Pinky Promise (Frerard) ✔️

Twelve

As soon as I stepped inside, Mom attacked me.

"Tell me everything!" She guided me towards the kitchen. "How was the date? What happened this morning? Did you eat breakfast?"

"I ate breakfast," I said, sitting in a chair. "Um. We painted something together-"

"What?"

"A rainbow. Pride thing." I took out my phone to show her a picture. "It's on town hall."

"That's so beautiful. Did he help?"

"Not much." I smiled. "He's a terrible artist, but I was really excited. Then we watched movies and cuddled."

"And you stayed the night." She wiggled her eyebrows.

"Yeah. We didn't do anything!" I put my phone away. "We just slept and cuddled with his dog."

"Were his parents home?"

I froze. Frank lived alone, oh shit. "Uh, no. He lives alone."

She raised her eyebrows. "He is your age, right? You're not dating, like, a fifty year old?"

"God, Mom, who do you think I am?" I shook my head. "Um...what...is your age limit?"

"Gerard. How old is he?"

"Twenty two?"

She sighed. "I mean...I guess that's better than fifty. How did you meet him?"

Okay. I definitely couldn't tell her he was my teacher. There was no way.

"At the park," I said, panicking. "He came to my favorite spot with his dog, and we ended up talking for a while. I didn't do anything until my birthday, I swear!"

"Okay, okay." She held up her hands. "As long as you're sure he's not lying about his age."

"How would I know that, Mom? Ask to see his birth certificate?"

"Yes. And credit card number. And maybe SSN."

"Oh my god. No. I am not stealing my boyfriend's identity."

She squealed. "He's your boyfriend?"

I nodded slowly.

She wrapped me in a tight hug. "Gee! Your first boyfriend, ah, so cute! I'm gonna need to get a picture of you."

How long was I going to have to keep this up?

"Oh, if he doesn't go to school, what does he do for a living?" Mom turned and started to make herself some tea. "Want some?"

"I always want tea." I hesitated, because I didn't know what to tell Mom. "He...um...plays guitar."

"For a living? Is he in a band?"

"No..." I took a deep breath. "He's a teacher."

"Where?"

"My school."

Mom dropped her teabag. She whipped around to look at me. "Iero?"

"Iero," I said, correcting the pronunciation.

"You...oh my god." She sank into a chair. "Gerard, what the fuck. That's so weird."

"It's legal though!" I pulled the photo on my phone. "My friend googled it, and it's legal as long as I'm an adult."

"But is it allowed in school?"

"Um, no. He would probably get fired."

"I..." She held her head in her hands. "I don't know how to feel about this, Gerard."