FicWad

Frank's POV

I awake to the sound of voices. I keep my eyes closed and try to discern who disturbed my slumber. It's Gerard and...Lindsey? I now open my eyes, confused. She's supposed to be in Japan! Looking around, I see that Gerard is sitting in front of his laptop, the screen filled with her face. Skype, duh.

"Are you sure you're ok?" Gee is saying, "I can always talk to Mom and--"

"No, Gee," She cuts him off with one of her creepy-ass giggles, "Enjoy your vacation. I'm good right here with Jimmy and Steve to take care of me."

"Not too good of care. I don't wanna have to fight anyone," Gerard jokes.

"Yeah, cuz Jimmy's just itching to steal me away from you," she rolls her eyes.

Gerard laughs. It's a beautiful sound, I realize. He hasn't laughed at all since we got here...

"Fine, you've got a point, but I'm still watching Steve."

"Fine," she says, "Anyway, I gotta go."

"Okay, I love you and miss you...so much..."

"I love you, too," she kisses her hand and holds it up to the camera. Gee does likewise and I'm once again filled with jealousy.

I walk behind him while he's shutting the laptop down, "Is Lindsey sick?"

He jumps, "Huh? Oh, no. I just worry about her. she's so far away..."

"Gerard, she's just across the ocean," I point out.

"Still too far," he sighs.

Looking at his face as he talks about her, I realize that I have to tell him soon if I'm ever going to have a chance of healing my heart. I've been putting it off the last few days, still too scared to admit it.

"I need to talk to you," I say before I can chicken out again.

"Okay, what is it?"

I look into his eyes and take a deep breath while searching for the right thing to say. But I can't think of anything that doesn't sound cheesy and stupid. So, I do what any crackhead girl in a cliche romance novel would do. I grab his face and pull his lips to mine.

His lips feel amazing, warm and soft. I get lost in the sensation. Gerard tenses for a second, then melts against me. I dare to hope right before he shoves me away gently.

His eyes search my face before he drops his head, "Frank...no..."

I blush, embarrased, "I'm sorry, it's just...I really like you, Gee, and I didn't know how to say it, so...I mean, I understand that you don't--"

"But I did," he cuts me off.

"Huh?"

"I did like you. Alot. Back when I was an eighth grader. I waited forever for you to feel the same. Then I met Lindsey and...well, she's really good at keeping my mind off you."

"So...You're choosing her?"

He shakes his head, "I don't have a choice, Frank...Lindsey's pregnant..."

I recoil from his words, not wanting to believe them. He likes me back, but I'm too late. It stings. It stings worse than it would have if he had told me I was crazy.

I find myself running out of the room. I go to the end of the hall and crouch behind a plant, curled into a ball. Something crunches in my pocket and I pull it out, hoping that if I focus on something else I won't feel so horrible. It's Josh's number. I hadn't realized I was already re wearing my clothes...

Still, I realize I need to talk to someone, and Josh is understanding. I pull out my phone, dial the number, close my eyes, and press SEND.

Josh's POV

I'm confused, staring at the incoming call on my phone's screen. It's a perfectly normal number, ten digits...But I don't recognize the area code...I let the call go to voicemail the first time, thinking it must be some marketing scheme. However, when they call again I realize it must be important. I owe it to the person to answer, even if it's just to tell them they have the wrong number.

"Hello?"

"Josh...It's Frank. I really need to talk to you."

I mentally slap myself. Of course Frank would have a weird area code. Then I'm filled with a childish giddyness. He called! That's when I hear his sniffling. Is he crying?

"Frankie, what's wrong?"

"I-I told him and...and...and..."

I realize that getting him to talk isn't going to be easy...especially by phone.

"Take a deep breath," I say, "What hotel are you at?"

"I don't know...the one down the street from the airport...it's big..."

That doesn't really help. There's a lot of big hotels near the airport.

"Ok. Go stand outside, I'm gonna come get you."

"What? No, I...I can't just leave!"

"Well, you obviously can't be around your friends right now either. Otherwise you wouldn't be talking to me. Besides, I promise I'll bring you back."

"Okay, fine..."

"Great. See you in a few," I say before hanging up.

It takes me fifteen minutes to get to the airport and another five cruising the street looking for the right hotel. Finally I see his familiar frame slumped in front of this big glass building.

He's startled when I pull up next to him, "Hey, beautiful, I missed you," I say with a smile.

He doesn't respond to my flirting. He just climbs in silently. When he looks at me I see that his eyes are really red and puffy. Looking at him almost hurts. I reach over and put my hand on his as I pull out.

"Tell me what happened."

He takes a shaky breath, "He likes me back, but...he can't be with me because...because..."

I squeeze his hand, trying to calm him down, "Because?"

"Lindsey's pregnant," he whispers, then squeezes his eyes shut.

Wow. No wonder he feels like shit. I can't even imagine going through that situation.

"Frank..." I don't get anything else out because he turns his face into my shoulder and releases his tears.

I pull into a parking lot at random and embrace him. He feels so broken, sobbing in my arms. It makes me want to find Gerard and punch him in the face. I knew I didn't like that guy the second I saw his cherry red hair.

Frank pulls back and wipes his face with the back of his hand, I'm sorry. I'm sorry...you don't deserve this..."

"Frankie," I make him look in my eyes, "If I cared I would have kicked you to the curb a while ago." Then I reach into the glove compartment and pull out some napkins, "Here."

He wipes his eyes and blows his nose. It's a big improvement. I look around to figure out where we are. As it turns out, we're parked outside a small diner. Why such a small diner is out in the commercial district, I don't know. However, I angle my head toward it.

"How about some breakfast. My treat."

He looks up, "Um...sure," the poor thing even offers a shaky smile.

We go inside and sit in a booth. I order eggs, bacon, and orange juice. Frank orders french toast and coffee.

When our food comes, I offer him a piece of my bacon, "You need protein," I explain

He shakes his head, "Vegetarian."

For some reason I find that extremely adorable.

"You realize they use eggs to make french toast, right?" I ask with a smirk.

"You realize I said vegetarian, not vegan, right?" he counters.

I laugh and hold up my hands, "Point taken."

From there we fall into comfortable conversation. Just like the night we met. I find out that he has a ton of dogs. I almost spit out my OJ when he tells me.

"Nine?! How do you keep nine dogs without getting, like, reported as a hoarder or something?"

"Well, it's not like we abuse them. We have a big house and yard. They all get fed, exercised and bathed at least once a month."

"Oh, ok, I guess that makes sense."

He stares at me really intensely for a second, "This is gonna sound like a weird question, but...Where's your accent?"

"What?" he's right. It does sound weird.

"Well, like, you don't have a Canadian accent with all the 'don't 'cha know's and stuff..."

"Oh. Well, you don't sound much like you're from Joisey either," I say in my best stereotypical accent.

He laughs, well, more like giggles, "Ok. I guess it's possible to not let your voice conform."

Just then his phone goes off. He gives me an apologetic look before answering.

"Hello?...I'm Fine, Josh came and got me...I don't think that's any of your--or more accurately your nosy brother's--business...Of course I won't do anything stupid...Fine, I'll be home soon...Tell him i said 'fuck you'...okay bye."

I raise an eyebrow at him. His side of the conversation didn't make much sense.

He sighs, "That was Mikey. Gerard was too chicken shit to call me himself, so he had his little brother check on me. I guess I've gotta go back..."

"Wait...Mikey and Gerard are brothers?" I never would have guessed.

"Yeah. Come on, let's pay the bill and get going."

I do as he says.

a/n i know i know! it hurts me just as much to make gee the bad guy as it hurts you to read it...i promise itll get fixed soon...so how about that Lindsey bombshell? Little Bandit gets to be in this too!!!! Yay!!!! Remember the puppies!!!

I love you all Chao!