The Watercooler Romance

1. Someone Outside My Window

Hey guys, first Frerard fanfic, hope you like it! Pls leave comments if you have any questions or suggestions... thanks!

WHAM.

This is the story of my briliant high school life. I'm Captain of the Croquet Team. I have three dogs that I love more than life, and a fabulous illness: chronic bronchitis. Basically it means the tiny air sacs in my lungs called bronchioles are permanently inflamed and sometimes I have 'attacks' where I can't breathe and I had to go to hospital heaps as a little kid but it's better now and I could rant for ages but I won't, so here's my story. Where was I? Oh yeah I had just been punched in the face.

WHAM.

Another blow to the side of the head.

I'm nearly knocked out by this one, and I don't notice that I've hit the ground until my eyes refocus and my ears register any sound other than ringing.

A tall boy - at least a foot taller than me, was looking down at me, just a silhouette against the blinding sun. He was Captain of the Hockey Team, which he and his mates reinforced by carrying their sticks everywhere with them; he looked odd without it at his side.

"Fucking homo twat. Get up." Joel hollered. He does more hollering and yelling than he does talking.

I coughed and squinted, groaning, until his two 'left and right's Ronnie and Samson grabbed my arms and shoved me up onto my feet, which were quite unsteady.

"Now." Joel said. "I think we've learned our lesson for today, haven't we Frankie?" He sneered. "I think you're smart enough to remember not to walk in my way down the corridor next time, aren't you? Got enough brains for that, faggot?" He bent down to my level so he could stare me in the eyes. "Yes, I think even a sick little fag like you is smart enough now. We'll see you tomorrow Frankie." He laughed, and his gang joined him. The other two, the ones that were on the outermost sides of the five-man group, are Danny and Checker. Danny is just another jacket guy (but with it done up - only Joel can where it open all the time), but Checker is the outsider of the group. A lanky kid who never wears school jacket or senior jacket only the white shirt and tie, he's always being pushed around by the gang. People like to whisper and spread rumors that Joel's got some huge dirty secret on Checker and he'll tell it to everyone if he doesn't play his pet all the time. I couldn't care less.

One of them  (I still couldn't see straight) kicked me in the gut as he left, sniggering.

I pushed myself onto my stomach, and then up to standing, leaning against the orange brick wall for support, but it was another minute until I could feel my face. My throat ached like crazy, and I had to rest for a minute before I moved on.

I picked up my bag and slung it over my shoulder, hands in pockets, and started walking.

Left out of the school gates, left again after 5 streets, then up the hill and the curvy path through the park. On the other side of the green I went straight up a road and took the first right onto my street. Halfway up and I turned left, through the tall wooden gate, and into my house from the side, a grin on my face despite the pain.

My dogs greeted me as I stepped through the back door into the kitchen and I bent to hug them.

"Hey babies, how was your day?" I smiled as they licked my face, then trudged up the stairs to my room.

My room was the last door on the hallway, and covered in posters on the inside. All my favourite bands and sporting teams welcomed me.

I dropped my bag on the carpet by the door and jumped onto my bed, ready to hit the sounds, when I heard a truck's rumble getting louder and louder. I propped myself on my elbows and stared out the window, which was right by the bed, and saw a moving van pull round the corner painfully slowly, followed by an old white car which presumably had the new owners in it. Looking harder I could see a middle-aged man driving, a woman of the same age in the passenger seat, someone sitting behind the driver, and on the side closest to me, a kid around my age with shoulder-length black hair staring straight at me through the window. I stared back.

The car moved on behind the truck and I followed it with my eyes until it went round the corner. I stayed in the same position, listening, and heard when the truck stopped for good a few seconds later.
They can't be more than 500m from my place. I thought. I wondered if that guy will be coming to my school tomorrow, only a month or so into the school year. Will he be in my year? How old is he? Who was that other person in the car? Where did he move from?

He decided tomorrow he would start walking five minutes earlier in order to find that old white car and figure out how far they were away from him.

Will he walk or be dropped at school tomorrow? Probably dropped, if it's his first day, I decided.

I lay on my bed listening to music and thinking about the new guy for a while, but eventually remembered this afternoon and nipped into the bathroom to shower and clean the muck and blood off my face and put antisceptic liquid on the minor cuts I'd sustained from "breaking a glass in Science class" (as I told my mother at dinner when she asked).

After dinner I had a pile of homework to do, so I put on my music and set to work; not being bothered to make myself work later if I didn't do it now. As I was trying to write the chemical formula to photosynthesis, I had a thought.

What if this is my life, forever? What if my entire life is going to school, taking shit from Joel everyday, coming home to do homework and listen to music, eat dinner, and then listen to more music? What if that's my entire life?

A depressing thought, but how can I help thinking about it?

I rubbed my chest - my lungs were aching.
I've got to change things, I thought as I drifted off, the music still drowning out the world.

I didn't know that tomorrow, things would be changing by themselves.