Giving Up the World

The drive to the other side of town was long and I was impatient, but it was worth the travel. Gerard dropped me off at Annabell's house and said that he'd come pick me up in about 2 and a half hours. I gave him a big hug before getting out of the car and walking up to the door to her house. I rang the door bell and took a step back, waiting for someone to answer which ended up being her father.

"Hi, is Annabell home?" I asked, looking at him.

He nodded and smiled at me, "She's in the basement with a friend." He told me, letting me inside.

I thanked him before going down to the basement. When he said, "friend" I was expecting Sally or Mikey, but when I got down the stairs, all I saw was Annabell and some guy I didn't know sitting rather close to each other while watching tv.

"Dad, who was it?" Annabell called but her father didn't hear her.

I guess she hadn't heard me walk down the stairs either so I kept quiet. Annabell groaned before standing up and turning towards the stairs. That's when she saw me. Her eyes lit up and she ran to me, wrapping her arms tightly around me. I didn't want to really make a scene in front of this dude because he looked like he could beat me up if he needed to so I just wrapped my arms around her as well, not getting mad at her just yet because I didn't really know what was going on.

"Who brought you hear?" She asked, looking up at me.

"Gerard came and got me. Dropped me off here so we could hang out... But I see that you're busy, so maybe I'll just see you on the weekend." I explained, looking at the guy that was now looking at Annabell and I.

Annabell frowned, "You're gonna give up a chance to hang out with me?"

"I see you're already occupied with someone." I shrugged.

Annabell turned her head toward the guy that was sitting on the couch before taking my hand and leading me upstairs. She took me all the way up to her room and closed the door so our voices wouldn't be heard by anyone else.

"He's just a friend, Frank." Annabell shrugged.

"He was this close to you." I pulled her close to me so that our hips and forearms were touching. "I mean, I don't mind that you have other friends but... I guess I'd kind of like to know who they are."

"Well what friends have you made, Frank?" She asked defensively.

I took a pause before answering her, "None. If I didn't get along with people in my previous school, why would things change for a new school? They're all the same. They all look at me like I'm some psychotic killer. Some psychotic kid with a hit list. I've never spoken a word to anyone in that damn school except the teachers.

"You don't get it, Annabell. Do you realize how absolutely gorgeous you are? Do you realize what guys think of you when they see you? They think of how perfect you look and how stunning you are. They want to get to know you so they can date you. You have to realize this because sooner or later that guy in the basement is gonna start flirting with you."

All she did was stare at me for a long time. No words came from her mouth and I couldn't read what her face was saying. It looked shocked but there was something else. She had another emotion there but I couldn't make it out. I just stared back at her until she finally spoke.

"... Maybe we should just not be together." She mumbled, looking down.

I felt my heart stop beating and breath hitch in my throat. I shook my head before gasping for air, "No. No, that's not what I want. It's not what you want. Please, Annabell. We can make this work."

"Frank," She looked up at me and I could see the tears welling up in her eyes, "You live 45 minutes away. We only see each other on weekends. Neither of us can drive. How are we gonna make this work? We're just... We're just two kids, Frank. Neither of us are even fifteen yet. For how long are you going to be 45 minutes away?" She sighed as a tear slipped down her cheek, "I wanted us to last but... Not a lot of young relationships do, Frank."

I raised my hand up and wiped the tears that slipped down her face, "It'll work." I whispered. "We both want it to so it will." I assured her, resting my hand on her cheek.

She pulled her face away from my hand and began to walk towards her door, saying something about telling the guy down in the basement that he should go home and how maybe I should leave. But I didn't. I just stood there and waited. I didn't want to leave, so I waited for her to come back upstairs into her room. I waited for ten minutes before she came back and she was a bit surprised to see me still standing there.

"Frank, you're making this harder than it needs to be." She pushed past me and went to her dresser to find clothes to sleep in, I assumed.

I looked over at the clock that read it was only 7:30pm. I didn't know why she was getting ready for bed but I didn't care. I just continued to stand there and watch her.

"Shouldn't you be getting back to your dad's house?" She asked, "There's school tomorrow, y'know."

I rolled my eyes, "Yeah, 'cause school's my number one priority."

She left the room and I waited again. While I waited, I called Gerard and let him know that I wouldn't need a ride home, that night. I just lied to him and said that Annabell's dad was going to take me home and he believed me.

When Annabell returned, I was sitting on her bed and her hair was wet. She had taken a shower and was now in her pajamas.

"I need to sleep, Frank." She informed me and I nodded. I stood up as she laid down.

"Why are you going to bed so early?" I asked, looking down at her.

"Because I'm apart of the swim team and we have to get up early in the morning to lift weights." She explained, yawning tiredly.

It was about 8:30 now. Still way too early to go to bed, so I thought. But if she needed her rest, she needed her rest. She asked me to turn the lights off for her so I did. She told me to go home, but I didn't. I walked back over to the bed and laid down next to her. She asked me what I was doing and I just shushed her and told her to sleep. She groaned but did so and fell asleep. And I fell asleep next to her.