Close Enough to Hurt

Inhale…

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Exhale~

One Visible Breath~ 10:01

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Inhale…

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Exhale~

Two Visible Breaths~ 10:01

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Inhale…

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Exhale~

Three Visible Breaths~ 10:02

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Inhale…

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Exhale~

Five-Hundred and Forty-Seven Visible Breaths Later~ 10:42

And here he stands.

Here he stands, idly watching less and less of his peers tumble out into the dreary, rain splattered night. They were all making their way in masses to the parking-lot of Belleville high to carry on with their other predictably irresponsible plans... Many of them looked positively jacked with energy, anxious to finish off this cold, wet night with a few more bursts of immature excitement. The larger half seemed either indifferent or absolutely heartbroken. He tipped his hat to them, because at the moment, he was inching towards that state himself.

Where could he be? It had been almost an hour and Gerard was still waiting in the shockingly chilly rain. Did it usually take people this long to ditch a lame dance? If Gerard had gone, he would have left before they got the chance to break out the piñata, or ripped ass out of there before anybody even realized he was present.

Christ, maybe he got another ride home, he forgot? Did he think that going out for vampire breakfast was a joke?

There were so many possibilities that Gerard didn’t know what to think. Frank couldn’t have thought he was kidding... He had seemed so excited about it, he even picked the restaurant.

Frank wouldn’t just ditch me like this, we’re too close... He’s my main muchacho, right? He’s going to call, I’m sure of it.

Gerard dragged his feet back to his dreadfully old 50’s mobile and glanced over his shoulder every two seconds, constantly looking for Frank at the door.
Frank wanted to go out to dinner with him, it’s not like he went to prom with a legitimate date, so obviously he didn’t have plans with anybody but me… He would have said something, right? And Frank was just chill with whoever he met so why do I feel like he’s with somebody else right now. Gahh, shit! Shut up Gerard, stop being a jealous prick!

If Frank already had other plans he would have said something, you idiot!

Then again, I guess he did act pretty odd when I asked him to hang out afterwards…

-Rewind-

(Earlier That Day)

“Ah! C’mon G, You ‘have’ to go!” Frankie whined from across the room. He was at his large oak vanity, styling his medium cropped hair into a foe-hawk-like fashion. It was covered in band stickers and pictures of pink bunnies that he just didn’t have the balls to chip off with a scraper, because they were just,
‘Too damn cute, G! You may not have a heart man, but I do.’ - He really was quite ridiculous.

Gerard was sprawled across Frank’s messy bed, lacing up his dress shoes with determination. Though there really was no need. It was not required for either of them to acknowledge it, but Gerard’s hardcore, unconscious mission was basically, ‘If I'm not going… I need to work as hard as my unfashionable brain can to make Frank atleast moderately pass as a gentleman.'
It would appear to be a simple task... If you didn't know Mr. Iero personally. But most would not even bother to take that sort of challenge on, not even Frank's own mother.

Gerard threw both laced shoes to the floor and flipped onto his back, stretching,
“Pfft. No, I don’t think I do…” He gasped quietly as his spine produced a chorus of cracking noises.

Frank’s concentration on himself suddenly shifted to a different picture, he smiled at Gerard’s outrageously cute muffin-top when he stretched and immediately lunged at the opportunity to tickle the living daylights out of him without looking totally gay.

“You’re going!!!” Frank trilled, a smug grin lifting his lips as he witnessed Gerard’s body writhing in laughter,

“Fucking shit I am!” Gerard wheezed, reaching up an aggressive hand and ruining the progress Frank had made on his hair.

“Fuuuck!” Frank clambered off of the mattress to fix the damage but Gerard had already grabbed both of his arms before he could even get a fair look at any of the askew strands, he narrowed his eyes as the perpetrator laid his head on his shoulder.

“I don’t see why I have to go. You know I hate dressing up all slick and stuff…” Gerard wiggled his eyebrows and Frank sharply turned against him, re-gaining the control he had lost of his limbs and instantly sculpting his hair back in place.

Frank sighed, fixing his tie, “Well-“

“-I personally find it cowardly that you’re making me. Frank. Your best friend, face a sea and military's worth of hot chicks alone- Plus,”

He smoothed down the pieces of hair that normally hung in his face and licked over his lips as Gerard looked at him in disbelief, his eyes inflated with good humor.

“- It’ll be totally lame without you, bro.”

Frank gave a simple smile at Gerard and his reflection and turned towards him, shooting him a skeptical look before bending to slip on his snazzy dress shoes.

“Yeah, okay.” Gerard snorted, there was one thing that was absolutely positive, and it was that Frank would not mind being by himself around all of the excitement and short dresses.

Frank took a few deep breaths in as he fought with his tight dress shoes, crushing his diaphragm, the new shoes a little difficult to get on.

When he finally got them on he snapped up and shot Gerard a serious glare,

“Seriously man, if you don’t go, how will you make it up to me?” Frank whined, and the sternness of his voice made Gerard’s hard expression soften immediately… as if on queue, Frank began to bat his childish orbs.

“Actually,” Gerard smirked, “-I was just thinking about that.”

Frank was now facing the mirror again, looking more spacey as he stared off and played with his lip ring.

“Oh yeah?” Frank popped the silver ring out of its proper place and removed it,

“Can you get that peroxide shzz?” He shooed Gerard in the direction of his bathroom and a few moments later he returned.

“We could go out to eat? You know- Like, breakfast at one in the morning…” Gerard watched Frank with a lazy smile. Frank’s preoccupied smile also returned as he cleaned his lip and piercing,

“Hewz yeah!” He muttered against a ball of cotton.

“We can scout out a mega load of Canadian tourists and switch shoes! And Sci-Fi it up!-“ Gerard looked super excited, and was giggling softly like a girl.

“Uhh- sounds like the best plans I’ve made in a while, I look forward to it… but I’m not swapping shoes, and you and I both know why. It’s jungle fucking fever up in that shit.”

Frank snickered and took a good hard look at Gerard’s appalled face, his snicker turning to a soft, sarcastic chuckle.

He decided then would be the perfect time to do a ‘tada!’ turn, modeling his appearance for his friend who was so eager for him to look outrageously sexy.

Gerard’s scowl lifted into a pleased expression, his eyes sliding over each and every one of Frank’s handsome traits.

“You look-“ He paused for effect, “-You look good Frankie…” Gerard arched an eyebrow, “Maybe even a little bit less vertically challenged…” He gave him an, ‘Ohhh damn I went there’ face that corresponded with his sarcasm.

Frank rolled his eyes, out of all of the things to say Gerard had come up with that… He let out a caustic laugh and lunged towards Gerard getting into his face and dodging his hands that aspired to mess up his hair again, both of them in a dumbass laughing fit.

(It really is a shame that their plans never worked out…)
*TO BE CONTINUED *