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This is Gerard when he first teleports through the universes

And this is after he gives himself a makeover

~~

The door opened and I looked over at Frank before burying my head in the pillow. He clicked the lock before sitting on the bed next to me.

"What? You're not gonna ask me about how the funeral was?" I asked.

"I would but I don't really care," he said. "You know why I'm here."

"I'm not gonna suck your dick right now, Frank," I said.

Frank sighed. "Fine, but do you know when you might?"

I sat up and stared at him.

"Are you shitting me right now?" I asked. "I just got back from my best friend's funeral and you're asking about a blowjob? Why don't you go to one of your other hoes."

"You do it best," he said with a shrug. "Plus, Jamia's being all fussy and weird with me because she wants me to take her to the prom."

I stared at him before sighing deeply.

"I can't handle you right now, Frank Iero," I said. "I am far too upset and far too sober."

"Wanna talk about it?" He asked.

"I thought you said we don't talk about feelings, it's part of the agreement," I said.

"Well, yeah, but you won't give me head because you're sad so talking about it will make you less sad and you'll suck my dick sooner," he said.

"You're such an ass," I said. "How am I supposed to make my amends and get sent back through the multiverse when you're so intolerable?"

"Were you snorting again?" Frank asked.

"I am sober, unfortunately," I said.

"Well, turns out you don't make any sense when you're sober either," he said. "Listen, I'm trying to do something nice right now. So, do you want to talk about it or not?"

I ran a hand down my face. "I broke up with her and then ghosted her. She would constantly call and text but I ignored her. She was my best friend but I was scared of even being friends with her because I didn't want her to get the wrong idea. Maybe if I hadn't ghosted her she wouldn't have done what she did, she might still be here."

Frank nodded, looking down at his hands. I noticed his nails were painted black.

"You painted your nails," I remarked.

"Yeah, like yours," he said. "I thought they looked kinda badass on you so I wanted to try it out on me. Feel like it makes me look like a pansy."

I cupped his cheek before giving him a soft kiss, wincing a bit from my cut lip.

"Sorry about that," he said. "You're just really fucking annoying when you're high."

"And you're a massive dick, we both have to deal with each other," I said.

Frank smiled. "I'll try to stop punching you if you stop being so irritating. Like, you were bouncing off the walls. Oh, and if you ever take me to a drug club again where my car gets stolen then I will murder you. I can't get caught at a place like that, Gerard, I have a scholarship to Rutgers. They can take away my acceptance."

"Okay, deal," I said. "I was drunk and that was pretty stupid of me, I shouldn't have brought you with me."

"How did you know about that place anyways? How do you know Sarah?" Frank asked.

"It's a long story," I said. "Let's just say that it feels like it's from another life."

I laid on the bed and Frank laid next to me, both of us staring at my ceiling.

"You haven't told anyone about us, right?" He asked.

"Of course not," I said.

Well, I told Ray but Ray doesn't talk to anyone but his daughter, he won't tell anyone.

"Why are you so scared about people knowing?" I asked. "Our school is really inclusive, why do you think they would care so much if you came out as gay or bi or whatever you are."

"I'm straight," he said.

I scoffed but reached over to hold his hand. Frank pulled away for a moment before holding back.

"By the way, you shouldn't have left me at the park high off my ass," I said.

"Yeah, well, you kept screaming," he said. "I didn't know what the hell else to do, you were getting on my nerves."

I looked over at him as he stared at the ceiling. His hair was growing out a bit and his skin looked so bare without the tattoos, especially the scorpion on his neck.

"What's the worst that could happen if you admitted to people that we had a relationship?" I asked.

"It's not a relationship, simply just relations," he said.

"Okay, fine, but what's the worst?" I asked.

Frank looked over, his face a few inches from mine.

"Do you really have to ask what's the worst that could happen about admitting that you have sexual relations with another boy?" He asked. "I'm not a fag."

"No one's saying that," I said. "Literally no one has ever called me that besides you, you're the most homophobic one in our school. Is it because of your dad? Is he homophobic?"

"Do you want me to punch you again?" He asked. "I thought we agreed to no personal talk."

"You started it," I said.

"I was just trying to be nice, for the first time in my life I was just trying to be a nice person," he said. "Maybe I should just get out of here."

He started to sit up but I pulled him back.

"No, wait, I'm sorry," I said. "I won't bring up your dad again."

Clearly it was a sore subject with him. His dad was so loving and supportive in the other world.

Frank sat up, turning his back to me. He didn't leave, though, just sat at the edge of my bed as he sighed.

"My family went camping when I was six," he said. "Well, more like glamping. We had cabins, we Ieros don't typically rough it. Anyways, there was a boy who was eight at the campground, we were friends. We spent the whole summer playing together. And one day we were hanging out by the lake and he kissed me. My dad caught us. He beat me black and blue."

I waited to see if he would say anything more but I only heard a quiet sniffle. I sat behind him, wrapping my arms around him. Frank cried quietly, holding my hand.

"I'm sorry," I whispered.

Frank wiped his eyes and stood up.

"Doesn't matter because it's not like I'm gay or anything," he said. "I like girls, I'm straight."

I looked at him in pity. He was mean and tough and rude, but behind all that was just a small, scared boy who couldn't love who he wanted to love.

"Hey, uh, I have a lacrosse match this weekend, I was wondering if you wanted to come watch," he said.

"Yeah, that sounds like fun," I said.

"Cool," Frank muttered, looking down at his feet. "Do you know how to take off nail polish?"

I nodded, getting some remover from my mom's bathroom and some cotton balls. We sat on my floor as I took off the black polish on his nails. He was quiet and I looked into his green eyes, that were a little bit puffy from crying.

"Hey, do you wanna stay the night?" I asked. "Nobody's gonna be home, Michael is at a friend's and my mom is visiting my grandma. It can just be us two tonight. We don't even have to talk if you don't want to."

"Okay," Frank whispered.

I smiled, tossing the cotton balls away when I was done.

"That feels weird," he said. "Oddly cold and wet but it's, like, warm and dries instantly."

"That's acetone for you," I said.

Frank smiled, nodding his head.

"So, when did you first start doing drugs?" He asked. "What else do you do?"

"It's hard to explain when I first started," I said. "But that's it, only ever snorted coke. Maybe popped a couple xanax every now and then. You?"

"No, no drugs," he said. "Get drug tested at school for sports. No, maybe a beer every now and then at a party but that's all. Not really a fan of getting drunk or anything. So, about this Sarah chick, have you ever slept with her?"

"No, no," I denied. "She offers but I never took her up on it. Her and her husband have an open relationship but I'm friends with her husband, too, and I just feel a little weird about it."

"So, is he a cuck or something?" Frank asked.

I shrugged, sitting up on the bed. I looked at the picture of me and Lindsey on the dresser and sighed.

"It wasn't your fault, man," Frank said. "Are you completely forgetting that this isn't the first time she's attempted?"

"She's attempted before?" I asked.

"Yeah, multiple times," he said. "How can you forget? She spent a while in psych hospitals and stuff, she was a real mess for a long time. She still was a mess. It isn't your fault that she killed herself."

He stood up and put the picture from face down. He stood in front of me and leaned down to give me a kiss, his hand moving to tangle into my hair. He pulled away, resting his forehead against mine.

"Is your face okay?" He asked.

"Hurts less now," I said.

Frank smiled softly, running his fingers through my hair. This was in no way allowed in the agreements of our relationship but I was in no way going to ruin the moment by pointing it out.

We laid on the bed together, not saying anything. We didn't do anything sexual that night, just laid in each other's arms without a word. Maybe making amends with Frank would be easier than I thought, maybe I wouldn't be stuck in this world for too long.