"You're always ahead of the pack, I drag behind.
You possess every trait that I lack by coincidence or by design."
— 'Drag', Placebo.

While walking towards the front gates of the school, Frank's balance decided to give up on him as the toe of his shoe rammed into the parking block while misjudging the distance between paces. Frank's eyes bulged open wide in a panic as he wobbled to keep his balance, but ultimately reigned unsuccessful as his knees buckled while trying to grab onto the empty air filled with fluttering snowflakes melting before they made a landing impact on the ground. He fearfully stared towards a deep puddle he beforehand avoided stepping into and realized he was about to land inside it; before miraculously being captured by pale hands that seemingly materialized out of thin air. They clamped around his waist, and solid arms pulled him back from the looming puddle vowing to douse him in icy water if he collided with it. Frank made an odd noise and batted at the air, his heart flinging out of his chest and into his throat.

When he was balanced, the arms securing him onto the ground slipped away from where they circled around his waist. Frank's head snapped up and he pivoted to see whoever caught him with sickening intuition grazing his senses. His eyes locked with a pair almost sheepishly gazing at him, pale lips pressed into a thin line with the faintest frown across them. Snowflakes tangled into the windswept black locks framing his delicate face like pearls dotting the strands. Gerard shoved his hands into the black coat buttoned around his frame, taking the smallest step backwards as if he found their proximity too close despite not touching in the merest sign of contact. Although Frank was startled in the beginning, it faded quickly to identity the one rescuing him from toppling into a puddle and humiliating himself. Only Gerard could defeat time and normal speed in order to prevent Frank from waltzing into disaster's arms.

"Am I the only one getting deja vu here?" Frank commented rather dryly. Despite the knot of emotions tightening in his throat, Frank was still miffed by his interaction with Gerard the previous day. Most of the passionate disliking shriveled away, but the sour taste of the ashes lingered. Frank wasn't sure if he could trust Gerard.

"Your lack of balance is amusing." Gerard's murmur danced on the tails of the amusement he claimed to come across whenever he took note of Frank's ungraceful way of clambering through life. The surprise of the twist left Frank's eyebrows raising high.

"Are you going to be nice today?" Frank asked, half joking and half seriously.

Instantly, as Frank should've expected, Gerard's lightheartedness dissipated. His lips twisted into a frown resembling a scowl more than anything. Frank's eyebrows fell back into place and a huge sigh heaved out of him, and he swore his irritation formed a raincloud above his head.

"I guess not." Frank wrapped a tight hand around the strap to his bag. "Thanks. Have a nice day."

Frank sharply turned on his feet to march away with his dignity intact, but he was stopped by a light tug at his bag, a soothing voice softly requesting for him to stop. Frank's hairs rose like electrical wires traveling across his skin, tiny teeth digging into pores with microscopic tears. Simultaneously, an odd pooling of warmth swarmed through the inside of Frank's belly, pushing upwards, curling deep into the center of his chest. Startled by its apparition, Frank sucked a stream of air through his teeth. He clamped his mouth into a line and squeezed his eyes shut to gain some control, but alas, the instinctive urges of his body caused him to slowly turn in Gerard's direction. His eyes flashed open and his cautious stare steadily looked into Gerard's crumbling with regret. Frank's hands gripped tightly onto the straps to his backpack digging gently into his shoulders, not knowing what else to do with them as his insides roiled.

"I expected you to tell me to fuck off and storm away." Gerard's lips turned into a wry half smile stirring up trouble in Frank's traitorous heart.

"I was tempted to." Frank shifted on his feet, uncomfortable with the behaviors of his body compared to the wavelength of his mind. At least, the frontal portion of it avidly avoiding any of the marigolds blooming one by one each time recognition of otherworldly beauty and hazy dreams reflecting suppressed desires scattered through the fields of his consciousness. Frank swallowed harshly.

An evanescent chuckle streamed through Gerard's nose so faintly that it could've been the sound of the breeze floating past, but Frank knew it stemmed from Gerard, otherwise it wouldn't have caused the hair at the back of his neck to stand.

"You're quite forward." Gerard noted observantly. Yet again, discreetly allowing interest to peek through, baffling Frank to no end.

Frank blinked. "Do you have multiple personality disorder?" He deadpanned.

Shock sprang across Gerard's face. He quickly composed it a second later, overwrought with new discomfort. "I do come off that way, don't I?"

"It's beside me that you wouldn't notice unless someone pointed it out." Frank scoffed. "Especially when it comes to you and me."

Gerard's brows furrowed deeply over his eyes. He squinted them in thought, dropping his gaze to the ground, as if it pained him to reflect on his behavior. "Yes, well . . . I'm very sorry about that, Frank. We've established I don't dislike you."

"Actions speak louder than words." Frank's hands fell to his sides with a quiet slap. "I don't know, Gerard, I don't really have a reason to trust you."

"Maybe it's not wise to trust me." Gerard said softly, giving a fresh wave of pure ice coalescing into cascading waterfalls of anguish again like a punch to the gut with digging knuckles knocking the wind out of Frank.

Frank forced himself not to gasp aloud. He breathed out hard through his nose, wobbling a bit where he stood. "Why do you say things like that?" It came out far more tremulously than he anticipated. He was already beginning to grow weary from how much he took on whenever he so much as stood near Gerard.

Gerard's eyes flickered back to Frank's stabbing gaze. The caution radiating from him passed off as a warning between the lines, but Frank was prepared to surpass them and move behind the exterior to figure out why Gerard was so intent on keeping Frank at a distance. Frank stepped closer, watching Gerard's nostrils flare.

"Why do you want me to stay away from you so bad if you don't hate me?" Frank wasn't one to persist, but the staggering mystery surrounding Gerard's firm stance over their current status was something he felt the urge to uncover.

"I've given you a reason. I don't think it's wise for good people to associate with myself." Gerard pointedly stepped back in a gliding movement too graceful for Frank's to fully process before he was reacting to Gerard's response.

"Is that your way of saying you aren't a good person?" Frank sharply rose one eyebrow.

Gerard's lips turned up at the corners the smallest bit as he studied Frank's dubious look. "Not in the way I should be, I suppose."

"You're really unbelievable. Not the good kind." Frank sighed deeply and yanked the zipper to his jacket further up towards his neck. "You're so cryptic. It's frustrating."

"Cryptic?"

"Yes. You act secretively, and I can't understand why you're intent on keeping me away from you." Frank yanked his hood over his head as snowflakes gathered in his hair. "If you want that so bad, I'll be on my way now. Thanks for saving me from the puddle of death."

"Don't go, Frank." Gerard shook his head, stepping closer to Frank's utter surprise.

Frank's hard stare was inquisitive. "Why?"

Gerard's composure wavered. His eyes, appearing lighter than most days, connected steadily with Frank's, and the tender blossoms of sun-kissed petals preserved their unfair magnetism from the previous day; Frank was being drawn in again whether Gerard intended to ensnare him or not.

"I've been doing a fair amount of consideration." Gerard began. He rolled his lips into his mouth, eyes flickering between both of Frank's holding the weight of gravity engulfing the earth.

"Uh-huh?" Frank's heartbeat fluttered at an inappropriate speed for the matter of their conversation.

"I've been very unfair to you. Again, I'm sorry for how I've acted . . ." Gerard sighed, pushing a loose tendril of his hair away from his face. "I get the oddest sensation when I'm near you."

Frank's state of hypnosis shattered. He batted his eyes, fingers clenching tightly around his backpack strap. Bewildered, he laughed once, the sound high and abrupt. "You're kidding."

"No." Gerard's gravely serious expression had Frank's mouth sealing shut. "It unsettles me a bit. How you . . . seem to know me, whenever you look at me."

Frank's heart palpitated, that time out of something opposite of attraction. Well, that certainly wasn't something Frank was braced for. He felt stripped and uncomfortable all of a sudden. He swallowed through a tight throat and adjusted his stance, his tongue flicking out to wet his chapped lips. He tore his eyes away and rested them on the ground to remain there.

"I don't know why. I know close to nothing about you." Frank's lie slipped out in an unconvincing tremble bringing a wave of frustration crashing over the crown of his head to his toes.

"Yesterday, Frank. Something happened." Gerard's voice swooped down into a softer tone like velvet against gravel. The sound of it grazed Frank's exterior stubbornness and eroded the surface until he worried the truth of his internal turmoil while holding Gerard's eyes became more translucent than he could've prepared for. Knowing Gerard sensed something out of the ordinary yesterday unnerved Frank. How could he admit he sensed things others couldn't easily detect by simply locking eyes with another person, or standing near enough to them to feel their radiating energy? Above all things, how could Frank tell Gerard he knew about his personal suffering hidden away?

"I was just upset. And shocked that you don't actually regret saving my life." Frank quickly turned his cheek to avoid the sinking sensation forming under his feet holding Gerard's stare steady. He flexed his jaw and batted a loose tendril of hair away from his face.

"There's something more to it." Gerard was persistent, perhaps showing a sliver of stubbornness he had in common with Frank. They clashed in a sense, but in the same stride, it was revealing to see more to him. Frank's mind separated Gerard from ordinary humankind into a unique category he couldn't balance out with a title.

"Why do you want to know?" Frank bristled defensively when Gerard wouldn't let go of it. He didn't mean to come off so abrasive, but the urge to protect his gift from Gerard came from a place within that knew if Gerard became aware of it, Frank's chances at knowing anything more about his mysterious character would be torn away from him.

"It's not the first time you've given me that look." Gerard hovered closer, if it were possible for him to stand at such a close proximity in anything other than a dream. Frank wasn't sure if he realized it, or he only did it with the intentions of his voice reaching Frank alone as students randomly strode past to enter the school. Frank looked up at Gerard, reading into his eyes, almost feeling the icecaps in his bloodstream and the honeyed valleys of green lying beyond the brewing waterfalls. It was beautiful, yet terrifying all the same. Then again, to find wonderland was to tumble down the rabbit hole.

"I don't know you like that, Gerard." Frank spoke in as low of a tone as the one Gerard used.

"Personally, of course not. But I've been lead to believe you know more than you would admit." Gerard's eyes narrowed the slightest bit. "Two times, you've looked into my eyes and grown so aggrieved."

Frank swallowed to rid of the dryness patching in his throat, almost choking on it. His cheeks blazed scarlet to have been figured out so simply; was his face so easy to read that Gerard managed to discover the crushing sorrow Frank experienced if he searched Gerard deeply enough?

Gerard quickly addressed his blushing face and his jaw hardened. He stepped away, glancing around them with caution. Frank curled his fingers into the bottom for the thick jacket laid over his clothes, attempting to slow his thrumming heart.

"Can I not be empathetic towards someone who looks miserable all the time?" Frank attempted to pass off what Gerard sensed as basic human empathy.

"It isn't only empathy." Gerard shook his head, a piercing gaze staring directly at the ground. "Something is different."

Frank couldn't find words to block Gerard from the path he moved towards with stealth. Meeting a blockage in his mind, and taking in the unwavering stature of Gerard standing in front of him, options were limited. Gerard detected something he wouldn't easily allow to slide without notice. It could've been invasive, even if it was never Frank's intention to pry. He couldn't escape his ability even if he tried to create a shield around himself so he wouldn't have any advantages. As he felt himself being shoved into a narrow corner, something clicked at the back of his consciousness that slowly floated forward. Frank's fingers tightened over the fistfuls of clothing he clung to.

"Let's say something is different," Frank rasped out. "Would you tell me the truth about yourself, too?"

"What truth?" Gerard was guarded as he asked the question. He warily met Frank's eyes.

Frank's palms felt clammy, and his heart jolted in his chest. "How you're so fast. How you always seem to be there at the right time. And the real
reason why we shouldn't be friends."

Gerard's jaw locked. His eyes flitted away, but Frank felt the strange shift in his energy. It was never clear enough to decipher a specific emotion, but whatever entered Gerard's wavelength spiked sharply in Frank's chest and gut, almost like the chokehold of anxiety, but not quite the same.

"I've given you explanations, Frank." Gerard tersely refused to indulge Frank with anything he hypothetically asked for in exchange for his own truth.

Frank's heart sank, but he pretended it hadn't. He lifted his chin and shook his head tiredly, giving up on the pointless tension if it wasn't going to lead them anywhere. "Then so have I. If that's over with, I've gotta meet with my friends before they start looking for me."

Gerard's stony eyes softened meeting Frank's fleeting glance at his face. His silence encouraged Frank to turn away, avoiding the puddle he nearly toppled over into previously, and swiftly strode away without glancing back over this shoulder. He worried that if he did, he'd hesitate, and that hesitation would make him slow to a halt. If Gerard wasn't going to be truthful, if he insisted on keeping Frank shrouded in shadows, then Frank wouldn't give him the benefit of knowing anything else about himself. It felt like the hundredth time Frank nearly sprinted away from Gerard, and each time he turned his back, the heavy the iron ball resting in his gut seemed to get bigger. The weight of it dropped down to the ground and shackled around his ankles, dragging behind. Knowing more than Frank should have ever known about Gerard kept the guilt fresh in his mind, sensing something prevented Gerard from being truthful, but he couldn't imagine what could possibly cause his moods to flicker like the night and day. Frank couldn't uncover the meaning behind it no matter how many attempts he made at rowing through the glaciers to find the fields of flowers beyond the ice.

It was best to purge his thoughts of Gerard entirely so the burden wouldn't rest on his shoulders at all times, but Frank reached a point where it always lingered in the horizon, and he couldn't shake all he witnessed and mulled over for hours at a time. Flashes of forgotten dreams and the most prominent nightmare plaguing Frank's mind replayed and mingled with reality, piecing together bizarre images making shivers ripple down his spine. The tune of Gerard's voice like brand new gilt-edged books and the scent of fresh ink mingling with the perfume of wildflowers sweetly wrapped around Frank and his heart trembled if he focused on a mental image of Gerard's eyes, strangely alive and green like the internal meadows of his. The clash of sensations clumped together in Frank's chest and he wished he could claw it out.

His frustration brewed and stayed with him during each of his passing classes. The spiderweb only continued to weave together the more he built upon it while swearing he wouldn't for another second, yet Frank's mind always traveled back to each incident and confrontation, pulling apart exchanges down to tones and possible implications hidden within the words. The complication of Gerard as a being would always enervate Frank while somehow fueling his flaw of needing to know about the things he couldn't understand. He thrust himself into the abyss of the unknown until he could emerge again with a broad education on the subject or person, never leaving loosened ends behind. Gerard was unique, something Frank couldn't research or define with vocabulary fished out from a dictionary or thesaurus. He was infuriatingly out of reach. It ground Frank's nerves to dust. The only satisfaction he gained from all of it was knowing he was an enigma to Gerard as well, and he too would suffer trying to figure out the difference in Frank compared to the rest.

When lunch arrived, Frank stood in line beside his friends, as per usual. He had an unopened can of soda in hand from the vending machine and a bag of chips, his appetite scarce. His eyes casually scanned over the place to mask his constant darting glances to the Way table at the other end of the cafeteria. Only three members occupied the surrounding chairs. One was absent, the very constant intruder in Frank's thoughts. Gerard's absence from the table was clear to Frank, which oddly enough made Frank's heart sprint a beat quicker with a flush of unexpected worries; was Gerard feeling unwell? Had Frank upset him enough to make him leave the campus? The flash of anxiety pinched in his stomach and took him by surprise.

"Holy shit." Frances hissed in a whisper beside Frank sharply enough to gain his attention. Everyone in their circle turned to look at her in concern.

"What?" Kayleigh asked, a pucker between her perfectly groomed brows.

"Gerard Way is walking over here and he's looking right at us." Frances spat through her teeth, panic in her eyes staring behind Frank. Everyone went rigid, including Frank, but he was certain his insides stopped functioning for a second. His eyes slowly widened.

Before Frank could spin around, the ghost of a touch grazing his shoulder made him jolt. Frank almost shrieked, but contained it, and spun around. Gerard stood there and drew his hand away from Frank's shoulder, nonchalance written on his face, but his eyes gleamed in amusement at Frank's staggered reaction. He swore he heard Frances gulp from behind him.

"Sorry if I interrupted anything." Gerard's smile was evanescent. "May I steal you just for today?"

Frank gawked. He slowly turned to look at his friends who were all slack-jawed and staring. Frank warily turned to Gerard again, his heart misbehaving again. "Uh. What for?"

"I'd like for us to sit together and talk." Gerard spoke with so much composed causality that anyone else wouldn't have suspected a thing. But there was intent behind Gerard's invitation. He was up to something. Frank was drawn to it.

"I — yeah, I guess?" Frank said slowly. He looked over his shoulder. "Maybe I'll catch you later, guys."

"I hope you don't mind me stealing your friend for the day." Gerard pinned Frank's friends down with a smoldering gaze and a friendly expression making him appear so beautiful that Frank nearly squinted from the glaring intensity. His breath hitched.

"It's fine," Frances responded in a high voice, her face flushing bright red. "You two have fun."

"Thank you. I'll return him to you safely." Gerard jested, keeping the tone light, and turned to Frank with inquisitive eyes. Frank stumbled over the change in Gerard's demeanor yet again. He swallowed, avoiding the drilling stares from his friends as he walked away with Gerard. He'd undoubtedly be grilled with questions when they got him alone next. He held in a groan and followed Gerard to a vacant table far from the one he normally occupied.

Gerard sank down on one side, and Frank sat on the other. He shrugged off his bag and unzipped his hoodie, baring the black shirt with a Joy Division design printed over the front. His lunch items spread out in front of him, Frank sat back in his chair, fingers digging into the torn holes in his jeans and twisting around the frayed strings poking out. He stared at Gerard who sat too placidly, meeting Frank's eyes steadily, as if he practiced during the time they spent away from each other. Frank had been sitting there for the smallest pinch of time and he already felt terribly awkward.

"I like Joy Division." Gerard commented on Frank's choice in apparel.

Despite all the thoughts and emotions Frank had about Gerard being as unclear as ever, surprise managed to nestle in somewhere. He glanced between his shirt and Gerard skeptically. "You do?"

Gerard nodded, the corner of his mouth lifting. "I have the same shirt. Vintage."

"No way." Frank automatically found himself saying, all skepticism gone without a trace. "This is a reprint 'cause I never find vintage ones, how did you get so lucky?"

Gerard chuckled, looking away swiftly. "A passionate collector such as myself always has luck on their side."

"I'm jealous." Frank found himself returning Gerard's smile, shaking his head. "I've been digging for the original shirt for months."

"Do you collect items like that as well?"

"If I have the means. By that, I mean the money." Frank popped open the soda can on the table, the fizz hissing after the satisfying crackle of the tab breaking through the aluminum.

Gerard folded his arms on the table, tracing over Frank's features. His stare holding the weight of the universe was always difficult to peer into at first, but Frank managed to firmly settle his returning stare on it. Capturing the struggle to comprehend in Gerard's eyes, Frank was abruptly drawn back to the oddity of sitting across from Gerard when only a day prior, he suggested for there to be no association between them.

"Why did you want to sit with me?" Frank started off by asking a simple question. He rose his canned Sprite to his lips and took a small sip without tearing his unsure eyes away from Gerard.

Gerard folded his pale hands together atop of the table, and Frank's eyes darted to the speckles of red paint scattered around his cuticles, memoirs of an art project. Somehow, it made him seem more normal.

"I thought we could talk." Gerard straightforwardly added, "Despite what you may think, it's difficult to not want to talk to you."

Taken aback by his words, Frank felt warmth blossoming under his cheeks like the spreading petals of roses in the spring. He ignored the way his heart stammered and his mind glitched blankly for a second. Gerard was just a ball of unpredictability, wasn't he? Frank would've appreciated some
warnings. He moved past the initial reaction and wrapped a tight hand around his soda can, drawing it towards him. The space between his brows puckered and his lips arched into a frown.

"You know I'm not all that interesting." Frank murmured. He wouldn't be flattered, not after the way Gerard treated him prior.

Gerard's softened eyes colored a shade brighter than normal observed Frank's shift; the minimal loss in tension, the flustered blush. Frank wished his blood would keep itself away from the surface of his face so it wouldn't expose the truth of his perplexing emotions.

"I think you are." Gerard said in a tone as gentle as his eyes. "I honestly didn't meant to give you such an awful first impression of myself."

"First impression is a bit of an understatement." Frank sighed deeply, resisting rolling his eyes.

"First few impressions. Does that sound more correct?"

"It's satisfactory." Frank pulled the tab of the soda can until it tore away and rolled it between his fingers. He kept a nonchalant expression despite the disruptive behavior of his insides practically disintegrating from the amount of complicated things he experienced when Gerard stared at him as if there was nothing else he could be so intrigued by. There were so many other things he could be interested by, like the recent cold case that was recently solved after remaining a mystery for a decade just one town across from Astoria, or the ongoing school scandal where Devin Masters was caught hooking up with Jennifer Gillan's visiting cousin. Yet, there Gerard sat, choosing Frank of all people to be interested in. The most enthralling quality about him were some of his talents he kept to himself mostly. Frank swallowed nervously and kept his eyes on his beverage.

"You must admit . . . it wouldn't make sense for you and I to be friends." Gerard lowered into the gravelly tone from earlier that set Frank's heart into overdrive, like something was pending, and whether it was ominous or pleasant was a mystery yet to solved.

"No, it wouldn't." Frank easily admitted it to himself and the latter. "My friends had a stroke when you walked up to me."

"Exactly my point." Gerard chuckled, darting his tongue over his lips while finally looking away. "They know when someone is bad news."

That time, Frank couldn't resist rolling his eyes. "God, don't be so melodramatic."

Stunned, Gerard rose his eyebrows high. "What?"

"You make it sound like you live in a movie. You're the bad guy, you have issues, no one should bother getting close to you." Frank slumped back in his chair, dubiously shaking his head. "I don't buy any of that, you know. It just makes you really frustrating. A little irritating, too."

Gerard was bewildered into silence, practically gaping with his stare fixated on Frank. The longer silence strung between them, the more Frank realized the bitter bite to his words, the more regret set it. He allowed his pent up vexation to lash out. Chewing his lower lip and wriggling his lip ring with the tip of his tongue, Frank released a slow sigh.

"Sorry. That came out way more rudely than it sounded it my head." Frank apologized for the insults.

Gerard surprised Frank with a short lived peal of laughter. Gerard unfolded his hand to run one through his unruly jet black hair, sitting back. "Not without reason. It's fine, Frank."

"If you know what you're doing is wrong, then why do you do it?" Frank caught onto the running theme of Gerard being aware of his effects on Frank.

Gerard soaked up a majority of his amusement and sobered up. He rolled his lips into his mouth, resting his hands on his legs under the table. "Would you believe me if I told you I thought I was doing the right thing?"

"No." Frank tightened his lips.

Gerard chuckled, amused by Frank's sliver of animosity while being baffled over how anyone could think acting coldly towards another person was the right thing.

"I don't expect you to. I'm disappointed in myself. It's not an interest of mine to hurt people."

"I'm not hurt. Just very confused." Frank corrected, but he wasn't being very truthful. The hot clench in his chest whenever he thought too deeply about Gerard's unpredictable moods counted as hurting. Frank couldn't decide why it held any importance to him when he normally didn't tolerate any form of mistreatment.

"I'll make a deal with you." Gerard leaned forward. Frank was drawn in and found himself leaning in as well, his chest nearly touching the table.

"What sort of deal?" Frank asked before agreeing to anything.

"I'll give you answers . . . if you give me the same in return." Gerard proposed, arching one eyebrow. The corner of his lip quirked as he gazed at Frank from under his lashes. The hypnotizing pull of his beauty was enough of a persuasion to have Frank on the brink of agreeing instantaneously, but he wavered for a second when he recalled the questions Gerard had in store for him that morning.

"That's not fair." Frank narrowed his eyes.

"How is it not fair?" Gerard's eyes widened.

"I asked you for answers first." Frank pointed out. "I don't owe you any explanation for what you think is different about me."

"You'll get your answers." Gerard clarified, his small smile growing in size. "It's a fair trade in the end."

"Bullshit!" Frank nearly cried. "I would shake you by the shoulders if I wasn't surrounded by people right now."

Gerard's delighted laughter made Frank's head spin. "I have no doubts that you would." He leaned back in his seat, crossing his arms over his chest. "It's your choice, Frank."

Frank groaned in indignation. Gerard knew Frank wouldn't step down until he received the truth, and in order to obtain it, Frank would need to metaphorically strip first. He glared at Gerard and petulantly pouted while hunched in his seat, mimicking Gerard's arms crossing over his chest. Gerard's amusement seemed to swell while watching him, reflecting like jewels in his eyes.

Surrender came over Frank after a long moment of contemplating. He let out a long breath through his nose, letting his arms fall away from their position over his chest. Frank groaned again, taking a swig of his drink. "What do you want to know?"

Triumph was incandescent in Gerard's face. The breathtaking visual made Frank's glower sour even more.

"I'd like to know about your ability." Gerard straightforwardly laid down what he was working towards figuring out.

Frank blanched. "Ability? I — what makes you think I have an ability?"

"I know you do." Gerard's brows furrowed slightly, eyes searching deeply into Frank's. "You know something."

"I know as much as I see."

"What you see — that's exactly what I suspect your advantage is. You see more than you're willing to admit."

"I'm starting to believe you're just being nosy."

"How do you mean?"

"You're convincing me you actually regret being rude so you can butter me up and get answers out of me." Frank's hard stare didn't falter. "That's fucked up. If I'm right."

"No, that's not what I'm trying to accomplish." Gerard dropped some of the intensity and unveiled the true light of faint sadness in his eyes, immediately taking Frank aback.

"Then — then you owe me another apology." Frank refused to unravel completely.

"Alright." Gerard went to form one, but Frank held up a hand to stop him.

"I want you to say, 'I'm sorry for being an asshole and upsetting you, Frank.'"

Gerard's lips gradually curled up in the smallest smile Frank couldn't resist returning in his own satisfaction. Frank sat back to watch it happen, gesturing for Gerard to get on with it.

Gerard leaned forward, locking eyes with Frank, amusement vanishing to show his sincerity. He sighed softly. "I'm sorry for being an asshole and upsetting you, Frank."

Frank shouldn't have enjoyed the way his name sounded like velvet rolling off of Gerard's tongue, a fine fabric he wished to wrap around his skin and disintegrate into. He pulled in a quick and shaky breath mostly silenced to avoid Gerard hearing it and he pressed his crossed arms hard against his chest to tell his fluttering heart to knock off its traitorous behavior.

"Does that convince you?" Gerard asked when Frank didn't say anything to acknowledge his apology. "I'm not sure if groveling in the middle of the lunchroom would play out well for the both of us."

Frank battled with his smile until he couldn't contain it anymore. He looked away as his mouth curved, a little giggle bubbling up. "As much as I'd love to make you grovel, yeah, that would be kinda humiliating on both ends."

"Am I forgiven?"

Frank sighed deeply and his mind returned to the reasons why Gerard was apologizing to begin with. Gerard caught onto what Frank concealed from the rest of the world. Frank was so staggered that he wondered if each time Gerard gazed into his soul, he was also capable of reading into things further than an ordinary person. Frank lost his footing and stumbled over words, possibilities of excuses, but there was no moving around the obvious fact that Gerard couldn't be taken for a fool.

"Forgiven? A little. I still don't know if I can trust you." Frank met Gerard's eyes while telling the truth.

Gerard nodded solemnly. "There's no way I can convince you that you can trust me."

Hope flickered in Frank. "Does that mean I don't have to tell you anything?"

"The problem is, I've already caught on, Frank." Gerard chuckled softly, shaking his head. "Somehow, it involves me."

That much was not open to any arguments. Frank figured that if he was entitled to answers, Gerard was as well for the way his sadness was unintentionally invaded. Gerard didn't come off as the type to share tales of his hurting with everyone, he was extremely guarded and never spoke to anyone besides his family, while Frank, a practical stranger, seemed to unground what he kept secret.

Frank swallowed down another gulp of soda as his heart hammered violently. He swiped his hand along his jeans to wipe off the condensation. He picked up on a key thing Gerard said to branch off into a starting point. "I don't . . . see things."

Gerard leaned forward in intrigue. His earnest eyes patiently waited for more, his hands folding together in front of him in an elegant tangle of fingers. Frank nervously shoved a lock of hair away from his forehead and scrambled together a series of words that could properly explain the phenomena gifted to him at birth. He never outwardly spoke about it, and never had someone peering so closely in hopes of soaking in every fiber of what Frank had to say. It was nerve racking, to be honest, having someone pay him their undivided attention.

Frank licked his lips quickly and burned scarlet in his face. "I sort of — well, it's a feeling. Not really a superpower or anything. It's more sensation than hearing or seeing."

"What do you feel?" Gerard's interest was boundless and intense clinging onto every word passing through Frank's lips.

"I feel people. Like. Their . . . energy?" Frank struggled to find an appropriate word.

"In a spiritual sense?"

"No. Not really. Maybe? I probably sound stupid as shit for not knowing my own gift."

"No, you don't sound stupid at all." Gerard's soft reassurance came as a surprise. "It's hard putting certain things into words."

"Right." Frank whispered. He was compelled to move forward by Gerard's gentleness. "I need to be near someone to get a sense of who they are. If they're kind, or warm, if they're not pleasant."

Fascination bloomed in Gerard. "Can you feel emotion?"

"Yes. If it's strong enough." Frank's weight dropped out from under him focusing on Gerard's energy again, the frost fanning across his skin and sinking under. "Some are a lot more intense than others."

Gerard held Frank's gaze, as if allowing him to dig deeper. Slowly, his eyes traced Frank's features while sitting frozen for observation. It was as sensitive of a feeling as fingertips brushing against his skin. Frank shakily sighed and broke off his stare when the thunder shuddered through him again, yet his lips were left warm and tingling from the desire he felt hidden away in Gerard. That was new.

"Have you always had this?" Gerard asked.

"Yes. Some of my family members are really intuitive. I guess I got the gene, just a little mutated."

"What about thoughts?" Gerard sounded more demanding than Frank expected, but it was only due to the need to learn more, to know. Frank found another similarity between them in that.

"Can you elaborate?" Frank asked.

"Are you able to depict someone's thoughts if you look closely enough?"

"Oh, no. Thank god for that. I'd fucking hate to hear anyone's thoughts. It's so intrusive." Frank vehemently shook his head.

Gerard's faint smile was a trace of an unknown type of amusement playing at his lips. "I suppose it is, in some ways."

"I've only been able to get a feel of energy and emotions." Frank swished his drink that fizzled in his can. "I don't do it on purpose."

"It comes to you naturally." Gerard noted.

"Yes. I can look deeper if I want . . . that lets me see more of what a person feels as a whole. All
of their emotions. It's still sort of faint." Frank swallowed thickly. "But, like I said. Some are more intense than others."

"Where do I fall?"

Frank's eyes darted up. Gerard masked the burning curiosity roiling through him, so thickly that Frank could feel the heat of it emitting from him and defrosting the glacial caps in his silver waterfalls.

"You're the most tortured person I've ever met." Frank found no reason to beat around the bush if Gerard was searching for the purest form of the truth. It could've worked as a gateway for Frank's earning of answers.

Gerard tensed up around his shoulder, his handsome face growing stony. Just as warmth entered him, it was vanquished by a blizzard piercing through and eradicating the thawed portions Frank was slowly accessing. It was similar to a steel door slamming centimeters away from Frank's face. He couldn't help but flinch, thrown off by the rapid shift in sensation.

"Stop that." Frank whispered through clenched teeth.

"Stop what?"

"Shutting me out." Frank squeezed his eyes shut. "You think I don't feel it? You don't let yourself be vulnerable."

"Am I expected to pour my soul out to you?" Gerard catapulted.

"No. I would like for you to stop pushing me away." Frank's eyes flashed open in a piercing glare.

"How do you . . .?" Gerard was stunned through his tension.

"It feels like you're slamming a door in my face." Frank rubbed his eye and frowned deeply. "Do you like getting doors slammed in your face? I doubt it."

Gerard's defenses were locked down tight, but something shifted in his eyes. The tightness surrounding them loosened and a decade's worth of youth returned. Frank wished he could coax the rest of the frigidness out from the inside so only the clear valleys were present. If the sorrow couldn't be diminished, the least Frank could do was paddle through the obstacles and get it through Gerard's head that Frank saw through the mask and sympathies developed for him. He could find a friend in Frank.

"Isn't it enough that you see more than others?" Gerard asked the words in a slow progression, a silky tone doused in the threat of gasoline beside an open flame.

"No." Frank deadpanned. The truth was, Frank wasn't at all frightened by Gerard no matter how he insisted he should be. Vocally, he hadn't expressed that desire, but Frank easily sensed it. Gerard was unfortunately easy to read, soaking Frank's internal third eye to an extreme.

"You're a stubborn thing, aren't you?" Slightly miffed while simultaneously hiding a smile, Gerard loomed so closeby that an intoxicating scent radiating from him twirled enticingly under Frank's nose.

"You can't even imagine." Frank was slightly breathless, compelled to lean closer, but he abstained. He knew Gerard was easily pushed too far.

"No. I don't think I can." Gerard whispered and searched Frank's eyes with an odd intensity. Frank wasn't at all threatened by it; he stared back in earnest. He wanted Gerard to see him, suddenly.

"I don't know what's happened in your life, Gerard, I'm not gonna ask either, but you don't need to be so guarded near me." Frank laid down a token of reassurance that Gerard would either slide into his pocket or shove back against Frank's chest.

Gerard's soft chuckle danced in the air, a swirl of his honey lavender scent filling Frank's head. "You'd run in the opposite direction if you were given any other form of insight on me."

"I'm not easily frightened." Frank arched one eyebrow calling Gerard's bluff.

"We'll see about that." Gerard finally leaned back in his seat, an evanescent look of something stony flashing over his face before he corrected it. Only then did Frank realize just how closely they'd moved towards each other. His upper body was practically pressed against the table.

Frank cleared his throat and pulled away. He crossed his arms over his chest the same way Gerard did, knees slightly apart, his gaze measuring. He wondered what secrets were hidden that Gerard swore had the capability of sending Frank sprinting away. Either that was the truth, or Frank was being unfairly underestimated, which he never took kindly to.

"Now it's your turn to answer my questions." Frank pressed the matter he hoped Gerard hadn't forgotten about.

Gerard frowned. He flicked a lock of dark hair away from his face, tapping his foot against the floor. "Should I be afraid?"

"Only slightly." Frank's lips curved into a subtle smile that only grew when Gerard couldn't help returning it.

"I don't think that's possible right now."

"Why?" Frank immediately tensed, but why he questioned Gerard's statement, the trill of the class bell filled the room, startling him. His wide eyes caught Gerard feigning a cough to keep his grin hidden from view.

"Fuck." Frank muttered. "Don't think this means you're off the hook."

"I know it means quite the opposite." Gerard's hand fell away from his face and his eyes followed Frank standing to collect his things, barely noticing his untouched bag of chips.

"I'm grilling you in English class right now." Frank warned, and slung his bag over his shoulder.

"Fun." Gerard mumbled under his breath and managed to rise from his seat far more gracefully than Frank, not even needing to brace himself against the table to maintain perfect balance.

"I have no idea how it's already time to go." Frank glanced astounded at the wall clock across the cafeteria. While looking over, he caught the large eyes of his friends warily retreating while staring in his direction, deciding not to cross the room while Frank still stood beside Gerard. He tossed a smile their way so they were reassured and didn't hold onto the possibility that Frank was being ensnared in something sinister or unpleasant. Well, not entirely unpleasant. 

When Frank turned back around, he nearly choked on a gasp when he realized Gerard was directly behind him, a crooked smile fixed on his lips.

"Time goes by so quickly when you don't want it to, doesn't it?" Gerard's smile melted into one that was well rounded, almost warm, if Frank's eyes deceived him. God, did that mean he didn't want their time together to end? Frank was suffering from whiplash trying to catch up to how differently Gerard was acting that day. If Frank read into that too deeply, he'd start questioning something else that wasn't
appropriate to speculate before really getting to know Gerard first.

"I guess it does." Frank breathed. He cleared his throat in chagrin and felt a red hue tinting his cheeks.

Gerard took a step back, then one forward after a fleeting moment of consideration. "Let's walk to class together."

It wasn't an invitation, but the statement of something that was going to happen even if Frank protested. Gerard started off without glancing over his shoulder to see if Frank followed because he fully expected Frank to stumble along. Frank's initial reaction was to stalk off on his own, but against his instincts, he found himself catching up to Gerard's brisk pace, lightheaded from their conversation. Something shifted between them and Frank was determined to identify the reason behind it.

——
I really tried to create some good tension there since Twilight has one of those really intense romances. I hope I succeeded!

I've slowed down with my writing a lot because of college and personal life, so i'm sorry these updates seem so rare nowadays, but I appreciate everyone who sticks around and you are the reason I'm still going!

More to come soon. Believe it or not, I'm super invested in this story and my own special twists I'm adding are soon to be revealed...hold on tight!

-rosexo