I giggled as I ran to Gerard, hugging him tight. He picked me up and spun me around, giving me a big kiss. I gasped as I pulled away.

"What is it?" He asked.

"I've never kissed you in public before," I said.

"Is that bad?" He asked.

I shook my head, giving him another kiss. Gerard smiled and fixed my graduation cap.

"Let's go out for ice cream to celebrate," he said. "You've graduated high school, congratulations."

"I think that sounds like a lot of fun," I said, kissing his cheek.

"Fag," I heard Jamia mutter.

I looked down sadly and Gerard wrapped an arm around my waist.

"Who is that?" He asked.

"My ex girlfriend," I said quietly. "She's the one who broke up with me because I wore a dress to the prom."

"Well, come on, what kind of ice cream are you planning on getting?" He asked.

I smiled as Gerard took my hand in his. We went to an ice cream shop together and I ordered a mint chocolate chip ice cream cone.

"I can't believe I'm actually done," I said. "I don't have to go to that shithole anymore."

Gerard gave me a kiss and I smiled as I tasted the strawberry ice cream.

"You taste like strawberries," I giggled.

"Yeah? That a good thing?" He asked.

"It's a very good thing," I said.

Gerard smiled and gave me another kiss.

"And I really like kissing you in public and wearing skirts and stuff in public," I said. "It's terrifying but I love it too."

I ate my ice cream happily, scooting a little bit closer to him.

"Brendon invited me to dinner tonight and he was wondering if you wanted to go to," he said. "It can be like a double date with him and Ryan."

"I think that sounds like a lot of fun," I agreed.

"You wanna stay the night?" He asked.

"I would love to but I should probably head home," I said.

"Alright, that's fine," he said. "I don't know why we're eating ice cream now, it's just gonna spoil our dinner in half an hour."

"I can never get enough ice cream," I said.

Gerard smiled, , holding my hand. We finished eating before we got into the car. I took off my cap and gown and carefully placed it in the backseat. The sky was starting to get darker now as he drove us to a small restaurant that thankfully wasn't very fancy, I didn't wanna give Gerard a big bill, no matter how many times he told me it wasn't a big deal.

"Oh, I see them there in the booth in the back," he said.

Gerard led me to the booth and I sat on the inside against the wall.

"Hey, guys," Gerard said. "How are you guys doing?"

"Amazing!" Ryan cheered. "Date night is my favorite night of the week."

Ryan kissed Brendon's cheek as the latter grinned.

"And you look absolutely amazing, Frankie," Ryan said. "I love your dress and your makeup looks so nice."

"Gerard did my makeup," I admitted. "I'm still working on that."

"You'll get the hang of it," Ryan said.

"It took me awhile to be able to do my makeup," Brendon said. "Gerard had to help me a lot with that kind of stuff too. He's really good with all that, I think it's because he's an artist."

"Years of practice, I guess," Gerard said with a small shrug.

"I'm glad you two are dating now so Gerard won't just be a wallowing bundle of single self-pity," Brendon said.

Gerard chuckled and shook his head.

"I'm just glad to not have to third-wheel with the two of you now," he said. "Now I've got my own beautiful girlfriend."

I smiled proudly as the waitress came over.

"What would you fellas like to drink?" She asked.

"Water," Brendon said.

"Me too," Ryan agreed.

"Can I have a pepsi?" Gerard asked.

"D-Do you have lemonade?" I asked and she nodded. "Alright, I'll have that."

She smiled and wrote it down.

"Do you know what you'd like to eat or would you like a bit more time?" She asked.

"I think we're good," Gerard said.

We went around the table and ordered our food before she walked off, coming back a moment later with our drinks. Gerard's hand moved to rest on my thigh and I smiled at the comforting touch.

"Congratulations on graduating, Frankie," Ryan said. "You heading off to college in the fall?"

"No, I'm not," I said.

"That's alright, I never went either," he said.

"What do you do?" I asked.

"I'm a writer," he said.

"You write books?" I asked.

"No, more like a journalist kind of writer," he said. "I'm a freelance writer, actually."

"That's cool," I said. "Have you written for anyone big?"

"I think the biggest article I've ever written was for Reader's Digest," he said.

"Wow, that's pretty cool," I said.

"Yeah, I'm really lucky to be able to do something I love," he said. "Is there anything you're passionate about that you want to make into a career?"

"I don't know," I mumbled. "I spent so long being miserable that I never really found a passion."

"I'm sure Gerard would help you with that," Brendon said.

Gerard smiled and nodded, squeezing my thigh softly.

"Thanks," I Said with a small blush. "I have always liked music, I got a guitar back when I was twelve but I never played it very much. I kinda lost interest in everything."

"I bet you're pretty good," Gerard said. "Were you ever in a band?"

"I always kind of wanted to but I never did," I said. "When I was still into playing guitar I didn't know anyone else who could play instruments."

"Gerard is an amazing singer," Ryan said. "You should've seen him at that one Christmas party where he got drunk and decided to stand on a table in the middle of a bar and did a solo rendition of Umbrella by Rihanna."

"It was surprisingly good for someone who was so drunk he could hardly walk," Brendon said.

"Yeah, I don't remember that," Gerard said sheepishly.

"I actually have a video of it," Brendon said. "It's on my computer somewhere. He was fucking good, as much as I hate to admit it."

"I hope I wasn't too embarrassing," he said. "Honestly, all of that was just sort of a blur."

"Must've been a crazy party then," I said with a small chuckle.

"More like a crazy four years," Ryan muttered.

I frowned in confusion but didn't get to say anything because the waitress came back with our drinks.

"So, you two spending a nice night together rolling in the sheets?" Brendon asked.

"No, not that," Gerard denied.

"Brendon and I are going to go home and sit together in a steaming tub with a bottle of red wine," Ryan said. "I can't wait to get you out of your clothes, Baby."

"You do know we're in public, right?" Brendon asked.

I couldn't help but smile as I watched them. They were so in love, I wanted a love like that. I could imagine Gee and myself in a hot bath with lots of bubbles and a bottle of wine. The two of us naked and in each others arms.

"I know I just love you so much," Ryan said.

I smiled, taking a sip of my drink.

"You two are so cute together," I muttered.

The food was set in front of us and we started eating quietly.

"We should really do this more, we don't have any couple friends," Ryan said. "Oh my god, we can have couples board game night, that would be so fun!"

"Yeah, I think that sounds great," Gerard agreed.

"And now it'll be a lot easier to plan stuff since I'm not in school," I said. "I won't have to be home on time on school nights or anything like that. No more homework and no more studying for tests. It's gonna be so awesome to not just be in dumb high school anymore."

"I think the summer after senior year is the best," Brendon said. "You're finally done before going to a new school so you can take it easy a bit. And you're not even going to college so that's even better, you can just explore what you love."

I grinned, eating quietly. We spent the entire night talking and laughing before we had to go. Gerard dropped me off and I smiled, giving him a kiss.

"I'll call you later tonight," Gerard said.

"Alright, bye, Gerard," I said.

I leaned over and gave him a soft kiss. I walked out and she drove off. As I walked through the gate I saw something and froze. My things were piled up on the lawn and I saw the picture of my mom and I ate the top of the pile. I picked it up, sniffling as I looked down at it. I went to walk in but found it locked.

"Dad?" I called.

The door opened and I saw my dad standing there. He looked so pissed as he loomed over me, his face turning red.

"You're a fucking fag," he spat, shoving me.

I whimpered, stumbling back down the front walkway.

"It's bad enough that you're dressing like this, I found this under your bed," he said.

My dad held my dildo and I felt my body freeze in pure horror. He threw it at me and I cried out in pain. I dropped the picture frame and gasped, dropping down to my knees. I took the broken frame into my hands gently, my heart in shattered pieces just like the glass.

"I don't want a fucking fag in my house," my dad spat.

The front door slammed shut and I sobbed as I held the broken picture frame to my chest.