Roses are Red, Black Eyes are Blue

The week had continued on as usual for Anna, who had begun to grow more at ease in her new school. Much to Frank’s annoyance, however, Anna never got the courage to call off her Friday plans with Brandon. Friday rolled around and Frank was sitting at lunch with his best friend, pouting while he stole her French fries.

Anna watched him quietly eat while he scowled at her wrapped sandwich. She sighed and set down her bottle of water, frowning at him. “Are you still pouting about the movie?”

“Yes,” he answered simply, not sounding ashamed and not looking away from her sandwich.

“Come on, Frank. It’s just gonna be one date. Afterwards I’ll tell him that I’m not interested and he’ll probably never talk to me again,” Anna explained, poking him.

“Can’t you just ditch him and skip step one and two?” he asked and gave her a hopeful look.
Anna gave Frank a “yeah right” look and took a bite of a French fry.

“Fine, fine, no ditching. How about I just go up to him and tell him you can’t go because we started dating or something like that?” he offered.

“Won’t he just ask me out again when he realizes that you were lying?”

Frank shrugged and un-wrapped Anna’s sandwich, taking a bite from it. “We could pretend date until he gives up or something.”

Anna shot Frank a weary look and ate another fry. “I’m terrible at lying and acting, Frank, you know that.”

Frank stared at a scratch on the table, contemplating his next response. Finally he took a deep breath and replied, “Well, we could date for real if you want to make it more believable.”

Almost instantly, the bell rang, signaling the end of lunch and their conversation. Anna stood and grabbed her stuff as she said, “I’m sorry Frank, but I’m going to the movie tonight. I’ll call you afterwards to tell you all the terrible details though. Bye!” She waved over her shoulder and jogged out of the cafeteria.

Frank continued to stare at the table surface, ignoring the fact that the room was quickly becoming empty. After a few moments, he realized he was still holding the sandwich. As he turned his gaze from the table to the food in his hands, the warning bell rang loudly. Finally, he decided that he really didn’t feel like attending his next class anymore, so he took a big bite of the sandwich and tried to push his conversation with Anna from his mind and ignore the odd pain he was feeling in his chest.

******

By the time school had ended and Anna walked into the band room, she was a big bundle of nerves. She couldn’t even bring herself to glance over to the saxophone section where Brandon would be setting up; she just went straight to her seat and began pulling her instrument and music out.

Anna was dreading practice to end, for once, and when it eventually did she decided to take her time putting her things away, secretly hoping that Brandon would just leave without her.

“You ready to go, Anna?” he asked from beside her suddenly, making her jump.

“Uh, yeah,” she answered quietly as she closed her violin case and stood.

“Cool. Did you drive to school today?” he asked as they made their way out the door.

“N-no, I take the bus to and from school, why?” Anna asked in return, scanning the hallway outside of the band room for Frank before remembering that he wasn’t going to be waiting for her.

“Oh, we’ll take my car, then,” he said and pulled out his keys.

Anna’s eyes widened and she began to panic, remembering what Frank had told her about staying in public areas and not letting this guy get her alone. “O-oh! Um, wouldn’t it be easier if we took the bus there? We wouldn’t have to deal with as much traffic, right?”

“It’s fine, I don’t mind driving you there,” he replied with a smile.
Anna bit her lip nervously as they approached the student parking lot and Brandon’s car.

“This is going to be a long date…” she thought.

******

Frank stared idly at the TV screen in front of him, pressing a button on the controller in his hands every few seconds. Suddenly there was the cliché dying sound that all fighting games seem to have and Frank sighed heavily, watching his character fall off the platform again.

“Ok dude, what the hell is up with you? That’s the eighth time in a row that you died. You’re not even trying to win, are you?” Gerard asked, angrily dropping the controller on the coffee table.
Frank just shrugged, still not taking his eyes off the TV, and tried not to analyze his conversation with Anna again in his head; it was beginning to drive him into a depression.

“Wait, I know what this is about. It’s Friday; Anna went on that date, didn’t she?” Gerard guessed in an almost accusing tone.

Frank’s only response was to shoot his friend a look that could only mean “drop it.”

“What’s the big deal, Frank? It’s just a date. They’re not getting married or anything. And if she really doesn’t like the guy like she said, I’m sure she’ll turn him down for a second date. She’s just doing this to be polite; it’s just how she is. Besides, you really shouldn’t be so upset about it; it’s not like you two are dating or anything,” Gerard said as he shifted through the characters on the ‘character selection’ screen, trying to make his decision.

Frank stiffened slightly and eyed his friend, trying to make a decision. Moments later his expression softened into a tired look and he sighed heavily, setting down the controller and turning to Gerard.

“Hey, is Mikey home right now?” he asked nervously.

“No, he’s running some errands for my mom, why?”

Frank took a deep breath before answering, “Well, something happened today with me and Anna and I really need to talk about it, but I don’t want him walking in and getting upset.”

“Ok, one, you sound like a girl, and two, this sounds intriguing. Continue.”

Frank rolled his eyes but told his friend about the conversation anyways. “Well, I was complaining to Anna about her going tonight, and I offered to tell What’s His Face that we were dating or something like that so that she wouldn’t have to go. Then she pointed out that we’d actually have to pretend to be dating or it wouldn’t work, and she’s apparently terrible at acting and lying, so she shot it down. So…I pretty much asked her out, and she completely ignored it, like I didn’t say anything at all.”

“Wait, when you say ‘pretty much asked her out’, what do you mean? What exactly did you say?”

“Well, she said that she wasn’t good at acting and stuff, so I said, ‘We could date for real if you want to make it more believable,’ and then the bell rang and she just left like I said nothing at all,” Frank explained and then bit his lip nervously.

“Can you blame her for ignoring you?” Gerard asked simply, rolling his eyes.
Frank clenched his fists, feeling his temper rise. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“Chill out Frank. What I’m saying is, you’re always joking around and playing games. She probably thought it was just another joke. And I don’t blame her for that, either; that was the most roundabout way of asking someone out that I’ve heard of in a while.”

“So you’re saying I should be more forward and obvious?” he asked, his tone returning to normal.

“Well, don’t sexually assault her or anything,” Gerard joked but then became serious again when Frank shot him a look. “Dude, just tell her you like her and ask her out. It’s that simple.”

Frank thought it over for a few moments before asking, “Are you sure you’re ok with this? Mikey will probably flip if he finds out about all of this.”

Gerard shrugged and stretched out on his side of the couch. “You like her, right? And I mean really like her, not just want her.”

Frank contemplated his answer and then nodded his head yes.

“Then Mikey will have to get over it. I mean, I love my brother and all, but we can’t baby him for forever, he’s going to have to learn to deal with it. Just do me a favor, if you two do end up together, wait until they work things out to tell him.”

“Of course,” Frank replied, smiling at his best friend.

“Alright, now pick up that controller and give me a real fight, Iero.”

******

Anna sat nervously in the dark theatre. She was regretting her decision to come on the date and the regret was growing by the second. Brandon had picked what was supposedly the best romantic comedy of the year, but Anna found it to be one big cliché. She thought the characters were shallow and the plot was almost nonexistent. Throughout the first forty-five minutes of the movie she couldn’t help but compare the whole experience to when she had gone to see the horror movie with Frank, a much better date in her opinion.

“And that wasn’t even really a date,” she thought as she stared at the screen.

But the worst part of it all was the fact that as soon as the lights went off, Brandon’s left hand couldn’t seem to sit still. He would reach out and hold her hand, rubbing his thumb onto the top of it until she would quickly pull away. He would throw his arm over her shoulders and gently message her left shoulder until she would shift in her seat, causing him to move. And he would rest his hand on her knee, which was definitely her least favorite out of all his moves, because he would slowly try to move her uniform skirt up her knee until she would swat him away.

Currently his hand was resting on her knee, and he gave a gentle squeeze, causing Anna to tense up slightly in her seat. Suddenly she got an idea.

“I’m gonna go to the restroom for a moment,” she whispered and stood to leave before he even had a chance to respond.

As soon as she was out of the theatre, she pulled her phone out and started to dial Frank.

“Hey Anna, is the date over already?” he asked, almost sounding hopeful.

“I wish. I need a really big favor, Frank,” Anna said and bit her lip, worried he would say no.

“Sure, anything for you. What do you need?”

“Well…Brandon is a complete sleaze and he won’t stop grabbing me. I’m afraid to get into his car with him again when the movie is over, but I know he’s not just going to let me take the bus home. Will you and Gerard or Ray please come get me?” she pleaded.

“Of course Anna. When is the movie over?”

“Well, it’s been going on for about an hour now, and it seems like it’s going to be ending soon. Maybe in thirty minutes? Is that ok?”

“Don’t worry, I’m leaving now. I’ll be there when the movie is done,” Frank told her and she could hear shuffling and talking in the background, telling her that he indeed was leaving.

“Thank you so much, Frank. I owe you big time for this,” Anna said in a relieved voice before they both said goodbye. Taking a deep breath, Anna walked back into the dark room and reluctantly joined her date.

******

“So, do you want to go get something to eat? Or we could just go back to my house, if you want?” Brandon asked as he and Anna exited the theatre.

Anna surveyed the parking lot and the people loitering around as she began to decline his offer. “I don’t think I can, there’s something-”

“Anna!” Frank shouted as he jogged towards them.

Brandon frowned and watched him approach. “What’s he doing here?” he asked, trying to keep his annoyance out of his tone.

“Oh, he, uh, came to pick me up,” Anna answered simply, not really giving him the explanation he asked for.

“Why? I could have taken you home,” he replied showing his annoyance as Frank stopped in front of them.

Anna bit her lip, unsure of what to say, until Frank butted in and saved her.

“Well, Anna here is a bit of a space case, and when she agreed to hang out with you today, she forgot that we already had plans. And since she’s way too polite to blow someone off, we just pushed our plans back until after the movie. Hope that’s ok,” Frank explained, giving Brandon a challenging look.

Brandon returned the look for a moment before turning his attention back to Anna and smiling. “Well, I guess I’ll see you on Monday, then. Thanks for coming out with me.”

Anna forced a smile back and nodded. “Of course. Thanks for inviting me.”

After the formalities were over, Frank slung his arm over Anna’s shoulder and began to guide her towards the parking lot, still giving Brandon a challenging look. “See ya around, Brantley,” Frank said and waved halfheartedly over his shoulder.

“Um, his name is Brandon, Frank,” Anna corrected as they approached Gerard’s car.

“Oops,” he replied, not really sounding like he cared, causing Anna to giggle in response.

“Where’s Gerard?” Anna asked as they came to a stop at the car and Frank removed his arm from her shoulders to unlock it.

“He’s at his place. I asked if I could borrow his car so I could pick you up.”

“That was nice of him.”

Frank shrugged and opened the door for Anna, waiting for her to slide in before closing it. “Yeah well, I didn’t really give him much of a choice. When you said that guy was getting handsy, I kind of just grabbed the keys and told him I was borrowing it,” he explained as he slid into the driver’s seat and buckled, cranking the car soon after.

Anna laughed and shook her head. “That’s not really asking if you don’t give them a choice, Frankie.”

“Yeah well that creep didn’t give you much of a choice when he asked you out, if I remember correctly,” he replied, annoyed.

“You have a point there, Frankie,” Anna said a laughed slightly.

“So what now?” Frank asked her, changing the topic and putting on a smile.

Anna shrugged and started to play with the radio. “I guess I should go home. Dad will probably be home soon and he’ll want to know what I’ve done all day.”

“Well, what are you gonna say? You’re not very good at lying, remember?” Frank asked as he raised an eyebrow.

Anna dug into her bag and pulled out a stack of papers, holding them up for Frank to see.

“Is that the Trig homework? When did you do that?” he asked her in awe; the homework had only been assigned that morning and was at least two pages of problems.

“I did it between classes and stuff. Now I can tell my dad I was at the library doing homework after school, and he probably won’t be as annoyed if I have completed homework for him to check,” she explained.

Frank nodded and watched the road for a few quiet moments before asking, “Hey Anna, can I ask you for a favor?”

“Sure Frankie,” she replied, smiling brightly at him.

“Can I borrow your homework?”

“No Frankie,” she answered, still smiling.