When Gerard woke up, he instantly knew he was alive and in the hospital.

The smell attested to that, as well as the pain he was currently in. Gerard wasn't sure how he felt about this revelation, mostly he was just numb, and even more so than ever he didn't want to deal with the consequences of his actions, although he knew he would be forced to face them very soon.

Gerard almost jumped out of his skin when he heard someone clear their throat softly from beside him, even though it was probably just Pete, or maybe a doctor who had come to lecture him.

But when Gerard turned his head, it was neither of the two previous guesses - instead, he was met with the sight of a black haired boy that he had never seen before.

The stranger's pierced lip pulled into a smile when he caught Gerard's eye, but the expression quickly disappeared when Gerard flinched away, his limbs beginning to tremble with fear, the unfamiliar presence making him uncomfortable and filling him with nervous energy.

"Hey - it's okay, you don't have to be afraid of me," the man whispered in a soothing tone, his hand lifting up as if to touch Gerard's shoulder, but when Gerard shied back even further, he dropped his arm into his lap instantly. "My name's Frank, I'm Pete's friend, he just went out to grab us some food, but he will be back soon."

"W-why are you here?" Gerard managed to stammer out, his confusion over why this person had decided to stay with him outweighing his distaste of talking to men he didn't know.

"Because I was worried about you, and I didn't want you to wake up alone," Frank shrugged like it was the most obvious answer in the world.

"Oh..." Gerard responded lamely, unsure of what else to say without sounding like a complete idiot. "Is Pete mad at me?" Gerard finally ventured to ask, because he had to know if he had ruined their friendship with his selfishness, even though he wouldn't blame Pete if he was furious with him.

"No, you just scared him," Frank answered slowly, his lips pressing together as if he was attempting to hold something back.

"I'm sorry," Gerard whimpered, his eyes brimming with tears that he refused to shed in front of Frank. "I don't know what I was thinking."

"I think I might," Frank spoke slowly, continuing onward when Gerard didn't speak, "and even though I know nothing about you, or what made you feel so awful that you tried to do...that, I'm glad it didn't work, because if it had, that means that whoever hurt you would have won, and you don't want that. You are strong, I can tell, and no matter how much life sucks right now, every day you keep surviving is a big fuck you to everyone that didn't believe in you, and eventually, they won't even matter anymore."

"I - I..." Gerard stuttered out, a few tears slipping past his closed lids, leaving hot tracks down his cheeks as he turned his head away from Frank in a pointless effort at hiding how much his words had affected him.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you," Frank apologized, his eyes glistening as he stared down at Gerard, which confused him since it looked as if Frank was about to cry as well.

"It's okay, you didn't do anything wrong," Gerard assured him while wiping at his face angrily as he spoke, his tongue twisting in on itself when he tried to thank Frank for his kind sentiment.

"Well...Pete should be back any second now, and even though you probably have a lot of other friends you would rather talk to, I just want you to know that if you ever feel like that again, I want you to text me, call me, whatever. I'll pick up, no matter what time it is or where I am," Frank offered, scribbling his number down on a pad of paper sitting on the desk located next to Gerard's bed. "If that's okay with you...you don't have to take it."

Gerard hesitated as Frank held the folded sheet out to him invitingly, but before he could second-guess Frank's intentions, or how this person could possibly give a shit about what happened to him after today, he opened his palm, smiling softly to himself when Frank placed the paper in his hand.

"Thank you," Gerard whispered finally, and even though his words emerged so softly that he could barely hear them, Frank's grin which stretched across his face proved that he had caught Gerard's meaning.

~~~

Gerard didn't see or speak to Frank again for two weeks after he was released from the hospital, and not because he didn't want to, but because he was scared.

Frank was the only person in the world besides Pete that seemed to genuinely like Gerard, even though Frank could have just been putting on an act inspired by pity, but no - Gerard didn't sense any falsity from Frank's end, not yet anyway.

Gerard still felt the urge to end his life on numerous occasions, but every time the thought popped into his head, Frank's words would drown them out, giving Gerard an inner strength he didn't know he possessed.

Gerard refused to let his father win, especially now that he had escaped his abuse for good, so he couldn't ruin all of that by giving in to the despair that constantly clutched at his heart.

But on a particularly bad day during which Pete was finally back at work - he had taken time off to stay with Gerard when the doctor recommended that he be kept under watch, but he only had so much vacation time to spare - Gerard found his mind spiraling into dangerous territory.

But instead of repeating his actions from the other week, Gerard pulled out his phone, dialing Frank's number which he had already memorized, courtesy of staring at his blocky handwriting for much longer than he would ever admit to anyone.

Gerard actually gasped when someone picked up on the third ring, because no matter how honest Frank had seemed at the time, he hadn't been sure if he was serious about Gerard reaching out to him, but there was no denying his promise now that his familiar voice was filling Gerard's ears.

"Gerard - hi," Frank gasped, sounding slightly out of breath as if he had sprinted over to the phone, or maybe he had just been working out beforehand.

"How did you know it was me?" Gerard asked shyly, because he didn't remember sharing his information with Frank, not that he minded at all, he actually liked the way his name sounded falling from Frank's lips.

"I - uh...I asked Pete to give your number to me, just so I would know when it was you calling. I set it to a special ringtone and everything," Frank stammered out, embarrassment staining his tone a faint orange shade, which for some reason Gerard found adorable.

"Oh, that's...really nice." Gerard blushed heavily, grateful that Frank couldn't see his red cheeks through the phone line. "I hope I'm not bothering you," Gerard added on, unsure of how to maintain a conversation with someone who wasn't Pete, but he also knew he wanted to try.

"Of course not, I was just doing homework, well - more like watching Family Guy and maybe knocking out one problem an hour," Frank answered sheepishly.

"Oh yeah...you are going to law school right? Pete mentioned it," Gerard asked, even though he knew the answer to his question already.

He may or may not have pestered Pete about Frank once they had returned home from the hospital, learning that Frank and Pete were childhood friends that were still close, but Frank was attending college in New York at the moment, which was why Gerard hadn't seen him around before.

"Yep, I like the idea of being a lawyer, just not all the work that goes with it, but I'm getting close to graduating, so it will all be worth it in the end."

"I bet you will make a fantastic lawyer," Gerard murmured, although it was hard to picture Frank in a suit without his lip ring, even if Gerard had only seen him once in person.

"I hope so," Frank sighed, a soft 'oomph' emitting from down the line, leading Gerard to believe that Frank had thrown himself down onto a couch or some other similar surface. "So...you doing okay?" Frank questioned tentatively, his inquiry causing Gerard to inhale shakily.

He had almost managed to forget the reason he had called Frank in the first place, but now the heaviness that had been smothering him earlier was coming back.

"I - I guess I'm just sad," Gerard mumbled softly, because that was really it.

Nothing had happened today to make Gerard feel this way, he had simply opened his eyes and wished that he never had to do that again.

"Well I'm glad you called me," Frank hummed, his voice soothing Gerard instantly although he hadn't said anything particularly comforting. "Do you want to talk about what's bothering you, or would you rather I distract you?"

"Distract me please?" Gerard whimpered, curling up on the bed with the phone firmly pressed against his ear.

"Will do."

Frank seemed ecstatic, like there was nothing he would rather be doing than sharing in pointless small talk with Gerard, and that was exactly what they did, spending the next three hours chatting about everything and anything until Gerard ended up falling asleep on the line with Frank humming a random tune in the background.

* * *

I still love this so much which is rare for me with my past works.

Frank is such a sweetheart in this he makes me soft.

I hope you all enjoyed this happier chapter.

Thank you for the 300 reads on this book.

Chapter dedicated to kettu-al

((((loving vibes))))

- starr