Stereotype

By the time the coach declared the practice over, Gerard couldn't feel the cold anymore; except for when he'd breathe too deep. He had never played football that actively before. Admittedly, he hadn't been very aware of what he was doing, yet he hadn't heard any complaints. All the contrary, the guys sounded oddly sincere this time when they expressed how awesome he'd been.

Quickly thanking the compliments the coach and his mates paid him, Gerard headed for the bleachers. He was glad to see that Frank had apparently made friends with Brian's girlfriend. At least he'd had someone to talk to instead of boring his ass off on top of freezing. Vicky was a pretty cool girl, and often sneaked into practices. 

Gerard also smiled when noticing that the younger boy was all wrapped up in his coat. "Not cold, uh?" He laughed to himself.  

As Vicky got up and ran to Brian, Frank walked to Gerard with a smirk on his face. "Decided you loved football, Way?"

"Decided I didn't want to freeze to death."

"I knew it!" Frank giggled. "It's obvious you do have it in you, though."

Gerard frowned. He had never considered he could be actually good, nor did he care. "You think?"

"Me? You know I'm clueless, I just saw you moving faster." Frank attempted to shrug -or that's what it looked like to Gerard, but the layers of clothes didn't let him do it properly. His nose was red and his eyes watery. Gerard was worrying about him again. "Vicky thinks. That you've been playing better, I mean. You never fooled her, though; she said you're no great player."

"Oh fuck, but..."

"Don't worry," Frank interrupted, "the guys got pissed off at her when she told them."

"Good."

"Oh, almost forget! Take your coat." Frank reached to pull it off him, but Gerard stopped him. The kid needed it more.

"Keep it, I'm not cold."

"Don't be cheesy, Gerard, I'm not your girlfriend," Frank told him laughing. "Besides, you don't feel the cold now but it's even worse for your health when you're all sweaty. You'll get sick."

"No, you're not my girlfriend..." The word felt strange. And where had that comment come from, anyway? "But you're my friend, and you get sick more easily. Keep it."

"Gerard..." Frank insisted, the coat hanging from his arm as he did his best to hide the shaking. 

Gerard wasn't fooled, and the situation called for some speed-thinking. He grabbed his backpack and unzipped it, retrieving a thicker hoodie than the one he was wearing. It didn't smell too good, he suspected. "I'll put this on and you keep the coat, deal?"

Frank rolled his eyes, but snuggled back into the coat without delay. "Deal, but then you stay until I leave so I can give it back to you."

"But your mom's picking you guys up, right?"

The gained Gerard a funny look from Frank. "You think she'd leave me walk home with this temperature?"

"Stupid question, sorry."

"So, you're staying?"

"I wasn't going anywhere, Frankie. By the way, if you wanna catch the Phillips you better run..." Gerard pointed to the two boys who were crossing the field entrance.

Frank sprinted off shouting, "Brandon! Adam! Wait!" as Gerard followed him at a lower pace, fighting to get his stinky hoodie on.

"Oh, Frankie. Hi!" Brandon greeted him, pushing his jacket's zipper up all the way to his chin. "I didn't know you were still here. Cold as fuck..."

Frank didn't waste any time. "I had to talk to you two."

Adam ran a hand through his dark hair, appearing confused. "You froze your ass to talk to us?" 

"Told him it was a stupid idea," said Gerard.

"It's important," Frank stressed.

"Wow, okay kid!" Adam raised his hands. "Fill us in, then. Just...quickly 'cause Bran's car's broken so I told dad to pick us up."

When Frank was about to speak, he was interrupted by a grinning James tapping the back of his head. He was followed by an annoyed-looking Ray.

"Move your ass, bug," Ray demanded, "mom's waiting and we also have to drop Dewees."

His brother didn't stay there any longer, but Frank still shouted, "I told mom to give me a while, shut it!"

"Ignore him, take your time." James shrugged, then jogged after Ray.

After they were gone, Frank turned back to the Phillips, who kept waiting for him to talk.

Brandon patted at least three of his pockets until he found a packet of cigarettes. He fished out one and lighted it up with ease before leaning down to look Frank in the eyes. "Something wrong, Frankie?" he spoke out of the side of his mouth as he released the smoke.

"Kinda." Frank hesitated, sounding nervous. He finally let it all out at once. "Did you know your friends fuck with Zach too? Know that they beat him up rather badly today?" 

If the situation was different, Gerard would have laughed at the way Brandon and Adam looked at each other and then back at Frank with their mouths hanging open.

"What?" Brandon exclaimed. "But he said..."

"He said he got into a fight with a classmate," Adam completed.

"And you believed him." Frank sighed. "It's not the first time. You've surely seen him with a black eye or a split lip before. You had to."

"Well yeah, but we never..." Gerard's stared at Brandon in a way that said he wasn't believing his shit, so he stopped.

"Don't tell me you never put two and two together, Phillips. You know the shit your friends do."

"They're not our friends," Adam corrected.

"You dissimulate it very well..." Frank mumbled.

Brandon raised his palms this time. "Look. Matt said they'd leave Zach alone. We never saw anything and our brother always insisted that it hadn't been them when he'd show up hurt. Every fucking time. We asked him, trust me. So how could we know?"

"They fucking threated him with getting you both kicked out of the team, that's why he denies it!" Frank raised his voice.

"Son of bitches..." Adam whispered, air coming out of his nostrils noisily.

"You have to do something." Gerard shook his head. It was all so fucked up. How could those two trust Matt and company? 

Brandon rested a hand on his brother's back while he spoke into his ear. Then he addressed Frank. "We...we'll see what we can do. I mean...we'll talk to the guys and...keep a closer eye on Zach, I guess."

"But..."

"I'm sorry, Frank, we really have to go," Adam apologized. "But thanks a lot for letting us know."

"You're welcome," Frank let out, his humid eyes blinking rapidly in the cold air. As the brothers walked away, he sniffed and turned to Gerard. "That's all?"

"Totally not worth you freezing."

"Something's up with them, though."

Gerard nodded. "Yeah, I think so too..."

"You'll try to find out, won't you?"

"Of course, captain Iero!"

"Hey!" Frank pushed at Gerard with his shoulder. "Don't sound so resigned. You can say no. But...we're in the cause together, remember?"

"Aye! I'll force them to tell me something, don't worry. Now move your frozen ass, I'll walk you to your mom's car."

"So I can give you your coat back."

"So you can give me the damn coat back, yes."

"We'll drive you home, too," Frank stated as they made their way out of the football field.

Gerard was going to make a comment about how Frank looked like an adorable burnt marshmallow this time, but decided to escape the punch he knew would come. "Frankie...I live only two blocks from here and you don't even have to go that way."

"Ah, true."