All my one shots recently are subpar

~~

I pulled into the driveway, smiling as I looked up at the house in front of me. Every day I missed home, it was my favorite place on Earth. College was stressful and the dorms were loud with parties. I missed my soft bed and all my comic books and video games.

"I'm home!" I called.

I heard footsteps and smiled when I saw Frank. I gave him a hug and he helped me carry my bags upstairs. Frank had married my mom when I was fourteen. Unfortunately my mom passed away a year later in a car accident. But Frank was always there and took care of us. He was only in his early thirties so he was on the younger side.

"Hey, Gerard!" Mikey exclaimed. "Happy nineteenth birthday, by the way, I think I forgot to say that before when it was actually your birthday."

I smiled, giving him a hug.

"How's school?" I asked.

"It sucks but I'll get by I guess," Mikey said.

I smiled, pulling off my hoodie. Oh how I loved my house with good heating.

"Well, I'm making your favorite dinner so I hope you're hungry," Frank said.

"Oh god, definitely," I said.

He chuckled and headed downstairs.

"Help me unpack?" I asked Mikey.

Mikey bit his lip, looking torn for a minute before finally agreeing.

"So, you party a lot your freshman year?" Mikey asked.

"I went to a couple, had a few one night stands," I said. "I definitely didn't go out as often as my roommate did."

Mikey smiled, pulling a shirt out of the bucket.

"Hey, I've been looking for this!" Mikey exclaimed. "This is my shirt!"

I chuckled, setting one of the buckets of clothes into the hallway.

"Those are dirty," I said. "I've gotta do some laundry. I hated using the washers at the dorms because someone would always fucking pull your clothes out halfway through the cycle to do their own."

I put some of my clothes and books away and sighed.

"God, I just want to nap through the entire summer now," I said.

"Well, you can if that's what you really want," Mikey said. "You don't have to do anything for an entire summer."

I nodded, the two of us mostly quiet as we unpacked the rest of my things.

"Are you and that one chick still a thing?" I asked.

"Kristin?" He asked. "No, we decided we were just better off as friends. But as of recently I've had this thing with someone else. Their name is Pete and they're the sweetest person I've ever met. I don't know if I can call them my datefriend yet, I don't know if we're exclusive. How do I know if we're exclusive?"

"I think you have to talk to them about it," I said. "Good luck with that."

Mikey nodded, his phone beeping.

"That's them now," Mikey said. "Okay, I am going to ask them for a walk in the park and ask them to officially be my datefriend."

Mikey took a deep breath of confidence before leaving. I emptied the last bin and sighed. I headed downstairs to where Frank was cooking.

"Where'd Mikey head off to?" Frank asked.

"To go ask someone to go exclusive with him," I said.

"So, I'm assuming he's not going to be back for dinner," Frank said.

"Probably not," I agreed.

I sat at the barstool, glancing over the newspaper that sat on the counter.

"Did you ever go to college, Frank?" I asked.

"I did for two years before I dropped out to start a band," Frank said. "That obviously never worked out."

"You never told us you were in a band," I said. "I knew you played guitar but I didn't know you were in a band."

"Oh yeah, I've been in a lot of bands," he said. "I've been in bands ever since I was eleven. I sort of just stopped around twenty-five. I still did it as a side thing for a little bit but I got a real job and met your mom and you know the rest."

"That's awesome," I said.

"I think I have some old tapes, actually," Frank said. "Maybe I can show you some after dinner."

I nodded excitedly and Frank gave me that smile that made my heart skip a beat. A year ago I started having these little butterflies whenever I was around Frank. The way he would talk would be mesmerizing and the way the light shone on his skin, showing every detail of his tattoos were beautiful. There was just something about him as of recently that made my stomach twist with nerves and my heart beat in my chest.

"...I think I've only got Pencey Prep stuff," Frank said and I only just now realized he was talking as I was pulled out of my thoughts. "Oh my god, you should've seen my hair. I used to dye it and shave it and Jesus Christ. Had piercings too back then but I've taken them out. I've just gotten old."

"You're not even thirty-five yet," I said.

"Feels old," Frank said.

I smiled as he put the food onto two plates. We sat at the table, the two of us quiet as we ate.

"So, what was your favorite part of college?" Frank asked.

I snorted. "Uh, the moments where I actually got to sleep."

"I know it isn't easy," Frank said. "But I'm paying your tuition so you better stick with it."

I nodded, smiling softly.

"I'm proud of you though, one year down and I bet you passed it with flying colors," he said.

"I'm actually pretty confident in my grades, I think I did well," I said. "But like I don't want to jinx it either."

"I'm sure you were perfect, don't stress over it too much," Frank said. "This is your time to just destress and relax."

"I plan on doing nothing but napping and watching movies," I said.

Frank chuckled, running a hand through his hair, which seemed to be growing out a bit.

"How's work?" I asked.

"It's alright," he said. "Slightly boring as usual but it makes pretty good money."

I nodded, finishing up my dinner. We cleaned up and he smiled.

"I'll go check in the attic for those tapes," Frank said.

I smiled, sitting on the couch. I smoothed out my skirt and waited for Frank.

"Alright, I've got a couple tapes here," Frank said as he came in. "A friend of mine took videos at a couple shows."

He put it in and turned on the tv and I smiled.

"I'm the one kneeling down there, you can only see my head right now," he said.

"Is your hair pink or orange?" I asked.

"It's fucked up is what it is," he said and I giggled.

He started screaming into the microphone, jumping around. It was actually hot, in a way.

"Why did you just jump over the drum set?" I asked.

"I have no clue really," he said. "Sometimes the adrenaline onstage just makes me do stupid shit like that. I don't even fucking know why."

I smiled as the next song played. I watched the young Frank jump around as he screamed. He definitely looked different, he had less tattoos and was a bit more scrawny than he is now. Either way he looked good both then and now.

"You should start a band again," I said. "You're really good."

"I don't know," he said. "I think I've just sort of grown out of that."

"I think it'd be pretty cool," I said.

"No one's gonna want to watch some old guy play guitar," he said.

"But you're good," I said.

Frank shrugged and I leaned closer.

"You should totally start a band again," I said. "It'll be so much fun. And I can come on tour with you guys and travel the world."

"Maybe," he said. "Just maybe, but probably not. But I can call up some old friends."

I smiled and nodded as Frank put the tapes back into the box.

"I'm sure you're tired," he said. "You should probably just head to bed soon."

I nodded my head, kissing his cheek before heading upstairs. I changed into a pair of panties and a big t-shirt before crawling into bed. It wasn't until I was laying in bed that I realized just how tired I actually was from moving and unpacking everything. I curled up in bed, quickly falling asleep.

The next morning I woke up, it was nearly eleven already. I went to the bathroom, brushing my teeth and using the toilet before heading downstairs. I could smell food from the kitchen and found Frank cooking as I looked over his shoulder.

"Is that bacon?" I asked. "I thought you didn't eat meat."

"This is vegan bacon," he said. "It's pretty good actually."

"Frank makes it all the time now," Mikey said.

I sat down at the counter as I yawned.

"You going out with Pete again today?" I asked.

"Yeah, I'm actually heading out soon," he said. "I'm just waiting for my shirt in the dryer to finish, probably like ten minutes."

I nodded, looking at the missed notifications on my phone that I had gotten while sleeping. A lot of it was messages from college friends asking if I had made the trip home safely.

"Bye," Mikey said.

I gave a small wave, texting my friend Ray.

"I might be going out later too to meet up with friends," I said.

Frank nodded, flipping the pancakes.

"Do you work today?" I asked.

"No, I am gardening today," he said. "Fixing up the backyard. It's gonna be lonely in this house once Mikey leaves for college so I think I'm gonna get a dog and I'll be spending a lot of my time outside with them."

I smiled, setting my phone down.

"Can you grab the plates?" Frank asked.

I nodded, walking around the corner. I went on my tip toes, reaching up into the cabinet to grab two plates. I felt my short ride up a little before I turned back around. Frank looked away from me quickly, a small blush on his face.

"Okay, breakfast for champions," he said.

We sat together at the table again, eating breakfast together.

"I missed it here," I said quietly. "It's an actual home cooked meal, I've eaten nothing but cereal everyday and I was actually sick of it. I even ate it for dinner a lot."

"I'll make sure to freeze a bunch of food for you when you leave again in the fall," Frank said.

I smiled, nodding my head. Oh how I missed Frank's cooking while I was at school. Frank turned on the little tv on the counter, watching the news.

"How was sleeping back in your own bed?" Frank asked.

"Amazing," I said. "I haven't slept this well in ages."

Frank smiled and finished eating.

"Well, I'll be outside," Frank said.

I nodded, watching the tv as I ate. I was laying on the couch a half an hour later when my phone rang.

"Hey," I said.

"Hey, Gerard," Ray said. "I can't go out later anymore, I have to go to my grandparent's house."

"Alright, next time then," I said.

I hung up and sighed as I glanced up at the ceiling. Oh god, it was far too soon for summer boredom. I went outside and saw Frank kneeling on the ground next to the deck, doing some landscaping.

"My plans were cancelled," I said.

"You wanna help me then?" He asked.

I agreed, kneeling beside him. The two of us chatted as we planted flowers.

"Ah shit, I didn't buy enough," Frank muttered as he stood up. "I'll have to go buy some more flowers later. I need to get some paint too to repaint the deck."

I looked down at my shirt as we walked inside and I scowled.

"My shirts all dirty," I grumbled.

"Throw it into the hamper in the laundry room, I was gonna do laundry later," he said.

I pulled off my shirt and I saw the way he blushed and looked away.

"You're so shy around me now," I said.

"Well, y-you're barely dressed," he said.

I giggled, giving him a hug but he pushed me away.

"Frank?" I asked quietly.

"I-I just...you drive me crazy," he mumbled.

I frowned in confusion when he suddenly pushed me up against the wall. Frank looked shocked by himself for a moment before he started to pull away but I pulled him close. Our lips connected in a messy kiss, my hands tangling into his hair. Frank lifted me up and I wrapped my legs around his waist.

He carried me upstairs, dropping me down onto his bed as he crawled between my legs. Frank sucked on my neck, holding my hips as he gently ground down against me.

Frank pulled away suddenly and I gasped. He leaned back against the wall, running a hand through his hair as he caught his breath.

"Fuck," he muttered. "Y-you should go."

"Frank?" I asked softly.

"We can't, Gerard," he stated.

"Why not?" I asked.

"Because you're my fucking step-son and it's illegal," he said.

"Not in New Jersey," I said.

"You've been planning this?" Frank asked.

"No, I-I was just curious," I said. "I like you, Frank, I know I shouldn't but I do."

Frank didn't say anything and I whimpered.

"Gee, I--Fuck," he mumbled.

"Do you like me too?" I asked.

"Gerard..." Frank sighed.

I walked over, giving him a soft kiss.

"You left and it was like this hole in my heart from you being gone," Frank whispered. "I-I didn't know why but I missed you so much everyday and then I realized that I loved you. And you just came back it was like a rush of emotions and you walking around in those little panties aren't helping either."

I blushed, resting my head on his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around my waist, holding me in a tight embrace.

"Gee, we can't be together," Frank said quietly.

"I-I know," I whimpered.

My eyes watered as he rubbed my back gently. Frank left the room and I cried to myself quietly. I loved Frank, even though I knew it was wrong.

I went to my room, getting dressed. Frank was reading a book in the living room when I sat down beside him.

"Frank," I whispered. "I love you."

His book was blocking his face and when he set it down I saw he was crying.

"Gee, we can't," he said.

"I-I just want to know if you love me," I said. "I won't push myself onto you anymore, I just need to know."

"I do," Frank whispered.

I nodded, sobbing quietly. The two of us would never be a thing. We loved each other. I would give up anything to truly be with him. Alas, the relationship between us was dead before it had even began, leaving us both heartbroken and in love.