The Necklace (Frerard)

The Chapter Where Gerard Meets Frank

Gerard shuffles in, holding his sketchbook and pencils tight to his chest, scanning the room. There's several tables, each seating two, filling up fast. Most people already have their seat, talking with their partner.

He hates this already, his social anxiety consuming his brain and causing his chest to tighten. A part of him wants to walk out, pretend this class never happened, ignore the trouble of meeting new people. He can just do art at home.

But Mikey would kill him. His brother was the one who urged him to sign up for this class in the first place, talking grandly about new opportunities and experiences.

Ray wouldn't be so elated either if Gerard left. His longtime roommate and best friend would probably drag him by the ear back into the class.

When eyes begin to fall on him, most likely wondering why he stands idle at the door, he hurries to an empty table in the back to avoid their gazes.

He takes a deep breath, scanning the room from the new angle, noting the way he'll have to crane his neck to see the teacher up front, but overall pleased with the tranquility of the back table.

Without anyone to chat with, he simply opens his sketchbook and begins working on his sketch of Kobra Kid, a character from his work-in-progress comic series. The characters are based off of himself, Ray, and Mikey. There's a fourth character that he's been putting off sketching, mainly because he's got absolutely no idea what Fun Ghoul should look like.

"Anyone sittin' here?"

Gerard pauses, looking up at the figure standing next to him, hand hovering the chair beside Gerard.

At first, Gerard's eyes scan him; dark hair cut into some form of fringe, short stature, two piercings, several tattoos slightly covered by a worn band tee, ripped black jeans, tattered boots.

Then Gerard's mind registers what he's seeing, and immediately starts to shut down. Red sirens blare in his head, sending his body into complete panic.

Boy, boy, boy, boy, there's a boy who wants to sit next to him. Boy, boy, boy, boy.

He can't compute why a boy, a really cute one for that matter, would walk all the way to the back of the room just to sit next to Gerard when there were plenty of other seats available.

There's no time to think about that now, not when the guy is starting to look confused, and move away from the seat.

"No," Gerard says quickly, causing him to pause.

"So I can sit here?" He raises an eyebrow.

Gerard nods quickly, dropping his gaze back down to his paper to avoid the guy seeing the blush on his cheeks, a mix of embarrassment and desire.

The man plops down with a sigh, sliding a singular pencil and a torn notebook on the table. Compared to everyone else in the room, he's rather unprepared, but it doesn't seem to bother him. He taps his fingers against the table, looking around the room before his eyes find Gerard again.

"I'm Frank."

"Gerard."

"How long have you been doing art for?" Frank asks, keeping conversation going as he waits for the class to begin.

"Since I was a kid," Gerard toys with his pencil, closing his sketchbook when he notices Frank's eyes wandering to the drawings. "What about you?"

He pauses his tapping long enough to answer. "I'm not really a physical art kinda guy," He shrugs. "More intangible art."

"So you don't like physical art yet you signed up for a class on it?"

"I try everything once."

Gerard feels himself smirk. "Everything?"