Ohmygawd. It's so fluffly fluffy my eyes melted. Have fun xD
The next morning I was so very rudely awakened by Gerard hissing in my ear.
"Frankie," he whispered, gently prodding my side. "You awake?"
"I am now, thanks to you," I groaned, burying my face in the pillow. "What time is it, anyway?"
"Only 12:30, sleepyhead."
"AM? That's fucking late, bro. I'm not a vampire like you."
"But Frank," he whined. "I want to show you this while the moon is full."
Wiping the sleep from my eyes, I groggily asked him, "What do you need to show me?"
"The place I go when I want to be alone," he smiled. My eyes widened.
"Uh, alright?"
He pulled me out of bed, set me on my feet, took my hand and led me carefully down the stairs, making sure I didn't fall. We were about halfway down the street when my brain finally kicked in and I yanked my hand away from his.
Maybe it was just a trick of the moonlight, but he looked hurt. "What?"
"How do I know you're not going to try and drink my blood?" I grimaced. "I mean, there's no one who would come looking, and at any rate you already know what my blood tastes like, so maybe you just want to eat me."
"I'm honestly shocked you would think that. We're friends. Friends don't eat other friends. It's just plain rude."
"Oh. True."
"You trust me, don't you?"
"Yes."
I honestly did.
He grasped my hand again, and I took it unthinkingly as he pulled me towards the edge of the forest.
As we walked down the hidden path Gerard had made, I assumed he must have wandered through these trees a thousand times, because he stepped over every single rock, root and crack without even breaking his stride. His mood seemed to lighten with every yard we walked.
Suddenly, we stopped at a big rock formation.
He seemed so happy and carefree it was infectious. I'd never seen him smile so honestly in my life.
Suddenly his big hazel eyes stared into my own. He was still grinning.
"Yes?" I beamed.
"Wait here."
"Okay."
Suddenly, he was gone. Then I heard a grinding sound, and turns out he was pushing the rock away to reveal another pathway, this one carefully paved by Gerard's hand with smooth stones. I looked at him for confirmation, and he nodded, returning to my side. "Shall we?"
"Yes, we shall," I laughed. We walked together in silence, but it was a comfortable kind of quiet.
Suddenly, I noticed a very large shrub up ahead, the small rocks leading directly to a gap in the side. Gerard pulled me through the bush, careful not to let the branches scratch me.
And then we were standing in a complete circle, surrounded by the leaves of the plant. Then I made the decision to look up, and was struck speechless in awe.
Stars lit the night sky like fireflies, immobilized in a blanket of velvety blackness. The moon was directly up ahead, and it was the lamp the stars were buzzing around. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Gerard glance at me and smile crookedly.
"It's where I went after I was banished. I found this place while wandering in the forest, and sort of made it my own. It's beautiful, isn't it?"
I almost said, "Not as beautiful as you," but one, that was extremely cheesy, and two, Gerard didn't know I loved him yet.
Should I tell him?
"Gerard, I-"
"What?"
Damn. Why were those words so hard to say?
"I-"
Not right now.
It's not the right moment.
"Thanks."
His face fell a little, but quickly masked it with a smile.
"You're welcome."
"No," I said, exhaling quietly. "I mean it. Thanks for everything."
I swiftly kissed him on the cheek.
He grinned. "Do you have a thing for kissing people on the cheek, or is it just me?"
"No, but apparently you have a thing for kissing people to see if they like you."
"Yeah," he said looking uncomfortable. "That was it."
I crossed my arms and took a step forwards, forcing him to retreat a little. "I don't think so."
"It's true!"
"Are you sure, Gerard?"
"It meant nothing! Why can't you fucking get that?" he half-shouted.
"Then does this mean nothing, too?" I said softly, striding over to him, throwing my arms around my neck and kissing him full on the lips.
He whipped his head away from mine, eyes shut. "To you it does," he whispered painfully.
"You don't know that."
"I do."
"You're wrong," I breathed, and pulled his face up so I could kiss him again.
He stood frozen for a moment before he finally gave in and pulled me closer.
It was simple and sweet, less rough then the first time he had kissed me, but equally passionate and much more meaningful. I couldn't taste any blood on his lips, which I was grateful for, cause that would have been really gross. It was just Gerard, and this I could definitely get used to.
Eventually he pulled away, resting his forehead softly against mine.
"Did I ever tell you how much I consider you as a best friend now?" I asked. His eyes widened in fear before I added, "And how much I love you, of course."
He smiled, relaxing. "I love you, too."
"I know. I heard you whisper it when you thought I was asleep."
If he could have blushed, he would have been crimson.
He put his hand to his face. "You were awake?"
"Yeah," I smirked. "It was cute, I swear!"
"You bastard," he said playfully, punching my arm gently. "And you didn't tell me how you felt, even if you already knew I loved you?"
"'Course not. I was waiting for you to grow up and tell me, but looks like I couldn't help myself," I grinned.
"Still, that's so embarrassing…I thought you were clueless," he mumbled, but smiled all the same.
I wrapped my arms around his figure, side-hugging him. "Oh Gerard," I mock-sighed, laughing a little. "What am I going to do with you?"
"Well," he pursed his lips. "You could kiss me again, if you'd like."
And so I did.
I had a spaz attack at the end, because it was so adorable. It was like a cinnamon bun with way too much frosting. Oh well. And that was also so cliche it hurt.