Going away- Frerard (reupload)

Chapter two

Two days later, Gerard found himself staring out the car window, watching the highway lines swerve in and out of view. He had his headphones on full blast as an attempt to keep from having a conversation with his father. He wasn't about to let his father see him cry, but the image of Mikey's hysterics and the sound of his sobs and pleads to let Gerard stay, were burned into his mind, making it hard to fight back tears. Gerard had been injured a lot as a child; broken bones, cuts, and bruises and he never cried once. But the sight of his baby brother screaming and crying telling their parents how much he hated them, was the only thing that managed to break Gerard's tough image. Mikey was shy and a loner. He had no friends other than Gerard and the thought of Mikey being so alone almost killed Gerard. He closed his eyes to keep the welled up crystals from falling, and eventually fell into a deep sleep.

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Hours later, his dad shook him from his unhappy slumber. They were parked outside of a log cabin house, much smaller than the high-class wonder that Gerard was used to; it was about the size of an average 4-person-family house. To Gerard, however, it was tiny. He could see the slightest glimpse of a lake in the back and all around him were miles of giant pine trees, hundreds of feet tall.

Wonderful. I'm stuck in a forest, in the middle of nowhere, with an old dude that I don't even really know. He thought bitterly.

"Well, we're here." His dad told him.

"Yeah, I guessed that." He replied, rudely. "What exactly am I supposed to do in this place?"

His father sighed, "I don't know, take a break from delinquency for a change." He said sarcastically. "Think about things. Help your grandfather around the house, maybe help him with the store if he needs it."

"What store?" Gerard asked, looking around outside the car for some sort of civilization he may have missed.

"He owns the grocery store in town. He might need you to help him with some stuff there."

"Great, now I'm here to be someone's maid." He said, crossing his arms and throwing himself back against the seat.

"Oh stop pouting you big baby. We all need a break. And you better treat this man with respect. He may be your mother's father, but he has done a lot for me in my life, and he is a great person to take you under his wing like this." His dad warned.

"Yeah, well I didn't ask him to."

"No. You didn't. Neither did I. He offered. Now grow up and get your stubborn ass out of the car."

Gerard huffed and got out. It was beginning to get dark, so the air was chilly but so much more fresh and breathable than the usual city air. He stretched his arms up over his head, feeling every bone in his body crack loudly. He reached into the back seat of his dad's red Mercedes and grabbed his two duffel bags, flinging them over his shoulder, while his dad grabbed his suitcase out of the trunk.

As Gerard climbed back out of the car and shut the door, he heard the door on the house creak open and an older man, probably in his late 50's, dressed in a red flannel and old black wrangler jeans stepped out. His hair was gray and thin and his face was plastered with a cheery smile that reached his dark eyes, making his wrinkly cheeks plump.

"Jim! You finally made it! I was wondering when you guys would get here!" The old man said, "How was the drive?"

"Long and quiet. Gerard slept the whole ride." His dad replied.

The old man turned and looked at Gerard. "I haven't seen you since you were a little guy. Look how much you've grown. Wow, you look so much like Jewels did at your age. " He said, giving the boys' shoulder a firm squeeze.

Gerard just gave a fake smile and nodded his head, because he didn't know what to say.

"That reminds me," Jim added, "Julie told me to tell you that she'll come visit next time, she had to work but she said to tell you that she loves you and misses you."

The old man just grinned wider, before turning back to Gerard.

"Well, I guess you're going to be staying here for awhile so I should show you to your room so you can get settled in and so I can talk to your dad before he gets back on the road. By the way you can call me Charlie."

Gerard's heart sank at the thought of being left behind, but he nodded again and followed them to the door.

Inside it was cozy. The whole house had a Christmasy smell to it, like cinnamon, cloves and oranges. The living room was small and dark because of the color of the wooden walls. In the center of the room, there were two dark green sofas facing each other, with a wooden coffee table between them. A fireplace against the far wall had orange flames cracking and burning violently. The mantle had only a single picture in the center, surrounded by white candles. On the opposite wall there was a small entertainment center with an old TV and a VCR.

A VCR? Where's the DVD player? I didn't even know they still sold VCRs, Gerard thought, before following Charlie through a narrow hallway. He led him to the room at the end of the hall, opened the door and flicked on the light. Inside the there was a bed that was about half the size of Gerard's bed at home, a small dresser, and a night stand with a lamp and alarm clock, telling them that it was 5:32 PM.

"Well, this is it. Get yourself situated. I'm going to go start dinner. The kitchen is through the other doorway in the living room. My room is the first door on the left. The one across from that is the bathroom. The room to the left of yours is the laundry room and the one on the right of you is Frank's." Charlie told him after setting his suitcase on the bed.

"Who's Frank?" Gerard asked, the first words he said since he got out of the car.

"He's like a grandson to me. He's lived with me for years. You'll meet him later, I'm not sure where he is right now."

Gerard bit his tongue to keep from saying something smart about the oh so many places that Frank could be in a place like that. Instead, he nodded and turned to the bed to dig through his suitcase, and his grandfather left the room.

A few minutes later, He decided he needed to use the bathroom. He stepped out of his room and walked to the other end of the hallway. Both doors were closed and he couldn't remember which one Charlie said was the bathroom, so he took a guess and turned the knob on the door on the right.

He opened the door just as somebody was stepping out of the shower. They both froze, too shocked to move or say anything. He was a boy around the same age, with dark hair and piercing hazel eyes. Gerard unintentionally scanned over his smooth, water soaked body, and then back up to meet his eyes. They both turned bright red. The boy scrambled for a towel and Gerard fumbled with the door, mumbling and stuttering an apology as he closed it.

He kept his head down as he raced through the living room and into the kitchen, where Jim and Charlie were sitting at the table, laughing at something they were saying. When they noticed Gerard, they both looked at him curiously, his face still flaming red as he stared at the floor, fidgeting with his hands.

"Gerard? Are you okay? What's the matter?" Charlie questioned.

"I think I just met Frank."