Okay, before we begin, let me introduce myself. I'm Frank Iero. I'm a sophomore in high school and I live in Belleville, New Jersey. And, oh yeah. I'm gay. I don't mean to be blunt, but I just wanted to get that out there. You know, to avoid confusion later on.

Anyways, I actually just moved to Belleville, which means I'm now attending the local public school, aptly named Belleville High. Well, I'm going to be blunt again: it sucks. All the guys are dicks, all the girls are preps... well, except this one guy in my history class. I think his name's Gerard.

I happen to hate history class, actually. The girl who sits next to me is a preppy blonde bimbo. She always has a Jolly Rancher in her mouth. Believe me, it smells pretty good, but the noise is beyond annoying. Every time it bumps against her teeth, which is often, all I hear is clack, clack, clack. She has braces, too, which makes it even worse.

One day, maybe two weeks after I first enrolled at Belleville High, I decided it was way to distracting to ignore. The teacher was giving a lecture, and I couldn't pay attention with the noise next to me. I took a deep breath and tapped on her shoulder. She looked at me and shifted the candy in her mouth. Clack, clack, clack. "Hmm?" she asked quietly.

"Do you mind?" I asked.

"What?" she replied, confused.

"Could you please keep down the noise?" I asked.

"What noise?" she asked. Clack, clack, clack. I couldn't take it anymore.

"THAT FUCKING NOISE WITH THE CANDY! GOD DO YOU EVEN REALIZE HOW ANNOYING IT IS?" I exploded, standing up from my seat. The whole class looked at me.

"Mr. Iero," the teacher said disapprovingly, "Go to the dean's office immediately." I sighed and grabbed my books. I didn't want to, but I went to the dean's office. I knew the teacher would call him and ask if I went.

The dean spent the rest of the period lecturing me about how my outburst was "totally uncalled for". I wasn't listening to one bit of it. Then the bell rang, setting me free. I fast-walked out of the office, feeling relieved that I had gotten away without detention.

It was then that I noticed there was someone standing outside the door, waiting for me. It was Gerard, from history class. He came up to me. "That was really funny, what you did back there. I never would've had the courage to," he said, smiling.

I smiled back. "Thanks," I replied.

He blushed and said, "I'm Gerard, by the way."

His blushing made me smile more as I replied, "I'm Frank."