Frank ran after Pete hurriedly, his untied laces slapping against his ankles as he chased after his best friend. Pete had already disappeared from sight, and although Frank strained his ears, he couldn't hear his footsteps over the pounding rain that had started earlier. The air was hot and sticky, the dampness making it difficult to breathe while Frank hurried down the pavement. His eyes darted back and forth frantically, but he didn't see Pete, even when he reached the end of the cul-de-sac he lived in.

A shadow flickered off to the left, so Frank chased it, his throat growing hoarse as he cried for Pete to wait for him, but the other man ignored his pleading. For a few minutes, Frank managed to keep pace with the taller boy, but soon enough, he lost track of him. It wasn't long before Frank couldn't even hear his footsteps smacking against the wet pavement. Pete was gone, and Frank had no idea how to find him.

So Frank backtracked to his starting point, Pete's house. He couldn't do this alone, he needed help, and the only person available to him was Pete's mother. He took a moment to decide if this was truly the best thing to do. He had already betrayed Pete's trust by reading his notebook, and now he might be about to do it again by enlisting his mother's help in his search, but it was worth the risk. Frank had almost zero chance of finding Pete in the dark on his own, but if he was able to borrow his mother's car, it would be much easier to track him down.

Frank knew he would have a hard time forgiving Pete if he went to his mother and told her one of his deepest secrets, but this was different. Pete might hurt himself if he wasn't found soon, and Pete's mother deserved to know that her son was in danger. She was a good person, and she would be able to help mend things, unlike Frank's own mother. So before he could second-guess himself any further, Frank darted back inside, his wet shoes squelching across the carpet as Frank made his way to Pete's parents' room.

"Mrs. Wentz," Frank whispered under his breath. His heart raced in his chest as he debated his actions for a second time. This was his last chance to back out before it was too late, but he had no other option. "Mrs. Wentz, please wake up," he repeated at a louder volume.

Both Mr. and Mrs. Wentz sat up in bed in response to Frank's shout. Although both of them had just been awoken out of a deep sleep, they both seemed aware of where they were and what was going on.

"Frank, what's wrong?" Pete's mother asked, her tone conveying the same emotions that were bubbling beneath Frank's skin.

"It's Pete, he's gone, and I think he's going to do something stupid," Frank blurted out.

"Show me," she commanded. "Honey, you stay here in case he comes back, call me if he does," she told her husband who was also scrambling to his feet.

Pete's father nodded mutely as Frank and Mrs. Wentz hurried out of the room. Pete's mother didn't bother changing out of her pajamas, but she did pause in the doorway to slip on some tennis shoes and a pink jacket before ushering Frank in the direction of her car. Frank's wet converse left small puddles of water on the carpet as he followed her into the vehicle, his soaked clothes protesting the deluge of rain that greeted them the second they stepped outside.

"What direction did he go?" Mrs. Wentz asked once they were both secured inside the car. Frank hadn't seen her grab the keys, but she was currently shoving them into the ignition, so he must have missed it in his haste to get back to Pete.

"That way," Frank pointed down the street. "He turned left at the intersection, but then I lost him in the dark." Frank took a deep breath, trying to calm his shaky nerves with no avail. "I'm so sorry for waking you up, I just didn't know what else to do."

"Don't apologize, you did the right thing," she cut him off before he could continue speaking. "I'm glad you care enough about Pete to come and get me, not everyone would do that. Now...can you tell me what happened?"

"I...it's all my fault, I'm so sorry. I looked in Pete's journal...I didn't mean to. It was one of those cliché moments when it fell open and I saw my name, so I was an idiot and kept reading. Pete just had to walk on me right then, and he stormed out...but, Mrs. Wentz, the reason I woke you up was because in the journal h-he talked about hurting himself, and I'm afraid that's what he's going to do now."

Frank only dared to glance in Mrs. Wentz's direction once he had finished spewing out his explanation for why Pete was missing. He was afraid of her reaction, she was basically his mother, but now he had endangered her son, in fact, he was the reason for all of this, but he wasn't ready to admit that Pete was also in love with him, not yet at least. He has no idea how she would take in the information Frank was dumping on her, or if she would even believe him, but it was too late to take any of it back now.

But much to Frank's surprise, instead of seeing judgment, or hatred, or even disappointment on Pete's mother's face, he only saw understanding and love. She wasn't upset with him, at least not right now, and her constant acceptance helped him to take in a full lungful of oxygen for the first time in what seems like hours.

"It's not your fault, Frank, none of this is," Pete's mother reassured him. "Pete...he's been struggling with things lately. I've noticed it, but I've been trying to give him his space. Now I see maybe I should have done more, but it's not too late. We are going to find him and get him the help that he needs."

"Thank you," Frank whispered under his breath. Not knowing what else to say, he turned all of his attention into looking for Pete, his eyes scanning the mostly deserted streets the best they could through the rain.

Pete's mother had turned the car lights up to the brightest that they would go and she was running the windshield wipers nonstop, but it was still difficult to see. Pete could be anywhere right now, and if he was trying to hide instead of hurt himself like Frank had assumed, the odds of them finding him were slim to none. Still, Frank refused to give up, and he knew his mother wouldn't either, not until they ran out of options that is.

"Do you have any idea where he would go?" Pete's mother asked after a few minutes had passed. "Did you two have any secret places that you liked to hang out in?"

Frank's mind instantly flashed to his and Gerard's place in the woods. He missed escaping there so much it ached, but Pete didn't know about their clearing. Frank might have mentioned it at one point, back when it was his and his father's place, and not his and Gerard's, but he hadn't spoken of it since. Frank had been steering away from most Gerard-related topics when he was with Pete. It was difficult to keep their friendship intact while Pete disliked Gerard so much, and now Frank knew why. He should have taken Pete more seriously when he said he liked him, but he had assumed that his crush had faded away once he got back with Gerard. God - he'd been so oblivious to what was happening right before his very eyes, and now he was paying the price.

"No," Frank finally answered, "your house was always our safe space, and I haven't been as close to Pete lately as I should have. I have no idea where he's heading, or if he even has a destination in mind at all."

"Well, then we'll just have to look everywhere then," Pete's mother flashed Frank a smile full of fake optimism, but he appreciated her efforts at putting on a positive front.

Frank was unsure how much time had passed during which it seemed that they drove in circles before something caught his attention. Unfortunately, it wasn't Pete, in fact, it wasn't a person at all, but flashing lights. The colored patterns broke up the monotony of the dark sky, causing Frank to fixate on them as they drew closer to the edge of town and the river that flowed there.

"What's that?" Frank pointed to the anomaly on the off chance that Mrs. Wentz hadn't seen it yet.

"I hope it's not what I think it is," she sighed, "but we're going to find out."

As Pete's mother turned their car in the direction of the lights, it was then that Frank caught onto what she meant. It was the colors that gave it away - red and blue. That could only mean one thing, police cars. And of course, it might have nothing to do with Pete, it could easily be someone else in trouble, or causing trouble, but Frank had the sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach that the cops were there because of his best friend.

As they drew closer to the flashing lights, it became obvious that they did belong to a pair of cop cars. It was hard to tell why they were there at first. One of the officers was outside of his car, talking to someone under an umbrella who obviously wasn't Pete, in fact, it seemed to be a woman they were speaking with. Frank's mother slowed down as they passed the duo, both of their eyes scanning the scene, trying to deduce what had happened.

Frank's head nearly slammed into the dashboard when Mrs. Wentz stomped on the brakes, bringing the car to a shaky halt. He didn't have time to ask her what was wrong before she was out of the car, the gaping door hanging open like an angry mouth, letting in the harsh weather which immediately soaked the seats. Still in shock, Frank didn't move from his spot, but that didn't stop him from hearing Pete's mother's cries.

"That's my son! Stop - that's my son!"

Frank tried to unbuckle his seatbelt so he could join Mrs. Wentz as she continued to scream, but he couldn't move, couldn't breathe, couldn't do anything. Through the rain-streaked windshield, he could just barely make out a figure toward which Mrs. Wentz was running, but he couldn't see any details. Just then, an ambulance tore onto the scene, its headlights revealing the surrounding area in stark detail.

Frank didn't want to see, that would make it all too real, but now he had no choice. His eyelids refused to close, so he was forced to witness the horrific scene unfolding in front of him. There was Pete, on the ground, just like Frank knew he would be. A soaked officer was standing over him, attempting to perform CPR while another man in uniform held back Pete's mother who was hysterical by this point. Pete must have jumped off the bridge into the rushing river below, although Frank had no idea how the police got here so fast, but he was thankful that they did. More than one person had lost their life by plunging off this bridge, but maybe Pete won't be one of them.

Things didn't look good though. Pete wasn't moving, and now the EMT's were pushing their way through with a stretcher for the unconscious teen. Pete's mother's mouth was open in a silent scream, her tears mixing with the rain that was still pouring down without showing any signs of stopping. Frank watched helplessly as they loaded Pete onto the stretcher, one of the EMT's climbing on top of it as well so they can continue doing chest compressions even while they were loading Pete into the ambulance.

From his vantage point, Frank wasn't able to tell if they get Pete breathing by the time the doors were closed behind him, but it didn't seem like it. His mother had collapsed by this point. One of the officers was attempting to help her back to her car - toward Frank. He knew he should get out, to go speak to them, or something, but he was still frozen in place.

He wasn't ready to face this, to allow the horrors he had just witnessed to be real, and he probably never would be. He had no idea what to say, or do. He knew when Pete ran from him that it was a very real possibility that he would attempt to hurt himself, but he never thought he'd be faced with something this serious.

A part of him wanted to run, to bolt for a place where he didn't have to think about Pete being carted away in an ambulance, but most of all, he wanted Gerard here - he needed his arms around his and the feeling of security he always brought him, but he couldn't have that right now. Gerard was busy with his own problems, leaving Frank to deal with this mess that was partially caused by him.

If only Frank could blink and make this all go away, but this was real life, not something he could escape or turn off because it was unpleasant. Frank had no choice but to sit as watch as his best friend sped away in an ambulance, his life hanging in the balance all thanks to a stupid mistake Frank had made. No one was here to make this better, not his father, not Gerard, and obviously not Pete, and for the first time in forever, Frank felt truly alone.

Hey...so wow. It's been a year. My bad...I never meant to let this story go for so long. But as you all know life gets in the way and I have been so busy with working and trying to get some of my stories published that this fic took a backseat to some of my other projects.

But as promised - I'm back. Only You is finally done and now finishing this story is my next goal.

Thank you to everyone who is still here. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and it really means the world to me that you haven't given up on me yet.

Also I'm not sure if I ever announced this here but I do have a book of poetry available now an Amazon titled fairytales: a poetry collection if anyone is interested in that.

Votes and comments are always lovely if you feel like leaving some.

I love you all so very much xxx

Chapter dedicated to breathcatcher

Just a few more months and we'll be fine

- starr