Thirteen

As I stood in the church corridor under the glare of Brian Schetcher, I cursed my luck yet again. Technically, it wasn't as if we were breaking any rules by being there, but we did look incredibly out of place and guilty, and I knew Brian wasn't going to fool for any sort of elaborate bullshit.

"Er, hey" was all I managed, mind going completely blank as I tried to think of a reason why i'd voluntarily be in a church.

Of course, all my mind could think of was the one thing that really did make me want to be at church, and seeing as I didn't have a death wish, I couldn't exactly admit to that one.

"What are you doing-" his eyes narrowed, taking in my appearance and not even seeming to notice Lynz stood next to me for a good moment or so "oh, and who's this?" his tone was a bit more polite with her, but not as much as it probably could be.

I always use to think priests were pretty 2-dimensional characters, but here I was stood in front of one who was an utter asshole, whilst the other... well, he just had a cute one. Still, I guess Brian was much more fitting of the stereotype I used to have in mind when I thought about them, especially when he gave me the judging look that he was currently wearing.

"Just stopping by?" I tried, receiving a flat look in return.

"I don't think i've ever seen you voluntarily step foot in here before, you weren't in the service and now i've found you back here looking incredibly shifty" He almost rolled his eyes, but seemed to think better of it at the last minute. "I'd threaten to tell your uncle, but I heard you stormed out of there weeks ago-"

"I didn't storm out" I snapped, defences immediately going up "actually, your buddy James kicked me ou-"

"He's with me" Lynz blurted, clearly attempting to stop the row about to unfold "I mean, sorry, it's just, Frank came here with me, but, well, I" She was grasping for an idea at this point, and I could almost see the concentration behind her eyes as she tried to piece together a believable argument.

"You what exactly?"

"I'm just going through a really hard time and, and" she sniffed in what I knew was a totally fake manner, but I guess to someone as dumb as Schetcher might work "well, I needed some help, and Frank was going to bring me here but I got nervous and we were too late for service and-"

"So we came back here" I finished as she pretended to let out a little sob.

"And how exactly can I help?" his tone was patronising, and I knew he was still highly suspicious, but at the same time as much as he found me irritating and untrustworthy, he didn't know Lynz and she could genuinely need help, so he had no real choice but to offer it.

"Well, the thing is Father" I winced having to call him by his title like I respected him, but at this point I figured it was worth it to get on side "I think Lynz would be a bit more comfortable talking to someone a bit younger, so we weren't actually looking for you."

He looked like he was trying really hard to suppress a scowl at that, and I almost could have laughed if I wasn't so worried about the fact that i'd practically admitted we were here to see Gerard.

"Right, well, if Father Way's age is such an important factor despite his lack of experience-"

"It is" I snapped back.

"-Then I guess you better come with me" he raised an eyebrow "I mean, if that is really why you're here, because if you're not then I don't think he'll appreciate your time-wasting any more than I would."

"My problems are time-wasting?' Lynz's eyes grew wide, and I had to applaud the way she was milking this situation.

"n-no" he stuttered "I just meant-"

"Just take us to Ger-, um, Father Way, before you upset her any more, yeah?" I raised an eyebrow right back at him, and despite going to open his mouth to reply, he seemed to think better of it and instead grabbed me by the shoulder and beckoned for Lynz to follow, starting in the direction of the office.

I shook hold of his grip and he didn't refuse, so I managed to hang back slightly and walk neck to Lynz. She shot me a panicked look, obviously freaking out at the fact she was going to have to lie to a priest and make up some sort of personal trauma.

"Don't worry" I mumbled as loudly as I dared with Brian a few steps ahead "I've got this under control."

"It doesn't look like you do!" was her whispered reply.

"Just trust me on this one."

By this point we were at the office door, and I couldn't help but peer round Brian to get a proper view. Sure enough, Gerard was stood with his back to us, making himself coffee and humming a little, just enough that I could hear but not enough to know what song he was humming.

"Gerard" his head snapped up at Brian's voice, and he turned, eyes growing wide the second he saw me and Lynz stood behind him "sorry to disturb you, but you have some, er, visitors that wanted to speak with you" his voice was dry and bitter "and they were pretty insistent that it had to be you."

"Oh" was all Gerard managed "erm, hello Frank" I locked eyes with him, and he gave me a look that I think would roughly translate to what the fuck are you doing.

"Hi" I gave a small, sheepish, smile "um, this is Lynz" I gave a rough gesture to my left "we were wondering if we could speak with you?"

"Oh yeah, of course" he glanced from me, to Lynz, and then to Brian "it's okay Brian, I don't mind. Could you go check on the kitchen though?"

"Yes, of course" Brian said, but still seemed skeptical about leaving "just, let me know if he causes you any trouble though, James has been pretty clear about-"

"Bye now" I snapped before he could finish his bitching.

"Frank-" he began, but Gerard surprised us both by interrupting.

"Actually Brian, I think it's important to listen to Frank's side of things and not just his uncle's" his tone was calm and even, but I could see a cold look in his eyes "So we'll be just fine up here. Thank you."

Brian clearly wasn't use to being spoken back to like that by him, so just gave a meek grumble about something inaudible and walked out the room, allowing me to let out a breath I hadn't realised I was holding.

Gerard waited a moment until he was confident nobody else was in earshot before walking over and shutting the door behind Lynz and I. "Right" He sighed "what's this really about then?"

"Sorry" I blushed a little, praying Lynz didn't notice "erm, Gerard, this is Lynz, Lynz, this is-"

"Gerard, yeah, I got that much" she nodded, clearly still in panic mode.

"Nice to meet you" he nodded at her, and she just gulped.

"Linds, it's okay" I sighed "Gerard's cool."

"Cool?' Gee couldn't help but tease a little.

"Okay, what is going on here Frank?" She hissed.

"I could ask the same" he piped up, concern washing over his features "are you in trouble?"

"No, no, nothing major" I shook my head "we were tagging and we sort of ended up having to jump the church wall, and then we were just going to cut through, but of course we ran into Brian almighty, and, well, here we are" I tried to give him my best innocent cant-be-to--mad-at-me-smile.

"Frank!" Lynz hissed "what are you doing?"

"It's okay" Gerard quickly reassured her "I won't tell anyone, you can trust me."

"Oh" she relaxed a little "erm, thank you, I guess."

"Don't mention it" he smiled before glancing at the door "but erm, if it's okay Lynz, could I have a moment to speak to Frank alone? I promise I won't keep him long." She looked at me, and I gave an encouraging nod to reassure her it was okay.

"Um, okay. I'll wait outside for you Frank."

He waited all of two seconds after she'd closed the door behind her before he let a grin escape him. "So, that was your fake girlfriend huh?"

"Of all the lies I told James and Isabel you're really gunna focus on that one?"

"Yep" he chuckled, and I couldn't help it; his laugh was infectious. "I mean, she is my competition after all, and somehow I think she'd make a better impression on your family than I would."

"I think I gave up on caring what they'd think a long time ago."

"True" he reached out and grabbed my hand, turning it over and rubbing his thumb against the traces of spray paint that covered my palm "you do need to be more careful though Frankie. As much as I love you art, getting caught tagging now just isn't a good idea all round. For us, for you, for Dewees. It causes more complications that you don't need right now." 

"I know I know" I sighed, leaning into his touch and desperately wishing we were properly alone. "Linds doesn't really know better though, and I couldn't really explain to her why I was so opposed to tagging near here." 

"Do you want to tell her the truth?" he glanced at the door "because you know if you trust her, so do I. And now i've met her I can see she looks like a good friend." 

"Maybe. I'm not sure. I mean, Mikey, Kellin and Ray already know, and the more people we tell the more likely it is that something will slip, right?" 

"Well" he mused "Mikey and Ray are both family. I know Mikey would never breathe a word, the same with Ray. And although i'm yet to meet Kellin it seems like he's practically family to you these days, taking you in and helping you out." 

"True." 

"So all in all I think our tracks are well covered at the moment. Lynz is a good friend of yours and someone you trust, and she definitely owes you for taking the rap for her in the past. She also already knows about your other secrets and has kept quiet. So I'd say if it makes things easier on you, you can tell her" he grabbed my other hands too and pulled me closer to him. 

"I guess she's going to have plenty of questions anyway" I let my gaze break eye contact and trail down to his lips "and I do trust her. Yeah, I think I will tell her, at least part of it anyway. Thanks Gee." 

"Anytime sugar" he grinned, and I felt a pang of butterflies at the way the nickname rolled of his tongue. I moved closer, almost on autopilot, and pushed my body against his so he was leaning back onto his desk. "Frank-" his breath hitched a little in his throat as he squeezed my hands tighter. 

"I've missed you" I placed a kiss on his neck and he titled his head back with a small moan "especially making out with you in here." There was something so hot about us kissing in that office, the whole congregation downstairs including Brian almighty stood around, oblivious to what we were getting up to. I could feel the adrenaline start to run through my veins just at the very thought of it, and I moved my lips up his neck until there were an inch or so away from his. 

"You're so bad baby" he shuddered, obviously thinking along the same lines, to which I just smirked. 

"You love it though." 

He didn't reply, instead closing the distance between us completely by kissing me, hard and fast and taking me a little by surprise in the process. His lips seemed to mould into mine in a rhythmic pace, hands leaving mine to travel up to my hair and knot themselves there. He leaned further back onto the desk, pulling me with him so he was sitting on it and I was stood between his legs. My hands found themselves travelling up his thighs and grabbing him by the waist, desperate to feel every inch of him pressed against me as possible. Of course, it wasn't nearly enough to satisfy the hormones rushing through me - there were way too many clothes in the way for that. 

"Fuck" I moaned against his mouth, temporarily breaking the kiss "I want you so much right now." 

"Not here" he sighed "not now, anyway" I nodded, but kept kissing him anyway, loving the feel of his hands running through my hair and grabbing fistfuls every now and then. 

A knock on the door made us both jump apart, me springing backwards whilst he slid off the table and attempted to find his breath. 

"Frank" I slumped in relief when it was only Lynz's voice that called through the door "erm, are you nearly ready to go?" 

"Oh, yeah, sorry" I called out before leaning over and giving Gerard one final peck on the lips "can I see you later on today?" 

"I've got a better idea" he grinned, picking up his jacket and striding towards the door. He opened it to reveal a confused looking Lynz, but smiled at her in a completely unfazed manner. "Sorry to keep you waiting, I was actually just saying I'm leaving now anyway, so can give you and Frank a lift home if you like?" 

"Oh" she glanced at me, clearly unsure what to say "erm, thank you-" 

"Great" he turned back to look at me "I need to go tell Brian that i'm off home now, but if you two wait here for five minutes i'll be right back and then I'll drive you both." 

"Sure" I nodded, more for Lynz's reassurance that as an actual answer. He slipped out the door and bounded off, leaving Lynz to walk into the room and raise her eyebrows at me. 

"Frank, what the hell is going on here? Why are you so calm and why is he covering for us? I thought you came here as a punishment?" 

"Okay, I'll explain" I nodded towards the sofa "but it's a bit of long story. You know how I told you about Ian though and you promised not to tell anyone?" 

"How is this related to that?" 

"It's not, but er, I need you to make the same promise again not to tell anyone." She perched on the edge of the sofa and nodded, seeming unfazed. 

"Okay, I promise. I've already proven I can keep your secrets Frank, you can trust me." Fuck it, I guess one more friend knowing could probably be a good thing for me in the long term. And my birthday was only a matter of weeks away now really. 

"Me and Gerard, we... well, we're a thing." 

"A thing..?" she looked at me expectantly "I mean, a bit more clarity would be appreciated here Frank. What do you mean by a thing?" I gave her a sheepish look, and I could see it finally click into place as her expression changed to one of utter shock "wait, you mean... like a thing thing? Like you're seeing each other?" 

"We're kind of in love too" I gulped "so er, your discretion would be greatly appreciated, at least until my birthday but preferably after that too because you know, I can't see this going down too well with the congregation." 

"Holy shit, you're serious" she gaped "you're actually screwing the priest. The priest! This is... well, to be honest Frank it's pretty hilarious and crazy and probably verging on weird, but, well..." she giggled a little "I mean, he is hot, so I guess it's kinda awesome too." 

"Well you're taking this considerably better than Ray did" I chuckled. 

"Ray knows?" 

"He found out. Well, worked it out I guess. And Kellin knows too, but I kinda had to tell him because I live with him, you know?" 

"Oh god, what did Ray do?" 

"Mainly looked like he was about to pass out" I laughed at the memory "you should've seen it, and oh god me and Gerard were freaking out so much, we probably looked like we were going to faint too." 

"This is gold" she shook her head and then suddenly seemed to remember another detail "wait, so you love him though? Like this is a serious thing?" 

"I've never been more serious about anything in my life" I admitted "Honestly, it kills me not to be able to talk about him to you all. He's so amazing." 

"I'm glad" she stood up and embraced me in a tight hug "you deserve happiness Frank, even if you find it in the weirdest of places." 

"Thanks" I grinned, just as Gerard appeared at the office door. 

"Ready?" he took in the scene with a slightly guarded expression, which dropped when I gave him a reassuring smile and a nod. 

"Yep" I turned back to Lynz "thanks for understanding." 

"Anytime, lovebirds" she practically sang, following me towards the door. 

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