The Past is Only the Future with the Lights On

I woke with a bright start the following morning, grinning from ear to ear at my intentions of spending the day with my favorite person in the whole world.

After saying my goodbyes to my dad and his fiance (insert gagging noises here) last night - the reason he called me down in the first place; interrupting a perfect moment - Linda and Frank left not too much long after. But of course, they didn't leave without Frank first promising he'd be by to pick me up at 9:00 a.m. so that we could start our amazing day early. Naturally, I was the only one who understood the double meaning in 'amazing day.' Though I'm sure his added wink definitely brewed up some suspicious thoughts in both our guardian's minds.

Kicking the covers off of me, I hopped out of bed and grabbed my towel, then proceeding to walk towards the bathroom to have my usual morning shower.

As I walked back into my room, a towel wrapped securely around me, I turned on my radio and pressed play, MSI still in there from the day before. Singing along to some of the barely comprehensible lyrics, I pulled on some clean underwear and a pair of tight gray jeans, followed by the new, bright blue shirt that read "Kelly's f*ckin' rad" that I'd received from Ray yesterday.

I glanced at my alarm clock, noticing I had a little over twenty minutes left to get ready before Frank was supposed to arrive.

Quickly applying some thick, black eyeliner and yellow eye shadow, I pulled on my green Chuck's, fully aware that I didn't really match, and went downstairs, after running a comb through my damp, straight hair.

For a change, I found my grandma in the living room watching the news, instead of the kitchen or it's nook.

"Morning, grams," I told the old woman as I sat down on the sofa beside her.

She looked away from the TV set, currently showing newly found causes of cancer, and smiled at me. "Hey. Ready for your day with Frankie?"

Nothing about dad and the wedding. Phew.

"Yup. . .but I'm not quite sure what we're doing. He just told me he was giving me my present," I shrugged.

My grandma grinned before redirecting her attention to the news anchor, leading me to believe that she knew something I didn't.

"You know what my gift is," I guessed, pointing an accusing finger at her.

"Of course I know. He came to me to ask my permission," she said simply, only confusing me.

"Permission?" I repeated, watching her nod nonchalantly. "Why would he need your permission to give me anything?"

Honestly, it's not like he was going to propose to me or something, which was the only thing I could think of that might need parental consent.

"Let's just say if you thought your father wasn't too fond of Frank yesterday, he's going to hate him after today," she said with raised eyebrows.

Both grandma and Frank were convinced that my dad disliked Frank. But somehow, I had been oblivious to any hateful signs my dad might have been giving him at dinner, probably because I was too preoccupied with trying to keep an interested face while my 'future step mom' told the table her life story - literally.

"So. . .my present is something dad wouldn't approve of?" I queried.

"Never in a million years," my grandma said simply, a grin on her lips.

"Well then that's good enough for me," I concluded, rising to my feet and walking towards the kitchen.

I still had about ten minutes left until Frank was coming over, so I figured I'd spend it wisely and munch on a bowl of cereal.

Just as I was pulling the box of cereal from the cabinet, the sound of the doorbell ringing stopped me. An excited smile immediately graced my face as I dashed to the door, trying to compost myself when I opened it, revealing the most perfect sight any girl could wish to see on their doorstep at nine in the morning; Frank Iero.

"Morning," I smiled, my attempts of composing myself instantly going to waste once he'd shot me his returned smile.

"Good morning, my love. Ready for a day of fun?" Frank said, holding his hand out to me.

"Yep, all ready," I confirmed, happily taking his hand. "Bye grandma."

"Bye Toni," Frank said as well, waving to my grandma in the living room, who was watching the two of us with a knowing smile that I didn't like.

"See you kids later. Have a good time," she called out to us as we stepped out of the house, closing the door behind us.

We walked down the snow covered pathway of my house to the sidewalk, Frank's warm hand suddenly encasing my own.

"Have you eaten breakfast yet?" Frank asked me as we pace through the thick snow - thank God it wasn't still snowing, I don't know if I could handle that much more of it.

I had always been a fan of snow, and even attempted to make my own igloos in Bridgewater (I was determined on being the first Eskimo in the family) but after a while, it's just annoying as hell. Because once your older, snow becomes less fun and you tend to hate it; mainly because your parents make you go out and shovel your driveway for them. And, with your luck, the snow plow comes down your street at that moment, and you have to start over.

I'm speaking from experience here.

"Nope," I told him, my teeth already starting to chatter from the cold atmosphere.

Noticing my cold state, he smiled and pulled me closer to his side, removing his hand from mine so he could place it on my waist.

"Sweet, then I figured we could go to this little restaurant. . .thingy for breakfast, then continue on with our day from there. Sound good?" he asked.

Good was a bit of an understatement.

"Sounds perfect," I told him, snuggling in closer to him. . .for his body warmth, of course. . .