Pint-Sized Romeo

FRANK IERO'S POV

I knew Gerard was feeling nervous about school and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't as well. Though, I've been out and proud for years and no one's ever given me too much trouble about it. I mean, yeah, there are some muttered words when you walk by that you "weren't meant to hear", but no one ever gets physical for fear of backlash. Thank fuck we go to a school where the most popular guy here is bi.

Yeah, we got lucky. The quarterback is bisexual and will fuck up the reputation of any homophobe that dares to show their face more than just those whispered words in the hallway.

Gerard, though... I mean, even though he knows that I haven't gotten any shit for being gay, I know he thinks that it'll be worse for him. He's new to being out in general, and it's kind of irrational, but that's how it goes. He was even scared to tell his gay best friend that he's also gay. I mean, yeah, he also had the hots for me, but still.

When Gerard pulled up in front of school, I saw his body tense up.

"Gee, it's okay." I said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "I promise, nothing bad will happen."

He sighed and smiled weakly at me. He was far from okay, though; his smile was far from reaching his eyes.

We all got out of the car and I immediately walked over to Gerard and held his hand in mine. I was worried he would pull his hand away, but instead he just squeezed tighter. I put up with the pain from how tight he was squeezing my hand because I'd rather him hold on and break my fingers than push me away.

I looked around the parking lot and was comforted by the fact that no one seemed to be looking at us just yet. Normally, a new couple is the talk of the school for a while, but hopefully we'll be able to avoid that. Even if it's positive, I'm worried that Gerard will think it's negative.

"Gee." I said, causing him to turn and look at me. "Don't worry about it, honey. You know that the people that matter will accept you, and fuck the rest."

"I know." he said. "Besides, as long as I've got you, Mikey and the guys... I don't really need anyone else's approval."

"You're a sweetheart." I said, leaning up on my tip toes to press a short kiss to his lips. I felt him loosen up a bit, causing me to smile into the kiss.

"Stick with me." I said. "You'll be fine."

***

Three hours later, it was break and we had 15 minutes to grab a snack, collect our books and head off to the next class as opposed to the normal 5 minute passing periods. Gerard and I hadn't had the last class together, so I waited next to his locker for him to get back from math class.

"Are you waiting for someone?" Kyle asked from my right.

Kyle West was the most popular guy in school. You know, the bisexual one? We'd bonded over the many times that he saved my ass from getting kicked by a dumb jock or two, and since his locker was right next to Gerard's, we were casual friends.

"Yeah." I said. "Gerard just had math."

"I saw you two holding hands this morning." he said, raising his eyebrows suggestively. "Did you finally get the balls to make a move?"

He knew about my crush on Gerard, too. I mean, he noticed, I didn't tell him. But he gave advice when I asked and stayed out of my business when I didn't, which was nice.

"Actually, he did." I said. "Surprisingly enough."

"Really?" he said, eyebrows raising in shock this time.

"Really." I said. "We're going out now, though, so I couldn't be happier."

"Me either, baby." Gerard said, arriving and wrapping his arms around my waist from behind and kissing the back of my neck.

"Hey, you." I said, turning to face him and kissing him quickly on the lips before turning back to Kyle.

"See?" I said. "He can be pretty forward when he feels like it."

"I see that." Kyle laughed. "Well, I'm off to score a brownie from the bake sale that's going on. I'll catch you guys later. Congrats, by the way. I'm happy for you."

"Thanks, Kyle." Gerard said, waving as I turned around to face him.

"Good math lesson?" I said. "What got you all smiley and ready to face the world with your sexuality?"

"Well, when I was in math, a couple of people came up to me and I think wanted to gossip about you and I, but I just smiled and told them we were really together and they all were incredibly supportive, and a couple of girls actually squealed. Never thought that'd happen."

"Really?" I asked. "Well, I'm happy you have such an accepting math class."

"Me too." he said. "Now, I'm ready to do this whenever I want."

He leaned down and connected our lips, a small smile on his lips as we kissed. I giggled into the kiss and wrapped my arms around his neck, happy that I could do this in public with him.

Gerard and I were still in the honeymoon stage, yeah, and I know we were probably sickening everyone who walked by with our endless declarations of love, but I didn't care.

I finally had the guy I'd always dreamed of having and I'm not letting him go.