Runaway Scars - Frerard

Chapter 4

Gerard never got his sweatshirt back from the kids behind the school. He thought he was safe to exit there without getting picked on. Turned out it was worse; they were the violent ones.

And now they could see, all along his arms, exactly WHY he'd tried to avoid them in the first place. And they laughed; of course they laughed. They ridiculed, they judged, they spit, and they punched. Just as they always did. Luckily, Gerard escaped with nothing more than a bruised side. It could've been worse.

But Gerard was already steaming mad.

He sprinted about half way home until he was sure he'd be okay. He glanced down and scowled at his own scarred flesh. Sure, he seemed great on the outside most of the time, happy and okay, willing to smile. His smile, his attitude, and his act were all just his new skin after the old him had been ripped to shreds. Sometimes he loved this new Gerard. And other times, it just got him yelled at by someone he was really starting to care about.

Gerard worried about Frank most of the day; the other part of the day he was mad at him. He felt bad for being mad at Frank, though, because he was probably going through some of the same shit he went through; or, sometimes, was STILL going through.

And the worst part was his denial about it.

In Gerard's head, it all seemed too real that he'd wake up and find that Frank had been found hanging by a noose in his bedroom, or that he had run away again...or both, really. And that scared him. That scared him to death. He saw something in Frank that he didn't want to give up on. And something Frank himself had definitely given up on years ago. He saw it in his eyes; his eyes that, like his own, hid and covered things they didn't want to think about.

And things they could never forget.

Half way home, Gerard told himself as he passed the park. He shivered as the cold hit his skin, as it hadn't hit his bare arms in at least six months. He looked over at the park. It was completely empty, as most children deemed it too cold to be playing outside that day.

He was almost past the abandoned, sad looking park, when he saw something moving just behind the swings. It caught his eye and he stopped, craning his neck to get a better look. And then he began to hear it. too; yelling, laughing, cursing, and some crying even. It was definitely a group of guys; bad guys. Now, this was a sadly normal thing in Jersey, and Gerard could do no more but shake his head and scurry away before being called a witness.

Until he saw the profile of the oh-so broken boy who stormed off from him just a few hours ago, cowering in fear against a wall.

***

Everything was so loud.

Frank hated things being loud.

When he was scared, things got quiet so he didn't have to hear at the terrible things going on around him. It calmed him down and he wasn't as scared.

But now, Frank had done this to himself, and everything was louder than ever.

He heard every laugh, every taunt, every yell and curse, and now, he heard them being directed to an opposite direction. And though he wasn't sure WHAT he was hearing all this time, he sure didn't like it. He felt like a little kid hearing swear words; he didn't know what they meant, but they didn't sound nice.

Frank tried to look up and maybe SEE what was happening as he covered his ears, but his vision was blurred. He wasn't sure if it was because he was crying, or...well, he just didn't know. All he knew was everything was faraway and blurry. He cried harder. All he wanted to do right then was run, but he didn't know how.

"LEAVE HIM ALONE!" Frank heard someone yell. He opened his eyes wide, as it was the first thing he heard that made sense. But he still couldn't see a thing, and more tears streamed down his face.

Next, he heard something break, and then a loud cry. And finally, FINALLY, silence. His crying stopped and he was finally calming down. He still couldn't quite hear or see, but he saw something cross over his face. It looked like an arm, or so he guessed, but there were lines and marks zig-zagging across the surface of the supposed arm. Right then, Frank wouldn't have been able to guess what it was or even why there was someone there. But he wasn't scared of this person like the rest of the  people he'd seen that afternoon. And still, he didn't know why.

A moment later, things were coming into focus again, and Frank was eager to see what was going on.

And that's when he blacked out.

"I don't like this side of town." Gerard declared as they left the park.

Frank shoved his phone safely in his pocket finally after stealing it back from Gerard. He looked up and narrowed his eyes.

"Then why'd you take me here?" Frank questioned.

Gerard shrugged and chuckled. "I don't know. That's, like, the nicest park within walking distance of the school." He replied. He stayed silent for a while before continuing, "But I always hear about shootings, and muggings in broad daylight, and kidnappings, especially around here."

Frank smiled almost proudly, and Gerard noticed, shaking his head. "But I guess you knew that, huh?" Gerard went on.

"More than I want to."

Gerard smiled and put his arm around the smaller boy's shoulder. "Well I'll protect you."

Frank didn't hide his laugh, hell, even his snort at the comment. But Gerard kept a straight face as they kept walking, which only made Frank feel kinda bad for laughing.

He cleared his throat. "Okay," he replied, "Good luck with that."