I'm so excited for this chapter

~~

Gerard loved sundays, what teenager doesn't? Just him, his boyfriend and a nice bed to cuddle in. That and the mail. There was a letter addressed to him, no return address on it. Gerard laughed when he opened it.

"Did you do this?" He asked. "This is hilarious."

"Wasn't me," Frank denied.

It was a piece of paper with a note, letters cut out of newspaper and glued on like an old ransom note.

Stay away from Frank. Leave this place. Go back to Brunswick. Go back home.

"This is just ridiculous," Gerard laughed. "It had to have been Jamia. I need to show her this, she would find it hilarious."

"Why are you laughing, doesn't it feel weird at all?" Frank asked. "This is such an ominous letter."

"This is clearly some kind of joke," Gerard said. "I mean, how can anyone even take it seriously? It's comical."

He looked in the envelope and pulled out some polaroids. They were pictures taken of him and Frank at the party last night, dancing together, grinding and kissing.

"Okay, that is maybe a little bit creepy," Gerard admitted. "Who was taking pictures of us?"

On all the pictures there was a glaring X drawn over my face with a red marker.

"Gerard, I don't know, this just gives me a bad feeling," Frank said as he sat up. "Who sends this kind of thing?"

"It's a joke," Gerard said.

"It's a fucked up joke," Frank said. "Seriously, I don't think anyone would send this as a joke. I would take this seriously."

"So what? Do I just move back to North Brunswick then?" He asked.

"Well, obviously not but just don't take it so lightly," frank said. "Maybe report it to the principal, show your dad."

Gerard stared at Frank for a moment before smiling.

"What's so funny now?" Frank asked. "This isn't really a laughing matter."

"Nothing, it's just that I think this is the longest you've gone without stuttering around me," he said.

Frank sighed, looking at the images.

"Maybe it was Lindsey, she hates me," Frank said.

"Then why is my face crossed out?" Gerard asked.

Frank frowned before nodding.

"I still just think that this is a joke," Gerard said. "I mean, come on, they even cut letters out of the newspaper. It's funny."

"It is not," he denied. "It isn't funny. Gerard, someone sent you an ominous letter telling you to leave with creepy stalker photos of you."

Gerard rolled his eyes, pulling out his phone. He clicked through snapchat stories and smiled at Debby's. It was of her and Jamia out buying baby clothes.

"Look at how tiny those socks are," Gerard cooed.

"Gerard, can you take this seriously?" Frank asked.

Gerard sighed and put his phone down.

"Look, I would but it's not that serious," he stated. "Listen, if it makes you feel better then I'll show someone."

Frank nodded, kissing his cheek.

"Mikey!" Gerard called.

"No, not Mikey, an adult," Frank said.

Mikey came in, looking at them.

"What do you think of this?" Gerard asked.

Mikey looked over the letter and pictures.

"A little weird," Mikey said. "Kinda creepy."

"See, look, I told you," Frank said.

"Yeah, that's a little bit odd," Mikey said. "Are you just laughing at it or something."

"That is exactly what he's doing," Frank stated. "He thinks that this is all just some kind of hilarious joke."

"Gerard, I really don't think that this is something to be taken so lightly of," he said.

"You two are just crazy," Gerard said. "I really don't think this is that big of a deal. It's just some stupid little note."

"Of someone threatening you," Frank said.

Mikey rolled his eyes and left the room, going back downstairs to his comic books.

"This is barely a threat," Gerard denied. "It's like some fifth graders getting into an argument over a boy and writing notes about it."

"This is about me?" Frank asked.

"It says to stay away from you," Gerard said. "What, are you the real father of Debby's baby or something?"

"No, definitely not," he denied. "I never had sex with her."

"Ooh, maybe it's that one girl you did have sex with," Gerard said.

"No, no, that's impossible," Frank denied.

"Why is that impossible?" Gerard asked.

"Because...she's not here anymore," he said. "She was in a car accident last year, she passed away."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Gerard said. "She did? I didn't know, I thought that--"

"No, she died," Frank interrupted. "It was a very sad day for this town. A lot of people liked her."

"You guys never spoke of her like she was dead," Gerard said.

"Sometimes we just forget," Frank said. "It's habit."

Gerard bit his lip, looking at the note.

"Well, okay then," he mumbled. "Listen, Frank, if I thought this was a big deal then I would do something about it but I just don't think that it is. If I get another one then I will tell someone but this is just one little note that isn't a big deal."

"Okay, fine," Frank finally agreed after a moment of silence. "I'm not the happiest with the deal but I guess I will accept."

"Okay good because I don't wanna talk about this anymore," Gerard said, shoving the note and photos into the nightstand. "I would rather talk about how cute you look."

Frank blushed, shaking his head.

"It's sunday night, I can't stay over here for too long," he said.

"Can you come over after school tomorrow?" Gerard asked.

"I wish but I've gotta work," he said.

Frank bit his lip, eyeing the drawer of the nightstand.

"Come on, baby, just push it out of your mind," Gerard said. "I can burn it, will that help you forget about it?"

"No, do not burn or tear or rip it," he stated. "This is evidence."

"We don't need evidence for anything, it's all just a joke," he said. "Really, Frankie, I know when things are serious, I don't just take everything as a joke. But I really just don't think that this is anything to make a big deal out of. Just trust me, okay? Do you trust me?"

Frank sighed. "You know I do but I'm just nervous."

Gerard smiled, giving him a kiss.

"I think it's cute when you get nervous," Gerard said. "It's gonna be okay, Frankie."

Frank nodded, biting his lip. Gerard leaned forward and kissed him, pressing him back against the mattress. Frank's phone buzzed at that moment, interrupting the two of them.

"It's Jamia," he said. "Her mom is inviting me over for dinner."

"What time are you going?" Gerard asked.

"I'll leave in a little bit, I want to spend a little bit more time with you," Frank said.

"Wish we didn't have to go to school tomorrow so we could just spend all day together," Gerard said.

"We should play hooky," Frank said with a smirk. "Maybe hang out at the park and smoke some pot."

Gerard thought that sounded amazing but he didn't want to ruin his plans.

"That sounds amazing but maybe we can do it some other time," he said. "I've got a Spanish test tomorrow."

"Alright, I guess I'll let you go to school," Frank said and he chuckled.

Frank looked back at the drawer and he sighed.

"Come on, Frank," Gerard muttered, pulling it out.

"My mom could help you, we're really close and she's helped me through everything, she could help you too," he said.

"Fine," he said. "Let's do it."

Gerard drove them both back to Frank's apartment, his mom usually got home a little bit earlier on Sundays.

"Hey, boys," Linda said. "Are you staying for dinner, Gerard?"

"Mom, can we talk to you about something?" Frank asked.

Linda looked up from her bills with a frown. She took off her glasses, gesturing to the couch next to the table where the boys sat down.

"What's going on?" Linda asked. "Did you two get into trouble at the party? You're practicing safe sex, right? You're not here to tell me you have an STD, right?"

"Mom, that's not what I came to tell you," Frank said. "It's about something else. Something kind of weird. Gerard doesn't think it's a big deal but, like, I don't know. I just have this weird feeling in the pit of the stomach and I just want some kind of reassurance from an adult. I'm just nervous."

"What's wrong?" Linda asked. "Oh, is there a problem at school? Is someone bullying one of you? No amount of bullying is okay, no matter how little it may seem."

Frank handed her the envelope and she frowned in confusion. Linda put her glasses back on and looked at the note and the photos carefully.

"When did you get these?" Linda asked.

"Just today," Gerard said. "I don't think it's a big deal. It seems like it's just a joke to me."

"It seems like a sick and twisted joke but, then again, I've seen high school kids pull all sorts of sick and twisted jokes," she said.

"Mom, this is serious, right?" Frank asked.

"Well, yes, any threat is serious no matter how minor it may seem," she said. "This shouldn't be taken lightly."

"Gerard, I told you," Frank said. "I'm serious, this is serious."

"And you haven't gotten any kind of message like this before?" She asked and Gerard shook his head. "No online message, snapchat DM? Any weird Instagram post tweeted at you?"

Frank frowned and tilted his head. "That's...that's not quite right."

"No, nothing at all, it was completely normal before this," Gerard said. "And I still think this is just some silly little joke."

"If it's a joke then it isn't very funny," Linda stated. "I would say that if you were to get another one like this then you should maybe go see your counselor at school or something because Frank is right, this just doesn't really seem right to me, something just doesn't sit well with me."

Gerard sighed and took the envelope back.

"Mom, can you think of anyone who would do this?" Frank asked. "Like, who is the first person you would look to?"

"If I were in Gerard's situation then I think I would look to maybe an ex or something, one of the weird kids in class with a crush," Linda said. "You know, I was just watching this movie the other day about a nerdy girl who had a crush on a football jock and so she became obsessed and killed the guy's girlfriend. It freaked me out like crazy, I don't even know why I even watched it."

"Where'd you watch it at?" Frank asked.

"Oh, a friend let me borrow it, watched it on the dvd player," she said.

"So, what you're saying is that in this situation Frank gets murdered?" Gerard asked.

"No, nothing happens to my sweet baby," she said, pinching his cheek. "Unfortunately you are the one to be murdered."

"Great, can't wait," Gerard muttered.

"No one is being murdered because we are going to the cops," Frank said.

"You're not going to the cops for some silly little threatening note," Gerard said. "I promise that if I get another one then we will go to the counselor."

Frank nodded, running a hand down his face.

"This just stresses me out," Frank said. "I am going to go take a shower, smoke some pot and then just go to sleep. I am so tired."

"No smoking pot in your room, there are no windows in there and that smell lingers," she said.

"I'll walk you out to your car, Gerard," Frank said.

The two went down and Gerard sighed, holding his hips.

"It's gonna be okay," he said. "I promise you that this is some big joke that will just blow over."

"I really hope that's true," Frank mumbled.

Gerard caressed his cheek, giving him a kiss on the forehead.

"You're always so nervous about everything, it's gonna be okay, beautiful," Gerard whispered. "I promise that everything is going to be okay."