New Kid in New Jersey

The whole room fell silent. Everyone froze where they were sat, like statues. Shit, shit, shit...

"You... I mean - what?" Gerard stuttered, staring at me, the colour draining fast from his beautiful face.

I didn't speak; I just sat there, wide-eyed and humiliated. Everyone had turned to look at me, as if expecting me to give them some sort of explanation. I had to get out of here before they started asking me awkward questions.

I stood up very suddenly, making everyone jump, and ran into the hall. Shoving my battered trainers onto my feet and completely forgetting about my jacket, I reached for the door.

Catching me by surprise, I felt two warm hands grasp me by the arm.

"Frankie, where are you going?" It was Gerard, I could've guessed, looking at me again with those unbearable hazel eyes. I didn't need this right now; I really didn't.

"Gee, please, just get off me..." I whispered, pushing his hands away.

"Frankie, I -" But I never heard what he was going to say, as I stepped out onto the doorstep and slammed the door in his face, running out into the pouring rain.

Running to the very end of the street, cold raindrops falling thick and fast onto my body, I stopped at the street corner and looked around. I hadn't thought of where I was going to go. Big problem.

I stood, rain soaking me through and causing my sodden brown hair to stick to my face, dripping down my neck and into my shirt. I bet I looked like some sort of teenage tramp. I began to feel the cold, and remembering my jacket, I looked back up the road to my friends' inviting, cosy home, with tall candles burning brightly and distinctly in each of the windows. But there was absolutely no way that I was going back now; just imagine the embarassment of the situation...

Still gazing at the house, shivering, I saw a tall, flustered-looking figure step out from the large front door. Gerard - he had come to get me back. I couldn't let him catch me - he was the very last person I wanted to be faced with right now.

Not stopping to think once where I was heading for, I set off at full-pace, running flat out in any direction. I just wanted to get away from Gerard. I couldn't let him find me.

Sprinting along the unknown streets of New Jersey, running across empty parking lots, slipping and sliding through muddy grass, I came to a stand-still in front of a dark, deserted alley. Pausing in front of the alleyway, I contemplated staying here for the night. Dangerous as it might be, I was almost certain that he wouldn't find me in a place like this.

I sighed, exasperated. Wandering into the alley, I curled up on the ground behind a couple of large bins, and gladly closed my tired eyes.

"Frankie?" Only minutes later, Gerard's distant voice jerked me awake. "Frank? Frankie, where are you?" He was sobbing through his shouts, clearly extremely upset.

I curled up tighter into a ball, worrying about Gerard. Tears began to fill up in my eyes, and I blinked furiously, begging myself not to cry, but it was just impossible.

I listened sadly to Gerard's voice coming closer, and heard him sitting down, to my surprise, on the other side of the bins that I was sitting behind.

"I want my Frankie..." He whispered.

"I want my Gee..." I whispered, almost in reply, purposely loud enough so that Gerard would be able to hear me.

He gasped, and slowly, carefully, tiptoed round to where I was. He gasped again when he saw me, and fresh tears began to stream down his stained cheeks once more. He wiped the warm tears from my eyes, and I sat holding out my arms like a little child; like Felicity used to, when she wanted me to hold her.

"Frankie, it's you! It's really you! I missed you so much!" He cried through his tears, picking me up from off the ground and holding me tight. "I thought I'd lost you..."

"I missed you too, Gee." I sobbed, resting my head on his shoulder like those little puppies do. I whimpered helplessly into his shoulder, soaking his sleeve with tears, as he drew gentle shapes on my back to calm me down. I looked up at him, blurry-eyed. "I'm so sorry. I really am."

"Shh..." He whispered calmly. "Come with me" He took my hand in his, beckoning me to follow him.

We walked through the empty streets in the rain, holding hands, just so glad that we had finally found each other. After almost ten minutes, I started to wonder where we were actually going.

"Gee?" I asked him curiously.

"Yep?"

"Where are you actually taking me? We're not going back to your house are we? I don't really want to go back there just yet..." I really hoped we weren't going back. I didn't want them all to see me in this state... "I want to stay with you."

"No, Frankie. I'm taking you somewhere special. Just you and me." He said mysteriously, smiling to himself. "It's a place I go when I'm all alone. Where I go to think about things."

We strode in through the gates of a beautiful park; one that I had never seen before. It had finally stopped raining, and my clothes were just beginning to dry off. As we walked together over the thick grass, Gerard stopped by a towering oak tree with huge, leafy branches. Gerard let go of my hand, kicked one foot up onto the tree trunk, and carefully began to climb.

"Wait, Gee, what are you doing?" I asked nervously, starting to panic, wondering where this was going.

He didn't reply, swinging up to the top branches. He paused, and climbed up onto a particularly thick branch, and shuffled along it a little way, until he was hidden from view in the thick, green, forest of leaves.

"Come on up!" He whispered, poking his head through the leaves.

This was going to be difficult. I'd never climbed a tree before, even as a little kid; I'm way too much of a pansy. I tried to mimic what Gerard had done by kicking my foot onto the trunk, but sure enough, I slipped and fell back onto my feet again.

"Here, let me help you." He said, climbing down a few branches so that he was closer. "Take my hand and don't be afraid."

I did as I was told, and he lifted me up a little as I grabbed hold of the nearest branch. I closest my eyes, trying my very hardest not to look down as I climbed higher and higher up in the tree, Gerard leading the way. Swinging my legs over the final branch as we neared the top of the oak tree, I balanced my feet on a slightly less sturdy branch below and sat carefully down next to him.

"Gerard..." I began, gazing upwards in awe at the stunning view of the glittering stars and the ghostly full moon, suspended magically in the dark midnight sky. "It's beautiful."

"I know." Gerard replied softly; his hazel eyes glinting in the dappled moonlight that shone through the leaves. "And I wanted to share it with you."

I smiled at him lovingly, and he took my frozen cold, shivering hands, caressing them in his own warm ones.

"You know, Gerard, I..." I began, not knowing whether I should say it or not.

"What is it, Frankie?" He questioned, looking at me deeply in the eyes.

"I really meant it when I said that I loved you..." I whispered, staring back at him, unblinking. Gerard was silent for a few seconds, and I looked away, feeling my eyes begin to fill once more with tears, fearing rejection.

"Shh, baby. It's okay." Gerard said, his unsteady voice quivering with emotion. "Frankie, look at me, honey." He whispered, placing two fingers under my chin and lifting my head up to face his own.

"Gerard, I'm so sorry..." I started to say, tears now streaming freely down my blotchy cheeks. He put a shaking finger to my lips, and I was in absolutely no way prepared for what happened next.

"Let's make this last forever." He whispered, keeping his protective grip on my hands before gently pressing his soft lips to mine.

I closed my eyes, smiling into the kiss, wondering if I was dreaming or not, before we slowly pulled apart. We sat there next to each other, unmoving, our silhouettes illuminated in the moonlight.

"Frankie, I will never leave you." Gerard breathed, gazing at me lovingly, and gathered me up in his arms like a little child; keeping me safe and warm. I buried my head into his chest, listening to his beautiful heartbeat, feeling his chest rise and fall with his breathing, and soon, I had fallen asleep, smiling in his embrace.