So Little Time (Frerard)

6: Your Nightmares Might Seem Like They're Your Reality

Gerard had no idea where he was, or how he had ended up here, but it seemed as if he was floating in a world of hazy darkness. He was standing on something; he couldn't catch a glimpse of it because of the murky atmosphere, but he was too afraid to move, just in case his next step would cause him to plummet downward into an unseen chasm.

The air felt heavy, ominous almost, and Gerard was afraid without truly knowing the reason for his terror. That didn't change the way he was feeling, no matter how hard he tried to convince himself that everything would be fine if he just stayed calm.

That wasn't the worst thing though - no, it was the fact that he was completely alone that had Gerard's knees shaking and a cold sweat breaking out on his skin.

Gerard tried to scream for help, even though it would probably accomplish nothing, but his throat had closed up, and he couldn't force any sound to escape his lips.

Suddenly, whatever Gerard was standing on began to move, and he was hurtled forward against his will, heading toward an unknown destination with no way to stop himself.

As Gerard traveled through this mysterious place, he began to catch sight of other figures trapped here with him, and even though he tried to grab their attention by waving his arms, they all ignored him.

Most of the people he glimpsed were strangers, but as Gerard's forward motion continued, he began to see people he knew and loved; his grandmother, Mikey, Ray, Bob, each of them not paying Gerard any mind as he passed them by.

"Hey! What is going on?" Gerard finally found his voice, but it was too late, all the familiar faces of his friends and family had already disappeared into the mist.

"Please - don't leave me..." Gerard whimpered softy.

Suddenly, the fog clogging the air began to clear, but before Gerard could properly observe his surroundings, the platform he had been standing on tipped sideways, causing Gerard to lose his footing with a startled cry.

Gerard didn't fall for very long before he landed on another section of invisible floor with a painful thump, but he emerged relatively unhurt except for a few bruises that is.

Shaking his head groggily, Gerard heaved himself back to a standing position, and the first thing he noticed once he was upright again was Frank's small figure hanging in front of him.

Frank was suspended in midair, dangling on hidden strings like some sick version of a human puppet. His eyes were closed, and from his limp posture, he appeared to be unconscious.

Gerard rushed to his side as quickly as he could, no longer afraid of tumbling through the floor if he made a misstep; Frank had erased all of his previous concerns entirely.

Just before Gerard reached his boyfriend, whatever had been holding him up was cut abruptly, and he collapsed onto the floor in a tangle of limbs.

Dropping to his knees, Gerard gathered Frank into his arms, brushing his hair back from his eyes gently as he held him close.

"Frankie..." Gerard whispered, trying to get some sort of response out him, but he remained silent.

"Help us - please!" Gerard called out loudly, but no one answered, and Gerard was beginning to panic.

Just when Gerard didn't think their situation could get any worse, Frank began to fade away, his body dissolving into thin air in his arms as Gerard watched helplessly.

No matter how tightly Gerard clutched to him, Frank continued to turn even more translucent, and it wasn't long before he was gone completely.

Gerard didn't know what had happened, but his heart ached as if it had been pierced with a blade, and somehow he was certain that Frank was never coming back.