Our Foundations from Decay

Frank POV 20

"God," I groaned, tilting my head back, "I can't do this crap!" I slumped down on the desk, meeting Ray's amused smirk with a glare of my own. "You've got this bro, just feeeeel the romance." Ray emphasised this with a wiggle of his eyebrows, leaving me wanting to punch him. Perhaps he's getting revenge from the elevator.

"I can't just 'feel the romance' if there isn't any to begin with. Gerard's like, what, gotten his voice back yesterday? I don't want to push anything on him." Last night at the Way family's home had been uneventful as both of us were exhausted from our music session, so we passed out almost immediately after making it to his bedroom. I had seen Kristy dragging him away earlier though, and had hoped that she wasn't telling him anything weird.

Ray gave me a long stare, a look akin to pity on his face.

"You're as bad as he is, Franky-boy. In my humble opinion, you should get your hands on that hot ass before anyone else does."

I don't appreciate the objectification, but he's not wrong. I furrowed by brows in thought, tapping my pencil repeatedly on the algebra in front of me. When a meaty hand slammed down on my desk, bangles jangling and all, I jolted in my chair.

"Get back to work Iero, or you'll be moved down to year 5." The grumpy old lady slammed her hand down one more time before waltzing her way over to some poor kid chewing gum. Yikes, he's about to be mauled. I heard Ray's snicker from next to me and decided that I'd push him down the flight of school stairs once maths finished.

Though in the end I didn't commit any acts of violence, school came to a close rather pleasantly. With brisk air wafting through my hair, (Gosh, it felt like a goddamn volcano a week ago), and the thoughts of seeing Gerard later that night, I was in a decent mood. The memories of my nightmares or the face of my mother barely came to mind as I stopped by the closest bakery, choosing everything tantalising in the gluten-filled cabinet.

"Would you like a bouquet with that?" Mentioned the cute cashier, her long eyelashes fluttering against the rosy red of her cheeks. I looked over the counter, considering the different kinds of flowers before gesturing towards the uniquely crimson roses, a gothic black ribbon wrapped around the stalks.

"I'll get those ones."

The girl's face dropped in disappointment, taking the money out of my hands and handing me the bouquet. "So you're going on a date?" She asked, bottom lip stuck out in a pout.

"Yeah," I stared at the flowers in my hand, "Something like that."

Focus. Focus. Don't panic. My mind was going haywire as I sat beside Gerard, the tree behind us providing shade from the evening breeze. As the boy next to me trailed his long fingers up to his hair, tying the dark strands into a ponytail, I tried my best not to stare at the curve of his jaw or the slope of his chiseled nose.

"Uh, so, are you ready to eat?" I asked, trying to snap out of his enchantment.

He looked at me before nodding and turning away. No, Turn back. Look at me again. He spun back around with a croissant in his hand. Yes. "Whoops, I don't like croissants." He muttered before turning back again. Dammit.

I cleared my throat and lightly touched Gerard's shoulder, turning him to face me.

"I bought you something."

Gerard cocked his head like an adorable puppy and placed down the croissant, giving me his full attention. Finally. I reached out from behind me, dramatically whipping out the bouquet like some rip-off Harry Houdini. Gerard giggled at my theatrics, and I just about proposed right then and there.

"Frank, they're beautiful. Thank you." The boy sent me a sincere smile sweeter then the chocolate cake in front of me, causing me to nearly faint. And gosh, I really needed to get used to that voice of his. He had such a velvety way of speaking, every syllable rolling off his tongue like a poet. Every time he opened his mouth I felt like leaning in closer and claiming those alluring lips for myself.

Gerard took the bouquet from my hands, the light touch of his fingers on my own sending shivers through my body. As we ate, we chatted about music and when I should find a place to stay permanently. I didn't want to think about leaving quite yet, so I began speaking about something different.

"Hey, Gerard, I was thinking that maybe we should go to that ice-skating place." I pointed towards the large building in the distance, the evening glow casting golden light onto its curved roof. Gerard raised his head to see where I was pointing, and I took the chance to admire the way his pale skin looked almost luminescent in the sunset.

"Yeah, I like the sound of that." Gerard said softly, eyes crinkling in the corners. Everything he does makes me want to go feral.

We packed up the food and walked our way down the path. The grass swayed in the light wind, causing me to sneeze like a freight train. Stupid hay fever.

"You okay?" Gerard asked.

"Yeah," I said sniffling, "Just not having a heyday." I grimaced at my own pun, wanting to crawl into a hole like a recluse. To my surprise, Gerard let out that perfect laugh of his before responding.

"Ahah, like hayday! I love that game."

Marry me Gerard.

As we made it to the entrance of the skating rink, I paid for us both, making sure to flash the money in my hand. Maybe he'll think I'm rich. As we tried on the different boot sizes, I looked around the rink, eyeing up its customers.

1. Small girl with pigtails. Looks like a brat, avoid.

2. Handsome tall man with sexy glasses. Definitely avoid. Do NOT let near Gerard.

3. A group of teenagers, possibly from our school. Avoid like our lives depend on it.

4. Suspicious man with duffle bag. Sunglasses and dark hoodie. Very conspicuous. Avoid.

"An interesting group." I muttered to myself. Gerard glanced over to me from where he was tying the laces of his ice skates.

"What?"

"Nothing." I heaved myself up and offered Gerard a gloved hand, taking his in my own. "You ready to skate?" Gerard smiled at me and we both slid (albeit clumsily) towards the entrance, keeping our hands intertwined.

"Wow.." I heard the boy next to me gasp, "It's breathtaking in here." Soft sprinkles of snow floated through the air, leaving the room looking like something out of a fairytale. If we're in a fairytale, I thought to myself, Gerard would definitely be Edward Scissorhands. I gazed at his dark hair and big eyes, admiring the charming expression on his face. Yes, definitely Edward.

As the rink slowly got darker and red lights began being cast on the ice, I listened as romantic music blared out of the speakers. Ugh, so cliche. People started to leave the rink, allowing me and Gerard to be the only ones inside.

"Pfft, it's so cliche." Chuckled Gerard, "I feel like I'm in a movie." As we made our way around the rink, the music slowly stopped and the lights dimmed. We both panted, worn out from moving around so much. Once I caught my breath, I tugged on Gerard's wrist to pull him closer.

"Gerard, I have something to tell you. I know its sudden but-" Before I could finish my sentence, something cold pressed up against my temple, a click being heard from right beside my ear.

"Move and you're dead." A gravelly voice spat from behind me. I watched in horror as another man shoved Gerard into he ground, pressing him against the rink's wall. The ground... the cold, wet, ground.

"Sound familiar? Muttered a voice from right beside me. I yelped and whipped my head around, momentarily forgetting my predicament.

"I said, DON'T MOVE!" The man in the sunglasses hurtled his fist at my jaw and pushed me down next to Gerard. I Looked up, seeing no one but the four of us in the room. Am I going crazy?

"Are you okay?" Cried Gerard, his freezing gloves coming up to gently touch my injured face.

"I'm okay." I responded, keeping my eyes on the two men standing in front of us, both of them talking into some kind of device, "Lets just find a way to get out of here."