Chapter three

Bob. He had to tell him that he was going to leave, but how? He didn't want to face him and tell him, not after the negative reaction he got the last time he brought it up. But leaving a note was so cold and emotionless. After all, it wasn't good chances he would make it back. Though, Frank tried to ignore the thoughts that made him reconsider his choice. He needed to talk to someone about it, and his first choice was, of course, Ray Toro.

****

Frank was once again sitting in Ray's sofa, spilling his heart out to his friend, seeking advice. After almost an hour of talking Frank was quietly sobbing, while staring at the floor. "I-it's really s-scary, and um B-Bob will probably h-hate me." Frank was a nervous wreck by now, as he fully realized what he was doing. Ray looked at his friend with a concerned look, "Hey, Bob's your best friend, he'll understand you. I'm sure!" Ray tried to be encouraging but he was secretly a bit scared for his friend.

"I- I doubt it…" Frank mumbled. He thought about how distressed Bob was. It was probably just out of worry, he realized. It still didn't make the decision any easier, though. Bob was most likely still going to hate him.

"I don't. If you really want me to I could come with you, defend you when Bob starts ranting. Would you prefer that, Frankie?" Ray asked worriedly. He knew Frank would need backup when talking to Bob. He knew exactly how Frank felt so he could perfectly explain it to Bob.

"P-please." Frank squeaked, embarrassed by the fact he needed someone to come with him because he was too pathetic to go alone.

"Shh, Frankie, I'll come along then." Ray cooed. He flung an arm around Frank's shoulder and rubbed it. Frank nodded slightly, and stood up from the couch. He wiped some tears away and stretched. "Thanks, Ray." he muttered, while putting his shoes on. "What for?" Ray asked, opening the door. "Helping me with this." Frank said with a smile. He motioned for Ray to follow. Ray cocked his head to the side with a slightly confused expression before seeming to realize Frank's intentions and standing up, pulling his shoes on too.
"What are you going to say to him?" Ray asked, walking next to Frank, as Frank was still a bit too shaky to fly. Frank thought about running away and just hiding for the next ten years, but decided against it after all.
"I don't know. Tell him?" Frank said with a questioning tone. "I just have to explain it to him or whatever." He mumbled, trailing off at the end. Frank imagined how the conversation would go, mouth unconsciously moving along a bit. Ray looked at him out of the corner of his eyes, shrugged, and flung an arm around Frank's shoulder.
"I think if you just explain your choice he'll understand. Don't over think it, Frank." Ray assured. He shook Frank a bit with the arm that was still around Frank. Frank nodded and twitched his wing, shaking off a leaf that had landed on one of his feathers. Even in Heaven you could notice Fall was coming. Frank chuckled softly to himself at that. Ray hummed questioningly.

"I'm going to fall during Fall." Frank said, almost with wonder in his voice. Ray chuckled, but Frank couldn't help but notice it sounded a bit forced.
"You alright, Ray?" Frank asked. Ray nodded, but shrugged. "I'll just miss you, you're a really cool dude." He looked down at the ground in front of the two before quickly adding "But as long as you're happy with falling, I think you should go for it. I don't want to hold you back." Ray smiled reassuringly.
Frank smiled back.

"Bob!" Frank called, his voice sounding only a slight bit shaky. Bob looked up at the sound, he was hunched over, doing god-knows-what, Frank and Ray were too far away to see it properly. When they got closer Frank noticed a pen in Bob's hand, he must've been writing. He did that sometimes, usually when something was bugging him. Frank got a knot in his stomach thinking it might've been his fault.
"What's up?" Bob asked. He raised an eyebrow at Ray, considering they didn't hang out a lot. Ray smiled a bit and did his typical little Ray-hand wave. Bob held his hand up in a greeting way.
"I have some, uh, news." Frank stammered. His calm demeanor was gone just like that. Bob looked worried, but motioned for Frank to go on.
"I- I made up my mind. I'm gonna, uh, fall. I talked to Virgin Mary about it already. I'm really- I uh, I'm sorry Bob." Frank looked helplessly at Ray, tears forming in his eyes because he was just so /clueless/ as to what he should do now. Bob's eyes, on the other hand, were filled with surprise and sadness, there was a flicker of betrayal, but it was gone as soon as it appeared. Frank was scared of how Bob might respond.
"Fuck, Frank..." Bob trailed off. He sighed, probably to calm him down. "I just.. Why? Seriously? I told you how dangerous it is, Virgin Mary must've told you the same, right? You've been here for ten fucking years. Do you even realize how much the Earth might've changed? You'd be a complete stranger to the whole fucking world!" Bob cried out. Frank hung his head low and shrugged, trying not to care or listen. He made up his mind already, he wasn't gonna let Bob change it now.
"I know," Frank sighed. "Look, I'll make it, okay? Don't worry." He chuckled and added "Besides, I have an asshole angel to watch over me." Bob scoffed. "You know that's not how it works." He grumbled, but smiled spitefully nonetheless. Frank hummed. "Worth a try," He smiled at his feet.
"I was going to talk to Virgin Mary again today, though." Frank mumbled. Bob's eyes widened. "You're going to Earth /today/? Shit, Frank." Frank nodded slowly. Bob plucked at one of Frank's feathers. "Fuck. So you only have today to say goodbye?" He sighed. Frank was surprised to see how okay Bob seemed with this. He knew, though, that Bob really cared about Frank, it's not like he wanted Frank to fall, of course he was sad. It was evident in his eyes. Frank stepped towards bob and wrapped his arms around him. "I'm sorry, Bobbert. You understand, though, right?" Bob hummed in response and squeezed Frank's tiny body tightly in his arms.
"You better fucking come back, though. I'm not going to stay god-knows-how-fucking-long here without my best friend." Bob grinned and punched Frank's arm. Frank grinned back but kept quiet. Bob raised an eyebrow and shoved Frank a bit. "Get some hot chick, though." Bob joked.
"Yeah, yeah." Frank smiled. He looked at Bob and sighed. "I suppose, uh, this is goodbye?" Frank said, or more questioned. Bob nodded and held out his arms.
"You're an asshole, Frank." Frank grinned and jabbed an outstretched hand into Bob's side. Bob doubled over and laughed. "Fuckin' told you." He said. Frank smiled sweetly and said "I know!" in a sing-song voice.
"Are you sure about this? You know it'll be dangerous." Frank sighed and reassured Bob that yes, he knew how dangerous it was and that yes, it has been ten years and yes, he was totally going to think about him every day, before Bob hugged him tight and slapped him in the face with minimal force, just to clarify he still didn't want Frank to leave, and after saying some last minute goodbye's and I hate you's, Ray and Frank went off to find Virgin Mary.

"Hello, Frank. I had been waiting for you. Have you made up your mind yet?" Virgin Mary asked as she appeared after the second prayer. Frank nodded and looked at ray a bit clueless.
"Is Raymond here for support?" She smiled warmly at Ray, who nodded, giving her a little wave and a nervous smile in return. Frank shuffled nervously and cleared his throat before saying "So what's going to happen now?"
"I am going to send you back to Earth, back to the town you used to live in. You'll appear in an alley and you should have a shirt, put that on right away, people get wrong ideas when a guy walks out of an alley shirtless. You lose your wings for the time being, and you should know what you have to do after." Frank nodded and turned to Ray.
"Do you want to say goodbye to Raymond now?" Virgin Mary asked. Frank nodded again and took Ray by the shoulders. "I'll be fine, man. You're an awesome friend, by the way. Stay awesome while I'm gone, and keep Bob company, will you?" Frank added a lighthearted chuckle at the end. Ray grinned and nodded, before straightening himself up and looking at Virgin Mary, who was watching the pair with a barely visible smile.
"I think it would be better to do this next part with as few people as needed." Frank mumbled, looking at Ray with an apologetic look. "Keep my wings somewhere safe, I swear to God." He said. Ray smiled sadly and nodded, grabbing Frank for a quick last hug.
"See you in a few months?" Ray asked.
Frank just shrugged.

"Now, while you fall to Earth, your wings get temporarily removed, permanently if you choose to stay on Earth with the one you love. I am going to count to three, at two, I want you to take a deep breath, at three, I will send you to Earth."

"One, two.."

She lied. The sharp stinging feeling in between his shoulderblades hurt like fuck.
Oh, and she never got to three.