Honey

"What are you wearing?"

Frank sat, erect, on the couch. His eyes widened the moment his mind processed the question. He moved the phone at arms length and stared at it for a moment before pressing it back to his ear.

"What? Why does that matter to you?" He asked.

Eliza groaned. "Just tell me. I want you to look nice for your date tonight."

Frank shook his head, staring down at his T-shirt and jeans. "Gerard said to look casual," he began. "So... I'm just wearing clothes, Liz. Jeans and a shirt I found lying around in one of my drawers."

"Just 'cause he said casual, doesn't mean he meant to walk out of the house looking like a bum, Frank. What shirt are you wearing?"

Frank was now beginning to doubt himself. He figured casual meant, you know, whatever. Jeans, T-shirt. Maybe a button down? "My Black Sabbath shirt. The black one."

"That's... decent," Eliza commented. "Jacket? Are you wearing one?"

"Not at the moment, no. "

"Christ, Frank. Why don't you change into that black long sleeved shirt. That way you won't leave your house in a hoodie and those dirty ass converse of yours. Wear the white ones."

Frank chuckled. "How'd you know I was wearing my converse?"

"Because," Eliza replied, a knowing smile forming on her lips. Frank could hear it in her voice. "I know you."

Frank stood up and walked into his bedroom. He swung the closet door open and sifted through the clothes until he found his long sleeved shirts. "Did you say the black one?" He asked. "I have a white one that would match my shoes."

"No. You'll get it all dirty. You're a messy eater. No one should ever allow you to wear white. Besides, black is slimming."

"Are you calling me fat?" Frank asked, with a laugh as he slipped the black shirt off it's hanger. He had just taken his shirt off when the doorbell rang. "Fuck."

"What? Did you stub your toe or something?" Eliza asked on the other line.

"No," Frank responded. "Gerard's here. I gotta go. Call you later."

He hung up the phone without giving Eliza time to say another word. He could feel the phone vibrating in his pocket, but chose to ignore the call. When he reached the door, Frank slipped his arms into the shirt and pulled it down over his torso. After taking a deep breath, he turned the lock on the door and opened it up.

"Hey," Gerard greeted. He looked Frank up and down, grinning. "You're top is inside out, you know."

Frank felt a blush creep onto his cheeks. "Oh. Uhh... I was on the phone with Eliza while I was getting ready and I guess... shit."

Gerard chuckled as he stepped into the apartment. "Don't be embarrassed, Frank," he said. "It's actually kind of cute seeing you all flustered like this."

Once again, Gerard was feeling like his confident self. He wrapped an arm around Frank's shoulder and toyed with the exposed tag on the back of his shirt. Frank inhaled sharply and sighed.

"I'm going to go, you know, fix my shirt. You can sit if you want. I'll only be a minute."

Gerard nodded and sat down on the couch. Frank left to his bedroom to change his shirt. A few minutes later, Frank reentered the room tugging on his white sneaker. He smiled sheepishly as the shoe slipped onto his foot.

"Sorry about all this. I was almost ready before Eliza called, but... well, I guess it doesn't matter."

Gerard shook his head. "It's fine, really."

Frank bent over and tied his shoe. "Well, I'm sorry anyways. You ready? I want to see what you've had planned all this time."

"A fair?" Frank exclaimed as Gerard pulled into the dirt parking lot.

"Yeah," Gerard replied. "Today is the last day. I figured it would be fun."

Frank grinned. "I've never been to a fair like this." Gerard raised his brows. "Well, I mean... I went as a kid, but never on a date or anything. It's different."

Gerard smiled back towards Frank and unbuckled his seat belt. "Ready?"

Frank nodded, unbuckling his own belt. "Yeah. Let's go."

The pair exited the car and walked towards the fair entrance. Gerard took hold of Frank's hand as they approached the ticket booth. "Two day passes, please," Gerard spoke, glancing down at Frank.

The young girl at the booth removed two green wristbands and waited for Gerard to pay. "That's twenty dollars," she spoke.

Gerard handed over a twenty dollar bill in exchange for the wristbands as a soft thanks escaped his lips. Frank began digging into his pockets in search of his wallet

"What are you doing?" Gerard asked, his brows furrowed.

"I'm paying you back for the wristband," Frank told him.

Gerard chuckled, his fingers gently taking hold of the hand that was still in Frank's pocket. With wide eyes, Frank stared up at Gerard as he slipped the green bracelet onto Frank's wrist.

"Don't worry about it," Gerard said, allowing their hands to slip down to their waists, fingers still entwined.

Frank stepped forward taking the remaining wristband from Gerard's free hand. "Thanks," he mumbled, biting his lip as he slipped the bracelet onto Gerard's wrist. He smiled shyly, and leaned up on his toes so he could quickly peck Gerard's cheek.

"Really," Frank said, taking Gerard's hand in his once more. "I appreciate it."