FicWad

Part 12
Amy’s POV- ‘With a sad heart I say bye to you and wave.’
I leave Health so distracted that I actually walk straight past Frank who’s waiting outside for me. “Hey Amy, wait up!” I hear him call out from behind me. I stop suddenly at the sound of his voice and in return get walked into by a year 8 who’s actually nearly as tall as me. I stay where I was while people shove past me and eventually Frank manages to reach me. He has a small cut on the side of his mouth that’s recently been bleeding and his tight eye was swollen but otherwise he seemed Ok.
We start walking, we don’t say anything until we’ve exited the language block where my Health class was. Even if we had words to say we wouldn’t have heard each other in the chaos that erupted with the end of each lesson.
“I’m sorry about what Tom did to you.” I say once we’re out of the building and headed towards my usual break time spot.
“It’s fine.” He replies with a smile that makes him wince slightly. “Well, it’s not but it’s not your fault either.”
“I still feel bad.”
“That’s because you’re daft in the head.” He responds. Sneaking a sideways glance at me.
“If Tom hadn’t done such a good job I’d hit you for that.”
“He didn’t do such a good job really.”
“Yeah. It looks it.” I say sarcastically as he raises a tissue to his mouth which had just started bleeding again. “Why were you up here anyway” I ask him. He should have been in music not outside my classroom. And I doubt he could have gotten to here from Music before I left as the language block was even further from the Music block than it was from my tutor.
“I got sent to the nurse. Then I figured that as there wasn’t much of lesson left I’d come and get myself a body guard before standing over there for break.” He says, looking over to where a group of my friends had already gathered.
“Good figuring.” I say with a slightly forced smile. Tom was glaring in our direction now and I knew that it wasn’t just Frank he was aiming it at. We stop just outside of the main crowd of people and I retrieve a water bottle from my bag. Frank digs some squashed sandwiches from his.
“Are you not eating?” he asks me with a look better suited to Bob.
“I’m not intentionally not eating. I’m just not hungry right now.” I say defensively. He gives me one of those looks then lets it lie.
“So, how come Tom hit you?” I ask, finally realising what I’d been wanting to ask so eagerly since he’d called my name.
“He seemed to think he was protecting you from the devil, AKA me.” he says with a dark look on his face. “I guess I can’t blame him. He’s watched people trample you and I don’t exactly have a good track record. It would have been nice to have had the chance to prove myself first though.”
“Sorry.” I say again. “Did you hit him back?”
“Nah.” Frank replies.
“Thanks for last night by the way.” I say awkwardly after a small lapse in conversation.
“Anytime.” He says with a sincerity in his eyes that lets me know he means it.
“Its good to have you back.” I admit. It was one of those things where I hadn’t realised how much I had missed him until I had him back and realised the gaping hole he was now filling.
“It’s good to be back.” He smiles at me. Then spontaneously envelopes me in a hug. I return the gesture before pulling away and realising too late, prompted by yet more glares off Tom aimed directly at me, that I had chosen him over my best friend.

Frank’s POV- ‘Gotta Gotta be down because I want it all.’
After spending break with Amy I’d gone to music and tried to concentrate on composing but all I could think of was her body pressed against mine in that hug. Her smell. I wondered how she would taste. Before I knew it it was second break and we were stood together again moaning about how cr*p our RS classes are.
She had half jokingly said that I should ask to be transferred into her class. I kept a mental note to do just that next week.
After a very uneventful 5th lesson I’d gone home to get changed and was on my way to Bob’s when I realised that I wasn’t all that excited about getting to see the guys at all. I was thinking of some excuse to sneak off with Amy for a while.
I walk down their front path and ring the door bell. Bob welcomes me in and we head up to his room. I hear Amy’s laugh coming from inside and smile to myself at the promise of spending the afternoon in her company and my friends company.
Her and Gerard are sat on the floor laughing over something. Mikey was sprawled across Bob’s bed reading a PS2 mag and professing to Ray that the “codes are in here!” Ray wasn’t paying much attention and was strumming away lightly at Amy’s guitar. An honour. “Hey.” I say to everyone as me and Bob enter the room. Mikey and Ray both raise a hand lazily in my vague direction and Amy smiles at me distractedly then turns back to Gerard, I frown at the stab of jealousy in my stomach and told myself to stop being stupid.
Stupid or not they spent all afternoon joking and talking. I watched from my spot on the end of the bed. At least she was happy. That was my one consoling thought. I just didn’t think Gerard would act on the bet. Maybe I was being paranoid and he was just being nice but I couldn’t help feeling like I should be doing anything but this. I didn’t feel like Amy’s friend right then.
When I announce that I’m leaving earlier than I’ve ever left before I’m greeted by weird looks but everyone just waves and goes back to what they were doing. I’m just about to open the front door when Amy’s voice stops me. “Frank?” I turn around and watch her walk over to me from the base of the stairs. “What’s up?” She asks me with suck concern on her face that I almost tell her.
“I just… Just remember that Gerard’s on the rebound.” I say. A cloud of confusion passes over her face and then she laughs.
“Gerard?” she exclaims. “He’s great but no!” She smiles at me, barely masking an ‘are you crazy?’ look. Relief washes over me and I’m glad I wont have to go to the extremes Tom did to protect Amy.
She yawns which of course makes me yawn back. We grin sheepishly at each other as we remember the times we had experimented how many times we could pass a yawn between us.
“12.” I say and she smiles again, this time not to mask an ‘are you crazy?’ look but in recognition of the fact we’d been thinking about the same thing.
“I’m going to bed.” She says.
“Good idea. Apart from the 4 noisy teenagers across the hall.”
“Fair point actually.” She says, “Plus it’s only 8 o’ clock.
“There’s that too.” I reply. I knew we were just putting off saying good bye but then she comes over to me and hugs me.
“Night Frank. Thanks again for the other night.”
“It was nothing.” I assure her even though it sure as hell had been something but I didn’t mind. “Night.” I say just above a whisper. I kiss her lightly on the forehead and step outside into the cool night air.
“Please don’t do this to me Gerard.” I mutter before heading off with a heart full of doubts.