Pinky Promise (Frerard) ✔️

Two

I'm not entirely sure what the upload schedule for this will be but probably every day, unless I run out of things to write in which case there will be a short pause.

The next day, during guitar class, we started learning. Mostly the strings and E string and stuff. It was an intro to guitar, so none of us really knew what we were doing. Except Mr. Iero.

A few of us were struggling, but I think I was doing the worst. My fingers kept getting in the way.

The bell rang, and everyone went home for the day after putting away their guitars. I walked over to Mr. Iero's desk. "Um...sir?"

He looked up and smiled. "Hey, Gerard. What's up?"

"I'm really struggling with this. Like a lot. Can you maybe help me?"

"Yeah, of course!" He stood up and pulled a chair from a nearby desk over to his. "Grab your guitar and come sit. We'll figure it out."

I picked up my guitar from the back of the class and brought it over, sitting in the chair. He wheeled towards me in his spinny chair. "What are you having trouble with?"

"My fingers keep getting in the way," I said.

"Tall fingers, remember?" He tapped one of the frets. "Let's see. Can you do an open E for me?"

I strummed the high E string.

"F?"

It sounded flat and dull.

"Okay. If it sounds like that, that means you need to press harder. I know it hurts, but you gotta do it if you want the sound. And your finger is flat." He stood up and walked around behind me. I looked up at him. "Keep your thumb straight and pressed against the neck."

I tried to do as instructed, but apparently it was wrong, because he gently took my wrist and moved my thumb so it was in the right place. "And then arch your fingers."

I did, then strummed.

"Yeah! There you go. Can you do G?"

I shook my head. "My fingers get all weird and bent and I can't reach the frets."

"The good news is that you have long fingers. It is going to hurt your wrist, and probably your elbow too, but I know you can do it." He sat back in front of me. "Try it."

I couldn't even reach the third fret. My hands started sweating and the strings dug into the tips of my fingers.

"Okay, you look like you're about to burst into tears." He put his hand on my knee. "Calm down. I know it's a lot. This isn't just about guitar, is it?"

I shook my head, my lip quivering.

"Why don't you tell me what's up?" He sat back in his chair.

"It's just..." I sniffed. "Nevermind. I don't want you to worry."

"No no no, it's okay! You can tell me whatever you need, okay? And I won't tell anyone unless I need to call the police."

I looked down. "You know how you said that girl Lindsey seemed to like me?"

"Yeah."

"My brother found out she just wanted a gay friend. So I don't have any possibility of having friends. At all."

"None?"

I shook my head.

"Who do you eat lunch with?"

"My brother, if he's alone. Other times I just go to the library."

"Hey." He lowered himself so that he could look at me. "Do you usually eat?"