The next few days with Dewees in the house were a bit of a struggle, but me and Kellin managed to cope okay. We basically divided up our time so that one of us was always home to keep an eye on him. Whilst I was on duty he'd go round Vic's, and when he came back I'd go sneak round to Gerard's and spend a few precious hours in his company.

Dewees himself wasn't doing so well. The withdrawal symptoms were hard hitting and his paranoia that Ian was onto us was spiralling out of control, but after the first initial 24 hours I began to see some improvement in his state, even if they were only minor. He'd began to eat regularly and me and Kellin had hid any alcohol in the house as a precaution to make sure there was nothing around for him to try and use as a distraction. 

Of course, Kellin felt bad having to lie to Vic about why he couldn't come hang round his, but at the same time he didn't want to put Vic in any danger or involve him in any way, so he just tried to find minor excuses as to why they should definitely go hang out at Vic's after his band practice, and so far it seemed to be working. 

It was Sunday morning, and college was starting again tomorrow, and to say I was concerned about me and Kellin both having to leave Dewees in the house by himself for the day was an understatement. 

"I'll be okay" he reassured me for the fourth time as I poured us both coffee "really, you both don't need to babysit me. There's no way I'd leave this house, and it's not like there's any drugs in it. Besides, the tremors finally starting to go in my hand and I actually almost feel alive again." 

"Good, because your life kind of depends on not leaving this house" I didn't want to freak him out, but at the same time I needed to reassure myself he was going to be okay. 

"I'm aware" he rolled his eyes in a way that reminded me of the Dewees i'd first met in that very same house. That night seemed so long ago now, back when all he'd been was a guy that had tried to kiss me and weirdly actually lead me to my first kiss with Gerard. 

"Well, I need to pop out for a bit" I pulled on my battered trainers "but Kellin should be back from Vic's any minute now, so you shouldn't be alone for long. It might be good to a have a trial run anyway." 

"Relax Frank, I've got this" he smiled "where are you off to now anyway?" 

"Just tagging with Linds" I shrugged, and to be fair it wasn't a complete lie. I was going to do some tagging, but perhaps not for long as I wanted to get to Gerard's for when he got back from church. I'd only been able to see him for snippets of time these past few days and I was craving his company at this point. 

"Okay. Have fun" I had to stop myself from letting a smirk escape at that comment. Instead I just picked up my backpack and a bottle of water and headed for the door. 

***

"I mean, I know he's a bit gross and greasy at times, but he's actually so funny too Frank. You just need to get to know him a bit more, that's all." 

"Lynz, as much as I'm happy you're happy, I still don't think it's a good idea" we were walking along some of the back roads of town, heading to some spot Lynz had text to say  she'd stumbled across and was perfect for tagging. Normally I would be happy walking along with her talking about all kinds of crap, but the conversation had soon turned to none other than Bert McCracken and her desire for me to give him a proper chance. 

"Come on Frank, you've only met him twice" she rolled her eyes. 

"Yeah, the first was when I dealt him drugs and the second was when he spent the whole time flirting with you" I retorted "he's not good news you know, and I know i'm not exactly the best news either, but he hangs round with some bad crowds and he's not exactly picky about who he lets into his friendship circle..." 

"Oh that's all talk, we have a fun time together and he's got a great taste in music" She waved away his antics like they were a mere inconvenience "besides, it's not a serious thing between us. I just like his company and borrowing his records." 

"And the fact that he'd probably really piss of Angela and your dad?" 

She went a bit quiet at that, and I felt a bit bad for overstepping the line. Luckily it only lasted momentarily.

"Okay, that's not the only reason i'm hanging round him. I mean, yes, it would be very funny to introduce him to Angela... but then again she's backed off a bit recently... I don't know, I don't think it's just a rebelling thing, I think I do like him." 

"I'm sure you probably do. I'm sorry, I'm not one to cast the first stone when it comes to this sort of thing. I'm sure she'd be far more angry if you told her you were dating me" we both chuckled at that image, and the mood lifted again. 

"Maybe I'll tell her for a laugh. I mean, I had to pretend to be your fake girlfriend so you kinda owe me one" she wound me up with a playful shove "you could go to shake her hand and it could be covered in spray paint." 

"No thank you, I get in enough trouble as it is without getting myself in any more" I rolled my eyes and she gave me an inquisitive look. 

"Why do I get the feeling I only know the tip of the iceberg when it comes to all the shit you get yourself in?" 

"Because you're smart. And you're also smart enough not to ask too much more than you already know."

"Pleaseeee Frank" She whined, leading me down another back alleyway in a semi-familiar part of town "you know I hate missing out on the gossip." 

"You're already sucking face with druggy lunatic, why don't we leave it there?" It was really tempting to tell her about the latest developments with Dewees and Ian, but at the same time I was really enjoying the lighthearted nature of her company, and just pretending to be a normal teenager going tagging again, like it used to be. It was funny really to think my parents sent me over here for my behaviour in jersey, which seemed like almost child's play in comparison to what I was up to now. If they could see just a fraction of the trouble I was in, they'd never be able to look me in the eye again. 

"Fine, but only because we're almost here" she picked up the pace then, and I admit I had to concentrate on keeping up with her long strides. 

"Where abouts is this wall anyway?" 

"It's just behind the church gardens - come on" She rounded the corner and sure enough, there was the church, visible above the trees that surrounded the grounds. Right infront of us was a wall, and I happened to remember how right behind that wall was the bench where Gerard had kissed me. 

Gerard. Gerard who was in that church right now. 

My heart immediately started to pine for him, but then I remembered that my family were also in there, along with Brian bloody Schetcher and a whole host of horrendous people who were probably watching Gerard preach right now with no idea exactly the sort of things the collar round his neck had been used for in private. Shit, I really shouldn't think about that or Lynz was going to guess something was up. 

"Er Lynz, you do realise it's Sunday right?" I could feel the excitement to tag, and to be fair to her the wall seemed pretty great, but at the same time I really didn't want to run into any members of the congregation. 

"Yeah, perfect time Frank. They're all in there right now and will be for a while longer yet. Nobody's staying out here to watch the grounds and we'll be gone by the time the service ends." Her argument did put me at ease a bit as I realised she did have a point. "Besides, it's a proper adrenaline rush when it's in broad daylight, don't you think?" 

"You know me too well, Ballato" I grinned, giving in. I dumped my backpack on the floor between us and opened it up to reveal the various spray cans inside. We both instantly dove for various colours and got to work. 

"I wish Pete was here" I mused as I began to start my piece. 

"Your friend from New Jersey?" She asked without taking her eyes off her own work. 

"Yeah, he was always my lookout when I went tagging. Always knew some good shortcuts for a quick escape too." 

"Well he can't have been that good if you got caught all those times" she retorted, and I glanced over at her work to see this time she was drawing a more simplistic concept of a pair of eyes, smile wrinkles underneath them to show a sense of laughter. 

"That was more his boyfriends fault in all fairness, but yes, i'm not saying he was the perfect lookout, but he was always willing to be one." I made a mental note to give him a skype later, I hadn't spoken to him properly in a while, only text, and I missed him. 

Our conversation drifted off then as we both got lost within creating our pieces. Mine ended up being a picture of two people whispering behind a bible. The people weren't recognisable - I made sure of that. The detail was more focused on the book - I should've know after all the bibles Brian had made me sort through in those tedious hours after college. 

"I like that a lot" lynz admired mine as she stepped back "kinda like they're hypocrites, or hiding behind the church or something." 

"Er, yeah, something like that". 

"You ready to get out of here?" I nodded and picked up my backpack, glancing around to check for one last time nobody was around before following Lynz back towards the alleyway we'd come down. 

She stopped me suddenly though, holding a hand up "wait" she hissed, craning her head to hear better "I think I hear voices.... I think someones already walking down the alleyway." Sure enough, I heard it too, the crunch of shoes getting closer, and voices. 

"Shit, okay" I turned back towards our wall of art "come on, gimme a boost and then i'll pull you over." 

"We're going over the wall?" Her eyes were wide "Frank-" 

"Just do it" I snapped, and she quickly cupped her hands. I placed my foot in them, and was grateful that Lynz was particularly strong as she pushed me upwards. I grabbed ahold of the stones in the wall and pulled myself into a sitting position on top, throwing my backpack down into the bushes on the other side before turning back to her. "Give me your hand" I hissed, and she reached up, managing to find some footholds to cling to. 

It took a bit of a struggle, but I managed to pull her on top of the wall too, the footsteps immanently close now. We both realised we only had a few moments before these people rounded the corner and saw us sat up above our artwork, looking incredibly guilty. 

Without a word, swung around and dropped down the other side, letting myself dangle off the wall before I dropped in order to shorten the fall. It was easier for Lynz - she was taller than me and so landed a bit more gracefully, whilst I just sort of fell in a heap on the ground. We stayed silent as we heard the voices reach the wall, and luckily there just seemed to be some tutting and unrecognisable voices commenting something about 'vandals' before carrying on along the path. We waited another moment or so before i let out a sigh of relief. 

"Now that was an adrenaline rush" Lynz just giggled, and I couldn't help but laugh with her. We were by the very aforementioned bench, nicely out of view from the main church. "Where now though?" 

"Don't worry, spending all that time here after college had its perks" I stood up "I know this place like the back of my hand." She stood too, handing me my backpack back. "Just follow me round the back of the building." 

"We've not got long" she noted, glancing at the time on her phone "service ends any minute." 

I lead her round the side of the church, hearing the last new notes of the final hymn chime out as we reached the back door. Luckily, it wasn't locked, so it was easily to slip into the corridor and past the small kitchen area where the volunteers were busy preparing cheap coffee for any that wanted it. 

"Where are we going?" Lynz hissed. 

"If we loop round here there's a side door that we can use to come out the other side of the building and theres a wooded area that side that you can follow. It we can get there, we'll be the opposite side to the car park and so wont have to bump into my relatives." 

"Okay" we were almost at the end of the corridor at this point, and my confidence began to grow. Or at least it did, until I heard a familiar voice from behind me. 

"Frank?" 

I spun around, no doubt looking guilty as hell, to face none other than Brian Schetcher stood behind us, arms crossed and looking me up and down like my very presence made him want to deep clean every bit of carpet I was currently stood on. 

______

Sorry just leaving it there because it seemed a good moment to end on (you know I'm a sucker for cliffhangers). 

- H