FicWad

“Fuck my life.” Frank said as he arrived at school. That day he had double English, the only lesson that he properly despised. He'd never minded English that much before he arrived at West Cade High, but the fact that he had to sit near Gerard made the lesson almost unbearable for him.

He hated Gerard twice as much since the encounter at Mikey's house last week, and Gerard had since gone even more out of his way to pick fights with Frank. Frank was just inches away from losing his mind completely. Frank was already sat down. He looked away as Gerard entered the classroom. Mr Rowe, the teacher, waited for the class to fall silent.
“Right, so like I reminded you last week, today I'll be setting you a new project that you'll have a month to complete.” the teacher said, as the class muttered to each other in boredom. Frank had completely forgotten about it. “Quiet please. So for your project, you'll be finding a novel and comparing it to a movie. The novel and the movie have to be similar in some way. It could be the theme or the feel. You'll then present your ideas to the class – it could be in video format, maybe a song, a drama piece. Whatever it is, you'll have to be creative. This is a test on how independent you can be, so those are all the guidelines you'll get. Work hard on this, because it will be graded,” the teacher continued. The students groaned, apart from Frank. He didn't mind projects like this, he saw it as a chance to get across his opinions. “Wait, I haven't finished. For this project, you won't be working independently like usual. You'll be working in pairs,” Mr Rook said. The class immediately started whispering as people moved next to their friends. “However,” the teacher started, once again making the class fall silent. “I'll be putting you into these pairs.” he said. Students protested at once, and more groans filled the room. Frank knew it would be okay – when they were put into pairs for class work, Mr Rowe always put Frank with Aimee LaRaye because both she and Frank didn't have friends that they specifically needed to be separated from. They were both loners in the class so they were left at the end of the list, and automatically put together. The class again fell silent as Mr Rowe began to read out the names.
“Caitlin Evergreen and Angie Melvin.”
“Amelia Plath and Francis Green.”
“Billie Joe Armstrong and Lisa Monroe.”
“Cecelia Banks and Archie Frio.”
“Aimee LaRaye and Toby Bates.”

“What?” Frank thought, not paying attention to the other names being called out. If he wasn't with Aimee, then who would he be with? “Shit. Please no. No. Not Gerard. Please.” Frank prayed. He wasn't religious, but in his thoughts he addressed God. “Please God, I know I never believed in you, but I do now and if you only ever do one thing for me, please let it be this. Please make sure I don't get put with Gerard Way.” he thought with desperation. And then he heard Mr Rowe's voice.
“Gerard Way and Frank Iero.”
“Fuck. No, oh shit.” Frank thought, but may have accidentally also said out loud, because Gerard turned round and stared at him, giving him a horrible twisted grin. Mr Rowe finished reading out the names and each person moved to sit with their partner. Gerard stood up and sat down with a thud next to Frank, deliberately shoving him. After the sheets outlining the project had been handed out, and the class were sat talking amongst themselves, Frank walked up to Mr Rowe's desk. He cleared his throat. Mr Rowe looked up expectantly. “What's wrong, Frank?” he asked.
“Please let me switch partners. I can't work with Gerard, just please okay. Anyone else but him.” Frank pleaded.
“Well I don't think it'd be fair if I let you switch Frank, because then everyone else would ask to go with their friends.” said the teacher.
“Fuck,” Frank whispered quietly. But unfortunately, Mr Rowe had good hearing.
“You know that language isn't appropriate for a classroom, Frank. Now go and sit down please,” Mr Rowe told him. Frank sighed and went back to his seat.

“What was that all about? You're trying to get rid of me? Because that's rude.” Gerard said, dramatically pretending to be offended. Frank didn't say anything, he just focused on trying to breathe normally and his fist that he was clenching really hard. “You'll have to speak to me at some point y'know.” Gerard warned. At that point, Billie and Lisa arrived at their desk.
“Hard luck,” Billie said to Gerard as he looked at Frank.
“I know right. Fucking freak.” Gerard spat at Frank, making Lisa laugh.
“They're all like that though, him and that kid with the hair, and the weird skinny little glasses kid,” Lisa said, referring to Frank, Ray and Mikey as she was somehow unaware that Mikey was Gerard's brother. Frank waited for Gerard's reply. Gerard just laughed. After they left, Frank turned to Gerard. “Fucking spineless coward. You're not even going to try and defend Mikey? He's your fucking brother.” Frank hissed. Gerard genuinely looked sad for a moment, but then his expression turned to anger. “Don't fucking tell me how I should treat people. And you're calling me a coward? At least I'm not a fucking freak with obvious anger problems. No wonder they made you get help, fucking psycho.” Gerard snarled back. Frank just wanted to bolt out of the classroom. He had permission to leave if he needed because the teachers were aware of his history. But he knew he'd got so far at this school after learning to control his rage, and he wasn't about to let king douche ruin that. “I'm not the one around here who's the freak.” was all Frank replied. Gerard looked surprised, hurt, and confused all in one. “What the fuck?” Gerard said.
“Think about it. At least I know who I am, and I'm not a two faced coward. I've dealt with my problems, but you obviously have loads that you're just trying to ignore. I'm the stronger one here.” Frank told him. Gerard looked taken aback.
“Fucking faggot.” was all Gerard said, and then they both stayed silent.

Mr Rowe approached their desk. “How's it going boys?” he asked cheerfully.
“Fine.” Frank said through gritted teeth. Mr Roe looked at Gerard.
“Yep. It's going fine.” Gerard agreed monotonously. Mr Rowe didn't look convinced.
“Good. So you need to start discussing the books you should do. Look, it says everything here on the sheet okay.” he told them, sliding the sheet that they'd been given in front of them. He moved on to the next desk. “Well, I don't know about you but I actually need a good grade for this. So what book do you think we should pick?” Gerard asked, acting like the argument earlier never happened. Frank didn't really want to speak to Gerard but he supposed that there was no other way. “What's your favorite book?” Gerard prompted.
“The Catcher In The Rye.” Frank replied, without thinking twice. It had been Frank's favorite book since he was 15 and he had discovered it because of a paper he had to write on it for English literature. He liked it so much because of how much he identified with the main character – Holden Caulfield. Gerard looked surprised. “Oh my God, me too!” he said enthusiastically. “It's like the only thing I've ever read and loved that wasn't a comic.” he admitted, speaking happily.
“You're still into comics!?” Frank asked in surprise. And then it was like Gerard sort of remembered himself, and all the enthusiasm drained from his face. “What? No, I meant like, I read them when I was a kid,” he laughed. “Wait... How did you know I used to like comics?” he asked suddenly.
“Mikey told me.” Frank admitted.
“Mikes, the little shit.” Gerard said, in a brotherly sort of way.

Just then, Lisa appeared. She seemed confused about her boyfriend conversing with Frank in a polite way. “Hey Gee,” she said. Gerard smiled at her. “Ohmygosh it's so boring without you... Come and sit with me and Billie?” she asked. Gerard looked back at Frank.
“I wish I could but I really want to get this work done. I need a good grade for this.” Gerard said.
“What, you mean you'd rather stay here with this freak?” she asked, her tone quickly changing.
“You know I have to Lisie, You heard what my parents said about what will happen if I don't do well enough this year...” Gerard told her.
“C'mon Gee... Pleeeaaasee?” she asked. Frank waited to see what Gerard would do.
“Fine.” Gerard grudgingly agreed. All traces of Frank's hope that Gerard might actually have a backbone were removed.
“But Gerard, we need to get this done.” Frank pointed out. Lisa scowled at him like he was a piece of dirt on her shoe. “Lisa, go and sit back down please.” Mr Rowe shouted, looking up from the marking he was doing. Lisa glared at Frank as she went back to her seat. “What do you see in her?” Frank asked, genuinely interested. Gerard sighed. But then something clicked and, uh-oh, it looked like he was back in douchebag mode. “What gives you the right to ask me that?” he hissed at Frank. Then he continued to write, but he hunched over his work and faced away from Frank. Frank was genuinely puzzled. What the fuck was wrong with this guy? After an eternity of silence between the two boys, the lunch bell rang. “Remember class, your initial ideas need to be typed up ready for next lesson.” Mr Rowe shouted over the noise of chairs scraping.

“What's up with you?” Mikey asked, noticing the expression on Frank's face.
“Guess.” Frank growled.
“Gerard?” Ray questioned. Frank nodded. The three of them were sat in the usual practice room.
“Not again. Jeeze guys, you do realize that there's nothing I can do about him right? He won't listen to anything I say.” Mikey said in annoyance.
“I know Mikes, it's just that we're doing this project for English and I got paired with him.” Frank complained.
“As if.” Ray laughed.
“I know right. Trust my fucking awful luck.” Frank whined. He fell silent when they heard voices.
“That's weird... No-one's ever here.” Mikey said in confusion.
Ray looked through the small window that was built into the door. “You'll never guess who it is.” he sighed. Gerard and Lisa were walking hand in hand, and Billie was bouncing along ahead slightly, looking through at all the practice rooms. “Has, like, every guitar in this place fucking vanished overnight or something?” Billie's voice shouted. He stopped at the room where the three boys were and opened the door. “What the fuck are you guys doing here?” he asked, scowling in confusion.
“What about you? What are you doing here?” Mikey asked.
“Well what the fuck do you think, I'm looking for a damn unicorn.” Billie snapped.
“It was a perfectly logical question.” Mikey pointed out.
“What? But yeah, I'm looking for a guitar. Any of you losers seen one?” Billie asked.
Ray looked surprised. “Awesome! What kind of stuff do you play, I've been playing since I was like 8 and I play everything y'know from prog rock to meta-”
“I didn't ask for your life story, faggot.” Billie interrupted, cutting Ray off. Lisa and Gerard caught up with Billie. “Ew.” Lisa said when she saw the three of them. “Fucking fag orgy going on in here or something, let's go Gee.” she said, looking at them in disgust.
“Bitch.” Ray said. Lisa, along with everyone else, stared at him in shock.
“Did you really just say that?” Lisa asked. “Gee, are you going to fucking defend me or what?” she whined. But Billie got there first.
“Dude, don't call her that. I mean, what the fuck man?” he yelled at Ray. Lisa stared warningly at Gerard. “Yeah. Fucking faggot.” was all he said.
“Can you guys leave now?” Frank said impatiently.
“Oh my god you're that kid from English. He's the one that stopped Gee from sitting with us, Billie.” she said, staring at Frank in disgust.
“Yeah man, I mean why the fuck would you do that. It's like you're just out to upset people, fucking dick.” Billie said. Frank stood up threateningly.
“I said leave.” Frank spat, through gritted teeth.
“The midget thinks he's all intimidating when he couldn't even scare a fucking fly.” Gerard laughed. Frank forgot all his self control and raised his fist, ready to take a swipe at Gerard. Mikey restrained him. “No, Frank.” he begged.
“If the midget wants a fight, let him have a fight.” Gerard told his brother.
“Yay go Gee!” Lisa said. Before anyone could say anything else, Gerard's fist flew out and he punched Frank hard in the face. Mikey released Frank from his grip and Frank flew himself at Gerard, attacking him with all his limbs. The others watched in awe.

Meanwhile, walking on the path next to the music block was a teaching assistant, Miss Jameson, who had heard the screaming and shouting. She ran inside. “Stop!” she shrieked. Gerard and Frank looked up as they writhed in pain. “You're all coming with me to see Ms Vill.” she snapped. The six of them followed her without much protest. They sat on the chairs outside Principal Vill's office as Miss Jameson explained the situation. Not long after, Ms Vill appeared at the door looking tired and fed up. “Okay, I need Gerard Way and Frank Iero to go and wait in Mr Ashton's office, and everyone else I need for statements.” she explained. Frank and Gerard obeyed. Mr Ashton was the guidance counselor, and he looked disappointed as Frank and Gerard sat down on the two chairs opposite his desk. “Frank, I can't believe this. You've done so well, and to risk all that in your last year here? And Gerard, this would not be the sort of thing I'd have expected from you a year ago. But having noticed your current attitude, I'm not surprised. You two will be waiting here until Ms Vill's ready for you, okay?” he said. The two boys just sat staring at their feet.

Ms Vill was interviewing the witnesses separately. She started with Lisa. “Can you tell me exactly what happened?” Ms Vill asked.
“They had a fight. Duh!” Lisa replied, causing the principal to sigh deeply.
“No, Miss Monroe, I mean more along the lines of who provoked who? Who started it?” she asked.
“Well me, Gee and Billie were just looking for a room so Billie could show us this new song he'd learned on guitar. So anyway, Billie went to their room to ask them if they knew where a guitar was, and then Frank just attacked Gee randomly for no reason, that kid has problems I swear.” she said.
“If you say so, Lisa, but you do know I'll find out if you're lying?” Ms Vill warned, while writing down a brief sentence. “Yes miss, I know.” Lisa replied sweetly.
“Okay. Can you call Billie in please?” the principal sighed.

“Basically, I was all like asking if they knew where a guitar was, and then all I did was ask Frank about why he was being a dick in English, and then he was all overreacting and asking us to leave and being proper intimidating, so then Gerard punched him in an act of self defense and then Frank lost it and properly attacked Gerard, Jeeze.” Billie explained as his statement. Next to go was Ray.
“We were minding our own business, and in the practice room like we are every lunchtime, and then those guys just randomly burst in and started verbally abusing us, so Frank asked them to leave quite reasonably, and then Gerard got all butthurt and punched him for no reason because Lisa was encouraging him. And then naturally, Frank had to defend himself then it sort of escalated.” Ray told her. Finally, it was Mikey's turn.
“Gerard's my brother and all, but I'm not going to defend him because I know how horrible he's been to Frank. So basically, he's been taunting him, trying to provoke him for ages now. So today, he brought his two friends with him to the music rooms. And Frank asked him to leave because they were saying horrible stuff, and Gerard punched him. And then Frank fought back, and that's what happened.” Mikey said.
“Okay.” Ms Vill said, after she had finished writing everything down. “Mikey, can you fetch Frank and your brother please?” she asked.

“Now, those practice rooms are definitely not for starting fights in, so the first consequence of this will not only impact you, but it will impact the whole school. The music block is temporarily going to be locked during break hours, seeing how no-one uses it during those times for anything constructive anymore.” she told the two boys who were sitting in front of her. “Secondly, after hearing statements from both points of view, I obviously can't get a precise picture of what happened. But I understand that you both attacked each other, so because of that, you'll be required to spend an hour after school on cleaning duty with each other every day for a week. I'll also be ringing both your parents. Have either of you got anything to say?” she asked.
“No, miss. I'm sorry.” Frank said, staring at his feet.
“Sorry.” Gerard said.

Frank dreaded the week ahead.