You Give Love a Bad Name

"Ugh. Can you not go five minutes without some chick trying to chat you up?"

"Jealous?"

"Girls are not my cup of tea, Frank, so no."

I turned my head to look at Frank, who was staring at the retreating form of the attractive brunette that asked for his number just seconds ago, not bothering to hide his amused smile.

It happened three times in the last forty minutes. Frank and I were still at the park, strolling, talking, and drinking coffee, waiting for Gerard's class to end. But how long can you go without some model-like girl 'accidently' bumping into your gorgeous best friend and trying to strike up a conversation? Not very long. Not very long at all.

"You look cute when you pout," Frank stated, his own mouth stretching into a devilish smirk.

I bit my lip, trying to disguise the forming smile that threatened to form because of Frank's compliment, and kicked the gray pebble beneath my feet, watching it roll onto the gay concrete a few feet in front of us.

"Save it for your girlfriend. Speaking of which, why didn't she call you yet? Usually, come this time of the day, your phone is ringing of the hook. Did you guys have a fight or something?"

"Nope, we're all good," Frank informed me smugly, kicking 'my' rock aside as we walked past it. "She's in Hawaii. Its her Mom's birthday on the 20th, and their family want to spend it at her favorite place. They left yesterday, and are coming back on the 29th. Just in time for my birthday."

"Is that why you were late for the band practice?" I wondered, watching two small children run past us, chasing a brightly colored ball. I smiled after them, remembering what it was like to be a kid. No worries, no crushes, no troubles. No lusting after your best friend...

I cringed as the last thought ran through my head. Nothing like being slapped back into the harsh reality of everyday life, where no one and nothing was perfect, and where life screwed everyone over in the end.

Sighing, I looked up from the ground, making the fatal mistake of looking over at Frank. He smiled at me, a smile so heartwarming that everything else went away. It was me and him. Frank Iero and Lena Way. And everything else melted off the canvas of life.

"Hey, I want to give you something," he murmured, breaking the spell along with the eye contact that his gorgeous hazel orbs held mine in. "You like flowers, right?"

Utterly confused I nodded, taking some time to take in my surroundings. We were standing in front of a booth named 'Cazzy's Flowers', where every kind of flower that I could have imagined was spread out on display.

"Come on," Frank grabbed my hand, pulling me closer to the beautiful sea of color.

Once we reached our destination, Frank started to look around - for the owner, I presumed - not dropping my hand.

"Hello," a soft voice sounded to the left of me and Frank, making us whip our heads in the direction that it was coming from.

Sitting on a rocking chair was an elderly woman of around sixty years of age. Her snowy-white hair was gathered up into a bun, and her watery blue eyes were twinkling with kindness.

"I'm Mrs. Cazzy. How may I help you today?"

"Hello, Ma'am," Frank greeted Mrs. Cazzy like a perfect gentleman, the words probably sounding weird to a passerby, seeing that they were coming from a pierced, tattooed teen. "I would like to buy some flowers."

"Ah," she smiled, standing up and waddling up to us. "Do you know what you would like, young man?"

Frank looked thoughtful, scanning over the multi-colored row of flowers. His eyes stopped on small white ones, and his smile lit up with a radiant glow.

He looked up, making sure that he was staring Mrs. Cazzy right in the eyes. "I would like twenty one of Primroses, please."

For some unknown reason to me, the both of them shared a knowing look before she went to the pearly tinted flowers.

Then I got it.

Frank's grandma had an impressive-sized garden, and when Frank and I were younger, we used to come over to help her out with weeding and such, and while at work, she would educate us on flowers. What every flower, every color meant. Frank inherited his grandmother's 'green thumb', so to say, soaking in as much information as possible with every visit, while I tended to block her out and daydream instead. Right now, he probably requested a friendship flower, which would explain their secret smile.

"I assume that these are for this young lady?" Mrs. Cazzy's kind ocean colored eyes stopped at me with approval.

"Yes they are," Frank squeezed my hand, reaching in the pocket of his jeans with the other hand to take out his wallet. "How much do I owe you?"

"Eight dollars and thirty five cents," she replied, still examining me and Frank. "You know, I usually don't say this, but the both of you complete each other perfectly. I hope that you make it. Young love is a beautiful thing."

Even though I was flattered that she thought that Frank and I were together, I opened my mouth to set the record straight. No use in playing up fantasies that would never come true. "Actually, we -"

"Thank you," Frank grinned, handing her a crisp, ten dollar bill. "Keep the change, and have a good day."

As soon as Mrs. Cazzy handed me the flowers, he pulled me towards the general direction of Gerard's school. "Now, let's go and find your brother."

"Are you sure his class is this way?" Frank asked me for the millionth time, trying to look over the heads of the streaming crowd.

I sighed and shook my head. "I told you; I don't know. I think his class is this way, but I might be wrong."

Frank rolled his eyes and began to drag me in the direction that I pointed at. I didn't mind, he was still holding my right hand, while I held the flowers in the left, and even though I knew that he meant the gesture in the friendly way, the warmth of his hand still made my heart flutter.

"There he is!" Frank exclaimed with triumph, nodding his head towards the left, where my brother leaned against the wall, talking to a girl who's back was turned to us.

"Ooooh, potential girlfriend material?" I snickered, taking a step in their direction.

Frank's smirk matched mine. "Only one way to find out."

"Hey Gerard!" both of us yelled, making a couple of heads turn, including Gerard and his companion. "Who is your friend?"

"I knew you two would show up and fuck everything up," Gerard groaned, shielding his eyes with his hand in mock embarrassment. "Somehow, I knew it."

The girl gave me and Frank an amused smile. She was pretty. Soft-looking, wavy golden hair and warm brown eyes. She was definitely Gerard's type.

"Hello," she pushed back the strand of hair that fell in her eyes. "I'm Tracy. You're Lena, right?"

I nodded, surprised that she knew my name. "I am. Nice to meet you."

"Gerard told me all about you," she explained. "Plus you look a lot like him. Both of you have the same soft, elegant features."

Taking the advantage that Tracy wasn’t looking at him, Frank made a sarcastic 'awww' face at Gerard, who flipped him off faster than the speed of light.

"Now," she mused turning to face Frank. "I presume you're Lena's boyfriend?"

"No," I interrupted, ignoring Gerard's look of pure evil glee. "Just a friend. Best friend."

"Yeah," Frank laughed, rubbing the back of his neck. "What gave you the idea that we're together?"

"Oh, I don't know, dipshit," Gerard dawdled, happy at his chance to jump in and embarrass the shit out of me. I vowed to myself that I'd get him back later. "Maybe it’s the fact that you two are holding hands and Lena's holding flowers. Put the two and two together, and you'll know why."

"Shut up, GerBear," I retorted, feeling the warmth of Frank's hand leave mine never less. "Or I'll burn your comic book collection."

Gerard glared at me and I returned it with the same stubbornness. For some reason that made Tracy and Frank laugh. I guess that sometimes Gerard and I did act freakishly alike.

"Do you guys want to grab some coffee?" Tracy asked, nodding towards the Starbucks across the street.

It was half past nine, and I was sitting in front of the computer screen, scanning over my e-mail with tired eyes. Mikey was playing some video game, while Gerard was in his room, probably writing lyrics or thinking about Tracy - his obvious, new crush.

I must say that she was nothing short of perfect for him. Artsy, kind, beautiful; everything that he ever wanted. And it was clear as day when we were in the coffee shop, while the four of us drank our beverage and talked, that she returned the same feelings for my oldest brother.

I was happy for him. I knew that any day now, he would ask her out.

My eyes traveled over the contents that were messily scattered on my desk and rested on a bouquet of flowers that Frank gave me, which were now nestled in my Mom's blue china vase.

The curiosity finally getting to me, I typed in the address for Google. I was going to find out what Primroses stood for, once and for all. Scrolling down until I found the right name, I clicked on the 'Flower Meanings' and then on the desired link.

My heart beat started to wildly spin out of control as I read the five simple words that showed up on the screen of the computer.

Primrose: I Can't Live Without You.