I walked into the house with Jamia and looked around at all the boxes. Some dogs ran up and Frank smiled, hugging them.

"These are my dogs, Sweet Pea, Peppers, Mama and Sinatra," Frank said.

"Frank?" Someone asked.

A small lady with brown hair walked in and smiled.

"Did you make friends already?" She asked.

"Yes, this is Gerard and Jamia," Frank said. "They wanted to help me unpack."

She nodded and we went upstairs. Frank's bedroom was completely empty besides the basic furniture. Even his bed didn't have any sheets on it, there was just a throw blanket and a little pillow.

"Alright, most important thing," Frank said.

He reached into a box and smiled as he put a picture frame onto his nightstand. I looked at it and saw it was a photo he had taken of himself with his dogs.

"You really like your dogs," I remarked.

"Of course, they're my babies," Frank said.

"So, this is basically just an excuse to snoop through all your stuff," Jamia said.

Frank chuckled, opening a box. We helped him set up his room, putting books on the shelf and his sheets on his bed.

"I can get the clothes on my own time," Frank said as he hung up the last poster.

Jamia ran her fingers over one of Frank's guitars curiously.

"You play?" She asked.

"No, I have three guitars just for display to impress girls," Frank said sarcastically.

I giggled and he smiled at me.

"Well, doesn't seem to work for you if you don't have any girls," Jamia said.

"That's true," he said. "No, I like to play, I've been playing since I was about nine."

"It's pretty cool," Jamia said. "I don't play, I've never been very good at that kind of stuff and neither has my sister but our brother is pretty good. He's only eleven so he hardly practices but he isn't bad, thankfully, otherwise I'd have to listen to shitty playing."

Frank smiled, running his fingers over one of the guitars.

"Do you play?" Frank asked, looking at me.

"I also tried, not very good," I said.

"He's got a hell of a voice though," Jamia said.

"Really? Maybe we should do a duo or something sometime?" Frank suggested.

I blushed, shrugging as I looked down.

"I've never really played with someone before," I said.

"Don't worry, I'll be gentle," Frank said with a small wink.

My blushed deepened as I bit my lip.

"I'm kidding, you don't have to if you don't want to, I know some people are a little performance shy," he said. "I don't wanna be like that annoying relative that always asks you to play for them."

I giggled and he sat down on the bed.

"I'm hungry," he said. "Where's a good place to get some good food around here?"

"There's a McDonald's down the street," Jamia said.

"I'm a vegetarian but I'll get some fries," Frank said.

We headed down to the McDonald's in Jamia's car. The three of us ended up in a booth with food as we ate happily.

"So, what do you think of the new school so far?" Jamia asked.

"It seems okay," Frank said.

I snorted, shaking my head.

"You don't like it?" Frank asked and I shook my head. "Maybe I can make it better?"

"How?" I asked.

"I don't know, I'll bring you chocolate every morning," Frank said and I smiled softly.

"Deal," I agreed.

The door opened and Jamia sunk down in her seat. I looked over and sighed when I saw the group of girls.

"Who is it?" Frank asked.

"Whereas Pete and his friends are the School Dicks, these are the School Cunts," Jamia muttered.

"I'm glad it's usually only Pete after me because these girls can be vicious," I said. "They basically terrorize Jamia."

I looked over at the group, which consisted of Lindsey, Kristin, Hayley and Jenna.

"Hide me," Jamia whispered.

She ducked down under the table just as the group passed by. They whispered something and laughed at me but thankfully didn't seem to notice Jamia as they walked out.

"Thank you," Jamia said quietly, sitting back in her seat.

"Frank, it's totally cool if you wanna find a new friend group because you might get bullied too for being around us," I said.

"Are you kidding me? You two are cool, I'd rather hang out with you," he said.

I smiled softly, taking a bite of my burger.

"You're an only child?" I asked.

"Yep, thankfully," he said. "My parents split when I was young so it's just me. I've got a stepmom, though. Maybe I'll get step-siblings soon but I also kind of hope I don't."

"How often do you see your dad and stepmom?" I asked.

"Usually just on like holidays or birthdays or just random weekends," he said.

I nodded my head, looking around at the mostly empty restaurant.

"What about you guys?" Frank asked. "You got family."

"Yeah, a mom and a dad and a younger brother in middle school and I've got an older sister but she's already moved out," Jamia said. "Which I'm glad about because now I've got my own bedroom."

"I've just got my mom," I said. "She's barely home though, so I'm mostly just home alone."

"Are your parents split too?" Frank asked.

"Um, no, my dad and my brother died in a car accident when I was younger," I mumbled.

"Oh, I-I'm sorry," he said. "Fuck, I shouldn't have asked, I'm sorry."

"It's okay, I've moved on, it happened when I was ten," I said. "You would've found out eventually so why not just get it over with now?"

Frank nodded, taking a drink of his pop.

"How long have you two known each other?" Frank asked.

"Probably since we were five," Jamia said. "We were in the same kindergarten class and became friends because we both had the same Batman backpack."

I smiled and nodded as she rested her head on my shoulder affectionately.

"We've been best friends ever since," I said.

"I think that's sweet," Frank said.

We finished up eating and Jamia got a text.

"Alright, I've gotta go pick up my little brother," she said. "Do you want me to drive you guys back?"

"It's not far, we can walk," I said.

She smiled and nodded, kissing my cheek before leaving. Frank leaned back in his seat, sipping his drink.

"She's sweet," he said. "Now I have two people to follow around like a puppy."

I chuckled softly, nodding my head.

"You don't miss your old town?" I asked.

"No, nothing was really tying me down there," he said. "But fate has brought me here to you."

"There's no such thing as fate," I said, rolling my eyes. "It's just coincidence."

"Your pronounced fate wrong," Frank said.

I rolled my eyes and he laughed.

"I'm serious, we're meant to be best friends," he said. "The fate has spoken and you can't just deny fate."

"Oh yeah, watch me," I said.

I got up, tossing trash into the bin before walking outside. There were footsteps running to catch up and laughing behind me.

"Can't walk away from fate," he said.

"I can if their legs are short enough," I said and Frank giggled.

God, he has the cutest little laugh.

"Don't worry, I can keep up," he said.

I smiled, slowing my pace to walk beside him. Frank looked around curiously as the two of us strolled along.

"So, do you have one of those evil step moms?" I asked.

Frank chuckled, shaking his head. "I hated her at first but she is really nice. She actually got me Sinatra for my birthday when I was ten so after that I always thought she was pretty cool."

"Do people just win you over with dogs?" I asked in amusement.

"Yes they do," Frank said. "If you want me to do something for you then chances are you can just bribe me with a dog."

I giggled as we got back to the houses.

"You wanna come to mine?" I asked. "Unless you need to help your mom unpack."

"I do, unfortunately," he said. "And I have school shit I need to catch up on."

I nodded a little sadly and he gave me a hug.

"I'll see you tomorrow," Frank said. "Oh, and let me give you my number before I forget."

We put our numbers into each other's phones before he walked into his house. I sighed sadly, walking into my own house. I was quickly taking a liking to Frank, he was so kind and funny. I love Jamia to death but I was kind of glad to have Frank, it's just a fresh face and now I have two whole friends.

I went to my bedroom, sighing as I laid down on my bed. I pulled out my phone, scrolling through instagram. I looked at Jamia's account, which thankfully hasn't been found yet by the kids who bully her. She's had to delete her account three times now because those girls would always find it and send such hateful things.

The two of us used to fit in, we used to have other friends too. In fact, Lindsey and Kristin used to be our friends. But then in middle school Kristin started a rumor that Jamia was a lesbian and in love with Lindsey so they quickly started hating the both of us, especially Jamia. She thought she was a lesbian just because she had cut her hair really short and had it kind of spiked up. After that Jamia started growing out her hair again to try and avoid bullying until recently when she cut and dyed it again. She wasn't even allowed to be invited to anyone's parties because parents didn't want a lesbian at a sleepover where girls are in cute little pajamas.

As for me, someone found out about my summer flings with guys and oh man did Pete and his friends have a field day with that. They've been bullying me for being gay for years now and it didn't seem like it was ever going to end. And least I've lost some weight, one less thing to be made fun of for. The tormenting didn't stop though, it just went on and on.