Stockholm Syndrome (Frerard)

The Only Hope

Gerard had almost kissed Frank. On the lips. Oh shit.

He didn't really know what came over him at that moment, honestly. It was weird. He couldn't possibly have romantic feelings towards Frank, right? The cheek kisses and hand holding didn't mean anything. They were simply just ways to stay on Frank's good side, and hopefully distract him from how Gerard truly felt towards him.

With that said, Gerard had to be more careful about his relationship with Frank. Once he escaped, he most likely wouldn't be seeing much more of him, so he didn't want to get too close- for his sake and Frank's.

A couple of days passed by since the two of them had almost kissed and not to mention, Frank's intense scene. The more Gerard thought about that night, the more it seemed to terrify him. He had done one small thing that upset Frank, and suddenly he was in the bathroom attacking the mirror.

Honestly, the mirror incident wasn't the only thing on Gerard's mind. Frank had been acting even stranger than normal, almost as if he was growing crazier and crazier by the day. Sometimes, Gerard would catch him talking and laughing to himself, but he couldn't quite make out what he was saying. Other times, he'd find him pacing around in circles as if he was anxious about something. However, the moment he would see Gerard, Frank would seem to magically return to his (somewhat) sane self.

Gerard sometimes even was afraid to go to sleep at night, because he swore he could feel Frank's eyes watching him. However, whenever he opened his eyes and looked up, Frank would be no where in sight. Once, he even thought he felt Frank's hand caressing his cheek. Maybe Gerard was the one who was actually going crazy.

As a result, Gerard secretly kept a close eye on Frank, hoping that whatever was happening to him would soon cease. Or at least, that he would be able to escape before things became too out of hand.

One of the days, Gerard decided to ask something that could lead to the perfect opportunity if Frank agreed to it. He was a bit nervous about bringing it up at first, but he was going to have to take some risks if he didn't want to spend the rest of his life trapped within Frank's grasp. 

"Frank, would it be possible for you take me outside sometime?" Gerard asked quietly, avoiding eye contact. "Being inside all day is really started to make my head spin. I think I need some fresh air".

Frank tilted his head, thinking about Gerard's question. He didn't look too convinced at first, but eventually, he happily looked up from the table he was at.  

"I think that'd be fun," Frank replied, "But if we do, I'm going to have to blindfold you. We'll also have to stay very close the whole time. I can't have you running away on me".

On the inside, Gerard was slightly disappointed. There was no way he could escape blindly with Frank watching his every move. Although, it was still worth a shot. There was a possibility that he could figure something out.

Slipping his hand innocently into his pocket, Gerard carefully felt the small knife that still remained hidden away from Frank. A plan started developing in his head. Maybe, just maybe, there was a chance at escaping.

Gerard smiled at his own thoughts. Frank noticed and smiled back, having no idea that Gerard was thinking about stabbing him and leaving him for dead as he made a break for it.

...

Meanwhile, back at home, Gerard's younger brother, Mikey, was growing deeply worried. Gerard was expected to leave the previous week for Europe, and he had promised that he'd contact Mikey as soon as possible to tell him how everything went. However, Mikey had received no word from Gerard, even after he had called him multiple times.

At first, he tried not to worry. Maybe he was just busy settling in. He had moved to the other side of the world, after all. Although, it didn't ever take Gerard a week to get things done and organized. What could've possibly happened?

Considering Gerard didn't live too far away from where he did, Mikey decided to stop by Gerard's house to see that he had successfully moved out. The new owners weren't expected to move in for month later anyway, so there would be no trouble.

When Mikey arrived, he made his way up to the front door and pulled out the spare key his brother had given him long ago. Oddly enough, he found that the door was already unlocked. Gerard must've forgotten to lock it on his way out... unless...

Hurriedly, Mikey ran inside, looking for any sign of Gerard. He found that all of his stuff was still there, including some boxes and luggage that he was most likely going to take with him... but where the hell was Gerard? Certainly he hadn't left without his belongings.

Mikey, now much more worried than he had been before, began rapidly searching for anything that could help him figure out where Gerard was. Most of the rooms were useless, until he searched Gerard's bedroom.

Sitting on top of Gerard's dresser was his plane ticket, passport, and wallet. He hadn't left. He couldn't have. Panicking, Mikey pulled out his phone and dialed Gerard's number the best he could with his trembling hands. After it rang all the way until voicemail, he was left even more disappointed. Was it too soon to call the police?

Mikey sat on Gerard's bed trying to think. There had to be someone else that might know about where Gerard was or what happened.

Then, it hit Mikey. Gerard was almost always talking about his friend, Frank, so surly he would have some idea to where Gerard was. They just seemed so close... possibly closer than Gerard and Mikey.

Scrolling desperately through his contacts in his phone, Mikey finally reached the one he was looking for. Quickly pressing the call button, he tried to remain calm while listening to the dial tone.

To his surprise, Frank actually picked up fairly quickly. Maybe his luck was finally beginning to turn.

"Frank, I'm so glad you picked up. I need to ask you something very important," Mikey explained, calmly.

"Of course, Mikey, what is it?" Frank questioned, sounding almost too concerned.

"It's Gerard... he's gone, but I don't think he ever made it to Europe. His stuff is still here, like his plane ticket, passport, and wallet. He couldn't have left the country without them. I'm at his house now. The door was unlocked too... I'm so worried something bad- really bad happened to him".

There was a brief silence between the two of them. Mikey felt his heart practically thumping out of his chest as he breathed into the phone, hoping, praying, that Frank would know something useful.

"Oh Mikey, this is terrible. You really don't have any clue to what happened to him?" Frank finally asked.

Mikey clenched his teeth together as he spoke to prevent himself from tearing up, "I'm scared that someone broke in and... took him".

Another tense silence occurred. Slowly, Frank said, "Mikey, I wouldn't go that far. That's a really serious assumption you're making. I'm sure Gerard will come home perfectly fine. Maybe the whole moving to Europe thing was too much for him right now, and he needed some time alone and away from everything".

"I mean, I guess so, but I doubt Gerard would run away or anything like that," Mikey sighed.

"Well lately it seems like he's been really stressed. When I last talked to him, he didn't seem too focused, but I didn't want to bother him about it".

"So I shouldn't get the police involved in this?"

"Oh no, that's crazy, Mikey," Frank gasped, "I really don't think there's a need to do that. Gerard is a grown adult after all. I think he can handle himself."

"Yeah, you're right. I'm just getting paranoid. I'm sure he'll call me back sooner or later."

"I'm sure he will," Frank insured him, "Just don't worry about it. I'll be checking my phone as well".

"Thanks Frank, I'll talk to you later".