Fifteen

The first time I was arrested was when I was twelve years old. Back in the days of my spiked up hair with this one ridiculous blonde streak in the front that made me look like your typical skater-wannabe. This hairdo had been abolished once I turned thirteen and started to convert to band t-shirts, black skinny jeans and piercings.

My first arrest had been for shoplifting a can of coke and a packet of maltesers (a share bag, mind you) from the local newsagents. The first time this had occurred they had let me off with a warning and a threat to clean up my act, maybe pick some better friends, that sort of thing. To be fair at the time I was hanging around with kids two years older than myself, the same kids who got me into smoking and drinking beer in the park. Then again they hadn't been all bad - they'd lent me spray paints and introduced me to the likes of Slipknot, Marilyn Manson and other heavy or classic rock bands that still filled my headphones long after we stopped hanging around together, and I opted for befriending Pete instead.

The second time had been getting into a fight out in public when I was almost thirteen, and that one had gone down on my record. I didn't exactly care all that much though.

The list went on, and with each arrest I became more accustomed to the ways in which the police worked. What they charged you for, how best to sweet talk the officers and even what questions you should and shouldn't answer. So when me and Lynz were all but dragged into the police station, I was composed and collected.

When we were told to sit down in an interview room, It almost felt homely, at the least familiar.

When the same two officers walked in with cups of coffee in their hands, I already knew there was no chance of us getting a cup.

When they say down I merely waited for them to make the first move, whilst Lynz watched me cautiously from the corner of her eye, obviously praying I had some sort of plan.

"State your names and ages please" the officer with the beard ordered, and I complied.

"Frank Iero, 17."

"Lynz Ballato, 17."

"Same school year?" He asked, to which we both nodded. "You're school friends then?" We both nodded again.

"Care to tell us why you were vandalising the garden and exterior of the house belonging to a miss Angela Morrison?" The other officer, who had a receding hairline and glasses, asked us both in a monotone voice.

"To be honest officer, it was my fault" I declared, ignoring the look of shock that Lynz was giving me and instead focusing on the one of belief that the two men were showing. They'd expected as much. "Lynz here was upset because Angela was being rude and insulting towards her, and so I took matters into my own hands."

"Oh I see" The bearded officer raised an eyebrow "you were trying to impress the girl, show her that you were there for her, that you could protect her." His voice was so patronising I wanted to punch him square in the jaw, but I knew how bad that would look. No amount of sweet talk would get me out of that one. Part of me wanted to tell him I was gay just to shut him up, but I figured it would suit the story better.

"Something like that" I shrugged, letting them make their own assumptions.

"Right, well you two are both aware that you've broken the law, not only by trespassing on private property but by vandalising a woman's home?" We both nodded for the third time.

"Just tell us wether she's going to press charges or not" I crossed my arms. If she was then I would have I expand my story and try to think of some way to shift the blame to a third party.

"Someone's very familiar with the system" the glasses officer frowned at me.

"What can I say? I watch a lot of crime TV" it was a lie - I never watched anything remotely like it. Hell, the only tv I watched were the series on my laptop.

"Miss Morrison is being spoken to now. You two wait here and we'll go find out wether this investigation needs to continue" It was evident in how quickly they'd drunk their coffee that they were preparing for a long time of questioning us, so I leaned back in my chair, ready to begin the waiting period.

"You don't need to cover for me" Lynz almost snapped once they were out of the room "it's nice, but I'm not your responsibility Frank. I'm your friend."

"It's okay - what's one more thing on my record huh?" I tried to laugh but the look she gave me made me stop immediately.

"I'm serious Frank. If the bitch presses chargers then I'm making sure they know I'm just as responsible as you are." She crossed her arms, making her authority known "I don't care what she thinks of me. My dad will come around eventually and my mum will probably find the whole thing funny once I've explained it to her. Well, not the law breaking part, but the idea behind it will make her laugh."

"Yeah well we'll deal with that when push comes to shove, until then we're probably in for a long wait, so best get comfortable."

Luckily, the wait wasn't as long as I was originally anticipating. Within about ten minutes the two officers were walking back into the room, their expressions unreadable.

"Miss Morrinson has decided not to press chargers" next to me Lynz's eyes grew wide in shock "she's spoken to Mr Ballato and they've agreed that as long as Lynz repaints the exterior wall and re-plants the flower beds you two destroyed, there won't be any harm done." I turned to Lynz, expecting her to be happy like myself but instead seeing a frown appearing on her features.

"So can we go?" I asked the officer before they noticed her mood swing.

"You'll need someone to come and pick you up, but yes, you can. Miss Ballato, your father wanted to come and get you but your mother has insisted on coming instead. She'll be here soon. The two of you are free to wait in the reception." He snapped his notebook shut and looked at me "do you have someone who can drive you home Mr Iero?"

"Yeah" I lied "I'll phone them now."

As soon as we walked out of the door I turned to Lynz "why are you upset? They're letting us go free of charge. Trust me, when we went in there I did not think we would be walking out again this quickly."

"Yeah it's good I guess" she shrugged "it's just that I know she's going to hold this over me now. She'll play the victim to my dad and he'll have a reason to not want me around anymore. I've just lost I guess."

"You haven't lost" I frowned at her "you've got your mum, and if he can't see what he's missing out on then he doesn't deserve to be your dad, plain and simple."

"He may be shitty but he's the only one I have" she stared down at her black wedge boots "I better go get this over with - are you going to be okay getting home?" Her car was still parked over near Angela's house and there was no way her mum was going to be up for giving me a lift after all the trouble I'd caused. I could phone Ray, but then he would have to tell him parents where he was going, and if they knew they would insist on picking me up themselves.

I wasn't sure wether they would be told or not, but even if they were then I was going to put if off for as long as possible. There was no way I wanted to face them too.

None of my other friends that I had numbers for had cars which meant I was kind of stuck. I didn't want to worry Lynz though.

"Yeah I'll figure something out. You go sweet talk your mum" she gave me a brief hug before heading out to the car park, leaving me to root around in my pocket for my phone.

As my hand closed around the device, I felt something else bush against my fingers. At first, I presumed it was a sweet wrapper or a receipt. But then I remembered that the hoodie was new, and I had only been wearing it for a few days.

Curiosity got the better of me and I pulled it out, seeing a plain piece of mildly crumpled paper with a number scrawled on it in black sharpie pen. There was a short message underneath written In a messy scrawl. It read: "Just in case you need me - G XOXO."

Gerard had given me his number? When? Was it after we kissed on Sunday? Or yesterday when I left? Had it been even before that when we weren't involved in that way at all?

I stared down at it for a moment, tracing the letters even though I knew I must have looked weird to be doing so.

I needed him right then, I knew that much. And the note did say it was in case of just that, after all. Would it be ok to call him? The though of anyone else picking me up just didn't compare - none of my friends had cars yet as they were all still undergoing their drivers tests. Lynz had been the only one to pass it. Any other adults would judge me, yell at me or just plain punish me for what I'd done, but Gerard was my best hope for someone who could take a moment to hear my side of things before flying off the handle.

I typed the number into my phone and hesitated, thumb hovering over the call button. It was then that I decided I couldn't afford to be picky about the situation, and pressed dial.

He picked up third ring.

"Hello?"

"Gerard? It's Frank" I kicked at the floor as I spoke, avoiding eye contact with everyone else in the waiting room and just pretending I was the only person around.

"Oh hey Frankie" the nickname made my knees feel kind of funny, almost weak. "You okay? I was just wondering where you'd got to.."

"Um yeah, could you possibly come and pick me up?" I bit my lip, knowing what would come next.

"Yeah sure, where are you?"

"The police station..." I waited for his reaction. Normally I wouldn't care what people thought of me, but with Gerard i found myself caring desperately about what he would make of the whole thing. I didn't feel like I had to impress him or anything, but more like I wanted to please him.

"Oh, okay" he sounded a little bit deflated at the news, but not surprised either "I'll be there in ten." He hung up, leaving me to wonder wether he was going to be mad or just overlook the whole thing. I hoped he would give me a chance to explain myself first. Maybe then he'd see why I did it.

True to his word, Gerard arrived ten minutes later, his car pulling into one of the spaces right in front of the station. I didn't wait for him to have to get out and come inside himself, so quickly slipped out the door and hurried over to the car, climbing into the passenger seat before I got too nervous and just walked home instead.

I pulled on the seatbelt in silence, unsure of what to say. Sorry? Thank you? Hello? All seemed vaguely fitting. Luckily he made the decision to initiate the conversation first, although he waited until he'd pulled out of the police station car park before he loosened up.

"Are you okay?" Was all he asked, glancing over at me.

"I guess so." There was a pause in the conversation "aren't you going to ask?"

"I know you'll tell me soon enough" he shrugged. "It can't be that awful if they're letting you go, so there's always that." If I didn't know better I'd think he was trying to lighten the mood.

"That's because they decided not to press charges against us."

"Us?" He raised an eyebrow "you weren't alone on this little endeavour then?" I guess I would've been surprised at myself too - the only person I normally ever went tagging with was Pete, and I almost felt guilty for going without him. It was times like that when I missed Pete Wentz most. He would've known to check for nosy neighbours, or secured another exit plan, or even given me a lift home from the station afterwards. But he was the other side of the ocean, and instead I was being picked up by a well-meaning priest who had probably had enough of me.

"My friend Lynz... It was her new step mothers house we were tagging..." I answered two questions in one go. When he didn't say anything more I became nervous, and started to let the words spill over into a cascade of excuses and petty gossip. "The woman is a total monster towards her, turning her one dad against her and trying to get her kicked out. She deserved everything she got and more, I was just delivering justice If anything-"

"Don't you ever stop and wonder why you feel the need to play God like that?" He asked gently, but his words still impacted me.

"What do you mean?"

"Well I'm sure you're right in the fact that she's an awful person, but why feel the need to punish her yourself? Surely God or whatever greater force you believe in will take care of it?"

"He's hardly going to zap her with lighting or make her house burn down is he?" Maybe if he did do that to some people the world would be a better place. I didn't voice that last part out loud though as I wasn't sure how kindly Gerard would take to it. At the end of the day he was still a priest, and still very much a religious man.

"No, but maybe he'll bring good fortune to your friend, or let her dad meet someone new and far better. Someone who will be a good step mother." Although he had a point, it wasn't one that I particularly shared.

"I can't wait around for justice that May or may not come Gee" I let the nickname roll off my tongue without a second though "if your theory was true then how come I was never served justice for all the shit I've ever had to put up with? How come James gets nothing but happiness after he yelled at me for being gay? What about that?"

"I think one day James will get what's coming to him" he was picking his words carefully, I could tell that much. "And as for you? Well I see it as good fortune that you moved over here in the first place. Maybe you don't agree right now, but you have to admit that you've established friends here. And, well, this has happened" he gestured between the two of us with his free hand, the other one gripping the steering wheel.

"Somehow I don't think me giving you a blow job was a reward from God" I chuckled "besides, have you seen my record? I'm hardly an innocent choir boy am I?"

"You graffiti - vandalism is not against one of Ten Commandments is it? You don't kill or kidnap or rape or steal-"

"Before you go on, I have actually shoplifted before" I added, figuring this was as close as I was going to get to some sort of honesty hour.

"Okay, but if you truly regret it and ask for forgiveness then God will-"

"Gee" I held up a hand to silence him "I don't want to disrespect you or your job, you know I don't, but please don't preach to me right now. Just... Be you without the attachments."

"Okay" he sighed in a tired tone "I'll drop you straight home - I'm sure James and Isabel are expecting you back around now. They certainly won't expect you to come to church with me after what happened. In fact if they ask it's probably better if you don't mention that I gave you a lift back - me giving you my number ism exactly normal."

"So we're sneaking around now hmm?" I asked, placing my hand on his thigh as I felt him stiffen beneath me. We were nearly at my road now, as truth be told there was no way I wanted to go inside and face them. I'd much rather sit in Gerard's car and tease him for a while.

"Yeah" he nodded as he pulled over, parking the car in the street behind my own one so that my aunt and uncle wouldn't see the car. "I guess so. You can't tell any of your friends about yesterday, that's for sure."

"Don't worry, my lips are sealed" I let my hand slide further up his thigh so that if was resting dangerously near his crotch. His sharp intake of breath let me know exactly what effect I was having on him at that particular moment.

"Frank - we can't, not here, not now" he said firmly, but I kept my hand there anyway.

"When?"

"I don't know" he looked over at me, his pupils seeming bigger than before "when do you turn 18?"

"Not until October 31st" I sighed, letting my hand rest directly over his crotch now, feeling him start to get excited beneath me. "It's only April now, can you really wait that long to fuck me?"

As much as I knew Gerard was stubborn and didn't want to break the rules any more than he already was, I also knew that 6 months was a long time to put up with me teasing him and him not actually getting any action.

"I feel like it would be the right thing to do" I squeezed ever so gently, making him gasp "oh fuck, you're right I don't think I could last till then."

"I know you won't" I smirked, looking up and down the street to check nobody was around before I leaned over and kissed him. It took a moment, but he started to kiss me back, wrapping his arm around my waist and rocking back and forth ever so slightly.

"We can't kiss out in the open like this" he sighed against my lips "I know you want to, and believe me I do too, but it's just not possible Frankie. We can't afford to get caught. I hate to think how Brian would react..." I hated how right he was.

"In private then. Tomorrow at the church."

"I feel twice as bad when it's at the church" he bit his lip, unaware of what it did to me. "Come to my house instead - you remember where it is right? If anyone asks we'll say you're helping me sort out my attic or something painfully boring like that."

"Now we really are sneaking around" I grinned "hey - isn't lying a sin?"

"Eh" he brushed it off "it's not the worse lie that's ever been told is it? And you're in no position to preach after what happened today. Don't let it happen again Frank. If you're going to tag then at least don't get caught doing so."

"I don't ever exactly plan to get caught" I rolled my eyes.

"You know what I mean, just don't get into loads of shit because I'm getting kind of fond of you and I don't want you getting sent off to some juvie before we even get a chance to, well, be together."

"That's cute" I teased "don't worry, I'm not planning on going anywhere. You're stuck with me now" I climbed out the car and turned back to look back at him "see you tomorrow Gee."

I heard him call out a "bye" as I shut the door. It felt like a massive weight had been lifted off me now I knew that he wasn't mad at me. He didn't like it, but he knew it was a part of me and that it would take more that yelling to get me to change my ways.

Unfortunately I knew my aunt and uncle wouldn't be so understanding. I could only hope that they had missed the phone calls from the station that would tell them what happened. That way, I might get a chance to explain myself first.

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The other day this story hit 1K comments which is awesome - I seriously didn't think it would reach that milestone so quickly! Thanks guys!