The very next morning was when Gerard woke up with a start, sitting up in bed and panting, his body on high alert and tense, his skin excruciatingly warm and coated in sweat. He looked around, his fingers clenched in his sheets, his stomach tied in a fierce knot. He let out a labored breath and climbed out, his knees immediately buckling. Tyler was right, he was definitely not feeling like himself, and he couldn't quite grasp what it was that had hit him so hard. Surely, it wasn't his rut. Surely, something so natural couldn't make you feel so sick. He pulled on a shirt and readjusted his boxers before he opened his bedroom door. He could hear the deafening silence of the house and he frowned, walking down to the kitchen, "Ma? Pops?"

He went into the kitchen, frowning when he saw that he had a sandwich, a bottle of water, and a letter waiting for him. Despite the fact that he was usually ravenous in the morning, today he was actually the furthest from hungry. He eyed the bread on the small porcelain plate and grimaced unhappily. He opened the letter and lay it out on the table to read, opening the water to take a sip as he read his mom's elegant scrawl.

Gerard,

Dad and I went out for the day and decided to give you some space on the first day of your rut. There's a sandwich and a few bottles of water for you.

We'll be at Aunt Wendy's for the day, her number is on the fridge if you need us.

Be careful, please.

Mom xx

Gerard felt his cheeks go pink at the realization that his parents had left him alone in the entire house for the entire day just so he could furiously jerk off. Although, it was pretty great that he didn't have to worry about anyone else. He left the sandwich and the letter on the table and took his water back upstairs. He walked into his bedroom when a sudden sharp pain surged through his lower abdomen and shot through his nerves. He gasped, his hand automatically constricting around the plastic bottle, the water shot up into a geyser before it rained down onto him and on the carpet. He clutched his stomach, eyes squeezing shut as he staggered to his desk and held himself up, the water bottle discarded on the floor.

"Motherfucker." He gasped weakly, his knees caving in as he was rocked with another heavy cramp. He shuddered out a small grunt, his fingernails digging into his already sensitive skin. He tried to straighten himself up and barely managed to do that when his stomach began to twist uncomfortably. It was a knot that was constantly churning and twisting, a knot that he knew way too well thanks to puberty, but this time it was so much worse.

He looked down at his soaked legs and at the spilled water on the floor and decided that he should probably shower and get the night-sweat stink off of him. He padded into the bathroom, peeling his t-shirt off along the way before he walked into the small green washroom. He discarded his pajamas and tossed them in the general direction of the laundry hamper and took his glasses off. He opened the curtain of the shower and stepped into the bathtub, turning the cold water on all the way to its end to cool his fiery skin. He sighed with relief and slid down the wall carefully to just sit awkwardly in the bathtub. His knees were bent to accommodate his lanky frame.

He put his head back against the tiles of the wall and closed his eyes, letting the torrent of icy water splash down onto his chest. He tried to ignore the ache in his lower stomach and tried to focus more on cooling himself down. He sat up, pulling the sheet of plastic across the bathtub to give himself some semblance of privacy. He reached down, his eyes still shut, and wrapped a hand around himself. His eyes snapped open when he realized he could barely get his fingers around his own length. He had tried so hard to ignore his own throbbing ache, tried to push it back in his mind, and didn't even want to look at his own dick.

Now, however, he couldn't look away. He knew his hands were on the larger side and even then, he could just barely touch his thumb and index finger together. His vision was hazy, his eyes wide, as he tried to genuinely come to terms with the size of his own dick. It was dizzying. The idea that it was attached to his body and that it was almost double the size of what he was naturally endowed with. He wrapped a hand around himself again, sighing at the touch that untied a tiny inch of the knot.

He stroked himself slowly for only a few seconds, frowning when he realized that it was doing absolutely nothing to ease his pain. He sped up, his arm working as fast as he could as his free hand gripped tightly onto the rim of the bathtub. His first orgasm hit him like a Freightliner almost a few minutes later. He had been so pent up inside that it hadn't taken very long for him to let go. He cried out, his voice rough and jagged, his chest rising and falling frantically as he came in warm spurts over his own stomach and down over his fingers. He wanted to let go of himself, he instinctively wanted to pull away because whenever he would jerk off, his orgasm meant that it was over for him. Not this time. His erection didn't even soften despite the release he had pushed himself through. It was such a rush, a glorious and primal feeling that had his toes curling inward and his mouth dry out.

He continued to stroke his dick quickly and roughly. A small moan tumbled out of his mouth in sharp flickers over his tongue. His hips lifted, his feet pressed against the bottom of the bath, his skin flaring up with even more heat.

The second time felt different. This time there was still the urgency to get off, but the frantic need had dulled, now it felt like he could be at it for hours. His body also reacted differently, the hair on his arms and neck stood up, a low snarl snicking in his throat. He could feel his second release climbing faster towards its apex and his body twisted inside. There was also something different about his dick as he stroked it. He glanced down in a steamy wet haze and saw that he had already formed his first knot. The sight was instantly burned into his mind and for some reason, it only spurred him on, his inner wolf urging him to breed and to come.

He let out another moan, the stuttering gasps falling from his pouted lips as he came in another heavy burst. The amount of his physical release was almost embarrassing and Gerard knew in the back of his mind that if he wasn't in the shower, it would be a bitch to try and clean. He slowed his exhausted arm, his still-hard dick laying flush against his stomach as he panted under the cool jets of water. He pushed his wet hair from his face and sat up. He let the water run over his red face and sat there with his eyes closed, his heart hammering in his ears.

"God damn it." He whispered to himself, the slow realization creeping in that his knot hadn't released and his dick was still rock solid. It would probably be a while until it would go down. He also knew that it would be a while until he could properly stand up without falling over. He reached up with his foot and tried to turn the shower off. He frowned in concentration, biting on his lip as he used his toes to try and turn the faucet.

"Fuck it." He grunted and got up, turning the water off. He lay back in the tub and in the sudden silence. He stared up at the ceiling before he closed his eyes, the rush of hormones pushed another cramping shudder through his stomach.

His face contorted with pain and he hissed out, his hand resting on his lower stomach. He tried to ignore his dick that was beside his hand. So close and so easy to reach out. He shook his head and physically reached out to take his own hand away. He sat up again gingerly before he lay back down. He closed his eyes, despite being somewhat uncomfortable in the small bathtub, and decided that even though he was naked, horny, and sopping wet, he was going to take a nap.

Gerard awoke much later and let out a groan of discomfort. His brain had been conjuring disjointed dreams of the most disgusting and obscene filth that he didn't even know he could create. His cheeks were pink with embarrassment and despite how much he hated the thought, he couldn't deny that he enjoyed it. He sat up slowly and helped himself out of the bath. He was now completely dry and even his hair had dried back into its usual haphazardly curly mane. He grabbed his glasses and walked out into the eerily quiet house. He listened on the landing for signs of life and when he heard none, he crossed lazily into his bedroom.

The minute he opened the door, he visibly relaxed and his shoulders dropped into a somewhat comfortable height. He went to sit on his bed and that's when he caught the soft smell of something he recognized. His head lifted and he tried to zero in on the direction of the smell but it was too faint. It smelled of lemon and honey. A pure and sickly sweet scent that hit him in the back of the throat, right in the glands. He scanned his room for the source of the smell, eyes narrowing as he inspected every item to find the alien object. The piece of something that didn't belong.

He got up, his knees shaking, and turned in a slow circle to see if he could at least find the general direction of the wolf scent. It was a lovely smell, but a homely smell. It was a smell that he knew and had known for over a decade.

It was Frank.

But he just needed to find the culprit piece of clothing that was infiltrating his Alphaspace. He began searching, squatting down to dig in the pile of old clothes in the corner. The search came up empty. He tried a new spot nearby and when that also yielded nothing, Gerard couldn't deny that his heart was starting to increase in pace. He couldn't understand why he was getting so anxious. His body couldn't bear to live without the smell being nearby. He had to find it. He had to hold it. Inhale it right in his own face. He let out a small whimper and began ripping through every inch of his room in an almost frantic push of desperation.

It wasn't until Gerard had literally up-ended his bed, flipping it over onto its side with one arm, that he found it. He stared down at the offending article of clothing and reached down to grab it; Frank's hoodie. He put his bed back down and sat on the edge of it, Frank's navy hoodie in both hands. He ran a hand over it before he buried his face into the material and took in a deep sniff.

There was a sudden shift in Gerard that happened before he could realize it. It was instantaneous. The moment he took in the smell in its strongest form from the clothing, it hit something deep inside Gerard and he felt like he couldn't breathe. His chest seized and he let out a gasp. His head was suddenly bombarded by images of him and Frank in dim light, bodies connected, limbs entangled and flush with heavy sweat. The sounds were so close in his head that it was almost as though it were right in his ear. His teeth felt bare, as though they were aching to be buried in flesh. But not just any flesh.

Frank's flesh.

Gerard panted hard, dropping the jacket into his lap before he pressed the heels of his hands into his eyes until his vision was filled with spots of varying color. He hadn't even noticed that he had knocked his own glasses off somewhere in his own desperate search. Sure, now he realized his vision was blurry as hell but beforehand, it was almost as though it didn't matter.

He looked down at the material in his lap, the smell still wafting up into his nose, making his body ache with need. Not just any need. A need to breed, a need to mate, a need to fill and to satiate. A need to protect and to conquer. A need for Frank Iero. Gerard shook his head and tossed the hoodie aside. He was being ridiculous. He was being inappropriate. Sure, he knew Frank was cute and openly told Frank that he thought so. But this was different.

Gerard wasn't joking now, Gerard wasn't trying to make anyone smile or laugh. Gerard wasn't even sure what was happening to him. This was his best friend that he was thinking about. Frank was his best friend besides Tyler, Frank was his closest friend, his confidante, his advisor, and his audience. Frank was never someone that Gerard fantasized over or looked at differently, even after Frank had presented.

And even when Gerard had become an Alpha, he felt a need to protect his omega friend from harm and that was it. He never harbored any crush for Frank than he usually did. He couldn't say his conscience was completely clean, however. He did remember times when he would look at his best friend and realize that he was far from unattractive. But Gerard thought that was normal, he had had thoughts like that about all of his friends. They were all fleeting thoughts, never attaching themselves to any of Gerard's feelings. Gerard found every single one of his friends attractive for a different reason.

Tyler was that tall and toned athlete that a lot of girls lusted after once he filled into his Alpha body. Gerard couldn't ignore that when he saw Awsten fill out a pair of pants or take off his shirt. Awsten had lost so much weight and had filled out but still retained some cute fill to his cheeks. And he was so smart, too. Gerard couldn't ignore him. Sam had always held a place in Gerard's heart since they met and even though most of his thoughts for her were platonic, he did notice her in her dresses and her long legs. How could he pass her by without giving her a second glance? Even Wayne had made Gerard blush when they were at the Jackson farm and he had sat with the group while Wayne was doing chores. Gerard couldn't stop himself from eyeing Wayne's muscles in his white vest. Even Tyler made a comment. And even Josh was a different kind of attractive to Gerard. Joshua was soft and warm and welcoming, his body lean but strong and graceful like a dancer. Gerard had seen him on multiple occasions when they swam in the quarry.

But they were all fleeting thoughts that never progressed past any of that. Even if they were all affectionate and closer than most groups of friends, Gerard hadn't felt anything for any of them. Until now. Until Frank. Gerard had seen Frank many times. He watched Frank jog by in a t-shirt and red poly shorts, his perfect legs toned from the daily routine of running that Frank has been doing for over six years. Gerard saw Frank's body when they would swim together or even at sleepovers. Gerard caught himself looking at Frank's face in the sunlight or even in the blue glow of the TV screen. Gerard had memorized every detail from doe eyes to pink lips and could probably draw Frank if he had the talent for it. But still, the acknowledgment of his best friend's appearance never took on a secondary emotion. It never went beyond that and never fell into the cesspool of Gerard's feelings. So, why now?

Gerard had smelled Frank's scent before this. He had taken in that honey smell since before he was even in school. He had even smelled Frank after he presented. It made no sense in his rut-addled brain. But oh-

Oh, he had never smelled Frank whilst he was in a rut. This was his first rut. His first rut and his first encounter with an omega scent. Just like Tyler had said. If this is what Tyler was talking about, Gerard envied the fact that he had had an omega to plow into for his own first rut. The idea of Tyler and Frank together had an angry snarl tear out of Gerard's chest and he instantly grabbed the nearest item and threw it into the opposite wall, his veins coursing with electric jealousy.

He grabbed the hoodie and brought it up to his face to take in another deep inhale as his other hand wrapped itself instinctively around his length. He moved the jacket out of the way and spat into his palm before he continued to stroke himself. He closed his eyes, his mind feeding him sordid images of himself and an omega that hadn't featured before. He let out a loud moan and sped up, gasping and jittering on the edge of the bed as his toes curled into the carpet. He fell back on the bed, his head hitting the mattress before he rolled over onto his stomach. His entire body was howling for release but his right hand wasn't enough. His body was overtaken by another wave of intense heat and he let out a low whine before he collapsed. He needed release and this wasn't it. He needed someone. He needed anything.

He needed Frank.