Something I Could Hold Onto

Half an hour later found the two sitting comfortably in Gerard's car, the radio once again humming lightly in the background. Although words were sparse, each passing second brought the two closer together simply because of the ease they felt when in each other's company.

Frank felt his thoughts drifting further and further from the broken stream of conversation into a realm of warm relaxation. A bubbly sort of contentment coursed through his abdomen, spreading through his body like a blooming flower. Soon, the feeling took control of his chest, arms, legs – everything was under the influence of Gerard's narcotic trance.

Frank didn't mind.

Instead, he allowed a still-foreign grin to stamp itself across his smooth lips, calm and natural and appropriate. The radio cackled slightly, before coming back into clear reception. His fingers tapped along his thighs gently to the drum beat in
the song, one, two; onetwothree, four.

"You like this song?" Gerard asked casually, his eyes rooted to the hypnotic yellow lines.

Frank shrugged, realizing after that the gesture may have gone unnoticed. "It's okay."

In pure honesty, he hadn't been paying attention to the lyrics or melody or any other technical aspect of the track; his mind had been so tethered to the man sitting beside him that little room remained for things as trivial as radio. A blush stained his cheeks as he continued tapping, now centering his thoughts to the music.

"Before I met you, I used to dream you up
And make you up in my mind."

His interest was suddenly captured, and he began imitating the synthesizers as well.

"And all I ever wanted,
Was to be understood.
You've been the only one who could."

Gerard laughed slightly, shifting his gaze from the rain-dotted pavement to the dark-haired boy enraptured by the sentimental words.

"That's not cheesy," he chirped, evoking a giggle from the smaller boy.

"Only a little," Frank responded, turning his attention back to the song.

"We can turn our backs on the pasts,
And start over.
Not long ago, I gave up hope.
But you came along.
You gave me something I could hold onto.
And I want you more than you could ever know."

Tears threatened to spill over Frank's delicate rims, but were immediately disregarded as a new tune filled the air.

"You spin me right round, baby, right round! Like a record baby, right round round rou-"

"Hello?" Gerard said into the black plastic, positioning the freshly-produced cell phone between his neck and shoulder. "Oh, hey, Mikey," he continued amiably.

Never being one for eavesdropping, Frank instead listened intently for the unreliable radio station, hoping to hear the name of the song for future reference.

However, his hopes were dashed as a commercial met his ears instead.

Frank sighed quietly, disappointed slightly yet still jubilant from the morning's events. He smiled yet again as Gerard closed the phone and pulled the small car to the curb. The shabby hotel stood in front of the pair, ominous as always and hardly inviting.

"I had fun today," the older man began, fidgeting nervously with a loose string on his shirt.

Frank nodded in reply, sensing another statement behind Gerard's pursed lips.

He took in a shaky breath, before exhaling and turning his attention to the passenger. "My brother is having this party tonight; it's not a big deal, but there will be free drinks and stuff. Not that you should get drunk or anything, but…" His words fizzled out quickly, but he soon continued. "Lemme try that again. Would you like to go to a lameass party with me later? As… y'know… not friends?"