Calling You

It's been two months since Frank had left for school.

Nothing had really changed since the night that Frank and Gerard spent together, though. It was a good night, something that both men needed, but it didn't help the problems. It didn't change the fact that Gerard was still letting substances control his body.

Frank had tried to help that night. He tried to coax Gerard into talking to him but Gerard only fell asleep, passed out against Frank's chest. So nothing was resolved. There was still an air lingering between the two men that was uneasy. Everything with the couple felt forced. And everyday Frank would push Gerard a little harder, asking him to open up to him, to confide in him. It never worked.

So Frank had to leave. He packed up, kissed his mother goodbye and drove back to school, where he spent the last two months immersed in work. He tried to talk to Gerard. He really did, but the times when Gerard was awake and in the right...mindset, were drastically different from when Frank was able to talk.

Frank was always busy with classes, studying and working. And when he wasn't busy with those things he was trying to be a normal college student. Those were also the times where he would try to talk to Gerard. But those times were usually on the weekend so Gerard was usually very, very high.

You see, Gerard found out that mixing the coke with the pills was a very exciting, but dangerous, combination. He also discovered that the best times to get this cocktail was on nights and weekends when Chris wasn't working at his real job. So Gerard asked Linda if he could have weekday shifts and spent from Friday night until Monday morning at Chris's. That was also the time period where Frank could reach Gerard the easiest. Unfortunately, when Gerard was on this cocktail he was either too belligerent to make a conversation with the younger man or he didn't know what a phone was and why it was talking to him.

Regardless of the reasons, Gerard and Frank didn't talk a lot during these last two months. And if they did talk it was mostly through text messages with long intervals. In fact the last conversation that the two men had was not a pleasant one. Apparently, Frank is not allowed to have male or female friends in college. Who knew?

“Hey! I’m so glad I finally got a hold of you,” Frank had said cheerily into the phone as he left the small dorm room that night to get some quiet.

“I know. I miss you so much, Frankie,” Gerard mumbled miserably into the phone. Chris had left about two hours ago to 'restock' and Gerard hadn't gotten a fix in a while. So now he had settled on the cheap beer in the fridge.

“I'm sorry, Gee. I'll be home in like three weeks I think,” Frank said as he leaned against the paper thin wall of the hallway.

“Wha? Why?” Gerard slurred. Frank heard it, but there wasn't anything he could really do about it.

“It's Thanksgiving, Gee,” he said sadly. He wished there was a way to help Gerard, to take away whatever pain he was going through, but there wasn't. Not without the older man disclosing what was wrong first.

“Oh! That's right, that's fucking right. I can't wait to see your face, Frankie. You're beautiful, ya know that?” Gerard wanted to reach out and touch Frank's face. He could almost see it in front of him.

Frank let out a soft, breathy laugh and nodded, “Yeah, you've told me once or twice.”

“Well, it's fucking true.” Gerard beamed. Frank was fucking beautiful.

Just then, a friend of Frank's, Adam, came out of the dorm and yelled to Frank, “Hey Frankie-boy, come back inside, it's you and me, beer pong partners!” Frank just laughed and shook his head, moving the mouth piece from his mouth, “Nah, man, I'll play later.” Adam just nodded and made his way back into the dorm recruiting some freshman to play with him. That kid had no fucking tolerance. It would be hysterical.

“Frankie-boy?” Gerard asked once Frank came back on the phone.

“Haha, yeah. It's the name my floor gave me,” Frank shrugged, running a hand through his hair. “Everyone calls me it.”

“Everyone, huh?” Gerard took a long swing of his beer and leaned against the counter of Chris's kitchen. “So you're fucking you're entire floor?”

“What? Gerard! What the fuck? No!” Frank nearly yelled, what the hell did having a nickname have to do with sex?

“It sure seems that way to me, Frankie-boy. Why the hell else would they be giving you a fucking nickname?” Gerard spat out venomously.

“Uh, because they're my fucking friends, Gerard. What the hell is wrong with you?”

“Me? What the hell is wrong with me? What the hell is wrong with you, Frank? Are you cheating on me?”

“Seriously, Gerard, what is wrong with you? Why the hell are you acting so fucking crazy?” Frank asked quickly, stepping further down the hall for privacy.

“Just answer the fucking question, Frank. Are you cheating on me?” Gerard slurred, trying to act stern.

“Gerard, go sleep off whatever the hell you took and I'll call you tomorrow,” Frank said before hanging up. He didn't want to wait for any other bullshit that was going to flow out of Gerard’s mouth.

As he slipped the phone back in his pocket, Frank made his way down the hall and back into the dorm. He tried to get back into the party mood and have a good time with his friends. He really did. But he couldn't help this nagging thought in the back of his mind that Gerard really wasn't okay. And, unfortunately, there was nothing he could do from hundreds of miles away.

After that night, the two men only talked once more. It was another drunken phone call in the middle of the night. Frank, who had been sleeping, had to leave his dorm so he could comfort his sobbing boyfriend without waking up his roommate. It didn't help much, Gerard was crying until he passed out, hopefully on a bed or a couch somewhere.

By the time the three weeks were up and Frank was packing to head home for Thanksgiving, he assumed that he and Gerard weren't going to last. He realized, during that same drunken phone call, that regardless of what he said to his boyfriend, he would always deem him unfaithful. And Gerard was not taking any of Frank's advice to get help. Frank was at a loss.

Well that was until a certain Michael Way called him as he was walking to his dorm for a break between classes.

“Hello?” Frank answered his phone.

“Uh, hi. This is Frank right?” The unknown man asked.

“Yeah, man. Who's this?”

“This is Mikey. Um, Gerard’s brother. We met that one time. At the cafe.” Mikey said quietly.

“Oh yeah, what's up?” Frank stopped at a bench he saw and sat down.

“Well, I wanted to know if you've talked to Gerard lately?” He asked cautiously.

“Honestly, man, not for a few weeks. Why? Is he okay?” Frank's worry immediately got the best of him as he once again imagined all the things that could be wrong with Gerard.

“Yeah, well no. Not really. I don't know. I think he's drinking again and he's probably on pills and he's stealing money from my dad and I just don't know what to do. I've tried everything, Frank, and it's so much worse than last time. He'll be gone for the entire weekend and I don't know where he's staying, if he's even staying anywhere. And it's really scaring me, dude.” Mikey paused for a minute, letting himself calm down before he continued. “Do you think maybe you can talk to him or something? I’m so fucking lost, man.”

Frank sighed and ran his hand through his hair. He would love to be able to talk to Gerard and help him fix his problems, but the older man refused to talk to him about it and he was so far away. His hands were sort of tied.

“I don't think I can, I've been...” Frank began but he was cut off by Mikey.

“I knew this was a fucking mistake, he didn't start this shit until he was hanging out with you,” Mikey spat venomously.

“Hey! That's not fucking fair. If you would let me fucking finish...” Frank sighed, “I've been trying to help him. He won't listen to me. But I did not get him started on this shit, Mikey. This is not my fault.”

There was a silence on the other end of the phone and Frank was either going to hang up or start defending himself again but then he heard Mikey let out a shaky breath and he knew the other man was close to crying, if he weren't already.

“Hey, Mikey, I'll be home tomorrow. We'll help him. I swear. I won't let anything happen to him.”

Mikey nodded, Frank couldn't see, so then he made a noise of appreciation/agreement, “Alright. Yeah, thanks, Frank. And I’m sorry for...you know.”

“Don't worry about it man, just take care of him until I get home.”

“Yeah, I will.” Mikey said almost grudgingly. He wanted to help his brother, but he was afraid he wasn't going to be able to. Then it would be all his fault. Once again.

After they both said their goodbyes, Frank made his way back to his dorm, packing the rest of his things. If he left tonight, he could drive all night and be home early tomorrow morning. Maybe he could catch Gerard sober and really talk to him.

So that's what he did. He finished off his classes for the day and packed the rest of his things quickly, leaving the college just before midnight. He would have to stop at at least three Starbucks on his way home just so he could stay awake but it would be worth it.

Frank reached the town around five. He drove quickly through the deserted streets, wanting to make his way to the Way house as quickly as possible. But as he drove down Arden, he noticed that the lights of Linda's Cafe were on and he saw he mother standing behind the counter, counting the money. Smiling at the thought of seeing his mother, he pulled up in front of the store quickly. He had time for a quick hello.

He got out of the car, walking to the door of the cafe as his smile grew wider. He pulled open the door, a huge, tired smile on his face as he stepped into the cafe.

“Hey, Ma!” Frank greeted, walking toward the counter.

Linda looked up, shocked to see her son at the cafe so early, “Frankie? What are you doing here, honey?” She also had a tired smile on her face. It was small and framed with laugh lines but it was there.

“I decided to leave last night, I just got in.” He stepped behind the counter and wrapped his mother in a hug, which was quickly reciprocated.

“Oh, I’m so happy to see you, honey. How was the drive?”

“Good, really good. No traffic at all,” He smiled. “But who would be driving at that time of the night anyway, huh?” Frank continued to smile as he stepped back from the hug, looking at his mother. She looked exhausted, worn out. He hoped that now that he was home for the weekend, she could sleep a little bit more. “How are you, ma?”

“I'm alright, Frankie.” She smiled halfheartedly and rubbed her hand up and down Frank's arm. “Listen, I have to talk to you about something, why don't you sit down.”

Frank furrowed his brows together, but nodded, making his way around the counter to sit on the bar stools, “What's up?”

“It's about Gerard.” She took a deep breath leaning her torso over the counter. “He's been...acting differently lately. He hasn't been showing up on time, he's leaving early, and calling out. And I think I’m going to have to let him go, honey.”

“What? No, Ma, listen. He's having a hard time right now. I promise he'll get better. That's actually why I’m here early. I came to talk to him.”

Linda sighed, reaching her hand out to rest on Frank's. “It's not just that.” She took a deep breath, frowning up at her son, “He stole, Frank.”

“Stole? Stole what?”

“Money and a lot of it.” She squeezed Frank's hand gently. “I just found out it was him. But for these last two weeks there's been a thousand missing. A thousand dollars, Frankie. I can't have him working here anymore. And I don't think you should see him anymore. I’m sorry, honey.”

By the time his mother stopped talking Frank was seeing red. Gerard stole, from his mother, from him?! Why? Why the hell would he do that? He had to see him. He had to talk to Gerard and ask him. He had to confront this man that he loved and ask him why the hell he did this.

Frank left the cafe without a word to his mother. Linda, who assumed that Frank left because he was angry at him, ran after him, yelling for him to come back, but it didn't work. Frank got into his car, speeding off to talk to Gerard. Who better have a damn good explanation for this.