The Science of Sleep

Chapter 4

Frank's in such a ridiculously happy GerardGerardGerard daze that when he wakes up in the Better Living Industries world, he doesn't mind pulling on his starched, dull grey work clothes.

They'd had such an awesome time, Frank thinks happily. Once they'd sorted the remaining paint cans, they'd collapsed onto the sofa and watched repeats of Buffy, and the best part had been how when Frank had snuggled into Gerard's side and Gerard had put his arm around him, and they had fit together so nicely and-

Frank breaks off his inner monologue, giving his head a small shake. Since when did he turn into a teenage girl?!

He pulls on his leather gloves to hide his finger tattoos and checks his reflection over in the mirror one last time; his hair is longer and he's a bit more toned and tanned here, but there's something else that doesn't quite look right. He looks a bit closer at his reflection and realises there's several lines around his eyes he hasn't noticed before, that his face is a lot more drawn, his cheekbones more pronounced...

He looks older, he realises with surprise. Subtly, but definitely older.

He takes one final glance and then shrugs it off. There's been some kind of horrific disaster here; living though that would be enough to age anyone up.

As he's walking down the corridor at BLI, heading to his work room, he's so completely lost in thoughts of Gerard and the possible things they could talk about when he next sees him that he doesn't notice Ray storming up to him until Ray walks right into him.

"Hey -" Frank cries out but Ray's already got one hand on his chest, pushing him roughly back and into an empty bathroom. Ray slams the door behind them and locks it, before quickly running along and checking under all the stalls.

"Ray, what the –"

"What the fuck are you playing at?!" Ray hisses. He sounds furious and for a second, Frank can't think why.

"What do you mean?!" he asks, completely lost- oh. Wait. Right. Frank suddenly remembers his encounter with Party Poison, which would have only been yesterday here.

"What do I – what do I mean?!" Ray asks, sounding outraged. "You're the one who nearly got himself killed, sulking around Battery City streets, spying on people –"

"Hey, I wasn't fucking spying on you!! I went for a walk and got lost; it's not my fault if you happened to pick the most obvious place to have a chat with fucking Kobra Ki-"

"Shhh!!" Ray looks around, his eyes wide.

"What, they got listening devices in the toilets now?!" Frank snaps.

"They might do."

Frank snorts.

"Look Ray, man, whatever you're mixed up in, I want nothing to do with it," he says, keeping his voice down, just in case.

Ray laughs bitterly. "Typical. You're not getting off so easy this time, you're already mixed up in it; there's CCTV all around the city streets. If you think that no one noticed you getting out of Party Poison's car last night –"

"How do you know about that??" Something that feels like panic is starting to form in Frank's chest.

"I'm on the wrong side, remember?" Ray says with a wry smile. "Party told me all about why you wear those gloves and high collars..."

Frank's stomach suddenly clenches. What else did Party Poison tell Ray?!

"Listen, I've got a message from the Killjoys for you," Ray says in a low voice, leaning in close. "They want you."