The Wrong Body [Frerard AU]

Chapter Eighteen

"I'm gonna tell him."

She was met with silence on the other line. Frankie gripped the phone tighter to prevent her hands from trembling. "You two still here?"

"Yeah, we're here," Ryan said. Frankie bit her lip anxiously.

"You can't," Brendon said after a while. Frankie felt her heart drop. "You can't."

"Why not?" Ryan interrupted. "It's her choice, she can do what she wants."

Thank you. "Gerard has a right to know. And I'm tired of being this fake person around him; I want to be me."

"Think about it for a while," Brendon pressed. "Then make a decision."

"I have," Frankie said a little impatiently. "I want to tell him. And I've, uh... I've already invited him over."

"Good for you," Ryan said, talking over Brendon's worried protests. "Tell us how it goes."

"I will." Frankie let out a breath. It came out sharp and shaky. "I should go now... he's going to be here soon," she barely whispered, fiddling with a loose string on her skirt her mother yet again forced her to wear. She was so nervous.

"Alright. Good luck, man."

Frankie smiled at the nickname. "Thanks." She hung up.

Frankie got up off the bed and smoothed the wrinkles down in the covers to relieve her stress. Her body was actually shaking from nerves.

"I'm going to do it," she whispered to herself. "I'm finally going to do it."

There was a knock on the front door and Frankie's head snapped up. She caught sight of her reflection as she passed a mirror– her face was ghostly pale. She pinched both cheeks briefly to bring some color back before pausing, her hand inches away from the doorknob. Only a piece of wood was separating Gerard from her secret, Gerard from him. Without another thought, she wrenched the door open.

Gerard stood on the porch, his hands in his pockets and a smile on his face. "Hey. You called me?"

"Yeah." Frankie gestured to the entrance. "I wanted to tell you something."

"Oh, really?" Gerard chuckled slightly, following her into the house. "Um... is your mom here?"

"No. She's on a date." Frankie wrinkled her nose. "More like a one-night stand."

"Good. I don't think she likes me."

"Oh, I wouldn't say that..."

Gerard opened his mouth to politely ask her if she could hurry the fuck up, but decided against it. The sooner she told him whatever she wanted to tell him, the sooner he could be with Mikey. He almost didn't show up; he wanted spend as much time as he could with his brother.

Frankie led him into her room and closed the door behind her. Only then did Gerard notice how scared she looked.

"How's– how's Mikey?" Frankie asked. Gerard had told her about the situation the night before.

"He's doing okay. Better than I am, anyway."

"You'll– you'll be okay soon."

She was stalling, Gerard realized. She was pushing away her own issue and talking about his. "What did you want to tell me?"

Frankie twisted her fingers in her lap, looking everywhere except at Gerard. "It's kind of hard to explain..."

"I'll understand."

Will you? Frankie took a deep breath. "Okay. I'm..." she squeezed her eyes shut, then opened them again. "I'm a... boy."

Gerard's jaw dropped and he gaped at her silently. That was not what he was expecting to hear. "What?"