Roses are Red, Black Eyes are Blue

“So you and Mikey finally had the talk, huh?” Frank asked as he walked Anna home from Gerard’s house.

“Yup,” she replied simply, popping the “p”.

“Well, how did it go? Are you guys good now? Do I still have a best friend?”

Anna rolled her eyes at his last question. “Of course you still have a best friend. And yes, we’re good now. I explained what happened on my end and he forgave me and we decided to be just friends.”

Frank threw his arms up into the air and shouted, “Well that’s a relief! Now I don’t have to ignore you when he’s around. That was so freakin annoying.”

Anna thought about this for a moment as he flung his arm over her shoulder, pulling her into his side. “Hey Frank?” she asked hesitantly.

“Hmmm?” he hummed back, still looking ahead of them.

“Apparently your friends all think that we’re an item. And some of the school thinks it too, I think.”

Frank stiffened just slightly and peeked over at her. “Really?” he asked simply, not sure how to respond because he didn’t know how she felt about it.

Anna was quiet for a few moments, thinking through what she wanted to say next. “Do you think we’re too close? Like, do you think the way we act is kind of weird for two friends?”

“No. I like the way we are. Did Mikey complain or something? Maybe I should have a talk with him this time,” Frank said, getting annoyed.

“He didn’t complain, Frank. This has nothing to do with him. I’m just worried everyone’s getting the wrong idea,” Anna said, trying to explain herself.

“So what if they do? Does it really bother you that much?”

Anna shrugged in reply and stared at the ground. Frank removed his arm from her shoulder, stuffed his hands into his pockets, and huffed. Anna tried to ignore how cold she suddenly felt.

“Look, Anna,” Frank started quietly with a sigh, “We have a connection that not everyone else has. We just click. You and I make sense together, and I really like that. Don’t you like it too?”

“Well yeah, no one’s ever understood me like you do.”

“Then what’s the problem?” Frank asked finally stopping to look at her.

“I guess it really isn’t a problem. I just over think things,” Anna laughed lightly.

Frank stared at her as she shyly smiled up at him. “I like that you overthink things,” he said simply, still staring down at her.

“You do?” she asked, surprised. “I thought it was actually kind of annoying.”

“No, you always jump to the most ridiculous conclusions when you over think things, and it makes you act funny and spastic. And you make the most adorable faces when you’re thinking really hard about something.”

Anna stared at her friend as he continued to pin her down with his intense gaze. She didn’t respond because she wasn’t sure she had enough air in her lungs at the moment to even let out a small squeak.

Suddenly Frank coughed and broke their staring contest, looking up the street nervously. “I think if I walk any further with you we’ll run too great of a risk that your dad will see me,” he said, trying to keep the nervousness out of his voice.

“Oh,” Anna said in surprise as she realized they had been standing on the corner of her street.

“Well I guess I’ll see you tomorrow, Banana,” he said, walking backwards a few paces, waving, and then turning around abruptly and walking quickly down the street.

Anna also turned and quickly walked toward her house, trying to escape the thoughts that she knew were pursuing her and would eventually take over her.

******

The next day Anna tried to act surprised when she boarded the bus and didn’t see Frank, but somehow she had known when she woke up that he would probably be skipping. At lunch she picked at her food and thought about the past few weeks. She had grown considerably closer to Frank. The two were pretty much together all the time. But was there more there than what she was seeing? Anna couldn’t put her finger on when it had happened, but something had changed between them; both of them had changed slightly in some way. Anna found herself getting nervous at just the thought of Frank, but it wasn’t the fearful anxiety that she usually felt when she thought about socializing with someone. It was a weird fluttery nervousness that she felt in her chest and her stomach, and she was pretty sure she knew what it meant, but she was kind of hoping she was wrong.

After her boring classes and her uneventful practice, Anna left the band room and made her way towards the front gates to wait for her mom. She came around the corner of the gate and went to walk towards the bench just outside of it but stopped. Sitting there in one of his usual band shirts and some ripped jeans and staring out at the traffic was her best friend.

“Frank, what are you doing here?” Anna asked, walking over to him and smiling slightly.

Frank looked over at her quickly and smiled when his eyes landed on her. He stood quickly and pulled her into a quick side hug when she was close enough. “I couldn’t let my Banana leave town without saying goodbye to her first, now could I?”

Anna blushed slightly but smiled back at him. “Well that was really sweet of you, Frankie.”

They were quiet for a few moments as Frank just continued to look down at Anna, who blushed and looked away quickly.

“Sooo,” she started and kicked a rock lying on the sidewalk. “What were you doing all day? Over slept again?” She shot Frank a smile and walked past him towards the bench.

Frank laughed a little, sounding slightly nervous and replied as he made his way over to her. “No, actually, I didn’t sleep at all last night.”

“Why? Did you get sick? Did something happen?” Anna asked quickly, getting worried.

Frank shook his head and looked around at everything but Anna, shuffling his feet nervously. “No, I was just thinking about some stuff.”

“What stuff?” she responded quietly, feeling that fluttery feeling again.

“I dunno. I was just thinking about what you said yesterday, about how close we are and about how everyone is jumping to conclusions about it,” he explained still not looking at Anna.

“And?”

“Well-” he started but was cut off as Anna’s mom pulled up to the curb and honked the horn. Anna looked between her mom and Frank, who looked kind of disappointed that their talk was interrupted. She stood up slowly as her mom got out of the car and walked towards them.

“Hi sweetie! Hi Frank,” Angela greeted and pulled Anna into a hug.

“Hi Ms. Kelly, how have you been?” Frank asked politely, smiling at her.

“I’ve been good, but I’ve missed my little baby girl so much!” she responded and pinched Anna’s cheek as she tried to swat her mother away.

“Mom, cut it out. You’re not a child anymore,” Anna scolded and tried to hold back a smile.

“Oh you take the fun out of everything. I’m just going to put your bag in the car and wait for you to finish up here,” she told her daughter and then sent her a wink as she turned away.

Anna rolled her eyes at her mother and then turned her attention back to Frank. “I’m sorry Frank, what were you saying before?”

Frank shook his head and smiled down at her. “I’ll tell you on Monday. Go have fun with your crazy mother.”

“I heard that!” Angela shouted from the car, making Frank chuckle.

“I guess I’ll see you later then,” Anna said and smiled nervously.

Frank smiled back and pulled Anna into a real hug this time, wrapping his arms tightly around her small frame. “Have a good weekend Anna,” Frank said and gave her shoulders a squeeze before stepping back and waving as he walked towards the bus stop.

Anna watched him for a moment, forgetting what was going on around her and even how to breathe until her mother honked the horn again and motioned for her to get into the car.
She quickly opened the door and slid in. “Don’t say a word,” she told her smirking mother, shooting her a look.

******

“You’re not going to try to convince me again that you two are “just friends” still, are you?” Angela asked her daughter as she strained the pasta.

Anna rolled her eyes and added some cucumbers to the salad she was making. “No, I’m not going to say anything because we’re not talking about this again. I told you already, we’re just friends and that’s how it’s going to stay.”

Angela shook her head and walked over to the stove to stir the pasta sauce before turning off the stove. “I don’t understand why you’re so afraid of your friendship becoming something more. It’s a good thing, Anna. It’s actually a wonderfully amazing thing. I’m excited for you, sweetheart.”

Anna rolled her eyes again and wiped the vegetable juice from her hands with a dish towel. Turning to her mother she scowled and answered, “I’m not afraid of it becoming something more because it’s not. He’s my best friend, Mom. And I’m pretty sure you can’t fall in love with someone in only a month, so I don’t think he’s as in to me as you think he is.”

“You’re right, you can’t fall in love in a month,” Angela agreed, “but you can develop feelings for someone in a very short time, especially if you’re really close to that person.”

Anna groaned and picked up the finished salad, setting it on the table next to the rolls. “Why are you pushing this so much?” she asked her mother, feeling very annoyed all of a sudden.

Angela placed her hands on her hips and wore a very serious expression that Anna rarely saw as she replied, “Because I think this could lead to something great in your life and I’m afraid you’re going to be so afraid of the outcome that you’re going to push it all away until you lose your chance at something wonderful. Anna, you can’t be afraid of love for the rest of your life.”

“And what if I think love doesn’t actually exist?” Anna shouted and turned around to fully face her mom. “What if I think that no one actually ever falls in love? They just think they do and then they get married and then years later they realize that they don’t care about each other so they get a divorce and then possibly start the cycle over again. I’m not afraid of falling in love, Mom, because I don’t think it’s real. It’s just something people tell themselves that they feel so they can justify the decision to be dependent on someone for either the rest of their lives or until they get tired of their spouse. It’s just a fairy tale, Mother.”

Angela looked at her daughter, stunned, before asking, “Does this have anything to do with your dad and me?” Anna rolled her eyes and turned away from her mom to stare at the set table. “Sweetheart, we didn’t get a divorce because we didn’t love each other anymore. You have to understand, his job was toxic to our relationship. He spent day and night at his office and I felt like it wasn’t even a relationship anymore. I wasn’t even intending to go through with the divorce; I just wanted him to realize that his family needed him at home more. When I gave him the papers, he begged me not to do it, but he didn’t want to stop working, so I made myself go through with it. Don’t you understand that the reason why your father is so mad at me is because I broke his heart? I broke mine to by leaving him, but I decided that I would rather be alone than ignored by the one I love. It was really selfish of me, actually, and I didn’t realize that it affected you so much, sweetheart. I’m sorry.”

Anna turned around to look at her mom and found tears running down her cheeks. “Mom, come on, don’t cry.” Anna said and pulled her mom into a hug. “If it makes you feel better, I didn’t really mean everything that I said. I’m just scared of getting hurt or hurting someone else. I just think I’d rather stay friends with Frank, at least for a while. Now let’s just stop talking about this and eat, ok?” she asked and watched her mom smile and nod.