romeo & juliet ; f.g

chapter four,

hiya guys! this chapter has a trigger warning for harsh bullying, so please don't read this if it will effect you. xoc

frank was sprinting home. frank was crying.

his eyeliner was tumbling down his cheeks within his years and violent sobs raked through his body, stumbling and dropping pieces of paper and homework as he ran.

eventually, though, as he wasn't athletic, he had to slow down to catch his breath. he couldn't though- his heaving cries were taking all of his breath anyway, and he sat down on the curb, his tears dripping onto the pavement.

"hey, are ya' okay?" a voice called to him, and he looked up and over at the person. "frank? shit!"

gerard ran over to him, throwing his cigarette down as he crossed the road.

"frankie, baby, what happened?" gerard asked, crouching in front of the small boy. frank hiccoughed in reply, shaking his head. "do ya' want me to walk ya' home?" another shake of his head. "c'mon, sugar, give me a hint, here."

frank slowly lifted his head and gerard's eyes narrowed at the sight- a black eye, split lip and finger mark bruises around his delicate neck. his pale skin was almost translucent, and his eyes were bloodshot from all the crying he had done.

"th-they hurted me, gee," he said weakly, and gerard clenched his jaw.

"who hurt ya' baby?" he asked, as softly as possible- though it was hard now that he was almost in a rage.

frank shook his head, casting his eyes away from gerard's and back to the concrete. gerard pushed some of frank's hair out of his face.

"m-ma and pa's not gonna b-be home tonight," frank whimpered. "t-too scared to go home a-alone."

"i'll stay with ya', sugar," gerard said, and frank looked up at him.

"okay," he said, and gerard offered him a smile, which he returned weakly. gerard pulled him up by the hands, only to notice that his knees were scraped, and that the cropped t-shirt he was wearing revealed dark purple splotches across his pretty tummy.

gerard slipped his leather jacket off, and slid frank's arms in- although, the sleeves were too long- and zipped it up, to hide his stomach. then, he picked frank up bridal-style.

"w-what are you doing?" frank gasped, and gerard smiled at him.

"carrying ya'. now, wrap ya' arms around my neck, baby." frank did as he was told and slung them loosely around gerard's neck, momentarily forgetting about his pain and focusing on gerard's big, strong arms that were carrying him. "where are the keys, sugar?" gerard asked, walking up the steps, onto frank's porch.

frank reached down and weakly handed them to him, only just noticing gerard had slung frank's backpack over his shoulder, too.

gerard brought him inside and shut the door behind them, before carrying him upstairs and to his bedroom. he laid frank down on the bed, dropping his backpack next to his desk. "i need to clean ya' up, sugar, do ya' have anything i can use?"

"bathroom," frank said, his voice hoarse, and gerard nodded, kissing his forehead.

he searched the rooms until he found the first bathroom, which had bandages, band-aids, and an ice pack. he also grabbed a needle and thread, just in case, and two painkillers.

walking back into frank's room, he unzipped the jacket, and gently tugged it off. he put band-aids on the scrapes on frank's knees, and instructed frank to take off his shirt. frank blushed heavily, but did as he was told.

"good boy," gerard murmured, as he wrapped the bandage around his torso. he couldn't help but admire the soft, smooth skin that frank had though, tracing a collarbone with his fingertip. frank trembled, and gerard almost smiled. he went over to frank's drawers and pulled out a set of pajamas for him, and gave them to frank.

"change into these, okay? i'll get something to eat," gerard told him, kissing the top of his head. frank blushed and nodded, watching gerard leave the room. he slid off his skirt, and pulled on the shirt and shorts combo.

gerard eventually came back into his room with two apples, cereal and cookies with milk. frank smiled at that, and took a cookie from gerard gratefully. gerard sat next to him on his bed, running his fingers through frank's soft hair.

"are ya' gonna' tell me who did this now?" gerard asked, and frank shook his head no. "why not, sugar?"

"don't wan' any trouble," frank mumbled in reply, turning and clambering onto gerard's lap. he settled himself comfortably, wrapping his arms around gerard's neck, his legs around his waist, and his head rested lightly on gerard's shoulder.

gerard froze, red blossoming on his cheeks. "what're ya' doin'?"

"mmh," frank nuzzled his head against gerard, "cuddles."

"frankie, c'mon. tell me who hurt ya'," gerard insisted, and frank leaned back, shrugging.

"why does it matter?" he asked, and gerard frowned.

"because i don't want them to hurt ya' again, sugar, and i can prevent them from hurting ya'," gerard replied, using a finger to trace frank's jawline.

"just some guys from school," frank said, and gerard nodded.

"can i have their names?"

"mmh," frank frowned, "alex 'n jack."

"thank you, sugar. why didn't dallon help ya'?"

"he tried," frank's lip wobbled, "but he- they- knocked him out." little tears began to fall from frank's pretty eyes, and gerard wiped them away.

"d'ya' know where he is now?" gerard asked, his fingers massaging frank's scalp.

"home," frank replied. "can we cuddle now? please?"

"sure, baby," gerard sighed, and frank shuffled in his lap again, making himself comfortable, before pushing themselves both backwards down onto frank's bed. gerard was laid on his back, with frank on his chest. he chuckled, sliding his arms around frank's waist, pulling the smaller boy closer. "sleep tight frankie," gerard whispered, kissing the top of his head.