FicWad

I stared up at the pure white sky above me as I lay on my back. Snow began to drift down from the clouds, landing on the already thickly covered ground. It was my favourite time of year and I was lying in my front yard. I knew that any minute my mom would come out of the house, yelling at me to get up and get warmed up inside. She worried too much, but she was right, I got sick too often for my liking. But I just loved to lie in the snow.

A few moments later I heard distant footsteps crunching through the snow towards me. I sighed and shut my eyes. But it wasn't my mom.
"Y'know you shouldn't get cold, " a rough voice with a thick Jersey accent stated "Mikey says you're always sick. That's why he sent me to get you. He figured you'd be out here. I guess he was right. " I opened my eyes and looked up at the stranger. He was tall, pale, had long, shaggy black hair that covered his eyes and was dressed entirely in black, contrasting greatly with the snow surrounding us.

"Who're you? " I asked slowly. "And how d'you know Mikey? "
"I'm Gerard, his brother. " the stranger replied "He sent me over to get you. " he repeated. I sat up.
"How come I've never seen you before? "
"I'm home for Christmas. I've been away at college. " I vaugely remember Mikey telling me about his brother once, an artist. He was three years older than Mikey, which made him four older than me. I got to my feet.

He walked away without another word.
"Hey, wait up. " I called after him, hurrying to catch up. I looked up at him. He was much taller than my tiny 4' 9" frame. There was a look of confusion and anger on his face, but he was angry, not at me, but at himself. He looked like he had done something wrong.

"You okay? " I asked quietly, not wanting him to direct his annnoyance at me.
"Yeah. Fine. " he muttered and strode on. I followed quickly, never staying more than a few steps behind him. Soon we arrived at the Way household. Mikey was standing at the front door waiting for us.
"Sorry I couldn't come Frank, I was busy and you weren't answering your phone. "
"Yeah, sorry 'bout that " I replied and we all went inside.

Gerard went straight down to the basement. Mikey noticed the confused look on my face and told me that's where his bedroom was. I nodded dumbly and we went into the living room. Mikey quickly turned on the TV and plugged in the XBox. I settled down on the couch. Mikey and I played mindlessly violent video games for hours and, when I finally dropped my controller, it was long-since dark outside. Mikey went to the kitchen to make us coffee. He told me it was too dangerous to walk home in the dark, after all, we were in Jersey. I agreed and he said I could stay the night. His parents were away for the weekend and I called my mom and she finally agreed to let me stay. The smell of coffee drew Gerard up from the dark basement.

He grabbed the coffee from Mikey's hand and had drank almost half of it before he saw me. I stared back at him. The confusion and angered look was back. Then his face softened into a slight smile.
"Jealous Frankie? " he grinned. He poured another cup and handed it to me, then finished off his own stolen drink, Mikey complaining in the background. He smiled at me once more, then left, heading back down into his room. Wait, had he called me Frankie?

Mikey and I talked for a while longer, sitting on the counter-top, Mikey with a new cup of coffee. When we had finished our drinks we headed back into the living room and Mikey put on some random horror movie. About twenty minutes in Gerard came back up and began to complain about the noise, then decided against it and sat down on the couch next to me to watch with us. Mikey fell asleep after another hour, leaving me alone with his brother. That kid really had no staying power whatsoever. The movie ended soon after and Gerard asked me did I want to watch another with him. I smiled and nodded and he went over to the TV and changed the tape.

He returned to couch and sat back down. I quickly realised that this movie was a lot scarier than the previous one. After half an hour I was curled up against Gerard's side, his arm around me for protection. As yet another character was brutally slaughtered, I hid my face in Gerard's chest. He laughed and held me tighter. In a quiet moment I realised that I had somehow climbed into Gerard's lap. I looked up at him to see if he minded. He smiled at me.
"You scared of these kinds of movies Frankie? " He called me Frankie again. I liked it.
"No, of course not! " Though it was pretty obvious I was terrified. He laughed again. It was an amazing sound.
"I'll protect you from the big bad monster Frankie " he smiled in a childish tone. I pouted and he hugged me, still smiling.

When the movie was over Gerard slid me off his lap and got up. He turned off the TV and headed for the door. He turned to face my as he was passing the couch.
"Nighty night Frankie, don't let the monsters bite " he winked playfully and leaned down, giving me a peck on the cheek. He turned again to leave the room.
"Gerard? "
"Yeah Frankie? "
"Could...could you maybe sleep up here tonight? " He turned and smiled at me.
"Sure, of course. " He grabbed a comforter from an armchair, then sat on the couch next to me, throwing the blanket over us. He settled against the arm of the couch and closed his eyes.

After several moments silence I spoke up.
"Why do you do that Gerard? "
"Do what Frankie? " he replied sleepily.
"That. Call me Frankie, kiss me on the cheek, take care of me. You act so nice to me, like you like me or something. " I meant the last part as a joke.
"Well maybe I do. "
"W-what? "
"I said maybe I do like you. " He turned to look at me. He likes me? I looked at him and saw the hope in his eyes.
"But you barely know me. "
"That doesn't stop me from liking you. D'you like me? "
"What? I dunno! " He smiled slightly at me. Yeah, sure, I liked the guy the second I saw him, but not the way he's implying...or was it?

"Gerard? " Thoughts were racing through my head.
"Yes Frankie? " He sounded hopeful.
"Can I try something? " What am I doing?
"Sure, go ahead. " I took a deep breath and leaned towards him, kissing his lips gently. He responded immeadiatly. Wow, this was better than I expected. It's amazing...

I pulled away after a minute or two. He smiled at me sheepishly. I grinned and leaned back in, kissing him this time with more force. After several minutes he pulled back, pecking me gently on the lips before pulling back completely.
"Better get some sleep Frankie. " he said as pulled me into his arms and we got comfortable on the small couch.

I woke up the next morning curled against Gerard's chest with his arms wrapped tightly around me. Mikey was standing above us looking shocked. How do I explain this?