The Light Behind Your Eyes

Chapter 12

It took Gerard a lot longer than he anticipated but he was able to navigate the dark house without falling or bumping into anything too hard. He decided to avoid Lindsey altogether and made his way right to the guest bedroom where he kicked off his shoes and jeans, pulled off his shirt and flopped onto the bed, passing out immediately. His dreams were plagued with the achingly beautiful face of Frank. Frank who wasn't annoyed when he drank too much, who didn't yell at him about every little think. Gerard always figured he was straight but thinking about Frank caused a strange ache in the pit of his stomach.

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Frank rolled over and groaned loudly. He didn't have a hangover like he was certain Gerard would but he was still exhausted. The taxi dropped him back off at the club and he decided to drive his own car home, mostly so he didn't have to leave his guitar at the club. It's not that he didn't trust the club owners, he just loved his guitar like it was his child and didn't want to leave it overnight.

Frank rubbed the sleep out of his eyes before sitting up and looking at the time. 9:17. Fuck it was too early. He wanted to crawl back under the sheets until he needed to meet up with Mikey later that afternoon but his brain started combing over what happened the night before. He remembered him and Gerard doing a shot before Gerard started ordering and downing more and more drinks. Because Frank was in good with the owners, he didn't have to pay a dime but Frank was sure Gerard drank a hefty sum of alcohol and that he would get an earful.

What was with Gerard asking about his sexuality? That was weird. Especially for a married straight man. Frank wasn't cocky enough to think he could turn straight men, but he wasn't dumb enough to believe every person was strictly straight. They all had a little homosexual in them, if even just a touch and he enjoyed helping others try to find their identities. A grumbling sound echoed off the walls and Frank quickly identified it as his stomach. He decided it was time to haul his tired limbs off the bed and wander into the kitchen. Dylan should have been at work so Frank decided against getting dressed and just parading around in his boxers. He made his way through the apartment into the kitchen and opened the fridge looking for anything quick.

"Well to what do I owe this lovely sight?" Frank heard, causing him to sigh.

"Don't mind me, I was busy fucking your dad last night" Frank threw towards Dylan. He tried to inject some venom into the insult but it just came out sounding tired. Dylan was standing on the other side of the kitchen with a coffee mug in his hands. He looked at Frank amused.

"Why are you up so early, don't you usually waste away in your room until after lunch?" Dylan shot back. Frank didn't have it in him to respond as he abandoned the food idea and decided to take the rest of the coffee sitting in the pot. After filling a mug and taking a long gulp he turned towards his ex.

"Why are you home? Trying to sneak in another twink?"

"Actually no, I don't have any meetings until later so I figured I could use the morning catching up with my lovely roommate" He said sarcastically. Frank flipped him off.

"You know what your problem is?" Dylan continued. "You need to get laid."

"My problem is that I live with my narcasistic ex boyfriend" Frank scoffed.

"I could help you with that though. You know, getting laid."

"Yeah, I'll pass. I'd rather swallow and shit out a watermelon" Frank said before finishing his coffee and putting his mug in the sink. "What, did they ban you from teen night at the bowling alley or something?" As Frank was becoming more and more awake, his insults were getting more and more...well insulting.

"Just remember that I'm always an option" Dylan called out as Frank walked away.

"So is skydiving without a parachute and that sounds like a far better option with a better outcome" Frank called back as he slammed his bedroom door.

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Gerard groaned loudly. His head was pounding and his mouth was dry. It took a lot of effort to crack his eyes open but he wasn't surprised he was sleeping in the guest bedroom. Honestly he was surprised he wasn't being screamed at right now. Slowly the memories of last night began flooding in. He got drunk, really drunk. He hadn't been that drunk in a long time because the last time he and Lindsey had an all out brawl. She thought he was an alcoholic and Gerard didn't see anything wrong with having one drink after dinner each night to unwind. After threatening to leave and take Bandit with, he figured alcohol wasn't worth it so he just stopped.

He sat up in bed, feeling his back crack multiple times. Water and Advil is what he needed, both of which were in the kitchen. Gerard pulled on a pair of sweats and made his way downstairs. The house was eerily quiet and that concerned him a little. He popped a few Advil's and downed it with a glass of water from the tap before he noticed a piece of paper on the counter. It was a note.

Took B & staying at my mothers for a while. Don't call.

Well at least she wasn't screaming. Gerard sighed loudly before tossing the note back on the counter and heading back upstairs. Sure enough Lindsey's make up bag and hair dryer were gone. Gerard wrestled with his thoughts as he sat on the edge of the bed. He should be upset, even angry that once again Lindsey packed up her and Bandit's stuff and left out of anger. But honestly he was more relieved then anything. He knew how this cycle would go. Lindsey would leave for a few days, cool off and come back to make Gerard apologize. It was exhausting but at least he was confident in that she hadn't successfully taken Bandit away forever. And she would never fully leave Gerard and divorce him. She would have to go back to painting and working for her money and she didn't want to do that.

Gerard's attention was pulled away from his marital issues when he heard the muffled sound of a phone ringing. He wandered back into the guest room and fished his phone out of the pocket of his pants that lay abandoned on the floor.

"Hello?" he grumbled.

"Mr. Way? Are you okay?!"

"Yes, Andrew, I'm fine. I just wasn't feeling well today" Gerard raked his fingers through his hair roughly. Very rarely did Gerard take personal days off of work and if on the off chance he would be out or late, he always let Andrew know. Being as he hadn't woken up until about 15 minutes ago, Andrew didn't know.

"It's almost ten and I hadn't heard from you yet" Andrew said meekly.

"What was on the calendar for today?" Gerard replied, ignoring Andrew's concerns.

"I pushed this morning's financial meeting and there are a few one on one meetings with some of the staff regarding various bills and such."

"Fine. Reschedule all the meetings for next week, I'm taking a personal day" Gerard decided. After bidding Andrew a farewell, Gerard decided to get dressed and head out to check on the one person who seemed to care about him just as much as Mikey; Frank.