Desclaimer: I don't own All My Children. All related characters are sole properties of ABC. No profit intended.
Chapter 10
As soon as her watch read 9:00 a.m. Frankie ran a hand through her hair and started making her way over to Bianca's. It was a Saturday and she was sure that the brunette would be up by now and would gladly invite her for breakfast, she was alone and didn't really feel like trying to cook for herself. Besides she had made a deal with her aunt and she planned on keeping her end of the bargain. Two weeks of pretend was well worth the a lifetime of riches.
The trek from the apartment to Bianca's had been quite uneventful, and Frankie assumed it was just one of those days. That is until she walked up the street and noticed Erica's car in the driveway. It appeared Mama Kane couldn't stay away from her little girl too long. Frankie seriously considered going back while she still hadn't been noticed, but then again she was really hungry and didn't really feel like becoming a victim to her own cooking. Frankie grudgingly made her way up the steps to the front door and knocked, a couple of minutes later a very awake and cheery Bianca opened the door. "Hey, what are you doing here so early?" she asked. "I was just in the neighborhood and thought I'd stop by." Frankie answered not skipping a beat. "In the neighborhood, huh? Well, come on in." the taller girl responded stepping to the side to let her shorter counterpart in.
They sat through breakfast talking about what they had done in their entire two weeks of summer vacation. All the sentences spoken could really be summed up by one single word, nothing. It seemed that things would go Frankie's way after all. They were midway through their second helping of eggs and bacon when the unmistakable voice flowed into the dinning room from the top of the stairs, "Bianca, honey, who was that at..." Erica's words caught in her throat as she realized who it was her daughter was enjoying breakfast with.
"Well, well. Would you look at what the cat dragged in?" Erica commented with a devilish smirk. "Mom, please don't start this up again." "Start what again dear? All I'm saying is that Ms. Stone here has been a.w.o.l. around here the past couple of weeks. I haven't had a chance to let her know what it is she means to me." "Mom, please stop." Bianca begged, but Erica was on a roll and trying to stop her would be as futile as trying to stop a two-ton, runaway train with one finger. "You are nothing more than a scamming, lying, gold digging junkie." "Mom that's enough." Frankie got up and walked to other side of table so that she was directly between the mother and daughter. She looked down at her feet as she spoke, "It's okay Bianca. I was, like, leaving anyways." As Frankie walked by Erica seized the girl's arm and looked her straight in the face. "You do anything, any thing, to hurt my daughter and I will personally make you pay." having made her point Erica let the girl go and watched as she ran out the front door.
Erica smirked at the sight and stood with her arms crossed in front of her chest basking in the moment. Her celebration was only broken when a very upset Bianca stepped in front of her. "Are you happy now?" she asked her mother. "Yes, quite." answered the older woman without falter. "Why did you do that, huh? Why did you run her out of here like that?" Bianca asked pointedly. "Simple, sweetheart. Because I don't think she's the kind of person you should be in any sort of relationship with. She's false, manipulative, a drug addict, and a..." "Girl?" Bianca supplied. "That's the whole reason you're doing this, isn't it? Even after everything we've talked about you still can't get over the fact that this is how things are going to be, whether you like it or not." "What? This has nothing to do with the fact she's a girl. I just don't think she's the one for you." Erica said. "Well, mom I really don't think that's for you to decide." "You are fifteen years old, and as long as you live under my roof I do believe it is, whether you like it or not." Bianca hated her words being used against her, but hated arguing with her mother even more, so instead she just marched up the stairs to her room. Erica stared after her daughter and called out, "Bianca...Bianca!" The only answer was the sound of a slamming door.
Frankie had been running without thought for what seemed ages and somehow found herself at the park once again, fishing in her pockets for something. She pulled her hand out of her pocket, triumphantly holding a joint in her grasp. She brought the small parcel of paper and herb to her lips hoping it'd be able to drown everything else out and bring some sort of small comfort. She pulled out her lighter, but the damn thing wouldn't work. She tried again and again but it seemed the tiny mechanism just wouldn't comply. Her frustration rising she took the lighter and threw it at the nearest tree. It shattered into on contact, a martini glass dropped from the top of the empire state building landing on the sidewalk. She stared at the pieces that now lay scattered at the base of the tree and contemplated what it was that had just happened. Frankie Stone, The Frankie Stone, had been upset by an old lady. "Let me get that for you." The sudden sound that so sharply interrupted her thoughts made Frankie nearly jump out of her skin. She turned around to see none other than J.R. Chandler himself standing behind her holding up his own lighter. She let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. "How'd you, like, find me here?" she asked wonderment written on her face. "Well, I figured since we had such a good time here the other night, maybe I'd run into you again." he stated with smirk, as he held up his lighter to Frankie's joint. Frankie smiled teasingly as she inhaled deeply and allowed the smoke to fill her lungs. She held out the joint for J.R. to take, witch he did. As the drug begin to work its magic J.R. said, "I would have called you earlier, but I didn't want get you into any more trouble with your aunt. Frankie looked up into his eyes and blew out a long stream of smoke into is face as she smirked and said, "I don't think we'll have to worry about her for some time."
Somewhere between lighting the joint and completely smoking it, Frankie lost her ability to think, which would explain why the blonde was now in her bedroom, music full blast, on her bed, accompanied by J.R. It seemed that with her brain out of the equation it was her body the girl tended to listen to. "I think we're definitely going to have more fun here than at the park." remarked the young man. "Oh, hell yeah." said Frankie as she bent down to capture J.R.'s lips. She was so caught up in the moment, so dazed by the drug, neither she nor her companion took note of the witness standing at in the doorway.
Bianca had snuck out of her house without being noticed and had made her way to Frankie's. Once there she made her way to the familiar door and knocked, as she did the door -having been ajar- opened halfway. The young woman made her way into the apartment. Normally she would have left when no one answered her calls, but there was loud music coming from Frankie's room and she could swear she heard laughter. She made her way to the door cautiously and slowly opened it to a reveal a sight she almost immediately wanted to forget. As tears started to well up in her eyes all she could do was watch in horror as the scene unfolded before her. She brought a hand to her mouth but not before a sob could escape. Frankie quickly turned and a look of utter shock graced her features, a dear in the headlights of an oncoming vehicle. Were it under different conditions it might even have appeared comical. J.R. was the first to break the silence, "What's going on here?" Bianca swallowed back a sob and answered, "I don't know, and I don't want to know." Having spoken her mind she felt no need to stay bear witness to the show anymore. As Bianca turned to leave J.R. snaked his arm around Frankie's waist once more only to have her push it away. "Leave." "What?" the confusion clearly written on his face. "I said leave. Now! You have to leave now, get out of my house." she yelled desperately. He wasn't sure what was going on but he knew whatever it was he didn't want anything to do with it. Quickly he got up off the bed and made his way as steadily as possible, for he was still dazed, towards the door and out of the apartment. Frankie sat on the edge of her bed the gravity of what had just happened finally sinking in. She had lied, connived, and swindled people before, but this, this was different. Bianca wasn't just another person she could manipulate. The brunette had become more than just a pawn, she was her friend, her only friend and now Frankie had hurt her. There was nothing she could about it now the damage was done and it was irreparable.
Bianca ran all the way back home, burst through the front doors and ran up the stairs to her room. At the sound of the front doors crashing open Erica rushed to the front of the house surprised to see her daughter rush past her, in tears, and up the stairs. "Bianca?!" she called after the girl, but no answer came. Not bothering to close the front doors Erica rushed after her daughter. She went straight up to her little girl's room to find her on the floor sobbing uncontrollably. She quickly dropped to her knees beside Bianca and scooped her up into a tight embrace. "Bianca, honey what's wrong?" she asked bewildered by her child's tears. "You were right mom." she answered between sobs. "About what?" Erica wondered out loud. "About Frankie." Bianca answered as she broke down in her mothers arms. At the mention of the blonde's name Erica's eyes turned to slits and her jaw clenched firmly as she continued to cradle her daughter and gently rocked her to and fro. Several hours later Bianca lay on her bed, under the covers, having finally cried herself to sleep. Erica walked out of the room and quietly closed the door behind her. She made her way down the stairs with a determined look on her face. Frankie had hurt her baby and she believed a little visit was in order.
Frankie was still sitting on the edge of her bed when the sound of the front door flying open made her jump to her feet. She rushed to the living room. Who she saw standing before her made her shudder. "What are you doing here?!?!"