Porcelain ♡ Frerard

Chapter 3

"You made yourself a bed at the bottom of the blackest hole and convinced yourself that it's not the reason you don't see the sun anymore."
'When It Rains', Paramore.
——

English class was always a subject Frank excelled at. He was regularly praised for his eloquent essays and dedication to the projects assigned to him, the fondness going as far as rewarding him with prizes, and once having a piece of his work sent to a national competition. He only settled into second place, but the honor's extravagance would never diminish as long as the trophy was displayed proudly in his home in California, silver and fairly sized so it didn't appear overly boastful if someone were to lay eyes on it.

Despite being known as a valuable student, Frank never allowed it to fluff his ego so much that it went beyond his common sense. He strode through the school halls humbly as any other student would because his achievements didn't separate him from the human race like the delusion some of his advanced placement classmates lived in. Frank decided he'd never mutate into a pretentious dickhead the same way they did. His confidence had no place in poisoning his attitude and his valued friendships with others who weren't as responsible with each of their assignments. Frank was able to believe in himself while also believing in others just as respectfully instead of peering down at them with disdain, his nose angled upwards in the air while dismissively turning his head.

English class came next in the row of classes Frank was scheduled to attend. He neared the doorway after locating the numbers imprinted on the doorway propped open to welcome the influx of students striding in one by one. He waited patiently in line as students wiped the soles of their shoes against the tattered rug inside stained with muddy residue from outside, decayed leaves, and soaked through from the rain. Frank took his turn eventually, dragging his shoes along the ruined carpet for what seemed to be no reason if the material was destroyed, but the watchful eyes of the teacher seated at his desk gave Frank a feeling he'd be instructed to wipe his shoes if he ignored the actions of other classmates. He shook the rain droplets off of his coat, quickly scanning over the classroom instinctively, before his eye was captured once again.

Towards the back of the classroom along the rows of desks pushed together in pairs occupying the rest of the small space, Frank's gaze entangled with that of Gerard Way's. Their eyes locked as students brushed past Frank, pinning one another into a stony state as if they were familiar, but Frank only knew of his existence for a short amount of time, and he was more than certain Gerard paid no attention to details such as Frank's name or what year he was. Yet, Frank felt his stomach plummet and his cheeks flush violently the same way they did when he crossed paths with a person he wasn't exactly excited to see in public, worsening to a separate degree as Frank noticed the way Gerard's form quickly became rigid, his onyx eyes tearing away from the link they'd created obliviously to staple their focus onto the desk he grasped the corners of with a grip Frank was surprised by. His posture and change of expression were unsettling.

"Are you the new student I'm expecting?" The teacher Frank's mind abandoned quickly broke through his turmoil. Frank collided with real time again and snapped his head towards the direction of the teacher awaiting for a response with a quirked eyebrow, the question hovering above it.

"Yeah. Sorry." Frank chewed his lower lip as he handed the teacher the slip he showed to each of his instructors that day. His spine tingled as his peripheral vision registered Gerard rigidly balanced in his seat across the room, struggling to ignore his presence calling out to him.

"Nice. We're finishing reading The Great Gatsby today, I have a copy for you." The teacher slid open the top drawer of his desk to reveal a weathered copy of a novel Frank's eyes studied many times on his own, stacked above a hardcover textbook with a highlighter yellow sticky note with Frank's full name scrawled messily onto it in red ink. "I'm already assigning a major project for this today, but I can excuse you from it so you have time to finish reading and do something else instead."