Sappy author's note at the end! We've reached the final chapter to the first book of this series. I hope with all my heart you enjoy it.

— 

"My heart is yours; it's you that I hold onto."

— Sparks, by Coldplay. 

"Are you planning on telling me where we're going or are you gonna drive me crazy first?"

Gerard's grin in the faint glow of the dashboard glinted like the beams of the sun reflecting across a blade, but instead of invoking fear, he captured the fascinating element all reflective surfaces harbored. "I have a reputation for dragging out your infuriation caused by my crypticness, do I not?"

"Your reputation precedes you." Frank mumbled, failing at pretending he wasn't affected by Gerard's mesmerizing grin or how it was paired with the fact that he'd never been so impeccably beautiful as he was tonight, dressed in a wine red waistcoat over a pristine white button-down, dashing black pants tailored to mold to every curve and edge. His hair, dark and silky, fell in waves just past his ears, void of any usual tangles and contrasting with the almost black red color of his waistcoat bringing out the pure glow in his pale skin. His jacket was slung over the back of the seat and his pinstriped tie was slightly askew, but if Frank reached forward to adjust it, he couldn't guarantee he'd be able to resist leaning up and pressing his lips somewhere, ultimately distracting Gerard as he drove to an unknown destination.

Frank shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Glancing at his own reflection in the side mirror, he couldn't help but feel like a groomed doll, polished to perfection and scrubbed down to the point where his skin gave a glow that he assumed would seem attractive to others, but the condition of it appeared obsessively clean to his eyes. His hair was just as soft, swept and cascading in small waves, curling around his neck in controlled twists Kristin fixed into a near perfect state. She'd fussed with the uncooperative curling ends of Frank's hair she insisted upon trimming before she went ahead in readying him for the evening, but Frank obstinately denied her pleas. He knew he was in dire need of a haircut, but he couldn't bear to part with his hair unless he was completely ready to, that was how he'd always functioned and he didn't see that changing in the near future.

If he hadn't had some control over the situation, Kristin would've gotten away with far more than plucking and trimming his eyebrows or applying several face masks before slathering on an expensive moisturizer that smelled of lavender and lemon. The only makeup he'd permitted her applying with only a tinge of reluctance was pencil eyeliner, an old familiar friend he hadn't revisited in months, and yet he still counted it as a new experience considering he couldn't ever apply it nearly as flawlessly as she had; smoking out the edges, smooth charcoal lines resting spotlessly on his waterline.

The suit had also been Kristin's decision. Frank almost immediately begged her to return it when she retrieved it encased in a zip-up showing off the emblem of a designer brand he automatically knew meant the suit had to have costed hundreds, if not more, but Kristin disregarded his urge to stay humble by saying he would need to get used to luxury if he was going to be part of the Way family— or, to be more specific, if he was going to be her new brother. She'd even tailored the suit herself after the fitting to adjust it to proper lengths since Frank's frame leaned towards the smaller side where the suit was clearly intended for lankier individuals— designers simply anticipated all men to exceed five feet and six inches, or so Frank mumbled under his breath.

The piece was jet black, sleek in all the right places and sculpting to his body in elegant dark lines making him appear like he was about to step foot on the bloodred carpet of a high-end event swarmed by flashing cameras and moon-eyed admirers shouting from the sidelines in hopes of grabbing his attention. Curls of black lace patterns were embroidered into the lower ends of the sleeves and the hem of the coat, curling up the torso and dissipating towards the chest. The silver of the button clasp keeping the jacket shut over Frank's dark button-down shirt caught the dashboard lighting of Gerard's car and glistened, as though winking cheekily at Frank who couldn't keep shifting in a mixture of sheepishness and discomfort due to the clunky weight of his leg cast. He'd been humiliated when he discovered the specific alterations Kristin had done to the suit in order to accommodate the cast that had become something of another physical attribute in the past months. His wrist had healed well enough to allow him a much lighter brace over time, but due to the complicated break of his leg, he'd undergone two surgeries prolonging the healing period.

"Where are we even going that requires me to dress like this?" Frank gestured over himself. "I look like I'm gonna go champagne click glasses with Leonardo Dicaprio or bump elbows with Blake Lively at the Met Gala."

"Please. If you were invited to something as extravagant as the Met Gala, your outfit would be much flashier, Kristin would make sure of it." Gerard glanced over Frank's apparel, tenderness emitting from him that sent a wave of complete relaxation through Frank as if a sea breeze tinted in lavender embraced him head to toe. "But for the type of event we'll be attending tonight, you're perfect."

Frank fumbled to conceal his flush by turning the other way, but caught his reflection in the crossfire. "Avoiding my questions now? I've had a strong gut feeling this entire time that you're keeping this a secret for my sake and not yours."

"You'd be right to depend on your gut instinct. Since you're all-knowing now. Even more than me, you might make me jealous."

Frank rolled his eyes, masking the faintest of smiles urging the corners of his mouth to lift before he refused it access. He stared down at his feet, mouth quickly turning into a scowl immediately, tampering with whatever traces of a smile had managed to sneak onto his face. Polished dress shoes had been abandoned and Kristin begrudgingly gave him to okay to slip on one of his faded Converse just to make him feel like less of a mannequin and it seemed to do the trick as his eyes followed over the details in his apparel, but he couldn't get over the the stocky black cast surrounding his lower leg. At least it matched the color palette of his ensemble, but he knew it would earn him stares, wherever they were headed, the way it had through the duration of his healing.

The stares were at their worst when Frank was fresh out of the hospital and due for other forms of treatment to ensure his bones would heal in a healthy alignment and he could maneuver himself the way he had before. Whispers blizzarded through the school upon his return after the new year's arrival, some misshapen rumors and others the brutal 'truth' Frank and the Ways composed on the surface. Out of all the things people could've been concerned with, they chose to comment on Frank's strange outburst and rebellion in a disdaining manner, claiming he was bound to get into trouble if he was staying true to his involvement with a member of the Way family. Their scrutiny and the heavy energy that emanated from them was most foul, a ceaseless pressure crushing against Frank's skull at every turn. Sometimes he swore he was being spun into a web so bitter that he was absorbing their condescension and felt it manifest in him in ways where he found himself on the verge of snapping at everyone with unexplainable anger that wasn't his own. He almost couldn't stand the way their whispers hurricaned under his skin and made him feel nauseous as ceaseless waves washed over him.

Frank's heart constantly pounded and his head felt like it was readying itself to split open ever since he awakened the magic, but it was a small price to pay for triumph through vanquishing the evil stalking him.

Frank disregarded all thoughts of one of the troubles he'd experienced now that his magic had unfurled. His locket glistened silver in the muted light and Frank curled a hand around it, stroking the clasp.

"I feel like Kristin was seconds away from putting me in a gown that flows out behind me when I walk. Just the thought is ridiculous." Frank hopped onto a much lighter topic, pretending his head didn't rest heavy on his shoulders.

"Hmm." Gerard hummed almost absentmindedly, but when Frank turned to arch an eyebrow at him, he discovered Gerard's sweeping eyes observing his outfit, repeatedly flickering between him and the road they smoothly sailed on. There was the suggestion of a specific feeling brewing beneath his eyes and his aura that was just out of reach, slipping through Frank's hands like slick rubies in rushing rivers.

"What? Why are you looking at me like that?" Frank hadn't meant for it to come out accusingly, but after growing accustomed to easily reading into the emotions others emanated, he came to be uneasy when a certain feeling wasn't instantly detectable. He felt he was being shut out to some degree, intentionally or not.

Gerard's mouth split into an unexpectedly impish smirk, head tilting to the side in thought. "I'm at risk of you slaughtering me for saying this, but the thought of you in a gown is the furthest from unappealing."

"Oh my god!" Frank flushed vividly red and couldn't be apologetic over the strong wave of his scent filling the small space between them, instead reaching out to shove at Gerard's arm. Of course, he didn't budge a centimeter, only broke out into laughter despite himself. "Sorry to break the news this way, but I'm not putting on a dress for you."

"You definitely have the legs to pull one off." Gerard's eyes quickly flashed towards Frank's legs, pausing for a moment to drag his gaze across their length, and Frank felt the igniting of a spark simmering in the lower ends of his gut, but they were entirely derived from Gerard's wandering thoughts.

"Keep your eyes on the road." Frank growled.

Gerard fondly rolled his eyes, but complied. "My most grumpy sweetheart."

Frank crossed his arms over his chest and wouldn't even admit to himself that he melted into his seat the way he tended to do whenever an endearment slipped from Gerard's lips. No matter how often Gerard used them, Frank couldn't grow immune to the saccharine tone, as if there was no sweeter person better suited for the title in Gerard's perspective. In his battle to remain nonchalant, he knew that the erratic rhythm of his heart in all of its inability to be silenced gave him away. It earned the softest fond chuckle Frank decided to take as a gentle landing to the blow of embarrassment that came over him every time. He supposed, in all fairness, he owed Gerard his reactions if he knew all of Gerard's by a simple reading.

The further they embarked down the road, the more familiar the path became. In the breaking of the clearing, through the brush and the parting of the trees, Frank had barely made out the outline of the building before he was going rigid from sudden realization and hissing, "You are not taking me to prom."

Gerard's grin was bright enough to serve as a replacement for the sun. "Prom is an important pastime. Besides, I never entertained the thought of attending one of these, then again I never had anyone I wanted to go with."

Frank groaned. "Gerard, my leg is useless. I don't know how to dance either, even if I was perfectly fine I'd still be stumbling around like both my legs are broken."

"You're perfectly fine, Frank. We don't need to dance, and if there comes a time when we're tempted, I guarantee I won't ask you to do anything strenuous." A note of hesitation wired in the beat of silence that followed. "Unless you'd really prefer not to attend. I won't force you to do anything you're uncomfortable with, we can just go to either of our houses and watch a movie."

Frank was violently uncomfortable with the thought of being surrounded by his classmates that more or less moved on from the state of his brokenness, but still glanced at him in such a strange way that it stirred a slow gathering of negativity making him sick to his stomach. He didn't doubt a majority of the senior and junior classes would be present, giving him a stifling feeling of panic, but he also recalled his friends animatedly discussing their plans for prom and not hiding their disappointment when Frank insisted he had no intentions of showing up since dances weren't his thing. Frank did well with distractions; if he could focus on a certain group of energy and devote his time to it, it lessened the intensity of the migraine and helped reduce the need to bolt from the public to rest in a silent, dark room for a couple hours to regain his energy.

On top of all of it, Frank didn't have the heart to crush the spark of excitement in Gerard that he put on hold in consideration of Frank. He hadn't described to Gerard much about the symptoms of his magic, ridden with guilt each time he so much as mentioned it, so he rathered suffering in silence— but somehow, Gerard knew and tended to him as often as possible to keep him from growing too overwhelmed. Besides, Frank was already made up, and he had to admit he was tempted by the thought of being drawn into Gerard's arms through the night as they swayed the way they had in his bedroom the first time he visited the Way household.

"Okay," Frank sighed, "I'll go, but on one condition."

"Anything." Gerard said without hesitation, bringing a tinge of pink to Frank's cheeks.

"Tomorrow it's gonna be just you and me," Frank's voice softened. "No one else, just— I feel like we need that. It's not that I don't love your family, I just need to run away with you for a little while sometimes."

"I've already established that until you're completely healed, whatever you desire is unquestionably yours." Gerard bloomed in a garden of flowers, unfurling petals tilting up towards Frank who was the sun in his land. He reached over the center console, seeking, and found Frank's hand to gently clasp onto. "We'll find our meadow again. I'll carry you the whole way there, promise."

"Like some blushing bride, huh?" Frank couldn't resist threading his fingers through Gerard's, the action easier now due to the smooth healing of his wrist wrapped up in a brace.

"As much as you protest against my sweeping you off your feet, I can't help but notice you wind up enjoying yourself a lot." Gerard winked fondly, momentarily catching Frank off guard as it occurred to him he'd never witnessed Gerard motioning as such towards him. His face, in flames and perpetually pink in his presence, turned to the window so he could stare intently at the fading raindrops freckled on the tinted glass.

"Shut up." Frank grumbled.

When they arrived at the school, Gerard pulled towards the nearest curb to the entrance where the paved path was filled with influxes of embellished students excitedly making their way to the gym. The school didn't have a large enough budget to rent out a proper place to host prom in, favoring spending the money on catering and a better senior year trip that most students preferred to partake in since prom wasn't as universally enjoyed as a trip to massive theme parks in different states was. Fundraisers weren't exactly successful either due to the low numbers of attending people who weren't particularly enthusiastic about putting in so much work.

Gerard gingerly guided Frank to the vacant bench nearby, helping him lower himself on the cool stone and assuring he was comfortable. After Frank insisted he'd be just fine in the few minutes it would take for Gerard to find a proper parking spot in the overflowing lot, Gerard brushed a fleeting kiss to his forehead and briskly whisked back into the car to follow the line of vehicles slowly edging forward.

Frank's eyes roamed over the advertising banner set out in the grassy front portion of the school, elegant red script announcing the dance's much anticipated theme; Queen of Hearts, which would explain the color palette and slight extravagance added to his ensemble and Gerard's. His observing eyes quickly flitted over the dresses of zealous girls linking arms with their finely dressed dates, colors varying from reds of all shades to black and shimmering golds unless specific couples picked out their outfits according to richer tones that accentuated the royal side of the theme in a more sophisticated manner. Frank couldn't help but snort as he recalled the other themes up for voting; under the sea, casino night, and night of a thousand stars. A quarter of the options were incredibly corny in his own opinion, but then again, what did Frank know about prom?

"Oh my god, Frank? Am I seeing things?" A familiar voice called out, high and slightly breathy from surprise.

Frank swiftly looked up and found Kayleigh approaching, flocked by Frank's friends dressed in their finest apparel adorned with flawlessly styled hair for the guys and glistening jewels for the girls at their throats and ears.

"I would say you're hallucinating, but you're definitely not." Frank lifted one shoulder high in a shrug. "Getting dragged to prom wasn't on my to-do list tonight."

"You clean up really nice, holy shit. That suit looks like it costed more than my fucking house." Kayleigh's eyes rimmed in sparkling smoky eyeshadow were practically bugging out and Frank's face flamed instinctively. It probably had, in all honesty, but Frank would rather die than confirm it.

"Dude, but your leg?" Ray worriedly glanced down with raised knitted eyebrows. "Where's Gerard?"

"I'll manage. And he's just parking the car, he'll be back in a bit." Frank waved in the general direction of the parking lot. "Don't worry, he's not making me limp all the way inside by myself."

"Good. He's on thin ice, don't let him think he's not." Adam crossed his arms over his chest.

Word circulated about the 'temporary split' between the two as well since it was one of the only believable points holding up the structure of the false story they came up with. His friends that had already been apprehensive weren't helped by the news and Frank couldn't do anything to soothe their worries without shedding light on the truth that was absolutely forbidden. Gerard managed to slowly interact with the group, offering pleasant smiles and bits of charming conversation to sway them, which only left them half confused over what opinion they wanted to settle on. Gerard was terribly convincing when he wanted to be— but it was only his natural allure coming out full force, he barely needed to wear a mask to get anyone to warm to him.

"Gerard's been good to me, alright?" Frank sighed. "It was just a dumb fight, if I'm over it I don't know why everyone's still stuck on that."

"Just in case he fucks up again," Kayleigh shrugged. "It's kind of sweet he surprised you by taking you to prom, but I think he got the wrong impression. Don't you hate stuff like this?"

"I sort of did," Frank bit his lip sheepishly. "Doesn't seem so bad now."

"Not when a hot guy is offering to take you," Frances smirked, pale and vampiric with her coiled black locks and black corseted gown pooling around her, a crimson ribbon doing the laces in a crisscross pattern.

"You guys should hang out with us," Ray offered with a broad smile. "We're all friends now, right?"

"Frenemies," Adam thumped his chest above his heart, "My fiery loathing for Gerard Way is—"

"Ending right now, for fuck's sake, I didn't know a guy was capable of being this dramatic." Ray swiftly cut him off with rolling eyes, coaxing a snicker from Frances and Kayleigh.

"I'm waxing poetic! It's motherfucking prom night, none of us are supposed to be boring." Adam stepped forward with his arms splayed out, turning towards the group of friends. "I better see you all busting out every move you've got on the dancefloor with me tonight or I'm cutting everyone off when we graduate."

"Except for me." Frank pitched in.

"Except for you and your dead leg. You're the only one with an excuse." Adam looked over his shoulder and nodded.

Just as Adam was pestering Frances for giving out a warning on her dancing ability due to her platform heels, Gerard returned right then, effectively sobering everyone up as he usually did without meaning to. Frank suppressed a laugh at the pairs of wide eyes and the tiny shuffle backwards they all did, caution highlighting each of their movements. It was interesting knowing Gerard was someone everyone feared when Frank never came close to knowing what that felt like.

"Sorry for taking a bit long, darling, there's quite a few people arriving just now." Gerard strode to Frank's side to aid him in standing, then politely turned to his friends with his winning beam that rendered them momentarily speechless. "I was hoping to find you all here tonight. You look amazing, especially the ladies. You'll leave all the others jealous."

Kayleigh and Frances grew equally flustered, mumbling their thanks and tucking locks of their perfectly curled hair behind their ears, doing everything to avoid Gerard's eyes. Frank bit his lip hard to keep from grinning at the waves of bashfulness radiating off them. The involuntary blush that engulfed his cheeks as a result of its intensity caught him off guard. It wasn't in their favor that on top of his compliments, Gerard was ineffably beautiful that night, enough to make hearts pirouette in a frenzied dance of sheer panic from the impossibleness of it all.

"We were just saying we should all hang out tonight," Ray broke the ice with his contagious kindness and smile. "You know, only if you want to. I know the whole point of having a date is to get some one-on-one time."

"We'd love to. I can't promise I won't whisk Frank away at some point in the night, but it would be a pleasure to join you." Gerard was just as amicable, if not more, ultimately softening whatever tension was building in his presence. Frank raised an eyebrow at Adam as they were knitting into a group to head towards the school, earning a defeated glance and a two-fingered gesture stating 'I'm watching him'.

Under Gerard's helpful arm, Frank mumbled to him with the utmost fondness, "Kiss-ass."

Gerard smirked, leaning in close. "You know it."

The inside of the gym was bathed in colorful lights matching the theme, a moody atmosphere casted across props and intricate handmade decorations strung along the room or propped up in corners where gaggles of students lingered to giddily chatter. Frank wasn't very pleased by the fact that at the entryway, under an archway twined with beauty paper mache roses, photographs were being taken. He weakly smiled as Gerard was all too eager to keep a steady arm around his waist guiding him closer for a pose, nearly flinching at the intense flash, and he grumbled all the way inside much to Gerard's ceaseless amusement. He batted away red and white balloons being tossed about and managed a genuine smile when Gerard gently caught one to tap the tip of Frank's nose with it before releasing it to the groups of people making a game out of the decorations.

The music thrummed with life in every surrounding surface. Frank felt it, bursts of color and images flickering before his eyes and lasting with bright radiance whenever his eyes fell shut. He could sense the environment sinking under his skin; the pureness of cheer, anticipation being met, fragile and rare notes of sadness for those whose evening had been spoiled by unforeseen circumstances. He could practically touch the passion from young lovers getting through the evening with other goals in his mind, bringing a stain of pink to his cheeks as he turned away from that particular feeling out of respect for their privacy. He was engulfed in a wave of sound and emotion, combing through the senses coexisting with different color palettes, willing himself not to be buried but to instead ride the tip of the wave while allowing his own feelings to stir without absorbing those belonging to anyone else.

Frank smiled as his friends danced around him, their laughter bright and real over the pounding music, a surplus of joy laid out on display as the lights encompassed their grinning faces. There was no greater feeling of contentment than getting to witness those he loved completely lose themselves in unadulterated happiness, coming loose from all restraints and banding together to create memories they could keep preserved in their hearts through time. Gerard sat beside him in solidarity and held onto his hand underneath the table— monitoring him, making sure he wasn't getting overwhelmed. Frank kept on with an ordinary composure while practicing control over his intake of his newly intensified surroundings, even standing at one point and twirling Kayleigh around a couple of times when she playfully insisted she was growing bored of Adam's poor dancing skills just to rile him up. Her red dress was layered like rose petals, flaring out around her, and suddenly, watching her spin in a blur of crimson elicited the strangest vertigo. His smile began to wilt.

Gerard noticed immediately and gently cut in, cool fingers brushing Frank's forehead as his other hand rested carefully at his waist.

"I think I'm going to take Frank outside for a bit of air," Gerard murmured, "I hope you don't mind."

"Is he okay?" Kayleigh's brow furrowed deeply in concern.

"I'm fine," Frank breathed over the stuttering pattern of his heart pounding deafeningly in his ears. "I probably should step out for a little. I still feel weird sometimes, it's taking me longer than I thought to fully recover."

"Whatever you need, man, just let us know if you guys need any help." Adam cut in, nodding towards the open exit on the other side of the gym.

As he was guided away, Frank leaned into Gerard's side, shutting his eyes tight. "Jesus. I'm sorry, there's just— there's so much going on."

"I know, sweetheart, you don't need to apologize." Gerard soothed him. "The night is young. You may still get to enjoy it if the fresh air does you good. I know where I can take you for now."

Frank only curiously opened his eyes to see where he was being taken once some of the lightheadedness dispersed, cold air nipping sharply at his flushed cheeks and drying the bead of sweat gathering at the nape of his neck.

A gazebo had been planted in the center of the courtyard, all benches moved aside to make room for the massive addition that was occupied by very few, surprisingly enough, but Frank retracted that thought as he noted the crisp chill in the evening air. The type of formal clothing most dressed in that night wasn't appropriate for the weather and it seemed a waste to cover it up with the thickness of a jacket secured over their bodies to preserve their warmth just for the sake of venturing outside.

The gazebo was latticed, vines blooming with white flowers intertwining and wrapping around the pillars like vivid green delicate limbs grasping onto anything to hold steady. Twinkling lights emitting a bright pale gold color draped across the sloped rooftops and spiraled alongside the vines, glinting like wayward diamonds caught in the sun-bathed sea. White gossamer framed the arched entryway and billowed softly in the breeze, reminding Frank of the way a newlywed bride's veil fluttered as she floated down the steps of the church with her beloved encircling her arm with their own. The lights captured the faintest shimmer instilled in the delicate fabric and deepened the blood red shade of the silk ribbons tying it around its posts to prevent it from being swept up in the light breeze tunneling over the placid Oregon town. The sight of it paired with the crisp night air filling Frank's lungs worked as an instant antidote allowing him to perk up.

Gerard carefully guided Frank up the few steps leading to the platformed ground beyond the gazebo's curved pillars. The floor was patterned in black and white hexagons shining flawlessly under the glow of the lights, hardly touched by any, even the couple and the two friends lingering nearby. At the sight of Frank and Gerard, they continuously glanced over before deciding to grant them privacy with the faintest smiles painted on their faces as they retreated back to the building to blend back in with the rush of the crowd dancing the night away.

"Might I tempt you with a slow dance?" Gerard asked with overemphasized chivalry, bowing without his glinting eyes parting from Frank's.

Frank quirked a dubious eyebrow, going to comment on the inappropriateness of the music currently playing, but on cue, the song melted away into the liquidy tone of a soft guitar that would soon accompany the croony rasp of the singer's voice, a song Frank admittedly had somewhere in his countless playlists. His lips spread into an involuntary grin immediately after one unfolded on Gerard's face, a knowing look he accentuated with a tap of two fingers against his temple as if to say, 'telepathy, right?'

"Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if my leg wasn't so stiff. Are we just gonna stand in place and awkwardly stare at each other?" Frank pointed to his cast.

Rolling his eyes, Gerard approached him with a smile as soft as the gossamer pinned to the arched entry of the gazebo, making Frank's breath hitch as his hands rested on his waist to coax him forward. Electricity traveled underneath Frank's skin and he fought not to get sucked into the vortex from the bit of contact that had its physical effect as well. Gerard lifted him up, pulling him close to his body, until Frank's feet came to rest atop of his. Frank panicked briefly, afraid of crushing Gerard with his weight, but he only met the sight of pure amusement and softness as he looked up in alarm.

"I couldn't ever grow bored of staring at you, much less would I ever feel awkward." Gerard secured his arms around Frank's waist, their chests grazing and egging on the spirals of warmth tearing through Frank's body and setting aflame the extra degree of heat now resting in permanent fever in his blood. He swallowed, aware of the weight of Gerard's hands and the intoxicatingly sweet scent emanating from him, his eyes fluttering as his face came nearer until their foreheads brushed in an almost meeting.

Frank's fingers gripped Gerard's shoulders tightly before opting to ring his arms around his neck when Gerard began to gently sway them. Wherever he stepped, Frank followed in synchronization he didn't need to try to achieve; Gerard guided them both with ease, setting them into a tranquil rhythm that resembled floating. Frank breathed out soft laughter for ever thinking his weight would be an issue for a practically indestructible being who had handled him countless times in the past. He allowed his body to melt into the rocking motion of their slow dance without regret, keeping up the thinnest barrier to prevent from sinking too deep into the emotions he sensed below Gerard's surface and adopting them without ever meaning to. The intensity of those accidental and unexplainable encounters was startling, oftentimes feeling like there was no chance of unlinking himself, but Frank always managed to burst free right before he approached a brink he never wanted to surpass.

Frank fought not to think of it. Instead, he thought about how warm the glow of the gazebo lights appeared behind the thin skin of his lids when they shut over his eyes, the satiny softness of Gerard's skin when his cheek pressed against it, the even rhythm his heartbeat made that thrummed for the both of them when their chests were pressed together this way. Gerard's hand soothingly stroked up and down his lower back as he sank into their embrace.

"I could get used to this." Frank whispered into the expensive fabric of Gerard's suit. He felt the rumble of fond laughter forming in Gerard's chest and an instinctive smile touched his lips, one hand gliding down to rest near the rosebud tucked into the pocket of his jacket.

"As fond as I am of your friends, nothing compares to being alone with you." Gerard's whisper like onyx velvet cloaked around Frank.

"You're winning them over," Frank faintly smiled. "I think they might even consider you one of us by the time graduation rolls around."

"Good," Gerard paused and when he spoke again, he sounded almost abashed to Frank's total surprise. "I'd hate to be a reason you and them drift apart. You know I want you surrounded by the best of company and that would be them. They took you in straight away when you had no one here."

"You won't be, you don't even have to worry about that. God, I just hate that we have to stick with that bullshit story, it's making everyone think we're dysfunctional." Frank groaned.

"None of it will matter in time. It hardly does now."

"No," Frank softened, releasing the last of his spark of frustration in a fleeting sigh. He turned his face, meeting Gerard's eyes for an infinite second, guiding his lips to his cheek to press a tender kiss there. "None of it will. I love you."

Gerard melted. "I love you."

Frank's fingers loosely wrapped around the lapel and clung on, practically burying his face into Gerard's neck to lose himself in the feeling of him, but he hesitated. Although at times they tended to sink deeply into each other, there were still boundaries, some Frank wasn't certain had thickened since things changed drastically after that night in Washington.

Swallowing thickly, Frank asked, "Gerard?"

"Hmm?" Gerard's hum seemed far away as he strayed far into a dreamlike state as he was entangled with Frank like so. He returned the second he heard his voice, pulling back to meet his eyes with an inquisitive look in the tranquil softness of forest green and brown irises. It was partly relieving to see, considering the question building in Frank's mind, but he thought to ask regardless to get the matter out of the way.

"I haven't really wanted to ask you this because it felt like . . . I don't know. Touching a sore spot." Frank swallowed thickly, mortified knowing the motion was inescapably within Gerard's notice. "But does my blood— has it changed? Is it harder for you than it was before to be close to me?"

Understanding came to settle over Gerard's face and Frank was deeply relieved to find no signs of hardness etching into any corner or soft angle, no barriers of ice emerging in jagged icicles from the ground up to separate them. He only took a moment to think through his response, his gentle yet secure hold on Frank never loosening.

"I can't say the immensity of the struggle I face has worsened. Though . . . you feel warmer. Your heart is always beating a measure faster than before. It's impossible not to notice."

Frank felt scarlet spread across his cheeks like an unstoppable wildfire. He lowered his head so his cheek pressed to Gerard's shoulder, listening to the erratic rhythm of his own heartbeat. "I can feel it. The difference."

"It's not just from being so close to me and my devastatingly good looks?" Gerard jested softly, eliciting an involuntary snort and developing grin from Frank.

"You already know that's always been part of it. Nice to hear I've made you self-aware." Frank subconsciously pressed forward so no part of him was disconnected from Gerard. As his cheeks resumed their burning, a similar feeling spiked in his chest, almost enough to make him suddenly spring away, though it was the last thing he wanted to do. "But seriously, I just— god. I don't know how to talk about this with you. Not because I feel like I can't, I don't know how to explain lots of things and I guess some piece of me is scared of upsetting you."

"I've already accepted your awakening, Frank. That's a part of you. You aren't my enemy, I hope to never be yours." Gerard's velvety soft fingertips guided to the underside of Frank's chin, tilting his face until he was able to look into it openly with profound devotion echoing with his growing concern, two things Frank couldn't ever doubt, but he could fear for it.

"Never. It's just, it's a reminder of this clear divide that's always existed and how much harder things are bound to get. I'm constantly waiting for it. The moment the pin drops and everything around us collapses again." Frank's voice lowered into a mere whisper that wouldn't be discernible to human ears, it was barely audible to his own— but he knew Gerard captured every syllable by the way he tensed all around, strung like a bow that would splinter before given the opportunity to soar. His tender fingers fell away from his chin and Frank took the chance to turn his head to the side, fighting down a wobbling breath.

"You blame yourself for everything. I know you do." Gerard's hand tightened around Frank's waist as if to protect him from his own dreadful thoughts.

Frank winced. The pull of his own self loathing was powerful as the unyielding grip of the ocean, the deep end which drowned all in sight. It was a new addition to his composure that grayed his thoughts and sight, looming with an execrable presence that constantly added weight to Frank's movements. He wanted to deny it at first, thinking he'd done the best he could in every way he had and he should revel in his scarce triumph, but as he turned to examine the lingering ripples, he found a tsunami whirling in waters that were never peaceful, but never quite so violent.

Frank didn't want to acknowledge that out of fear of what may emerge if he spoke about it openly.

He settled for a different fear. "What about Brian? He won't let us get away with this, will he?"

Gerard took his turn burying his face in Frank's neck, using him as a tether of sorts, the tickle of his exhale sinking into Frank's skin and evoking a shiver from him. "Likely not. But we'll be prepared. Brian is much weaker than Stefan was, he doesn't have any particular abilities that can lend him an advantage in a hunt. He's as good as dead if he ever tries coming back here."

Frank didn't take kindly to the idea of another showdown, another moment of lives being risked for the security of one alone. It didn't seem fair nor right. His jaw stiffened, hardened by sudden resolve crashing through him.

"If he comes after me, I don't want any of you to fight. I'll take him on."

Gerard instantly pulled back, his eyes flashing in alarm and bewilderment. "Absolutely not. That's fucking insane, Frank."

"I set Stefan on fire with my mind. I was half dead. Imagine if I learned how to control and wield my power? I'll be invincible." Frank breathlessly spewed. He could feel it; the imminence of great power warming his blood, pumping faster as he spoke. He could use it to his advantage even if he feared it, that much he knew. Frank wasn't the fragile human he once was. He could withstand supernatural forces with his own deeply embedded in his DNA.

"Exactly, you almost died. You forget a vampire is very capable of swiftly killing a powerful witch. The chances of you slaughtering Brian are as high as him killing you and I can't allow that risk."

Gerard presented a fair point— Frank didn't want to admit it made sense, but it weakened his argument, building power melting away in his bloodstream to resume its normal flow. Frank wanted to cultivate it from the ground up again, but it was impossible to deny a vampire was an even match. Stefan had been the exception; he hadn't known to expect Frank to fight back with power. There was no telling how prepared a vampire could be when it came to a battle with a witch.

The forbidden blossomed in Frank much like the apple which had been presented to Eve. He knew of the dangers, the impurities, yet he was allured by the supple red flesh displayed for his taking. He was running out of options, settling for last resorts despite knowing what the answer would be.

Frank met Gerard's eyes in unwavering eye contact even as his heart banged at his ribcage, begging him not to speak, yet he still did in a weak, untrustworthy voice. "Then change me. Make me into one of your kind."

Instead of anger erupting, unexpected exasperation fell over Gerard, and somehow that stung worse than any outburst one could expect in response to their ridiculousness. Gerard shook his head, refusing to meet Frank's eyes again with an almost pained expression.

"I'm not having this conversation with you. This is getting increasingly worse, I don't know how you come up with these things." Gerard breathed the last words in disbelief, an almost melancholy note coming into play, wrapping around Frank's heart in a thorny embrace.

A flash of fear shot down Frank's spine as the magic of the night began to fade like unraveling threads of a tapestry, but he couldn't eliminate any of the chances close to them if there was a way anything could work out in the end to save them all.

"Please, don't be upset," Frank implored. "You have to understand. The way you want to protect me? I want to protect you, too. All of you. There has to be hybrids out there that are alive, right?"

Gerard sighed. "Yes, but—"

"We'll run. We'll keep running until they give up on trying to find us." Frank's fingers urgently curled into Gerard's jacket, his face drawing closer until his lips were brushing against his cool cheek with every increasingly desperate word escaping him. Frank felt as though his mouth had become a facet with no available knob to vanquish the stream, but words were capable of overflowing much like bodies of water, floods breaking tranquility in disruptive arrival.

Gerard attempted to stop the drip by curving one hand around Frank's face, pulling back to look him in the eye in an anguished meeting. His thumb left a trail of ice over his skin and Frank stared with wide eyes, furrowed brows.

"You aren't thinking clearly, Frank. You think with your heart and I can admire the amount of love you hold in it, but you can't allow it to cloud your judgment this way. What is a life spent running from everything?" Gerard shook his head slowly, eyes flickering across all of Frank's features like he was the one thing he treasured most, but he was slipping from him, a dying flame in darkness. Frank fought to show he was rooted in place, shaking his head in return and taking Gerard's hand from his face to hold it in his own.

"I'm already running. There's no difference. But if you change me, at least I stand a chance at making sure no one messes with me or any of us ever again."

Gerard stared at Frank incredulously, as if he were a complicated mathematical problem that only minds made of pure genius could solve. It wasn't the first time he looked at him that way; Frank was only ever an enigma to Gerard, one he never ceased trying to figure out. Frank grew frustrated with not being transparent enough to make Gerard understand him.

"Why would you want to live like this? After all I've shared with you, Frank. The suffering myself and my family have endured due to an endless life." Gerard frowned deeply.

Frank hadn't thought about how insensitive his pleas could've sounded. He sought to resolve that, squeezing Gerard's hand gently and sliding his other hand up the side of his neck to catch in his dark hair.

"I know none of you chose this life. But I choose it. That's the difference." Frank negotiated softly.

Instead of smoothing things over, a touch of frustration reached Gerard's eyes. "Why are you so okay with this? How could you be?"

Frank searched his heart. Beneath the desperation for survival and protecting the ones that mattered most, there was something more pivotal, ghostly and full of too much sadness for a newer soul like himself. He knew it could only be love that brought it to life. Beautiful things could be gratuitously cruel sometimes.

Frank caught his painful breath in time and swallowed it down deeply, shutting his eyes as he brought his forehead to rest against Gerard's. His eyes fell shut. "I may be a witch, but I'm not immortal. I'm gonna get old, Gerard, and one day I won't be here anymore. How could I leave you? I don't want to be with you in spirit or whatever people do after they die, I want to be with you like this."

Gerard's hold on him tightened so they felt intertwined, inseparable. His palpable sorrow crashed through every makeshift barrier and showed in his haunted voice as he choked out Frank's name. Frank felt it in his own throat like he had spoken, a frightening gesture, but he didn't allow how startled he felt drive him from his path.

Frank guided one of Gerard's hands to his heart for him to feel how it struggled to beat while he envisioned this pain he spoke of. "While I'm young. While you still think I'm beautiful."

"You'll always be beautiful to me. God, Frank, how could you think— it isn't only your face I hold dear." Gerard laughed mirthlessly.

Frank shook his head. It wasn't only about beauty. "You're not understanding."

"What is there to be understood?"

"I want to be with you for as long as time will allow it. There's eternity ahead of us and I want to live through it with you. You know how I feel about you, did you think I wouldn't realize one day I'm gonna be forced to leave you?"

Gerard was quiet. He pulled back to study Frank's face, tracing the curve of his jaw, his thumb traveling to his trembling lips to touch every soft curve. Frank burned for his touch, hoping to be granted an eternity with it otherwise he would refuse to ever rest. Frank was young, people were so flippantly certain there were plenty of other loves for him to fall into in the future and he couldn't take his emotion so seriously at a tender age, but there was no love to be had if it wasn't between him and Gerard. What transpired after the first meeting was beyond normalcy, surpassing humanity itself and writing them into a celestial shell of existence only they could completely know. There was no backing out of it or even the desire to do so.

Gerard touched the locket at Frank's neck and finally spoke. "You know how much I love you, Frank, but no matter who or what you have around you, living forever is never as blissful as you think it is. The soul isn't meant to live beyond a hundred years at most. Still, many grow tired before then."

Frank opened his mouth to protest. He was silenced by Gerard resting a finger over his lips, a silent plea to be allowed to continue. Although Frank was bursting with the need for interruption, he pinched his mouth shut, waiting.

"You have parents and friends who love you. Would you be willing to abandon them, fake your death so they'll grieve, and then watch as they die while you stay the same? Having lied to them?"

Frank's chest felt like it was being pulverized. In reality, his desire was a selfish one. He would gain, but what would others lose? He had a habit of underestimating his importance in everyone's lives. Just because some faltered in showing they cared so often didn't mean he faded into nonexistence in their hearts. Frank's supposed accident had enough impact to work as a lesson to him. He hadn't considered the steps that would need to be taken in order for no one to know of Frank's new immortality. They couldn't know of his transformation; he would need to vanish, remain in shadow until those he loved no longer existed on earth, giving them nothing but a sudden death. Not even the truth they deserved for all of the pain they'd endure.

Once again, Frank was truly at a loss. He craved simplicity, the feeling that Gerard would sooner give in if all was wrapped in the velvet he wished to feel against his skin. Complications and worthy reasons for abstaining would never fully dislodge, some too personal for Frank to wish they would, but he could weave a fantasy where there were no ties to his name that gave him importance in anything but existing solely for himself until the moment he came to exist for someone else as well. An easy state of mortality Gerard could give into. Imagining things to escape reality was the undoing of Frank's heart.

"Don't you want me?" Frank choked out, the words coming out more watery and unstable than he ever could've anticipated. "Would you even let yourself consider it? I don't want to think you only would in another life."

A soft kiss with the coolness of snow pressed to Frank's forehead, instilling so much consolation in him it was a shock to Frank's system at the start for how it began absolving his pain. Gerard moved to whisper close to his ear, hugging him to his body, soothingly rubbing circles into his lower back. "I want you like I've never wanted anything in my life. I would do anything to keep you if it were possible. But one thing I refuse to ever be again is selfish and that's exactly what I'll become by taking this life from you just because I want something. And I'll never ask you to give it up."

Frank curled his hands into loose fists over Gerard's chest, fighting back the gravity of the black hole opening wide in his stomach. "I don't know what to do anymore, Gerard. I have no options. It's not fucking fair."

"You do. You'll live, as you were always meant to, for as long as possible. As human." Gerard dragged his lips to the corner of Frank's jaw so they were cheek to cheek. "Engaging with your own world will draw you further into it. If I draw you out, the dangers increase."

Frank couldn't bear the thought of enduring it— not alone.

"But you'll come with me?" Frank hated to sound frail, more so after the incident, but there was no escaping the hollow weakness of his own voice as he thought of there ever coming a time where he was forced to masquerade as ordinary without a spine to hoist him up, a second part of his soul to keep him leveled, sane in a world of insanity.

Gerard brought Frank's locket to his lips to press a soft kiss there if he couldn't touch Frank's heart. "Of course. Forever."

"It's not forever." Frank slowly shook his head, swallowing down a tangled lump in his throat and almost choking on it. "That's the time you have."

Gerard gazed down at him with a helplessly crestfallen look that made Frank wish he could take back his words, reduce them to something less than ash, but he'd already scraped the surface of Gerard's heart he swore he'd never forsake again. His apologies were muddled much like his head, trapped under parted lips. Gerard seemed to know of his troubles; he soothed a thumb over his lower lip that told him he could release the poisonous breath held behind them. Frank expelled it and the sound was trembling as much as his legs beneath him. He fell into Gerard who opened his arms for the embrace of his pain and pleaded for his vulnerability so he could nourish it, strengthen it. Frank entrusted him with his weakness along with everything that made him strong.

Gerard's thumb stroked under his lip, his chin, his hand loosely curling to tenderly pet at his neck. Frank's breath tangled in his throat. He searched for Gerard's eyes and found them alight with undisclosed yearning and conflict flickering right beside the pupil, their gaze set on Frank's neck ripe with life. His skin was but a delicate barrier between razor-sharp teeth Frank was familiar with and the very source of his life, but he knew the way Gerard would sink into his flesh wouldn't feel like an abhorrent defiance against nature. He would be as tender as his touch, taking Frank into a sweeping embrace and skimming lips across sensitive skin so the bite of his teeth would be the dullest pinch lulling him into a state of bliss right before the inevitable agony from the venom entering his system. Frank almost tilted his head back, baring Gerard's temptation to him, beseeching to be taken. He wouldn't. It was too cruel to even think of for long.

"If . . . things were different. Maybe. Maybe it would be easier to consider." Gerard sounded as if it were his deepest regret and his most disgraceful sin. Frank was unable to decide if Gerard felt that way for his desire to turn Frank as a whole or the fact that he couldn't.

Frank breathed deeply when Gerard's hand fell away from his neck that felt like the decay of all that could have been. His eyes fluttered, voice like a funeral as he dared to whisper, "I wish they were."

That would always be Frank's deepest regret. Choosing things his own way with no consideration for the consequences. He shouldn't be breathing— at first, death had only seemed a viable option, but now it seemed like it had been the only result to end the madness he caused all because he loved someone.

"Forever doesn't need to be infinite." Gerard curled a hand delicately around Frank's cheekbone, lingering. "Forever is everything between your first and last breath. I may not have been there for the first, but I promise I'll be at your side to hold you during your last."

Gerard always gazed at Frank not like he was the night sky, but the creator of it. The artist who wielded the power to invent beauty itself, touching his fingertips to every inch of the globe he desired to inspire the most barren land to bloom with flourishing green. Frank couldn't understand what about him was fit for fascination, yet he had it, an endless ocean of it that Gerard would only continue to fill. And for that, wrapped under the starry-eyed and all-encompassing warmth of Gerard's affection, Frank knew the one thing he could never regret at the very least was loving him. Gerard had said it himself long ago and the words never rang so true; loving him was the only thing that made sense. As Frank became an enigma to himself, the clearest thing in his heart was knowing Gerard's was beside it.

Frank circled his arms around Gerard's neck, anchoring one hand at the back of his neck to guide him down. Their eyes fluttered shut, noses brushing and breaths being exchanged, up until the moment Gerard guided his lips to Frank's. In all of Frank's self-doubt wondering if he was worthy of being rewarded with the company of this ethereal creature, whatever nectar laid within his sweet taste left him with no question that it was never a matter of earning each other's affection, some force greater than them chose for them to connect. A touch of lips, a meeting of eyes, an uncertain twitch of hands brushing together. Evil always sought to destroy beautiful things. And nothing was more beautiful than the pounding of Frank's heart pleading to escape his chest, to burrow itself in Gerard's and lay in coldness beside it like an eternal tomb when lovers were laid to rest. In death or in life, what bliss it would be to stay intertwined however they could.

Gerard continued to hold Frank through the endless kisses they exchanged, soft and broken breaths scattering between them like wilting petals of wildflowers extracted from their meadow. Perhaps evil was obstinate, immortality reckless, living treacherous. Perhaps someday, it would feel as though they wouldn't survive it. The only thing Frank wanted to know for the rest of the evening was how to be loved under the twinkle of lights like stars Gerard robbed from the skies to please his searching gaze.

It was a thing he knew well; Gerard loved him always in twilight, unconditionally in the morning's golden glow. Frank intended to do the same for him for however many days fate permitted him. 

— 

This fic is my love letter to the series I grew up with and have adored since the moment I decided, "what the heck, let's give a try" in a bookstore one evening with $20 leftover from Christmas. I was 11 years old. Later on, I discovered MCR, and these two things are some of my greatest artistic loves and they've been so consistent in my life that one day I entertained the thought of fusing the two together. It was a funny thought at first, I thought it would be impossible to make it work— but when I asked myself why it would be impossible, I came up with a reason or two, but then I considered that a movie fusion doesn't have to be word for word, and I heard a little 'ding!' sound. So I pondered, and I planned, and I weaved everything into a makeshift little lightbulb that flickered over my head and allowed me to write what we have now; Porcelain, my Twilight AU. 

And it's one of my greatest accomplishments. I put some of my best writing I've done in here, so many little pieces of my soul and I got to show you exactly which scenes from the original series are my favorites by dressing them in my own words, it's just been the most fun experience and I'm ecstatic that there's more coming soon to share with you. Thank you all for joining me and for your lovely comments, you're the best. 

Keep an eye out for that sequel! It's gonna be called Ivory Moon :')

-rosexo