A Brand New Mourning.

The day slipped passed effortlessly for the group, like most days it seemed to lapse with little drama or excitement; however, they were all content with the way it was proceeding. Frank strolled through the playground with his hands buried deep into his oversized hoodie, trying to hold onto any remnants of heat within his coarse fingertips and with a slight shiver in his bones, approached the large black gates where he would wait for Gerard and his mates, so they could go home.

Groups of people rushed passed the young man as he stood aside waiting for the guys; girls and boys bounded happily through the heavenly gates telling stories of their day or planning the night a head of them. Frank listened, catching only snippets of various conversations whilst wishing Gerard would arrive soon so they too could plan the upcoming evening.

Subconsciously, he shifted from foot to foot, trying to block the cold which seemed to radiate from the grey concrete through to his scruffy trainers, freezing his cramped toes. The rush of students gradually began to thin out and Frank found himself getting a little frustrated with the absence of his friends. He hated not being aware of what was going on and liked to know he had some sort of control over situations- so the dearth of the group made him anxious.

Wind blew in the doe eyed boys face, piercing his sensitive skin and staining it red; somehow the stinging breaths of cold managed to creep their way through his floppy faux hawk and tickle his naturally brown scalp.

Finally, he caught sight of two of his friends and the unsettled feeling seeped away comfortably and relief arrived within him. His pale faced best friend offered a smile when they held eye contact and Frank noticed Gerard’s pearly teeth chattering behind his slightly parted lips. Jasper on the other hand was buried behind a thick scarf, hat and hood, leaving little of his half cast skin exposed to the sudden cold; he looked ridiculous but Frank would have loved to be protected from the bitter temperatures like him. The two friends walked quickly after spotting Frank’s small body trembling by the gate.

“What took you so long?” the short teen asked, his voice hoarse from the cold. Gerard instantly whipped off his black scarf and wrapped it around his best friends exposed neck, knowing that even the cold can make him seriously ill, and, in all honesty he didn’t think he’d be able to handle a week of school without his companion while he recovered from a severe case of the flu. Frank looked up gratefully, his hazel eyes sparkling with love for his best friend.

“Mr Crocker kept us behind,” he explained before leading Frank and Jasper away from the gates and down the road. “Jasper thought it’d be funny to throw pencils at that idiot from gym class then blame it on me,” he sighed slightly at the memory of Jaspers stupid behaviour, the wild haired teenager never ceased to amaze the rest of the group with his childish antics; none of them could understand how the silliest one of the bunch always managed to come across as the quietest.

When they reached the end of the road Frank realised they‘d left without the other two guys. “What about-”

“Chris is ’taying ’ehind for ’occer practice an’ Greys ‘as detenshion,” Jasper informed the confused Frank, his voice muffled from the scarf he’s wrapped across his face like a balaclava. Silently, the shortest of the boys nodded, wishing he could somehow switch places with his friend and be hidden by layers and layers of warmth.

Most of the journey back to Frank’s house was silent, excluding the ongoing jangle produced by the thick silver chain which hung loosely at the side of Jaspers baggy jeans; it danced happily in the cold with each step the boy took.

When the estate Frank lived on finally came into view, they instinctively huddled just a little closer to each other in fear of whatever might have been lurking around the corner. Everyone hated travelling to Frank’s home- even the boy himself, but they all loved the atmosphere inside the small two bed roomed flat, meaning the other five boys often found themselves trekking through the dangerous estate, despite the gangs that eyed them suspiciously or the yelling that echoed from within the multi-storey tower blocks.

Unlike the rest of the boys, Frank didn’t live in a cosy terraced flat, museum sized house or a swanky apartment, instead he lived in a rough estate where violent crimes where more common than not and used syringes littered every available graffiti covered corner; However, most of the self named gangsters or scary looking cliques tended to leave the young man alone- so long as he stayed out of their way. Regardless, his friends still huddled together whenever they entered the dingy maze of tower blocks and then was no different.

“Get the keys out before someone shoots us,” Jasper joked, as Frank fumbled through his pockets for the rusty key. All three boys cackled slightly before bounding into the flat a little over dramatically; thankfully the flat was insulated and feeling instantly began to return to their frozen bodies.

“S’your ’um in?” Jasper asked, his face still muffled by his scarf.

“Don‘t know,” Frank replied, before scanning through the few rooms in search of either of his parents. “No, she‘s not,” he clarified before all the boys went into his room and flopped onto the bed. Frank’s chamber was one of the things all of the boys admired about his scanty flat; although most of them had beautiful houses, none of them had quite mastered the appearance of their rooms like Frank had. It was small and untidy, with most of the technological equipment outdated, but somehow everything managed to tie together so perfectly and summarise Frank’s personality. Gerard always imagined he was physically walking into a manifestation of Frank’s soul whenever he entered the box shaped room, the thought always made the experience that much more special.

Frank disrobed carelessly while his friends made themselves cosy on his single bed; the mattress was so old it was almost flat and squeaked with the littlest movement, but nobody bothered to complain because there was no denying the tattered sleeping pad still provided excess amounts of comfort.

The slim boy threw his worn clothes in the corner of his room as Gerard flicked through the five available channels on the bulbous black TV, completely unfazed by his best friends near nakedness, they had seen each other nude numerous times and thought nothing of it.

Frank pulled an old faded T-shirt from his draws and jumped onto the bed with his mates, leaving his legs bare past the length of his striped boxers; he’d been wearing airtight jeans all day and believed his limbs deserved some freedom or else they‘d inevitably suffocate.

The now unmasked Jasper pulled the thick duvet over them all making sure no one had even a foot uncovered. When the Autumn or Winter evenings where too cold to go out, the boys enjoyed lazing around one of their houses - usually Frank’s, and snuggling up to watch TV or play old school board games. Although such behaviour was probably uncommon from most guys their age, they didn’t care- even the quarter back, Chris, usually joined in on the act, relishing everyone’s company without any pressures or disturbances.

Gerard and Frank snuggled a little closer finding even more comfort from each others
bodies and Jasper didn’t even bat an eyelid at their behaviour, being used to their closeness and thinking nothing of it- even when Gerard intuitively began to run his fingers through the younger’s floppy faux hawk, like he did regularly, nobody made any stupid comments or suggested any bend in their sexuality. It was no secret Frank liked girls, it was made clear at any party they attended when he threw himself at the many females who showed interest in him. His confident demeanour often earned him the most attention out of the group after Chris, although that was probably due to the fact he was a quarter back on the soccer team. The rest of the group where a little more reserved, especially Gerard, he’d never gone further than a blowjob with a girl he dated briefly a year before. He didn’t agree with serial monogamy, particularly in the way his friends went about it, they didn’t even know the names of 90% of the people they slept with which made the boy uneasy, but he left them to their crude ways.

Two hours passed in a flash and out of the window a dark sky cast shadow on the objects in Frank’s room. “Did Grey‘s and Chris say if they‘re coming over?” Gerard asked looking over Franks head, which was balanced on his shoulder and over to Jasper, he nodded assuredly resting part of Gerard’s worry. He Didn’t like the idea of them walking through the estate alone when it’s dark.

“Don‘t worry about them, they‘ll be fine,” Frank said into Gerard’s shoulder. He knew Gerard would be worrying silently about their friends’ whereabouts, even though he didn’t vocalise it. The slightly larger boy nodded and began fiddling once more with the longer strands of Frank’s hair before returning his attention to the TV.

Murray’s confident voice boomed through the speakers of the old TV as he welcomed the next guest onto his notorious stage. Frank watched contently as the camera sped through the applauding crowd, feeling completely relaxed as Gerard’s magical fingers ran through his greasy hair. A tired looking women placed herself into one of the red chairs on Murray’s stage and began explaining about her daughters troubles.

“she’s tried to kill herself several times and I just don‘t know how to cope anymore,” the greying lady sobbed on the screen. Frank felt Gerard stiffen ever so slightly beside him, obviously uncomfortable with the current topic; he had detested the idea of suicide ever since his father drove himself off a bridge when Gerard was just seven years old.

“I just want to get her to talk to me, I need to understand…” Frank looked upon the screen in wonder; he didn’t understand how anyone could be selfish enough to kill
themselves, in all honesty he didn‘t understand why people would ever want too commit to such an act. Sure he knew people got depressed but he didn’t see how that could lead them off the edge. Frank actually appreciated life, even with it’s down sides; he could never imagine leaving the disastrous planet deliberately.

A teenage girl walked onto the stage, a frown embedded onto her face as she took a seat beside her mother and Frank watched hoping to gain some sort of understanding to why people slit their wrists or drive themselves of bridges.

“I feel so trapped in my life…” None of the boys could understand how you could feel ‘trapped’ in your life and focused harder on the words which fell from the girls dry lips. “It‘s like everywhere I go-” the door bell buzzed loudly three times, making everyone jump and Frank’s head slip off Gerard’s shoulder. With a sigh Frank climbed off the bed and rushed out to answer the door with Gerard tagging behind curiously; the hairs on Frank’s legs stood on end from the slight chill still lingering in the flat.

“Open the fucking door man,” Chris chimed from outside making Frank and Gerard both roll their eyes. Slowly, he unlocked the door and let the almost frozen boys into the small flat. For a few moments, Frank conversed with the other two, laughing croakily whilst Gerard stood aside and watched them all in curiosity and ease.

“What we watching?” Grey’s asked, stepping into Frank’s much loved room. “Oh not these fucking talk shows again” he complained. Frank and Gerard both had a healthy thirst for talk shows, each trying to find the best resolutions to every scenario, yet watching in some sort of amusement. Within minutes, Grey’s and Chris sat themselves on the carpeted floor and indulged in the programme all complaints forgotten.

From up on the bed, Frank glanced at Gerard; they swapped genuine smiles and Frank relocated his head back onto his friends shoulder and indulged in the moment.