The Institute (Frerard)

I Think He's In The L Word

Stacey knocked on Frank’s apartment door, placed the box down quickly and ran away. She hid behind the potted plant at the end of the hallway, crouching behind it with her back touching the wall. Frank’s door opened and he stepped out into the hall, looking left and right.

“Hello?” he called out, looking around. When he got no reply, Frank turned to head back inside. As he turned, his foot kicked the box and it made a noise. Frank jumped and looked down sharply, noticing the box. He knelt beside it, opening it slowly. The lid, punched full of holes, lifted and revealed a tiny, black puppy sitting inside.

“Oh!” Frank exclaimed in shock, his hands reaching in immediately to pick up the small ball of fur. “Who’s puppy are you?” he murmured, petting the puppy’s head and looking around.

Stacy jumped up from behind the potted plant and jogged over. Frank’s eyes lit up and he raised the puppy up to show Stacey. “Look what I found!” he said excitedly. “I have to find who he belongs to…” he trailed off, glancing down the hall.

Stacey laughed and shook her head. “You won’t have to look far…She’s yours.”

“What? How did you-?”

“Gerard said you were talking about how much you wanted some company and how you loved dogs. He asked me if I could fix that somehow.”

Frank brought the puppy back to his chest and cuddled her close. “It was Gee’s idea?” he asked, looking up at Stacey.

Stacey nodded. “Now, Gerard named her Sweet Pea. Reasons unknown. I have a bed, food and other essentials in my car.” Frank stood up slowly, taking care not to drop Sweet Pea as she squirmed in his arms.

                               

Frank held Sweet Pea under one arm as he used the other to wave goodbye to Stacey. “Tell Gerard I say thank you and that I love him! Oh, and that I’ll visit tomorrow after work!”

Stacey rolled her eyes and waved an arm at Frank. “I know, I know. You’ve told me this before, Frankie!” she yelled back before slamming the car door closed. She placed the keys in the ignition and turned on her Trans Am, her spider design finally painted across the front. With a final wave to the dog and its new owner, Stacey was gone.

Frank dropped Sweet Pea’s paw from where he’d had it waving to Stacey and headed back inside to his apartment. Closing it behind him, he let Sweet Pea down onto the ground. She started barking and running around, exploring her new home. She jumped around the living room, ran in circles through the kitchen and came to a stop in front of Frank. Sweet Pea raised her paws and leant on Frank’s legs, her tongue falling out of her mouth. As she stared up at him from her tiny height on the floor, Frank was in love.

Mikey was let through the double doors into the rec room and spotted Gerard sitting with a guy in the back. The guy he was with had massive hair. Like, shit, if you got too close it would devour you. Gerard was guiding the man’s hand across a piece of paper, helping him draw something. As Mikey got closer, he saw it was two people standing side by side.