know. I don't know what I'd even do there."

"Literally anything? It's a big school. It's got a pretty high acceptance rate."

"Yeah, I just... I don't know if I'm much of a college guy, you know?"

Gerard nodded, not making eye contact. He didn't really understand how anyone, especially Frank, could want to stay in the same place with the same people for another god knows how long. He really didn't get it.

Or maybe, he was feeling just a little bit selfish. But we're all selfish sometimes.

"Just... Just think about it, okay?"

"I will."

"You know you're gonna have to manually boot my car because of how much I'll come visit you, right?"

"I would never. I don't even know how to do that."

"Maybe that's why you still can't drive."

"What does that even mean?"

Gerard smiled to himself, looking at the photo in his hands. He noticed some smudging near the bottom and turned it over to find a note.

It was smeared near the bottom and Frank's handwriting had always been god awful, but Gerard could make it out well enough.

G, I want you to have it. You're the one who looks cute in it." -Frank

Gerard rolled his eyes, grinning down at the white rectangle.

"Hey, you coming?"

Gerard tore his glance from the photo to William in the doorway, awaiting his response, his crew walking down the hallway behind him.

"Yeah, just one sec. I'll catch up."

William nodded once again and jogged to catch the rest of his group.

He pulled a thumbtack from the box on the desk and pinned the photo to the wall above it, the light of the desk lamp gently glaring off the plastic seal. He stepped back and examined it before turning on his heel and grabbing his jacket on the way out. "Hey, wait up!"

The photo left behind on the tan wall didn't go anywhere. It waited for him.

This place already felt more like home.