FicWad

Mae and Frank had been a couple for a week and no one in the school, except for their friends, knew about it. Sure, they noticed Mae and Frank were practically inseparable for the past few days but that's how friends are. Besides, Frank wouldn't go for someone like that or so most of the girls thought.

"Did you know that another term for 'integral' is anti-derivative?" Frank asked Mae, slipping one of his arms around her waist.

"I think I like that term better," Mae said as she shifted her body awkwardly.

It was the first public display of affection that Frank had made since their time together. It was lunch and they were sitting where everyone could see them. Mae already noticed that a couple of girls took note of Frank's gesture and were suddenly whispering to each other as if Mae could hear them from afar.

"I wonder if they call derivatives 'anti-integrals,'"Frank smirked at the sound of the strange word.

"I hope not," Mae shook her head as she offered him a piece of her sandwich.

"Thanks," Frank scooted closer towards her. He could tell that she was uncomfortable. "Relax, Mae."

"They're staring," Mae hinted towards the girls.

"Oh," Frank eyed their spectators before a mischievous gleam suddenly shone through his eyes. "Well, if they want a show. . . "

He suddenly placed his hand on her cheek and guided her until they were face to face with her head slightly tilted. Frank planted a strong kiss on her lips. Mae's eyes widened in surprise at first, but eventually fluttered shut as her whole body slipped backwards relying only on Frank's arms as a cradle.

". . . then let's give them one," Frank finished the sentence that Mae had already forgotten.

She wasn't used to it. She wasn't used to him which only scared her even more about the budding relationship between them. He was so forward and open to how he felt. When he wanted to kiss her, he kissed her. When he wanted to hold her hand, he grabbed it. When he wanted to tell her something, he didn't hesitate to utter those words. Mae compared Frank's desired kisses to Mikey's modest ones. The attention Frank gave Mae was completely foreign to her because she and Mikey were new to the dating game. They hardly ever came into any form of physical contact mainly because neither of them decided to, much less wanted to, embarrass themselves in making the effort. All she could taste on her tingling lips was the touch of an experienced kisser. Mae wondered if Frank could sense her own incompetence like she could sense his own expertise.

Mikey had been her first kiss long before the two of them were even old enough to start thinking about dating. Silly as it sounded, it happened while they were watching The Lion King at the Way household. When Nala and Simba were suddenly reunited as adult lion and lioness and began to sing "Can You Feel the Love Tonight?" to each other, Mikey squinted his eyes in repulse.

"I don't get it," he told Mae. "What's the big deal about people kissing each other?"

"I don't know," Mae shrugged. "I guess it's what you do when you're in love with someone."

"How come you have to kiss the people you love?" Mikey asked. "Can't you just buy them flowers or something?"

"Maybe it's not about having to kiss them," Mae reasoned. "Maybe it's more about wanting to kiss."

"Eww," Mikey wrinkled his nose. "Would you ever wanna kiss someone?!"

"No," Mae shook her head. "Would you?"

"No!"

"Why not?"

"Because how am I supposed to want something when I don't even know what it's like?!" Mikey exclaimed.

"Me neither," Mae agreed.

They averted their eyes back to the screen to watch the two lovers serenade each other in the night. Lions didn't kiss, but they knew the atmosphere was set as if they could. The song seemed to stretch on forever as Mae and Mikey both prayed silently for the last verse to end. It was awkward for the two kids to be alone in the livingroom with the lights turned off and the sound of a romantic scene of an animated movie playing in front of them. Mae saw Mikey from the corner of her eye and denied to herself that he had scooted closer to her. She heard his breathing, but maybe it had been there all along. During the attempt to swing her hair out of her face, Mae ended up facing Mikey who was inches away from her. He stared at her in contemplation before leaning in and meeting her lips. They had their eyes closed like in the movies with their mouths pressed against each other. Neither of them made a move until they heard Mikey's mother's footsteps from the kitchen. Then it was over. They pulled apart as if it never happened.

"What did you think?" Mikey asked, staring back at the screen.

"Gross," Mae emphasized.

"Totally," Mikey nodded.

The obvious gasps and squeals of surprise from Frank's underclassmen admirers screeched through Mae's ears. Their mouths moved dramatically in gossip as she read their lips saying, "Oh my God!" and "They're going out?" or even "She's so ugly." It was everything Mae expected them to say. Frank didn't mind them at all. With a smile fixed on his face, they enjoyed their lunch without so much as mentioning the other girls, again.

~

"Frank!" Ashley called across the classroom. "Look what I did!"

"Whoa. . . you did that yourself?" Frank asked.

"Yup," Ashley answered proudly at the safety pin pierced through her cheek.

Mae couldn't stand it. She knew Ashley was deliberately trying to get attention off of a cheap trick. It was sad that she even pierced her own body to try to portray herself as a tough and hardcore chick. Frank seemed more disgusted and concerned than willingly praising Ashley for such a "feat." Mae took comfort in Frank's apparent disinterest for Ashley and couldn't help but to graze his arm with the palm of her hand as he passed her to take the seat in front of her. He smiled warmly at her sign of affection and gave her a small peck on the forehead.

"I didn't know you guys were going out," Ashley cut in.

"That's because we didn't tell you," Frank replied.

Mae smirked at the look of Ashley's face. Sometimes, she thought Frank's smart aleck comments were rude but, in cases involving people like Ashley, she loved those assertive remarks. In fact, Mae was starting to realize that Frank's assertiveness was what attracted her attention the most. She was sick of false modesty or the overly shy guy who always kept her guessing without a single hint to help her. Frank was never that complicated.

"Are you coming with me to Gerard's house today?" Mae reminded Frank. "He wants us to come over together."

"Oh . . . sure," Frank shrugged. "Is he gonna kill me?"

"Not if you play your cards right," Mae teased. "He is practically my older brother."

"That's what I'm worried about," Frank joked. "The only thing more dangerous than a murderer is an older brother."

*

Mikey needed an excuse to get out of the house. He wasn't exactly on speaking terms with Gerard ever since the argument they had about Mae and Ashley. Which was also the reason why he needed to leave. Gerard invited Mae and her new boyfriend to come over and Mikey did not want to stick around to see her or to find out who he is. Most of his friends were busy at the time and he couldn't think of any place in particular that he wanted to go, but he decided driving aimlessly around the city was much more comforting than being in the same room as his ex-girlfriend. He grabbed his car keys and stepped outside only to meet up with Mae and Frank.

He wore a deer-in-headlights stare at first, frozen in his steps as he observed the new couple. She hadn't changed much, he thought, but she definitely changed in some way he couldn't yet point out. He glanced at Frank enough to see that he was much closer to her height than he ever was. Mikey remembered how awkward it looked being just above six feet with a girl who didn't even reach five. He recalled Gerard's stories about his first love, Alexia, and how their hands fit perfectly together. Mikey knew that his hands would never fit with Mae's and wondered if that was an omen to begin with. He couldn't help but to size up Frank's hands to her's. From what he saw, they just could be a good fit.

Frank didn't have to be told who Mikey was. Mae had mentioned her ex-boyfriend once or twice to him without hinting so much as a single detail about his features, but Frank could tell by the strange feeling in the air that the boy passing them by was Mikey. The lack of eye contact between Mae and the tall, lanky boy gave their secret away.

"Hey!" Gerard greeted Mae with a hug and a kiss on the cheek as if they were blood relatives.

"Hey," Mae smiled warmly as she took Frank's hand and pulled him closer.

"Welcome," Gerard changed his tone of voice as he eyed Frank and patted him roughly on the shoulder.

"Thanks for having me over," Frank politely offered a smile.

Gerard led them to the basement which didn't help Frank's growing fear of him. It wasn't that Frank was afraid of the dark or basements. He was actually very accustomed to places like those being a musician without a proper rehearsal space. It was just the thought of being in a basement with Gerard that freaked him out a bit.

"So tell me about yourself, Frank," Gerard sounded as if he was conducting an interview or an interrogation even.

"What do you want to know?" Frank asked.

"Everything I need to know," Gerard simply replied. "Everything I should know to feel that Mae is safe with you."

"I'm not on drugs," Frank said with a laugh, but Gerard didn't find it funny. "Well, I had a brief history with them, but I'm clean now."

Mae raised an eyebrow in surprise. Frank never told her about any past addictions, but she never asked nor was the subject ever brought up. Gerard definitely seemed skeptical about Frank's claim of sobriety. He was a recovering alcoholic himself and he knew the temptations that came along even a year prior to quitting.

"What kind of drugs were you involved with?" Gerard asked.

"Pot," Frank said softly. "But that's it."

"Do you drink?" Gerard pressed. "Smoke?"

"Sometimes," Frank admitted.

It was apparent to Frank and Mae that Gerard was not impressed. Even Mae began questioning Frank and the past he never discussed with her. What else could he be hiding? Gerard had done all of the things Frank admitted to and maybe he's done even more than Frank, but he wasn't looking for a mirror image of himself, he was looking for someone that could take care of Mae when he couldn't.

"Look," Frank added. "You're asking the wrong questions. Don't ask me about what I've done in the past. Ask me about what I do now and what I can and will do in the future."

"And that is?" Gerard mused.

"And that's to succeed in everything I want to pursue," Frank said with conviction. "I'm gonna be a musician and I'm gonna stay on the right path. I can't say that I'll never stray away from it, but I'm gonna put myself back on it no matter what."

"How do you know what the right path is?" Gerard questioned.

"I'll know and I think you know exactly what I mean," Frank eyed him back fearlessly.

"What are you going to do for Mae?" Gerard finally dropped the most important question.

"I'm gonna be there for her," Frank threw a smirk at her. "I'm gonna cheer her up when she's down. I'm gonna listen when she needs me to. But, mostly, I'm gonna make sure nothing holds back her own dreams and talents."

"And what if you become the one who's holding her back?" Gerard countered.

"Then I'll let her go," Frank sighed.

Mae was taken aback by the heavy conversation. She could see that Gerard was still unsure of Frank and that he wasn't about to give his approval so easily. She knew Gerard would be watching him closely for awhile. Mae almost felt like crying after seeing and hearing how much the two seem to care so much about her. There's Frank with the not-so-perfect background who claimed to commit himself to her well-being and there's Gerard who put on a strict father-like facade to make sure she wasn't hurt, again. Two people who seem to adore her enough was more than Mae could ask for. She just wondered why she always underestimated the value of her own worth.

"Just so you know," Gerard told Frank. "You haven't convinced me, yet, but I'm not gonna stop you from seeing her."

"I know," Frank nodded.

"Good," Gerard crossed his arms together. "But don't think that I won't stop you if you screw up just once."

Afterwards, the worst was over for Frank and Gerard began to show off more of his friendly side. He told Mae and Frank stories about what he was up to in art school. They even shared a couple of laughs together which comforted both Frank and Mae. Hours flew by as they conversed freely from topics such as school, music, and even about past relationships. Gerard told Frank about Alexia and Frank, in exchange, spoke of his last girlfriend, Heather. Mae couldn't help but to set up a comparison of herself and the itty-bitty details she heard about Heather. She was a swimmer, a gymnast, and had a knack for biology. In short, Heather was everything Mae wasn't. Frank said that he did love Heather, but that they had grown apart and lost touch when she moved away. Mae wondered if Frank would ever fall back in love with Heather if she happened to pop back into his life one day. Would he ditch her for Heather in a heartbeat?

"I better get going," Frank excused himself when he noticed the time. "It's getting late."

"Drive safely," Gerard wished Frank luck with his car.

"Thanks," Frank replied.

He gave Mae a quick kiss on the cheek before he left and she stepped outside to wave goodbye as he drove off. It was a chilly night as Mae watched until Frank's car disappeared. She felt the weight of Gerard's jacket on her shoulder as he led her back inside.

"Do you like him?" Mae asked her best friend.

"So far," Gerard shrugged.

"You know your opinion means a lot to me, Gerard."

"And that's why I'm always gonna tell you the truth."

Mae smiled and wished that Mikey had the same honesty as his older brother. She noticed that Mikey's car was pulling back up their driveway and took that as her cue to leave. She thanked Gerard for his hospitality and kissed him goodbye. Suddenly, she was more thankful than embarrassed about Gerard's overprotectiveness. She had so much more to think and consider about Frank than she had before. In a way, Gerard was saving her from making the same mistake twice. Perhaps, he was filtering out the anti-derivatives from undoing her perfect equation. He was making sure that if she were to fall for him, that she wouldn't fall headfirst.