Gerard was coming over to his house today and Frank couldn't be any more nervous than he was. His mom found it amusing this morning watching him go around picking at everything.

"Hey," Frank said when he opened the door.

"What's up," Gerard said.

"I-I made pizza rolls," Frank stuttered out before mentally slapping himself for saying something so stupid. "Not much is up. You?"

"I've been good," Gerard said. "Very excited to come by and see your place, though."

Frank nodded, hoping that his crappy little apartment wouldn't disappoint Gerard at all. Gerard sat on the couch and Frank took the opportunity to eye him up and down. He was wearing a pair of skinny black jeans with an old shirt and his denim jacket.

"So, tell me something," Gerard said and Frank sat down next to him. "For someone so nervous around people, how did you manage to become one of the most popular boys in school?"

"I'm not bad with talking to people, j-just talking to people like you," he said. "P-people who I like."

"I like you too, Frankie," Gerard said.

Frank blushed, looking down.

"So, do teenagers commonly get pregnant around here?" Gerard asked.

"There's usually at least one every year," Frank said.

"Yeah, that didn't happen where I'm from," he said with a small chuckle. "And baby Ryan is gonna live with Debby?"

"Josh is actually emancipated from his parents, he's got his own apartment and Debby moved in with him about two months ago," Frank said. "So, you know, they're living together in a little apartment I guess. Learn from them, do not try using pulling out as a proper birth control method."

Gerard chuckled, holding Frank's hand.

"So, what do you get up to around here?" Gerard asked.

"Um, not much," Frank said. "There isn't much to do. No tv or computer or anything, that's why I usually just hang out at the skatepark. I like to read and draw, I guess. That's what I usually do."

"I haven't seen a house without a tv in a while," Gerard said.

"Yeah, cable and shit is expensive," Frank said. "No point in wasting money on it when I can just go and read a book instead. My mom's never home to watch it."

"How come?" Gerard asked.

"Oh, she works a lot to support us," Frank said. "She's got three jobs."

"Your dad doesn't pay child support?" Gerard asked.

"He did but after I turned eighteen he stopped," he said. "Didn't pay that much in the first place, the cheap bastard didn't care enough to drive his Mustang over to our shitty little place to drop off a check."

"Is your mom at work right now?" Gerard asked and Frank nodded. "So, we've got the whole place to ourselves?"

Gerard placed a hand on Frank's thigh, making him turn bright red.

"Gerard, why did that guy offer to pay you for a blowjob last week?" Frank asked.

"It's nothing," Gerard said. "It's just...I've been with a lot of people in my life. I guess people here heard about that and thought I was a...sloozy or something."

"Oh, so you're pretty experienced then," Frank mumbled.

He didn't think any less of Gerard, he just got more self-conscious about his own lack of experience.

"Is that okay?" Gerard asked and Frank nodded. "I've changed, I really have. It was hard to change back in Brunswick, I tried to but people still expected the same things from me. I was hoping for a fresh start when I moved here. I don't want to be that easy lay anymore, I want something more."

"Like a serious relationship?" Frank asked hopefully.

"Well, I don't know, just something more than selling myself out," he said.

Frank nodded, biting his lip. He really did want a serious relationship but it didn't exactly sound like Gerard wanted the same thing.

"You used to sell yourself?" Frank asked.

"Let's not talk about that," he said. "Let us instead talk about how absolutely beautiful you are."

Frank blushed, shaking his head.

"N-no, I'm not," he denied.

"It's adorable," Gerard said

He reached forward, gently brushing back some of Frank's brown hair.

"I want to kiss you," Gerard whispered.

"I-I think we should wait," he said. "N-not that I don't like you. I-I do. I just want this to be better than last time a-and maybe taking things slow would be better for us to work out better. I want--"

"Hey, it's okay," Gerard interrupted. "We can take things as slow as you would like."

Frank nodded, playing with his sleeves.

"Can I kiss your cheek?" He asked.

Frank nodded, biting his lip nervously. Gerard gently held Frank's chin, leaning forward to press his lips against the other boy's cheek. Frank's heart was pounding in his chest, he was sure Gerard could feel the heat rising off his cheeks. Gerard peppered soft kisses down to Frank's neck before pulling away with a small smirk.

Frank wished he could read Gerard's mind right now as he stared into Gerard's big hazel eyes. He wanted to know what in the hell he was thinking. Frank knew he wasn't unattractive but wasn't sure just how attractive he was. He thought Gerard was way out of his league, he didn't understand why someone that was so amazingly beautiful could be into him.

"A-are you hungry?" Frank blurted out suddenly. "I-I have chips."

"I'm okay," he dismissed with a small shrug.

Gerard sighed, wrapping an arm around Frank's shoulders. Frank began to question the gesture, does he do this with everyone? Does he flirt with a lot of people? Is Frank just on a list of many? He did seem to get around a lot, What if Frank wasn't that important to him? Or what if all this anxiety was just getting to Frank's head?

Frank really wished he could just smoke some pot and relax a bit but he was all out. Besides, he promised his mom he would limit the amount he smoked in the house or at least open a window. It was getting far too cold to pop a window at this point.

"How often do you see your dad?" Gerard asked curiously.

"Um, only holidays and birthdays," Frank said. "That's a good thing, though. The less I have to see them the better. I call them the Other Family. I hate seeing my Other Family. They live in a huge house on the beach with a dog. They just have this perfect life and perfect family and my dad just ditched my mom and I to live in this shithole apartment and fend for ourselves."

Well, Frank was a little bit upset now thinking about his Other Family but at least he wasn't a stuttering, babbling mess. Gerard didn't want to interfere or intrude too much but he just wanted to get to know Frank better, both the good and the bad stuff.

"What about you? You got a happy family?" Frank asked.

"It is pretty good, I guess I was just one of the lucky ones," he said. "Don't have a dog, though, that would be pretty cool if I could."

Frank nodded, playing with his sleeves.

"So, my mom is working the night shift tonight," he said. "A-and, well, we could make some boxed mac and cheese for dinner."

"We should order a pizza, I'll pay for it," Gerard offered.

"No, you shouldn't have to pay," he said. "I-it's okay, we can just make the mac and cheese. I really don't want you spending money on me."

"That's okay, it's the first date so I'll pay," he said.

"F-first date?" Frank squeaked.

"It can be the first date if you want it to be," Gerard said. "It can be chill and relaxed, we don't have to go out to some fancy restaurant or some awkward movie. Hanging out just at your apartment is an easy, simple date. First dates are the worst, they're really nerve wracking. Second dates are probably the best, this will make it so that way the first date is easy and the second date is even easier."

"Okay, yeah, this can be our first date," Frank agreed.

"So, tell me about Jamia, we're going to the mall together tomorrow," Gerard said

"Jamia is the best," Frank said. "She's been here with me through everything. Her family is like my second family. She can be a little nit-picky at times but she's really sweet and she doesn't have any ill-intentions."

Gerard nodded, biting his lip. The small motion made Frank's heart skip a beat, a small heating in the pit of his stomach that he wanted to forget. He was still unexperienced, the littlest things set him off.

"Gerard, d-do you think that I'll maybe be able to get more comfortable around you?" Frank asked. "Nevermind, that's a stupid question, you can't answer that. I-is it annoying? All my stuttering and nervousness is probably annoying. It is, isn't it? I'm sorry."

"Frankie, it is one of the cutest things about you," Gerard stated. "I'm serious, I love the way you react around me and I love your cute little red cheeks and little smile. You are the most beautiful boy I have ever laid my eyes on."

Frank blushed, looking down at his lap as his fingers played with the hem of his sleeves. Gerard ran his fingers through Frank's hair gently. He leaned forward, his breath gently fanning over Frank's lips. Frank wanted nothing more than to just lean forward and kiss him as rough as he could. But Frank couldn't muster up the courage and instead pulled away. As much as he did want to kiss him, he did want to take things slow. He really didn't want to mess anything up like he did last time.

"Tell me when you get hungry and I-I can start cooking," Frank said. "A-are you staying the night? You can get my bed if you want and I'll take the couch."

"Don't be silly, we can just share the bed," Gerard said. "I always share beds with my friends. It doesn't have to be romantic or sexual or anything. It's just soley sharing a bed as friends."

"O-okay, we can share a bed then," Frank agreed. "I'm actually kind of hungry. I'll start making it now, I don't know how long it'll take to make the mac and cheese, I'm really not the best cook. I'm used to just microwaving ramen for dinner pretty much every night."

Gerard nodded and Frank got up, standing in front of the rusty stove. He was halfway through boiling the noodles when he felt two hands on his hips from behind, a taller body pressed against him. And dear god, Frank thought he was about to lose his mind.

"Y-you should stop," Frank whispered.

Gerard hummed, brushing Frank's hair to the side and gently kissing the back of his neck, sending shivers down the smaller one's spine. Gerard pulled away, leaving Frank feeling only cold and lonely.

"So, is this just regular mac and cheese or are they in the fun shapes of cartoon characters?" Gerard asked.

"They're just regular, th-that's the cheapest," Frank said.

He could barely look at Gerard, he was just so nervous. Gerard tried to fill conversation the rest of the night and Frank stuttered his way through them until it got late.

"Is it okay that I sleep naked?" Gerard asked.

Frank's eyes went wide, his mouth going dry.

"I'm kidding, I've got pajamas," Gerard chuckled.

Gerard didn't hesitate to start changing right in front of Frank. Frank, however, went into the bathroom to change. They laid down in bed together and after ten minutes Frank began to relax, melting into Gerard's arms as he fell asleep.