The Florence Theory ☆ FRERARD

Bonus early draft!

A/N: Hiii!!! So I was looking through the depths of my google drive folders and I found this really old first draft for this story. And I thought, why not post it as a bonus? It was originally called "Library Vampire" so that's funny. God, it's so old. And bad. Enjoy! (or try to)

Frank secured the strap of his backpack to his shoulder and walked in through the doors of the library. The freezing air-conditioning chilled the back of his throat as he wondered why these public spaces liked to have high electricity bills. As he weaved his way between bookshelves, he considered what subject he needed to study the most. English, probably. For some reason, his professor always threw an insane amount of homework on his students.

Frank pulled his baseball cap off and spotted an empty chair in the middle of the library. Usually, he'd prefer to sit in front of the window and look outside occasionally, but a group of high schoolers was already there. He didn't really like teenagers. For a few minutes, he went on a mental rant about how the ways of teenagers these days were intimidating and not something he'd like to be around. Was he officially old? Who knows. Maybe teenagers considered twenty-three to be old.

He pulled out a pair of tangled earphones from his backpack and plugged them into his phone. Untangling his earphones was something he just wasn't bothered to do anymore—what's the point if they're just going to tangle again?

Frank pulled out a copy of 'Crime and Punishment' and lifted the screen of his laptop. This novel was pretty interesting, but incredibly hard to follow because of the complex names. He supposed that he would enjoy the book if he didn't have to analyse the ever-living shit out of it. That was the way Frank felt about English in general—it's okay, just not too much of it.

Nonetheless, he buried his nose into the story and started reading from the beginning of chapter seven.

Not even five minutes later, Frank found his eyes had wandered from the print to the sliding doors of the library. He wasn't quite sure when he had spaced out, but he was somewhat glad because he really didn't want to continue reading.

A man walked into the library. Strangely, he was wearing way too many layers for a Summer's day, but that didn't make him look ridiculous, but more mysterious. He certainly caught Frank's eye.

However, the two didn't make eye contact as the newcomer seemed to be in a rush, fixing his gaze on the floor as he swiftly headed towards one of the chairs facing the window. Frank's eyes followed him.

This stranger had been in the library every time Frank was there. He was so close to believing that he lived in the air-conditioning vents and only entered through the doors to avoid the rising suspicion amongst the other library-goers. The image of the man sitting up in the vents, eating a bowl of cereal and staring through the gaps at the library employees made Frank chuckle to himself.

While focusing on the swift blur of the stranger's black trench coat, Frank realised that the scary group of teenagers had left, leaving empty seats. Not so empty anymore. The stranger sat there now, carefully setting up his workstation.

Every single time Frank had seen this man, he'd wanted to strike up a conversation with him. Other than his attractive looks, he seemed like an interesting dude.

He decided that today would be the day.

Frank packed his laptop and novel and swung his bag over his shoulder again. Casually, he strode over to him, but his pace slowed the closer he got as if there was a force keeping him away, like an ocean tide. He usually had no trouble talking to people, but this time was different because he found himself running through the possibilities of what could happen. He could ignore him. He could yell at him to leave him alone. He could be some creepy dude who wanted feet pics or something. Who knows?

Finally, Frank sat beside the stranger. "Hi," he greeted with a polite smile.

He looked up at Frank, pulling his eyes away from the book he was invested in. "Hi." His voice was soft like a shadow and warm like the Sun.

"I'm Frank." He offered his hand to the stranger.

"Gerard," he responded, embracing Frank's hand in his leather-gloved one.

"Bit hot for gloves, huh?" Frank chuckled.

Gerard stared blankly at Frank, then down at his hands. He smiled. "I get cold easily. Plus, I've been hoping from air-conditioning to air-conditioning. They come in handy."

A little voice in Frank's head suggested he make a stupid pun about gloves being handy. But the guaranteed embarrassment and stone expressions to follow convinced him otherwise. Thank God.

"Yeah, libraries love their air-conditioning." Frank ran a hand through his brown hair. "So, what are you studying?"

"Currently, Gothic literature, ancient history, and psychology. I'm hoping to be able to teach those courses." Gerard glanced down at his book again and smiled. "What about you?"

"I uh-" Frank caught a glimpse of Gerard's perfect side profile, "English. Kinda need it to get the job I want."

"What job?" Gerard looked up at Frank again.

"A uh...a journalist," Frank said.

"You don't sound very excited about it." Gerard raised his eyebrows.

"Well, that's because I don't wanna be a journalist. It's my mum, you see. You know those kinds of parents..." Frank shrugged and sighed.

"Well, what do you want to do?" Gerard asked.

A smile crept onto Frank's face even at the thought of it. "I want to be a musician." It was a burning passion he'd had for as long as he could remember, but his family never really supported it.

Gerard mirrored Frank's smile. "Go for it. You only live once. Don't waste it."

Frank smiled and looked away. "Thanks, Gerard. I really needed that." For some reason, he found Gerard's gaze far too intimidating to endure.

After their somewhat awkward intervention, they returned to independent working, not exchanging words for about ten minutes. Frank typed out a few notes on the novel he was studying, and Gerard was flicking through the final pages of his book.

When he finished the book, he placed it on the wooden surface of the table and smiled.

Frank couldn't help but be lured to the grin, like a moth to the light.

Gerard caught Frank staring and grinned at him. "Awesome book. I'm totally gonna read the sequel." He stood up out of his chair and began pacing up and down the library aisles, presumably searching for the sequel.

When he returned, he had the sequel in his hand. Immediately, he returned to his seat and began reading the prologue. Frank couldn't help but stare.

After reading the first two pages, Gerard propped his head up on his hand and turned to meet Frank.

Frank looked away, unsure of why he stared so long, even after Gerard noticed.

Instead of questioning Frank or even seeming the slightest bit creeped out, he did nothing but grin.

Frank wanted to disappear.

Gerard rested his gloved hand on Frank's cheek and turned his head to him. "You can look if you want. I'm only reading."

A blush crept onto Frank's cheeks. "Sorry, I spaced out."

"I get that." Gerard returned to his book, flipping the page and then smiled to himself again. "Do you come here often?"

"Kind of. It's a vibe most of the time, except for when there's a loud group of teens or something." Frank shrugged, trying to hide the tinge of blush dusted on his cheeks.

"Or a really overbearing librarian who's quick to jump on your case if you breathe too loudly," Gerard remarked with a chuckle, closing his book. 

A/N: Geez, that ended suddenly. I think I stopped writing it because I had no idea where it was going. But I figured it out obviously lol