When Did Your Heart Go Missing?

I heard...something. I didn't know what. It wasn't very loud, I could tell, but it still pulled me out of my conciousness slightly. I ignored it and rolled back over in bed, willing sleep to overcome me and leave my body limp...

I heard the small sound again.

It sounded like something hitting glass. I couldn't even explain it. I groaned, realizing that I had already been awake too long to be able to fall back asleep. I sat up in bed, scratching my head, and looking around for where the noise came from, finally deciding to not let it eat at me in my sleep. My hair was a mess. I wore black shorts and a simple pink tank top. It was so hot outside, even in the middle of the night...

Speaking of time...

The red numbers on the clock radio read 3:30. Where can a noise so small, yet loud enough to wake a light sleeper like myself, be coming from at this time of night?

I sat at the edge of the bed for just a moment, rubbing my eyes sleepily. I stood, picking up my seemingly havier body with much effort and stretched.

I heard it again. But this time I knew where it was coming from.

Not bothering to put on my slippers, I dragged my feet along the carpet and toward the balcony door. It took a whlie. As I pulled the curtain open, I was taken aback by something hitting the glass door. I pulled on the handle, letting the door slide open, and looked down curiously at the balcony floor.

Rocks? Someone had been throwing rocks? What the hell?

Kicking the rocks aside with my feet, I yawned a bit loudly, letting the sharp night air mixed with the heat overcome me for a second. Being that I was on the second story of a mansion, and I wasn't exactly all that tall, I contemplated whether or not I really wanted to know who was the idiot that was hitting my balcony door with rocks.

I gave in to curiousity.

I stepped forward, leaning over the egde of the balustrade and looking over, trying to remember not to be afraid of heights.

"Hey, Layla."

I could've fallen over.

"F-Frank?"

Frank stared up at me, his chest rising and falling rapidly. His eyes looked hopeful and excited. His black hair stuck to his face as if it were wet. It almost seemed that his lip and nose rings reflected the moon's light. He wore jeans torn at the knees, a plain white T-shirt that revealed his arms, and black Converse sneakers with hastily tied shoelaces. My heart skipped a few beats when he said my name. His lips curled up into a small smile when I said his.

"Do you have any idea what time it is?" I asked, trying to ignore the breathless feeling I got just from looking at him. He shrugged.

"Three, maybe four in the morning?" he breathed. "I kind of lost track of time running over here."

"Running?! You ran over here?!"

I tried to be angry with him. It was kind of hard to stay angry at a face like that for too long.

"Well...yeah," he said.

"Something could've happened to you!" I yelled down at him. He brought a finger to his lips as if to shush me and that only boiled my anger. "Remember what hapened to Gerard?"

Frank let out a rough sigh and hung his head as if he felt ashamed. A few years ago, Gerard had been held up at gun point. I was only about eleven years old and I'd become very paranoid about people I cared about being outside late at night by themselves.

"Nothing happenned to me, Layla, I'm fine," Frank said softly. I could only hear him because of the silence the night offered us. "In fact...I've never been better."

He gave me a small, sweet smile that made it impossible to stay mad at him. I sighed and allowed my lips to curl into a smile as well.

"So, why are you here?" I asked, leaning over a bit more so that it'd be easier for him to hear me without me yelling.

"To see you," he stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world and I should've known. I sighed.

"Couldn't you see me in the morning?"

"This can't wait. I have something important to tell you."

"Couldn't you calll me?"

"It's something I have to say in person."

I sighed.

"So, what do you want me to do?" I asked, wondering to myself how it was so easy to accept that I was looking down at Frank from a second story balcony.

Maybe it was because I was so insanely happy to see him that my jaw was hurting from resisting the urge to smile...

"Come down here," Frank said, bringing me out of my thoughts. I cocked and eyebrow.

"You're crazy," I said. He chuckled and shook his head.

"You know what they say..."

"No. What do they say?"

"Come down here and you'll know."