Coffee and Cigarettes

Gerard blew smoke into Frank's face just to make him angry. It was out of habit really. He knew Frank hated the shit out of him whenever he did it, but it was the facial expression that made it all worth it. The scrunching of the nose and eyes, the furrow of his brow... It made Gerard melt in that sweet, sadistic way.

"Fucking Hell, Gerard!" Frank shouted, waving the smoke out of his face. It didn't do much good. If anything, it made things worse. Coughing, Frank pointed at his best friend. "I'll fucking kill you, you know that?"

Gerard chuckled, more to himself than anyone else, and took another drag off his cigarette. "You? Kill me? I'd doubt that."

Frank scoffed, folding his arms. He loved Gerard to death, but sometimes he found it hard to remember why he hung out with him in the first place. Gerard had to be the most off putting person on the planet. He held no regard for the feelings of others, cursed like a sailor, found showers to be a waste of time, and... he didn't know.

He simply didn't know. Gerard was Gerard.

"You shouldn't doubt that, Gerard. You're really pushing my buttons."

Gerard rolled his eyes. "Go fuck yourself, Frank. It's just some cigarette smoke. You should get used to it. Any good American smokes."

Gerard smiled as he said this, letting Frank know he was only yanking his chain. In all seriousness, Gerard loved Frank, maybe even respected him. The kid had morals, and Gerard liked that. He kind of wanted to find out how to get some morals for himself, but for the most part, he figured he was too far gone for that sort of thing.

"You're a dick, you know that?" Frank retorted. "A real dick."

Gerard shrugged. "I know... and I'm sorry."

"Can you just put the damned cigarette out, Gerard. You know I hate them."

Gerard groaned and tossed it onto the sidewalk, putting it out with his shoe. "There. Happy?"

Frank nodded, patting his friend on the back. "Yeah. I guess I am."

"Yeah. I guess I am," Gerard replied in a sing-song-voice, mocking Frank.

The younger of the pair simply ignored him and took a seat of the curb. They'd been standing around that area ever since school let out a little over three hours ago. It was the days like this Frank loved more than anything. The slow days, the ones that seemed to take forever to pass you by. It gave him time to really take things in and appreciate life. Gerard had a hard time understanding this; mostly because he was so fast paced. He was friends with Frank, but he still had a hard time understanding him. After a while, he'd given up on asking questions and receiving abstract answers.

Frank breathed in deep, closed his eyes, and exhaled. "Sit down, Gerard," he said.

"Why?" He asked, shoving his hands into his pockets. "That sidewalk is fucking filthy."

Frank opened his eyes and glanced up to see Gerard's sour expression. He only laughed and closed his eyes once more, patting the spot next to him.

"Just sit down, Gerard."

Gerard groaned, and plopped down on the curb next to Frank. He leaned forward on his elbows. After a few seconds of silence he glanced towards his friend and rolled his eyes. "What the hell are you doing?"

Frank grinned. "Just close your eyes okay? Close your eyes and breath in deep."

Gerard sighed in an over dramatic fashion, but did what he was told nonetheless. "I don't understand why we're doing this," he said minutes later. He hated being in the dark, he hated the annoying bark of the dog across the street.

"You don't feel it?" Frank asked.

Gerard attempted to clear his mind and feel some sort of a higher power, but the only thing that came to him was a cool breeze that made him shiver. "No, Frank," he said flatly. "I don't."

He waited for Frank to respond and when he didn't, Gerard just had to ask. "What am I supposed to be feeling?"

Frank opened his eyes, a smile spreading across his face. "The world, Gerard. It's changing."