A Compilation of Frerard Oneshots

Going For Younger Guys

Sleeping on a train is uncomfortable.

At least, that's what Gerard found out one day on his way back from work.

Sleeping on a train leaves a crick in your neck and a dysphoric feeling as you have no idea where the fuck you are for a moment. When you realise, you groan internally and make sure no one's taken anything of yours.

Gerard's good at clinging onto his shoulder bag for dear life when he's on the train. Usually, he doesn't have to worry about staying alert because he doesn't usually fall asleep. There's a first time for everything though.

The first time it happened, he almost missed his stop. Usually, he just closed his eyes but was still aware of his surroundings. This time, however, he actually slept for about half an hour.

He had since fallen asleep four more times in the month after. To be perfectly honest, Gerard knew this was probably a sign that he had been working too hard and needed more sleep, but he didn't care.

His sleeping experience on the train seemed to get worse every time it happened. The first time, he just felt confused when he woke up. The fourth time, he had a pain in his neck and just generally felt like shit. Power naps were only supposed to be fifteen minutes not thirty.

It wasn't like his job was overtiring or anything. He worked as an illustrator for a comic book industry in the centre of New York. Hence the long train journeys twice a day. He had only started the job three months ago and it had taken him that long to fall asleep on his way home one day. It had only been a matter of time really. Especially as the journeys were well over an hour and a half.

He worked from half eight until five every week day. He was fresh out of Art school so was one of the youngest in his department. Sometimes he felt a bit like a kid with all of these thirty and forty something year olds around him.

Gerard was at the ripe age of twenty-three, his future laid out in front of him. Kind of terrifying.

He did well to land the illustrating gig. Luckily, his mom knew someone in the office and had managed to set him up with an interview. Since Gerard was actually pretty good at drawing, they hired him to work on one of the company's newest comics. He had almost died when they had told him.

He enjoyed his job so much, he often found himself continuing his drawings late at night. It wasn't like he wasn't meeting his deadlines. On the contrary; he was always way ahead of schedule. Probably because he cut into his sleeping time. Which was why the sleeping on the train had started to occur. You didn't have to be a detective to figure it out.

To stay awake on the train, he had resorted to listening to the heaviest bands he knew and concentrating on the scenery outside. He always made sure to land a window seat so if he did fall asleep, not many people saw.

However, this plan didn't exactly work the fifth time he fell asleep.

He had somehow found himself sitting in one of the window seats of a four-seater. This meant he was trapped by three strangers. One of his favourite things.

He hadn't exactly paid attention to who was sat around him until he suddenly woke up and twenty minutes had passed. Nothing in particular had woken him up. His body had probably just remembered where it was and jump started him awake again.

Of course, this meant that he had jumped as he had woken up. As soon as this happened, he saw the guy sitting across from him jump in reaction to Gerard, having startled him.

Gerard smirked at the guy and the guy was suddenly grinning right back, laughing slightly.

Gerard had thought he had memorised nearly every person who took his train, he saw them all enough, but he didn't recognise this guy.