Frerard One Shots

For the Last Night

        Tonight is nothing out of the ordinary. It's a little after midnight, the rest of my household asleep. My parents both have to go to work in the morning still so, of course, they're asleep. It's quiet. It's calm. It's a little bit different. That's how things are in the summertime. 

        Summer is when schedules fall short and routines break. School is out and there's no need to wake up early, no agenda for the day. In fact, it's very easy to forget what day it is. Sometimes I go downstairs and I'm surprised to see my parents because I forgot it was Saturday. I can't handle the week or even the day. I sleep in until the afternoon, I just lounge around at home and then I stay up on my computer way too late doing god knows what. I spend 90% of my time on my laptop and I don't even know what I'm doing on my laptop. Eventually, I pass out and just repeat it all again.

        This summer is different from the usual ones. Typically, we'd have this wonderful thing called summer reading where we have to read one of four books the school picks for us and then we have to write a paper about it. Of course, everyone keeps it in the back of their mind, worrying about it all summer until days before we must go back to school when we all rush to do it. Summers like those still keep us on our toes. And all the plans we made about doing during the summer never happen because we always put them off for the next year. All those plans on having a picnic or going to the beach or an amusement park, talk about taking a road trip together, they never happen and are put off for "next summer". This summer, however, it's all different. This is our last summer.

        In May, we graduated from high school. And ever since then, every weekend has just been graduation parties. I never thought I would have this many friends. I didn't think this many people would have liked me. But all the kids I knew growing up, my neighbors, the friends I made in guitar class, the people I worked with, the other kids in clubs I was in, and of course, my friend group, we all had our parties and it's been so social. Of course, it's the end of July now and they've all finally finished. Things are calming down now but they're not any less busy. We're all getting ready for college. Orientation, finding roommates, getting all our things ready, packing, working to save up money. It's all happening right now. Growing up. This summer isn't like the rest of them. We're not kids anymore. 

        My phone starts ringing and I roll over to the other side of my bed to grab it from where it's charging. It should be good by now. I grab my phone and see Gerard calling me. I figured it was him. No one else is up at this hour. "Hello?" I say in reference to the vine. 

        "H-hello?" Gerard says back more dramatically. 

        I start laughing. "Hey, man, what's up?" 

        "Ugh, I just got home, I'm so tired."

        "Dude, it's-"

        "I know," he says. "I had to close today so I got off at 11:30 and I just made it back to my room." 

        "Jeez, that's rough," I say, snagging my earbuds. I pop on in my ear and then connect it to the phone, the audio coming in clearer. 

        "Yeah, I know. I hate working at a movie theater but it's good money so I can't complain," he says. "And I just took off a week from there so I really shouldn't be complaining at all."

        "Yeah, but it's all good," I say. 

        "Yeah, what are you up to?" he says, sighing. He probably laid back on his bed. 

        I turn off my phone so the screen isn't shining but I still stay on the line. Setting my phone down next to me, I adjust the speaker part of the earbuds on my chest so he can hear me. "Nothing much, I'm just on my laptop."