God's Image Reflected in Your Eyes

It was becoming ridiculous the amount of times they'd had chance meetings in the past. His mother would have called it fate, and maybe later in his life Gerard would do the same, but right now he really wasn't thinking about what was to come.

As Frank turned to face Gerard, his expression of pure terror, he was able to see the damage done to the boy's face.

"G..Gerard?" Frank relaxed a little, his eyes swiftly looking over Gerard's form.

"What happened?"

"Huh?" Frank's eyebrows furrowed.

"Your face?"

Frank automatically lifted his hand to where Gerard was indicating, wincing as he felt the swelling and wounds that decorated the area.

"Oh that."

"Yeah, that."

"I'm fine."

"That's not what I asked." Gerard said as he raised an eyebrow.

"I fell?" Frank said, knowing how pathetic and cliche it was.

"Yeah. Okay, and I'm the King of England, nice to meet you."

Gerard regretted being quite so harsh when Frank fell silent and dropped his head into his hands.

He slid down next to Frank, allowing himself a clearer view of the damage as Frank's head shot up to look at Gerard, bewildered.

"Jeeze... that's gotta hurt like a bitch."

"Yeah..." Frank whispered, trying to keep the tears in, biting his lip to do so, but was forced to stop when he felt pain shoot through the tender flesh.

"So what happened? You get beat up?"

"I guess."

"By who?"

Silence followed Gerard's question so he continued to ramble.

"Well it's their loss, you're a cool kid... I mean as far as I've seen, not that... They're totally fucked up for doing that do you."

This caused Frank to let out a sob and he couldn't stop the cascade of tears that followed.

"Hey, hey no come on." Gerard said softly, using the voice that he'd used on Mikey when they were young. He placed his arm around the distraught boy and allowed him to let it all out, and into his jacket it seemed.

But for some reason, Gerard didn't mind. Usually he would have kicked any body's ass who tried crying on him, but Frank was... different?

His thoughts were interrupted by Frank mumbling something incoherent into his wet jacket.

"What?"

"M..My father."

"Huh? You want me to ring him or something?"

"No. It was..."

"Oh." Gerard sat there shocked for a few moments, bewildered at the thought of a parent hurting their own child. What kinda of a evil beast was that?

Frank dreaded the silence, he knew it was a mistake telling Gerard. He was going to leave now, for sure. Hell he's going to tell everybody too - Frank would be shipped off into some system where he stayed with strangers and was kicked from house to house.

"M'sorry."

"What? Why?"

"I shouldn't have burdened you with my problems, I can deal... sorry for getting your jacket wet." Gerard's eyes widened as Frank moved to stand up.

"Woah, wait!" Gerard quickly grabbed onto Frank's wrist, stopping him from leaving.

"Please Gerard, let it go." Frank begged, his eyes full of fear again.

"I can't" he whispered and watched through sad eyes and clenched teeth as Frank's composure went to hell.

"Please don't tell anybody Gerard!" he choked on sobs and fell back onto his knees.

"You can't let him get away with it Frankie!" The slip of a new nickname went unnoticed in the hysteria.

"You don't get it. I'll be shipped off to some stupid fucking house with people I don't know, they'll get sick of me eventually and I'll just be dumped somewhere else 'till I'm 18!"

Gerard let out a defeated sigh and wrapped his hands around Frank's. He almost let out a small smile as he saw the wounds on Frank's knuckles had healed, but the feeling was quickly extinguished by the fresh bruises decorating the surrounding flesh.

He had to stop himself using his hands to rid the boy of the pain and the reminders of his hell, but it would be suspicious, it would reveal him for what he really was.

Besides, he had allowed himself to get to close, in only a matter of days he had become attached to this kid, which wasn't something Gerard did - he hated everybody. Or at least that's what he tried to believe, but somehow some way this boy had defrosted his heart.

"Gerard?"

"Yeah?"

"How come you're out so late?"

"Oh. Mikey got pissed at me getting suspended again."

"I forgot you were in the shit too... I didn't hang around to find out how it went - I'm sorry."

"It's fine, you seemed in a rush."

"I needed to beat my father home to the phone message."

"Did you manage it?"

"I beat him home sure, but they left the message on his cell, hence..." he stopped, motioning at himself.

"I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault."

"But you really don't deserve this..."

"Thanks." Frank blushed, hiding his face behind his hair.

They lapsed into a comfortable silence for a while, Frank pulling dew soaked grass up from the ground and tearing it, leaving a pile of miniature carnage, while Gerard thought about the different person he became around Frank... it was almost pleasant being nice for a change.

It was broken however, when Frank began humming a quiet tune, which Gerard immediately recognized sending sparks of excitement to his face.

"The Cure?"

"You like?"

"Fuck yeah!"

"No way! That's so cool, hey have you heard the special recording of the New York show from..."

For the rest of the night, the two were lost in conversation, tightening their bonds and getting to know each other past the exterior.

It was only when the dew had soaked into their jeans and their eyes began to reflect the early rays of sun that were crawling from behind the dark horizon, did Frank even think of his exhaustion. And as he did so, a large yawn escaped from the depths of his body.

Gerard watched amused as Frank's small body shook slightly at the force of the yawn, but it was short lived amusement as he too began to yawn.

The good natured atmosphere began to melt as the heavy weight of reality settled on their shoulders once more.

Neither one wanted to be the first to move, to proclaim the inevitable but with each second that slowly fell through their desperate grasp, the closer they got to their demons.

"Well..." Frank began.
Don't say it... just don't.

"I guess I better... yuh know."
No. Stay like this, forever. Until time itself is old.

"I better get back to my house."
Ending the dream. Back to the house. Never a home.