FicWad

Chapter Two..

"I'll see you all soon, I'll grab everything and come straight back. See ya soon" Matt hopped into the drivers seat and drove off and Frank as Mikey lead Scarlett up the cobble stone path.
"What do you think?" Frank paused, looking up at the house.
"It's beautiful, Frank. I love it" Scarlett smiled happily looking up at the gorgeous brick home. The front lawn was lush and green, framed by bushes with fresh blooms open to greet the start of spring, the air warm and thick with perfume from the jasmine trees. Frank caught her staring at the beautiful flowers.
"I knew you would love them. I can't wait to show you your room! I hope you like how we've decorated" Frank lead her through the front door, the inside was warm and homey, just as she expected.
"I hope you didn't go to much trouble" she said as they gave her a tour of the house.
"Not at all, I was happy to do it! I'm so excited to be living with you again!"
"Do you live here too, Mikey?"
"Pretty much. Sometimes Frank stays at mine. I'm waiting for my lease to be up for renewal before I officially move in" he smiled.
"Makes sense. I'm sure the three of us will have a great time" Scarlett smiled.
"You have your own bathroom, there's a built in wardrobe and we got you a queen sized bed and chest of drawers" Frank said as they opened the door and let her into her new room.
"Do you like it?" Mikey asked as he and Frank waited eagerly for an answer. Scarlett smiled as the tears returned to her eyes, looking around the room in amazement. There was a beautiful wooden bed frame, with matching bed side tables, drawers and full length mirror. The bed was made up perfectly in fresh white sheets and a beautiful mix of blues quilted bed spread. The walls painted a beautiful sky blue which only accentuated the windows looking out into the beautiful back garden.
"This is beautiful.. I can't believe it" she beamed throwing her things down onto the bed and taking a seat into its plush comfiness.
"Gosh look at me I'm crying again" she laughed for a moment before burying her face in her hands.
"Honey, are you alright?" Frank took a seat beside her.
"I'll give you two a moment, okay. I hope you're alright Scarlett, I'll see you when you're ready" Mikey kissed her head gently and left the room.
"Baby girl, what's the matter?" Frank held her as she took a few deep breaths and managed to stop her tears.
"I'm sorry, I think I'm just a bit over emotional. The move, getting away from dad, meeting new people in a new city, starting Uni again at a new campus and I miss my brother so much already. Just big stress stuff. I'll be alright for tonight, I just want to have a shower and a few moments alone if that's okay?" She hung her head.
'You came all this way to be with your best friend and you want to be alone..'
"I understand, don't worry about it. I can see you worrying in that beautiful mind of yours!" Frank teased, pinching her cheeks.
"You know me too well" she smiled.
"Go have a shower, baby. When does the rest of your stuff arrive?"
"This week I hope. I've brought enough for a few weeks just in case" Scarlett began tying her hair up and rummaging through her bag for some fresh undies.
"Awesome! Party starts in an hour but you just come out to the garage when you're ready, okay?" Frank started to leave.
"Thank you for Frankie.. For everything" Scarlett smiled as Frank closed the door behind him. Scarlett breathed a sigh of relief as she collapsed onto her new bed. The bedding was so soft and comfortable she couldn't help but imagine how good it was going to feel climbing into that bed by the end of the night as she began to undress for her shower. She laid out her jeans, some fresh undies and her black knitted jumper. She sighed as she caught a glimpse of the self inflicted cuts on her left hip. She knew she would one day have to tell Frankie she had started again.

~ Flashback to Scarlett crying on her bedroom floor ~
"Scarlett the bleeding isn't stopping, we have to get you to the hospital okay?" Frank was calm but the panic in his eyes was clear as the towel he had pressed to her wrist slowly became more damp with her blood

"Fuck" Scarlett breathed as her breathing quickened, thinking back to that awful night. Looking to the faded scar on her wrist, she couldn't think of anything worse than breaking Frank's heart.
'No more cutting.. No more cutting' she thought to herself as she slipped into her bathroom. She smiled. This really was perfect. Her own toilet, shower and sink.
The water warmed her body and soothed her nerves. She washed her body with the melon body wash Frank had put in there, flattered he had remembered her favourite brand. After twenty minutes standing under the heavenly water she stepped out, laughing again that Frank had even placed blue towels on the racks for her. She appreciated how he tried his best to make the room perfect for her by using her favourite things and colours. As soon as she was dry, she dressed herself, brushed her hair out and reapplied her make-up. The nerves soon returned as she looked to the clock and realised she should make an appearance at some point. She slowly made her way from her room through the house. It wasn't long before she could hear the muffled sounds of chatter and laughter coming from the garage. Taking a deep breath she opened the door and walked in. Iron maiden played softly in the background as familiar and unfamiliar faces turned to see her. She put on a smile hoping her cheeks weren't blushing again.
"Scarlett I'm so glad to see you. You look beautiful by the way" Matt ran up.
"Thanks Matt, I'm so nervous" she whispered back to him as other people started to walk their way.
"Don't be, I'll introduce you to everyone" Matt smiled leading her forward to those waiting to greet her.
"Everyone, this is Scarlett. Scarlett this is Ray" a stocky man with auburn brown curly hair, lips full framing his broad smile and round cheeks drawing attention to his warm eyes stepped up and kissed Scarlett's cheek.
"Lovely to meet you darlin, what are you drinking?" He bubbled.
"Oh, um, hi, nice to meet you, I'll have a tequila sunrise if that's okay" she blushed.
"Of course it's okay, honey! Hi I'm Jane" a voluptuous girl with sparkling blue eyes and mid length auburn hair pulled her into a friendly hug.
"Hey Jane" she smiled.
"How you liking Jersey? Oh, well I guess you just got here but I'm sure you'll love it! I'll have to take you out for some girl time soon!" She beamed.
"I'd like that very much" Scarlett replied as Ray came back and handed her a drink.
"Aw, I wanna come!" Another girl with a short black pixie hair cut that suited her small face perfectly strolled up. She was adorable.
"Of course you're coming, silly billy. Scarlett, this is Alice" Jane introduced.
"Give me a hug, girl. Welcome!" Alice threw her arms around her.
"Woah, careful! She wants to drink the drink, not wear it" Matt laughed.
"Sorry honey, I get a bit excited" she apologised.
"No, that's okay. It's lovely. Don't know why I was nervous in the first place, how silly. I'm looking forward to getting to know you all. I can tell we're all going to be good friends. Frank has told me so much about you guys" Scarlett relaxed as she took a sip of her drink.
"Definitely! I hope he told good stories" Ray smiled.
"Of course" Scarlett laughed.
"Has she met Gee?" Jane looked quizzical.
"No not yet. Hey Gerard! Get over here and meet Scarlett" Matt called out to where Gerard was over talking to Mikey and Frank. Scarlett couldn't see him past the welcoming committee.
"Coming" a melodic voice called back. Gerard put his drink down and slowly made his way over to the group. It had been a while since he had hung out with everyone. His break up with Carmen two weeks prior had been occupying his mind. He hadn't felt much like being social. As he approached, Jane, Bert, Alice and Ray stood aside for him to greet Scarlett. His breath caught in his chest as he caught a glimpse of her. A warm heat formed in his stomach and a smile crept on his face. Scarlett too had to take a moment to focus on her breath when she first saw him. Time for a moment seemed to pause as he approached her. Gerard was tall and broad. His medium length black hair framed the curves of his beautiful face. His eyes glimmered bright with flecks of green and brown and yet she couldn't help but notice he had a fading bruise around his left eye, which almost made her want to comfort him. He walked tall but not with the air of confidence to match his beauty. Scarlett felt the forgotten feeling of butterflies in her stomach as he approached. She hadn't felt so drawn to anyone for a very long time.
"Hi" Gerard smiled.
"Hi" Scarlett smiled.
"You're Scarlett?" Gerard said in disbelief.
"I am.. It's lovely to meet you, Gerard" Scarlett said softly as she held her hand out slowly to shake his. Gerard took her hand, an electrical surge shooting through them both, the electricity of intimacy. He placed a gentle kiss on the top of her hand, her stomach looping as he did so.
"It's lovely to meet you" he smiled.
"Umm, I'm just going to duck to the bathroom" he cleared his throat and quickly moved around everyone and to the door going into the house.
"That was intense" Jane whispered to Scarlett.
"You could tell?" Scarlett blushed.
"Oh, honey, I'm surprised to two didn't start a fire in here" Jane giggled fanning Scarlett. Scarlett giggled politely making a bee line over to Frank and Mikey.
"Hey babe" Mikey kissed her cheek.
"What was that!?" Frank giggled. As Ray and Matt turned the music up.
"I have no idea. I haven't had anything like that happen before" Scarlett took another sip from her cup.
"Chemistry. You two have it big time. You'd make a great couple" Mikey winked.
"Oh c'mon, Mikey, we just met for goodness sake. He is very beautiful though.." Scarlett giggled.
"Aww, you think my big brother is beautiful" Mikey hugged her side. Scarlett went pale. The eyes.. She hadn't out two and two together.
"Please Mikey.. Don't say anything to him.. Please"
"Honey, he won't. He's just teasing. So, you find him good looking, big deal!" Frank kissed her nose.
"Yeah, I won't say anything darling, I promise" Mikey smiled.
"Okay thank you" she said watching Gerard enter the room again as she sipped slowly at her tequila.