He Who Doesn't Believe Is Aggrieved ☆ FRERARD

Chapter 4

Gerard woke up at two o'clock the following morning. He'd been getting these really strange chills and he couldn't stop flinching. He sat up on the bed and rubbed his eyes, trying to relax his frantic breathing from his nightmare. It confused him. He usually never got nightmares—his dreams were extremely bizarre usually, not terrifying. 

When he quietly stepped out of bed, he was startled by the creaking floorboards. Slowly, he walked out of the room and towards the bathroom. Perhaps he just really needed to pee. 

When he finished his business, he turned on the tap and started washing his hands. His skin seemed to be crawling and his breathing was becoming louder. He had absolutely no reason to be terrified, but he was. Maybe he did watch too many horror movies. 

He turned off the tap and buried his hands in the towel beside the sink. He mentally reassured himself that he had nothing to be afraid of, which made him feel more like a victim—definitely not what he needed right now. 

Gerard felt a pair of hands snake around his waist and embrace him from behind. He let out an ear-piercing scream and flinched so hard he slipped on a small puddle of water and fell to the ground. 

"Hey, hey, relax, it's just me!" Frank laughed, quickly getting down on the floor next to Gerard and hugging him. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to startle you like that." 

Gerard clutched a hand to his chest and swallowed tensely. "It's okay," he breathed, not really being able to speak from terror. "My ass hurts." 

"From what?" Frank smirked. 

Gerard wanted to smack him. "From falling over, you idiot." He reached out for Frank to help him up. 

"Come on." Frank helped Gerard to his feet. "Let's go back to sleep. It's too early to deal with supernatural beings." 

Gerard nodded sleepily. "...Wait, what?" He felt wide awake now, staring at Frank who continued walking away from him. "Supernatural? But you don't believe in that stuff..." 

"Well, isn't that a pity," he responded, not turning to look at Gerard. 

"Huh?" Gerard replied confusedly. 

"Who are you talking to?" Frank yawned, sitting up in bed. "Are you sleepwalking again?" 

Gerard stepped back, pressing his back onto the wall. "H-Holy shit!" He slapped a hand to his mouth and felt tears burn his eyes. "No way. No fucking way. Oh my God." 

The other Frank twinkled his fingers at Gerard with a sly grin on his face. Then he disappeared. 

"Hey, what's wrong?" The real Frank asked, stepping out of bed. "Are you awake?" He got closer to Gerard wearing a concerned expression. 

Gerard pressed his back harder into the wall and threw his hands up in front of him as a protective barrier. He was breathing like he'd just run a marathon. 

"What's up with you?" Frank asked confusedly, staring at Gerard with furrowed eyebrows. 

Gerard felt his legs become weak so he slid down the wall to the floor and covered his head with his arms. 

Frank got down on Gerard's level. "Hey, hey, relax, it's just me!" He placed his hands on Gerard's shoulders. 

Gerard whimpered, recognising those exact words from moments ago in that exact same caring voice. 

Frank stood back up and flicked on the lights. 

Gerard winced then adjusted to the lights. He saw Frank standing there in his pajamas, looking over him. 

"It's two in the morning. Not the best time for a prank like that." Frank smirked a little and offered a hand to Gerard. 

Now that he thought a little more logically, the strange Frank doppelganger was wearing a black suit, and this Frank was wearing his pajamas. Perhaps if there was more light, he would've been able to notice small differences adding to the uncanny effect. He grabbed Frank's hand and got back to his feet. 

Frank gave a casual chuckle. "Alright, now I can genuinely ask—what the fuck?" 

"I don't know. It was really weird. I'm either seeing shit or this place is haunted..." Gerard found himself scanning the room in case the other Frank showed up again. 

"What did you see?" Frank asked. 

"...You." Gerard rubbed his eyes. 

"You saw me? Wow, is my bedhead really that bad? It made you cry out in fear?" He rolled his eyes jokingly and started fixing his hair with his hands. 

Gerard found a small smile on his face at Frank's humour. "No, it was worse. There were two of you. I was talking to the other one while you were asleep, and then you woke up and the other one disappeared." He felt his heart rate speed up just recalling it. "Didn't you hear me scream?"

"No, I only heard you speak when you came in here." Frank stared at Gerard blankly for a moment. "Two of me? That sounds like a nightmare and the best thing ever." 

The door slammed again. 

"Fuck!" Gerard exclaimed, rushing to the door and pulling it open angrily. "Fuck you! Leave us alone!" he screamed to the empty hallway. 

Frank grabbed Gerard by the arm and pulled him back in their room. "Okay, how about we try and calm down a little. If we had neighbours that weren't miles away from us, I'd tell you to shut up." 

"You don't believe me, do you?" Gerard sighed. 

"It's bizarre. You can't blame me." Frank shrugged. "Now, let's go back to bed." 

Gerard gave an exhausted sigh. "Okay, fine." 

They went back into bed, but Gerard knew he couldn't sleep after what happened. Frank clutched onto Gerard's arm and kissed his cheek. "I'm right here. Just try and relax." Gerard wrapped his arm around Frank and buried his face into the nook of his neck. He felt safe in Frank's arms, for now.