FicWad

Gerard’s POV…
At school the next day, the first thing Lucy said to me was “I can’t go.”
“Can’t go where?”
“I can’t go see Smashing Pumpkins with you next week.”
“But we’ve already got the tickets!”
“I know but… It’s not really my scene.”
“I thought we agreed,” I said “That if you came to a rock concert with me that I’d come with you to go and see JLS when they play near here. Not that JLS actually ‘play’ they kind of just stand there and say stuff into microphones…”
“You insulting JLS doesn’t make me wanna come you know…”
“I know, I’m sorry… But I thought-“
“Look Gerard, I just really don’t want to go.” Lucy shrugged “I’m sorry.”
“But Mikey’s taking Hollie, I don’t wanna go by myself.”
“Invite Chloe, she likes rock music.” She paused for a second “Or you could take Becca to get to know her a little?”
I sighed heavily “Okay, fine. I’ll invite Chloe.”
“Actually, I don’t know if she’ll want to go.” Lucy said quickly “She’s a little depressed because Frank’s parents didn’t like her.”
“Is that why she’s not here now?” I asked, glancing around. We were all sitting on the grass near the back gates under a large tree. Ray and Bob were here, Hollie and Mikey were here and so was Frank. Oh and me and Lucy obviously. But Chloe was nowhere to be seen.
Lucy shrugged “I guess it’s because Frank’s parents told her to never talk to him again.”
“Ouch.” At that moment Becca came over, smiled at us and sat down next to Hollie.
Lucy glanced at Becca “Go ask Becca. I’m sure she’ll want to go.”
Sighing, I got up and moved to sit next to Becca “Hey Becca.”
Becca smiled at me sweetly “Hi Gerard. I got your name right, didn’t I?”
“Yeah… So I was wondering, there’s this Smashing Pumpkins gig next week… Do you wanna come?”
“I’d love to!” Becca told me happily “I love rock music.”
Hollie glanced at her weirdly before asking me “But I thought Lucy wanted to go?”
“She says she’s changed her mind.” I glanced at Lucy. She was biting her nails “Hollie, is Lucy okay?”
Hollie was about to answer when Becca bust in with “Don’t worry about it Gerard, I’ll talk her to her. I’m sure she’s fine though.”
“She was a little upset last night…” Hollie told me “Something about her diary. But it was probably nothing. Lucy can look after herself, she’ll be fine.”
“Do you still have my jacket?” Mikey asked her.
Hollie smiled “Yeah, deal with it.”
We all laughed and the bell rang for home room. We all stood up and started walking to our rooms. I put my arm round Lucy as we walked off “Are you alright?”
“Of course I am,” Lucy told me “Why wouldn’t I be okay?”
“I know I’ve already asked but what’s the real reason for not wanting to go see Smashing Pumpkins?”
“I just don’t think I’ll like it, okay?”
“But you never know until you-“
“Look Gerard, I just don’t want to go. Can you just accept that please?”
“Okay, okay, I’m sorry…” I walked her to her home room “I’ll see you in second period?”
“Sure.”
I kissed her goodbye and then went to my own home room. She said she was fine but I knew it was a lie. But I knew one thing… I was going to do everything in my power to find out what was wrong.

Chloe’s POV…
After school, all I wanted to do was hide in my bedroom but Hollie wasn’t having any of that. She came parading in to tell me that Ray was coming over at five.
I sat up to face her “To be perfectly honest with you Hollie, right now, I don’t want to help Ray with his love life. I’m having a few troubles with my own love life.”
“Chloe! You can talk to Frank in school! How are Frank’s parents gonna know?”
“I just don’t want-“
“Look, maybe helping Ray will take your mind off things for a while?” Hollie smiled at me “You have till five to be as depressed as you want but then cheer up and help Ray.”
Once she’d left I pulled out my phone to check the time. It was twenty to four. I had time to walk over there if I really wanted to…
I grabbed my jacket, pulled on my shoes and ran out the front door. I ran all the way to Frank’s house. I was there in about ten minute’s time. Suddenly, all I wanted to do was run home. I was sure that if I even dared to knock at Frank’s door, his parents would beat the crap out of me.
I sighed heavily at my own stupidity ‘What are they really going to do to you Chloe? It’s not like they’re allowed to physically hurt you. All they can do is yell at you. You can handle that for crying out loud.’
Still scared, I walked up the pathway and knocked on Frank’s door. The person to answer was Frank himself.
I stood there for a second before saying “I just came over to apologise to your parents.”
“Not now,” Frank told me, shaking his head “It’s too soon and my Dad is in a major bad mood. Please, if you really feel the need to apologise, then come over another day. Next week perhaps?”
“But I can’t go a whole week without seeing you!”
“Who is it Frank?” His Dad yelled down the hall.
Frank turned back and yelled “It’s just Ray, he needs help with his Math homework. I’ll be back in about half an hour.”
“Alright, see you later.”
Frank closed his door behind him and said “Let’s go for a walk so that we can talk about this. Okay?”
I nodded and he took my hand. We walked up his path and down the road “You don’t need to apologise to my parents.” Frank told me “We can still date; it’ll just have to be secr-“
“Did you know that you’re the first guy whose parents I bothered to meet?” I asked him “You’re the first guy that I’ve put in the effort for. And I blew it.”
“No you didn’t,” Frank told me. He suddenly laughed and said “All that stuff you said to my parents… I’ve been dying to talk to them like that for years.”
I laughed too “You’ve gotta stand up for yourself eventually.”
“They’d kick me out.” Frank said simply “I can’t have that Chloe, I just can’t.”
“I understand.” I replied “But I don’t want to have a secret relationship with you Frank. I don’t want to lie to your parents about this. What if they found out Frank? They’d kill you.”
“I don’t care.”
“I do!” I sighed “I’ll apologise to them. If it doesn’t work then we’ll do things your way. Okay?”
“Okay,” We were suddenly back outside Frank’s house. We’d only walked round the block and we’d had a really awkward silence before Frank finally told me that I shouldn’t apologise to his parents “I’d better go back inside. I think my Dad knows that I wasn’t really at Ray’s house.”
“Alright,” I gave him a quick hug “I’ll see you at school on Monday.”
“I might come over this weekend,” He winked at me “See you round.”
“Bye.”
I walked home feeling a little better but not a lot. Once I was home, I could sense drama. I walked upstairs and pressed my ear against Lucy’s room. Well she’s the most dramatic, so I just kinda figured it’d have something to do with her…
I could hear the buzz of someone’s voice and then the buzz of Lucy’s. I couldn’t hear any emotion in their voices but I could hear that they were both girls. Maybe the other one was Hollie? No, I’d know if it was her. Besides once I started listening more closely, I could hear Hollie talking on the phone to Mikey…
I remembered a game that me and my Nan back in England used to play on the computer. I was still in primary school at the time. It was a game about being a detective and there’s a certain point where you get a glass against the door and you have to move it around to hear what’s going on in the room.
But standing outside Lucy’s room trying to figure out what was going in inside, I decided this was bullshit and that I should use my own skills. I grabbed the door handle and pushed it open.
Lucy and Becca were sitting on her bed. One glance at Lucy and I noticed she was crying. Becca looked startled when I bust in.
I walked in “What’s wrong Lucy?”
“She feels bad about ditching Gerard next week,” Becca told me “I’m telling her that he really doesn’t mind.”
“What do you mean ditching Gerard next week?”
“He asked her to go see Smashing Pumpkins with him, “Becca said smoothly “But she really didn’t want to so now I’m going instead.”
I stared at her. The smashing pumpkins gig was all she’d gone on about yesterday. She was explaining it all to me before I went over to Frank’s house and had that terrible evening. And now suddenly today she didn’t want to? Something’s up.

Hollies POV…
The doorbell rang so I ran to answer it. As I expected it was Ray. “Hey Ray,” I smiled at him “Come in. Do you wanna come up to my room?”
“Sure, whatever.”
“Chloe, Ray’s here!” I knocked on her bedroom door “Come on, you promised you’d help me.”
“Yeah, yeah, I’m coming now…”
Thirty minutes later we were all sat on my carpet. Ray and Chloe were arguing “Ray, we can’t help you out if you don’t tell us who it is!”
“Why can’t you just give me tips without me telling you who I fancy?”
“Just tell us!” Chloe yelled at him, suddenly shaking his shoulders “We’re going to find out eventually so just grow a pair and tell us!”
“Make me.” Ray pouted.
This was going to be harder than I thought.