Lullaby And Goodnight

"Gotcha!" Loz grinned up at me from a few branches lower. I exhaled heavily and relaxed a little.

"Um boys, this is where you jump down and run to get your mark before I do?" I smiled shakily down and pulled her up instead. To be truthful, I was too scared to jump down. The memory of the corpse still fresh in my mind, my hands shook and it took a while to gather the strength to pull my cousin into the tree with us. Her cold hands rubbed my arms in an attempt to warm me. Frank lent over on the Branch to look around at the unfamiliar streets.

Once the shock had worn out, I felt steady enough to go back, but I made one of them go before me of course. I was shaky walking back through the dark, shadows of the trees, and unable to shake off the feeling of been watched. I knew it was my paranoia. Dead friends didn't just appear in another country. I wished me and Frank were still together, I knew his kisses could make everything I feared vanish, but we weren't, and I couldn't just kiss him.

He walked a little in front of us, following his memory back to Loz's apartment and back into his play area with the dogs. Loz wasn't stupid. She knew something weired had happened back in those woods, but she didn't press the matter, she just simply made us a steaming mug of hot chocolate with the little marshmallows on top. With whipped cream obviously. I sighed and watched the fire. How the flames seemed to dance intrigued me. I could imagine thousands of screams echoing out for help as the flames burned their skin, the desperate look in their eyes as they begged for help and forgiveness. Then, that face! The one that was in the woods. I screamed out and sent my hot chocolate flying. I scrambled with my back as far against the wall as I could. The face went off in a silent scream as I sunk down the wall, unable to control my flow of tears. Frank was by my side within seconds and trying to calm me down. Loz killed off the fire after she heard me scream about it trying to explain to Frank in my insane panic.

Eventually, I gave up trying to tell them since I was still yelling and sobbing so I just clung to Frank's shirt for my life. Loz got the now giddy and excited dogs into another room while Frank tried to comfort me. Even after the tears stopped, I was too shaky and scared to just tell him, but I still clung to his shirt like a baby monkey. My hand trembled as I stared, still in shock, at the smoking, dead fire, expecting Rachael to climb back out but that never happened. What was wrong with me!

I eventually remembered I was still clinging to my ex boyfriend with iron fists so I eased my grip and shuffled away a little. He watched me with a worried expression. I knew he was waiting for me to explain, but I couldn't, not just yet, so I settled with just shaking my head before helping Liz wipe up the hot chocolate I had spilled. I apologized repeatedly for my outburst but she just hugged me and told me everything was fine. The floor was polished wood, so it just wiped up like nothing had happened.

I wouldn't go near the fire again, and Frank obviously noticed the way I avoided going past it at all costs. I was seriously scared, and unsure on what to do when I did pass it.

I couldn't sleep that night. Loz fell asleep a while ago, I don't know about Frank but I couldn't do it. I sat up in the guest bed and looked out of the window. Every shadow was suspect of hiding something evil and tormenting. It wasn't the dark I was afraid of, I was afraid of what it hid. It was safe to say I jumped a mile when my door creaked open. The more it opened, the more I backed into the corner at the top of the bed. The shadow that came in smiled sympathetically at me. How he always knew when something was wrong was beyond me. He sat silently at the bottom of my bed and watched me. I knew I owed him an explanation, but I didn't want to talk about it just yet.

His smaller frame crawled up the bed towards me on all fours before settling just behind me. His arms stroked my own softly while he whispered words of comfort in my ear.

"You can tell me what happened Gerard. It happened in the woods too, didn't it? It's okay. It's only us here. Were alone Gerard." My question was, were we? I knew we were, but I was just edgy. The more his gentle but slightly rough hands rubbed my arms, the calmer I became and before I knew it, I was laid back against his soft, bare chest and telling him everything about what I had seen. Although his hands never stopped, they shook slightly against my arms. I sighed shakily once I had finished, feeling a little less scared now that someone else knew about it. During my rant, Frank had propped the pillows in the corner on the wall and lent back, pulling me with him. I had shuffled down, so I was lower than him. He moved his hands from my arms to my hair, combing his fingers through slowly.

"You think it's really there Gerard? Nobody else has seen them."

"No. I don't think it's there. How can it be. She...She's dead Frank." He signed above me and stroked my hair instead of combing it through. I lowered myself even more so my head was in his lap. I looked up at him scared. I didn't want to be haunted forever.

"I don't know what to say Gerard. I don't know if she's really there or not. I haven't seen anything. There was nothing in the fire though Gerard, I know that much." I closed my eyes and let one tear slip out. So I was the only person who could see it. It was going to drive me insane and wouldn't stop tormenting me until I was dead after committing the most gruesome and painful suicide known to man. No, I couldn't let that happen. I lent my head back to look at him upside down and let him kiss my forehead.I sat up and pulled him onto my lap. He wrapped him arms securely around my neck and hugged me. It was more of a natural instinct to hug back and rest my head on his shoulder.

"Do you ever miss me?" I was a little shocked at his question but not to the point of me moving an inch.

"Yes. All the time."

"Get back with me. You know I'll always be there for you Gerard. You obviously need the support right now. Let me be the one to give you that support. Please?" I wanted to. So badly did I want to, but I couldn't, hence, there would be no story to tell if I did.

"I can't. I want to Frank, badly, but if I did, it would be a distraction again." He sighed and kissed the top of my head, giving up and admitting defeat, but he never moved from my lap, even when my arms snaked around his waist.

Yes, I knew he'd be there for me, and I certainly wanted him back, but there was something stopping me. Like my mind knew something it wasn't about to tell me. Or maybe my heart loved someone else I didn't know about yet.

I pushed all these thoughts from my head and just resorted to laying Frank down and laying beside him. I lent on my elbow and traced his name repeatedly on his lower stomach with my fingertip. He sighed and closed his eyes at my touch. The lower I went, the more off track his breathing got. I never touched that area, but I got a centimeter or so away from it. He got harder as did my touch until I did, accidentally, hit that area. He gasped and opened his eyes to look at me. I'd missed that look, of pleading, lust, love?

"I said I wouldn't get with you, there's nothing stopping me from teasing you." I whispered in his ear, enjoying his whimpers. I started by tracing circles around that area, not actually touching him. He gasped and tried to move so I touched him, but I moved with him.

My fingertips dragged from the top of his pajama pants and pulled them down slowly, teasing myself as well as Frank. I left his boxers on, for the time being. Still desperate to be touched, he tried bucking into my hand, but I couldn't let him do that, could I. I swung my leg over his and held him down by his thighs. I finally palmed him roughly, making him moan from the sudden roughness in the contact. This was going to be interesting.