Okay so a lot is bound to happen in this chapter and it's actually a pretty cute chapter so I hope you enjoy it.

I was walking into the school building and preparing myself for everlasting hell. No, I didn't chicken out and wear normal clothes today. I had a commitment and you're damn wrong if you think I wasn't going to stick with it.

Just to prove it to myself, I put on the red lipstick as well as a pair of my mom's heeled combat boots. I'm sure she wouldn't be needing them any time soon.

As I walked in through the doors, it was the same old thing as last time. A few weird glances, a few whispers, and a few turned faces. The only difference from now and before was the shitty rumor that I enjoyed assaulting freshman.

Naturally, I assumed most of the whispers were about me. However, when I walked past a group of seniors, I heard something I never imagined that I would hear in thousands of years.

"Did you hear the Mr. Iero is gay?" For some reason, that phrase stuck with me. Was it true?

Of course, I know I shouldn't be quick to believe any rumors, but I had some curiosities I needed to get sorted. If he was gay, I would need to apologize that someone outed him like that. However, if he wasn't gay, I would have to help demolish these rumors. They could be harmful to him.

As a person who was outed rather than willing to come out on my own time, I knew how much it hurt for people to start acting all strange around you. It was as if your sexuality was something that completely changed who you were as a person. No, I'm not going to start acting different around you just because I'm gay. I've been gay this whole time, you're only just now finding out about it.

I went to my first class anyway, trying to distract myself from the rumors being passed around. It was weird having no one talk about my appearance, I would have to admit.

When I walked into the classroom, I saw how frustrated Frank looked. His head was resting in his hands, and he had a disgruntled look on his face. It didn't help that he was sitting with a hunch, making him look even more upset than he first was.

I also noticed how a few of the students were sending him wary glances, as if they were scared of him. I overheard one of the jocks talking as I sat down in my seat.

"Ugh, another fag? Just what this school needed. I bet he's some sicko. If he tries to touch me I'm immediately going to the office." Frank flinched at those words, and I immediately felt bad for him.

I tapped on the jock's shoulder and he turned around with a disgusted expression. "Hey sorry for bothering you, I just thought you should know something. Just because someone is gay doesn't mean they're attracted to you. Like, no offense or anything, but you might be one of the most repulsive human beings I've ever met." He raised an eyebrow, acting offended, and I just shrugged. "Sorry if I ruined your fantasies."

"Your opinion doesn't matter. I'm attractive, and I don't care what you think." I was obviously not impressed with this statement.

"Oh so you're disgusted by gay people, but you get offended when they aren't attracted to you?" He stayed silent, and I smirked in victory. "That's what I thought." Admitting his defeat, he turned around and started minding his own business.

Soon class began, and I was very concerned for Frank. To put it simply, he looked like shit. I don't think he was having a very good day at all.

"Alright class, I've failed to prepare a lesson once again, so instead, you'll be getting an early start on your final projects. For this you'll be researching a psychological disorder of your choice and taking notes on how it affects the human brain. You're allowed to work in partners, but please keep your voice down." That was all he said, so I got out my journal and textbook, ready to work on my own.

"Hey, Way," an unexpected voice spoke from beside me. I turned my head slightly to see Lindsey Ballato standing right there by my desk.

"Oh hi Lindsey. Did you uh need something?" I asked awkwardly.

"Well I actually just wanted to say I admire you a lot. You're openly gay, right? I think you're very brave for dressing like that, and let me tell you, I am all for it. I say all this to ask you, do you want to be partners for the project?"

"Oh uh sure Lindsey! I didn't expect that at all." She gave me a small to which I returned and sat down next to me.

"Alright so, what should we research? I was kind of thinking Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, but it's up to you."

I nodded. "That's fine with me." We continued on, flipping through pages of the textbook, until Lindsey said 'fuck this' and pulled up a Wikipedia article to look at instead.

We found quite a lot of information, and we took some really useful notes. By the time the party came around this weekend, we would most certainly be able to finish.

When the bell rang signaling the end of class, I intentionally packed up my things slowly so I could speak to Frank afterwards. When everyone was out of the room, I walked over to his desk and noticed that he had his face buried under his arms. This sight almost made my heart break. I hated seeing him like this.

"Frank?" I whispered to him, sitting down on my knees so we were level. "Are you okay?"

He looked up and had an exhausted look in his eyes. "Yeah, I'm fine Gee. I'm just tired is all."

"That's a lie," I added. "Are the rumors true?" He sighed before nodding his head. "Oh Frank, I'm sorry someone outed you like that."

"No Gee, it's fine really."

"No it's not. Someone told everyone about that which is never cool, and now there are a whole bunch of-" but he cut me off by speaking.

"Gee, I need you to listen for a second." I just stared at him for a minute but then slowly nodded for him to continue. "No one outed me. I came out, by myself, on my own will."

"But... that doesn't make sense. Why would you come out to a bunch of students if you knew they would torment you like this?" Soon he had a small smile planted on his face, which added to my confusion.

"I did it so all the attention would be on me instead of you. No one's talking about you anymore, are they? No, they're all talking about me. It's better this way." Suddenly I felt really bad. He didn't need to do that for me, and hell, I'd rather be the one suffering if this was how it was affecting him. Maybe I never should've spilled my problems, and then he would have never felt bad for me in the first place.

"You... you didn't have to do that for me," I said shaking my head. He wasn't having it though.

"I know I didn't have to do it Gee. I didn't do it because I felt like I had to, I did it because I wanted to."

I felt a tear slip down my eye and I immediately lunged forward to hug him. He let out a surprised laugh at first, but soon hugged back. "No ones ever cared about me enough to do something like that."

He didn't say anything back, just continued hugging me tightly until I pulled away. "See you later Gee," he smiled.

"Bye Frank." With that I walked off to my next class.

-

Lunch time was just the usual. It was me and Mikey sitting at a table, eating the most basic sandwiches known to man. After we were finished, it was bro-to-bro conversation time, as decided by Mikey.

"Hey Gerard, I have something kind of important to say, and I need your opinion on it." I put my full attention on Mikey and let him continue. "So there's someone I really want to ask to prom, but I'm nervous, and I'm not too certain how to do it." I saw him fidgeting with his hands and knew this was important to him. Mikey suffered from bad anxiety, so I would have to help him through this as much as possible.

"Okay, I see. Good on you bro! I'm proud. If you don't mind me asking, who do you plan to take? It might help me see what we're dealing with here."

A light shade of red flushed over his cheeks, and I thought it was adorable how hooked he was on this person. "It's Pete..." I gasped and he quickly shushed me so no one would hear.

"Mikey I'm so happy for you!" I gave him a big hug before pulling away to add advice. "Okay so what I suggest is to find something he enjoys. Do you know what his interests or hobbies are?"

"Yeah some of them. He plays bass like I do." Immediately after he said that, a lightbulb went off in my head and I practically squealed from excitement. (Quietly of course. Mikey would murder me if I squealed out loud.)

"That's perfect! You can invite him over to play bass or something, saying that you guys can learn some songs together. Then, when he comes over, you can ask him there!"

"That's great and all Gee... but I don't know if I have the courage to ask him up front. I'll stutter and make a fool of myself..." he had a sad look in his eyes that I couldn't ignore.

I thought for an alternate way to ask, and I thankfully was able to come up with something. "How about leaving him a note? Like, you can still invite him over to hang out, but make some sort of excuse. Tell him 'hey, go ahead and go upstairs and get my bass off the stand. I have to do something real quick.' Then, when he goes upstairs to get your bass, he sees a note taped to it that asks him to prom. How about that?"

"Oh my god, Gerard you're a genius! Thank you so much!" He pulled me in for a quick hug before running off to class when lunch was over. I smiled to myself and went back to class.

I was so proud of Mikey.

Hey that was cute, I'm proud of my boy Mikes. How are you guys doing? Having a good day? It's my boy Ray's birthday so that's fun. This is a safe place to rant if you wanna do that!

Chapter planning: