You're My Favourite Sound

About an hour and a half after going to bed, tossing and turning, and not being able to sleep, October worked up some courage and went into the living room, feeling rather sheepish for going to ask if she could sleep there, but she couldn't stand being alone in a room. It was the first time since the Derek episode.

She knew he was still up, because he was talking on his cell quietly. He quickly quit when he saw her.

"Was I too loud?" he asked worriedly. She shook her head.

"No, I, um... can't sleep," she said slowly, feeling a sudden cold sweep up her skirt.

Frank nodded simply and gestured to the space beside him. October got her own pillow and curled up next to him, letting his warmth surround her. The alcohol she'd consumed gradually caught up with her and she drifted off to sleep without noticing.

The next morning, Frank awoke before October, which didn't surprise him, and he got himself up and washed, before heading to the kitchen. He opened the cupboard above the sink and reached for the bottle of pills on the top shelf. He popped one of the green and yellow capsules onto his tongue and easily washed it down with a mouthful of water.

He stood with his back to the doorway by the sink and just stared down at the brown bottle in his hands, hating that it had come to this.

He never had been a fan of pills. He'd always sworn to himself he'd never live off them, never rely on them to get by... because it was wrong in his opinion, no pill should hide you away from the real world... Except painkillers, of course. From his own experience, painkillers were much needed after a certain amount of booze.

"Oohh, my stomach," October suddenly moaned from behind him. As she broke the dead silence, it'd given Frank such a fright that he'd dropped the bottle in the sink that was almost half full of water. "What was that?"

"Uh, nothing," Frank said quickly, grabbing the bottle, but its wetness caused it to slip from his fingers and drop to the kitchen floor, rattling as it rolled away from him and nearer to October. He darted towards it, but the younger girl got there first, picking it up to take a closer look.

She stared at it long and hard, and Frank's heart quickened as he watched her take in what was written on the bottle. After a short while, the suspense got the better of him and he took it out of October's hands.

"Look, don't worry about it, okay?" he said, shoving it back onto the top shelf of the cupboard above the sink.

"How long have you been on Prozac?" she asked, her brow furrowed.

"It doesn't matter," Frank replied, shaking his head with his back turned to her.

"I thought you didn't do all that counseling shit?"

"I just went to one stupid session, alright? I didn't know what else to do..."

It was quiet for a minute, neither of them saying anything. Frank had his hands gripping onto the edge of the counter either side of the sink, breathing in and out through his nostrils, eyes fixed to the white tiles on the wall ahead of him.

He felt embarrassed because almost four years ago he was helping October through a pill addiction, convincing her she didn't need them and making sure she could carry on without them... And now here he was, failing to hide the fact that he needed pills.

Just as he was replaying that he was showing himself to be a hypocrite, her gentle voice came from behind him.

"Can I do anything to help?"

Frank blinked and swallowed silently, before gradually turning back round to face her. Her face wasn't full of anger and disappointment like he thought it would be, but appeared to be caring, considerate.

"Can I help to make you feel better?" she asked supportively.

Frank just smiled, sighing in relief through his nose as his eyes fell to the floor for a second, before slowly moving back up to her. "I'm sure your singing would take care of that." October gave out a groan. "Please?" pushed Frank, giving her the old puppy dog eyes.

"Come on, you know I don't do cheesy." Frank smirked, and an idea came to October's head, "How about I take you out for breakfast instead?"

"Is that what was wrong with your stomach?" he inquired, thinking back to what she'd first said as she walked into the room.

"Yeah, I'm starving," she complained like a small child.

"What, no hangover?"

"Are you kidding? My temples really don't like me this morning."

Frank smirked again and headed towards the doorway, "I'll get you some aspirin."

"So, breakfast?" called October, stopping him.

Frank felt his stomach yelling at him for food, but his head disagreed at the mention of it. So as he turned to her, he decided to go with a lie, the same lie he'd told everyone else. "Thanks, but I've eaten."