Forever & Always.

"Frankie?" I whispered, too in shock to even notice the old nickname that slipped so easily off my tongue. 

He smiled, that trademark cheeky Frankie smile, but I could see tears in his hazel eyes, "C?"

I returned the smile, no one had called me C in years. Everyone in Ireland just called me Ciara. I'd missed the name. 
He stepped forward, his arms open, ready to embrace me. A tear slipped from the corner of his eye and rolled down his face. I instinctively ran to comfort him. Frank had always been like a baby in my eyes, so innocent and naïve. 

"I've missed you," He choked out through his body wracking sobs. "So fucking much!"

I held him tight against my chest as I pulled him down to the grass, not caring about how wet our clothes would get. 

"I love you C," He murmured over and over for a minute straight before pulling out of my embrace. He pecked me on the cheek, a grin on his childlike face but with tears still rolling down his face, "Hey."

I laced our fingers and smiled shyly back at him, "Hi."

No more words were needed after that. We were happy just to sit in silence, just enjoying being in each other's company. It was unbelievable that I had one of my best friends back. After all these years he had sought me out. I knew that things weren't going to be easy, that there'd be problems and difficulties, but for the moment none of that mattered. Frankie was back in my life again and, in that moment, that was the most important thing to me. 

"Y'know, he's the reason I found you tonight," Frank suddenly spoke up, making me jump. 

I turned my head with a confused look on my face, wondering who  he was. My short friend was staring thoughtfully at Fergal's picture that rested upon the grave. 

"Huh?"

He smiled softly and pointed at the blue haired boy in the photo, "I didn't know where you lived and it's hard to find people over here. Well, living people," He shook his head, still smiling. "The dead are a lot easier to trace. So I looked up Your friend Fergal because I figured you'd be living nearby."

"But how did you know I'd be here tonight?" I asked as I traced my thumb lightly over the back of his tattoo covered hand. 

He shrugged, looking genuinely surprised, "I didn't. I was going to head into the town and ask around for you, but on my way I decided to come in here and talk to Fergal."

I lifted my head up and met Frank's eyes that were staring straight at me, "But why did you want to talk to him?"

A small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth and he tore his eyes away from mine to look at Fergal's picture again, "I guess I wanted to, in a way, thank him." He frowned at his own words, "No, that not right. I'm not saying I'm glad he took his own life, but I am glad that it meant that we got you in Jersey. I suppose I wanted to thank him for giving us that chance to be friends, because you're the best friend I've ever had."

I wiped at my eyes. That was the sweetest thing anyone had said to me in a long time. My hand untangled itself from his so I could pull him into a hug, "Oh Frankie!" I cried, holding him as tight as humanly possible against my chest, "I love you."

"Love you too," I could hear the smile in his voice as he rocked me back and forth in the damp grass. I'd missed this sweetheart so much that it terrified me that I may lose him again. 

"Wanna go for a walk?"

I nodded in response, not wanting the night to end just yet. Too scared of Frank leaving me. 

He got up and ran a hand through his slightly greasy blonde and black hairdo before offering me his other hand. I took ahold of it and he hauled me to my feet, keeping my hand in his as we began walking. 

 

"So," Frank began awkwardly as we sat in the '50s style booth in the diner, Eddie Rockets. 

"So...?" I busied myself pouring sugar into my steaming coffee but I was curious about what he was going to say. 

"Well," He cleared his throat and I wondered why he was acting so strangely. The Frankie I knew didn't get uncomfortable very often, "I...I wanted to talk to you about what I overheard in the cemetery."

My hand froze with the teaspoon in my mug and my entire body stiffened, "What?" I decided to play dumb even though my heart was racing so loud I was sure he could hear on his side of the red vinyl booth.  

He glared slightly at me and I realised I'd forgotten how - in the right light - his eyes could look so like Fergal's. "C'mon C, don't play dumb with me. What's going on with you and this Aidan guy?"

I fiddled with the gold engagement ring on my finger and looked away to stare at the colourful signs that adorned the walls, sporting stupid jokes like, 'Support Eddie's, order more than you can eat.' and 'We didn't invent the burger, we just perfected it.' Out of the corner of my eye I saw Frank staring, impatiently awaiting my answer, and I sighed loudly. 

"Aidan is my fiancé," I told him. "He loves me."

Frank made a scoffing sound and shook his head in disbelief, "If he loves you then why does he hit you?"

"It was only the once," I protested, feeling obligated to defend my fiancé. I had to. I loved him and he hadn't meant to hurt me, he loved me back. 

Frank's hand reached out and his fingers grazed the spot on my cheek where Aidan has struck me, "C, if he loved you he would never hit you, especially not hard enough to bruise like your cheek is going to."

A few tears escaped the corners of his eyes and I realised just how much this was hurting him. Even after all this time he was protective of me. I could see it in his eyes, that determination to keep me safe - no matter what. 

"It's just, he's been there for me ever since I left you guys," I spoke quietly, slightly ashamed of the reason I has ended up engaged to Aidan. "He looked after me when I was broken, and kept me here when all I wanted was to go back to Jersey. He's been by my side for these past few years and so, when he popped the question, I said yes. He really does love me."

Frank was silent for a moment, his fingers pushing the stray grains of sugar that I'd spilt around the table top. When he looked up his eyes were pained, "Why'd you do it C?" His voice was a whisper, "Why'd you leave us like that?"

I told him my story as honestly as possible. How things weren't the same after they left Belleville. How I felt ignored and forgotten about. How they never called, despite their many promises. How my birthday had passed without any acknowledgement on their behalf. 

"I'd just turned eighteen, y'know?" I sighed and fiddled with the handle of the white mug of untouched coffee. "It was a big deal and I just wanted a text or a phone call, nothing huge." I met his eyes across the table and saw regret in his green-hazel orbs. "It felt like you guys didn't care about me anymore. So I decided there was nothing left for me in Jersey and came home."

He quirked the corner of his mouth, " Jersey is your home C and you know it."

I just shrugged in response but I knew he was right. Jersey was the only place that I'd ever felt truly at home. Yes, I loved Ireland, but there was just something about that small town in Jersey that I still longed to return to. 

"You know I'm never gonna leave you again, right?" He asked, his eyes boring into mine as he grasped my hand. "You're never going to be alone again."

I smiled a little and shook my head, "I know you mean well Frank, but we both know that that's not possible. My life is here in Ireland and you're this famous rockstar who's constantly travelling the world."

He squeezed my hand comfortingly, "We'll figure something out C, but you should know me well enough to know that I'm not going to let you go for a second time. Anyway, we have a week to figure out a way to stay in touch."

I shot him a questioning look, cocking my head to the side. Wasn't he on tour with the band?

"The last date of the tour was in Dublin last night and we decided to chill here for a week before heading home and recording. I'm glad we stopped here though, it's really beautiful," He smiled fondly at me. "I can see why you loved growing up here."

Ireland had been a great place to grow up in, and a part of me would always love my hometown. But, in my heart, I knew that it wasn't where I wanted to spend the rest of my life. 

I looked at the clock on the wall and realised how late it had gotten, "Shit! I really have to go Frankie."

Before I could get to the door Frank was by my side, a wad of notes left on our abandoned table. 

"I'll walk you," He told me firmly making it clear that I had no choice in the matter. "I wanna make sure you get home okay."

What he really wanted to say was that he wanted to make sure that Aidan wasn't there to hurt me again. In a way that angered me. I'd told him that Aidan wasn't going to touch me again - the man loved me - but Frank obviously didn't believe me. Then again, at the same time, it comforted me. It had been a long time since someone had been willing to look after me completely and protect me from all harm. Having no siblings meant that I never felt protected by a big brother or sister as a young child and it was only when I moved to Jersey that I felt truly loved and protected unconditionally.  

"I wanna see where you live anyway, so I know where to go to visit you tomorrow."

Smiling a little, I took his hand, leading the way to the house that I hoped Aidan had vacated for the night.