Paperclips and Cigarettes

Chapter 6 - Watercolour Blood

I wake up thank the heavens that we have a long weekend the first week back. Not that I believe in heaven anyway. As soon as I place weight onto my feet a pain that I'm oh so familiar with shoots into my being. I lift the sleeveless shirt I was wearing and to find my entire right side a purplish blue. Nice to finally have some colour on my ghostly skin, I bitterly laugh to myself. I turn to the mirror and take in my ghoulish appearance.

The two sizes too big top hangs loosely over my shoulders and my boxers allow my paper white thighs to be on full display. I watch my awkwardly long fingers fumble around with my clothes before my gaze travels up. I take in the appearance of my face, each one of my imperfect features knocking inches off my self confidence. My dry, pink lips were too small and must be horrible to kiss - I feel bad for making anyone go endure that. The pink flesh is torn and dried blood has caked to my face, fading towards the edges like a grotesque drip of watercolour. I look into my own eyes, the only part of my face I can actually take a slithering of a liking to. I've always admired my hazel iris', but I'd most definitely prefer green. My eyelashes looked a bit bigger due to the smudged eyeliner I was sporting, but I mostly used it to make my eyes pop and give me a bit of an edge. God Gerard, your gay is showing.

I pull my shirt back down and give a glance at the barely full touched cupboards and immediately decide against it. The thought of having to down that atrocious filter coffee in this state makes me sick to the stomach. I pull on some skinny jeans and a hoodie - using the hood to hide my eyes that are now tainted red from crying and other things. I sigh and scribble a probably indecipherable note for Frank saying I've gone out to the local Starbucks.

Frank's P.O.V.

My eyes open slightly, but it's still dark. Confused and still half asleep I go up to the curtains and rip them open - the biggest mistake I could've made. Light shines through the windows and I feel like a vampire as I scramble away from it. I shut the curtains again and decide upon turning the lamp on. I grab a bowl and the box of cereal we're given. Why the fuck couldn't they have bought us like, Lucky Charms or something? I pour the brown pieces of nothing into the plastic bowl and consume it without a thought. I chew on the pieces of 'healthy, tasty breakfast crunch' as my eyes travel over to a badly written note on the counter. I abandon my cereal in favour of reading it and as I get closer I realise just how horribly written it is.

I manage to make out something about Gerard going out for coffee, at least he had the courtesy of telling me. I sigh and finish my breakfast, going back to my bed. My eyes flick over to my alarm clock and the big, bold, red numbers tell me it's to early to be up.

I wake for the second time to a pounding at the dorm room door. Gerard probably forgot his keys or something. I mean who else would bother to wake me up? I drag my feet over to the pale white door and use all of my strength to twist the metal door handle. My features twist into confusion when I see a man, around 30, and another guy about 5 years younger glaring at me.

The two men step forward and I instinctively step back, subsequently letting them into the dorm. I could be fucked, but then again, they could be offering me cigarettes and a record deal - I highly doubt that though. I hear the door click behind then and my fingers start to shake a bit and fear laces my veins. "Hey, kid. D'ya know a boy, bright red hair, tallish, really pale?" The older man asks. I stand there not saying a word, before he steps towards me and questions further, "He lives in this dorm, I believe." I gawp at him for a split second then nod before I could process what I was doing. "Yeah, his name is Gerard.". As soon as the words leave lips I know it was a bad idea. I mean, these guys look like trouble.

The older man nods at the younger one and he lunges towards me and pins me to the wall. Before I can process what's happening I've been punched in the ribs, stomach and face. That black eye's gonna be hard to cover up. The older man delivers a kick all too close to my manhood for my liking. The younger man lets go of me and I fall to the ground, my entire body covered in bruises and aching. One of them continues to kick my body, well I'm more of a corpse by now. I receive one last blow, harder than all the others, making a groan escape my mouth. "Kid, if I were you I'd stay away from that Gerard boy." One of them says and they leave. Well at least I think they've left due to the loud slam of the door. My heads spinning and I let the tears I've been biting back slip down my cheeks. I can barely focus on anything, but the man's words leave a ringing in my ears - why would I need to stay away from Gerard?

Gerard's P.O.V.

I slip into the dark room that I'm forced to call home, the closed blinds still allowing slithers of orange light to shine through. I close the door with a soft click and flick on the lamp to find Frank in a mess of bruises and blood. Cracks inch their way up my heart as I see light glistening off his wet cheeks.

"Fr...Frank?" I whisper to him.
"Frank? C...can you hear me?" I ask again, my voice louder and quivering.
"Frank!" I shout, the urgency in voice all too clear.

Panic rises through me as I hear no response from him, his head lulled back and limbs sprawled across his body and the floor. I rush over to Frank and begin to gently shake his in hopes of a getting him to say something - anything. Silence still hangs in the room like an unwanted guest at a birthday party and I shake him harder out of sheer terror, but I realise that he's probably in a lot of pain already and doing that would only hurt him further. I would never want to hurt Frank - the thought of it makes me sick. I remove his arm that he has curled around his side and lift up his top to find the skin turning a sickining greenish colour. I probe a bit further, trying to be as careful as I can in an attempt to cause the least harm I can, and find things sticking out where they shouldn't.

I begin to shake and tears form in my eyes as I realise how damaged and broken Frank is. My Frank. Anger courses through my veins, but I try to subdue it as I pick him up, his small frame hanging limp in my arms. Then it hits me - Frank's unconscious. I rush faster to get out the door and lock it, not needing anymore terrors to be waiting for me when I, we, return. I move legs as fast as I trust myelf, ignoring the strange and judgemental looks I'm recieving for carrying a beaten boy whilst running. I bet I'm not too easy on the eyes either.