Frerard OneShots (finished)

XXVI - Cigarettes And Sunsets

[Something wholesome for y'all]

Gerard was buzzing with nerves as he walked down the hallway of his new school. Next to him, his brother Mikey was happily chatting with his boyfriend Pete. So, Gerard was third-wheeling--again.

"Mikes?" He asked, tugging at his younger brother's sleeve, "where are the bathrooms?"

Mikey waved him off, saying something indistinctive and pointing into a vague direction. Gerard, being a naïve human being, followed his brother's advice and fled through the crowd and into said direction.

Opening and closing some doors, he didn't seem to find the right one. Until he found a staircase leading upward. Curious as he was, he slipped through the door that was probably meant to be locked but, fortunately for him, it wasn't.

He stalked upstairs and opened another door at the end of the flight, cold spring-air hitting him in the face. He was on the roof of the school and he enjoyed it more than he probably should.

Gerard also wasn't alone.

There was a teenager sitting on the roof, a cigarette between his lips as his gaze wandered over the schoolyard. His hair was cut into a faux mohawk and the sides were bleached, a piercing in his right nostril and in the left corner of his mouth each.

"Hey?" Gerard called out, catching the boy by surprise.

Hastily, the stranger put his cigarette out before turning around. When he realized that it wasn't a teacher standing behind him, he sighed dramatically and rolled his eyes, "thanks for scaring me, asshole. You owe me like, half a cigarette now."

Gerard silently took out a package of cigarettes and held it out to the boy, "here, you can have it."

Pretty-punk-boy stared at him in confusion and raised an eyebrow, "the whole package?

Shrugging, Gerard took a step forward, "yeah, I don't need it anymore, I kinda want to quit smoking."

Immediately, the stranger snatched the package from his hand and took one cancer-stick out, lighting it. He exhaled the smoke with a sigh and put the package in his pocket, "thanks, man. That was my last cigarette."

"Not a problem," Gerard mumbled awkwardly, "should I leave you alone?"

"Nah," the stranger waved a hand dismissingly at him, "you seem cool, I don't mind your company."

"Oh," reluctantly, Gerard sat down next to the smaller boy, "thanks, I guess? I'm Gerard, by the way," he hesitated and awkwardly held his hand out for the other to shake.

Pretty-punk-boy raised an eyebrow--again--and scoffed slightly, "you're weird, man. I'm Frank," he punched Gerard's shoulder playfully, "you seem familiar, did we meet before?"

"I-I don't think so," the older stammered, letting his hand fall into his lap. "I'm new at this school. You're basically the first person I even talked to except for Mikey and Pete."

"Oh, you're friends with Mikey and Pete?" Frank exhaled some smoke, cocking his head to the side. "They both are in my art and history class." When he noticed Gerard staring at the cigarette, he smiled weakly and held the stick out. "Here, take a drag if you wanna."

"Thanks," Gerard mumbled awkwardly, taking the cancer-stick from him, "Mikey's my brother, by the way. And I'm only putting up with Pete 'cause he's always with Mikes."

Frank snorted, "he's actually kinda annoying but I don't mind him. Sometimes he's really cool, always skips Biology with me," he snickered, a grin spreading over his face.

Gerard smiled back fondly, finally taking a drag of the cigarette, "trust me, if he's at your house every day 'cause him and your brother have a secret love affair, it will get annoying after a while."

"Mikey's gay?" Frank stared at him, brows drawn together. Gerard nodded. "Didn't know that, not gonna lie."

"He's bi, actually," the older corrected, taking another drag before mumbling incoherently and pushing the cigarette back into Frank's hand.

Pretty-punk-boy snickered again, "no need to feel embarrassed, man. Take the cigarette if you wanna."

"But I wanted to quit," Gerard muttered, casting his eyes down.

"Didn't we all?" Frank took the last drag before putting the cigarette out and patting his thighs twice with both his hands. "I should probably go back. Already skipped the first two lessons," he smirked and stood up, "'twas nice talking to you, Gerard."

He didn't go that far before Gerard spoke up, "do you wanna meet here after school?"

Frank blinked twice in confusion, then smiled. "Sure. See ya," with a wave, he left, leaving Gerard alone.

-

Gerard sat down, sighing, setting his backpack onto the ground. He craved a cigarette but since he gave his last pack to Frank, he didn't have a single stick. Now, he regretted that decision.

"You need a tab?" A voice pulled him out of his thoughts and he turned around just to see the familiar, short punk walk toward him. "You seem like you could use it." Setting his backpack down at his feet, Frank took a seat next to Gerard and immediately held a cigarette and lighter out.

"Thanks," Gerard muttered, lighting the stick and taking a puff. Frank did the same. "You're unusually nice for a punk, you know."

The smaller snorted, blowing some smoke out of his nose, "Is that supposed to be a compliment or insult?"

"Whatever you like," Gerard shrugged, settling for a vague answer to not upset his only friend.

"You're weird, Gerard," Frank sighed, shaking his head, but it wasn't meant to hurt him, it was rather just a statement.

"Already told me that," the taller twirled his free hand around while talking, letting the smoke dissolve in the air.

They talked for a lot longer, just casual conversation, nothing forced. And, sometimes, in between, they would stay silent and just enjoy each other's company. By the time they noticed they had smoked all the cigarettes, Gerard also noticed that slowly but surely, the sun was setting.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Frank whispered, staring at the setting sun in awe. "The world, I mean."

Gerard only hummed, not seeing the need to answer with words.

"Like," Frank continued, much to Gerard's surprise, and sat up straight, "isn't it cool how we could have been born at every given time and still, we're alive now, to see this pretty sunset."

Gerard watched him out of the corner of his eyes, his shoulders still slumped and a frown on his face, "I don't think I get what you mean."

"Okay, look," Frank turned to him, making unusually many gestures while talking, "in theory, the entirety of time itself is an endless loop. So, basically, we could've been born at every given time. But, we were born to be alive at this exact time to see this sunset and I- I'm glad I was," he took a deep breath, meeting Gerard's gaze, "I'm glad I got to be alive now and meet you."

A smile found its way on Gerard's face. "This is such a beautiful way to see the world. You're a dreamer, Frank."

The shorter blushed, casting his eyes down and slumping his shoulders once more, "my mom always says that too."

"Then maybe it is true," Gerard said, his grin stretching wider before it was replaced by a frown, "do you have another cigarette?"

"Nah, sorry, man," Frank shrugged, patting his chest and back pockets, "'s gone."

"It's okay," Gerard waved a dismissing hand, "I just like how you can only see the light glim of a cigarette in the dark. Like little lights that someone sent so we still have at least a bit of brightness on earth."

Frank smiled fondly, "and you say I'm the dreamer. But this really does sound sweet. I like to imagine that there's never complete darkness and still some light, somewhere."

Sighing, Gerard put an arm around the shorter and pulled him into his side, "that's the right way to think, I guess."