Happy Thoughts (Frerard)

Chapter 1

Gerard's POV

It was a chilly, fall afternoon. The sky was overcast, the sun no where to be found. The rain cascaded through the air like blood through veins. Such an enticing day, one that needed coffee.

I strolled down a couple of blocks before reaching a coffee shop. As soon as I opened the door, the smell of hot-brewed caffeine cut through the icy air in my lungs. It was a very welcoming ambiance.

I sat at the counter and asked the lady for a cup of black coffee, ingesting its essence before taking a long sip. I swear there was nothing more addictive than coffee, not even cigarettes, whose taste of death constantly lingered on my tongue.

I took consistent gulps as I looked around the room. Not many people, which is to be expected on a day like this. However my attention was caught by one peculiar individual. He sat slouched over a small table, his head resting on his left hand while the right twirled a straw in a glass of water and he gazed out the window.

From my position, only the tip of his nose could be seen from behind a cluster of hair black as night. His skin was extremely pale, as though it had never seen sunlight. He was wearing a red tee shirt, black jeans, and a black collared jacket that covered the bottom half of a scorpion tattoo on his neck.

I asked the lady for another cup of coffee before gliding over to the the young man's table. I sat down across from him and attempted conversation, with a pitiful go. "Do you like the rain?"

"Uhh, yeah..." he turned from the window, noticing my presence. He shook his head, as if to snap into reality. "I love the rain." He gave a somber smile as he placed his hands together on the table. He looked up for a brief moment of eye contact before quickly breaking it off.

"I do too," I focused on his eyes, giving a reassuring smile. "My name's Gerard Way."

"Frank," he smiled back. "Frank Iero."

"Well it's lovely to meet you Frank!" I took a gulp of my coffee and picked up the conversation. "Why are you here alone?"

"Oh uhh," Frank trailed off, nervously running his fingers through his dark hair. "I uhh, had nothing better to do." He took a sip of his nearly empty water.

I examined Frank's face in suspicion, doubtful that this was his actual reason. But, I hardly knew him, and it was certainly not my place to interrogate him. He glanced up and caught my ambiguous look.

"It's just," he looked back down again, touching his thumbs together. "You know how sometimes you just don't want to go home? I'm procrastinating".

"Procrastinating what?" I couldn't help but ask.

"Uhhh..." Frank ran his fingers through his hair once more.

"You don't have to answer if you don't want to," I could tell by the look on his face there was something wrong. I placed my hand over his in comfort.

His face altered immediately, from being anxious and bleak to choking back a smile as his cheeks turned a pale shade of red. He pulled his hand back ever so swiftly as his smile faded.

"I, I just," I stammered in my words. Had I upset him? "I just don't want to make you feel pressured or anything."

Frank looked up and revealed a dainty smile in response. "I should really actually get going...handle the procrastinated stuff. Maybe we could uhh..." he trailed again, becoming sheepish in his hesitancy. "Maybe we could meet again? You seem like a really nice person..."

"I would love to!" I took the last sip of my coffee and scribbled my phone number on a napkin, sliding it around to Frank. "Just call me whenever. I would love to meet up again."

I could see Frank sigh in relief as he picked up the napkin. We didn't say anything more, but left with silent goodbyes consisting of low toned smiles and friendly expressions.

The walk home was slightly hazy. It was late afternoon when I left the coffee shop, about the time the fog rolled in. It was still pouring, and the brisk wind was strangely comforting. I really couldn't complain.

But despite the beautiful weather, I couldn't think of anything but Frank. He would not leave my mind. His nervous smile, the way he moved his hands, oh how his very name was carved on my conscious mind. There was something very strange about him, he was unused to socializing and human contact. Whatever it may have been, I wanted to find out.

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