Chapter Thirty Five

The following weekend Kellin threw another party. Of course, as teenagers with questionable social lives, we all jumped at the thought of a free house, especially when it one the size of Kellin's, where we could all hang out for the night and get away from our families.

Obviously Vic would be coming along, so how much we'd actually see of Kellin was questionable, but I was sure they'd be able to keep their hands off each other long enough to play the hosts. I was pretty sure Oli was bringing Hannah too, and it made me feel a little jealous to see them so freely walking around as a couple. I wished I could do the same with Gerard. That I could bring him along to these parties, that he could meet my friends, that everyone could just know that he was taken.

Instead I found myself once again the single one, standing around with a few friends near the snacks table and trying not to get too pissed just to cover up the fact that I felt lonely without him.

"Is everything okay?" Oli asked me at one point, detaching himself from Hannah and opting to come and talk to me for a bit whilst she and Lynz went off in search of where the lemonade had gone "You've been here two hours now and you still haven't spoken to Dewees – is my matchmaking that off?"

"Dewees is here?" I found myself scanning the room and still not seeing the familiar face "I didn't even realize." I had to admit, I didn't exactly want to speak to Dewees at that moment in time. Or ever, really. He was part of the reason I was in this mess in the first place and although I knew it wasn't completely his fault, I was still angry with him for being involved in the whole thing. 

"Yeah. I think he's avoiding you too though" Oli laughed it off "Last time I saw he was in the back garden. Go talk to him man, or he's going to think you don't like him." 

"Yeah maybe." 

"Frank, come on" he rolled his eyes "Even if you're not interested in him, doesn't mean you can't be polite. He's my friend and I promise he's a really nice guy. You should know after all that time you spent talking to him last time!" 

I just sighed and took a long gulp of my beer.

"Yeah I guess I'll go talk to him" I tried to shrug it off, and it must have worked because Oli gave a grin and a encouraging slap to the shoulder.

"See? You guys just need to get over whatever awkward kissing may or may not have happened last time and stay friends. Trust me, he's a good guy once you get to know him. Rough around the edges and a little dodgy at times, but a good guy."

I just nodded and hoped he was right.

 ***

Sure enough, I found Dewees in the garden.

He was perched on a bench near the pond, a cigarette in one hand and a half empty beer bottle in the other. The look of his face was one of deflation, making me unable to help feeling somewhat sorry for the guy, to the point where I just sat down next to him with a sigh. 

For a moment we sat in silence; both of us watching the pond and the small goldfish we could just about see in the dim lighting coming from the back porch light.

"I used to have one of them" he spoke eventually, nodding at the fish "weird things really. Of course I was about ten at the time and quickly got bored of the poor thing, but I remembered to feed it. That's the main thing."  

"I never had a pet" I frowned "I guess my parents knew never to really trust me with a living thing. It would've been a disaster if they did. I've always wanted a dog at some point though. I use to walk my neighbours one all the time – for a while I even did dog sitting for relatives for some extra cash." 

"I'm in no position to get a pet at the moment" he chuckled darkly and humourlessly "I can't even look after myself properly. Trust me, ten year old you would do a far better job."

"Yeah well seventeen year old me is here right now and he say's that you need proper help, not just from me" I pulled my knees up to my chin to preserve my decreasing body heat. Although it was June, I still didn't have a jacket of any description and although it wasn't uncomfortable to be outside, it still felt a little breezy.

"Frank, i'm flattered that you'd still want to help me after all the greif i've caused you, but seriously - it's not worth your time. Especially as we're suppose to be keeping our distance" he glanced between the two of us. 

"I wan't to help you though" I sighed "you're no lost cause yet, you could still turn it all around. I know i'm not one to talk with a record like mine, but at least i'm not addicted to drugs. They'll fuck you up Dewees. You need to get away from Ian." 

"You're not addicted to drugs, but you do have addictions" he pointed out "I know you have a small one with smoking, and your addiction to graffiti could rival even my own drug problems." 

"At least I don't go tagging with someone like Ian though" I gave him a somewhat sympathetic smile, stretching my feet out in front of me "look just... think about it. If you need a place to stay then i'm sure Kellin would let you crash for a bit. Hell, he'd be glad of the company." 

"This wouldn't be safe enough" he sighed "i'd have to go further than this." 

"Then buy a fucking train ticket, choose a new city to escape to. I'll hep you" When I was met with silence, I sighed myself and stood up "If you want my help then just give me a call yeah? You have my number." 

"Thanks Frank" he finally spoke "It's refreshing to find someone who'll overlook the drugs and actually try to help." 

"Sure thing man" I gave a small smile before walking back towards the house. My serious deed of the night was over, and right then I was intending to get completely shit-faced, forget everything and just be a normal seventeen year old for once.

***

I woke up the next morning passed out on the Quinn's no doubt expensive living room carpet, my mouth agape and dribbling in what I was sure was an oh-so-attractive manner, whilst my whole neck and back ached from lying with just a cushion under my head for however many hours i'd been passed out. 

I blinked open my eyes to the bright light around me and saw an array of empty bottles and sleeping teenagers. At least I hadn't been the only one to pass out on the floor. In fact, as I got to my feet, wobbling slightly, I saw quite a few familiar faces. Lynz had taken the sofa next to me, and was still fast asleep; her fair falling down over her face like a black curtain. 

I stumbled into the kitchen, rubbing the back of my head and deciding to see if anyone else was up. Kellin's sound system was still going at a low volume in the background, his spotify playlist now displaying some indie band i'd never heard of. Of course my hangover meant I could've done with some silence, so I hit the pause button as i passed the laptop, muting the poor guys mid-chorus. 

I picked my way through the house until I reached the back door. The clock told me it was eight am, which surprised me as I was normally a late riser. Something must have made me stir, perhaps a weird dream I could no longer recall. 

My memories after my talk with Dewees were kind of blurred and patchy in places. I know I drank a lot and that at one point me and Jimmy had been dancing, but apart from that it all just blurred together. It must have got pretty wild for our standards as most people didn't leave and none of the others were even awake yet. 

It reminded me of being a kid and waking up first at a sleepover. You never really knew what to do. Waking anyone else up was out of the question, especially as I knew Vic had been there the night before and was no doubt sleeping upstairs will Kellin, or perhaps worse. No way was I risking walking in on that. 

My mind itched for a cigarette, and so after a minute or so of feeling around in my pockets, I located my dwindling pack and pulled one out, along with the worn lighter, before stepping out through the french doors. 

The garden was peaceful now, with the sun still being fresh in the sky. At first, I thought I was completely alone, but then I heard a voice i instantly recognised to be Dewees. It was coming from the alley round the side of the house, so I headed in that direction as I lit my cigarette, figuring that at least there was someone else awake around here. Who knew? Perhaps I would even be able to pick up on our conversation from the night before and convince him fully to drop Ian and his drugs. 

I rounded the corner only to find Dewees standing there, with what appeared to be a spliff in his right hand and a glazed look in his eyes. 

Maybe my words from the night before hadn't sunk in quite as much as i'd hoped. 

"Dewees? What the hell man?" I exclaimed, moving closer down the alleyway to where he was stood, back pressed against the wall. He turned to me with a somewhat surprised expression, but made no efforts to get rid of the drugs clearly in his hand. 

"Frank." He stated, waiting a moment "I er, thought you were asleep." 

"I was." 

"Oh." 

"Yeah" I looked him up and down "Were you paying any attention to me last night, or was that all just an act to get me off your case for long enough so that you could light another one up?" 

"Frank please, come on dude, i get high to get away from this sort of thing. Just leave me alone for a bit and we'll talk later, okay?" He tried, but i stood there with a stony expression "look, i'm going home now anyway so i'll be out of your hair again." 

"You're not going home alone" I shook my head, my mind made up before i even realised it myself "Come on, i'm coming with you. If you won't listen to me now then i'll just wait until this is all out of your system. Then we can talk about how we're going to get you away from Ian." 

"But-" 

"No" I cut him off, taking him by the arm and dragging him down the alleyway and across Kellin's front lawn as I spoke "it's about time I helped you out of this shit, seeing as you clearly can't do it by yourself." 

***

"Here" I placed two mugs of coffee on the counter, watching as Dewees eyed them both before slowly picking one up. "Go on, it'll help." 

"Frank I appreciate the help, really I do, but you're only making this worse for yourself by hanging around with me. I'm kind of a lost cause." 

"No you're not" I sighed, taking a gulp and sitting down opposite me "trust me, if you were, I wouldn't be here. But I know that you've just been unlucky." 

"That's putting it lightly." 

"So we'll fix it together" I shrugged "First of all you need to break away from Ian and his friends. You need to get off these drugs, and slowly slip away from them. They'll get the message once you stop buying their product." 

"It's not that simple. They'll want to know why. They might not think they can trust me anymore if I decide to clean up." He shuddered a little, making me wonder just how much of all of this was due to his genuine fear of Ian. 

"So you tell them the truth. Say you wan't to focus, get a good career. Hey! Tell them you're in a relationship now and that you want to do right by your new partner. That's a typical reason for giving up, right?" 

"I take it you're not offering to be that partner" He chuckled darkly, but his gaze held a little bit of hope in there too. 

"I'm sorry Dewees, but i'm already with someone." 

"Oh" he nodded "Oli never mentioned that." 

"He doesn't know." I didn't offer an explanation, hoping he'd drop it. 

"Never mind, I didn't expect a yes" he sighed "Not that I blame you anyway." 

"Don't talk like that -" 

"Sorry" he ran a hand through his hair in stress "It's just all getting to me at the moment, and I don't want to offload onto you but-" 

He was interrupted by a noise neither of us had been expecting - the sound of four sharp knocks on his front door. And they did not sound like the ones his mother would make when she came to visit, but rather someone who knew how to throw a punch. 

Both our eyes went wide as we froze up, me more so than him. 

"Dewees?" A rough voice that I instantly recognised to be none other than Ian himself, called through the door "I know you're in there. Open up before I get mad." 

That was when Dewees turned to me, sheer panic in his eyes, and whispered "hide." 

_____________________________________________________________________

Me and @CosmicMisfit saw Frank live on Tuesday and we had fucking barrier and everything and just fuck Frank fucking Iero and his all-round fucking perfectness like fucking how. 

 Also this fic is very near 10k comments and i might just squeal when that happens... just so you know if I start asdfghjkl-ing on you. Thank you so much guys :)

Anyways hope you enjoyed my wifi is all back to normal now (after TWO WEEKS OF NO WIFI HOW DID I LIVE?!) so balance has been restored!

((good vibes))

~ Headfirst_for_Helena