Sing It for the World
Chapter Two
“Aurelia, baby, wake up,” Frank whispered into Aurelia’s ear sometime later that night as he pushed some hair off of her face. She blushed when she felt his lips against her cheek, and she shifted to look up at him. The sun was just starting to come up, so she figured that Gerard had driven all night. There were three other boys in the car; boys she didn’t recognize, but knew were friends of Frank’s.
“Where are we?” She asked groggily as she opened her eyes to see his bright hazel ones looking at her. She smiled when he leaned to press his lips to hers softly, and then sat back straight up as he looked over at her.
“Raleigh, North Carolina,” he told her with a grin. “Gee drove all night to get us here. We know your parents are gonna have the cops all over the place, so we needed to move fast.”
Aurelia couldn’t help but smile at Frank, and then looked towards the front, where Gerard was sitting in the driver’s seat. He looked dead exhausted, though he was still giving her a warm smile through the rearview mirror. “It was no problem,” he shook his head when he saw her begin to open her mouth in protest. “We were planning on getting out of there fast anyway.”
She nodded, and then leaned her head back against the headrest on the back of the chair, wondering what they were going to do now. She didn’t know if they were planning on staying here in Raleigh, or if they were going to keep going wherever it was that they were headed to. She still didn’t know where Frank was taking her to. She didn’t care. All that mattered now was that she was with him; that he was giving her a chance to spread her wings and show the world what she was made of. It didn’t matter how she did it, it was only important that he was giving her that opportunity. It never would have happened back in Belleview, and she knew that he cared for her a lot to do this for her.
“Can we go eat now?” The person sitting next to Gerard in the front seat asked. Aurelia looked up to notice that the boy sitting there was taller than Frank was, and that he had crazy, brownish-red hair sitting on top of his head with a smile on his face. “I’m starving.”
“Cool it, Ray. Rel doesn’t even know who you are,” Frank’s voice said with a light demeanor as he looked at Aurelia. “The garbage disposal in the front next to Gerard is Ray, and this quiet guy over here is Mikey. You met Gee last night,”
Aurelia smiled at all of them, glad that they weren’t treating her any differently than they did Frank. Ray’s stomach growled loudly and she giggled before leaning her head on Frank’s shoulder again. It felt nice to be affectionate with her boyfriend without having to worry about someone seeing them and calling the police, or her parents barging in. It was nice to just be there with him.
“Maybe we should go eat,” Mikey said from beside her, a friendly smile on his face as he looked at Aurelia. “You haven’t eaten yet either, and that’s never a good thing. We could all use some food.”
There was a murmur of approval from everyone in the car, and then it was decided that they would eat at the McDonald’s across the street. It had just opened and there wouldn’t be many people there, so it wouldn’t take long to get the food. Aurelia still didn’t know if they were getting a hotel here or what, but she didn’t care. The more she thought about it, the more excited she was that she was finally becoming free.
“You coming, babe?” Frank’s voice asked her a few moments, breaking her out of her thoughts. Aurelia looked up to see him looking down at her from outside of the Trans Am, and she smirked at him and nodded, letting him grab her hand and pull her out of the car. She walked with him, hand in hand, and it felt more amazing than she’d thought simply holding someone’s hand could be. Ray walked beside her, and in front of them were Mikey and Gerard.
They walked across the street quickly and made it into the restaurant. Frankie had Aurelia pick a spot for them to sit after she told him what she wanted to eat, and then he and the others returned a few minutes after that, carrying trays of food with some drinks as well. Frank handed her the breakfast burritos she’d asked him to order for her along with a hashbrown and a small cup of orange juice before he started digging into his own food.
“So you’re excited about this, aren’t you?” Gerard asked Aurelia a few minutes after he’d taken a bite out of his food, giving her a grin from across the table. Aurelia looked up and then nodded, a smile on her face when she felt Frank give her hand a reassuring squeeze underneath the table.
“I am,” she told them with a smile. “I’ve never been more excited about anything else in my entire life.”
Gerard grinned, and nodded before taking a loud slurp out of his juice before he looked at Frank, and then back at Aurelia. “As gay as this is going to make me sound, you guys are the most adorable fucking couple. Seriously. I don’t know why your parents would ever have a problem with Frank, Rel. It’s obvious how much you guys love each other.”
Aurelia’s face flushed red at Frank’s friend’s words, and she nodded before finishing her food. Frank just grinned at his friend. Gerard may not be the most subtle of his friends, but he was definitely one of the most loveable, even though they were all amazing. He knew that Aurelia would be friends with all of them soon, and it made him happy to know that Aurelia seemed to be getting along with them well.
After they had finished their food and returned to the car, Gerard and Ray switched seats. Aurelia gave Frank a strange look, and he just chuckled before shaking his head. “We’re not stopping until we get to where we’re going,” he explained to her before pressing his lips to her forehead. “We’re not sure where we’re headed. We’re just…headed,” he explained. Aurelia chuckled under her breath, and then nodded.
“I think we’re gonna go down to Georgia,” Ray said from the driver’s seat with a grin. “I’ve always wanted to see Atlanta, and we can get there by tonight. We can stop there, and then figure out where to go from there, yeah?”
It was agreed that Ray’s plan would work well, and then everyone settled into pleasant conversation. Throughout the seven hour drive from Raleigh to Atlanta, Aurelia learned a lot about each of Frank’s friends that she hadn’t known before, and she was glad that everyone seemed so eager on getting to know her and letting her know about them.
Gerard and Mikey were brothers, and were as close as two siblings could be. They definitely got into a few arguments here and there, they assured her, but for the most part they were best friends. They hadn’t left home because of parental issues, they’d left simply because they, like Frank and Aurelia, wanted to see what the world had to offer them, and they wanted the world to know who they were. Gerard had been an art student, and Mikey had a love of coffee that had them stopping every few hours to keep him sedated on Starbucks.
Ray was a guitar player, and he’d brought his guitar with him. He had become friends with the guys through his older brother, and they’d been friends ever since then. He had a sense of humor, though he could also be deadly serious when the situation called for it from what Frank told her. He loved his friends, and he’d go out of his way to do things for them. He’d left because Belleview held nothing for him, and he wanted to see where his friends ended up at the end of their journey.
And then there was Frank, who Aurelia already knew most things about. He’d left home because he wanted the same exact things as Aurelia, although he’d also left because he’d officially broken the law by seeing her again and then crossing the county line. He held her hand the entire drive, and let her rest her head on his shoulder while Ray drove, the sound of metal music she didn’t recognize coming through the speakers. The atmosphere of the car was soothing in a way, and she was glad that she was here with the four of them. She smiled when she heard Frank start to snore when Ray told them they were a little over an hour outside of Atlanta, and picked her fingers softly through his hair. Just last night, she’d never thought the world would ever know her name. But now, mile by mile on this long stretch of highway on a never-ending journey, she knew that Frank and the others would make her dream come true.
“Where are we?” She asked groggily as she opened her eyes to see his bright hazel ones looking at her. She smiled when he leaned to press his lips to hers softly, and then sat back straight up as he looked over at her.
“Raleigh, North Carolina,” he told her with a grin. “Gee drove all night to get us here. We know your parents are gonna have the cops all over the place, so we needed to move fast.”
Aurelia couldn’t help but smile at Frank, and then looked towards the front, where Gerard was sitting in the driver’s seat. He looked dead exhausted, though he was still giving her a warm smile through the rearview mirror. “It was no problem,” he shook his head when he saw her begin to open her mouth in protest. “We were planning on getting out of there fast anyway.”
She nodded, and then leaned her head back against the headrest on the back of the chair, wondering what they were going to do now. She didn’t know if they were planning on staying here in Raleigh, or if they were going to keep going wherever it was that they were headed to. She still didn’t know where Frank was taking her to. She didn’t care. All that mattered now was that she was with him; that he was giving her a chance to spread her wings and show the world what she was made of. It didn’t matter how she did it, it was only important that he was giving her that opportunity. It never would have happened back in Belleview, and she knew that he cared for her a lot to do this for her.
“Can we go eat now?” The person sitting next to Gerard in the front seat asked. Aurelia looked up to notice that the boy sitting there was taller than Frank was, and that he had crazy, brownish-red hair sitting on top of his head with a smile on his face. “I’m starving.”
“Cool it, Ray. Rel doesn’t even know who you are,” Frank’s voice said with a light demeanor as he looked at Aurelia. “The garbage disposal in the front next to Gerard is Ray, and this quiet guy over here is Mikey. You met Gee last night,”
Aurelia smiled at all of them, glad that they weren’t treating her any differently than they did Frank. Ray’s stomach growled loudly and she giggled before leaning her head on Frank’s shoulder again. It felt nice to be affectionate with her boyfriend without having to worry about someone seeing them and calling the police, or her parents barging in. It was nice to just be there with him.
“Maybe we should go eat,” Mikey said from beside her, a friendly smile on his face as he looked at Aurelia. “You haven’t eaten yet either, and that’s never a good thing. We could all use some food.”
There was a murmur of approval from everyone in the car, and then it was decided that they would eat at the McDonald’s across the street. It had just opened and there wouldn’t be many people there, so it wouldn’t take long to get the food. Aurelia still didn’t know if they were getting a hotel here or what, but she didn’t care. The more she thought about it, the more excited she was that she was finally becoming free.
“You coming, babe?” Frank’s voice asked her a few moments, breaking her out of her thoughts. Aurelia looked up to see him looking down at her from outside of the Trans Am, and she smirked at him and nodded, letting him grab her hand and pull her out of the car. She walked with him, hand in hand, and it felt more amazing than she’d thought simply holding someone’s hand could be. Ray walked beside her, and in front of them were Mikey and Gerard.
They walked across the street quickly and made it into the restaurant. Frankie had Aurelia pick a spot for them to sit after she told him what she wanted to eat, and then he and the others returned a few minutes after that, carrying trays of food with some drinks as well. Frank handed her the breakfast burritos she’d asked him to order for her along with a hashbrown and a small cup of orange juice before he started digging into his own food.
“So you’re excited about this, aren’t you?” Gerard asked Aurelia a few minutes after he’d taken a bite out of his food, giving her a grin from across the table. Aurelia looked up and then nodded, a smile on her face when she felt Frank give her hand a reassuring squeeze underneath the table.
“I am,” she told them with a smile. “I’ve never been more excited about anything else in my entire life.”
Gerard grinned, and nodded before taking a loud slurp out of his juice before he looked at Frank, and then back at Aurelia. “As gay as this is going to make me sound, you guys are the most adorable fucking couple. Seriously. I don’t know why your parents would ever have a problem with Frank, Rel. It’s obvious how much you guys love each other.”
Aurelia’s face flushed red at Frank’s friend’s words, and she nodded before finishing her food. Frank just grinned at his friend. Gerard may not be the most subtle of his friends, but he was definitely one of the most loveable, even though they were all amazing. He knew that Aurelia would be friends with all of them soon, and it made him happy to know that Aurelia seemed to be getting along with them well.
After they had finished their food and returned to the car, Gerard and Ray switched seats. Aurelia gave Frank a strange look, and he just chuckled before shaking his head. “We’re not stopping until we get to where we’re going,” he explained to her before pressing his lips to her forehead. “We’re not sure where we’re headed. We’re just…headed,” he explained. Aurelia chuckled under her breath, and then nodded.
“I think we’re gonna go down to Georgia,” Ray said from the driver’s seat with a grin. “I’ve always wanted to see Atlanta, and we can get there by tonight. We can stop there, and then figure out where to go from there, yeah?”
It was agreed that Ray’s plan would work well, and then everyone settled into pleasant conversation. Throughout the seven hour drive from Raleigh to Atlanta, Aurelia learned a lot about each of Frank’s friends that she hadn’t known before, and she was glad that everyone seemed so eager on getting to know her and letting her know about them.
Gerard and Mikey were brothers, and were as close as two siblings could be. They definitely got into a few arguments here and there, they assured her, but for the most part they were best friends. They hadn’t left home because of parental issues, they’d left simply because they, like Frank and Aurelia, wanted to see what the world had to offer them, and they wanted the world to know who they were. Gerard had been an art student, and Mikey had a love of coffee that had them stopping every few hours to keep him sedated on Starbucks.
Ray was a guitar player, and he’d brought his guitar with him. He had become friends with the guys through his older brother, and they’d been friends ever since then. He had a sense of humor, though he could also be deadly serious when the situation called for it from what Frank told her. He loved his friends, and he’d go out of his way to do things for them. He’d left because Belleview held nothing for him, and he wanted to see where his friends ended up at the end of their journey.
And then there was Frank, who Aurelia already knew most things about. He’d left home because he wanted the same exact things as Aurelia, although he’d also left because he’d officially broken the law by seeing her again and then crossing the county line. He held her hand the entire drive, and let her rest her head on his shoulder while Ray drove, the sound of metal music she didn’t recognize coming through the speakers. The atmosphere of the car was soothing in a way, and she was glad that she was here with the four of them. She smiled when she heard Frank start to snore when Ray told them they were a little over an hour outside of Atlanta, and picked her fingers softly through his hair. Just last night, she’d never thought the world would ever know her name. But now, mile by mile on this long stretch of highway on a never-ending journey, she knew that Frank and the others would make her dream come true.