When Did Your Heart Go Missing?

"Are you okay?" I asked. I was kind of scared by how he looked at me and how he spoke. And what he said. I felt like I'd jumped into a horror movie.

"Will you?" Frank whispered back.

"Will I what?"

"Kill me?"

"Frank, it's not that big a deal!"

"SH!" Stupid teachers, shushing us....

"It is to me," Frank whispered back.

"We're all dealing with this together, Frankie." This from Mikey, who was obviously freaked by Frank, too.

"Yeah but I don't think everyone in this room feels betrayed by the girl they love."

Hearing Frank say that...I wanted to punch him in the face. And what a mistake it was to be insensitive.

"Are you fucking joking?" I hissed. "She's a whore! She's trying to hurt you!"

"Listen, she-" but I didn't let Frank talk. And I completely ignored that everyone was staring at me.

"What?" I hissed. "She means well?"

"Yes!" Frank yelled back. Woah. We were yelling.

"Guys, calm down..." Of course Mikey would say that. Of course it didn't work.

"Yeah, because leaving a building for an hour will turn you into a bank robber!" I felt my face turning red.

"You don't know her like I do!"

"So the fuck what? Do you know what she said to me?"

I shouldn't have said that.

"What?" Frank asked. "What'd she say?"

I sighed. "I'd rather not-"

"Because you're lying!" Frank yelled. "She's a really sweet girl, you're just...jealous! You're fucking jealous!"

"I am not! And if 'sweet' means thinking your boyfriend has no free will and that he's destined for a life in prison, than, yes! She's real fucking sweet!"

"You never hated her before. Only when I started dating her. You're just fucking jealous and you know it! She treats you like shit? Well it's not exactly like you treat her great either!"

I couldn't respond. He was partially right. But...I was, too. Wasn't I?

The bell rang. I didn't even know the bell could ring at four in the afternoon. The freshmen left, murmuring. I heard a few words and phrases like "Frank and Layla..." and "whores" and, my least favorite, "Remi".

"Frank..." I breathed. His face was red. Mikey's eyes were wide.

"Fuck off," Frank said before leaving the room without giving me another glance.

The next day at school was torture. I was officially grounded all summer (go figure) and the one person that I could talk to hated my guts. Having nothing else to do, I went to school early and found everyone- except Frank and Remi, of course- sitting at our usual table in the cafeteria. Except that when I sat down, my heart was torn watching two great couples- Ray and Sarah; Kelsey and Bob- showing more PDA than necessary. Mikey and Gerard gaped at them as if they'd never seen anyone making out.

"How bad was the damage?" I asked Mikey, ignoring the obvious tongues that were currently annoying me.

"Probably not as bad as yours," Mikey said with a shrug, smiling down at me. Gerard laughed.

"He's grounded for two weeks," he said. "Our mom was so pissed. But I love my Mikey. He didn't tell her I had anything to do with it."

Gerard hugged Mikey-or, you know, put him in a headlock.

"What about you?" Mikey asked, pulling away from his brother's embrace.

"Summer vacation got shot and stomped on," I said, not resisting the urge to look at these two 'couples'. "Get a fucking room or I'm gonna hurt you!"

They pulled away-Sarah and Ray blushing, while Kelsey and Bob smirked.

"You talk to Frank?" Mikey asked. I hit my head on the table.

"Take that as a no," Bob said.

"Just talk to him," Kelsey said encouragingly. "He'll get over it."

I stayed quiet because there was no honest point for me to say a word.

I just hoped she was right.