Chapter 5) Oh Frankie
.-.-.
"Are you sure it's alright that I crash here? I mean, I don't really plan on walking all the way home at this time of night, but I feel the need to be polite." Frank tells me, suppressing a yawn before collapsing on the black leather couch.
"It's fine, man. Really." I say, tossing him a quilt and heading towards my bedroom door.
"Hey Gee...Gerard." He called me Gee? Is that a sign?
"Yea?" I ask without turning to face him. I wouldn't want him to see the hope on my face.
"Thanks. Not just for this...but...for listening."
"Anytime, Frank." Seriously, any time. It's not like I let any random guy cry on my kitchen counter. Well there was that one...
"Night."
"Goodnight."
.-.-.
"Mornin' Mikes. Time to get up." I announce, throwing the navy blue curtains open to let the sunlight in.
"Morning Gee." He mumbles, rubbing his eyes. He reaches for me and I cross the small room to pick him up. When we get to the kitchen I sit him on the counter and fix a sippy cup of orange juice before picking him back up and heading to the living room for some cartoons. Frank's in the middle of a massive yawn when we enter the room.
"Oh... Fwankie's here." Mikey notices, grabbing the remote and climbing onto the couch beside the half asleep man before turning on Spongebob.
"Hey, little man. I decided to crash here last night. Hope that's ok with you." Frank says in a scratchy voice.
"It's fine, I guess. Just bwing Ransom next time...and don't eat all our food." Mikey shrugs. Frank laughs and climbs off the couch, releasing a nasty stench into the air. Mikey groans and drops the remote to hold his nose.
"Err...yea. Sorry 'bout that. Do you mind if I use your shower?" Frank asks, scratching his head.
Of course you can get naked in my shower. "Sure. It's just down the hall and to the right."
"Thanks man. I'm just gonna..." Go strip? "...go do that." He sighs, disappearing down the hall. Mikey giggles.
"I'm going to...ya know...make breakfast now."
.-.-.
How long are his showers? He's already been in there for twenty minutes. Well the least I can do is get dressed and be presentable for when he gets out.
After stripping down to my boxers I'm left with a dilemma. What do I wear? I'm so used to wearing a suit...but I don't have to wear one to work today...What if he doesn't like me when I'm not in a suit? What if I don't match and I look stupid? What if I do match and I look stupid? Should I do my hair? Do I smell alright? Oh god, how do girls deal with all this pressure?
The master bathroom door clicks open and out walks a towel clad Frank, quietly humming to himself.
"Oh damn." I murmur, taking in his wet body.
"Gerard?" His head snaps up, and then back down. I follow his eyes and remember I'm pretty much as bare as he is.
"Shit." I whisper, turning away from him. "Geez, I'm sorry, man. I th..thought you were in the g..guest bathroom."
"It's fine, Gee, really. It's not like you're the first guy to see me in a towel." What the... Did he seriously just say that? "Fuck...that is so not what I meant. Oh god...now I sound like a damn man-whore." He groans, burying his face in his hands. I laugh, grab a white t-shirt and a pair of black sweatpants from my dresser, and toss them to him without looking.
"Thanks. I'll just..." He stutters, backing into the bathroom and closing the door. I let out a breath I hadn't realized I was holding and go back to picking a casual, yet work appropriate, outfit. A minute later and I'm sitting on the bed, tying my all black converse. There was a lot of mental debating with the voices in my head, but we eventually agreed on a white button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up to my elbows, black skinny jeans, and a sleek black tie.
"Wow Gee...you look...nice."
"Oh Frankie..." I jerk around and see Frank standing in the doorway, hair dripping and sweatpants rolled up so he doesn't step on them.
"Frankie?" He laughs, arching an eyebrow.
"Gee?" I mimic sarcastically.
"Fine, we can both have lame nicknames together." He smiles.
"Frankie and Gee." I whisper, liking the sound of it.
"To the end." He laughs, reaching his fist out for me to bump. "I'm going to find food." He calls before leaving the room.
"Yea... to the end, Frankie."
-.-.-
After Count Chocula and coffee, Mikey is fully awake.
"Geward, I think you should take Fwankie home after you dwop me off at school." Mikey says while putting his shoes on.
"Yea, I think he should too, Mikey. After all...I can't really walk the whole way." I smirk, watching Gerard roll his hazel eyes.
"It's not like you haven't done it before." He laughs. Handing Mikey his backpack and throwing his own bag over his shoulder.
"Touche."
-.-.-
"Thanks for the ride...and the place to sleep...and the shower...and breakfast." I mumble, opening the door and climbing out of the shiny mustang to stand in front of my apartment building.
"It was nothing." Gerard smiles shyly. "Hey, um..Frank?"
"Yea?" I ask impatiently. Standing outside in a pair of sweats isn't exactly on my to-do list in this particular neighborhood.
"Do you think you could just run inside and change? We could go get coffee. And um... I think there's some stuff we need to talk about." He says seriously.
"Err...ok. I'll be right back." I tell him, closing the door and running inside, up the stairs, and into my apartment.