Gerard lay on the cold ground of the play-park staring at the starless sky, cursing the light pollution caused by the town.
Frank sat on a swing close by.
Mikey had left and gone to bed. Because he was fucking tired and knew that Gerard and Frank would be ok together.
'So...' Frank exhaled smoke and attempted to break the silence. He wanted to speak to Gerard but at the same time didn't want to make them uncomfortable. So he had been sitting on a swing waiting to them to open up, but it was taking too long and the sun would be up soon.
'I just needed someone to stop me.' Gerard said with little emotion.
'Stop you?'
'From cutting my skin into a million little pieces and turning my arm into an ocean of crimson.' Gerard's eyes filled slowly with tears of anger. They shut their eyes, their words had been emotionless but they felt all too much.
'Fuck you make that sound almost pretty, what the fuck.' Frank took the last draw from his cigarette and threw it to the ground before stamping on it, just to be sure it was out.
'I'm sorry. I know that it isn't. I shouldn't have said that. It is fucking bullshit.' Gerard raised their voice in anger for the last few words. Their anger was directed at themselves and their own mind.
'I know,' Frank lit another cigarette to try and distract himself from the imagery Gerard had left him with. He could feel it corrupting his mind, trying to claw its way to the surface and take over his movement. He jumped up from the swing, Gerard quickly moved their head to look at him, wondering what had happened.
'You ok?' they stared up from the place on the cold solid ground they lay on. Frank looked up at the sky, trying to empty his mind from the destructive thoughts that he wished he could simply walk away from.
'I'm...yeah...' Frank shook himself all over, which led him to receiving a confused look and a shrug from Gerard who stood up and copied his motions.
'So, you wanna get coffee? Or breakfast? I'm hungry,' Gerard yawned, getting up from the ground.
'Uh...sure,' Frank shrugged, wondering where they would be getting coffee or food at before the sun had even peered over the horizon.
'My house then?' Gerard turned and started to walk away, clearly expecting Frank to follow.
Frank followed without saying a word.
When they arrived at the Way residence, Gerard walked towards a window. Frank noticed the window was slightly open and wondered if this is how Gerard normally left and reentered the house at such ludicrous hours. He guessed it was.
'Why aren't we using the door?' Frank half whispered.
'My parents don't exactly appreciate me leaving at any hour that I choose, and this is slightly less likely to get their attention.' Gerard shrugged before climbing up and disappearing through the window.
'They might prefer you leaving through the door to you leaving windows open for anyone to climb through.' Frank said more to himself as he tried to follow Gerard, it took him a few more attempts than he would like to admit.
'They might, or they might just lock the windows too...' Gerard whispered in the dark room. 'What time is it anyway?'
'Uhhhh...' Frank clicked his phone on to be blinded by the brightness. After a moment his eyes adjusted to the light and he could read the white numbers on the screen, 'six thirty two a m,' he whispered in response.
'Oh...we're fine then,' Gerard's voice returned to its usual levels, 'they're away to work.'
'Couldn't you have checked for a car or something before making me climb through a window?' Frank stared at them in disbelief.
'Nah, this was more fun,' they turned and smiled in the dark before opening the door into the kitchen, 'toast?'
Frank and Gerard were sitting in the kitchen when a barely awake Mikey walked in. The former two were sipping on rather large mugs of coffee, fully dressed, fed and ready to go. Mikey on the other hand had just gotten dressed, with his t-shirt on backwards, his hair disheveled, and eyes only half open not quite prepared for the light of the morning.
Mikey noticed Frank sitting at the table first, because this was very odd to him, and looked to see Gerard in their usual spot on the counter, where they would normally be sitting when Mikey came down before school.
'Have you two slept?' he yawned and took Gerard's cup from them.
'I was drinking that...' they moaned in annoyance.
'And now I am, answer question,' he took large gulps of the warm coffee.
'No, we have not,' Frank responded.
'How are you going to make it through they day?' Finishing the coffee he handed the mug back to his older sibling and sat next to Frank at the table.
'Caffeine,' Gerard replied plainly, as though it was the most obvious answer in the world and the question really hadn't needed to be asked.
'Of course...' he tolled his eyes, 'school, then?'
'I guess,' Frank shrugged, 'regretting my lack of sleep already.'
'I can imagine,' Mikey stood up and pulled Frank to his feet, 'you coming?'
'I probably should,' Gerard hopped down from the counter.
'Don't want to miss any more important learning, do we?' Mikey smiled.
Gerard rolled their eyes, they had spent a year out of school and gone back meaning they were now in the same year as their younger brother who would regularly tease them about it, not in a mean way though.
'I could pass this without going in a single say if I wanted to...or was allowed to,' they grabbed their bag from the floor and left.
'Oh, I don't have my school shit, oops,' Frank followed Gerard and Mikey followed behind.
'Guess nobody is learning anything today,' Mikey shrugged picking his own bag up from the sofa and locking the door behind them.
