~nine~

frank woke with a jolt. he had no recollection of the night before. the boy let his eyes investigate his surroundings before getting little snapbacks of the night. frank looked to the side, seeing gerard smiling, nearly terrifying him.

"ah, you're awake." gerard let out a sigh of satisfaction, setting his pocket lighter to the side.

"gerard, what the fuck happened?" frank cursed, fear rising.

"what do you mean, frankie? you just got a bit... sleepy last night. don't worry." gerard let out a tiny laugh before cutting it off abruptly.

"i'm sorry- god, i have no manners." frank covered his face in embarrassment, jumping when he felt gerard grab onto his arm.

"it's ok. i understand, rough day." he laughed longer this time, yet it still slightly creeped frank out.

"i cant even remember what happened..." frank added on. gerard laughed quietly, muttering something under his breath that frank didn't quite catch. he then turned away and stood up.

"i'll give you a ride back to your house, it's only 6 so you'll get to school fine." gerard offered, staring at the digital clock on his dresser.

"oh, i-"

frank stopped when gerard pulled him off the bed by his hand with a firm, tight grip. frank stared up at gerard for a second, bodied nearly pressed together. gerard then pushed frank back away and walked out of his room.

frank had a massive headache, almost like a hangover headache. he struggled to keep his balance yet shook his head vigorously to try and ward it off. frank then fell right over, front side up.

everything kept fading in from black. he put a palm on his forehead, trying to pull himself together. he almost jumped when gerard came back in the room. he seemed worried, but gerard didn't care. he couldn't care.

"oh, darling, are you ok?" gerard knelt down to frank's size, bringing a hand to his face.

"i-i'm fine, just kinda... fell." frank chuckled, trying to pick his head up but then just fell back down.

"we better get you home." gerard grinned, pulling frank up by his arms. it took some effort but gerard kept frank slung over his shoulder.

after a silent ride, gerard helped frank out and to his doorstep. he still didn't seem stable enough, so gerard walked him up to his room.

"gerard, i think i'm gonna get some rest.." he choked out, his vision growing blurry.

"take care, frankie." he faked a smile before seeing frank pass out. he chuckled and walked out, shutting the door behind him.

———

gerard sorted his books in his locker, trying his best to remember what he needed for the day. he was caught off guard when he was shoved up against the locker, causing severe head trauma. yet he pulled through, trying to see what happened.

there stood awsten, angrier than ever.

"where the fuck is he !!" he screamed in gerard's face, punching him in the chest.  gerard kept a hard stare with him. he couldn't decide between fighting back or looking like a wimp in front of the whole school.

gerard looked around for a moment, seeing everyone staring. pete, dallon, tyler, and josh all stood off to the side. tyler was crying into josh's arm while dallon and pete stood there. still no sight of frank.

"he's sick, faggot." gerard hissed, followed by awsten's dominance turning into fear.

"sure he is, you probably fucking murdered him !"

everyone went dead silent. there wasn't a stir nor even a heavy breath of some sort. tyler stopped crying from absolute shock.

everyone shifted their attention at an instant. there stood the principal, facing the two boys. teachers were dragging kids into classes as sirens whirred. soon the hallways were empty and the two boys were being dragged into the office.

it came to gerard's realization that the school was now on lockdown. he didn't think it was that necessary, but he didn't do any bodily harm. and there were witnesses.

"what the fuck is this for!" awsten exclaimed, hearing police sirens in the distance.

"boys, i need to know what in the bloody hell happened out there !" the principal rose his voice at the two.

"HE HURT FRANK!" awsten said, pointing at gerard.

"gerard ?" the principal cocked an eyebrow.

"hes sick. i gave him a ride home and he told me he was going to get some rest. that's all!" gerard defended, surprisingly staying calm.

"frank was supposed to come back to my house with ME. but instead, gerard fucking kidnapped him or some shit-"

"language."

"-and probably tortured him ! it's gerard, for god sakes!"

"i'm right here, asshole."

"gerard, why exactly did frank come back home with you?"

"from what i saw, awsten was trying to get frank to say something. that... what i apparently did to him. which i did nothing! and awsten freaked out and had him pressed up against the wall in the bathroom, and verbally abusing him. then frank broke down crying after awsten had left, and i gave him a ride home. and he stayed the night there."

"I WOULD NEVER DO THAT TO FRANK!"

"YOU HAD HIM PINNED UP AGAINST THE WALL BY HIS WRISTS, HE WAS OBVIOUSLY IN PAIN."

"BOYS."

they all stopped, focusing on the elderly man.

"now, i would need another witness for this situation. but never, never bring up murder in a school. you do understand how many students are freaking out since we had to go on lockdown for this ?"

the two boys nodded.

"now, you two will stay in here today. for safety purposes. excuse me for a moment, please."

he walked out, slamming the door shut behind him.

———

the bell rang as awsten sprung out of his chair. he picked is bag off the ground and put it on, staring down at gerard who was still working.

"you're fucking crazy, gerard." awsten sneered.

"no i'm not." gerard lifted his head, meeting eyes with him.

"yes you are. you got me sent to a fucking hospital. and you severely injured brendon, twice! and, let's talk about you trying to murder frank. and now you've kidnapped him !"

"i've already went over this, i didn't kidnap him. he's sick." gerard said firmly.

"sick, my ass." awsten leaned against the desk, getting closer to gerard.

"go on, give him a call." gerard dropped his head back down, stuffing the paper into a folder.

"why would i do that if he's "sick"" awsten asked.

"so you know i didn't fucking murder him?" gerard said sarcastically.

"i'm never letting him near you again. never." awsten hissed, getting face to face with gerard. the taller boy smirked for a moment before looking to the side.

"ok, buddy." he said with a maniacal grin, walking straight out.

———

"good afternoon gerard, how was your day?" doctor verne asked, shifting in his seat.

"just fine, sir." gerard mumbled, chewing on his nails.

"i got a call from school about a situation between you and another student ?" he eyed him for a second before going on. "do you mind explaining what happened ?"

"you remember frank?" doctor verne nodded. "well, awsten was verbally abusing him yesterday in the bathroom and it made frank sad. so i took frank home with me, which he gladly agreed to. and he stayed there for the night. in the morning, he felt extremely sick. like he could barely walk straight. so i drove him home and he fell asleep."

"ah, did he seem uneasy the night before?" he questioned, staring intently.

"not really. he was shy and nervous as usual. i mean, i don't blame him. what are you supposed to do around a crazed guy like me?" gerard held back a chuckle and stared out the window .

"were you pressuring him to come home with you?" he asked again.

"no, not at all. i simply walked in there and held out my hand, saying 'let's go.' and he just stood up and followed me out." gerard explained.

"did he seem scared there?" gerard shook his head.

"but doc, i hate it. he isn't scared of me. and i feel like i'm gonna snap one day and i'm gonna just straight up kill him. no remorse. i want him to avoid me so i can avoid doing that."

"have you ever thought of trying to befriend him?" he asked, making gerard's thoughts go dead for a solid minute.

"i cant maintain friendship. i thought we went over this." gerard finally spoke up.

"you're coming to me for help with your head. not physically, but mentally. we're trying to help you as much as we can, and we have to take little steps. just think-"

"what if i don't want help?" gerard interrupted, cocking his head to the side.

"now, gerard... i don't think you understood me. you see things differently than others. and even though that's an amazing gift, it's dangerous." he went on.

"you're saying i'm dangerous? to others?"

"yes. and we don't want that. so, even if you would try to have a friendship of some sort with him, it really helps us out. and it's good for you."

gerard let out an exasperated sigh. he didn't know what to listen to. the part where he needed help and this was a good thing, and the other part where he was mentally ill and he wanted to kill everything in sight. sure, he might need help, but did he really want it? he didn't have to do anything unless he consented, right?