Tipping the Scales 1

Frank did not sleep on the couch that night. Frank did not even leave the bedroom after Gerard locked himself into the bathroom. When Gerard reemerged 4 minutes later he gasped at Frank and then hurriedly slammed some of his clothes into a duffel bag and called who Frank could only assume was Mikey.

Frank hated seeing him like that. His eyeliner was a mess, his eyes were glowing green, highlighted by the red surrounding his eyes and even growing onto his cheeks, his face was swollen and looked even larger than usual. He was hiccuping and choking and he refused to make eye contact with Frank. Not that Frank really tried to make eye contact with him.

Gerard sent him a loving glare when his phone rang, signalling that Mikey was there to get him, and then bolted out of the door.

He didn't know how long he stood there, rooted to the carpet near the door to their (Frank wonders if its still "theirs" or if its "his" or if he should just kill himself and spare himself the use of intricate grammar things) bedroom. He's not quite sure when he got the fucking thing but the stupid, little engagement ring has been in his hand for some time and its made a white impression into his palm. Frank wants to let it go, its his first instinct, just drop the cursed object onto the carpet, forget about it, walk over it and then maybe buy a dog and have it pee on it for good measure but he can't. His hand just won't let go. He closes it back in his palm, softer this time, and wanders out to the balcony.
After chain smoking for three hours he kind of feels like his lungs are working at 11% and he's going to die soon, he also feels like everything in life is pointless and like since its technically Christmas now he should be allowed to open his presents.

He doesn't open his presents. He does attempt to make an apology to Gerard over text 7 times but deletes each draft before he sends them, none of them sound honest to him. His mom always told him that there's no point in apologizing if you don't feel like you're apologizing. He tries to call Gerard 3 times and gets ignored as expected every time.
Frank goes to bed around 1 in the morning.

Frank wakes up at 3:30 ish. He suddenly hates himself an alarming amount for purchasing a California King sized bed when Gerard moved in. Its the biggest bed in the world or something and Frank feels tiny and alone lying on it by himself. He rolls over and expects to hit something warm and soft, Gerard's shoulder or arm, usually, but there is nothing and Frank takes his pillow and actually does end up sleeping on the couch that night.
If you can call it sleeping.

He wakes up the next day. Eats half a piece of toast. Smokes some more.
And then he does nothing. He does not call Gerard, he does not call Mikey, he does not call his mom and tell her Merry Christmas. He sits on the floor in front of the Christmas tree and stares at the wall for a while. Then he lies down on the floor and stares up at the Christmas tree ornaments.
He's feeling like he's just about to doze off when his apartment door slams open.

Frank honestly feels surprised but at the same time he feels like he's sleepy and kind of warm even though he never bothered to turn the heat up so its probably 60 at the warmest in his shacky apartment. Frank slowly turns his head and peers over at the door.
Its Mikey.
Frank turns his head back.

"What the FUCK is UP Dude!" Frank does not, in fact, know what the fuck is up. Frank stares at the ornament making eyebrows at him and wonders what he's finding so amusing.
"Gerard got into my car SOBBING last night, I can't keep doing this with you guys, Frank, I really can't! Gerard is too big for that car, you know how long it took to get his fucking seat belt on?" Frank does not know this either.
Frank attempts to make eyebrows back at the ornament.
He is unsuccessful and now another ornament is looking at him condescendingly.

"He said that you gained some weight and you're being an asshole about it, he said you said-" Mikey stops here. He sighs and rubs underneath his glasses at the bridge of his nose as though he's just spent a long day at the lab and has discovered that there is no cure for the illness plaguing orphans across the country, " That you thought since you gained weight... he would think that you're hideous and ugly and unattractive and gross."

Frank is listening now. If Gerard did think that Frank's....extra pudge was disgusting, he would have told Mikey, right? Frank taps a low branch of the tree and an ornament seems to nod in agreement at him. Frank looks back over at Mikey as a sign for him to continue.
Mikey rolls his eyes and Frank suddenly remembers that there an awful lot more eye rolling ornaments than anything else, what a coincidence.
"How do you think that makes HIM feel, Frank?" Frank freezes. A frowning ornament appears to be glaring at him and Frank frowns back at it.
"How do you think it makes him feel to know that you find those two things to be synonymous? Fat and disgusting. You gained some weight so now you might be repulsive. You basically re instilled everything you changed in the first place. All because you couldn't deal with the fact that you gained some Christmas weight? Real awesome thing to ruing your potential marriage over, you stupid fuck."
Mikey has come to the other side of the couch now and is sitting on the armrest, staring down at Frank. He pokes him with the tip of his shoe.
"You really have gotten kind of doughy." He pokes at his fat sides some more and Frank smiles at him. Mikey gives his stupid Mikey smile in return and they just stay like that, staring and smiling stupidly at each other in a way that only best friends can for a while. Then Frank frowns, thinking, suddenly, "So....how do I get him back this time?"
...............

It would all be so much easier if Frank knew how to fucking DRAW but he doesn't! That's Gerard's thing, not his, and its stupid that he's even trying. The things he'll do for love, right? At least Mikey is helping him because on his own, Frank can't even draw a straight line with a ruler and he probably would have given up by now. Instead, they're eating some Christmas cookies that Frank's mom was nice enough to bring over and watching Black XMas(the fucking Original, thank you very much) while working on Gerard's special project. Its going to take a week at the least but Mikey says that's ok. Gerard won't want to see him for at least a week anyways.
Mikey spends most of the day at Frank's apartment, helping him with shit until around 5. "It is Christmas, dude. You should be with your family too." Mikey says, bundling the scarf up around his mouth. Frank hands him a Christmas Present, kisses him on the cheek and watches Mikey's awkward knees carry him to his car.

Frank doesn't go see his family.
Frank falls asleep on the living room floor to the sound of Christmas music and dying girls