Everyone Learns Faster On Fire

Frank’s hand collided with the cool, unoccupied mattress and he peeled his eyelids open. Sunlight leaked into the room through the gap in the curtains, and by the looks of things, it was rather late on Sunday morning.
He had half expected his girlfriend to be there, sleeping peacefully by his side, but then he remembered the dreaded argument they had the previous evening. He glanced over to her side of the bed and that’s when he noticed the sheet of paper positioned deliberately on the snow white pillow. His heart skipped a beat.

Gone to the supermarket. Be back soon. Love you xxx.

Frank sighed in relief. She didn’t sound too angry with him, and chances were that their little argument didn’t really mean anything major. He smiled to himself at the thought of her writing the note with the intention of him waking up to find it lying there instead of her. It was the little things she did that made their relationship so special.
His head was throbbing and could still taste the alcohol on his breath from last night. That’s when everything came flooding back to him and he came to his senses.

Gerard. The kiss. The band.

“Shit.” He muttered.

It could not be true. It must’ve been a dream or something. He couldn’t have kissed Gerard, he loved Jamia too much. But deep down he knew what had happened, and that he could not change things however much he denied it.

‘I was drunk.’ Frank thought to himself as he prised his tired body out of bed and wandered aimlessly around the small room. ‘And so was he. It was just a drunken little kiss. It didn’t mean anything.’

He had known Gerard for a few years now, and he was notorious for having a drink every now and then. Frank was almost certain that Gerard was waking up now to find the same regret whizzing around in his head. He was sure that this would be forgotten in a matter of weeks.
But what about the band? Was that a drunken rambling too? Frank was so confused right now and decided to take a shower to rejuvenate himself and hopefully set his mind straight.
He wandered into the bathroom and switched on the hot water. While waiting for the water to heat up, he shuffled over to the sink and glanced at his reflection in the mirror. Disgusted with the sight of his hung-over self, he filled the sink with lukewarm water and began splashing his face and neck. Despite soaking himself and washing away the cobwebs, it done little to improve his mood. His headache had become worse, and he was beginning to see dots dance in front of his eyes. Sighing, he turned the water off and made his way into the shower.
He let the warm, restful water cascade over his body, waking him up and slowly melting his hung-over symptoms away. However much he tried to forget about it, the same question was bugging him. Was he really now a member of My Chemical Romance? He just could not believe it. It was odd that Gerard just happened to be walking through the park and spotted him after Pencey Prep had only just split. He could not have spoken to the rest of the band and made a decision in the mere hours between Frank hearing the bad news and meeting by chance in the middle of the night. Something was not right.

Suddenly, a faint ringing noise distracted him from his thoughts. Frank hastily turned the water off and stepped out of the shower, pulling a towel around his waist as he went. He picked up the crumpled pair of jeans from the smooth tiled floor and rummaged in the pockets for his mobile phone. He eventually found the device, but by this time, the ringing had stopped and the caller had quit trying to get hold of him. Frank sighed and went to look through the list of missed calls, but before he had the chance to find out who the caller was, the gadget rang again signalling that he had received a text message.
Before reading the message, he carefully studied the number to find out who it was from. The number was unfamiliar to him. It certainly wasn’t Jamia, and he knew all his bandmates, or ex-bandmates, and friend’s numbers off by heart. Who else would be texting him? His parents didn’t have mobile phones. He pressed the centre button and the message that appeared on the screen before him shocked him to the bone.

We need to talk.
Meet me in the Dead End bar.
Tonight. 8:30.

Gerard.